The unfair obsession with fairness - I

To start with 'We Indians are very racist, racism is ingrained in us' period.

Saying which racism is not just in India, its the world over but ironically there they refer to different races and discriminate but whereas here in India we all belong to the same race and still get discriminated.

We are grandly (mis) quoted as the land of colours. All our festivals, our celebrations, ceremonies are so colourful and so energetic that they are most joyful to participate in and watch. Colours to us Indians represent Grandeur, it represents richness, it represents happiness and it represents the purity that we carry in any celebration or life's moments.

However when it comes to the colour of us indians skin we see everyone taking sides, basking for fair skin, attempting to get one, calling names to the dark one and what not.

Our country has a long history and obsession with the skin colour, owing to the caste system and culture .. but again I also wonder whether this preference to fair skin is from our natural instinct towards white vs black, day vs night, good vs bad. Or is it due to the preconceived notion, created by hundreds of years of colonial rule, the relative success of western whites over rest of the world.

Whatever that has caused this mindset is now slowly destroying lives, confidence and much to which is subjected to the unfair pressure by peer groups, magazines, billboards and TV adverts that perpetuate the idea that fair is the ideal.

Appearances should not be skin based.

This colour tone madness is so rampant especially for those seeking Grooms in India that i feel that our insensitively saturated society has successfully found means to just make a woman guilty for how she looks and have her silenced and inferior to her spouse,

This having said is not just here in India this is everywhere where such misconceptions lead to a generation feel guilty resulting in underpayment and belittlement, to forced marriages, genital mutilation, veiled, imprisoned and whatnot, just depends to what country you look and it becomes more or less obvious… that we Humans have successfully dehumanised ourselves.

Picture Courtesy: http://www.theindependentindia.com/