After progressively diminishing the character, it appears that The Simpsons might be gearing up to drop Kwik-E-Mart clerk and Indian-American icon, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon.

Well, kind of Indian-American. He’s a brown character with an exaggerated Indian accent voiced by a white guy (Hank Azaria).

Apu has gotten a lot of flak lately for being racist depiction of Indian-Americans. One of my favorite comedians, Hari Kondabolu, even released a documentary about it (The Problem with Apu) last year.

But growing up in the 1990s, Apu was something of a hero for me. I watched hundreds of Simpsons’ episodes back then and thousands of scenes are seared into my mind – but none more than the end of a season four episode.