Entertainment
Gorkha Group Files NHRC Complaint Against Anushka Sharma Over Sexist Slurs Used Against Community In Paatal Lok.
Anushka Sharma’s production Paatal Lok has landed in some legal troubles a few days after its release. A complaint has been filed against the actor (co-producer of Paatal Lok) by a Gorkha community group over sexist and casteist remark that was made on the series against the community.
Due to a sexist and cast slur made in the series that reportedly portrays Gorkha women in poor light, Bikash Bhattarai, Namsai unit president of the All Arunachal Pradesh Gorkha Youth Association’s (AAPGYA) and NHRC activist filed the complaint against Sharma on May 18.
The complaint states that casteist slur in the second episode of the web series is against a woman’s character and a direct insult to Nepali speaking people. This slur has hurt the sentiments of Nepali speaking people in the country and the Gorkha community as well. AAPGYA even demanded the series to be either taken down from Amazon Prime Video or the team of Pataal Lok apologies to the Gorkhali people.
The youth wing of Bharatiya Gorkha Parisang, Bharatiya Gorkha Yuva Parisangh (BhaGoYuP) started an online campaign to mute a particular scene and the corresponding sub-title to be uploaded again with a disclaimer.
The word in particular not only highlights racism against the community but also normalizes it. Such stereotyping, that too in times of a crisis like COVID-19 which is already giving rise to violent racism all over the country can be demeaning to the community and its individuals says the complaint.
In a Tweet by BhaGoYuP, they state, “We strongly condemn in toughest terms and seek immediate removal. We cannot consume community content stereotyping and accept racist attack in the name of creative freedom.”
Additionally, Viren Sri Gurung a member of the Lawyers Guild which has been formed to provide free legal advice in the time of novel corona virus crisis has also sent a legal notice to Sharma who is a co-producer of Paatal Lok on May 18 for the slur. He is yet to receive a response from the actor.
Entertainment
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
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