According
to encyclopedia definition, Racism is defined as,
also called racialism, is generally
defined as actions, practices, or beliefs that reflect the racial worldview:
the ideology that humans are divided into separate and exclusive biological
entities called "races".
This ideology entails the belief that members of a race share a set of
characteristic traits, abilities, or qualities, that traits of personality,
intellect, morality, and other cultural behavioral characteristics are
inherited, and that this inheritance means that races can be ranked as innately superior/ inferior to others. It's
sad to say in Pakistan, it reaches to such without getting noticed in the
society. We all as a nation are either a part of racial actions or victim of
it. Recently, Luis Saurez (Liverpool Football player) taunted racism comments on Patric Evra(Manchester
United Football player) gained a lot of
publicity. Its exist every moment, every second in our society.
I think that the inception
of racism in Pakistan began in the theatres, where thousands of people would
applaud on the humourous jokes. This was not a serious offence although I think
it may hay kick started the trend of such dialogue. From school to
universities, where we so called literate people always form circles against the
dark skinned friend of ours and make witty jokes on him. It's like a natural gathering
of people against dark skinned people.
We always prefer to have more white skinned friends in our group. Even these
events are not restricted to students, teachers too are part of it. And often
in anger, they call dark skinned student with slangs ; "oye kaliya (blackie),
kalay (black), andheray (shadow),etc". I am witness of such events. We
will always notice that even students make racism jokes on teacher with dark
skin. The fact is that this is not a cause of deliberation but nonetheless we
have made a laughing stock out of the people who only share a different colour
from us.
Marriages in our society are also influenced by this act.
Families like to marry their son/ daughter with fair-skinned person. They don't
even consider the good qualities, education and character of the person. Fair-skinned
husband always have complaints about their dark-skinned wife and doesn't think
her as competent enough to go out with her, just because the people in society
would say ; "Look how dark her wife is?". I am extremely sorry to say
that nowadays often these women work in offices if they have fair-skinned colour.
Just examine the basic example: Have you
ever seen dark-skinned girls as bus hostess or air hostess?
I in particular can't define the extent of racism in our
society. I consider the current wave against Urdu speaking community( known
commonly as Muhajirs) from rest of Pakistani natives as racism. I consider it
racism, when people shy from a dark skin
man in a bus, restaurant and public places and they are treated just as low
class. I consider it racism when we separate people on the basis of Punjabis,
Sindhis, Pathan, Balochis. Most of us even don't know that we are so amalgamated
to the situation that we have accepted it as part of our society and we don't
even consider it as an issue. We must remind ourselves of the last sayings of
Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) : "You are no better than a red skinned person
nor a black but he who has fear of Allah (S.T) in his/her heart".
