While there are massive protests going around the world against color discrimination after an Afro- American named George Floyd was killed in America by the police, the Kashmiri denizens also joined the #BlackLivesMatter movement to express their solidarity. While we try to act progressive by standing against racism of all kinds, we forget that back home we too suffer from this kind of discrimination in our society. There are many types of discriminations in Kashmir that we don’t like to talk about and one of the most prevalent discrimination is discrimination on the basis of color. It exists, we all know that it does but we try to act as if it is very rare or doesn’t exist at all. Color discrimination in Kashmir is never direct, we make sure that we pass a discriminatory comment in such a way that it either seems funny or something to feel pity about. The time when color discrimination in Kashmir becomes open and visible is when a guy or a girl with darker complexion decides to get married. There is a high chance of a guy or a girl to get rejected just because he/she has a dark complexion, even if the guy/girl has every good quality to become a good husband/wife. The rejection never comes directly, the Manzimyour (match maker in Kashmiri) would be told “Yi kya chukh haawan? Nafar gouch na sajwun aasun” what matches are you showing? Show us a good looking match. But this doesn’t end here, the going keeps getting tough. Suppose there is a guy named Faisal and he has a dark complexion then he might even get nicknamed as Faisal Kaale (Black Faisal) or Kaav (Crow) and in Kashmir your nickname stays with you for the rest of your life. The other discriminatory words said to people of darker complexion, but not limited to include Kaale waatul, Kruhun kaav hyu, Kaale waatij or the most recent addition of calling someone a Bihari. We don’t stop at discriminating against the people of our community but we discriminate against people of other communities and race too. It won’t be right to say that all Kashmiris think like this but there are people in our society for whom being fair is a measure of beauty and being dark is a measure of ugliness. The struggles of a dark colored Kashmiri doesn’t end at getting discriminated by his/her own community but they are discriminated outside Kashmir too. . If you are a Kashmiri with dark complexion studying, working or living outside Kashmir then you might be asked some awkward questions like Are you actually a Kashmiri? You don’t look like one! But aren’t all Kashmiris are fair? and many more. But the thing to understand is that from where is all this coming from, what has build this perception that a dark colored Kashmiri can’t exist? All thanks to orientlist authors and Bollywood for stereotyping of Kashmiris as fair looking people with red cheeks. Tyndale Biscoe in his book Kashmir In Sunlight And Shade while defining Kashmiris writes “The complexion is fair as compared to with their Indian neighbors; those living in towns are fairer than the country folk. Some might easily pass for Europeans. As if no dark skinned Kashmiri lived during his time. And for Bollywoood Kashmir Ki Kali can’t be brown or black. It is a fact that the majority of Kashmiris are fair skinned but that nowhere means that dark skinned Kashmiris can’t exist or dark people are creation of a lesser god. The color of skin means nothing. Since Kashmiris as a majority are Muslim, we must remember what Islam teaches us on this matter. Allah says in the holy Quran “And of His signs are the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colors. Indeed in that are signs for those of knowledge”- Surat Ar-Rum (The Romans) 30:22. So basically when anyone of us is making fun of or discriminating against a person due to his skin color means to make fun of God who created him. If we really want to change the world for good and end racism and colorism then let the charity begin at home.

Email:-----sartajhussain334@gmail.com