August 30th, 2009
By: David Buhril
1)Indian citizens from the North East states are still called “Chinese”, “Chinky”, “Japanese”, “Koreans” or “Nepalese.”
2)North East students living in the Capital city of India had to actually ask their landlords or hostel warden, “What smell is allowed to cook and what is not?”
3)Pubs, restaurants and discotheques in Delhi showing no entry to people from the North East of India? The grim situation does not care even if you have money. They care about your colour. You bear the Mongoloid look and the door is closed before you. So don’t be surprised when those bouncers did not let you in.
4)Due to the colour of their skin, girls and women from the North East were popularly believed and supposed to be an “easy” and “cheap” sex prey. They were victimized lot.
5)Indians from the North East of India were not allowed to enter to eat and dance in one of the city’s public places during one of their visit to Delhi. Colour of their skin was already used to decide them to be a customer or not.
Showing posts with label racial discrimination in India. Show all posts
Showing posts with label racial discrimination in India. Show all posts
Battles with racism in India's own backyard
By GAUTAMAN BHASKARAN
CHENNAI, India — It has long been known that India has its own brand of racism, manifested in a number of ways. Largely out of sight from the rest of the world, the malaise needed the gutsy chief minister of India's northeastern state of Mizoram, Pu Lalthanhawla, to get dramatic exposure.
1)When I go south (India), people ask "if I am an Indian", "They ask me if I am from Nepal or elsewhere." They forget that the northeast is part of India.
2)For a long time, men and women from the northeastern states have found themselves alienated because of their facial features, which are very different from the rest of Indians.
3)Studentsfound it harder to get college or university seats or to find living accommodations. They have also been victimized by fraud.
4)Prejudice against color and caste is a serious issue in a nation that essentially consists of three races — the Aryans of generally fair complexions from northern States, the usually dark-skinned Dravidians from the south and the light-colored people with Mongoloid features from the northeast.
5)Indians who fight against color bias are themselves practitioners of it.
6)Most matrimonial advertisements in the media ask for fair brides. Dark girls are often discriminated against, and it is not rare to find their families being forced to part with a huge dowry to find a groom.
7)Wheatish-looking actress and social activist Nandita Das felt harassed for a long time because of the way her makeup men tried to paint her face a deathly white.
8)Lately, Indian men appear increasingly conscious of their skin color. A range of cosmetic products promise to make them fairer and "more handsome," clearly indicating an unhealthy link between complexion and the image of beauty. The dangers of such advertising cannot be underestimated in a nation where various forms of racism create havoc that threaten the very fabric of a peaceful society.
CHENNAI, India — It has long been known that India has its own brand of racism, manifested in a number of ways. Largely out of sight from the rest of the world, the malaise needed the gutsy chief minister of India's northeastern state of Mizoram, Pu Lalthanhawla, to get dramatic exposure.
1)When I go south (India), people ask "if I am an Indian", "They ask me if I am from Nepal or elsewhere." They forget that the northeast is part of India.
2)For a long time, men and women from the northeastern states have found themselves alienated because of their facial features, which are very different from the rest of Indians.
3)Studentsfound it harder to get college or university seats or to find living accommodations. They have also been victimized by fraud.
4)Prejudice against color and caste is a serious issue in a nation that essentially consists of three races — the Aryans of generally fair complexions from northern States, the usually dark-skinned Dravidians from the south and the light-colored people with Mongoloid features from the northeast.
5)Indians who fight against color bias are themselves practitioners of it.
6)Most matrimonial advertisements in the media ask for fair brides. Dark girls are often discriminated against, and it is not rare to find their families being forced to part with a huge dowry to find a groom.
7)Wheatish-looking actress and social activist Nandita Das felt harassed for a long time because of the way her makeup men tried to paint her face a deathly white.
8)Lately, Indian men appear increasingly conscious of their skin color. A range of cosmetic products promise to make them fairer and "more handsome," clearly indicating an unhealthy link between complexion and the image of beauty. The dangers of such advertising cannot be underestimated in a nation where various forms of racism create havoc that threaten the very fabric of a peaceful society.
Northeast students question 'racism' in India
Guwahati: With stars in their eyes, hordes of students from India's northeast region head towards various parts of the country during admission season. However, previous episodes of unsavoury treatment meted out to northeastern people is what haunts most of them.
"We want an end to abuse and beating of northeastern boys and girls, mostly in India's capital city. All the cases are of racial nature," Madhu Chandra, spokesperson of North East Support Centre and Helpline, New Delhi, told IANS on phone.
The centre was formed on Sep 22, 2007 to address the issue of safety and security of northeastern people in Delhi, as they are often target of "racial attack", according to Chandra.
1)Victims are chased and verbally abused by a bunch of youngsters in a Delhi lane and abused me because of his short stature and mongoloid features.
2)According to the figures available with the centre, around 100 cases of physical and verbal abuse, molestation, rape and beating of boys and girls of the region were reported in Delhi in 2006 and 2007.
3)In 2008, only three episodes of attacks on people of northeast India in Delhi. But they were of heinous nature, pertaining to sexual assaults and beating of women.
4) In 2009 till May, the centre had received 12 complaints of harassment, rape, physical and verbal abuse of northeastern people in Delhi.
5)Students from northeast India who go to study in various parts of India have to undergo racial prejudice. A student during her stay in the city had her fellow students in the colleges calls her a *'chinky', because of her mongoloid features and was depressed.
*chinky' (referring to small eyes) is racial in nature. (all the northeastern are known as chinky in Delhi and other parts of India.)
6) Victim was severely abused in Delhi a few years back when he was a student.
"We want an end to abuse and beating of northeastern boys and girls, mostly in India's capital city. All the cases are of racial nature," Madhu Chandra, spokesperson of North East Support Centre and Helpline, New Delhi, told IANS on phone.
The centre was formed on Sep 22, 2007 to address the issue of safety and security of northeastern people in Delhi, as they are often target of "racial attack", according to Chandra.
1)Victims are chased and verbally abused by a bunch of youngsters in a Delhi lane and abused me because of his short stature and mongoloid features.
2)According to the figures available with the centre, around 100 cases of physical and verbal abuse, molestation, rape and beating of boys and girls of the region were reported in Delhi in 2006 and 2007.
3)In 2008, only three episodes of attacks on people of northeast India in Delhi. But they were of heinous nature, pertaining to sexual assaults and beating of women.
4) In 2009 till May, the centre had received 12 complaints of harassment, rape, physical and verbal abuse of northeastern people in Delhi.
5)Students from northeast India who go to study in various parts of India have to undergo racial prejudice. A student during her stay in the city had her fellow students in the colleges calls her a *'chinky', because of her mongoloid features and was depressed.
*chinky' (referring to small eyes) is racial in nature. (all the northeastern are known as chinky in Delhi and other parts of India.)
6) Victim was severely abused in Delhi a few years back when he was a student.
India rejects caste 'racism' debate
The Indian Government has reiterated its opposition to discussing caste discrimination at a UN conference on racism later this month.
Authorities in Delhi said the caste issue is not the same as racism and that any discrimination on the basis of caste must be treated as an internal matter.
Discrimination by caste is outlawed in India but it is a part of daily life
But members of India's lowest caste disagree, saying the subject should be on the conference agenda.
Human rights activists have also criticised the government's decision.
Opinion is divided over the origins of the caste system, which dates back more than 3,000 years.
The degree to which it is a central tenet of Hinduism or the legacy of a power structure imposed by invaders from central Asia centuries ago is open to debate.
Higher caste members were traditionally associated with professions such as the priesthood, while those from lower castes were classed as servants; the lowest caste of all has traditionally been referred to as outcasts or untouchables.
Even so, the Indian Government has introduced a series of measures to give these people access to education and non-traditional jobs.
Officially banned
Discrimination by caste is outlawed in India but it is a part of daily life for the world's second most populous nation.
And, as indicated by the deaths of two teenage lovers who were hanged by fellow villagers earlier this month in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh for being from different castes, individuals ignore the system at their peril.
The caste system is rigidly observed across India
But the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Omar Abdullah, said on Thursday caste discrimination could not be equated with racism.
The minister rejected calls to discuss the caste system at the UN World Conference Against Racism due to be held in South Africa later this month.
That decision has angered the Dalits - the 160 million members of India's lowest caste.
Dalit representatives told reporters that India was failing to put its experience of racism and intolerance under international scrutiny.
The decision has also attracted criticism from the non-governmental organisation, Human Rights Watch.
Spokeswoman Smita Narula says caste-based discrimination is Asia's "hidden apartheid", which affects tens of millions of people across south Asia.
Authorities in Delhi said the caste issue is not the same as racism and that any discrimination on the basis of caste must be treated as an internal matter.
Discrimination by caste is outlawed in India but it is a part of daily life
But members of India's lowest caste disagree, saying the subject should be on the conference agenda.
Human rights activists have also criticised the government's decision.
Opinion is divided over the origins of the caste system, which dates back more than 3,000 years.
The degree to which it is a central tenet of Hinduism or the legacy of a power structure imposed by invaders from central Asia centuries ago is open to debate.
Higher caste members were traditionally associated with professions such as the priesthood, while those from lower castes were classed as servants; the lowest caste of all has traditionally been referred to as outcasts or untouchables.
Even so, the Indian Government has introduced a series of measures to give these people access to education and non-traditional jobs.
Officially banned
Discrimination by caste is outlawed in India but it is a part of daily life for the world's second most populous nation.
And, as indicated by the deaths of two teenage lovers who were hanged by fellow villagers earlier this month in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh for being from different castes, individuals ignore the system at their peril.
The caste system is rigidly observed across India
But the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Omar Abdullah, said on Thursday caste discrimination could not be equated with racism.
The minister rejected calls to discuss the caste system at the UN World Conference Against Racism due to be held in South Africa later this month.
That decision has angered the Dalits - the 160 million members of India's lowest caste.
Dalit representatives told reporters that India was failing to put its experience of racism and intolerance under international scrutiny.
The decision has also attracted criticism from the non-governmental organisation, Human Rights Watch.
Spokeswoman Smita Narula says caste-based discrimination is Asia's "hidden apartheid", which affects tens of millions of people across south Asia.
Are Indians Racist?
Indians were ready to claim they were suffering racism, but rarely introspected as to whether they themselves were racist. She then backed this up with various points such as:
• Most people would not be comfortable introducing a foreigner as a boy or girlfriend to their parents.
• Being white is bad enough but if he/she was black it would be even worse
• In India foreigners have to pay higher ticket prices to enter certain monuments
• The media constantly propagates the concept of white women as easy and loose.
This is a subject that rarely, if never gets discussed in the media.
In fact, on the contrary, there is a belief that white people get advantages and are treated well. It may be true they can get into a club badly dressed that some Indians, who have washed their hair and are not in sandals, may not be able to get into, and in some situations, some of them face some advantages. But often they don’t. And what is the advantage of getting into the nightclub if say not a single Indian girl would take the white man to meet her parents?
Or what is the point of being in that club, as a white female, if most Indian man inside automatically assumes you are loose?
I went to the Taj Mahal Palace in Agra last year. While the Indian rate was close to zero, foreigners had to pay a staggering amount to enter. There were two clerks at separate booths selling the tickets - one for Indians and one for foreigners. There were literally thousands of foreigners waiting to get in, while, needless to say, the queue outside the Indian booth was empty. But that man would not sell the foreigner any tickets. The heat and length of time we all had to wait (in my case three hours) led to many rows between foreigners in the queue, with various groups accusing the others of queue jumping.
The problem with this differential in price is that, while it may have been relevant years ago, now it is not. Many Indians earn far more than their ‘white’ counterparts. Many westerners coming to India don’t have much money at all.
The media here too does constantly propagate the myth that western women are loose.
In virtually every Bollywood film I have seen a white woman is portrayed as a stripper, semi naked dance, etc and never in a serious role and never a ’sought after woman’ or the woman the hero wants to be with…
As for the view of black people, the fact that sleeping with a black man in Fashion was deemed the worse possible crime is indicative of the mass view of black people. Yet the black people I have come across in India are some of the most civilized people you could meet - many come from well-to-do professional families in their home continent.
Now to be fair there are some white people that do propagate these myths - that wander around in dresses up to their knicker lines, caked in make-up, or backpackers who behave in inappropriate fashions. I have met white women in India, where even I am embarrassed at how they are dressed.
However I have to say that these types of women do in no way reflect western women or global women and in fact they are often the dregs of their own societies. Every society has such people, even India.
Unfortunately India has always attracted such types, when it comes to the backpacker’s scene.
• Most people would not be comfortable introducing a foreigner as a boy or girlfriend to their parents.
• Being white is bad enough but if he/she was black it would be even worse
• In India foreigners have to pay higher ticket prices to enter certain monuments
• The media constantly propagates the concept of white women as easy and loose.
This is a subject that rarely, if never gets discussed in the media.
In fact, on the contrary, there is a belief that white people get advantages and are treated well. It may be true they can get into a club badly dressed that some Indians, who have washed their hair and are not in sandals, may not be able to get into, and in some situations, some of them face some advantages. But often they don’t. And what is the advantage of getting into the nightclub if say not a single Indian girl would take the white man to meet her parents?
Or what is the point of being in that club, as a white female, if most Indian man inside automatically assumes you are loose?
I went to the Taj Mahal Palace in Agra last year. While the Indian rate was close to zero, foreigners had to pay a staggering amount to enter. There were two clerks at separate booths selling the tickets - one for Indians and one for foreigners. There were literally thousands of foreigners waiting to get in, while, needless to say, the queue outside the Indian booth was empty. But that man would not sell the foreigner any tickets. The heat and length of time we all had to wait (in my case three hours) led to many rows between foreigners in the queue, with various groups accusing the others of queue jumping.
The problem with this differential in price is that, while it may have been relevant years ago, now it is not. Many Indians earn far more than their ‘white’ counterparts. Many westerners coming to India don’t have much money at all.
The media here too does constantly propagate the myth that western women are loose.
In virtually every Bollywood film I have seen a white woman is portrayed as a stripper, semi naked dance, etc and never in a serious role and never a ’sought after woman’ or the woman the hero wants to be with…
As for the view of black people, the fact that sleeping with a black man in Fashion was deemed the worse possible crime is indicative of the mass view of black people. Yet the black people I have come across in India are some of the most civilized people you could meet - many come from well-to-do professional families in their home continent.
Now to be fair there are some white people that do propagate these myths - that wander around in dresses up to their knicker lines, caked in make-up, or backpackers who behave in inappropriate fashions. I have met white women in India, where even I am embarrassed at how they are dressed.
However I have to say that these types of women do in no way reflect western women or global women and in fact they are often the dregs of their own societies. Every society has such people, even India.
Unfortunately India has always attracted such types, when it comes to the backpacker’s scene.
Allowed to discriminate
Workplace Bias: Here’s something about as shocking as seeing Santa Claus at Christmas: Most people don’t think racial discrimination in the workplace is a good idea. Nonprofit organization WorldPublicOpinion.org, in a global study of nearly 15,000 workers, says 90 percent believe that “treating people of different races and ethnicities equally is important, with 69 percent saying it is very important.” Interviews were conducted with people in 16 countries or regions—Azerbaijan, China, Egypt, France, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, the Palestinian territories, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States. Those polled are said to represent 58 percent of the world’s population.
Large majorities in most countries believe “employers should not be allowed to discriminate based on race or ethnicity,” and say increased government interference is needed to prevent such practices. France (94 percent), China (88 percent), the U.S. (86 percent), Indonesia (84 percent), Britain (83 percent) and Azerbaijan (82 percent) have the largest majorities opposed to corporate discriminatory behavior.
This opinion, however, is not universally held. In India—the only nation whose people voiced dissenting views—30 percent said employers should be permitted to reject job applicants on the basis of race or ethnicity
Large majorities in most countries believe “employers should not be allowed to discriminate based on race or ethnicity,” and say increased government interference is needed to prevent such practices. France (94 percent), China (88 percent), the U.S. (86 percent), Indonesia (84 percent), Britain (83 percent) and Azerbaijan (82 percent) have the largest majorities opposed to corporate discriminatory behavior.
This opinion, however, is not universally held. In India—the only nation whose people voiced dissenting views—30 percent said employers should be permitted to reject job applicants on the basis of race or ethnicity
Letter From Bombay: Could You Please Make Me a Shade Lighter?
Up close, Rajashree Thakur makes a terrible ugly duckling. Her face is a flawless ocher, punctuated by ebony eyes and framed by jet black hair, and in the light of the setting sun, she glows. Thakur plays the lead in India's new hit soap Saat Phere ("seven circles around the fire," a Hindu marriage ritual), which, between riveting digressions into the lives, loves and secrets of a Rajasthani family, is the tragedy of Saloni, too unfortunate-looking for love. "It's not that Saloni isn't beautiful," clarifies Thakur, a former model. "It's that she's dark. Because of her complexion, her family thinks no one will marry her." At today's shoot in the hills north of Bombay, Saloni seeks solace at a temple after another day of dusky humiliation, only to be lectured on the virtues of fairness by a fat, ivory-skinned 9-year-old boy. "Ah, Saloni," grimaces Thakur. "She goes through hell."
The notion that Thakur's skin color could qualify her as unattractive is hard to fathom. Hers is a universal beauty, and in the West, despite concerns about the sun's rays and skin cancer, people spend billions of dollars trying to duplicate her café au lait tone. But Asia, from its geishas to its Ganesha gods, has always prized the pale. And in India the desire is a national obsession. You see it in the personal ads, which range from the general ("Whitish girl invites match") to the pinpoint specific ("Suitable alliance invited for ... fair, smart, only daughter having advanced training in footwear molds designing") but consistently mention the aspirant's light skin. You see it in pharmacies selling Fair & Lovely lightening soaps and creams and--new this season--Fair and Handsome, for men. And you see it in commercials, in which India's top two models, Katrina Kaif and Yana Gupta, are part English and part Czech, respectively. Lightness is big business. Fair and Handsome's maker, Mohan Goenka of Calcutta-based Emami, says the fairness-cosmetics market has grown two-thirds in the past five years, to an annual $250 million. India's 60,000 beauty salons do a roaring trade bleaching faces and blasting skin with tiny sand blowers.
No one can say for certain where this fascination with white skin originated. Thakur and Goenka point to pale-faced conquerors from Britain and central Asia who forcefully instilled a reverence for whiteness. Cultural conservatives complain Hollywood is pushing aside Indian heroes in favor of Westerners all too ready to display their pale flesh. Some sociologists argue that in a country where most people still farm, dark skin is associated with lowly labor in the outdoors.
Cory Wallia is Bollywood's top makeup artist and a man whose cautionary--and perhaps apocryphal--tales on whitening include the time the mother of a bride insisted he slap on so much white foundation that the young girl somehow turned blue. (The punch line? The mother approved.) He believes the real reason for the fairness craze is more troubling than most care to admit. While no one suspects that Westerners seek tans to change their ethnicity, Indians, he says, are motivated essentially to do just that. "Indians are more racist with other Indians than any American ever was with his slaves," Wallia says. "The desire for whiteness has very little to do with beauty."
But fashions--even cultures--can change. Although darkness is still akin to evil in rural India, Wallia says that in Bombay, reflecting its position as the capital of an increasingly cosmopolitan India, dusky is becoming a popular look. Thakur, as her character Saloni, may even be poised to become India's first overtly dark-skinned icon. "People stop me everywhere and ask me, 'Why are you crying so much on TV? It's not fair.'" In fact, says Thakur, the climax of Saat Phere will break another Indian taboo. "Saloni eventually decides she's not going to get married. She is educated, she can sing and dance very well, and she just doesn't consider her complexion a problem." And does the single, dark Saloni live happily ever after? Thakur laughs and says, "Of course. This is Indian TV. Not every rule was meant to be broken."
The notion that Thakur's skin color could qualify her as unattractive is hard to fathom. Hers is a universal beauty, and in the West, despite concerns about the sun's rays and skin cancer, people spend billions of dollars trying to duplicate her café au lait tone. But Asia, from its geishas to its Ganesha gods, has always prized the pale. And in India the desire is a national obsession. You see it in the personal ads, which range from the general ("Whitish girl invites match") to the pinpoint specific ("Suitable alliance invited for ... fair, smart, only daughter having advanced training in footwear molds designing") but consistently mention the aspirant's light skin. You see it in pharmacies selling Fair & Lovely lightening soaps and creams and--new this season--Fair and Handsome, for men. And you see it in commercials, in which India's top two models, Katrina Kaif and Yana Gupta, are part English and part Czech, respectively. Lightness is big business. Fair and Handsome's maker, Mohan Goenka of Calcutta-based Emami, says the fairness-cosmetics market has grown two-thirds in the past five years, to an annual $250 million. India's 60,000 beauty salons do a roaring trade bleaching faces and blasting skin with tiny sand blowers.
No one can say for certain where this fascination with white skin originated. Thakur and Goenka point to pale-faced conquerors from Britain and central Asia who forcefully instilled a reverence for whiteness. Cultural conservatives complain Hollywood is pushing aside Indian heroes in favor of Westerners all too ready to display their pale flesh. Some sociologists argue that in a country where most people still farm, dark skin is associated with lowly labor in the outdoors.
Cory Wallia is Bollywood's top makeup artist and a man whose cautionary--and perhaps apocryphal--tales on whitening include the time the mother of a bride insisted he slap on so much white foundation that the young girl somehow turned blue. (The punch line? The mother approved.) He believes the real reason for the fairness craze is more troubling than most care to admit. While no one suspects that Westerners seek tans to change their ethnicity, Indians, he says, are motivated essentially to do just that. "Indians are more racist with other Indians than any American ever was with his slaves," Wallia says. "The desire for whiteness has very little to do with beauty."
But fashions--even cultures--can change. Although darkness is still akin to evil in rural India, Wallia says that in Bombay, reflecting its position as the capital of an increasingly cosmopolitan India, dusky is becoming a popular look. Thakur, as her character Saloni, may even be poised to become India's first overtly dark-skinned icon. "People stop me everywhere and ask me, 'Why are you crying so much on TV? It's not fair.'" In fact, says Thakur, the climax of Saat Phere will break another Indian taboo. "Saloni eventually decides she's not going to get married. She is educated, she can sing and dance very well, and she just doesn't consider her complexion a problem." And does the single, dark Saloni live happily ever after? Thakur laughs and says, "Of course. This is Indian TV. Not every rule was meant to be broken."
Race And Caste
Not content with condemning racism and racial discrimination, the U.N. now wants to take on `racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance'. It has in its wisdom decided to expand the meeting of racial discrimination to accommodate exclusion or preference `based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin'. In doing so it is bound to give a new lease of life to the old and discredited notion of race current a hundred years ago. By flying in the face of the distinctions between race, language and culture, it is seeking to undo the conclusions reached by the researches of several generations of anthropologists.
Interested parties within and outside the U.N. would like to bring caste discrimination in general and the practice of untouchability in particular within the purview of racial discrimination. The practice of untouchability is indeed reprehensible and must be condemned by one and all; but that does not mean that we should now begin to regard it as a form of racial discrimination. The Scheduled Castes of India taken together are no more a race than are the Brahmins taken together. Every social group cannot be regarded as a race simply because we want to protect it against prejudice and discrimination.
In the past, some groups claimed superior rights on the ground that they belonged to the Aryan race or the Teutonic race. The anthropologists rejected such claims on two grounds: first, on the ground that within the same human species no race is superior to any other; but also on the ground that there is no such thing as an Aryan race or a Teutonic race. We cannot throw out the concept of race by the front door when it is misused for asserting social superiority and bring it in again through the back door to misuse it in the cause of the oppressed. The metaphor of race is a dangerous weapon whether it is used for asserting white supremacy or for making demands on behalf of disadvantaged groups.
If discrimination against disadvantaged castes can be defined as a form of racial discrimination, there is no reason why discrimination, real or alleged, against religious or linguistic minorities cannot be phrased in exactly the same terms. The Muslims and other religious minorities will claim that they too, and not just backward castes, are victims of racial discrimination. The initiative taken by the U.N. is bound to encourage precisely that kind of claim.
The U.N. initiative will open up a Pandora's box of allegations of racial discrimination throughout the world. The latitudinarian attitude of the U.N. will encourage religious and other `ethnic' minorities to make allegations of racial discrimination not only in India, but everywhere. The Catholics in Northern Ireland can claim that they too are victims of racial discrimination. The French Canadians, whose grievances are real enough, can also make the same claim. One can multiply examples from every corner of the world. By treating caste discrimination as a form of racial discrimination and, by implication, caste as a form of race, the U.N. is turning its back on established scientific opinion. One can only guess under what kind of pressure it is doing so. Treating caste as a form of race is politically mischievous; what is worse, it is scientifically nonsensical
Interested parties within and outside the U.N. would like to bring caste discrimination in general and the practice of untouchability in particular within the purview of racial discrimination. The practice of untouchability is indeed reprehensible and must be condemned by one and all; but that does not mean that we should now begin to regard it as a form of racial discrimination. The Scheduled Castes of India taken together are no more a race than are the Brahmins taken together. Every social group cannot be regarded as a race simply because we want to protect it against prejudice and discrimination.
In the past, some groups claimed superior rights on the ground that they belonged to the Aryan race or the Teutonic race. The anthropologists rejected such claims on two grounds: first, on the ground that within the same human species no race is superior to any other; but also on the ground that there is no such thing as an Aryan race or a Teutonic race. We cannot throw out the concept of race by the front door when it is misused for asserting social superiority and bring it in again through the back door to misuse it in the cause of the oppressed. The metaphor of race is a dangerous weapon whether it is used for asserting white supremacy or for making demands on behalf of disadvantaged groups.
If discrimination against disadvantaged castes can be defined as a form of racial discrimination, there is no reason why discrimination, real or alleged, against religious or linguistic minorities cannot be phrased in exactly the same terms. The Muslims and other religious minorities will claim that they too, and not just backward castes, are victims of racial discrimination. The initiative taken by the U.N. is bound to encourage precisely that kind of claim.
The U.N. initiative will open up a Pandora's box of allegations of racial discrimination throughout the world. The latitudinarian attitude of the U.N. will encourage religious and other `ethnic' minorities to make allegations of racial discrimination not only in India, but everywhere. The Catholics in Northern Ireland can claim that they too are victims of racial discrimination. The French Canadians, whose grievances are real enough, can also make the same claim. One can multiply examples from every corner of the world. By treating caste discrimination as a form of racial discrimination and, by implication, caste as a form of race, the U.N. is turning its back on established scientific opinion. One can only guess under what kind of pressure it is doing so. Treating caste as a form of race is politically mischievous; what is worse, it is scientifically nonsensical
The Racism in Desism
ADITI NADKARNI, Oct 22, 2007
My friend’s five-year-old came home from school one evening with a note. She had referred to her Chinese friend as a “Chinki” and her teacher wanted to know why. My friend looked sheepish as she read the note.
“She must’ve picked it up from us. We sometimes do say ‘Chinki,’ you know,” she revealed guiltily.
We Indians love labels, don’t we? And I don’t mean Guccis and Pradas. I mean labels for people, of both Indian and non-Indian origin. It helps us match person to personality, gives us a ready manual for assessing behavior and associated characteristics. We don’t like being caught unawares by unfamiliar personality types and don’t seem to realize that our love for quick allocations could amount to a serious affliction: racism.
We are desis in a foreign country. Indian-Americans raised in the United States are promptly tagged ABCDs (American Born Confused Desis). And for a certain population of desis, the Chinese become “Chinkis,” African-Americans become “Kallus,” and white people become “Goras.” We see nothing wrong in making casual use of these names. We permit ourselves to do the very thing that would likely offend us if we were on the receiving end. If one were to ever refer to us as “brownies” or, even more disturbingly, as “rag heads,” we would be screaming “racism!” from the rooftops.
Racism is ill defined within the Indian community. I have come across people who think that only the discrimination on part of white people is racist. Their own discriminatory behavior, however, is permissible.
Bollywood’s portrayal of Caucasians, for example, makes me wonder if we have been fighting the freedom struggle a little too long after independence. Most white characters are portrayed as money-hungry, double-crossing villains who the hero mocks in Hindi or triumphs over in the end.
In Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Kajol, the leading lady, constantly derides her white, British neighbor, mimics the neighbor’s accent, and calls her names in Hindi. A crowd of British people, including the neighbor, then stands up and sings the Indian national anthem in the middle of England.
In Namaste London, British men are portrayed as absolute scoundrels; the entire story is based on the singular theme of Punjabi-munda versus British-guy. This film was aired on my recent Air India flight to London and several British Bollywood enthusiasts squirmed in their seats, dismayed as the story made them seem like arrogant rogues who must view India as a land of snake-charmers and call centers.
In yet another blockbuster hit, Kal Ho Na Ho, Shah Rukh Khan, the celebrated King of Bollywood, looks out of a window and, with a perfectly benevolent smile on his face, hurls insults at the Chinese restaurateurs across the street as he and his friends pin an Indian flag outside their cafe.
It is disappointing to see stale racial stereotypes reinforced by the largest film industry in the world. These scenes are meant to provide comic relief and evoke patriotism, especially among non-resident Indians, lest they forget their “Indian-ness” while living in a foreign land. But animosity towards other races and cultures cannot possibly be a display of national pride, can it?
When I first arrived in the U.S., a senior Indian graduate student was kind enough to familiarize me with life in the United States. “White people can be racist,” he began, “and the Chinese … well they are just bad drivers!” He finished with a smug chuckle, happy with himself at having enlightened a newbie. With the second half of his statement, he had managed to do precisely what he had accused someone else of doing in the first.
Then there is the even more disturbing regional bias among Indians themselves. I once sat through a three-hour flight listening to a Bengali professor lecture me about why and how Bengalis have higher intellect than the rest of the nation. Among his empirical evidence was the fact that West Bengal has had two Nobel Laureates and even one Oscar winner. Compared to other regions of India, he opined, that was a much higher statistic.
“So Americans are probably smarter than Indians, right?” I asked finally, feigning wide-eyed intrigue at this line of thinking.
“No, no of course not!” he immediately exclaimed, hurt and shocked by the mere suggestion.
“Why would you even make such a gross generalization!” he chided me, angrily pushing back the glasses on his nose.
I surveyed his incensed face and enjoyed a brief moment of irony before proceeding to explain myself. Applying his very logic, more Americans had won the Nobel Prize than Indians, and if that were to be the measure of intellect, then Americans should probably be smarter than Indians. He grew red in the face as I stated this conclusion.
“In fact, approximately 30 times smarter,” I quipped, enjoying the growing outrage that was furrowing his moustache. “One hundred and seventy-eight American Nobel laureates versus six Indian laureates.” He muttered some protests and fell silent, realizing that his own lame equation had led to my upsetting inference. I don’t have a problem with regional pride, but regional conceit does not deserve to be humored.
This incident brought back memories of college and graduate school, where groups of Indians not only stuck together due to language and cultural commonalities, but also at times claimed superiority based on their regional backgrounds. A friend once joked that the “unity-in-diversity” attribute of India was likely preserved not because of tolerance, but because selective communal groups allowed one ample opportunity to avoid the miscellany and stick to one’s pack.
Among Indians living in the United States, this trend is even more obvious. One can argue that initially adhering to one’s comfort zone cushions the cultural shock of moving to a new country. However, such strict adherence to communal groups can cost people the enriching, inter-cultural experience of living in another country. The South Indians stick with the South Indians, the Gujaratis with the Gujaratis, the Punjabis among themselves, and so forth.
Interestingly, many students arriving from the cosmopolitan cities in India make no such discrimination and just look for a fun group with which to mingle, which makes me wonder why some adults stick so religiously to their own community. Soon this herd mentality makes its way into one’s thinking and behavior, which is especially dangerous for those of us raising children born in the United States.
I have also been shocked by the occasional and seemingly harmless, “Are you a Brahmin?” that often makes its way into a conversation with fellow-Indians. While caste discrimination has been banned by the Indian constitution and has caused immense harm to the communal ethos even in recent times, educated people still find it necessary to inquire about one’s caste. Once we are among a group of people with equal educational backgrounds and accomplishments, should it really matter what caste they are from? Even the most liberal Indians feel no qualms about stating caste requirements while listing arranged matrimonial eligibility.
Is caste-ism any more acceptable than having “names” for other racial groups just because it is intra-racial and intra-cultural? While some people may have trouble accepting this, the uses of the “c,” “k,” and “g” words, as well as those “innocent” questions about caste, reflect an inherent preference for a divided society in which people are defined by their labels.
Sounds like racism to me.
Aditi Nadkarni is a U.S.-based cancer researcher, creative writer, poet, and documentary filmmaker.
My friend’s five-year-old came home from school one evening with a note. She had referred to her Chinese friend as a “Chinki” and her teacher wanted to know why. My friend looked sheepish as she read the note.
“She must’ve picked it up from us. We sometimes do say ‘Chinki,’ you know,” she revealed guiltily.
We Indians love labels, don’t we? And I don’t mean Guccis and Pradas. I mean labels for people, of both Indian and non-Indian origin. It helps us match person to personality, gives us a ready manual for assessing behavior and associated characteristics. We don’t like being caught unawares by unfamiliar personality types and don’t seem to realize that our love for quick allocations could amount to a serious affliction: racism.
We are desis in a foreign country. Indian-Americans raised in the United States are promptly tagged ABCDs (American Born Confused Desis). And for a certain population of desis, the Chinese become “Chinkis,” African-Americans become “Kallus,” and white people become “Goras.” We see nothing wrong in making casual use of these names. We permit ourselves to do the very thing that would likely offend us if we were on the receiving end. If one were to ever refer to us as “brownies” or, even more disturbingly, as “rag heads,” we would be screaming “racism!” from the rooftops.
Racism is ill defined within the Indian community. I have come across people who think that only the discrimination on part of white people is racist. Their own discriminatory behavior, however, is permissible.
Bollywood’s portrayal of Caucasians, for example, makes me wonder if we have been fighting the freedom struggle a little too long after independence. Most white characters are portrayed as money-hungry, double-crossing villains who the hero mocks in Hindi or triumphs over in the end.
In Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Kajol, the leading lady, constantly derides her white, British neighbor, mimics the neighbor’s accent, and calls her names in Hindi. A crowd of British people, including the neighbor, then stands up and sings the Indian national anthem in the middle of England.
In Namaste London, British men are portrayed as absolute scoundrels; the entire story is based on the singular theme of Punjabi-munda versus British-guy. This film was aired on my recent Air India flight to London and several British Bollywood enthusiasts squirmed in their seats, dismayed as the story made them seem like arrogant rogues who must view India as a land of snake-charmers and call centers.
In yet another blockbuster hit, Kal Ho Na Ho, Shah Rukh Khan, the celebrated King of Bollywood, looks out of a window and, with a perfectly benevolent smile on his face, hurls insults at the Chinese restaurateurs across the street as he and his friends pin an Indian flag outside their cafe.
It is disappointing to see stale racial stereotypes reinforced by the largest film industry in the world. These scenes are meant to provide comic relief and evoke patriotism, especially among non-resident Indians, lest they forget their “Indian-ness” while living in a foreign land. But animosity towards other races and cultures cannot possibly be a display of national pride, can it?
When I first arrived in the U.S., a senior Indian graduate student was kind enough to familiarize me with life in the United States. “White people can be racist,” he began, “and the Chinese … well they are just bad drivers!” He finished with a smug chuckle, happy with himself at having enlightened a newbie. With the second half of his statement, he had managed to do precisely what he had accused someone else of doing in the first.
Then there is the even more disturbing regional bias among Indians themselves. I once sat through a three-hour flight listening to a Bengali professor lecture me about why and how Bengalis have higher intellect than the rest of the nation. Among his empirical evidence was the fact that West Bengal has had two Nobel Laureates and even one Oscar winner. Compared to other regions of India, he opined, that was a much higher statistic.
“So Americans are probably smarter than Indians, right?” I asked finally, feigning wide-eyed intrigue at this line of thinking.
“No, no of course not!” he immediately exclaimed, hurt and shocked by the mere suggestion.
“Why would you even make such a gross generalization!” he chided me, angrily pushing back the glasses on his nose.
I surveyed his incensed face and enjoyed a brief moment of irony before proceeding to explain myself. Applying his very logic, more Americans had won the Nobel Prize than Indians, and if that were to be the measure of intellect, then Americans should probably be smarter than Indians. He grew red in the face as I stated this conclusion.
“In fact, approximately 30 times smarter,” I quipped, enjoying the growing outrage that was furrowing his moustache. “One hundred and seventy-eight American Nobel laureates versus six Indian laureates.” He muttered some protests and fell silent, realizing that his own lame equation had led to my upsetting inference. I don’t have a problem with regional pride, but regional conceit does not deserve to be humored.
This incident brought back memories of college and graduate school, where groups of Indians not only stuck together due to language and cultural commonalities, but also at times claimed superiority based on their regional backgrounds. A friend once joked that the “unity-in-diversity” attribute of India was likely preserved not because of tolerance, but because selective communal groups allowed one ample opportunity to avoid the miscellany and stick to one’s pack.
Among Indians living in the United States, this trend is even more obvious. One can argue that initially adhering to one’s comfort zone cushions the cultural shock of moving to a new country. However, such strict adherence to communal groups can cost people the enriching, inter-cultural experience of living in another country. The South Indians stick with the South Indians, the Gujaratis with the Gujaratis, the Punjabis among themselves, and so forth.
Interestingly, many students arriving from the cosmopolitan cities in India make no such discrimination and just look for a fun group with which to mingle, which makes me wonder why some adults stick so religiously to their own community. Soon this herd mentality makes its way into one’s thinking and behavior, which is especially dangerous for those of us raising children born in the United States.
I have also been shocked by the occasional and seemingly harmless, “Are you a Brahmin?” that often makes its way into a conversation with fellow-Indians. While caste discrimination has been banned by the Indian constitution and has caused immense harm to the communal ethos even in recent times, educated people still find it necessary to inquire about one’s caste. Once we are among a group of people with equal educational backgrounds and accomplishments, should it really matter what caste they are from? Even the most liberal Indians feel no qualms about stating caste requirements while listing arranged matrimonial eligibility.
Is caste-ism any more acceptable than having “names” for other racial groups just because it is intra-racial and intra-cultural? While some people may have trouble accepting this, the uses of the “c,” “k,” and “g” words, as well as those “innocent” questions about caste, reflect an inherent preference for a divided society in which people are defined by their labels.
Sounds like racism to me.
Aditi Nadkarni is a U.S.-based cancer researcher, creative writer, poet, and documentary filmmaker.
Indian Premier League: British cheerleaders 'banned for being black'
Two black British cheerleaders have claimed they were racially abused and prevented from performing at an event to promote India’s Twenty20 cricket league.
Dancers Ellesha Newton, 22, and Sherinne Anderson, 25, claim they were stopped from going on stage and abused by an Indian organiser ahead of a match at Mohali.
Miss Newton, from Islington, north London, told The Sun newspaper: “An organiser pulled us away. He said the people here don’t want to see dark people.
“The 'n' word was used and they said they only wanted beautiful white girls. We were crying. I could understand if it were the crowd but they were very receptive.”
The two women were among a group of a dozen dancers being used to promote the money-spinning Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament which has attracted star players from around the world.
The incident happened a month ago ahead of a game involving the King’s XI Punjab and came to light when the two women spoke to the Calcutta Telegraph.
Miss Newton told the newspaper that they were going to take their positions on stage when a member of staff from the pre-match show organisers asked them to leave.
She said: “We were surprised and asked them why and they told us it was because of the colour of our skin.”
The organisers, Wizcraft International Entertainment, denied any knowledge of the incident.
A spokesman told the Calcutta Telegraph: “We work with international clients and our employees are trained to interact with them.
“If there had been any racial discrimination I would have received a complaint but I know nothing of it.”
Dancers Ellesha Newton, 22, and Sherinne Anderson, 25, claim they were stopped from going on stage and abused by an Indian organiser ahead of a match at Mohali.
Miss Newton, from Islington, north London, told The Sun newspaper: “An organiser pulled us away. He said the people here don’t want to see dark people.
“The 'n' word was used and they said they only wanted beautiful white girls. We were crying. I could understand if it were the crowd but they were very receptive.”
The two women were among a group of a dozen dancers being used to promote the money-spinning Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament which has attracted star players from around the world.
The incident happened a month ago ahead of a game involving the King’s XI Punjab and came to light when the two women spoke to the Calcutta Telegraph.
Miss Newton told the newspaper that they were going to take their positions on stage when a member of staff from the pre-match show organisers asked them to leave.
She said: “We were surprised and asked them why and they told us it was because of the colour of our skin.”
The organisers, Wizcraft International Entertainment, denied any knowledge of the incident.
A spokesman told the Calcutta Telegraph: “We work with international clients and our employees are trained to interact with them.
“If there had been any racial discrimination I would have received a complaint but I know nothing of it.”
India rejects caste 'racism' debate
The Indian Government has reiterated its opposition to discussing caste discrimination at a UN conference on racism later this month.
Authorities in Delhi said the caste issue is not the same as racism and that any discrimination on the basis of caste must be treated as an internal matter.
But members of India's lowest caste disagree, saying the subject should be on the conference agenda.
Human rights activists have also criticised the government's decision.
Opinion is divided over the origins of the caste system, which dates back more than 3,000 years.
The degree to which it is a central tenet of Hinduism or the legacy of a power structure imposed by invaders from central Asia centuries ago is open to debate.
Higher caste members were traditionally associated with professions such as the priesthood, while those from lower castes were classed as servants; the lowest caste of all has traditionally been referred to as outcasts or untouchables.
Even so, the Indian Government has introduced a series of measures to give these people access to education and non-traditional jobs.
Officially banned
Discrimination by caste is outlawed in India but it is a part of daily life for the world's second most populous nation.
And, as indicated by the deaths of two teenage lovers who were hanged by fellow villagers earlier this month in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh for being from different castes, individuals ignore the system at their peril.
But the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Omar Abdullah, said on Thursday caste discrimination could not be equated with racism.
The minister rejected calls to discuss the caste system at the UN World Conference Against Racism due to be held in South Africa later this month.
That decision has angered the Dalits - the 160 million members of India's lowest caste.
Dalit representatives told reporters that India was failing to put its experience of racism and intolerance under international scrutiny.
The decision has also attracted criticism from the non-governmental organisation, Human Rights Watch.
Spokeswoman Smita Narula says caste-based discrimination is Asia's "hidden apartheid", which affects tens of millions of people across south Asia.
Authorities in Delhi said the caste issue is not the same as racism and that any discrimination on the basis of caste must be treated as an internal matter.
But members of India's lowest caste disagree, saying the subject should be on the conference agenda.
Human rights activists have also criticised the government's decision.
Opinion is divided over the origins of the caste system, which dates back more than 3,000 years.
The degree to which it is a central tenet of Hinduism or the legacy of a power structure imposed by invaders from central Asia centuries ago is open to debate.
Higher caste members were traditionally associated with professions such as the priesthood, while those from lower castes were classed as servants; the lowest caste of all has traditionally been referred to as outcasts or untouchables.
Even so, the Indian Government has introduced a series of measures to give these people access to education and non-traditional jobs.
Officially banned
Discrimination by caste is outlawed in India but it is a part of daily life for the world's second most populous nation.
And, as indicated by the deaths of two teenage lovers who were hanged by fellow villagers earlier this month in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh for being from different castes, individuals ignore the system at their peril.
But the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Omar Abdullah, said on Thursday caste discrimination could not be equated with racism.
The minister rejected calls to discuss the caste system at the UN World Conference Against Racism due to be held in South Africa later this month.
That decision has angered the Dalits - the 160 million members of India's lowest caste.
Dalit representatives told reporters that India was failing to put its experience of racism and intolerance under international scrutiny.
The decision has also attracted criticism from the non-governmental organisation, Human Rights Watch.
Spokeswoman Smita Narula says caste-based discrimination is Asia's "hidden apartheid", which affects tens of millions of people across south Asia.
Racial Discrimination in India
Racism in North India
As an undergraduate student at Delhi University in the early 1990s, Dr Renu (Gupta) Naidu took little notice when her friends routinely referred to students from the Northeast as 'Chinkies' or hurled obscenities or racial insults at them.
"Any Northeastern student entering a college campus earns the epithet 'Chinky' on day one, and has to live with being looked at as, at the very least, an oddity, for the rest of her or his stay," says Naidu. "Students told me about being asked questions like whether they eat rats." This racial hostility comes unbidden from the non-Northeastern student community.
Naidu had herself faced discrimination as a "non-Marathi" student during her post-graduation at Nagpur, and it dawned on her that Northeastern students, with their distinctive 'non-plainspeople' epicanthic features, behavior and dress habits, were in all likelihood confronting far more discrimination than she had. In June 2006, Naidu was awarded a PhD for her work on the lives of Northeastern tribal girl students in Delhi, with her research based on interviews with 200 students from 10 colleges in Delhi University's North Campus.
The first disturbing fact - statistics compiled from official records of various colleges in the city - that Naidu's study has uncovered is that the dropout rates of Northeastern students touches 50 per cent, with more girls dropping out than boys. The reasons for this trend, according to Naidu, lie in the intense socio-cultural conflict, and the resultant stress, that impact all aspects of the lives of students from the Northeast.
"For a student from the Northeast, irrespective of whether she or he is from an urban or tribal background, Delhi is like an alien land," says Naidu. "The language is unfamiliar, the cultural and social terrain is unknown. Even getting a letter of introduction to open a bank account is a mammoth task. What is more, their distinctive physical features immediately mark them out as outsiders among the local populace."
Being cheated as a matter of course is one direct fallout of this situation. Angom*, a Manipuri student at Miranda House told Naidu, "Even rickshaw-pullers, auto-drivers, vegetable vendors and bus conductors cheat us because they know that we are not aware of the price of things here, and are not in a position to drive hard bargains."
India No Stranger to Racism
As a person from the North East of India, bearing Mongoloid stature, feature and colour I cannot help but say that my personal experiences in Delhi, the capital city of India, have witnessed numerous slurs of racist fork. They were not soft ones. I am not alone to be subjected to such indignities.
Everyone from the region has his or her own stories and experiences, which have been rather silently buried. I know such vocal attacks have, on many occasions, resulted in violent anger, arguments and fights between the so-called “mainstream” people and the people from the North East. Mother, they are racist lot. Unfortunately, I have actually accepted the inhumane practice as a part of the culture of the “mainstream” people. A culture cultivated by the “sink of localism and den of ignorance”. But that doesn’t mean I accept racism.
The outrage explosion over the “racist attacks” on one Bollywood actress, Shilpa Shetty by her white housemates on British reality TV show are an exaggerated one, even when racism ought to be condemned everywhere. The drama that has been unfolding for about two weeks made it obvious that Indians are ready to talk about Indians being racially discriminated outside India. But what about the equally serious condemnable racial discrimination within India?
Did we ever care to raise the issue and put a question to ourselves? Are we blind to it because we practise it indignantly? If Shilpa Shetty was called a “Paki” by her white’s housemates, the Indian citizens from the North East states are still called “Chinese”, “Chinky”, “Japanese”, “Koreans” or “Nepalese.” If Shilpa Shetty was poked for her poor chicken cooking style, the North Easterners are poked for their “dirty”, “foul smell”, “stinking”, and “junglee” food habits. There were times when North East students living in the Capital city of India had to actually ask their landlords or hostel warden, “What smell is allowed to cook and what is not?”
Through all these years, it was not an easy ride. I realised that it resulted out of the much-celebrated diversity of India, which is quenched by ignorance and chauvinism. As culture clash, the ride demanded tolerance and understanding, which was not an easy one. I have accepted the discrimination that is, otherwise, getting negatively popular in the ancient city. Day in and day out, friends, acquaintances or people who are new to the city would narrate their experiences, which are more than enough to put the nation to shame. I was lately wishing there was some sort of reactive internal ministry, like the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) that reacted immediately for Shilpa Shetty, to look into the disturbing situation of racial discrimination in India.
I wonder if the media, general public who overflow with sympathy and empathy for Shilpa Shetty, or the authorities in the government are aware about the pubs, restaurants and discotheques in Delhi showing no entry to people from the North East of India? The grim situation does not care even if you have money. They care about your colour. That’s how they made the judgement and decision. You bear the Mongoloid look and the door is closed before you. So don’t be surprised when those bouncers did not let you in. India’s democracy has too big a space that it grows racism too.
When I was first told about these public places and their sick practise in Delhi some four years back, I was taken aback. Shocked actually. But I said to myself who cares when I will never be seeking comfort or chilling out at these places even if I have money for the purpose. On the other hand, my second thought resulted in anger, desperation and helplessness over such harsh inhumane practice. It is still alive and going strong. For me it is not about these places, but the racial discrimination practised in these places, which is getting more popular than before. It affects me as I also bear the same colour, feature and stature, which are used to judge a person. If you don’t fit into their scheme of colour, you cannot be a customer. In the growing urban Indian market the password is defined by the colour of your skin. I thought it would be colourblind. I thought it would be race-blind.
So I asked how they made their options. They told me that they have to find a place that accept and admit them despite the colour of their skin. Even then, how can we enter, eat, sit, and dance away as if we never care? As if it is nothing. Is this a surrender to racial discrimination? When we learn to accept that one cannot enter that place, eat there, dance there, or sit there because the colour of one’s skin is different, we realized that the other Indian is much alive. The others in the village.
The situation is grimmer for the girls and women from the North East. Due to the colour of their skin, they were popularly believed and supposed to be an “easy” and “cheap” sex prey. They were victimized lot. Delhi is a living witness to that. Asked them? Everyone has a story. A story untold. A story filled with shame and anger. They represent the silent untold stories. My cousin’s white husband was shocked and surprised when he found that his wife and her friends, all from the North East of India, were not allowed to enter to eat and dance in one of the city’s public places during one of their visit to Delhi recently. The reason was out of a judgement where the colour of their skin was already used to decide them to be a customer or not. Delhi never seems to care as places like these multiply with inhumane norms and rules defined by race and colour.
I am not talking about stray or isolated incident. This is about everyday life and struggle in Delhi. Shilpa Shetty’s experiences and the feelings and sympathy that we have, as concerned citizens, exported to England should be immediately imported back to Delhi to understand and redress the racial bruises of the other Indians. They are being discriminated more than what Shilpa Shetty could imagine. Worst, they are not paid for it. It is beyond the MEA’s jurisdiction to talk about the racial discrimination that is seriously taking place in India. But on moral and humanitarian ground, it could if it is so concerned about racial discrimination and not just Shilpa Shetty. If not, authorities of the several internal ministries, media, NGO’s and concerned activists should immediately step in to kill the colourful game that has already become shamelessly popular and dirty. The celebration of diversity has no meaning if the nation remains silent to the domestic realities of racial abuse and discrimination. India is no stranger to racism.
Battles with racism in India's own backyard
It has long been known that India has its own brand of racism, manifested in a number of ways. Largely out of sight from the rest of the world, the malaise needed the gutsy chief minister of India's northeastern state of Mizoram, Pu Lalthanhawla, to get dramatic exposure.
"I am a victim of racism," he told an international forum on water recently in Singapore, leaving his fellow delegates red-faced. "In India, people ask me if I am an Indian. When I go south (India), people ask me such questions. They ask me if I am from Nepal or elsewhere. They forget that the northeast is part of India."
The chief minister's remarks come at a time when New Delhi is protesting racist attacks on Indian students in Australia. His observations, though embarrassing, have a strong basis. For a long time, men and women from the northeastern states have found themselves alienated because of their facial features, which are very different from the rest of Indians.
Students, for instance, have found it harder to get college or university seats or to find living accommodations. They have also been victimized by fraud.
Prejudice against color and caste is a serious issue in a nation that essentially consists of three races — the Aryans of generally fair complexions from northern States, the usually dark-skinned Dravidians from the south and the light-colored people with Mongoloid features from the northeast.
It may sound ridiculous that Indians who fight against color bias are themselves practitioners of it. To this day, most matrimonial advertisements in the media ask for fair brides. Dark girls are often discriminated against, and it is not rare to find their families being forced to part with a huge dowry to find a groom. Wheatish-looking actress and social activist Nandita Das felt harassed for a long time because of the way her makeup men tried to paint her face a deathly white.
Of late, Indian men appear increasingly conscious of their skin color. A range of cosmetic products promise to make them fairer and "more handsome," clearly indicating an unhealthy link between complexion and the image of beauty. The dangers of such advertising cannot be underestimated in a nation where various forms of racism create havoc that threaten the very fabric of a peaceful society. Caste is one form, a horribly dividing force.
RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
we are hearing about it every now and then. Every second news is related to racial discrimination in any way whether we take an example of any foreign country or India itself. But, what do we know about it?
Recently, Amitabh Bachchan has refused to take PhD degree from an Australian university because of the recent attacks on Indian students. But, I want to ask one question here, who is actually bothered about India? Nobody. We have witnessed a lot of instances of racial discrimination within India. Lets take the recent example of Marathi and North Indians. But, nobody is serious about it. Has anybody said or took any action just like Amitabh Bachchan. No. It’s still going on. Political parties want it to be going on for their personal benefits. Everybody is saying Australia is bad... Canada is bad... they don’t respect Indians, but the actual truth is the other way round. The situation of other countries is far better than India.
In India, people from one state can't go to another state for their own betterment. For example, the people from Bihar can not visit West Bengal. North Indians can not work in Mumbai. Their children are forced to study Marathi. Why? It is just because they are residing in Maharashtra. Now, is this not a racial discrimination? We have seen a lot of attacks on North and East Indians. Who is accountable and responsible for this?
When girl students from East India go to North India or South India for higher studies, people don’t treat them as Indian. Why? They look at the girl with an obscene aspect…why? Is this not a racial discrimination? Has anybody took any action against this. No. Don’t you think we should take care of our own issues first.
Everybody is questioning India about these issues. United States government has just given instructions to its people to avoid visiting India. They have refused to visit India not because of terrorist attacks, but because of the increasing number of attacks on foreign tourists.
Rape, racial attacks, eve teasing, all are present in our own homeland- India and we are blaming Australians to be racist against the Indians. Are we not doing the same thing with our foreign guests? We don’t have any rights to blame others until and unless we have a clean past record. Australians are also pointing out to our people, just because of past incidents in India.
Why can't we change ourselves and make ourselves united to fight against the wrong. If only we reform our outlook then only we can bring changes in the mentality of others. The time has come when we all need to come together and pull up our socks, raise our hands against racial discrimination.
As an undergraduate student at Delhi University in the early 1990s, Dr Renu (Gupta) Naidu took little notice when her friends routinely referred to students from the Northeast as 'Chinkies' or hurled obscenities or racial insults at them.
"Any Northeastern student entering a college campus earns the epithet 'Chinky' on day one, and has to live with being looked at as, at the very least, an oddity, for the rest of her or his stay," says Naidu. "Students told me about being asked questions like whether they eat rats." This racial hostility comes unbidden from the non-Northeastern student community.
Naidu had herself faced discrimination as a "non-Marathi" student during her post-graduation at Nagpur, and it dawned on her that Northeastern students, with their distinctive 'non-plainspeople' epicanthic features, behavior and dress habits, were in all likelihood confronting far more discrimination than she had. In June 2006, Naidu was awarded a PhD for her work on the lives of Northeastern tribal girl students in Delhi, with her research based on interviews with 200 students from 10 colleges in Delhi University's North Campus.
The first disturbing fact - statistics compiled from official records of various colleges in the city - that Naidu's study has uncovered is that the dropout rates of Northeastern students touches 50 per cent, with more girls dropping out than boys. The reasons for this trend, according to Naidu, lie in the intense socio-cultural conflict, and the resultant stress, that impact all aspects of the lives of students from the Northeast.
"For a student from the Northeast, irrespective of whether she or he is from an urban or tribal background, Delhi is like an alien land," says Naidu. "The language is unfamiliar, the cultural and social terrain is unknown. Even getting a letter of introduction to open a bank account is a mammoth task. What is more, their distinctive physical features immediately mark them out as outsiders among the local populace."
Being cheated as a matter of course is one direct fallout of this situation. Angom*, a Manipuri student at Miranda House told Naidu, "Even rickshaw-pullers, auto-drivers, vegetable vendors and bus conductors cheat us because they know that we are not aware of the price of things here, and are not in a position to drive hard bargains."
India No Stranger to Racism
As a person from the North East of India, bearing Mongoloid stature, feature and colour I cannot help but say that my personal experiences in Delhi, the capital city of India, have witnessed numerous slurs of racist fork. They were not soft ones. I am not alone to be subjected to such indignities.
Everyone from the region has his or her own stories and experiences, which have been rather silently buried. I know such vocal attacks have, on many occasions, resulted in violent anger, arguments and fights between the so-called “mainstream” people and the people from the North East. Mother, they are racist lot. Unfortunately, I have actually accepted the inhumane practice as a part of the culture of the “mainstream” people. A culture cultivated by the “sink of localism and den of ignorance”. But that doesn’t mean I accept racism.
The outrage explosion over the “racist attacks” on one Bollywood actress, Shilpa Shetty by her white housemates on British reality TV show are an exaggerated one, even when racism ought to be condemned everywhere. The drama that has been unfolding for about two weeks made it obvious that Indians are ready to talk about Indians being racially discriminated outside India. But what about the equally serious condemnable racial discrimination within India?
Did we ever care to raise the issue and put a question to ourselves? Are we blind to it because we practise it indignantly? If Shilpa Shetty was called a “Paki” by her white’s housemates, the Indian citizens from the North East states are still called “Chinese”, “Chinky”, “Japanese”, “Koreans” or “Nepalese.” If Shilpa Shetty was poked for her poor chicken cooking style, the North Easterners are poked for their “dirty”, “foul smell”, “stinking”, and “junglee” food habits. There were times when North East students living in the Capital city of India had to actually ask their landlords or hostel warden, “What smell is allowed to cook and what is not?”
Through all these years, it was not an easy ride. I realised that it resulted out of the much-celebrated diversity of India, which is quenched by ignorance and chauvinism. As culture clash, the ride demanded tolerance and understanding, which was not an easy one. I have accepted the discrimination that is, otherwise, getting negatively popular in the ancient city. Day in and day out, friends, acquaintances or people who are new to the city would narrate their experiences, which are more than enough to put the nation to shame. I was lately wishing there was some sort of reactive internal ministry, like the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) that reacted immediately for Shilpa Shetty, to look into the disturbing situation of racial discrimination in India.
I wonder if the media, general public who overflow with sympathy and empathy for Shilpa Shetty, or the authorities in the government are aware about the pubs, restaurants and discotheques in Delhi showing no entry to people from the North East of India? The grim situation does not care even if you have money. They care about your colour. That’s how they made the judgement and decision. You bear the Mongoloid look and the door is closed before you. So don’t be surprised when those bouncers did not let you in. India’s democracy has too big a space that it grows racism too.
When I was first told about these public places and their sick practise in Delhi some four years back, I was taken aback. Shocked actually. But I said to myself who cares when I will never be seeking comfort or chilling out at these places even if I have money for the purpose. On the other hand, my second thought resulted in anger, desperation and helplessness over such harsh inhumane practice. It is still alive and going strong. For me it is not about these places, but the racial discrimination practised in these places, which is getting more popular than before. It affects me as I also bear the same colour, feature and stature, which are used to judge a person. If you don’t fit into their scheme of colour, you cannot be a customer. In the growing urban Indian market the password is defined by the colour of your skin. I thought it would be colourblind. I thought it would be race-blind.
So I asked how they made their options. They told me that they have to find a place that accept and admit them despite the colour of their skin. Even then, how can we enter, eat, sit, and dance away as if we never care? As if it is nothing. Is this a surrender to racial discrimination? When we learn to accept that one cannot enter that place, eat there, dance there, or sit there because the colour of one’s skin is different, we realized that the other Indian is much alive. The others in the village.
The situation is grimmer for the girls and women from the North East. Due to the colour of their skin, they were popularly believed and supposed to be an “easy” and “cheap” sex prey. They were victimized lot. Delhi is a living witness to that. Asked them? Everyone has a story. A story untold. A story filled with shame and anger. They represent the silent untold stories. My cousin’s white husband was shocked and surprised when he found that his wife and her friends, all from the North East of India, were not allowed to enter to eat and dance in one of the city’s public places during one of their visit to Delhi recently. The reason was out of a judgement where the colour of their skin was already used to decide them to be a customer or not. Delhi never seems to care as places like these multiply with inhumane norms and rules defined by race and colour.
I am not talking about stray or isolated incident. This is about everyday life and struggle in Delhi. Shilpa Shetty’s experiences and the feelings and sympathy that we have, as concerned citizens, exported to England should be immediately imported back to Delhi to understand and redress the racial bruises of the other Indians. They are being discriminated more than what Shilpa Shetty could imagine. Worst, they are not paid for it. It is beyond the MEA’s jurisdiction to talk about the racial discrimination that is seriously taking place in India. But on moral and humanitarian ground, it could if it is so concerned about racial discrimination and not just Shilpa Shetty. If not, authorities of the several internal ministries, media, NGO’s and concerned activists should immediately step in to kill the colourful game that has already become shamelessly popular and dirty. The celebration of diversity has no meaning if the nation remains silent to the domestic realities of racial abuse and discrimination. India is no stranger to racism.
Battles with racism in India's own backyard
It has long been known that India has its own brand of racism, manifested in a number of ways. Largely out of sight from the rest of the world, the malaise needed the gutsy chief minister of India's northeastern state of Mizoram, Pu Lalthanhawla, to get dramatic exposure.
"I am a victim of racism," he told an international forum on water recently in Singapore, leaving his fellow delegates red-faced. "In India, people ask me if I am an Indian. When I go south (India), people ask me such questions. They ask me if I am from Nepal or elsewhere. They forget that the northeast is part of India."
The chief minister's remarks come at a time when New Delhi is protesting racist attacks on Indian students in Australia. His observations, though embarrassing, have a strong basis. For a long time, men and women from the northeastern states have found themselves alienated because of their facial features, which are very different from the rest of Indians.
Students, for instance, have found it harder to get college or university seats or to find living accommodations. They have also been victimized by fraud.
Prejudice against color and caste is a serious issue in a nation that essentially consists of three races — the Aryans of generally fair complexions from northern States, the usually dark-skinned Dravidians from the south and the light-colored people with Mongoloid features from the northeast.
It may sound ridiculous that Indians who fight against color bias are themselves practitioners of it. To this day, most matrimonial advertisements in the media ask for fair brides. Dark girls are often discriminated against, and it is not rare to find their families being forced to part with a huge dowry to find a groom. Wheatish-looking actress and social activist Nandita Das felt harassed for a long time because of the way her makeup men tried to paint her face a deathly white.
Of late, Indian men appear increasingly conscious of their skin color. A range of cosmetic products promise to make them fairer and "more handsome," clearly indicating an unhealthy link between complexion and the image of beauty. The dangers of such advertising cannot be underestimated in a nation where various forms of racism create havoc that threaten the very fabric of a peaceful society. Caste is one form, a horribly dividing force.
RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
we are hearing about it every now and then. Every second news is related to racial discrimination in any way whether we take an example of any foreign country or India itself. But, what do we know about it?
Recently, Amitabh Bachchan has refused to take PhD degree from an Australian university because of the recent attacks on Indian students. But, I want to ask one question here, who is actually bothered about India? Nobody. We have witnessed a lot of instances of racial discrimination within India. Lets take the recent example of Marathi and North Indians. But, nobody is serious about it. Has anybody said or took any action just like Amitabh Bachchan. No. It’s still going on. Political parties want it to be going on for their personal benefits. Everybody is saying Australia is bad... Canada is bad... they don’t respect Indians, but the actual truth is the other way round. The situation of other countries is far better than India.
In India, people from one state can't go to another state for their own betterment. For example, the people from Bihar can not visit West Bengal. North Indians can not work in Mumbai. Their children are forced to study Marathi. Why? It is just because they are residing in Maharashtra. Now, is this not a racial discrimination? We have seen a lot of attacks on North and East Indians. Who is accountable and responsible for this?
When girl students from East India go to North India or South India for higher studies, people don’t treat them as Indian. Why? They look at the girl with an obscene aspect…why? Is this not a racial discrimination? Has anybody took any action against this. No. Don’t you think we should take care of our own issues first.
Everybody is questioning India about these issues. United States government has just given instructions to its people to avoid visiting India. They have refused to visit India not because of terrorist attacks, but because of the increasing number of attacks on foreign tourists.
Rape, racial attacks, eve teasing, all are present in our own homeland- India and we are blaming Australians to be racist against the Indians. Are we not doing the same thing with our foreign guests? We don’t have any rights to blame others until and unless we have a clean past record. Australians are also pointing out to our people, just because of past incidents in India.
Why can't we change ourselves and make ourselves united to fight against the wrong. If only we reform our outlook then only we can bring changes in the mentality of others. The time has come when we all need to come together and pull up our socks, raise our hands against racial discrimination.
India Is Racist Too
It has been long known that India has its own brand of racism, and what is worse, there are many kinds of it. But they were largely kept away from the world. However, it needed the gutsy Chief Minister of India’s north-eastern State of Mizoram, Pu Lalthanhawla, to dramatically expose the malaise in an international forum. ‘‘I am a victim of racism,’’ he told a recent seminar on water in Singapore, leaving his fellow delegates red-faced. ‘‘In India, people ask me if I am an Indian. When I go to south (India), people ask me such questions. They ask me if I am from Nepal or elsewhere. They forget that the northeast is part of India.”
The Chief Minister’s remarks come uncomfortably at a time when New Delhi is protesting racist attacks on Indian students in Australia, and his observations though embarrassing have a strong basis. For long, men and women from the northeastern States have found themselves alienated because of their facial features that are very different from the rest of Indians. Students, for instance, have found it harder to get college or university seats or living accommodation. Also, they have been victims of cheating and other forms of fraud.
However, the prejudice against colour and caste is a far more serious issue in a nation that essentially consists of three races – the generally fair complexioned Aryans from northern States, the usually dark skinned Dravidians from the south and the mongoloid featured light coloured people of the northeast.
To this day, most matrimonial advertisements in the media ask for fair brides, and dark girls are often discriminated. It is not exactly rare to find them being forced to part with a huge dowry or bride price to find a groom. Wheatish looking actress and social activist Nandita Das felt harassed for a long time at the way her makeup men tried painting her face a deathly white.
Of late, Indian men too appear to be increasingly conscious of the colour of their own skin. A range of cosmetic products promises to make them fairer, and “more handsome”, clearly indicating an unhealthy link between complexion and beauty. The dangers of such propaganda cannot be underestimated in India where other forms of racism create havoc threatening society’s peace and fabric.
The Chief Minister’s remarks come uncomfortably at a time when New Delhi is protesting racist attacks on Indian students in Australia, and his observations though embarrassing have a strong basis. For long, men and women from the northeastern States have found themselves alienated because of their facial features that are very different from the rest of Indians. Students, for instance, have found it harder to get college or university seats or living accommodation. Also, they have been victims of cheating and other forms of fraud.
However, the prejudice against colour and caste is a far more serious issue in a nation that essentially consists of three races – the generally fair complexioned Aryans from northern States, the usually dark skinned Dravidians from the south and the mongoloid featured light coloured people of the northeast.
To this day, most matrimonial advertisements in the media ask for fair brides, and dark girls are often discriminated. It is not exactly rare to find them being forced to part with a huge dowry or bride price to find a groom. Wheatish looking actress and social activist Nandita Das felt harassed for a long time at the way her makeup men tried painting her face a deathly white.
Of late, Indian men too appear to be increasingly conscious of the colour of their own skin. A range of cosmetic products promises to make them fairer, and “more handsome”, clearly indicating an unhealthy link between complexion and beauty. The dangers of such propaganda cannot be underestimated in India where other forms of racism create havoc threatening society’s peace and fabric.
'India Is Racist, And Happy About It'
Diepiriye Kuku, a Black American PhD student at the Delhi School of Economics, shares with us his first-time experience with racial discrimination in India.
In his first-time experience, he encountered the Delhi public which literally stops and stares. Children and adults alike, love to tease, taunt, poke and peer at him from the corner of their eyes, giving him a harrowing experience. For instance, he once stood gazing at the giraffes at the Lucknow Zoo only to turn back and see 50-odd families gawking at him rather than the exhibit. Parents abruptly withdrew infants that inquisitively wandered towards him. He felt like an exotic African creature-cum-spectacle, stirring fear and awe. Even his attempts to beguile the public through simple greetings or smiles are often not reciprocated. Instead, the look of wonder swells as if this was all part of the act and they were all playing our parts.
Racism is never a personal experience. Racism in India is systematic and independent of the presence of foreigners of any hue. This climate permits and promotes this lawlessness and disdain for dark skin. Most Indian pop icons have light-damn-near-white skin. Several stars even promote skin-bleaching creams that promise to improve one's popularity and career success.
Discrimination in Delhi surpasses the denial of courtesy. He have been denied visas, apartments, entrance to discos, attentiveness, kindness and the benefit of doubt. Furthermore, the lack of neighbourliness exceeds what the ‘locals’ describe as normal for a capital already known for its coldness.
His partner is white and he is black, facts of which the Indian public reminds us daily through stereotyping. Bank associates and Mall shop attendants have denied him attentiveness, while falling over to please his white friend.
"An African has come," a guard announced over the intercom as he showed up in the ATM bank. ATM guards stand and salute his white friend, while one guard actually asked him why he had come to the bank machine, as if he was saying that Kuku was taking over his shift.
It is shocking that people wear liberalism as a sign of modernity, yet revert to ultraconservatism when actually faced with difference. Outside of specific anchors of discourse such as Reservations, there is no consensus that discrimination is a redeemable social ill. This is the real issue with discrimination in India: her own citizens suffer and we are only encouraged to ignore situations that make us all feel powerless. Be it the mute-witnesses seeing racial difference for the first time, kids learning racism from their folks, or the blacks and northeasterners who feel victimised by the public, few operate from a position that believes in change.
In his first-time experience, he encountered the Delhi public which literally stops and stares. Children and adults alike, love to tease, taunt, poke and peer at him from the corner of their eyes, giving him a harrowing experience. For instance, he once stood gazing at the giraffes at the Lucknow Zoo only to turn back and see 50-odd families gawking at him rather than the exhibit. Parents abruptly withdrew infants that inquisitively wandered towards him. He felt like an exotic African creature-cum-spectacle, stirring fear and awe. Even his attempts to beguile the public through simple greetings or smiles are often not reciprocated. Instead, the look of wonder swells as if this was all part of the act and they were all playing our parts.
Racism is never a personal experience. Racism in India is systematic and independent of the presence of foreigners of any hue. This climate permits and promotes this lawlessness and disdain for dark skin. Most Indian pop icons have light-damn-near-white skin. Several stars even promote skin-bleaching creams that promise to improve one's popularity and career success.
Discrimination in Delhi surpasses the denial of courtesy. He have been denied visas, apartments, entrance to discos, attentiveness, kindness and the benefit of doubt. Furthermore, the lack of neighbourliness exceeds what the ‘locals’ describe as normal for a capital already known for its coldness.
His partner is white and he is black, facts of which the Indian public reminds us daily through stereotyping. Bank associates and Mall shop attendants have denied him attentiveness, while falling over to please his white friend.
"An African has come," a guard announced over the intercom as he showed up in the ATM bank. ATM guards stand and salute his white friend, while one guard actually asked him why he had come to the bank machine, as if he was saying that Kuku was taking over his shift.
It is shocking that people wear liberalism as a sign of modernity, yet revert to ultraconservatism when actually faced with difference. Outside of specific anchors of discourse such as Reservations, there is no consensus that discrimination is a redeemable social ill. This is the real issue with discrimination in India: her own citizens suffer and we are only encouraged to ignore situations that make us all feel powerless. Be it the mute-witnesses seeing racial difference for the first time, kids learning racism from their folks, or the blacks and northeasterners who feel victimised by the public, few operate from a position that believes in change.
86% Of India's North Easterners Face Racial Discrimination In National Capital
According to a study conducted by a help & support center, 86% of North East Indian communities face racial discrimination living in Delhi for period of two years and more. A random sampling size was used and hence result is unbiased. New comers, who are less than two years in national capital, tensely said “No” on racial discrimination faced by the north east communities, while 86% of those who are two years and more, face discrimination for the reason of their difference in looks, cultures, languages and being outsiders.
The other 14% said that they did not face racial discrimination but felt people calling them chinkies, Nepalis, free culture and strangers, which they did not consider racial discrimination. Also, half of those who said that they did not face racial discrimination (14%) lived in Delhi less than 2 years. Bemused by their outlook, the study’s analysts explain that the longer one stays in national capital, reveals the racial discrimination faced by the north easterners. The study also reveals the possibilities that the longer the one stays, the higher the chance to face racial discrimination. For example, they would have seen physical attacks, sexual assaults and vulgar remarks. Other less common discriminating acts are eve teasing, landlord harassment, police harressment, employer harressment, and even media vulgarity towards north easterners.
The interest of the majority population cannot rule over the minority’s interest unless it has its own justification. Just because they look different from the rest of the majority population is not an adequate justification. This issue of racial discrimination faced by its own citizen of the country cannot be less cared. It affects the country’s status, giving others the impression that discriminating Indians at their countries is acceptable too. It also affects the stability of the country to a small extent, when this discriminated minority determines to retaliate against the racial attacks, opening the society to more unwarranted troubles. Lamentably, in India, the scope of participants involved in the racial attacks includes unequal employment opportunity, unfair treatment from society and the police. The media is also on the side of the majority, and thus we could be certain that there would be people who are determined to stand up from their own cause – to end racial discrimination in India.
According to a study conducted by a help & support center, 86% of North East Indian communities face racial discrimination living in Delhi for period of two years and more. A random sampling size was used and hence result is unbiased. New comers, who are less than two years in national capital, tensely said “No” on racial discrimination faced by the north east communities, while 86% of those who are two years and more, face discrimination for the reason of their difference in looks, cultures, languages and being outsiders.
The other 14% said that they did not face racial discrimination but felt people calling them chinkies, Nepalis, free culture and strangers, which they did not consider racial discrimination. Also, half of those who said that they did not face racial discrimination (14%) lived in Delhi less than 2 years. Bemused by their outlook, the study’s analysts explain that the longer one stays in national capital, reveals the racial discrimination faced by the north easterners. The study also reveals the possibilities that the longer the one stays, the higher the chance to face racial discrimination. For example, they would have seen physical attacks, sexual assaults and vulgar remarks. Other less common discriminating acts are eve teasing, landlord harassment, police harressment, employer harressment, and even media vulgarity towards north easterners.
The interest of the majority population cannot rule over the minority’s interest unless it has its own justification. Just because they look different from the rest of the majority population is not an adequate justification. This issue of racial discrimination faced by its own citizen of the country cannot be less cared. It affects the country’s status, giving others the impression that discriminating Indians at their countries is acceptable too. It also affects the stability of the country to a small extent, when this discriminated minority determines to retaliate against the racial attacks, opening the society to more unwarranted troubles. Lamentably, in India, the scope of participants involved in the racial attacks includes unequal employment opportunity, unfair treatment from society and the police. The media is also on the side of the majority, and thus we could be certain that there would be people who are determined to stand up from their own cause – to end racial discrimination in India.
The other 14% said that they did not face racial discrimination but felt people calling them chinkies, Nepalis, free culture and strangers, which they did not consider racial discrimination. Also, half of those who said that they did not face racial discrimination (14%) lived in Delhi less than 2 years. Bemused by their outlook, the study’s analysts explain that the longer one stays in national capital, reveals the racial discrimination faced by the north easterners. The study also reveals the possibilities that the longer the one stays, the higher the chance to face racial discrimination. For example, they would have seen physical attacks, sexual assaults and vulgar remarks. Other less common discriminating acts are eve teasing, landlord harassment, police harressment, employer harressment, and even media vulgarity towards north easterners.
The interest of the majority population cannot rule over the minority’s interest unless it has its own justification. Just because they look different from the rest of the majority population is not an adequate justification. This issue of racial discrimination faced by its own citizen of the country cannot be less cared. It affects the country’s status, giving others the impression that discriminating Indians at their countries is acceptable too. It also affects the stability of the country to a small extent, when this discriminated minority determines to retaliate against the racial attacks, opening the society to more unwarranted troubles. Lamentably, in India, the scope of participants involved in the racial attacks includes unequal employment opportunity, unfair treatment from society and the police. The media is also on the side of the majority, and thus we could be certain that there would be people who are determined to stand up from their own cause – to end racial discrimination in India.
According to a study conducted by a help & support center, 86% of North East Indian communities face racial discrimination living in Delhi for period of two years and more. A random sampling size was used and hence result is unbiased. New comers, who are less than two years in national capital, tensely said “No” on racial discrimination faced by the north east communities, while 86% of those who are two years and more, face discrimination for the reason of their difference in looks, cultures, languages and being outsiders.
The other 14% said that they did not face racial discrimination but felt people calling them chinkies, Nepalis, free culture and strangers, which they did not consider racial discrimination. Also, half of those who said that they did not face racial discrimination (14%) lived in Delhi less than 2 years. Bemused by their outlook, the study’s analysts explain that the longer one stays in national capital, reveals the racial discrimination faced by the north easterners. The study also reveals the possibilities that the longer the one stays, the higher the chance to face racial discrimination. For example, they would have seen physical attacks, sexual assaults and vulgar remarks. Other less common discriminating acts are eve teasing, landlord harassment, police harressment, employer harressment, and even media vulgarity towards north easterners.
The interest of the majority population cannot rule over the minority’s interest unless it has its own justification. Just because they look different from the rest of the majority population is not an adequate justification. This issue of racial discrimination faced by its own citizen of the country cannot be less cared. It affects the country’s status, giving others the impression that discriminating Indians at their countries is acceptable too. It also affects the stability of the country to a small extent, when this discriminated minority determines to retaliate against the racial attacks, opening the society to more unwarranted troubles. Lamentably, in India, the scope of participants involved in the racial attacks includes unequal employment opportunity, unfair treatment from society and the police. The media is also on the side of the majority, and thus we could be certain that there would be people who are determined to stand up from their own cause – to end racial discrimination in India.
Racial discrimination: The plight of India
In India, people from one state cannot go to another state for their own betterment. For example, the people from Bihar cannot visit West Bengal. North Indians cannot work in Mumbai and their children are forced to study Marathi just because they are residing in Maharashtra. Not because there are legal laws which limit the people’s demographic, but because racial discrimination is there to discourage people from moving from one state to another. When girl students from East India go to North India or South India for higher studies, people do not treat them as Indian. As such, this limitation in the people’s demographic is affecting factor mobility in India and the productivity of India’s economy at large. Indians from one state did not go to another state because they are worried of racial attacks, verbally or physically.
Everybody is questioning India about issues of racial discrimination, after the Australian racist attacks on Indians in Australia. The United States government had given instructions to its people to avoid visiting India. They have refused to visit India not because of terrorist attacks, but because of the increasing number of attacks on foreign tourists. Here, fears of racial attacks can also become a reason to deter foreigners from coming to India. This affects India’s tourism revenue and could, perhaps, pose a barrier for entrepreneurs to start a business in India.
Everybody is questioning India about issues of racial discrimination, after the Australian racist attacks on Indians in Australia. The United States government had given instructions to its people to avoid visiting India. They have refused to visit India not because of terrorist attacks, but because of the increasing number of attacks on foreign tourists. Here, fears of racial attacks can also become a reason to deter foreigners from coming to India. This affects India’s tourism revenue and could, perhaps, pose a barrier for entrepreneurs to start a business in India.
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