Board results are out, and the admissions for universities across India are on. Students will be looking for accommodations. However, the job isn’t so easy. Bias exists at every stage of the process. People are not ready to rent their apartments, rooms to “certain” kind of people as they are biased against them. Staying in a PG, rented room or apartment or a bed and breakfast comes with a lot of rules and regulations. Common rules include girls can’t leave the place after a certain time, mixing around with people of other religions and communities is a complete no no,...

Racism is something that needs to be eradicated from our society. I believe a very effective way of getting rid of racism is for each one of us to stop being racist.It seems to all of us, but when we self reflect it would be of surprise to find out that more than half of us are racists. Now, in order to stop being racists we must research on the topic and enhance our knowledge on race. This is important as science proves that there is very minimal difference between people of different races. A step forward, after thorough research...

In a country where beauty is linked to fairness it is very hard to change a mindset against racism. Growing up I have seen numerous ads, TV shows, books, newspapers that preach “fairer is better”. Not only is fairness linked to beauty but also linked to success in all aspects of life. We’ve all grown up in an environment that believes in fair skin colour but now as I have become more aware of the world and the prejudices that exist, I question these beliefs. I don’t see how skin colour has anything to do with success, better job opportunities,...

The first step to erase racism is looking at us and working on ourselves. I believe all of us have some or the other bias in our heads and we must start with ourselves in order to actually make a difference out there. Each one of us must think about which social groups & communities we are prejudiced against. Why are we prejudiced against them? Is it because they are a certain color, look a certain way or behave a particular way? Do we feel this way because our friends or family have influenced us, the society believes so or...

The summer of 2016 witnessed rising attacks on the African community all over India. Are we racists? As much as we’d like to deny it, we are racist. We have always identified with Europeans and Americans, but Africans and Asian people have never been welcomed in the country. Where does this mindset come from? Discriminatory practices in India are centuries old, and only a thorough mindset change can get rid xenophobia in India. India is a large, diverse country with 1000’s of communities across the nation. Each community has its own traditions and cultural practices and is usually not open...

Is it possible to learn from the past, improve the present and guarantee a safer future for everyone around us? Racism is the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. It is something that is prevalent all around us. A few months ago, I realized the extent of this problem while I came across numerous racism incidents in India. In February this year, a mob attacked a Tanzanian student in Bangalore. The young woman was stripped...

In India, racism is not unintentional it is preached. It is extremely difficult for anyone to change anybody’s mindset when it comes to the sensitive issue of biases. Sadly, but truly it’s there in each one of us. Over the past few months, I went and spoke to people from all woks of life and not only made them realise that they are biased but also the realisation that it is not right to be biased. I wouldn’t say I was hundred percent successful in making the minds of so many people racism free, but even the little change that...