Players
Stephen Street (the bass guitar, guitar)
Vini Reilly (guitars)
Andrew Paresi (drums)

Officially Released Versions
Studio Version: Viva Hate album (March 1988) - Produced by Stephen Street

Live History
Never played live.

Critical Commentary
"... appalling... This is just the kind of dumb song Morrissey would write, and the opening warble of 'Bengali.../Bengali.../Bengali.../Bengali' is quite the most embarrassing... well, it's like your neo-Mannerist Dandy chum from university comes to visit you in the hols, you go down your local pub-sturdy, working class pub - and in a loud voice in the middle of the tap room complains about the fusty odour before ordering Martini and sausage rolls. The song is a caring call to the sartorially inept Asian to 'shelve your Western plans' and eschew that ghastly tank-top. It's not malicious, but it's appallingly patronising and deals with an outmoded stereotype. Much more appropriate, in 1988, to write from the snappily-dressed Punjabi's point of view about the inept media attempts to get to grips with Banghra culture, and how they get it wrong. But that wouldn't be Morrissey. It would be too clever. For the essence of Morrissey is a certain clumsy audacity, an ill-advised boldness, impetuousity and indiscretion, to say nothing of a fine disregard for the new complexities of this particular generation." - David Stubbs, Melody Maker, March 19, 1988

"Morrissey's flirtation with racism didn't really begin until The Smiths split and he became a law unto himself, gleefully wearing his own T-shirts, aspiring to be the consummate egotist. 'Viva Hate', his first 'solo' LP, contained the charmingly titled 'Bengali In Platforms', a convoluted diatribe against assimilation: 'He only wants to impress you/Bengali in platforms/He only wants to embrace your culture/And to be your friend forever/ ... Oh shelve your Western plans/ ... life is hard enough when you belong here.' And where does this somewhat gentle ridicule leave the Bengalis who were born in England? On the next boat captained by Enoch Powell? In the lurch? The main complaint Little Englanders have about immigrants is their seeming abhorrence of the host culture and feisty determination to cling to what they know and understand. But here we have someone who won't let them do the opposite either..."

"In Morrissey's mind, ('Bengali In Platforms') may be a profound statement about personal alienation, but unfortunately it would go down very well at a singalong after a National Front picnic." (Review, Q magazine, March 1988)

Thus Spake Morrissey
Regarding the line in "Bengali In Platforms": "Shelve your Western plans/And understand/That life is hard enough when you belong here". Don't you think the song could be taken as condescending?
"Yeeeees... I do think it could be taken that way, and another journalist has said that it probably will. But it's not being deliberately provocative. It's just about people who, in order to be embraced or feel at home, buy the most absurd English clothes." - Morrissey, Melody Maker, 3/12/88

While accusations of racism were spurious for "Panic," revolving around Morrissey's reasons for wanting to "Hang the DJ", tactless lyricism on the album's "Bengali In Platforms" leaves it open to a racist interpretation.
"Bob Geldof In Platforms you nearly said," quips Morrissey, treating the issue with far more contempt than it deserves.
Was it intended to have a double edge?
"No, it still doesn't, not at all. There are many people who are so obsessed wtih racism that one can't mention the word Bengali; it instantly becomes a racist song, even if you're saying, Bengali, marry me. But I still can't see any silent racism there."
Not even with the line, "Life is hard enough when you belong here"?
"Well, it is, isn't it?"
True, but that implies that Bengalis don't belong here, which isn't a very global view of the world.
"In a sense it's true. And I think that's almost true for anybody. If you went to Yugoslavia tomorrow, you'd probably feel that you didn't belong there." - Morrissey, Sounds, June 18, 1988

Comtesse Review (as if you care)
"Bengali In Platforms" is another of those songs that you really wish Morrissey had never written. Although it's a catchy tune, and it's beautifully sung, the lyrics are so condescending to persons of Indian descent that it's impossible for me to sing along without having a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Morrissey may not be racist (and, for what it's worth, I don't believe he is), but he certainly lacks tact when it comes to discussing people of different nationalities. This wasn't the first time that Morrissey would be accused of racism (Melody Maker ludicrously tried to make The Smiths' "Panic" out to be anti-black), but this is the one time I think that the accusation really sticks. "Bengali, shelve your Western plans and understand that life is hard enough when you belong here," is just a hopelessly patronising phrase, implying, as it does, that people from India don't belong in England. How Morrissey could even think of releasing a song with such a vile lyric is beyond me. Definitely one of the most shameful moments in Morrissey's career. But damn if it isn't a lovely tune.