Indian's Too Are Racist?
After almost sixty years of independence, loads been done to improve our life style and thinking, we are on verge of becoming economic power, IT industries is bombing, many multinationals are heading towards India to get the benefits of out sourcing (BPO and KPO), the metro are getting crowded day by with migration of people from different states (obvious job reason). But main question and most pressuring question which India is still facing that castisim is racism? Are we Indian are most racist people? We complain about racist attacks and racism problem Indian face in Europe and in US, but we don’t realize that even in India we do differentiate the people on their colour, caste and religion. Aren’t we?
Well unfortunately it’s true that we do differentiate and make decision about the person, even with out knowing about his habits and thinking. Many villages are strictly segregated by caste, and the untouchables or Dalits (Harijans) are often forbidden to drink from upper-caste wells or to worship at their temples. Many people from lower caste in some villages are not allowed to sit with upper caste people or attend any ceremony of upper caste people.
I do remember when I joined the college, some students ask me my name so I just tell them my first name in introduction, they would insist on knowing the surname. I couldn't understand why - until later I realized that they wanted to get an idea about which state I belong to. So I understand even in universities skin colour, state-belonging is very important in the initial stages of knowing someone.
From my life experience especially here in UK, I was most appalled and shocked when finding out about Indian thinking. Mostly, because I was under the assumption that Indians- well particularly Hindus- were the most tolerant and accepting people.
But as I have learned, this is not the case. And the whole thing about them being open is totally off the mark (from what I have seen).
Most of the Indians I have met are just fine to work with or live alongside white people. Even to "score" with a white chick is cool for the young guys. But to get married with White girl or African origin girl is total different ball game. I know many guys who do have white girl friends and also have African origin girl’s friends but are shamed to bring in front of society. (Unless of course it’s just to get papers or stay in UK only).
Recently our political leaders as well as some general public are saying same slogan about Sonia Gandhi (Videshi). After 2004 election many parties were so against her to become PM not because she was congress president but because she is from Italian origin. It shame!! Well she might not have been the best PM in some peoples point of views but you cant deny anyone from acquiring government post because she is Christians or born in different country, because end of the day she married to Indian so she become Indian citizen, and our constitution don’t prohibit her to acquire highest office, so basically it’s a form of racism. The Indian Constitution explicitly allows naturalized Indians to hold the highest office, a provision inserted by the framers of the Constitution to allow Indians who had left the country during British rule to return and run for office if they desired. Whether this provision needs to be amended is a different issue. But the legality of a foreign-born leader is not in question. L.K. Advani leader of opposition which made Sonia Gandhi's Italian origin the mother lode of its campaign against her, was him self born in Sind, now a part of Pakistan. Section of India is so racist that they deny Gandhi the right to lead in government the party she led to victory in a democratic election.
Other example look at the matrimonial advert and TV programs you will find out, how much we are attracted for the colour of a mans skin, every matrimonial advert says, fair skin, beautiful and bla bla…In my opinion fairness equals talk of skin colour, which therefore equals racism.
The worst came after the Rahul Mahajan cocaine scandal, when Fatai was picked up by the Delhi police and kept in illegal confinement for three days. Why? They suspected he was a cocaine peddler. Says Fatai wryly, “Indians don’t want to make friends with a black man. Unless, of course, they get cocaine at discounted rates.” He echoes what most people of African descent will tell you in a candid moment: Indians are among the most colour-conscious and racist people in the world.
It hard to understand the complexity of Indian culture but we need to change our attitude as all human being are equal. As I will never able to understand how one service provider can become lower just by providing service to someone? How a person who is working as a carpenter, waterman and leather worker becomes lower than others for providing services to others?
The two-faces of India society will always be there. One face destroys all hope everyday and the other simply surprises us with daring hope, the moment you give up!
4 comments:
good site
As an american who lives in a condensed metro area with multicultural people, I've never had a problem with other races. But over the last couple of years, I've gotten to know alot of people from India and Nepal, and I found many of them to be very hostile and rude toward American culture, and more specifically, white people. I definitley feel like there is alot of hypocriticism and ignorance to the beliefs many of them practice since they contradict it in their social behavior. I don't believe every person from that part of the eastern world to be of such low character, but it does sadden me to think that these people who I once thought of to be compassionate and tolerable can sometimes turn out to be such deviant people, and without remorse.
I think the author does not know the complete meaning and nature of racism. Nobody believes that lower classes are of a different race in India, because everybody knows that they are of mixed/part Caucasian origin, some of them being converts to Christian and Muslim religions. Also there are no pure visible minorities in India, nobody can claim to be a complete white or black person. The fact is everyone in India is of partly Caucasian in origin, therefore there is no racism like the US or European nations where looks are the deciding factor of whether one is accepted in society or not. Also no single community or caste owns a major share of power (like whites in the west) in India, if so which community is it? If Indians were not tolerant, would they allow people from all religions and communities even minority communities to rise to the top posts like APJ Abdul Kalam(muslim President), the three khans of Bollywood who are top ranked actors, Sonia Gandhi(Italian Indian) who missed the prime minister's post by a hair's breadth, Ratan Tata (Persian zoroastrian).
Does any another country give prominence in every major sector to minority communities? How many top ranked (rank 1-5) politicians, industrialists, black/Asian actors are there in Europe or the US? To quote an example the average networth of whites compared to blacks is $80,000 to $8,000 with blacks having no access to financial tools or business assets(Source: US Census) Can we say that about the Hindus and any other community in India.
I have not got good jobs even though I have been in Mumbai for many years. This is because the people here are racists. They don't like people belonging to upper castes, other linguistic or religious groups. People in India are so bad that they don't even let their own people survive.
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