Every society, every country all over the world, has its share of social evils - racism, class discrimination, religious bigotry to list just a few - and India is no exception: we have discrimination based on caste, class, religion, gender and much more. But in each case, like other countries, India is fighting for change - fighting for a better future. But perhaps there is one social evil that is widespread and deep routed in India, and nothing, absolutely nothing, is being done to change it - it's the widespread discrimination based on the colour of your skin. White is beautiful, dark is ugly. It starts early - when a baby is born, the biggest compliment, in Bengal for instance, is to say - wah! atho phorsha. If you want your son to marry well - you pray for a girl that’s fair and lovely. Colour prejudice in India is not only widespread, analysts say it's getting worse every decade. They say forget the fact that nothing is being done to change discrimination based on the colour of one's skin - on the contrary - we seem to be doing our best to make this prejudice deeper and more pernicious. We sell products, creams and gels and allow advertisements that reinforce this social evil. But perhaps in the face of all this commercial and social pressure - there is some hope - the young in India could, just could, be fighting back.
