The chat room: Black is the new black, Mr Tarun Vijay!

Ex-BJP MP caused widespread outrage when he said, “If we were racist, why would we have all the entire south? We have black people around us.”  Despite the resultant social tirade media against him, Vijay’s comments have only brought our nation’s preoccupation with skin tone into sharp focus. Brand expert Harish Bijoor talks to Darshana Ramdev about how history has left us with longstanding prejudices and why there is no room anymore for partisan strategies in an increasingly inclusive India.

“If we were racist, why would we have all the entire south…Tamil, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra…why do we live with them? We have black people around us."

These comments, made in remarkably bad taste by ex-BJP MP Tarun Vijay rightly sparked off a nationwide frenzy, with young India taking to social media to express their outrage, invoking a volley of repentance from the man himself. “Feel bad ,really feel sorry, my apologies to those who feel I said different than what I meant,” he said, to little avail. Social media has taken him on, guns blazing, revealing in turn, a collective preoccupation with skin tone.

“Tarun Vijay's comments have really stirred the pot of sentiment which seems to be prevalent. That's the sad part really,” said Bijoor. “Social media is rife with sensitive comments like 'In South India, we have very fair Brahmins.' This shows the kind of deep-rooted prejudices that live in the minds of Indians. The fact is that this whole Aryan-versus-Dravidian mindset has still not been purged and cleansed in this country.”

That racial divides continue to rule is a sad truth, he remarked. “The gentleman has simply brought a sentiment to the fore, which has since been made worse by a number of insensitive people joining the debate. If fair is beautiful, what is dark?”

While Vijay's comments appear to be more or less in line with an emerging political rhetoric, one driven by caste, religion and racial divide, they appear to indicate longstanding, colonial parameters. “It means the time has come for us to purge our minds of our own prejudices,” said Bijoor. “Besides, saying that the colour of your skin rules is not true at all, anywhere in the world! People of African origin, where this controversy really began, are shining all over the world, doing dramatically different things. Why then, do allow ourselves to be limited by the colour of our skin?”

These divides, old as they are, appear to stem from colonial-era beliefs. “History and Geography are great dividers,” Bijoor remarked. “The latter does so based on distance, but that's never the only factor. We differentiate ourselves based on our colour, food habits and of course, religion.  Unity in diversity is our theme, but clearly, that doesn't sit too well with a large number of people.”

Do our own preconceptions make room for these political barbs? “It happens on occasion, although I can't be sure what motivated Tarun Vijay in this case. And as we know, divide and rule has always been a popular strategy for the powers that be!” He ends on an optimistic note, saying, “However, these traditions are dying. We are moving toward a more inclusive India today and doing so with fervour. There isn't much scope anymore for these partisan attitudes.”