In my country

if you have fair skin

you are called

“gora” or “gori.”

This is

considered

a compliment.

If you have

dark skin

you are called

“kaala” or “kaali.”

This is

considered

an insult.

In my country

they tell

dark-skinned

girls and boys

that they are not

marriage material,

and offer them

skin lightening creams

as if they are

antibacterials,

for they believe

that having a

dark complexion

is synonymous with

having an infection.

These creams

are endorsed by

Bollywood celebrities

that capitalise on

peoples insecurities,

while also starring

in films that are

discriminatory.

In these films

the fair-skinned

women are

glamorised

while the

dark-skinned

women are

ostracised.

Songs are

constantly

sung about

“gora gora rang”

and this

toxic ideology

pollutes the minds

of the young,

this toxic ideology

is why skin

whitening creams

are a multibillion

industry.

My people are

victims of racism

but they’re also

the biggest

culprits of it.

India was

colonized by

the British for

two-hundred years

but the country

still isn’t free.

And there will

never be any

freedom when

your own people

become the

colonizers.