The deliberate violence against a hapless
African-American, George Floyd by white police officers in Minneapolis has
triggered a wave of worldwide protests and awareness-campaigns against racism
across countries. In India as well, we can see Instagramers and Twitterati
trending the “#blacklivesmatter” and bestowing their support for the
campaign.
This is done with so much fervor that it almost pretends that racism doesn’t exist in India at all. Although, when it comes to skin color, India’s dissent to discrimination faced by African-Americans in the West is tainted by hypocrisy and calls for some introspection.
How Indians Treat Africans
Approximately 60,000 Africans are residing
in India; most of these are either pursuing higher studies or work. According to
the Association of African Students in India (AASI), about 25,000 Africans
study in Indian universities, drawn by their high academic standards, low fees,
and the use of English language as the medium of instruction.
Many of these have faced racial discrimination
of some kind at some point in time during their stay in India. African men in
the capital are often stigmatized as burglars, pimps, drug peddlers, and even
cannibals, whereas women are straightaway perceived to be prostitutes.
Irrespective of their nationalities many are referred to as “Nigerians” almost
as a term of abuse.
Most Africans, when they are searching for accommodation, are faced with an emphatic “no” without any explanation. They also face stigma and harassment from authorities – many have talked about police inquiries at odd hours and have even reported extortion. They are mocked at and ganged against by the university men while the women are afraid to talk to them and most universities delay or deny any action to build camaraderie and respect among students.
Near-fatal mob attacks on African students
are also not new. In 2017, 5 Africans were attacked over an unsubstantiated
charge of drug-peddling and cannibalism after the death of a teenage boy in
Greater Noida. A year before, a 21-year-old Tanzanian woman was stripped and
attacked by the crowd in Banglore for an unproven reason.
The videos of mob-violence that come up after these incidents can render the Minneapolis episode as innocuous. Moreover, the government’s response is far from adequate. Most of the time the authorities fail to acknowledge racial discrimination let alone condemning and working against it. The Indian media and the public as well, speak unabashed against discrimination in the West and their histories and geographies but turn their face when the same happens in their own country.
Our Obsession With Fair Skin
India’s racial outlook has roots deep in her obsession with fair skin and fair people. Indian cinema is dominated by fair-skinned actors since eternity while dark people are always stereotyped as the antagonists or the sidekicks of the heroes. Newspaper and television advertisements for skin lightening creams and treatments are galore where often a girl who is dark-skinned is associated with low self-esteem before transforming into a confident woman after using the endorsed product.
The matrimonial ads as well, are prefaced
with the pre-requisite for the bride and groom to be fair. The words fair and
beautiful or fair and handsome are paired up together like they are
inseparable. The South Indian obsession with fair skin is also noteworthy
considering how even today marriage proposals are turned down if the girl is
dusky.
Relatives, parlor owners, and even
neighborhood ladies suggesting ‘face-brightening’ home remedies and treatments
is a relatable instance experienced by one and all. There have been episodes
where dark-skinned people have been mistaken for floor managers or helping
staff at supermarkets.
For many years, cultural superiority has
been linked to lighter skin tones and has paved the way for discrimination to
hold its roots in our society. These are the traits that in time, become moral
grounds for condescending individuals, and for those who think they are above
the law like the police officer in Minneapolis.
Discrimination Against North-Eastern Citizens
After the advent of the Coronavirus
pandemic, scores of reports emerged about racial stigma against the people from
North-East India. Students and elderly alike were being slandered with terms like
“corona”, “Chinese”, “chinki”, being spat at, and forcibly quarantined even
though they showed no symptoms.
In some regions, they have been denied
entry into apartment complexes, forced to evict their flats, and even asked to
leave restaurants (before lockdown) as their presence was making others
‘uncomfortable’. Even before the pandemic, the people from these states
suffered from racial bias and were called offensive names like “momo”,
“chowmein” and many more.
They say that they are respected until they
are perceived as from Korea or Japan but when they reveal that they are from
North-East, they are subjected to discrimination. Similar to the Africans,
young boys from these states are judged from their hairstyles and tattoos as
alcoholic, drug-addicts, and pimps and the women are simply termed as “cheap”
and approached like prostitutes.
All kinds of different people from the
North-East are typecast as some kind of insurgent. Yet it remains impossible
for North-easterners to stand up to discrimination for it means risking their
livelihoods which is generally what has brought them to a place like Delhi in
the first place.
Not Only Color-Bias
Now when we are talking about the US and other Western countries, we are talking only about their racial biases. On the other hand, in India, some prejudices are a lot older than America itself that endure even today. Dalits across India, after more than seven decades of independence are still not free from untouchability and racial biases. Even religious discrimination against minorities has become rife with a divisive government and a minion media.
Most of our society is still homophobic and even after much legal support, the homosexual community is still subject to taboo and prejudice. Unlike color-biases which are prominent in the North, religious, caste and sexual prejudices are ubiquitous all around the country, and are topics in their own.
Smiliar to Black Lives Matter movement,
these topics need to become a part of our daily discussions and debates. For
when we'll talk about racism it will become the part of discussion in media,
then among the policy makers and might even one day become a part of our
education system which will definitely lead to change.
There can be no better time for
introspection and self-improvement than it is today. Along with raising our
voices for world-issues, it is also necessary to look within, correct the
things which have been wrong for a long time, and set an example for the world
to follow.
Written by - Rudransh Khurana
Edited by - Arnav Mehra
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