Racism in India

By Meera Shenoy

The world is developing and changing every day. New technology, new discoveries, new ways of doing things. But sadly, in this new, developed world, many social issues are still prevalent. ‘Racism’ simply means discrimination between people based on their ‘race’, which is skin color, ethnicity, or language. People are not only ill-treated based on their skin color, but also their accent, clothing, or even cuisine.

India is very well-known globally, for diversity in culture, food, language, everything. They say, “India is the land of diversity.” I am often very fascinated by this, because looking at other, relatively larger countries (larger in area), only their accent and geographical aspects differ throughout the county. When we look at India, we have managed to have so many different cuisines, languages, cultures, in a smaller area. When our country is so wonderful, why do we consider certain countries as superior?

India was ruled by the British for over hundred years. As they ruled our country, they were superior to us at that time. But unfortunately, we have still not grown out of that mindset. A dark complexion was said to be dirty. But the color of our skin is primarily decided by the amount of melanin that is present in our body. As Indians, we should be proud of our beautiful brown skin. Our ancestors fought for independence and sacrificed their lives for our country. And we must not disrespect their efforts and sacrifices by supporting such injustice.

As the youth of India, and also the future of India, it is our responsibility to maintain the diversity in our cultures, traditions, and languages, while our nation keeps us united.

By Meera Shenoy