Someday I hope to see this on the front page:
Last summer, I went to Delhi to work with a law firm. In order to save money, I stayed with an old friend of my father who had just come back after spending thirty years in London.
When I arrived, I didn’t see an Indian really. He was a fair man with a British Accent sometimes twinning with his Irish accent, fairly inherited by his marriage of twenty years to an Irish woman. After surviving for nearly ten years with little company in the one of the costliest cities in the world, he decided to return home. It took us a few days to break the ice and before we knew it, we were getting along fabulously. We would spend hours talking about his life in London and how he went there.. I guess it was liberating for him to speak to someone about a life he once had.
Of all our conversations, I will always cherish one the most. When I told him about how I thought my skin colour affected my self-image, he told me the most beautiful thing – without this tone of your skin, you’d never be half the man you are right now. You are who you are because of your skin colour.
I had never thought of it like that. I had accepted the fact that we Indians loved white skin. We wanted to date fair girls and liked helping white people. I got through school hanging out with a group of boys who were far too nerdy to make friends based on colour. However, the reason I became their friend was because I didn’t understand how we were so shallow. Only the fair boys and girls dated, and the darker kids were participants in a play they had no role.
No matter where I went, racism was systematic and imbibed. I seldom see Indian companies celebrating our dark skin. The only time we even possibly see a dark person on television is when it’s a fairness cream advertisement. And we keep quiet.
Law firms in India clearly lack a non-discrimination policy. Having worked at some of the top law firms across the country, they all seem to lack a diversity policy. No wonder I don’t see many north-east Indians around. Are they really not smart enough to get into these law firms or is the reason something that goes into the Indian Psyche?
There was a movie that Salman Khan acted in some time ago. A cheap copy of Bruce Almighty. In the movie, Salman’s sister doesn’t get any marriage proposals because she is dark. However, when he gets the same powers as God, he makes her fair. Proposals start pouring in from every place on earth. I was disturbed because I knew how this would affect the young minds who would watch this.
Everyday we’re bring conditioned to white skin. And I don’t know how or when we’re going to change. Racism is so imbibed in me that it takes me a moment to judge people of different skin colours objectively. I’m still waiting for a day when we start seeing the pattern in which racism in India functions. Maybe then we’ll have our Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.
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Comments
Racism has a bloody and sad history in the western world and it just does not fit in with the perceived tastes of some Indians to prefer fair skin for dating/ marriage etc.
yes we are regionalists (but less than many advanced cultures!) and are casteists (but far more tolerant than, you will be surprised by many other so called liberal cultures).
Lets try and have some self respect for ourselves and with a clear conscious aim to better our society rather than simply talking negative about it.
Discrimination on the basis of skin color is rampant. Something which needs to be taken care of.
As an aside this remonds me of a programme on NDTV where Barkha Dutt kept screaming (for more than an Hour!) how Indians are closet racist. My Western friend watching this programme just could not make out what the relationship is between use of Fair and Lovely creams in india and Indians becoming racist!
Racism can be based on any human trait, even skin colour ( "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin - http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cerd.htm )
With due respect to the great writing, I think you have missed the fine line between being stereotyped and being racist. In India, stereotypical images are more prevalent. For instance, a south Indian studying in the north is automatically presumed to not know Hindi and is thus, ostracised from the majority. I think this is what the situation is and this is what should be looked into more seriously.
Thanks for the encouragement. I'm trying to look into skin colour irrespective of region. So while I'm from the North, I'm dark skinned. Similarly, there are people from, say Mangalore, who are very fair. I agree this is stereotyped but isn't it racist too? We have a duty to erase these stereotypes and hopefully the future generations will see our own people objectively.
Thanks for pointing out an error. I meant to state North-East Indians. You're looking at my arguments from a narrow perspective. In fact, I would agree that if there was an Aryan and Dravidian, equally well-educated and talented, the Aryan would be picked. Its a general opinion but it holds good.
Anyway, here is an article that talk about racism in India: http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?250317
Just want to understand what the thinking there is...
and the racism is even more stark there..i have a few friends from that region and walking down the street is harder for them than for other girls..they fear being harassed because of the way they look
i read a book by chetan bhagat called two states (horrible writing,would not recommend it)..and it was strangely true about how many north indians would be suprised at the mere existence of a "gori madrasin"...
the most racist thing in india is the caste system..
i remember a lecturer once asking us..
"have you ever seen a muslim or a christian in your every day tv serial"..no.."what about a lower caste?"..no.."at least one or two dark skinned or north eastern people?"..no....i have never looked at tv serials the same way again
i said caste-ism is like racism not because it has anything to do with skin color...more because the kind of discrimination that african americans and lower castes went through and are going through is similar..and that is scary
mind it i said "we"
That's pure racism Sir/Madam. The brand of racism here is different from what we see in the west, but it is racism nonetheless!!