Most of us know what Fair and Lovely is and what it claims to do for us, even though some of us don't use it. Enough has been said about our fascination for fair skin and plenty of blogs have been written, taking a dig at our love for white skin. Has anything changed yet? No. Will things ever change in future? Maybe, but most likely, NO. As Indians, we will continue to wish we had fairer skin. We will continue to envy those fairer than us. We will look down on those darker than us. We will continue to wake up in the morning and go through the matrimonial page and see the word "wheatish" a million times. Those manufacturing fairness creams will keep laughing their way to the banks.
The latest news I read in the paper was about one of the cheer leading squad in the ongoing IPL tournament. These girls were flown in all the way from London, and a few matches ago, the black skinned girls were asked to sit out and not take stage. When asked why, one of the organizers casually mentioned that it was because of their skin color. Have we become so senseless? In this day and age, we still hold on to baseless beliefs and are we stupid enough to judge a person based on their skin color? Apparently we are. In a western country, this act would be considered as a serious case of racism and those responsible would have been sued without mercy. Why then do we, as a nation get away when it comes to matters regarding the color of the skin? I sometimes think that we could easily put the KKK to shame. We however, can be so nonchalant about it.
While I was in the USA, I met an African American man who said that he had visited India few years ago, along with a Caucasian man. He casually mentioned that he was treated differently than his white companion, by the general public. Though there were no racial remarks, he said that he was able to notice the difference in the way people related to him and his companion. Listening to that, I could not help but feel ashamed to say that I was from that very country that treats people differently based on their skin color.
I have spent a lot of time thinking about why we think white is better. I don't think that there is one right answer to this perplexing query. However, here is what I think, and I believe that to a great degree it makes sense. Until about 60 years ago, we were ruled and dominated by the white man. This domination was spread across few generations and for a very long time, we as a nation were powerless against the might of the white man, who plundered us and pretty much used us as slaves to do their dirty work. Somewhere along the way, we began to associate power and domination with the skin color. The white man is powerful, it must have something to do with his skin, we thought. Once the white man was kicked out of our country, we were left with our own power struggle, where we fought against each other to gain power. States against states. Castes against castes. Through all this, we developed this notion that to have power meant to be fair skinned. No one likes to be the oppressed and one way to feel superior was to have fairer skin. The white man had done enough damage, by leaving us with the notion that white means power.
Few generations passed by, but this concept has hardly changed. Though no one taught us that fair skin is more in demand, we grow up in an environment that trains us unconsciously to believe so. We unconsciously exhibit it in our daily lives and eventually we will unconsciously pass it on to our children. What can we do? For starts, I think that being aware of why we feel this way, is good enough. Once we understand where our beliefs come from, we would be in a position to think more rationally and change accordingly.
If this awareness does not spread fast enough, don't be surprised when you ask your kid what kind of a husband/wife would he/she want to have, and hear them say "wheatish."
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