You may have heard of a recent incident at Paris airport, where a group of Indian passengers filed a racism complaint against Air France. The reason? Apparently, non-Indian passengers were put up in hotels following a long flight delay, while Indian passengers were not. They had to wait in the airport lounge without food and water for quite a while.
Of course, it’s unacceptable that people should be treated differently because of their ethnic background and skin colour.
However, in a recent column of the Hindustan Times Cafe newspaper, Anoushka Shankar (daughter of acclaimed musician Ravi) raised the issue of racist behaviour by Indians themselves. She stated that she considered Indians to be, on the whole, a fairly racist group of people.
Some of her reasons, which were mostly centred around skin colour, were as follows:
- In the event of an Indian falling in love with a foreigner, the Indian parents would prefer the foreigner to be white rather than black.
- Where else in the world do matrimonial ads place so much importance on skin colour?
- Foreigners have to pay a higher ticket price to enter monuments and other places of interest in India.
- The Indian media constantly propagates the concept of white women being easy or loose. Female tourists, especially blondes, are constantly bothered by Indian men who assume that they can take advantage of them because they’re white.
- So many people in northern India constantly make fun of people in the south, and have little understanding of their culture, language and customs.
- The use of fairness creams is rampant amongst Indians, desperate to make their skin colour lighter because it’s perceived as being more attractive.
According to Anoushka, it’s well and good that Indians stand up for their own rights of equality. However, they also need to open their eyes to the fact that they don’t always offer the same equality to everyone else.
What do you think? I feel she raises some very good points.
As a white person living in India, I’m all too well aware of the impact of the colour of my skin, as I alluded to in my post The Difficulty of Being Married to an Indian.
I’m very fair, and I’m often commenting to Indian people that I would like my skin to be browner. Their reply is invariably, “no, we want skin like yours!”. Even my husband, who’s arms have gone a darker shade of brown in the summer sun, is concerned that I might not find him as attractive. He’s not adverse to using fairness cream either!
As for racism, in my experience, Indians from the south are just as racist towards other Indians as their northern counterparts.
My husband and I lived in Varkala (a small beach tourist town in Kerala) for 8 months. He soon discovered that it was like living in a whole different country, rather than a state. The locals didn’t look favorably on any Indians who didn’t speak Malayalam (the local language). In fact, my husband was once asked by a shopkeeper if he spoke Malayalam. When he said no, only Hindi, the shopkeeper refused to serve him. This may sound unbelievable, but it was true!
Are Indians really like that only?
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Jay, your point should be slightly different. A country of nation does need a common language in order to be more functional. In India, there is no common language widely used anyway, and therefore India should not be a Union. Gujarat High court is right, after all.
As whole, all Indian ethnicity hate other ethnicity often based on language differences, there is no exception here, even the great Bengali are not so better.
They speak English because it is a foreign language. This is an act of defiance that takes away the power of chauvinism from the Hindiman. Of course it could also be that they simply didn’t bother learning Hindi, which is not necessary for them anyway.
I don’t think Samir has to go that far. He might tell them he is an “Afghan” and he might as well be Mullah Omar’s half brother.
Jay does have a point. Expecting or demanding that the Malayalees speak Hindi is a disrespect to them. If they speak in Hindi, fine. If they don’t, it is fine too.
When I was 13, I suggested a way to be Panani (the person who systematized Sanskrit grammar), that is, to construct a whole new language which would not be too difficult as all Indian languages share some similarities.
Otherwise, ‘spoken Hindi’ is going to be more prominent as it’s spoken by nearly 35% of Indians (and as many Pakistanis), highest speakers than any other language in India, after Punjabi in India and Pakistan or Bengali in India and Bangladesh.
Another option is to use its own language and keep fighting till the separation of ‘Bharat Gana Rajya’.
I would love to be the first president or prime minister of Gujarat if any separation occurs.
Interesting that it is mentioned that Indians would prefer that the foreigner be white in the event of marriage. I’ve read about some people of African descent having a very difficult time in Delhi, especially. They are subject to name-calling, taunts and harassment. Some are denied rental apartments. I was quite shocked to read about the fascination with fair skin and the use of skin lightening creams. This was the land of Ghandi. Although I’ve read that he was racist towards the black South Africans while in Africa.
I completely agree with Anoushka. I am married to an Indian and I happen to have brown skin. Once I went to a wedding ceremony and people bluntly said that it’s no fun to marry a foreigner whose skin is dark. If he married a foreigner (something considered outrageous for most people here in India) he should have at least chosen a blonde (???), not someone who looks so much like an Indian. I was shocked but I have seen this kind of reaction among other people too, including coworkers.
Yes, Iolanda, the general attitude is “if you are able to land a videsi, at least he/she should be of the fair variety.” If you are going to marry a brown one, you might as well have married an Indian….
The mentality is like that.
Racial Stereotypes of Black Africans in Indian Ads: Why?
A slew of portrayals of Africans in Indian advertising has offended many Africans living in the country but has raised little outcry among Indians themselves. Feel free to read the article. Any thoughts?
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1997936,00.html
@Charie Daviston
At the risk of commenting on every sloppy piece of journalism:
If Coca-Cola and Castrol air distasteful ads (I haven’t seen them btw) in India then their own shareholders or customers can hold them accountable. People can sue in a court of law if they wish. The same goes for the TV channels that air them. All of these are private corporations who can make their own judgment on how to promote their products.
Only skin whitening creams are on sale. They should bring out a skin blackening cream and see how well it does before jumping to conclusions.
As far as Africans go, it’s absurd to hold India to the same standards of political correctness as the USA, Indians doesn’t have to apologetic for anything. We have never enslaved or adopted racist laws against them (or anyone else). If you’re interested in getting learning more you should read up on anti-Indian racism in Africa particularly in contemporary South Africa and Idi Amin’s Uganda.
What do you think about Indian stereotypes in the USA?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN5tND_wzzw
There was also a separate incident (couldn’t find it on youtube) where the African American co-host calls India a stinking country full of dirty people.
This is a very popular show in the USA, not an ad produced by a foreign corporation.
@ Charie Daviston:
Africans are being too sensitive on this issue. These advertisements are in light vein, not very different from how foreigners are portrayed in the Anglo-American media.
I agree with Satish as well, it is silly for Times to be judging India by American standards political correctness. If anyone can complain about racism in India, it is the people of North Eastern states, who often have to deal with violent racism in Northern India because of their ethnicity.
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Loved your comments.
@ Charie Daviston, “…They are subject to name-calling, taunts and harassment. Some are denied rental apartments…”
This happens to Indians as well. When a person from province-A goes to province-B for higher studies, he or she is subjected to harassment such as ragging or name-calling. Within Indians, name-calling is quite normal in a friendly relationship. Regarding apartments, I was denied apartments so many times because those Indians assumed that I was a young hippie-looking male and they didn’t easily trust such outsiders due to the social and governmental disparities. So they would only rent out an apartment to you if you have some ties with the province or city you are living in, such as relatives, friends, or spouse. If the gains outweigh the insecurities, Indians are quite money-minded and they would never turn down an incoming “Laxmi” (rental income).
Unless and until Africans are victims of any injustice, such as assaults or deliberate unequal treatment at school or workplace, issues such as light jokes and name-calling would not be so much of a big deal.
@ Satish-
I think stereotypes of any kind are very unfair and wrong because you cannot judge an entire group by the actions a few, many or even most.
@Abdullah K-
I think the way groups of people are portrayed is a serious issue and should not be taken lightly.
@ Amit Desai- Jokes and name-calling often have hidden meanings and is a way to demean others in a way that is not too offensive.
It is India, Ms. Daviston, not the United States. The Indian portrayal of blacks is just plain humour, no more serious than how ethnic groups of Indians make fun of each other. Or how foreigners are made jokes of in your country.
As for rental properties, have you ever tried getting a rental property in India? Landlords have so many “rules” that it would be easier to find residence at a monastry. Its not a black thing.
LOL @ Howard Stern doing Indian Call Center Spoof. LOL!!! Their accents are so bad and they don’t sound Indian at all, but if you listen to the whole thing there are moments, just moments, when they get the “asli Desi sound” down! LOL! Loved it! I love un-politically-correct ethnic jokes/humor.
Spoof humour is, I think, is the best way to diffuse xenophobia. It is difficult to hate people that you find funny and silly.
There is this comedian, Mikhail Zadornov, famous for his true-to-life anecdotes on the naivette and dumbness of Americans.
contd…
His jokes help diffuse those tensed times when American tourists and expats were often attacked by skinhead nationalists for being percieved as paedophiles.
Americans will be the first to make fun of ourselves. We do it all the time. Not taking oneself so seriously is the sign of great confidence and security in one’s identity. Charie, I clicked on the link you provided regarding the Indian TV add that made fun of African people but it is no longer functioning. Got anything else?
I wouldn’t worry about your upcoming trip to India though.
Indians are all shades of brown, Africans are all shades of brown.
Most Indians have brown or black eyes, most Africans have brown or black eyes.
Most Indians have dark brown or black hair, most Africans have dark brown or black hair.
Don a sari and you will blend right in. Heck, you can even tell people you’re an NRI, but to get local prices and not be over-charged – learn some lines in the language of the region you will be visiting and just pass yourself off as a local.
Have fun! India is awesome and frustrating simultaneously. If you’re not crazy going in, you’ll be crazy coming out. But that’s what we love about INCREDIBLE INDIA!
Like no place on Earth – literally.
Hindu Trinidadian Prime Minister takes oath on Bhagavad Gita:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/south_asia/10341771.stm
Not really. If a joke is against Americans as a culture or nation, Americans are the most insecure people around. Especially if it is anecdotal or close to reality. They’d joke about other cultures or nations, but when the joke is on them, they take offense and cry “anti-Americanism”. I have witnessed it too many times to be fooled to believe otherwise.
@ Charie Daviston, “…Jokes and name-calling often have hidden meanings and is a way to demean others in a way that is not too offensive…”
This is the way of life everywhere. It’s human nature to discriminate or differentiate and build upon that discrimination in one way or the other.
@ Sharrell’s Celebrity Doppleganger, “…Indians are all shades of brown, Africans are all shades of brown. Most Indians have brown or black eyes, most Africans have brown or black eyes. Most Indians have dark brown or black hair, most Africans have dark brown or black hair….”
Up to 85% of the people in the world have different shades of black to brown skin, eyes, and hair with majority of Africans being the only group with darkest shade of black skin.
“Up to 85% of the people in the world have different shades of black to brown skin, eyes, and hair with majority of Africans being the only group with darkest shade of black skin.”
Exactly why Black African Americans will blend into India much more easily than White Euro Americans.
@ Sharrell’s Celebrity Doppleganger, “…Exactly why Black African Americans will blend into India much more easily than White Euro Americans…”
This is exactly why your black boyfriend was discriminated (in your words) when you went to India with him. He must have blended into Indians easily in order to be singled out, ey!
Racial Discrimination at Delhi University?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIZgcVEICxA
What are you talking about, Mr. Desai? Doppleganger is no longer an American-Indian woman with a black boyfriend. She has mutated to a white women who recently got a divorce from her Indian husband.
(Well, I’m a bit of all of that Abdullah. Dated black guys both before AND after the Desi Divorce.)
American Poverty Tourism (it doesn’t just happen in India)
A San Francisco travel agency’s plans for a nine-day tour of the “Third World in America” has angered directors of tourism in the Appalachian region. For $500, the agency Global Exchange will take customers on an excursion through Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee June 17-25 to see impoverished families, crumbling coal mining towns and streams strewn with discarded appliances and other junk. “I suggest that those folks could save a lot of money and get a great dose of third-world reality simply by walking through the barrio in Los Angeles,” said John Brown, Commissioner of Commerce of West Virginia.
Global Exchange says it specializes in awareness tours to countries like Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Brazil. The Appalachian tour will be the agency’s first domestic trip. “What brings a place alive and what makes it so interesting are the people who live there and the problems they’re confronting,” said the tour coordinator, Laurie Adams. Ms. Adams said her clients were usually students, community volunteers and government officials interested in meeting people who are trying to solve social and environmental problems.
Don Wick, director of information for the Tennessee Department of Tourism Development, said he was afraid the tour would reinforce stereotypes. He said the “real South” included the “sophisticated and prosperous” cities of Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga. Cindy Ford, spokeswoman for the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, said: “If you’re looking for poverty and environmental problems, yes, you can find them in our three states. But I don’t think we have any more problems than any other state.”
I see. I guess people of Indian ethnicities becoming whites is a normal thing in United States. Must be some new technological breakthrough…
Ever heard of a thing called “Slum Tour”. I bet you didn’t, after all you have to be in India for real to hear of such a thing.
This post is exactly what I was talking about. Mentality that is taught and developed in an Indian mind is rather racist and disturbing. Compared to Indians, I find people in America more civilized and accepting. It took me some time to find my roots and broaden perspective. India is a small world within itself and there are all shades of brown. It is hard to break free from something that’s taught to one since childhood. Media further perpetrates and strengthens beauty of lighter skin. Hope future generation changes norm and builds a more accepting, unified and holistic society.
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