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“Haaye beta, tumhara rang itna saaf tha jab tum choti thi (your skin was so much lighter when you were younger)” - raise your hand if you’ve ever had this gem thrown at you, followed by a dramatic sigh and a click of the tongue. Raise your other hand if you weren’t allowed to play outside when it was sunny to avoid getting ‘dark,’ or spent your time after school getting haldi and besan rubbed on your arms, face and legs in a bid to make you fairer.
Prejudice against dark-skinned people, especially women, is not a new phenomenon but one that has been deeply rooted in our culture for a very long time. Young girls and boys being told as they grow up that having fair skin determines the quality of their life distorts their sense of self and ingrains what’s basically colourism at a psychological level. Indians, as a race, as largely dark-skinned, and there’s not much that can be done to change that – it’s time we all accepted it.
But it isn’t really that simple, is it? All around us we see fair faces plastered on billboards and on television. There has been an influx of foreign models, many even hired for looking ‘somewhat Indian’ (note: dark hair, fair skin) or as racially-ambiguous as possible. This is who the audience wants to see; who they aspire to be, and the preference and love for fair skin have only become clearer over time with the anonymity that the internet provides.
Social media has served as an incredibly empowering platform but the ugliness of people that can also come out is astounding. That too to pull down complete strangers without any reason. Nidhi Sunil was recently trolled on her Instagram page for being a dark-skinned model after posting a photograph from one of her assignments. The account that was used to attack her was very obviously fake with no real name or image on display. Trolling aside, it’s the mindset of the user that speaks volumes of Indian mentality.
For anyone that has met, worked with or just seen Nidhi, such statements are just ridiculous. Not only is she a model that has graced countless magazine covers and campaigns in India as well as walked the runway for a number of designers in fashion shows, but also has big international brand campaigns on her resume. More than that, in this writer’s opinion, she is just simply stunning and incredible at what she does. So how does one have the courage to pose such a statement against someone with such accomplishments as her?
Because she’s an Indian woman, with dark skin? That too modelling?! Oh Lord, have mercy!
After 6 years of being in the fashion industry, you’d imagine that Nidhi has heard all the criticisms that come along with being in the public eye, but that doesn’t mean that a person becomes immune to it, nor make such statements easier to digest either. This latest Instagram incident goes beyond an anonymous user being a prick online just because they can. Speaking to Nidhi over the phone she said this particular case stood out because it resonated in real life and with her experiences at work. “Of course, people don’t talk to you like this in day-to-day life, but the sentiments are there. Things like I’m too dark to fit into a certain brand image or type.”
Speaking about colourism, Nidhi and I agreed about the absurdity of Indians’ dislike for brown skin. “As a race and culturally, we don’t think our skin is beautiful or aspirational. That it’s something that can sell products to any kind of demographic,” she says. “This is a particularly Indian mindset. We are ashamed of our own skin colour.”
‘Found(n)ation Alteration’, a photo-series by Arjun Mark for currentMood Magazine that Nidhi was a part of addresses the colour bias that exists across the world. “The birthplace of Colourism /Shadeism cannot be traced to a country or geographic region, but to the hearts and minds of those who have perpetuated this preference. It impacts our thinking and our choices— whether we choose to notice it, disregard it or accept it,” wrote Mark on Facebook. “We now live in a Color-Conscious society that is promoting extreme self-hate.”
It can’t be said for certain what the cause of this fair skin-fixation really is, but as Nidhi shared, having to face colourism in your own country makes you extremely comfortable in your own body and you hate yourself for something you have no control over. Outspoken female role models are few and far between in India, where such actions could result in public outcry and professional/financial losses. “It really boggles my mind that we want role models that are light skinned and it ends up being people across borders,” says Nidhi. When she called out the Instagram troll she got girls from across the country writing to her, thanking her for calling out the colourism in India, something they too face constantly in their lives.
Our complex relationship with complexions gets fed more and more as we grow up. We need more people like Nidhi that have a platform and audience, using it to publically shed light on a prevailing mentality that we seriously need to address. We’re Indians – our skin colour will always be hues of brown and the fact that we can’t see the beauty in our own skin is tragic.
Feature image courtesy /
Publication: ‘Found(n)ation Alteration’ for currentMood Mag
Photographer: Arjun Mark
Instagram: @arjun.mark
Concept and Styling: Krishna Mukhi for currentMood Mag
Models: Nidhi Sunil (Inega Model Management) and Sasha (TFM India)
Make up : Sonic Sarwate for MAC Cosmetics india
Hair: Pooja Rohira
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