Undesired and Uncomfortable
An image found in a child’s English school book in India There is an image that forms in your mind when you are asked, ‘What is...
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Is Fair the only way to be lovely
in India?
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India has many different cultures spread across its vast lands. Cultures that come with varied religions, people, lives and outlooks. So, it's no surprise that Indians have had an extremely complicated relationship with colourism, a bias based on the colour of the skin. The internalised prejudice that prefers light skin over dark skin is rampant in many different aspects of our lifestyles. Recently, due to social media, the discussion around colourism has started and gained a lot of attention, it's important to not let this conversation die out.
Through this piece, I hope to help you understand why this bias exists, how it has been propagated and why, after these many years, we have decided to address it.
OUR SPEAKERS
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SPEAKING FOR US
Both 'Unapologetically Brown' and 'South Asian Today' work towards providing a voice for the South Asian community, who often feel unrepresented in multiple media platforms
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SPEAKING AMONG US
These beautiful and wonderful people open up about present and past struggles related to colourism. They give us insight into their own lives relating to topics that are being discussed.
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Anjana Panju
UX Designer, Female, 24
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Hi, I'm Anjana. I live in Pune, India. I'm originally from the southern part of India, this place called Chennai in Tamil Nadu. I definitely don't consider myself fair nor am I dark. I'm probably more in the middle of dark and fair. I suppose I should call myself brown-skinned. Yeah.
Aditya Lenka
Social Media Manager, Male, 29
New Delhi, India
I come from an Army background so most of what I'll be telling you comes from that perspective. I've lived all around India except North-East India. I would consider myself dark-skinned in the spectrum of Indian skin tones
Chaitanya Sree
Student, Female, 24
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
I am a student at Swinburne University. Yeah, I consider myself brown skin but then yeah, it does fall under the darker skin tones in the spectrum. So yeah, I am brown-skinned.
Arun Raj
Tech Support, Male, 28
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Hi, guys! I am from Bangalore in India. Yes, I consider myself dark-skinned. My skin is considered darker than most Indians for sure
COLOURISM IN INDIAN CULTURE
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In 1500 BC, fair-skinned Aryans entered India and sought control of the North by pushing the original settlers (Dravidians) to the South. They did so by disregarding any local culture and establishing Caste-based segregation. The main feature of this categorisation was skin colour and the intent was to protect the high “class” of the newly settled Aryans. It ensured that the most prestigious professions were given to fair people and dirty, unclean professions were handed to darker people in the community. The major castes, in order of importance, were Brahmans (Priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (farmers & traders) and finally the Shudras (the lowest in the system, often given the menial jobs) (Williams, 2010). Street sweepers and toilet cleaners were unclassified and kept separate from the caste hierarchy, they were usually the darkest in the community and were called; the untouchables.
Colourism In Indian Culture
The Caste system was abolished in 1951 for two reasons: First, to promote an idea of “community”. Second, after 3000 years of invasions by the west, the “Indian race” is essentially obscure (SARAF, 2020). However, India’s obsession with skin colour and the pre-existing bias based on it survived through the years. There is no denying that light-skinned Indians hold certain privileges over their dark-skinned fellow citizens. These privileges are generally opportunity based and control job markets such as the media industry.
Opportunities
ELEMENTS OF THE DILEMMA
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Growing up in India, one realizes that skin colour is kind of a currency in our society. That if you're dark, you should be ashamed of yourself and if you're light, you should be proud of yourself.
Here are some of the elements that contribute to the overall issue by further propagating colourism
CONCLUSION
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An article in 'Firstpost' by Sujit Singh talks about why before the BLM movement, there was no active discussion about colourism. He mentions that this may be because of Indian’s revel on the idea that at least they are not as dark as someone else/some other community. Many Indians are quick to counter any statements that describe them as being dark by calling themselves, ‘wheatish’, ‘not as brown’ and such. This may be because till now, our internalised colourism was just an endless circle of loathing, fixing and repeating. Thankfully, this is changing.
People are finally growing tired of facing constant instances of colour based prejudices, citizens with access to smartphones and social media have once again started talking about racism and other forms of discriminations. We have finally started questioning brands and other influencers when they make prejudicial statements or if they encourage any colouristic/castest/racist products/brands. This change, however, starts by individually holding ourselves and the society accountable.
Each of our interviewees has seen substantial growth in themselves through constant education and understanding. They are part of the movement against colourism and they actively talk about it in whatever ways that they can. Neither of them claims to know everything there is to know about the movement but each of them is willing to learn
Sujit Singh
When Indians hear of George Floyd – to the extent we hear of him at all – we do not think ‘this could have been me’; we think ‘Thank God this will never be me.”
There’s a long way to go with this movement and thankfully, we are well on our way.
Through this piece, we also discovered how closely Colourism is integrated with many different kinds of discriminations, casteism being at the top of the list. The markers of class and status continue to exist and very much dependent on skin colour. So while BLM may have started a conversation, it is our responsibility to keep it going.
Acknowledgement
This section is dedicated to the wonderful people who helped with this project, it wouldn’t have been possible without you. Thank you for contributing your time and trusting me with your stories and experiences. I hope I have done them justice.
I would also like to thank ‘Unapologetically Brown’ and ‘South Asian Today’ for speaking to me about this relevant issue and sharing their thoughts and ideas. You are doing a wonderful job of representing the South Asian community.
Lastly, I would like to extend my gratitude to my guide, Mr Andrew Garton for supporting my idea and guiding me throughout the project.
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Shriya Susan Varghese
Hope you enjoyed my piece!
Much like the readers of this post, I too am constantly learning and educating myself about these topics. I hope to further gain an understanding of these challenging subjects and recognize how I can help others with this knowledge. This piece stands against colourism and any acts, statements or deeds for it. Please do share your feedback and share the piece if you like it!
Thank You.
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