Talk:Kupari

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This article was nominated for deletion in the past. The result of the discussion was nomination withdrawn.

Contents 1 Disparaging term 2 All towns are notable 3 Why this article should be deleted 4 What does Kupari Mean?

[edit] Disparaging term

Another editor commented: "Kupari is a disparaging term for the East Indians (ethnic group)." If a reference can be found for this, it could be mentioned in the article. --Eastmain 12:41, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] All towns are notable

In general, all towns are notable. If someone could add the latitude and longitude of Kupari as well as other references to the article, that would be helpful. --Eastmain 12:41, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Why this article should be deleted

User:Eastmain has made two mistakes: One removing the speedy delete tag(in case of a contest you should add a {{hangon}}, not remove the delete tag).

Second he has mistaken this article for a town named Kupari[1]. No this article isn't about a place but about a community. Anyone who has read the article can see that. Please read both articles Kupari and East Indians (ethnic group) and you will find that they are about the same community.

The place named Kupari is in Orissa, India on the eastern coast. The community that is refered to as Kupari in this article exists in and around Vasai and Mumbai on the west coast.

I have been asked to provide references that Kupari is a disparaging term. Well this is the only article which refers to "Kupari" as a community. All web searches will point you to the place, not to the community. So if you insist on me providing a source I have only one answer: can anyone provide references to the original article itself and prove that there is really a community called Kupari?

The only reference I can provide is my own. I have quite a lot of friends from the East Indian community and can assure you that they will not treat you very kindly if you call them as "Kupari". --Deepak D'Souza (talk • contribs) 13:54, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

One more thing : this is the only edit done by the creator of the article: Special:Contributions/Rumaovijay

• I am not speedy deleting this article at this time, as it does not appear to meet any of the criteria. The content may be objectionable, and it may even be terribly inaccurate, but as it stands it will need to go through AfD instead. Kafziel ^Talk 14:11, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] What does Kupari Mean?

It will perhaps be helpful to know what Kupari means: It means "Those who drank water from the well(kup)". It may seem innocuous at first but it is not. It is used by local Hindus to insult the Christians. The legend is that during the Portuguese rule a priest would bite a piece of the Eucharist and drop it in the well. The water was now "polluted" by the touch of a Christian. Anyone who drank water from this well was "polluted" and according to Hindu caste rules , lost whatever status he had and was banished from the society. This left them with no choice but to convert to Christianity. Calling a Christian person as Kupari is to tell him that he was a polluted outcast from society and to equate him with a low caste. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Deepak D'Souza (talk • contribs) 14:11, 30 April 2007 (UTC).

So? That doesn't mean the article gets deleted. We have articles for kike, spic, nigger, and countless other slurs as well. Kafziel ^Talk 14:20, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

Well there is a difference between writing an article that explains a slur and writing an article using a slur to reffer to a community in a matter of fact way. Can't you see the difference between the two.--Deepak D'Souza (talk • contribs) 04:43, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

We need a strong source for that meaning of the word. Note that wikt:kupari is silent on this word. I have provided evidence on the article that this term is in common use in the current times, and one of the sources indicates it may even be used by members of the ethic group to refer to themselves. If this ethic group calls themselves "Kupari", then discussing the originally derogatory nature of the word is a moot point. John Vandenberg 07:38, 2 May 2007 (UTC)