SAY 'NO' TO RACISM
A photo of a black girl that appeared in facebook,and the derogatory comments that accompany it ridiculing her blackness,prompted me to write this instant article.An instant article is written without any preparation,solely relying on the writer's previous knowledge,because the subject before us needs a quick response.
A distinction should be made between good humour and bad taste.The comments in Facebook belong to the latter category.
There is a misconception among a large section of Malayalees that 'black' is synonymous with 'bad' and 'evil'.This has been firmly entrenched in their minds with the widespread use of some words and phrases
with racist connotations,such as 'karidinam'
(black day),'karutha adhyayam (black chapter),'karinkali'(betrayer),'karinchanda'
(black market),'karimpatika'(blacklist)etc etc.The anti-black culture is augmented by
the showing of black flags to political opponents and by the pouring of 'kari oil' on their posters.
Ironically,not all things black are regarded
as bad.Black cars,black coffee,black shoes,black aluva,black umbrella,Blackberry,
tarred roads etc are our favourites.Elderly
people with snow-white hair(including myself),try to hide our real age,applying the blackest dye available.
Again,ironically,Sri krishna is called 'karmukilvarnan' and worshipped.
There's a misconception among some malayalees that Africa is 'the dark continent',as it was in the past centuries.Some journalists also use this phrase,unaware of the present reality in Africa.
Africans and Indians have a shared history
of colonial oppression and racial discrimination.Mahatma Gandhi was thrown from a train in South Africa because an Indian was regarded as inferior to the white
man.Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years because he fought for equality,freedom
and dignity for the black people.Martin Luther King was gunned down by a white racist because he fought for the emancipation of African Americans.
Racism and castism (untouchability) are the
two sides of same coin.While Africans were
enslaved and denied freedom and dignity,the
harijans of India suffered similar or worse
indignities such as 'theendal',denial of entry to temples etc.It's in this context that the historical importance of the Vaikom
Satyagraha,in which Mahatma Gandhi took part
should be understood.
The shared history and struggle of Indians and Africans emphasize the need to say "No" to racism in one voice.
Blackness is not a disqualification in anything.In Miss World and Miss Universe contests,black girls stand shoulder to shoulder with girls of any colour and win
top positions.Take any field of human achievement;we find that black people are
second to none.Indeed,some achievements are
unattainable to other races,such as the sprint events in the Olympics,where the the finals in these events are an all-black spectacular.
Due to the low level of education in Kerala,
many Malayalees are unaware of the great achievements made by blacks in the past 80
years.Hence the racist comments in Facebook.
In 1936,in the Berlin Olympics,the legendary
American black athlete,Jessy Owens,stunned Adolf Hitler by winning 4 gold medals,
exploding the myth that the Aryan race was
superior.
In the post-colonial era,the achievements of
black people have been a tsunami,conquering
various fields of human activity,such as music,literature,arts,sports,cinema etc.Take
only one example:Venus Williams and Serena
Williams have dominated women tennis over the past decade,winning countless grandslams
and amassing a fortune of tens of millions of dollars.Malayalees can't even dream about
such achievements!
History was re-written in 1994,when Nelson
Mandela was elected first president of a free,democratic South Africa.In the same decade,KR Narayanan,a Dalit,was elected president of India.When Mandela and Narayanan met,it was the pinnacle of our
shared history and legacy,a glorious moment
of the triumph of non-racialism in Africa and India.
The rejection of racism by whites themselves
culminated in the election of Barack Obama as President of the USA in 2008.His surprising re-election this year is the solid proof of humanity's emphatic rejection
of racism.
It must be noted that thousands of Keralites
are living and living and working in Africa,enjoying the hospitality,generosity
and friendliness of Africans.I have lived
in Africa since 1974,and I have 100% praise
for them.
It must also be noted that Africa is rapidly
progressing economically,surpassing all other continents in growth rate.Realising this,China is making huge investments in
Africa,eyeing the huge reserves of untapped
oil,natural gas,diamonds,gold,uranium,copper
platinum,iron ore and other resources.
Racism is outdated and unacceptable in a democratic society.Indians making racist comments about a black girl is like 'the pot calling the kettle black'.
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