KOCHI: Artist P.S. Jaya who has been waging a 125-day protest over discrimination against Dalits over the suicide of Rohith Vemula painting her body and face black concluded it at Tripunithura RLV College of Music on Monday. The day was named ‘Her Black Story’ and a variety of events were held on the campus on the day.
However, her protest which initially garnered attention due to its mode, has now invited criticism, especially from cultural and social activists. Equating Ms Jaya’s body art installation to the White Washing in the Hollywood (where white actors made up as black or Asian characters), Hyderabad University student and Dalit activist Vaikhari Aryat said that she felt insulted and enraged by the mode of protest and its general acceptance.
Writing in an online magazine she said that it is sad that people are celebrating a ‘public performance that likens black skin colour with Dalits’ and shows the ignorance about Dalit identity on the part of the artist and her supporters. “I am ready to paint my body red and walk the street for four months. I am also ready to write a book on my experience “Her Red Story” at the end of the project. Will you publish my book?” she asks.
According to cultural activist Tasni Banu, as a form of protest, the action attracted wide attention. “But I doubt the political efficacy of such a protest, especially when the protest has now turned into a kind of marketing effort. The oppression and discrimination in Indian society are not manifested by the colour of the skin alone. It has got many social, cultural and economic facets. To expose it, a much more deep- rooted activism is needed,” she said. Actor-cum-activist Jolly Chirayath said: “I am afraid the protest is being taken over by people engaged in mass marketing strategies.”
