For every George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, there is a Sonu Sah and a Lal Swami and a Naresh Shinde and a Sukhdev Singh that go unnoticed in their own country that is heavily advocating for injustices in the west.
As I swipe through my Instagram stories, the advocacy for the Black Lives Movement and the death of George Floyd makes me feel gratified - people are using their social media to wake up and inform and educate others over the injustices black people face.
And making the move from India, my Instagram stories show me issues of two different countries across the world from each other, yet, this time there was a unified outpouring of online support for the movement from Indians too. This unprecedented support, although comforting, is deterring from all the injustices faced by people in India itself.
Racism is deeply ingrained in the culture in India. But unlike the US, it isn’t systemic; it stems from cultural stereotypes and ignorance in the form of color-ism. Within the country, our people are all different shades of brown, yet, people with darker skin are looked down upon. “Fair and Lovely” is one of the most commonly used skin products.