COLOURISM IN INDIA
Tags: Kollywood, Fair And Lovely, Discrimination, Indian Politics, Colorism

When it comes to skin tone, everyone around us becomes a scholar on how to change our skin tone lighter. It has become an inexorable response we get.

especially in south Asia, where we have a long history for discriminating skin tones aka colorism.

HISTORY:

In most of the epics and Vedas, there were heroes in darker skin tone depicting that people under shudras ( people who were considered as labors ) category can also be intellectuals and has equal role in society.

All the female characters in Kalidasa’s masterpieces were dark complexioned. Draupadi was far from being fair. Bhavabhuti’s Uttara Rama Charita does not show Sita with a peach-and-cream complexion. The Kamba Ramayana does not present Sita as someone with rose-and-tulip cheeks. Courtesans of Vatsyayana’s Kamasutra were dark. since indian vedic texts were unwritten for a long time, they transformed gradually in terms of their interpretation as well as misinterpretation to a great extent.

In ancient India, the Aryans invasion, people of indo- European heritage invaded Indian boundaries in late 18th century. They were culturally and linguistically diverse from the original settlers who were dark skined (Dravidians). Wars between Aryans and Dravidians was rooted for the territorial control yet some scholars mistakenly believed it rather due to color.Invasion of British, Portugal, Mughals who had a power over the Indian settlers set a benchmark. British claimed themselves to be a “superior” and “intelligent” race; consequently, they were born to rule the “inferior” and “black colored” Indians who were more akin to crude animals than humans. Entry to restaurants and educational institutions was prohibited for “Black Indians” with entry boards clearly stating “Indians and dogs not allowed”.The word "HINDU" were named by British which goes with the Persian meaning 'black’. With the passage of time, the enslaved people of sub-continent begin to feel black were inferior.Even after so many years of trying to understand the fact that skin tone doesn’t matter, discriminations based on color are normalized and internalized with the help of film industry, beauty industry. Even after the end of British rule, the ideology of darker skin people are inferior did not end.

Indian audience were already built-in for wanting lighter skin tone which helped the beauty industry in selling huge part for their products with just the name of 'fairness’.

It all started with an ad for "afghan snow" on 1919 but turned as an hellfire after the ad of fair & lovely in 1975 Eventually over a decade it became the new market all over India. It was tough for other brands to compete with fair & lovely, hence the whole market strategy was established. Along side with some natural ingredient to convince Indian consumers was all it needed.

Be it the top brands like Maybelline fit me, still do not have the extended shade range of foundations like it has in other countries.

why does film industry always cast fair skinned people as heroes and darker toned as villain? we are all convinced and internalized that fairer the prettier, darker the uglier.

Lets take kollywood. we are super okay with a dark skinned hero but always need a fair counter part, lawrence and rani laxmi roy would be a great example.In the movie Sivaji, director Shankar involved two dark skinned young girls to make a colorist joke. yet in the same movie there was a scene where the hero gets offended when heroine rejects him due to his dark skin.

popular Actors and actresses are getting paid high for the fairness cream ads they signup. Though they know the truth about these brands, they choose to be silent. Bollywood is definitely a place for fair skin people, they are such a good example for favoritism for fair skin.whom should we blame for this mess? parents, relatives, schools, friends, or on us, for believing these stereotypical oppression?

people just could not unlearn this colorism drama. we are still practicing it directly or indirectly without our consciousness. older generations are preaching it to their legacies (for decades) . it’s our time to unlearn it.

lets stop pretending that colorism doesn’t exists and genuinely work towards unlearning stereotypes.