THE CURIOUS CASE OF RACISM IN INDIA
Indians, who have been victim of racism across the world. Indians, who were tortured by the white British. Indians, who fought hard for #Blacklivesmatter. Indians who are so proud of their rich culture and heritage. But Indians, who also hate their skin colour and are racist towards their own people.
Yes! I feel we are the first race who are racist towards their own race. Confused? Let me explain how. Look around you, the obsession with fair and white skin. If you don’t have a very fair complexion then you must have heard a lot of racist comments by your friends, relatives, and sadly sometimes parents as well.
Now firstly I will start writing about my experience as a Bihari facing racism in India. I feel sad writing about this, I can see the irony, and can’t understand how the people of my race were racist towards me. ‘’YOU DON’T LOOK LIKE A BIHARI”,” YOU LEARNT THE GOOD ACCENT IN DELHI?”,”WHAT DOES HUM MEAN”,” IS LALU YADAV YOUR RELATIVE?”. Other comments that I have heard INDIANS speak for Bihari’s,” These labours from Bihar have polluted Delhi, Mumbai and all the metropolitan cities, “DON’T TALK LIKE A BIHARI” and the list continues. I will write a separate blog about the rich culture of Bihar and its contribution to India. Nevertheless, almost every Bihari has heard this,” YOU DON’T LOOK LIKE A BIHARI”, so are we not supposed to look like a human?
Chinki, momo, chinese, corona these are few of the racist slurs used for northeast Indians. But who uses these slurs? We Indians, for our brothers and sisters, all Indians are my brothers and sisters, remember! Northeast citizens faced racial discrimination amid coronavirus outbreak, they were spat on, traumatized and what not! Paras, a youtuber with more than 5 lakh followers, commented on former Union minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Ninong Ering’s appearance saying he did not “look Indian” and claimed that Arunachal Pradesh was not a part of India, but in China. So, this is what our youth has learned?
Now, coming on education and learning. I will tell you an incident where a highly qualified MBA teacher instructed her students to not behave like people from Arrah and Betiya (two villages in Bihar) and to behave properly. My heart broke a little. Then soon after another very qualified MBA teacher passed on some racists comments on Biharis, and when I tried to correct him, he wasn’t ready to listen. When your teachers are racist, what will you learn from them? What will we learn from our books, when the book denotes white as beautiful and dark as ugly? Why are we making our children hate themselves? Why are we taught to hate our colour?
First honorable mention to companies that play with the insecurities of individuals and capitalize on it. How shameful! Big brands selling fairness creams and what not, advertising how dark skin tone makes a person ugly and non-desirable whereas fair skin tone will lead to angels falling from the sky!
Second honorable mention to movies and television serials for stereotyping and playing a huge role in increasing racism in India.
Ask yourself, have ever teased someone for their skin colour, have you ever used the term ‘’BIHARI’’ as abuse or have you ever called a northeastern”CHINKI”? If no, then you are on the right path. If yes, then it’s not late. This may be because of your surroundings and the people around you. Just acknowledge it as a mistake and don’t repeat it. UNLEARN this and learn the right thing. Now if you don’t then my friend you are part of the problem.
Racism is a big problem in India, even though we acknowledge it or not. Learn to be kind, compassionate, and more tolerant of each other. What is a good curry without the various mix of spices? In the same way, various cultures, ethnic groups, traditions, and people make India beautiful. Let us all be proud of our colour and teach the same to our children. Who are we to judge the beauty of colours and the creations of universe, so let’s make India racism-free. We are all part of the same land and it equally belongs to everyone I know it will take time but one day, we will!
Always remember what Beyonce said,” Lead with heart! There are so many different ways to be brilliant. I believe you, and every human being is born with a masterful gift. Don’t make the world let you feel that you have to look a certain way to be brilliant. And no, you don’t have to speak a certain way to be brilliant. But you do have to spread your gift around the planet in a way that is authentically you”.
-KRITI SINGH