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Privilege and Reducing Racial Bias                                                 Racial equality                                                                                             Mon RŽgime Alimentaire

     The evils of the world cannot simply be reduced in magnitude to a measurable quantity. Racism is one such   Racial equality is critical in this time of                                        Une vie saine est tr  s importante. Pour une vie saine, il
     evil. It is not simply enough to condemn it to reduce it, it is of paramount importance to understand its   ours. Over time, we have celebrated                                                faut manger sainement. Il faut manger les lŽgumes
     upholders and origins to understand how one must control it. The prevalence of free speech from all those   milestones  towards  it:  the  end  of                                             verts et les fruits. Il ne faut pas manger de viande,
     who envision a world more equal creates a confusing dichotomy- one wherein the enforcers of racism claim   slavery and apartheid, the civil rights                                             boire de l'alcool et fumer des cigarettes, parce que
                                                                                                                                                                                                    c'est mauvais pour la santŽ. Aussi, il faut acheter sa
     oppression as they drown in hatred and blindness. This dichotomy makes it easy to ignore the state of life in   movement and the Black Lives Matter                                            nourriture dans les magasins bio et sur les marchŽs de
     racially oppressed communities, which, in more than one place, has been reduced to hope; beautiful hope   protests. And indeed, there is quite a                                               producteurs parce qu' Il faut soutenir les producteurs
     that arises out of hopelessness. “We gon' be alright”. This monumental, pointed phrase from rapper   lot to celebrate. However, there is still                                                 et la nourriture est tr s saine. Les lŽgumes et les fruits
     Kendrick Lamar echoes the struggles of such communities around the world.  We are going to be alright. We   a lot of progress to be made - not only                                            devraient tre frais sinon vous tomberez malade. Je
     are going to keep faith, because faith is all we have left. And recognizing this faith, recognizing this   in  terms  of  legislation,  but  also  in                                          recommande de manger cinq portions de lŽgumes et
     determination, recognizing this oppression, recognizing this struggle, and above all, listening, is the first of   terms of our own mind sets. There is                                         de fruits, des produits qui contiennent les glucides, les
     many important steps that we, in positions of privilege, can take to rectify our ancestors' mistakes before us.   still a lot of racism in every country.                                      protŽines et boire deux litres d'eau tous les jours. Les
     And this must start at home, in India. As Dalit speaker and activist Bezwada Wilson said, “In our country, we   Racism  is  still  present  in  what  we                                       carottes sont bonnes pour vos yeux, les citrons pour la
     have no concept of equality”. It is deplorable that it is a reality in our country that basic education, sanitation,   would  not  ordinarily  consider;                                       santŽ et les tomates pour la peau. Aussi, il ne faut pas
     healthcare, and human rights depend on the family that you are born into. To do anything but condemn and   policing  methods,  healthcare,                                                     regarder la tŽlŽ et manger en famille. Dormir huit ˆ
     discontinue practices such as untouchability would be disgusting. Yet, here we stand, claiming that India is a   transport,  employment,  and  even                                            neuf  heures  par  nuit,  est  tr  s  important.  Aussi,  je
     developed and flourishing country. To be against racism in the positions that people like you and I are in is to   education. In any society, even here in                                      recommande  de  faire  de  l'exercice  pendant  trente
     be truly honest with yourself. To self-analyse without bias and exterminate behaviours that uphold casteism,   India, racism is still a big part of our                                        minutes au minimum. Si vous faites cela, vous aurez
     however subtle or unintentional. It is only by looking inside can we make a change outside.    lives: we want fairer skin, not only for                                                        un mode de vie sain.
                                                                           Kabir Parekh   ourselves,  but  for  our  partners  and                                                                                              Nysa Agrawal
                                                                                        our  children  as  well.  And  a  lot  of
                                                                                        our biases can have a tangible impact                Tanaya Agarwal                       Pranaaya Jhaveri
                                                                                        on  people,  and  especially  on                                                                                  Save Your Planet
                                                                                        government policy. Not all of us are                                                                             You say the trees will be greener
                                                                                        internet  trolls  or  corrupt  politicians,   Reducing Racial Discrimination                                      If we become so much better
                                                                                        but that's exactly why this behaviour   Racial discrimination is an important issue and it's about time that it is given priority.   And I think the sky can be blue
                                                                                        is so difficult to stop. So in order to   This social construct dates all the way back to when European countries tried to   Just listen up, I'm gonna tell you
                                                                                        achieve true racial equality, we need   colonize the world. Even after countries got their independence, this concept of a fairer   What I learned in school
                                                                                        to actively look at our behaviours and                                                                       About carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide
                                                                                                                            skin tone meaning they are socially higher than anyone with a darker skin tone stuck
                                                                                        how  they  can  be  implicitly  -  or   around. In India, however, this happened way before the British arrived, and we can   And what they do
                                                                                        explicitly - racist or hurtful. It all starts   see this in the form of the caste system.                             Its time for the truth
                                                                                        with a single step.                 The real reason why people have darker skin is because they have more melanin, a    Yeah, the truth
                                                                                                         Karan  Verma       pigment that helps them protect themselves against UV rays of the sun, thus causing   We cut down the trees that provide us with oxygen
                                                                                                                                                                                                       Look at the state that our planet is in
                                                                                                                            them not to get sunburnt like people with lighter skin. It is the body's way of coping   Countries like Mozambique are all suffering
                                                                                     “  Equality  is  not  something  that  we   “  and it has absolutely nothing to do with one's character, yet individuals act like it does.   So, stop now and try hard to make a difference
                                                                                                                            People make assumptions about others without knowing them and just based on their
                                                                                        must ask for. It is a basic human right.
                                                                                                      Aamanya Sejpal        skin colour. This is such a large issue that people of colour use skin bleaching products   To make a difference
                                                                                                                            in order to be treated better and be given the same opportunities as their lighter   Yeah, you can still try
     Aritra Mallik & Sanah Shroff                                                                                           skinned counterparts. Light skin has also been set as the beauty standard all over the   Please listen
                                                              Life Skill with 9C                                            world, with fair models as their ambassadors.                      You can carpool with your friends or walk along the lanes
                                                                                                                                                                                                      To go to your school or to the best café
     The Gori Complex                                                                                                       Racism as a concept is not an innate quality, it is taught to us by society. They feed us   All of these little things still make a difference
                                                                                                                            these preconceived negative beliefs about people with darker skin and belittle them for
     constant debates and arguments. Everyone believes it to be centered  “ Positivity: It is the ability to look at the positive aspect of   “  no reason. We can, however, help in reducing racism starting with our own homes by   And start reducing all of our carbon foot prints
     Everyone  knows  what  “White  Privilege”  is,  and  it  is  the  subject  of
                                                               a situation. It is the ability to be optimistic and positive
                                                               which reduces the effect of a bad situation on a person.     sharing a more positive representation of racial groups with our families. Learning   We can still do it
     around  foreign  countries,  but  the  Indian  society  is  plagued  with                                              about different racial groups can also help people realize that they are unnecessarily   Yeah, we can still do it
                                                                                             Amaan Singh
     something very similar that I’d like to call the “Gori Complex”. Fair or                                               stereotyping a whole race. These may be small steps, but if we all practice them, we can   You know you want to
     “gori” skin is highly desirable, and there is no method we won't try for                                               help make the situation better than it presently is.                               Save your planet
     our skin to be fair. But in this day and age, why does this prejudice                                                                                                       Ami Mehta                      Sanah Shroff
     against melanin continue? People are willing to go so far for fair skin   “ Self-awareness skills, as the term indicates, refer to one's
     that they use skin lightening creams to disrupt melanin being produced   ability  to  be  aware  of  or  to  recognize  his  emotions,                                                                             It is not our differences
                                                                        behaviors,  beliefs,  motivations  and  other  characteristics
     by the body, despite how harmful this can be to health. Some creams                                                    Reducing racial inequality Heroes: the present past and future                            “ that divide us. It is our
                                                                        such as strengths and weaknesses, such that it enables him
     have even contained the fatal metal mercury which could cause brain   to identify and understand himself as a separate entity.  This story of racism doesn't have one single protagonist, it has many heroes. All those who have fought or are still   inability  to  recognize,
     damage. There are still practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine conducting                                                                                                                                             accept,  and  celebrate
                                                                                                                “
                                                                                                       Arjun Kanoi          fighting. Fighting, not only for a happy ending but for a greater present. We hope not to wake up and see a new
     camps for short, pregnant, dark skinned women to have 'tall and fair                                                   terrifying travesty headlining the morning papers.                                          those differences.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        “
     children', the peak of exploitation by society.                                                                        Some of the heroes that star in this story: Rosa Parks, who was arrested for refusing to get up from her seat on the bus to   Rishi Sankhe
     This obsession for fair skin is now much more than a bias, it is a cultural   “ Interaction with Technology: having a good grasp of   let a white man sit, not knowing that that very moment would make her the “mother of the modern day civil rights
     obsession that grows more dangerous by the day. The standard for   basic softwares that come into use on a daily basis like   movement.” These courageous characters of the past continue to inspire those in the present, and the cycle continues.
     beauty is now simply the word “fair”, written in big, bold letters.   word,  will  increase  our  efficiency  while  working   the growth of the digital age, opportunities to spread awareness have increased. For example, Colour of Change, the “ Prejudice  is  a  burden
                                                                                                                            To bring this crucial topic to the public's notice requires strength and perseverance that only a few have. However, with
                                                               exponentially. This skill is specifically useful in the current                                                                                           that confuses the past,
     It's small things like this that harm someone's mental health: how their   scenario but can and will help in the future too.  largest  online  racial  justice  organisation,  was  co-founded  by  James  Rucker.  Patrisse  Cullors  made  the   threatens  the  future,
                                                                                                    “
     grandparents tell them about this new method of whitening their skin,                    Aadya Bagri                   #BlackLivesMatter, which is now commonly known world over. Michelle Alexander, civil rights lawyer and scholar, also   and renders the present
     the aunties making snide comments about darker skin. Fair skin is now a                                                wrote a well-known book introducing people to other aspects of present day prevailing racism. All these heroes-in-the-  inaccessible.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    “
     multi-million  rupee  market  and  another  way  for  companies  to  milk                                              making are connecting with larger groups of people with much more ease.                              Jia Narayan
     people for money. Cartoons have fair skinned protagonists and dark   “ Perseverance is a very important value that we must all   Even though we may have some key figures in this battle against this multifaceted monster, everyone, including you
     skinned antagonists to further embed the idea that fair skin is better. We   learn to inculcate as it encourage us to work hard, to   and I, need to give our support and strength to the movement. So in the words of the famous social rights activist of the
     are trained to think that white is better, from matrimony to superheroes.   accomplish something, with not just 100% effort, but   20th century, Martin Luther King Jr.,“ Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?” By
                Society  is  back  again,  with  its  never  ending  tricks  to   200% effort.                              understanding our own privilege, educating ourselves in every sense we can and implementing this evolved thought
                                                                                    “
                                                                                                      Vivek Ramesh
                create a line of robots, with no identity or individuality.                                                 process every day, we too can try and help conquer this cruelty. It may not be a happy ending, but rather a better
                                                                                                                            beginning to a brand new story.
                                              Nysa Agarwal
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