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The selection of Nina Davuluri (of Indian origin) as Miss America sparked an outrage on the social media. There were vicious tweets saying that in even in the land of her birth she would not have been crowned as a beauty queen because of her dark complexion. Similarly, journalist Monisha Rajesh’s article in the Guardian on the unfair obsession that Indians have with a lighter skin went viral on the social media and registered many hits. Ironically, Rajesh, a journalist and an author, herself had to face this bias when on an earlier visit to India for a book release, she found her photograph in a national daily suitably photoshopped to make her look 10 shades lighter than her original skin colour. Colonial legacy The preference for fair skin, with utter disregard to our genetics and environment and race, is evident in the matrimonial columns in national dailies where almost all "wanted" brides are fair. The legacy of the more than 250 years rule by the British has undeniably left a mark on our collective consciousness. We have internalised the mentality of the colonised and discriminate against brown or darker shades. Besides the racism of caste, class and gender, we also perpetuate racism based on skin tone. While the British memsahibs were a class apart, the deep-rooted desire was internalised to be like the rulers and even look like them as was the myth of British superiority. Even in Punjab, where the resistance to British rule was entrenched, it was indeed a compliment to look like a mem or memsahib. The huge number of young Punjabis who have a desire to marry a gori, is suggestive of a fascination for the "other." Starry culprits As if the prejudice against a dark skin tone was not damaging enough, the endorsement of skin-whitening products by a host of film actors, who rule our collective consciousness, adds to the aspirational quotient of those striving to get a fairer skin. If an Aishwarya Rai or a Katrina Kaif, because of their colour are screen goddesses, those like Bipasha Basu or Nandita Das have to have "dusky" appended to increase their appeal. As Das says, when she plays a woman from the upper middle class, her skin colour is lightened several shades while it it is fine for her to remain as she is if she is portraying a woman from the slums.
Not only female stars, but also heroes like John Abraham, Shahid Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan jumped on to the bandwagon to endorse fairness products. How ethical is it to use their power over people to reinforce deep-seated prejudices that can often erode an individual’s sense of self, is another question. Being comfortable in one’s skin Monika Singh, a Chandigarh-based clinical psychologist feels it is important to accept whatever your skin colour. As she puts it, "Even a campaign that says dark is beautiful is in a way discrimantion against those who are not dark. We can be brown, yellow, red or white. What difference does it make?" Rahul Nagar, a Delhi-based dermatologist too feels that beauty is a broad term which encompasses a whole spectrum. "Having a healthy, lustrous and disease-free skin is far better than a white skin — this is what I tell my patients. We can work towards making you beautiful overall not necessarily fair," asserts Nagar. Most doctors never promise instant fairness and beauty. Similarly, Chandigarh-based dermatologist Ruchi Rai counsels the girls who come to her for whitening treatments. "If it is pigmentation, I treat it but otherwise, I tell them to eat well and healthy. It is often that these young professionals skip breakfast or binge on junk food. A healthy skin is more attractive than a fair skin," she too maintains. Societal bias Whatever doctors and activists might spout, you only have to experience the pain of being dark, especially in the North, to realise that theorising does not work. The subtext almost always is: If you use the product in question, not only will you land an enviable job and partner, but also sail through life without a care in the world. If you can deal with any kind of prejudice with equanimity so much the better but many suffer due to the feelings of rejection and not measuring up to the socially acceptable standards of beauty. The premium on looking good (read fair) that other attributes of the personality are often dwarfed by this overweening desire to be "gora chhitta, dudh warga."(Punjabi expresion denoting milk-white complexion). Insensitive remarks such as "Ek taan kudi utton kali," (A girl and on top of that dark) or worse "Kidhe teh gayi hai?" (Whom does she resemble?) often leave in their wake deep marks on the psyche. A low self-esteem and sometimes even social withdrawal result from these barbs before one learns to deal with them and even shrug them off. Parents often transmit their own prejudices rather than reassure children. A mother who gives birth to a dark child (especially a girl) is often asked, "Ki khaake jammi si?" (What did you eat before giving birth to her?) For those who have fairer siblings, it’s a lifelong comparison and one has to listen to ridiculous comments from relatives, family friends and sometimes even random strangers while travelling by train or local transport. Manasi, a teacher, recounts how her husband (it was a love marriage) took a dig at her kale kale gaal, while her mother-in-law thanked god for at least making her grandsons fair. A campaign, "Dark is Beautiful", initiated by an NGO (Women of Worth) and headed by actor Nandita Das, seeks to focus on the discrimination based on skin colour and how it affects an individual’s self worth. We definitely need more campaigns like this.
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