The Simpsons to axe Apu? Indians have their say

Defenders says Apu is only one of many stereotypes on the show, and some even claim he helped them connect with people from other cultures.

But others say his characterisation of South East Asians is badly outdated and has emboldened those seeking to mock and belittle their communities.

“I think its time for Apu to be written out of the Simpsons,” Neena Tamber, 23, told the Press Association.

“I understand that the Simpsons plays up to stereotypes with their characters, but there isn’t a large amount of representation on TV of Indian people, and what there is represents something similar to Apu,” she said.

The offender caseworker, from Cheshire, said her family has experienced prejudice for being Indian due to Apu.

“I tweeted that I was offended by the character and people responded with ‘Thank you, come again’,” said Neena, referencing the shopkeeper’s catchphrase.

“I want people to realise things that were perhaps more accepted when they began can be changed and considered as inappropriate now.

“Just because my parents’ generation may not have had a platform or felt that they couldn’t express their dislike of these stereotypes, it doesn’t mean it wasn’t there.”

Apu has been a regular fixture on the Simpsons since 1990, but social media has been awash with debate about the role since Indian comedian Hari Kondabolu’s documentary, The Problem With Apu, last year.

In the wake of the debate, Netflix producer Adi Shankar - who had been attempting to create a new story for Apu with the help of crowdsourcing - told Indiewire that the show plans to “drop the character altogether”, citing “multiple sources” in the production team.

The Simpsons’ Al Jean responded by tweeting Shankar “does not speak for our show”.

Among those expressing their dismay at the prospect of Apu’s departure was Kondabolu, who tweeted: “There are so many ways to make Apu work without getting rid of him. If true, this sucks.”

Others of Indian heritage, such as 26-year-old Chris, believe Apu should not be forced out of the show.

“Even though he is a stereotype, the other characters are shown to regard him as part of their community,” said the student, who is based in Sydney, Australia.

“If you want to nitpick faults as such in Apu, pretty much every single character in Simpsons is susceptible.

“I can remember Groundskeeper Willie, Dr Nick, Cletus Spuckler etc, who all bore negative stereotypes.”

Chris said he did experience racism at school, but never saw references to Apu as derogatory.

“Although I can never forget the negative remarks, I always felt the people who made such remarks did so because of the poor schooling they have received,” he said.

“Initially, kids did not know how to react to us and obviously Apu was used as a benchmark by some students on how to respond to the ‘aliens’ in their school.”

He claimed that the character helped “my friends to understand my background and empathise with me in certain situations”.

“You can almost say Apu helped me make friends in a new environment,” he added.

Fellow student Megan Gakhreja has a different view.

“Whenever peers at school would find out that my father is from India they thought speaking in thi