Is White Perfect

Is the white perfect????

I had thought that the white man’s burden something that we have been battling for ages was over when we won our independence. Little did I know that color preference or more aptly fairness preference will become a lifestyle choice for the Indian society? All throughout schooling we are taught to believe in equality, brother hood, liberal ideas and democracy. It seems that all that teaching is pretty much bookish and we are indeed practicing discrimination on the basis of skin color especially when prospective grooms seek fair maidens as for a wife and advertising of skin fairness creams ads to this dilemma. As an Indian we should be proud of our skin color.

When Barack Obama won the U.S. presidency The Indian publicists especially started proclaiming it as a crusade won against racism. The United States has a significantly huge African American population who wear their culture on their sleeves. They are proud not only of their skin color but of their history, heritage, ancestors, the fact that this race has broken the shackles of slavery and is significantly contribution to music –Jazz. Rappers like Kanye west,Tupac, Biggy, P.Diddy and Akon to name a few have made rap music popular.Oprah Winfrey an African American is considered to be one of the most influential women in the world.Beyonce Knowles made curves and almond skin tone a requirement for exotic looks. Overnight we had fair skinned people running to tanning salons in America in a bid to acquire a skin tone nearer to Miss Knowles .Most modeling agencies these days look for more neutral tones as it is believed that they reflect most colors well and can carry them off with more panache and poise.

But we here in India are still stuck in skin color comparison. Perhaps it may not be entire the fault of the British who ruled us over for hundred years. Our earliest reference to caste system which is still vehemently followed refers to the upper caste to be of the Aryan race that was fair skinned. This pyramid cal fragmentation is so deep rooted that no amount of education or urban set up can actually erase it. Sadly even our Bollywood stars are busy endorsing fairness cream ads. How can they ignore the social message they are sending across to the youth for whom they are like demi gods. When one sees a big hoarding of aishwarya Rai or Sharukh Khan endorsing skin whiting rituals through various skin products are they saying Beauty lies in everything that shines bright.

Our country’s majority is having more than their share of troubles going not in their favor. There is malnutrition, poor public education, lack of health standards, diseases, poor public education, poor cultural norms that are putting this huge section at a disadvantage. On top of it when a country like ours where there is vast cultural diversity skin color too becomes a criteria for differentiation then the dream of a unified progressive nation becomes a distant dream .