"Man is a homo sapien - part of a larger group called 'Primates'. In fact our ancestors were apes and monkeys. We all evolved from them......." the biology teacher explained earnestly to an attentive class.
Suddenly a hand shot up.........the teacher looked at the boy in the first bench.
"Sir....I think you are 'racially abusing' us by calling us descendents of 'monkeys'.........."
Well the 'M-word' is now right up there......so the next time around you use that word make sure there is no human being around!! Even as the debate on racism and the 'M-word' gobbles up reams of newsprint and hours of prime time television, its time to put things in the right perspective.
It was amusing even shocking to see the kind of strong reactions the word "racism" can evoke. Though it is a forgone conclusion that no progressive society should tolerate racism, its time we looked at ourselves in the mirror and make an honest evaluation. I think we as a country have embraced 'racism' in a lot of ways - in fact it is now a part of our everyday life and we even fail to to recognise that in our midst. How else would you explain the our caste ridden society, religious bigotry, caste based politics to woo the voters and our very well known penchant for 'fair skin'. Well agreed, I am not sure if caste and religion might not fall into the purview of 'racism' but 'racism' according to me includes discrimination in any form and on any basis . We tend to ignore all these since we have lived with them all our lives. We assume it is all a part of the social fabric. But sadly it is not........we are only fooling ourselves. We created it and we have sustained it with and without our own knowledge - a kind of vicious cycle in fact.
In fact there is no society on earth that is free of prejudices and discrimination, but the greatness of the society lies in the effort it takes to recognise it in its midst and of course fight it.
'Racism' is alive and kicking- in fact it is living in our midst in various forms. Only we dont see it.
So the next time around you hanker for a 'fair looking' hero or heroine on screen, remember that the streaks of 'racism' in you are already at work!!!
