I am hurt – deeply hurt ! And you know why? Well, we have been talking about racism, a lot these days. But if you yourself are a racist then does it really make sense if you shout on racism. We’ve been talking on racism everywhere around the world. We’ve been shouting on it like anything these days. We find it very easy to call anyone as racist. In fact, we take pride in calling anyone as racist. Ask anyone here to speak on racism, you will find people speaking on it for hours. The point is that we have developed a mentality that even if we are involved in racism activities, we are not racists. It is blindly believed fact that racism is limited to people in the west. In other words, people in the west are racists – it is what a common man believes here.
But what about us ? Are we not racists? Are we not dividing people on the basis of caste, region and religion? Do we justify ourselves when we say that we are not racists? Do we know what actually is this racism? Let us see some definitions of racism.
According to Wikipedia, Racism, by its simplest definition, is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. People with racist beliefs might hate certain groups of people according to their racial groups.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, racism is a belief or ideology that all members of each racial group possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially to distinguish it as being either superior or inferior to another racial group or racial groups.

The Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines racism as a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular racial group, and that it is also the prejudice based on such a belief.

The Macquarie Dictionary defines racism as: “the belief that human races have distinctive characteristics which determine their respective cultures, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule or dominate others.”

The UN does not define “racism”, however it does define “racial discrimination”: according to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the term “racial discrimination” shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.

This definition does not make any difference between prosecutions based on ethnicity and race, in part because the distinction between the two remains debatable among anthropologists.

According to British law, racial group means “any group of people who are defined by reference to their race, colour, nationality (including citizenship) or ethnic or national origin”.

Whatever may be – racism is racism – it has nothing to do with the type or form, it prevails in the society. And honestly writing, I too haven’t been able to escape through this scourge. Now, I am living in one of the most developed states of India – Maharasthra. To be more specific, I am living in Pune. I’ve been living here for the past one year. I love this city. And I really don’t have any problem with the people or culture here. It does not really look more different than what actually I was used to in the past. I find this place one of the best places here in India to live and work. Now, if you have been through some of my earlier posts you must have come to know a lot about me like my birth place, my likings, my interests, etc… If not then let me tell you very honestly, I hail from one the most backward and corrupt states of India – Bihar. Luckily, I didn’t spend most of my time there. Otherwise, it could have been totally a different story of my life. Now, Bihar is my birthplace but I spent most of my childhood and later stages of my life in Madhya Pradesh, India. I completed my schooling and higher studies everything in Madhya Pradesh, India. And after completing my higher studies, I was looking for a good job opportunity which I got here in Pune.

I came to Pune in November 2007. The only reason why I came to Pune was to get into job as soon as possible. And after struggling for 5 months, I finally got placed into a good job. I am very happy now, well settled with my job. But sadly this happiness goes away when I see something like racism gripping this state. Yes, racism and that too in one of the countries most advanced cities. People are being divided on the basis of regions. To make it more clear, people are being classified into two groups – North Indians and Maharastrians. People mostly from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (U.P) are being looked down upon and are treated as inferior. People from weaker sections of the society especially labor class, fruit vendors, etc… are being subjected to physical as well as mental tortures. Exceptions are still there. Being myself originally from Bihar, I must say that situation is pathetic. I have many friends here who strongly condemn such activities. But who listens? Credit must be given to some shameless leaders who take pride in dividing people in the basis of the regions. And to add to it, one more thing which amuses me is to see that along with Hindi – our national language, you need to know – local language as well. Well, I am not against it but let me tell you very honestly, its not easy for anyone, at least for me to take out time to learn this new language. I cannot exactly say but I will try my best to learn this new language in the times to come. But to make it mandatory for each and everyone, does it make sense? Now, if a person does not know local language or he/she is not willing to learn it then should we force that person to learn it at any cost? Should we see a person as inferior just because he or she does not know local language? At many occasions, I had to go through some humiliation just because of this language issue. Now, let me tell you very honestly that I have met many people here who told me that they were badly treated just because of this language issue. Most of the times they were beaten up like anything. And it all became more brutal once it was discovered that they were North Indians. Huh…What the hell is happening here ?

Now, one more thing I would like to add here is that I too have faced many racial remarks in my company. Well as I wrote earlier, I am originally from Bihar. And this was the thing which became a fun thing for some in my company to target me quite often. Infact, people seated in the top management like HR also could not stop themselves from getting into this racial practice – indirectly. Well, fun is a fun at one place but when it becomes in excess, it cannot be tolerated at any cost. Why do you highlight someone just because he or she is from other state? What pleasure do you get from passing stupid racial comments? We all are working for the same cause, then why the hell this discrimination? Am I am fun piece? Did I do anything wrong if I said I was from other state? Why the hell do you look at my origin? Why….?

A very fresh case – A group of students from Bihar came recently came to Mumbai to appear for an exam conducted by Railway Board. And you know what happened? Well, believe it or not these innocent guys were brutally beaten up by a bunch of idiots who I must say – have rotten their minds with racial ideologies. They are always ready to do anything even if its wrong by all means. To them only money matters. And sadly, these people are being supported by those leaders whom we see as our role models. These leaders just want to fill their vote bank by dividing people on the basis of regions. They never think about the aftereffects. There is no limit to their foolishness. What pleasure they derive from all these – God only knows! It all must be strongly condemned and should be stopped at any cost if we really want to see our country grow in the near future. Following the above incident, just a day back – a guy named Rahul Raj from Bihar was shot dead in Mumbai. Well, the reason cited was that he had come to Mumbai to kill a popular leader. Rahul Raj was loaded with a gun and had if Police not taken any action, it may have resulted into severe consequences. But to kill that guy simply because he shouted that he had come to kill a popular leader – Can it be justified by any means? Well, I believe ” No”. Instead of killing him, why was he not tackled by other means? Why was it all not handled peacefully? I don’t doubt that if such cases continue, we will see more Rahuls in the times to come.

Well, this is just a tip of the iceberg. Theres more to it. Then and again I am compelled to ask the same thing – Why this racism? Why to divide people on the basis of regions and languages? Why to target the whole group if some of them are involved in antisocial activities? Why these leaders don’t understand a simple fact – We are Indians first. We are one. We believe in unity in diversity. We are all equal in the eyes of law. Why to play politics for each and everything without realizing its aftereffects? Our country is already facing much bigger problem of terrorism then why to add more to it with these useless issues? Why, Why, Why, Why…….? Can anyone answer me?