This article was first published on the 23rd of September, 2019 by Patrick Carpen.
Last updated: September 24, 2019 at 3:26 am
The rags to riches story is the American dream. And it’s not only a dream. It has been the reality of millions of people. Yes! Millions of people came to America’s shores clothed in rags and with very little money. But as the New Colossal reads, “send me your tired your poor….” Indeed, the lady of Liberty which is the symbol of the American ideology has lifted her lamp above the golden door for so many people.
But in India, it’s a different story. India is a boiling pot of cultures and civilizations that has been ravaged by a history of wars and military conquests and more than anything – by the infamous caste system.
What is India’s Caste System?
In India, a group of people characterized by light skin and dark hair, who called themselves “Indo Aryans” – has established themselves as the divinely orchestrated heirs to Indian supremacy. They established a punishing caste system which cemented dark-skinned people to the very bottom of the four or five castes. Once you were born to parents of a certain caste in India, you could not rise or fall from there.
The upper caste has access to wealth and the best education. And this was probably one of the factors which gave rise to the obsession with fair skin in India and the rise of the billion-dollar skin bleaching industry. Light skin in India was (and still is) generally associated with wealth, intelligence, beauty and power, while dark skin with poverty and oppression.
This is indeed a very troubling situation, and it leads you think that this country, above all, needs Jesus.
The Face of India has Changed
But an interesting story happened not too long ago – sometime around mid-2019. It is the story of Ranu Mondal: a dark skinned woman who lived in extreme poverty. She made a Facebook video of herself singing. It went viral across the internet and everyone cheered for the beautiful voice. After copping millions of views, it didn’t stop there. She was invited to perform behind the scenes in Hollywood and it is even reported that Bollywood Superstar, Salman Khan, gifted her with a beautiful house.
You can have a look at her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RanuMondalSinger/
This is indeed an inspiring story, but it is even more inspiring in light of the fact that these kinds of things don’t happen often in India. India has a history of oppressing the people of dark color. But we hope this is a sign. We have been seeing lots of changes for the better in India, and we hope to see more beautiful stories like these.
Related: But in another troubling twist of events, Will Smith converts to Hinduism and heads to India.
