The Dark Truth We Can’t Ignore

By Parambrahma Tripathy

Skin colour still rules India’s heart, and it’s a bitter pill to swallow. Sarada Muraleedharan, Kerala’s tough 59-year-old Chief Secretary, laid it bare in The Indian Express. “As a woman, it’s hard to be heard. As a dark-skinned woman, you’re invisible,” she said, a day after her Facebook post ripped open the secret. “People see my name, think high caste,” she adds. “Then my face confuses them. I don’t fit their picture.” She pins it on casteism: “Lower castes, poorer folks—they’re dark. Biases run deep.”

Why does skin colour trap us? Especially women? It’s no small quirk—it’s a cage we built. A woman’s worth hinges on her shade. Fair is gold, dark is dust. History, habit, and a flood of ads drilled this in. A 2015 Neha Mishra study found 74% of college kids—boys and girls—say light skin wins socially. Women feel it sharper—more chase that pale dream than men. A 2018 University of New Delhi survey stings: dark-skinned women rank lower in marriage ads. Not for brains, not for heart—just colour.

Dark as night, holy as heaven

Pause there. India worships Jagannath, Krishna, Kaali, Draupadi—dark as night, holy as heaven. Yet the craze is for white skin. What’s this madness, hitting women hardest? It’s a twisted tale. Fair skin linked to power when Mughals and Brits marched in, pale and proud. Caste added weight: upper folks stayed indoors, and lower ones toiled under the sun. Dark meant “less,” fair meant “more.” Now, women carry the burden. Matrimonial ads shout “fair bride only.” Bollywood flashes light-skinned stars. Glow & Lovely—once Fair & Lovely—pulls in billions, hinting dark’s a flaw to fix. Divine dark? Forgotten. Market white? Obsessed.

Is there logic? Does white skin mean better brains? No proof. A 2019 Psych magazine study found no tie between IQ and shade. No gene says pale equals smart. It’s old colonial rubbish when white rulers bragged about being top dogs. A 2015 American Journal of Sociology report showed darker African-Americans face more bias, not less wit. Intelligence doesn’t pick a colour. It’s a myth we bought.

It’s a scam, and we’re hooked

Bigger game at play? A corporate trap? Skin-lightening creams rake in $500 million yearly in India, says the World Health Organization. Giants like Unilever push “fair is success” hard. Ads dangle jobs, love, respect—if you’re light. Not just India. Africa, Asia—same fever. Back when Mali and Songhai ruled, black was power. Colour didn’t matter then. Now? Hollywood, fashion, and pop culture sell white as the goal. Companies profit, peddling bleach to millions ho don’t need it. It’s a scam, and we’re hooked.

But it’s not just them—it’s us. Gazes linger on fair brides. Kids get shooed from the sun. Whispers say, “She’s dark, but okay.” Laws won’t fix this—hearts will. Ditch the aunty talk about fairness creams. Praise the tan kid playing hard. See people, not shades. Sarada’s no ghost—she’s a force, a voice. Shift needs one shrug, one kind look at a time. Dark, fair, whatever—drop the shade game, count the human.

Why women? They face the harsher judge. A fair face opens doors—jobs, matches, respect. Dark skin? Doors slam. Girls bleach to “fit.” Men get a pass; women bear the curse. Caste tightens it—dark often means “low,” fair means “high.” It’s a cycle we feed, generation after generation.

Next time a face is judged, pause & ask!

Can it break? Yes, with clear thinking. Stop buying the cream. Call out the bias. Celebrate dark skin—our gods did. Kids play, unbothered by shade— they get it. Adults lost that. Sarada’s rise—high office, dark skin—proves worth beyond colour. More like her, more of us standing up can shift it.
The logic stands. Skin doesn’t decide smarts, heart, or soul. It’s a colonial hangover, a corporate cash cow, a caste leftover. Let it rule or rise above. Next time a face is judged, pause. Ask why. Truth isn’t skin deep—it’s in us. Will it change?

Parambrahma Tripathy is an author and Communication for Development professional with over 18 years of experience. He has worked with organizations like BBC Media Action, Landesa, The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, IPE Global, and Coceptual Media. He has been recognized with several awards, including the prestigious Laadli Media and Gender Sensitivity Award in 2022 and 2023, Best Lyricist of the Year in 2022, Dr. Radhanath Rath Fellowship for Journalism, Kalinga Literary Youth Award, Timepass Bestseller Award, Srujan India Youth Award, Utkal Sahitya Samaj Felicitation and Odia Yuva Stambha Samman(2023)