How India’s new obsession with fair skin fuel racism

by Anupama Kumari February 25, 2021, 12:57 pm 13.3k Views

Dhoop mein mat jao kaali ho jaogi...( Don’t go out in the sun your skin will become dark.)

Safed cheezein khao rang saaf hoga... ( Eat white coloured food, the skin color will get brighter)

Tumhe itna gora ladka kaise mil gya tum toh kali ho ?? ( how do you get a fair boyfriend, even you are black?)

Ladki toh achi hai par rang kala hai...( The girl is nice , but the complexion is dark)

Ladka acha hai par kitna kala hai… (The boy is nice, but he is dark-skinned.)

The people owning the same skin tone as mine must have heard these rhetorical phrases all their lives. With this in mind there is no denying that racism still exists in our society and fair ones are more acceptable. In reality people in India have an unfair obsession with the fair skin and hence given birth to racism. Certainly even parents deny to accept their own child’s skin color. I mean how someone’s body color can decide a person’s nature and its capabilities ? Whosoever is dark skinned are named as “kallu”. This is the thought process of our nation India.

The wrong color or the wrong thought?

Contemporary India considers dark skin inferior and ugly unlike ancient India. In folk poetry, bards described Krishna as ‘ghan-shyam’ which means as dark as a monsoon cloud. The dark color was acceptable as the skin color of heroes. But now its different , God is also dragged into the fairness world. In many new temples, people are increasingly choosing shrines of Krishna in marble over black stone . Due to discomfort with the dark complexion the natural black is becoming the supernatural white.

Markedly the wave of irrational thoughts has fuelled racism in every corner of society. In the first place the idea of such prejudice demoralizes someone’s self-esteem and personal relationship , affects their mental health and invokes feelings of begrudge . But hey, who cares? You are not fair, but saying so is fair? I always wondered Why fair is not only just ‘lovely’ because it also gets the job or promotion ?

I am a dark-skinned female and luckily never knew what racism is actually in childhood until I went to college. After encountering the shades of skin color I started believing being black is a bad thing. Explicitly I did not like to snap and always be conscious about choosing the clothes color . I never used to wear white or light colored clothes so that I did not end up looking darker . Well, new magical words like dusky and wheatish were invented and acted as a saviour of my life. Eventually, I transformed from a ‘black lady’ to a ‘brown lady’. Bingo!!

The color racism of Modern India

Market Politics

The taboo of being fair is fully and loudly supported in India. Markets are flooded with many beauty products endorsed by Bollywood celebrities to make the skin color whiter.

Most compelling evidence as reviewed by source Washington Universal law , market size for “fairness” cream and lotion in India is estimated to be approximately 450 million USD. The leading players in the market include Hindustan UniLever ‘Fair & Lovely’ with 76% of the market share . Moreover Men can use “ Emami- Fair & Handsome” cream which comes with a skin tone measuring scale endorsed by superstars Shahrukh Khan .

Skin whitening creams and bleaches in the Indian market do not stop at lightening facial or body color. By the same token some products are transformative turning brown colored vaginas and nipples lighter and pink. They make them believe that it dispels the darkness color of skin and thus satisfies the hunger of fairness.

Marriage and color

Indians have a great love for fair skin tone. Nowadays, the marriage scheme demands fairness. When the mind is knotted with ‘fairness taboo” , the problem lies inside , never outside. Matrimonial advertisements of all castes and religion provide a great insight into the one constant attribute needed in a potential partner—fair skin. However, Men who are dark but have a higher financial status can break the stigma attached to dark skin.

Caste and color

Surprisingly the long history of India’s witness caste is exponentially related to color. From mughals to British colonial all marauders were light skinned who ruled over the dark skinned Indian.

During ancient times, Brahmins were those who have expanded their mind through tapasya or yagna and gain high standards of knowledge irrespective of skin color. Now, Dalits are considered to be lower caste and of course Brahmins are rooted as upper caste .

In the final analysis the society that does not have the room for imperfection can never be a happy society. After all we must widen our world by breaking free from the maze of expectation . If you identify the uniqueness of your flaws and make them beautiful then nothing matters. It’s like mind over matter. If you don’t mind ; it doesn’t matter. It’s your body , your color nobody has the right to make fun of it. You are born the way you are; you can carry your body well and walk with utmost confidence.

Trust me , my color didn’t come in my way for anything I did in my life; it has no role to play even in the major events of my life like from growing professionally to falling in love . I don’t understand why people deny to accept dark skinned ? Lets make a rule Jo jaisa hai waisa sahi hai..!! Altogether wear the smile and kill such beliefs with your confidence and expand exponentially.

But the question is , are Indians still a fan of stereotypical belief or a darkness beauty??

Source

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Anupama Kumari: Being in love with food , yoga , sketching and fashion , I joined this Internet world with full of entertainment . I am a wildcat who take risk and do what I Love .