Honestly, I could care less what the show does at this point. It's been dead for years. But while the fact that they got rid of Apu instead of actually dealing with the problem (or just ignoring it altogether) seems silly, I can see from a business perspective why they would get rid of him. I mean, most people have stopped watching the show, and the general reaction to newer seasons has already been lukewarm. It makes sense that a dying cashgrab, which is designed to be as non offensive as possible at this point, would want to get rid of a character like Apu. Apu, for better or worse has become something of a controversial and political figure.