Far too many people in print and in person have been questioning if India is racist, what with marriage markets asking for "fair" matches and "fairness" creams now being sold. There are personal grievances of those traumatised by being called dark, and there sense gives way to generalisation of unviable sort.
Added to that there is the latest Miss US of Indian origin - and some stupid person declaring she would never have made it in her ancestral land. Trust Indians and their colonial heritage to make some westward looking Indians always going "we too" whenever there is something going on in west, as if every crime is fashionable when originated in west.
Hence this refuting.
If India as a whole really had a colour preference for light skin or other things like hair and eyes, roster of top stars of Indian cinema would be very different - Kabir Bedi instead of AB, Prithvi instead of SRK, Sarika instead of Rekha and Zeenat, Mandakini instead of Madhuri, and as for Karisma she would rule forever with Kajol and Priyanka and everyone else far behind. As it is the fair ones - fair by standards followed in west, that is - had it harder, and not due to lack of talent or even due to discrimination against them.
If India were racist, the list above would not have missed but instead would be dominated entirely by the children of Shashi Kapoor, what with their blond heritage of Kendall blood and blue eyes of their Kapoor grandmother along with extreme good looks of Prithviraj Kapoor ensuring their pink blond blue eyed colours adding to the Kapoor beauty, and their Kendall heritage of theatre topping their Kapoor theatre and film heritage. Sanjna Kapoor alone would have ruled among female stars last quarter of century, with her brother Karan leaving no space for other males what with his gold hair adding to his Shashi Kapoor's photocopy features. As it is, they had a fair chance, and chose other paths, but not because of discrimination by viewers one way or other due to colour.
If India were racist, Sangam would be ridiculous with the damsel falling for the tall dark educated silent gentleman while the fair pink blue eyed lover is spurned on and on and on.
If India were racist Madhubala would not be the beauty in Mughal e Azam, rather it would be the light eyed fairer damsel whom most people not only don't notice but have no clue when reading this what I am referring to. Anyone from west with a racist mindset on the other hand would not only notice first and foremost this one but ask why she was not the heroine, or did the prince prefer dark women.
If India were racist Meena Kumari would not be top heroine never mind her supreme talent, fearless Nadia would.
If India were racist Rajanikant would not be the huge star that he has been, and Tom Alter would sweep all film industries in every part of India. As it is he has had a fair share of roles including some Indian characters.
As for personal criticisms faced by various people who were dark shared here, hey, if you were all pink you would face some other point of criticism, because it is only an excuse for people to be mean to make you feel bad about yourself. If you are as beautiful as Aishwarya is, guess what, people find excuses galore anyway to talk rubbish. You can have beauty, education, intelligence, friendliness, all you can imagine, they would still do it some way. More if you are a woman, but even if you are a man they would do their best to make you feel like garbage, just so you are in their power. AB faced this too, and so do most people.
Except those with clout of particular kind. Perhaps.
Or may be not.
But even on personal and social levels, who do you think anyone's parents and grandparents would prefer - a person of one's own culture with education albeit dark skin, or a blond blue eyed person of another culture and questionable culture or education? We all know the answer, and that is, most relatives would prefer the indigenous darker one over the other, unless there were overwhelming other factors equalising them. (What the young person prefers for oneself has nothing to do with racism, it is about personal choice dictated by youth and falling in love.) Such overwhelming factors are likely to be educational superiority of huge kind in favour of the outsider, for one thing, or something unpalatable against the desi one, for another.
For a true racist behaviour try reading Tehmina Durrani's autobiography and particularly about her ancestors marrying European women only to whitewash the progeny; not Indians! Acceptance of outsiders, yes, not easily, but such preference for sake of results of fair children, no, not Indian way.
As for skin products, they are neither better nor worse than other cosmetics now India and the world takes for granted - lipstick, powder, rouge, mascara et al, not to mention hair colouring that is now almost compulsory if one wishes to not be taken for a rural bumpkin. None of these products are any more necessary for anyone than the hugely sold cola drinks, so they have to advertise to sell, so they have to make people feel inadequate without them. Profit by guilt, much like the industry devoted to trimming people down by constant hammering at psyche so women starve and rich go get surgery. Health is not their concern, it is something you should need to worry and pay yet more to get over your health damage caused by starving or surgery or other stupidity.
Never mind the cosmetics and people and other stuff - and look at ancient Indian concepts and epics if one is looking for what India thinks or feels. Beloved Krishna was dark, whether born or due to running around after cattle, as was the revered and loved Raam, but more to the point, the whole war of Mahaabhaarat was fought over a beauty whose hue was dusky. Indian concepts of beauty have to do with geometry - large eyes, acquiline nose, delicate lips, long hair, well shaped body (which is not skin and bone of size zero of today's idiocy but rather explicitly visible in temples of yore), and no particular preference for colour in gradation of beauty.
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