Saturday, June 14, 2008

Indian Racism

Are we racists?

I have always maintained that Indians are one of the most racist people on this planet. It is just that many of us don’t know that we are racist, and those who do know never acknowledge it. We have been practicing racism for ages and have institutionalized it into our daily lingo and even the religion.

When the word ‘racism’ was introduced into Indian media, most Indians thought it was an ‘artificial Western construct’, that is applicable only to the White people of the West when treating the people of other color, but definitely not applicable to Indians. It is something people in the West do to people like us and not the other way around. Their ideas on lofty ideas on Sanatana Dharma have deluded them into believing that we are not racist and definitely not discriminatory.

Third world to developing world

For many years, we were an inferior nation, a third world country, of brown people, a non-aligned state, impoverished and underdeveloped nation, etc. Therefore, we did not know what it means to be in a position of dominance.

In the recent times, our country is rubbing shoulders with bigwigs of the world, and trying to take the role of dominance and leadership. This is reflected more so in sports (read Cricket).

When India won World Cup in 1983 (Cricket), we were still reeling from the colonial inferiority, and beating the whole world was a moment of pride, not just for sports, but for the morale of entire nation.

However, in the recent times, we are no longer a nation of poor people, not when it comes to Cricket. We are no longer seen as a third world and impoverished country. Our boys travel first class, have sports gear from best brands, and have lot of cash to throw around on fancy parties, expensive gifts and lavish houses. When they go abroad, they are no longer sportsmen from a poor nation. They are in fact richer than those firangis.

Earlier, we were seen as meek. No longer is it the case. We have our own share of bullies.

Harbhajan – Symonds spate

In one of the recent incidents, involving Harbhajan Singh (Bhajji) of India and Symonds of Australia, where the latter accused the former of invoking a racial slur, the whole country stood in unanimity to support Bhajji. Many team members came onto TV and media to tell us how it was uncharacteristic of Bhajji to say something like that, how he is a nice kid, and so on.

And our champion of ‘everything that India is worse at’, Navjot Singh Sidhu, who talks in a singsong banter, who failed at everything else in life other than laughing at every silly joke, comes onto TV and talks for 10 minutes non-stop, on why he thinks Bhajji is innocent. In that monologue, he does not present facts and he does not reason. In fact, there is no iota of intelligence. It was empty rhetoric to which only the Indian masses can fall for, just the way they fall prey to empty politicians promises every election.

The next day, I woke up to see the headlines in TOI read: Indian wins Sydney Test. Well, I don’t follow cricket, but you cannot escape cricket in India. I knew that we lost the game. So, I was curious. I began to read.

The TOI thought it was a funny idea to say that India won the Test Match just because Bhajji was given a clean chit. That’s how we celebrate our victories. Not on the playground, not in the real sports, but by muscle power, using our overpopulation as our strength to send SMS, use TV channels, and use constant bickering, shouting, wailing till the world changes its opinion – not because we are right, only because we are too many.

I didn’t know anything about that game. I didn’t know if Bhajji really said anything. I didn’t know if he is that kind of person. I didn’t watch that game and didn’t watch many games before that. I do not profess to be an expert and hence I stayed out of the whole discussion.

But I had a hunch. A hunch that something was not right! That the entire hullabaloo was just show of strength to acquit the accused, not because he is innocent, but only because is he OUR guy. And remember the axiom – Indians are not racist.

Bhajji slaps Sreesanth

Few months later, the same Bhajji was seen slapping a fellow Indian cricketer on national TV. That’s it! He was banned for few weeks. And many people came onto TV to say that, ‘Yes! That was very characteristic of Bhajji’. They said he was a violent player. And what he did was very disgraceful.

The same Bhajji, to whom it was uncharacteristic be violent and verbal, was exact opposite a few months later.

Indians are not racist

The golden rule is – We Indians are not racist. If we said something racial, it’s just the cultural and linguistic differences. However, when somebody does it to us, we feel really bad, get onto the TV and protest and cry till you apologize. [Refer to Shilpa Shetty’s case on Big Brother].

Cheerleaders at IPL

Now, in a new incident, few black cheerleaders were pulled out of a IPL cricket game at Mohali. The organizers pulled them out saying ‘the people here don’t want to see the dark people’. According to the cheerleaders, they used ‘n’ word and wanted see only ‘beautiful white girls’.

One of the cheerleaders said, "We were offended. This shouldn't be happening - especially after they made such a fuss over Big Brother."

To start with, the whole idea of hiring black cheerleaders for our IPL games is a gross mistake. It is too much of politically-correctness to handle for Indians. I mean, ‘Come on! Can we cut the crap, stop all this politically-correct bullshit and get back to enjoying the beautiful white girls? Why do we have to put up with these black girls?’

Look at our heroines in the South India. We all know we have many dark women here, but do we allow them to get onto the screen? NO! Why? Because we don’t want to pay money to see dark women on screen! The same holds for IPL cheerleaders. We just want to see fair women. And if that means we have to import them from the North India, so be it. We have been doing this in our Cinema for many years now. And if we have to import them from other countries, it’s even better. That way we can ogle at them without having to worry about blemishing our sacred Bharat Nari.

And look at us in the North India. Why do you think we treat these dark girls this way? Do you see us vying for them ever? There are some dark girls in the North and we are usually ashamed of it. And yes, gori pari from firang is any day welcome in our midst.

Too much of politically-correctness

I think this whole globalization is taking a toll on us. It is putting too many demands on being politically-correct. I don’t think we can keep straight face for too long.

Hiring these black cheerleaders and asking them to dance on national TV is like making the village Brahmin sit next a Dalit. It’s just too uncomfortable. The village Brahmin can tolerate it for few minutes, to be politically correct, but you can’t push it too far. Eventually, he will just burst out and use the language that he is really used to, kick that Dalit out and show him his place.

I don’t think we should try to break or change the natural order of things. Didn’t you know that our caste system and our preference for color schemes actually bring order to the nature? Do you want to upset the natural harmony our villages? Do you want us to go against all our teachings for all these centuries to see the distasteful black women dancing around on TV?

You must be kidding.

Thank you, but no thanks. Please take this political correctness to your West. It’s not for us Indians. We are like this only. And don’t try to change us!

14 comments:

  1. "I don’t think we can keep straight face for too long" - Sujai

    Nice quote, Sujai :-)
    Unfortunately, I do think that this will continue. Because we Indians are very good at explaining away all our pathetic characteristics with some mumbo-jumbo. Yes, humanbeings everywhere have a tendency to justify their own filth. But, Indians are the champions in this art! No one can come close to us. Really.

    Again, good post.
    -vikadakavi

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  2. It is the Indian hierarchy. Since we consider ourselves to be inferior to white skinned foreigners we think it is our right to treat blacks as inferior to us. And sorry to say many North Indians practise that with their dark skinned southern counterparts. There are not many dark skinned Indians who will take pride in their skin color and accept it as a natural attribute. No one will dare advertise in matrimonial sites that they are dark. They'd rather say they are wheatish(whatever crap that means) or fair. They will try to alter thei dark skin by using fairness creams.

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  3. The racism among educated middle-class Indians is one of the reasons I now seldom mix with Indians.

    ~ Vinod

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  4. Are all 'north' Indians fair skinned? From where do we get that logic? That’s another one of the deep rooted racist beliefs we have been nurturing.

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  5. Yes Indians are racist just like the rest of the world. It always confused me, my family is a mixture of colour so I always found it so strange when fair skin was deemed to be better looking. Its utter, utter stupidity that an Indian can use the 'n' word. We were all subjects of colonialism, if we want to be logical, the fairer the skin the more hatred they should get. Its just utterly stupid. What about other Asians? Chinese for example, they are quite fair...but wait, Indians hate east Asians too so there is racism that exists there as well...what a joke.

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  6. Racism was not practised by ancient Vedic hindus or the original brahmins, but we are continuously being told that it is an inherent fault of Indian culture. If draupadi and krishna were acceptable to the aryans are noble people, why not the darkskinned indians. Wake up you foolish Indians who hate your own culture. I am sure as majority indians are dark soon they will be accepted into the mainstream and preference for fair skin will be gone.

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  7. Indian racism is unique in its own way. Indians hate even people with the same skin colour. Dalits and class-I (caste wise) are of same coloured in a particular region. If the class-I person is in India, he can hate and maintain distance from the dalits (Class-III or IV or may be even less). But the same Class-I person when reaches western country he complains that the western people are racists. North Indians think they are always better than South Indians. Even Hindi movies and some TV channels ridicule south indian movies, languages and people. I have a stupid question in my mind. Why do South Indians have to learn an extra language (Hindi). Why can't English be our national language. Indians cannot accept English as national language but everyone tries to speak that language. I sometimes wonder how idiotic and ignorant are we Indians. Indians should clean their backyard first and then complain about anyone else.

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  8. Very much true, infact my fiancee is a mixed Afro-indian from caribbean and not fair skinned.
    When i told my indian friends this. their first reation was "hey why are you doing this?"
    so did my family, the funny thing is not all members of my family are fair, and even i am wheatish, lol.

    But who cares, i am happy to marry my fiancee who am sure would be a good wife...

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  9. I am quite suprise that the author has completely ignored the racism faced by the CHINKEES of India.

    It was just like how in a recent discussion in NDTV , the presenter completely ignored when it comes to racism towards the Indians from its north-eastern parts.

    it is the racist nature of the Indian , that allows that attitude of ignoring to flourish ?

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  10. Anonymous:

    I am quite suprise that the author has completely ignored the racism faced by the CHINKEES of India...In another topic on this blog titled, "Great Indian Culture", I write:

    "We don’t want ‘Chinese-looking’ people (Mizos and Manipuris, though Indian, face constant discrimination and ridicule in a city like Bangalore)."

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  11. I laugh when people complain of racism abroad, that too Punjabi, Haryanvi guys who think that they are racially the next best thing to a German.
    But the fact is that the best they could be nearer (racially) to is a Pakistani or Afghani, not much further.

    These Punjabi and Haryanvi guys considering themselves to be at the top of racial pecking order in India therefore tend to behave in very snotty, irresponsible, uncultured manner.
    They get away in India but once abroad e.g. Australia, they meet their superiors, because of their upbringing till then they still try to act as in India.

    Soon they find that they meet their masters in racism and their mannerisms are rewarded with the same impunity which they are so accustomed of giving to others in India.
    But I guess what goes around comes around.

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  12. You racist bastard's make e ashamed to be an Indian. Inherent racism that has been implemented since the days of British colonialism. Just remember you whitecocksucker - Dravidian's ruled India, and will rule again!

    P.S. Perhaps the main reason you hate on the darker Indian is because of this? Would make a hell of a lot of sense

    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Dravidian%20Penis

    Just My Two Rupees!

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  13. Ah!
    Finally, we can agree on something! :)

    My guess is, there is simply too much diversity in India for different racial groups to be friendly to one another.

    And whoop-ee-do, I'm not the only one who noticed that all South Indian actresses who get cast on the silver screen are fair-skinned.

    A little story, if you will:
    I study at a college having a sizable number of foreign students (uncoincidentally enough, most of them are fair-skinned). I remember how I was so tired once, I mistook the staff bus to be the student bus and got the scolding of my lifetime to even think of making such a mistake. A while later, a foreign student hopped on and I stared in disbelief as the bus whizzed past me.

    If there's one thing Indians lack, it's self-respect.

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  14. https://www.facebook.com/boycottstarsandproducts/posts/608420982586050

    ReplyDelete

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