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May252008
‘Colourist’ Indians
Last week, two cheerleaders from the Punjab IPL team were asked not to perform. Reason given that “people here did not like dark skinned girls”. And a game later, their contract was terminated. Racism? Racism in India, an India which boasts of peace and tranquility, an India which is against racism, an India which saved its brother Bhajji from racist allegation. Nope, its not racism. Its called colourism.
An editorial (21/5/08) in The New Indian Express shed light on this phenomenon. It took an example from the matrimonial sheaves in every newspaper, wherein hopeful parents advertised with “looking for fair skinned girl/boy”. Elders I know rate the match between a boy and a girl by comparing their ‘colour’.
When I was young, I tried my best to unravel the philosophy behind this segregation. I still don’t have an answer. When you fall in love, do you notice how dark or fair your partner is? Heck, do you even notice how physically beautiful she/he is? Most often, it is the beauty within (i.e. character. no puns intended) which attracts the partner.
If the suitability of a bride or a groom decided her or his ‘fairness’, then what does fairness stand for? Why does fairer mean better? Does it stand for how nice the person is? Does it stand for the place where he or she was brought up? Does it stand for how good the family is? Does it stand for the ability to love and be loved?
Or, does it stand for nothing. Could it be just a notion brought about by the society, like the countless other blind and senseless notions? Something introduced just so that the society would have a role in deciding the progress of a relationship?
Heck, the complexion of a person stands for nothing! It does not define how the person thinks, acts, nor define his or her beliefs. It does not specify the qualities or the character of the person. It does not indicate how educated the person is. Above all, it sure as heaven doesn’t decide how much a person can love, or be loved.
Then why do we still persist with the notion of colourism? Is it because traditionally black is associated with death, and white with angels? Thats twisted! Just think of Nelson Mandela and Osama Bin Laden and these traditional beliefs can easily be crumpled and thrown into a dustbin!
And who is Wizcraft International Entertainment, the managers of the cheerleaders for Kings of Punjab, to decide that ‘people here don’t like dark-skinned girls’.
The views expressed in this post are those of the writer and are not necessarily endorsed by Mutiny.in
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I am Name!
001
11:43 am
well you said it yourself that people associate “fair” people with angles. You are contradicting yourself in the post. And if you look around people do like fair skinned people. I don’t know why, but a media company will always bank on what people “like” and not the “right” thing.
I know now you are going to say that it’s there “moral responsibility” to not do something like that, but there are different kinds of people.
——————————
I believe the blog is just banking on criticizing random stuff.. maybe a focused approach will be “useful”, not in popular blog terms, but in human terms, you can build some leadership that way. But if you are not aiming for that, then have it your way.
PS : I normally don’t give “not-asked” advices, but i am a RSS reader of your blog and i believe this is my first comment, so i concatenated the comments!
gf hs!
1conoclast
002
12:29 pm
And the sad thing is that there will be no hue & cry about this…! Real issues don’t seem to matter in India… Sad, very sad…
Mohan
003
2:03 pm
Uh, @ I am Name
Let me clear one of your doubts first. Quoting myself from the post -
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Then why do we still persist with the notion of colourism? Is it because traditionally black is associated with death, and white with angels? Thats twisted!
—
I did not say that people associate fairness with angels. I said that the COLOUR WHITE is TRADITIONALLY associated with ANGELS. And I was question whether this was the reason why ‘fairness’ had an edge over ‘darkness’ in terms of complexion.
“And if you look around people do like fair skinned people. ”
Which is what I’m questioning in this post. duh.
The sole message conveyed through the post is this : Most Indians are colourists. Why? Isn’t it time to change?
And why do I do this? Because there is an age old time tested philosophy that one cannot correct his/her errors, unless he/she realises that it is an error.
“I don’t know why, but a media company will always bank on what people “like” and not the “right” thing.”
Thats a no brainer. Because they want short term profits and not long term well being.
“I know now you are going to say that it’s there “moral responsibility” to not do something like that, but there are different kinds of people.”
Well, there is a slight amount of moral responsibility, yes. But if we carry on like this (”We’re no racists! Colourists, maybe…”), then, its either get rid of this notion or get kicked in the a$$.
“I believe the blog is just banking on criticizing random stuff.. ‘
Buddy, first open your eyes and see that we’re not just criticizing (more popularly known as cribbing) but we’re questioning the notion, suggesting an alternative, and inviting responses to substantiate the primary notion.
“but i am a RSS reader of your blog and i believe this is my first comment, so i concatenated the comments!”
Congrats! And Thank you! It is only by commenting and providing alternate views that we, the writers and readers of this blog, can broaden our mindscapes.
@1conoclast
Just wait buddy, just wait… Just wait until this issue hits the UK Editorials. Most Indian editorials are comparing this situation to the Shilpa Shetty racism issue, and how the UK citizens handled it. Now the British newspapers will want to know why the cheerleaders issue was buried in India.
But then, India is a bit too preoccupied with inflation, the fuel price hike, a couple of blasts, alcohol deaths, the nuke deal and new airports to bother about minute things like this…
Ketan
004
2:21 pm
Phew..Wait till this shit hits the fan people!!! Colorism on a platform like the IPL!!!
Lalit Modi better start stocking up all the Fair and Handsome (Lovely) to cover up his svelte looks! And Wizcraft International better come up with something Wizardous, or they will have to change the company name to Wizcraft Desi!
Goody will be rich..
baruk
005
12:05 pm
ROTFL.
people don’t like dark skinned boys either. ergo, shouldn’t sreesanth exit?
Mohan
006
12:34 pm
@Ketan - heh heh heh
@baruk - dude, this post is is sort of aiming at the inverse of your thoughts…
baruk
007
1:35 pm
and, to think of it, how many in the king’s XI (sreesanth apart) qualify the ‘fairness’ test? http://mutiny.in/?wp-subscription-manager=1&email=feddabonn%40gmail.com&key=83987bf973bf7ad8f88c6a30452c57e9&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fmutiny.in%2F2008%2F05%2F25%2Fcolourist-indians%2F
Manage your subscriptions
Kima
008
4:44 pm
“I am name” has a very good point. When it comes to profit maximization, do you think most of these media moghuls even care about what is right or wrong? To them, all that matters is how to churn in as much money as possible.
They exploit various social evils and outrageous preconceived notions people have about color, like black is ugly and white is beautiful, and then they conduct long workshops on people trying to convince (and brainwash) them that that is true.
I agree with Mohan too. Most Indians are colourists. Why? Isn’t it time to change?
It definitely is time to change, but it is also difficult to change if these so called Advertising agencies continue to feed the people with all these crap. Sure, maybe they are feeding the people what they want, but trust me, if they start feeding the people a different course of meal, the hungry people will still eat it.
After all, we’re a hungry lot, aren’t we?
I hope you get my point.
amreen
009
7:56 pm
i dun think colorism can juz be restricted to indian… world over ppl prefer white/fair skin color. be it ur soul-mate or job oppurtunities..
sad but tru… u dun c an ad with dark complexioned model… n the worst part… if ur fair.. u tend to get more respect!… prob thts how it is or thts how its depicted.
attitudes will most def. take time to change… lets hope it does… coz judging a person by the color of their complexion is wrong! as mohan ritely said it does not say anyting about a persons upbringing, their family, their personality.. ur not even giving tht person an oppurtunity to present themselves n uve already judged tem.. its a sad n wrong
Angry Indian
010
9:39 pm
Amreen, I am sure Naomi Campbell will disagree. All over the world nowadays, people rush to get a tan at the slightest opportunity.
Traditionally in our country as well, Krishna, who is considered as God had a thousand wives and had a zillion other women who were in love with him. Krishna was a dark dude, so not sure where we got this concept.
My name is not relevant and I am the Angry Indian
http://www.AngryIndian.com
Mohan
011
11:10 pm
@Amreen - absolutely not Amreen. In very many places, dark is considered good! Like Angry Indian says, world over, people try to get a tan!
And BTW, Angry Indian, “white”=good is a colonialist concept. i.e. It was forced upon us by the invading British, and now it has sort of formed a part of our mindset. Another of the colonialist ideas was that English was better than our local languages, which, again, you see in our mindsets…
@ Amreen - yes, its sad and wrong. Unfortunately, its not an ‘attitude’. Its more like a mindset. We need to break out of it, not change it.
Angry Indian
012
2:03 am
Aah the British, why didn’t I think of them before…:-)
My name is not relevant and I am the Angry Indian
http://www.AngryIndian.com
Angry Indian
013
2:10 am
On a lighter note an Indian friend of mine who’s just returned from a 6 month trip to the US, couldn’t wait to tell us how she waited for the winter to get over in the US so she could get a tan….I couldn’t help but double over. The girl had lived all her life in India and wasn’t what one would consider fair in color.
The word fair also is a colonial legacy I believe.
My name is not relevant and I am the Angry Indian
http://www.AngryIndian.com
Pranav
014
2:28 am
“And BTW, Angry Indian, “white”=good is a colonialist concept. i.e. It was forced upon us by the invading British, ”
Actually, it was forced upon ‘us’ by the invading Aryans/Central Asians, many thousands of years ago and later the greeks and Persians and afghans about 2000-1000 years ago if historical data and theories are anything to go by.
Bernadette
015
4:03 am
This evening in outer London I saw a group of stunningly beautiful young women strolling along in the evening sun. They were quite dusky, I dunno, south Indian? not sure, but they were so eyecatching in stylish casuals.
I am as pale as a Celt gets without looking comatose and bleached, complete with troublesome freckles, and to me, these young women, even under a lousy May sun, looked healthy and confident.
Sad to see such a stubborn colour prejudice in the Indian community.
Sudarshan
016
3:52 pm
Okay. You go ahead and employ them. This is a free country.
You go ahead and marry them. Why do you feel you have the authority to ask people to behave the way you want them to?
Mohan
017
12:01 am
@Pranav - I would object! You just mentioned most of the world
I wouldn’t accept that a ‘colour’ sense prevailed in those periods…. And ofcourse, Persians then were more brown that fair.
Please do provide the references to the historical records you mention, so that we can update our knowledge.
@Benadette - Oh, it doesn’t matter if you’re healthy or not… And in the case of girls in India, the more malnourished, the better
(of course, this is prevalent all over the world in terms of Bulimia and Anorexia, but I would say that the Indian marriage ‘business’ is the only widespread enforcement of it 
)
@Sudarshan - I never asked anyone to behave in any manner. I thought that the ‘colour’ thing was a mindset, and that people had to break out of it. Dear sir, if you had a dark skinned daughter, would you still say the same thing?
Of course, India is a free country, and thus, I exercise my freedom of speech and expression to question a notion which we blindly believe in, and one which I believe is false. You may or may not share my views. Hopefully, before typing your reply, you’ve atleast tried to digest what I’ve said, and decided that it was against your better health. If not, I advise you try to understand my view with an open mind; and if you’re still against it, no problemo! To each his/her own…
And please do understand that I’m not asking anyone to do anything. I’m merely pointing out that this notion could be a falsely perceived one, and that it could be corrected. If you read, understand, and go with my view, you could break out of the mindset, and be a better person. If you read, understand, and don’t go with my view, you could follow what you believe in, and be a better person. If you do not read, do not understand, and speak against my views with a prejudiced mindset, sorry buddy, take a hike.
Cheers
Wisemouse
018
12:22 am
By saying fair=better, we are degrading ourselves in front of the fairer people who are europeans and americans, and putting ourselves on top of the blacks or Africans. Also this puts the majority of Indians who are darkskinned in the undesirable status. This concept was not inherent with us due to the invading aryans or moghuls but taught to us as part of a design to inculcate English superiority by McCaulay during the British rule. More specifically it was to prevent intermixing of Indian maidservants and British officers during the rule, thereby protecting power and property. Also this protected the sanctity of the pure white woman (and consequently denigrated the brown Indian woman). This culture carried on by the Indian civil service by the British handing over the Indian civil service to lighter skinned Indians. Also indirectly it plants a rift between the fairskinned north Indians and darkskinned south Indians. Historically the caste structure was not based on color but occupation like priests were Brahmins, warriors were Kshatriyas, menial laborers were Shudras which was not derogatory at the time. The caste system was ridigly entrenched by the British taking caste based census in India which led to a formal separation of the castes. If you look at Indian history we have figures like Krishna, Draupadi etc who are darkskinned. However in the west, anyone with darkskin is looked down as being morally debauched and inherently inferior. Lot of journal articles have been written that cite these facts, more specifically the Journal of South Asian studies