Casteism is a specialized form of racism |
- Gora-White man
- Gori-White woman
- Kallu-Black man
- Kalli-Black woman
- Kala, Kalu-Black man of desi origin
- Kali-Black woman of desi origin
- Chinku-Chinese or oriental man
- Chinki-Chinese or oriental woman
- Mallu-Man or woman from Kerala
- Katua-A Muslim man (referring to circumcision)
- Katui-A Muslim woman
- Gulti-Man of Telugu origin
- Gultan-Woman of Telugu origin
- Chapta-Oriental man
- Chapti-Oriental woman
- Madrasi-South Indian man or woman
- Gujju-Man or woman of Gujrati origin
- ABCD-American Born Confused Desi
Among Asian Indians, racism starts when an Asian Indian lays eyes on another Asian Indian. The first instinct is to identify the state and language of the other person by observation (skin color, clothes, spoken language etc) and begin the process of making judgements based on that observation. Is it okay for Indians to read book by the cover and not okay for Australians to do this with Indians?
As an example of racism in India; K. R. Narayanan was the first Dalit (belonging to Harijan or untouchable caste) President of India. He is reported to have confessed that he was not allowed to forget his Dalit origin even in the Indian Presidential home, the Rashtrapathi Bhavan. One has to wonder if APJ Abdul Kalam, one of the Indian Presidents who deserved that job, was similarly discriminated because he was a Muslim. Further, one has to wonder if Pratibha Patil the current Indian President gets discriminated because she was linked to a bank scam involving several her relatives and her reported belief in voodoo. HTF did this Patil thing become the President of India?
Thank you for writing about racism. Not everyone has the courage to tackle the subject.
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