India home to the second largest population in the world, is probably the most racist place on earth. Though there are no laws that are racist, the culture is steeped in color discrimination. At every level of society, there is naked and blatant preference for lighter colored skin, be it in movies, in the media, in the choice of life partners, in choice of staff to employ, you can see it everywhere. The problem with this, as every ill in Indian society is this...... we just bear with it. When it comes to taking a stand, we are very weak in character!

Riding on this naked discriminatory culture, opportunistic cosmetic companies such as Unilever and Emami are blatantly selling products that claim to make the skin white. Firstly this is cheating, as it is impossible to change the skin color. Therefore, they are cheating the consumers, which should be taken up as a fraud on the Indian consumers. Secondly, and more damagingly, they are pounding the Indian television viewers with incessant advertisements that exhort everyone to change their skin color, with tasteless arguments that dark skin is not desirable, that dark skin leads to failure, that dark skin will get you no good careers, or that dark skin will lead to failures in every sphere of life.

Bollywood movies, which have such a huge viewership here, blatantly create and spread skin color stereotypes. Normally, only light colored skins are preferred for lead roles, and dark skinned actors are given roles that are comic, ridiculed or are negative.

You are certainly aware that mass media has a huge influence on society and its behaviour. All of the above mentioned activity is surely having an influence on society, and is eating away at the collective self-esteem of our nation, making us all feel second class in this world, as our natural skin is not white, and is many shades of colors.... It even influences how our children treat each other, and as they grow up, they also become discriminatory citizens, and not mutually respecting ones.

How can we, a country that has a constitution that promises that nobody would be discriminated in any manner, allow the media to carry out such propaganda that could induce racist behaviour, color discrimination, and make millions of citizens feel awkward and discriminated against??

WHICH OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD ALLOWS COMPANIES AND MOVIE MAKERS TO INSULT, ON A DAILY BASIS, THE VERY CITIZENS OF THE COUNTRY, ON THE BASIS OF SKIN COLOR???

Please could you have some legislation passed that punishes such product manufacturers, on two counts: 1. For selling a spurious product, that claims to do what it does not! 2. For spreading values that are against human self respect, promoting hate of people of another skin, discrimination based on skin color, etc., You should punish these companies by making them pay out multiples of all the profits that they have made by thus cheating the consumers.

Secondly, could you legislate that any movie or advertisments that spread similar sentiments and discriminatory values, maybe punished severely. The producers and directors of these movies and advertisements must be brought to book, and fined severely enough to deter such behaviour.

IN FACT THESE VIOLATIONS MUST BE TREATED AS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, AS THEY ARE A VIOLATION OF EACH INDIVIDUAL'S RIGHT TO LIVE IN PEACE AND DIGNITY!

The fines collected from these corporations and media companies, should be used to set up a fund which could perhaps be used by the Information ministry to release promotional advertisements that correct these stereotypes and spread values of mutual self respect, and respect and love of diversity. Only this can take India on a path of development. We Indians have a right to have a positive self-image, so that, we can stand with our heads held high, rather than denigrate ourselves and feel inferior to other people of the world who have a different skin color.