Racism in India

One of the first and the most advanced civilizations in the world lived in the Northern Indus valley region of India and what is now Pakistan. This civilization was so advanced that it had a sewer system even before western civilization. Massive flooding is one of the theories as to why this civilization had been wiped. Another factor was the invasion of the Aryan race. The white-skinned people came from what is now Iran and the former USSR. They invaded the northern plains and they either killed or enslaved most of the Indus Valley people, who are now known as the Dravidians.

After the invasion, one should just assume that nature had taken course in the human evolution. The fair skinned invader proclaimed to be superior to their darker skinned counterparts. This historically proven racism is the backbone of the many Indias people are unaware of.

Racism in India :

i’ll mention a few cases here

Case I :

This is malavika mohanan . she is an actor in kollywood

The actor wrote that when she was 14 years old, one of her friends was not allowed to drink tea as her friend's mother would believe that drinking tea darkened a person's complexion. She also revealed that her friend's mother made a mean comment about her skin tone which left her perplexed. to be an actress in india it’s an unsaid rule that she must be fair , but they too have faced this issue .

Case II :

This happened in late 2018 . there was an app called musically , during that time a bad fight was incited between tamil nadu and kerala boys , A guy from TN posted a video saying that as there are frequent floods in kerala , kerala guys should let kerala girls to marry TN guys . And this video went viral in kerala . seeing this video was trending the guy who uploaded the video deleted it , but already some guys downloaded then it was circulated on all social media platforms , To this a guy from kerala replied that “ we know about your tamil girls who’re black in colour , just see for those ugly girls you moron “ “ he didn’t say these exact words but the meaning of those words he spoke litreally mean this . Seeing this my blood boiled , because how can he bash an entire group of girls from a particular race based upon their colour cause a guy spoke about them . This is so mean

This incident made me to think , i’ll just tell a situation which every guy from south india can relate . In a high school , if a mallu girls joins newly , then this news spreads like a forest fire in the whole class . just think in the pov of that malyalam girl she’s only attractive to you coz of her race , her language and she’s fair . this may also make the mindset of the fellow tamil girls in the class and build a inferiority complex in them . this may create a hype to those particular girls , this situation is true even when the genders are reversed .

the most disgusting thing is , major televison channels had conducted talk shows on whether who’s more beautiful tamil girls or kerala girls . On seeing this a question arised in me how can we judge someone and create a hype for them based on their skin colour / tone .

The other side :

Despite what people think, India is a very racist country. Just recently there were news reports that some African students who were studying in India were beaten up by drunk Indians. Unfortunately some of the attacks did happen in the South. This issue of racism is compounded by the media’s obsessions with the fairer skin. Movies, TV series, news anchors and every billboards are biased against the Dravidians. There are even advertisements for skin creams that will help people get fairer skin. One of the advertisement even shows how the girl picks a white skinned boy over the dark skinned best friend and the guy retorting, "Switch to a cream which will make your skin fairer!" Here in India there, is a structural nature in the racism. In a society where marriages are arranged, a darker skinned groom or bride will always be at the bottom of the list. Even when it comes to cinema, the south Indian movies are never chosen for an international accolade because the Indian film control board is in the North. All the while, it is the south Indian movies which get all the critical national awards.

A deep-rooted obsession :

India's obsession with fair skin is well known and deep-rooted. Colour prejudice is widespread and practised openly across the country.

Indian society believes skin colour determines a person's worth. In our culture, all virtues are associated with "fair" while anything dark has negative connotations. TV programmes, movies, billboards, advertisements, they all reinforce the idea that "fair is beautiful".

The Advertising Standards Council of India attempted to address skin-based discrimination in 2014 by banning ads that depict people with darker skin as inferior.

This was a step in the right direction, but it failed to change much.

Four years later, India's media and advertisement industries are still promoting the idea that women with dark complexions should aspire to be fairer.

And most dark-skinned women are still desperately trying to look fair. Some use makeup that is meant for lighter skinned women, choosing to look "whitewashed" rather than embracing their natural skin tone. Others use bleaching products.

I know people who are at least a good 10 shades lighter than me who feel their skin colour is not good enough.

In India, everyone wants to be fairer.

Types of Racial Discrimination in India :

A)Direct discrimination: This happens when somebody treats you more regrettable than someone else in a comparable circumstance in view of your race.

For illustration – if a letting organization would not let a level to you in view of your race, this would be immediate race separation

B)Indirect discrimination: This happens when an association has a specific approach or method for working that puts individuals of your racial gathering at a disadvantage.

For illustration – a hairdresser declines to appoint as a stylist that cover their own particular hair. This would put any Muslim ladies or Sikh men who cover their hair off guard while applying for a position as a stylist.

In some cases, indirect race segregation can be allowed if the association or manager can show to demonstrate that there is a justifiable reason purpose behind the separation. This is known as target support.

In case, a Somalian refugee searcher tries to open a ledger however the bank expresses that so as to be qualified you need to be occupant in the UK for a year and have a lasting location. The Somalian man can’t open a ledger. The bank would need to demonstrate that its approach was essential for business reasons, (for example, to avoid misrepresentation) and that there was no viable option.

C) Harassment: 

Harassment happens when somebody makes you feel humiliated, annoyed or corrupted.

For illustration – a youthful British Asian man at work continues being known as a bigot name by associates. His associates say it is simply chit-chat, yet the representative is offended and humiliated by it. Provocation can never be legitimized. However if an association or boss can demonstrate that it did all that it could do to prevent individuals who work in it, you won’t have the capacity to make a claim for harassment against it.

D) Victimisation :

This is the point at which you are treated very badly on the grounds that you have complained about the racial discrimination faced under the Equality To act or likewise happen in the case when you are supporting somebody who has made a protest of race-related separation.

For illustration – the young fellow in the case above needs to make a formal protestation about his treatment. His chief debilitates to sack him unless he drops the objection.

Okay i’ll mention some laws provided by our government against any form of discrimination.

Current status of racism law in India :

The Home Ministry proposes to include a provision in Section 153(A) of the Indian Penal Code.

• As of late, Shashi Tharoor, MP, presented the Anti-Discrimination and Equality Bill 2016. The law delivers the need to secure everybody who is liable to all types of out of line separation under a solitary extensive enactment which ought to be nonpartisan and free from inclination. The bill manages direct separation and indirect separation, badgering, isolation, biased brutality, exploitation. The focal government is yet to send the Bill to a parliamentary standing board of trustees for a more extensive open interview and investigation and get ready for its institution.
• In 2015, the Ministry of Home Affairs had asked the Delhi High Court to present two new sections which will control racial discrimination.

This section was first added in the Code by the Indian Penal Code (Amendment) Act, 1898 with a view to deal with certain other matters relating to breach of public tranquillity which was not covered in the original Indian Penal Code. The jurisdiction of this Section 153(A) is widened so as to make the promotion of disharmony, enmity or feelings of hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities punishable. The offence on moral turpitude is also covered in this section. The offence is a cognizable offence and the punishment for the same may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both. However, the punishment of the offence committed in a place of worship is enhanced up to five years and fine.

Anti-Discrimination and Equality Bill, 2016 :

Anti Discrimination and Equality bill is made to ensure equality to every citizen of the country by providing protection against all forms of social discrimination. This Act may be called the Anti-Discrimination and Equality Act, 2016.

Making a complaint under this act

A complaint under this Act can be made by:

• Any aggrieved person

• If the aggrieved or distressed person is deceased, his near relative, including any unmarried or cohabiting spouse or partner or any person to whom the deceased had the intention to marry or enter into a romantic or sexual relationship.

• An organisation which may represent the aggrieved person on his/her consent.

• Where there exist more than one aggrieved or distressed person having the same interest, any of them acting on behalf of or for the benefit of all of them.

Provided that no complaint shall be entertained unless permitted by the Central Equality Commission or the State Equality Commission, which shall not give its permission unless it has taken reasonable measures to notify, either directly or through a notification in at least two local newspapers, all aggrieved persons or as many of them as is possible to do so And any person making a false complaint against a member of a disadvantaged or minority group under this Act shall be liable to pay exemplary/punitive damages to the person against whom the false complaint was made.

Arun Vijay is a National Olympiad scholar and  Former divisional Level Athlete