By Janani Gurumurthy and Shreyans Padmanaban
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” -Martin Luther King Jr
Over the past few weeks, we have been accustomed to hearing the stories of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many others who have been the victims of police brutality in the streets of the United States of America. Their stories have led to the global resurgence of the #blacklivesmatter movement which aims to spread awareness about the issues that Africa-American people face in this current day and age. While most of us may think that the dream that Martin Luther King Jr had all those many years ago would have been crafted into reality, unfortunately, his dreams remain just that, dreams. The recent names that have surfaced are nothing but the tip of the iceberg. There are so many names which do not even make it to the news. Their lives matter. All of their lives matter. It is disappointing that the concept of racism still exists in modern society. African-americans in the United States are vcitims of racial profiling even when going about their day to day activities. Deeply ingrained stereotypes overshadow the individual, often leading to their persecution for crimes they have not committed.
Racism, however, is not an issue that can be solved simply by providing one community a voice. Racism is an underlying ideology, a longstanding practice in most parts of the world in different shapes and forms which needs to be upturned and thrown out of modern society. What we fail to understand is that racism is not restricted to one country or one part of the world but is widespread globally.
As Indians, we are used to hearing the phrase “Unity in diversity” which forms a major part of our identity. However, this phrase is nothing but misleading and hides the harsh reality of living in a diverse country such as India. The 6th wave of the World Values Survey conducted in 2013 pointed out that over 43.5% of Indians would prefer not to have neighbours of a different race. That is close to half the population of the biggest democracy in the world. This points to a embedded mentality of discrimination that runs rampant within this society. Not only that, there have been annual reports of lyching of African students in various parts of the country which further deepens the divide that we as humanity should be working hard to eliminate.
Moreover, these instances along with the widespread usage of derogatory terms for those who look different from ourselves, such as calling those from the north-eastern part of the country “Chinese” (amongst a multitude of less savoury words), points to a racist divide which is longstanding within our country. This increased in severity since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, with instances of Indians with mongoloid features being abused, harassed and openly discriminated against as ‘perpetrators of the virus’.
Racism however is still only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how our country handles diversity. Our country plays host to numerous other intolerances that have not changed over the decades of development we have witnessed. The grand vision of our constitution has gone largely unrealized since the foundation of our independent nation. The instances of casteism and religious intolerance have not ceased to exist. In fact, they still find a way to rear their heads in some shape or form even in the metropolitan cities of the country. While we may be living in the 21st century, our mindsets are still stuck in the pre-independence era.
Just this week, a 17 year old dalit was shot dead for having entered a temple. Mob lynching of lower castes is commonplace in rural areas. Religious intolerances run rampant over our media, through our politicians and even in our daily lives. So yes, things have changed since 2013. But we have no reason to believe that the ongoing 7th wave of the World Values survey is going to find any improvement with regards to our tolerance levels. And maybe the 8th wave won’t either, unless we stand up and take action individually.
Recognising that racial discrimination and persecution of minorities is growing unchecked within our borders is long overdue. These problems are not and never have been limited to the United States of America and the time has come for us to recognise and make changes on a policy as well at an individual level. The Democratic Party of the United States of America have unveiled a new police reform bill targeted at preventing police misconduct and recognising racial discrimination. They have taken a step towards creating a better tomorrow for all of their citizens. We, as a country should be imbibing those values and striving to make these changes to become a more inclusive society. Supporting the #blacklivesmatter movement is a right step in eliminating racial discrimination but it cannot be at the cost of ignoring the very same problems that exist within our country.
Humanity as a species have been able to overcome the unforgiving, cruel yet entrancing mistress that is nature. But we seem to be unable to quell the demons of our own creation. Racism is one such demon, an antiquity of the dark ages that plagues modern society till date. And this antiquity does not warrant preservation.
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