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Last week, BlogHer CE Lanaid's post raised the issue of racial biases among ethnic minorities in America: A former professor of Indian-origin, who was unhappy that his son (then 19 years old with no college degree) had married an African-American woman, allegedly ordered his daughter-in-law to be killed. Lanaid's post has details about the case, so I'll skip those. What I'll attempt to do here is look at the role that race and skin color play in India (and, I am guessing, in a large part of the sub-continent).
You will find this post chock-a-block with likely's, probably's and maybe's. That's because I'm just beginning to dig deeper. Ideas and experiences are more than welcome.
Before I tread that dreaded path, a quick note about the Sparkle Rai case: This is a murder. No matter how racially, ethnically or culturally we try to define it, it is still a murder and there is no excuse for it. Contrary to some of the comments I have read on related blogs, this will be considered and prosecuted as a murder in India as well. If he did "get away" with it in India, it would be more due to bad policing than any cultural or legal sanction. However, what he may have gotten away with is his belief that his son was marrying the "wrong girl" and that he had to try hard to "fix the problem".
To discuss this fairly, it is absolutely essential that we decouple this case and how race plays out in America, from India's cultural and color biases. They are different. It's complicated, I know, but that's the only way it can be understood. There's never a single all-encompassing answer to any question about India.
Indians and race: What race do Indians belong to? I haven't the foggiest idea. There have been several theories about our racial roots, none too conclusive. Given the influx of foreign settlers over thousands of years, and the range of skin tones but roughly similar features that we share, we are probably a mash-up of several races.
Blogger Nita made an attempt to understand the complexities of India's racial origins. Her post led me to an Indian government policy not to track race:
Pursuant of the policy of the Govt. Of India to discourage community distinction based on Caste, the 1951 Census marked a complete departure from the traditional recording of Race, Tribe or Caste and the only relevant question on caste or tribe incorporated in the Census Schedule was to enquire if the person enumerated was a member of any 'Scheduled Caste', or any 'Scheduled Tribe' or any other 'Backward class' or if he was an 'Anglo Indian'.
In 1961 and 1971 Censuses the information was collected only for each Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe.
So, Indians, by definition, don't view each other by race the way it is understood in America. But we do differentiate (and discriminate) by region (most often characterized by different languages), caste, religion and class.
As a British colony, India did have its share of a brand of racism. But the British were sent packing, so who are we fighting over? Our own prejudices that we don't believe qualify as "racism".
How do we feel about other more clearly-defined races like Black or White? Mostly, we associate them with their economic, social and historical status: Whites are perceived as educated, smart, successful and well-off; Blacks as predominantly poor, uneducated and hence subjugated.
Also, India's last rulers were white, who held Indians as beneath them. So, it's likely that we think we are equally good and will one day prove to be their equals, but that doesn't necessarily make us compassionate towards other races. Or perhaps, this "insensitivity" or "prejudice" stems from ignorance: In the recent past Indians have had no direct experience of living with people of African origin. They were not in India, but the Europeans were, as was their worldview.
Again, the demarcations are not exact, but these perceptions are likely to play out in a marriage.
India and skin color: Yes, quite a few people in India -- the land of colors where white signifies death and mourning for many --- have a fetish for lighter skin tone. I can't put my finger on where or how this skewed sense of beauty originated. In Hindu pantheon, some of the most powerful and favorite
