I am a loyal customer of Tanishq. I admire your branding, your poignant and spirited ads that leave me with a lasting impression.

Like the 2013 ad which touched on the theme of remarriage. Tanishq struck gold by featuring Priyanka Bose as ‘a gorgeous dusky bride on her wedding day'. Kudos for this initiative. Mia – ‘Best at work’ is another worthy mention.

Your ad for another collection said:  – ‘For the woman you always wanted to be’. It inspired one to take courage and follow their heart.

I am doing exactly that via this petition. I dug deep and found the issue lies on the surface itself.

It was your ad campaign for the recent Rivaah campaign, Wedding Jewellery – For Every Indian Bride, portraying brides from across states, that hit me hard: it features brides of only one skin tone - fair.

If a brand like Tanishq wants to sincerely celebrate women for who they are, it needs to recognise that women are equally different in their own unique way, not letting one standard of beauty be thrust upon them.

Sadly, I do not see equal representation. Most of your ads lean towards women with lighter skin tones.

I am a dark-skinned woman. Neither wheatish or ‘dusky’ (as some prefer to conveniently label it as such). My skin tone is simply dark brown. I have been identified as black as well by many and have experienced colour prejudice first hand.

In fact even today I suffer from low self-confidence. I know there are many men and women out there who struggle with the same. Can you imagine how much colourism (differentiation based on skin colour) affects us when it comes to marriage prospects?

Every girl dreams of her big day...to be the elegant princess, beaming with pure joy, they have seen in fairy tales...only to realize later that their hearts of gold will be outweighed with the pressure to be this flawless idealistic image that is epitomized time and again.

They need genuine role models to look up to. You cannot aspire if there is hardly any representation.

My daughter has the same complexion as me. I wonder at times how it will be for her.

And then, I look at her twinkling eyes and soulful smile that brightens her innocent little face without any blemish of self-doubt.

Your ads need to change. My daughter and I, and countless others need inclusive ads that celebrate our uniqueness, our diversity.

I want my favourite jewellery brand to do the right thing. Tanishq, I want you to publicly commit to representing Indian women of all skin tones in all future ad campaigns.

#ColourMeRight