SKIN-COLOR DISCRIMINATION IN INDIA FROM A BLACK AMERICAN'S EXPERIENCE

'India Is Racist, and Happy About It' by Diepiriye Kuku (Outlook India)

"The writer is a black American PhD student at the Delhi School of Economics."

"Racism is never a personal experience. Racism in India is systematic and independent of the presence of foreigners of any hue. This climate permits and promotes this lawlessness and disdain for dark skin. Most Indian pop icons have light-damn-near-white skin. Several stars even promote skin-bleaching creams that promise to improve one’s popularity and career success. Matrimonial ads boast of fair, v. fair and v. very fair skin alongside foreign visas and advanced university degrees. Moreover, each time I visit one of Delhi’s clubhouses, I notice that I am the darkest person not wearing a work uniform. It’s unfair and ugly."