Violence towards Africans in India has roots in Anti-Blackness that has existed for centuries

Continuing his series on Anti-Blackness in South Asia, Dhruva Balram discusses violent attacks on Black Africans in India and how the root of the issue is the anti-Blackness in India that has existed for centuries Read the other articles in the series In January of 2016, in Bengaluru, India, a Sudanese national ran his car… Read More

Skin whitening creams – the movement for change

In the fourth of his articles discussing anti-Blackness and colourism in South Asian communities, Dhruva Balram discusses skin-whitening creams, how they link to anti-Blackness and the movement for change. Around the turn of the century, a string of controversial commercials appeared on television screens in India. The advertisements had viewers in an uproar. These commercials, which… Read More

The co-opting of Black culture in the South Asian diaspora, hip hop and the n-word

In the third of his articles discussing anti-Blackness in South Asian communities, Dhruva Balram discusses how South Asian people often gravitate towards Black culture and music, and how use of the n-word became an issue.   Moving to Canada from India at the cusp of adolescence, I instantly felt different, out of place – ‘othered’. Within… Read More

Blackface and anti-Blackness in Bollywood – an endemic problem

In the second of his articles discussing anti-Blackness in South Asian communities, Dhruva Balram investigates Blackface and anti-Blackness in Bollywood, how these narratives drive attitudes in wider culture, and the move for change. Part one can be read here Growing up in India, alongside rice and daal, Bollywood is a part of your every day diet.… Read More

Anti-blackness in South Asian communities – how do we break the cycle?

In the first of a series exploring the issue, Dhruva Balram discusses the history and social implications of colourism in South Asia and diaspora communities,  and how this relates to anti-Blackness worldwide. Colourism, and its close relative anti-Blackness, is a pervasive scourge that underpins any notion of progress the South Asian community attempts to make.… Read More