RACISM

RACISM
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different

behavioural traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based
on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice,
discrimination, or antagonism directed against other people because they are of
a different race or ethnicity. Modern variants of racism are often based in social
perceptions of biological differences between peoples. These views can take the
form of social actions, practices or beliefs, or political systems in which
different races are ranked as inherently superior or inferior to each other, based
on presumed shared inheritable traits, abilities, or qualities. There have been
attempts to legitimise racist beliefs through scientific means, such as scientific
racism, which have been overwhelmingly shown to be unfounded. In terms of
political systems that support the expression of prejudice or aversion in
discriminatory practices or laws, racist ideology may include associated social
aspects such as nativism, xenophobia, otherness, segregation, hierarchical
ranking, and supremacism.
Ancient India and Racism

India is known as one of the most mega diverse nations in the world. It
is indeed a diverse country and a home for people belonging to different caste,
religion, colour, creed, culture and traditions. Indians are known for their varied
degrees of skin complexion termed as fair skinned and dark skinned. The skin
colour has always remained an important factor in determining a person’s value
and worth. Fair skin people are considered to be of a superior status than to the
people with a dark sin. Racism has been prevailing in India since the Rig Veda
Period, followed by the Mughal era and the British rule.
The British Raj
India was ruled by the British from 1858-1947. This was the period when the
racial discrimination took its worst form. The British were extremely fair
skinned, hence they considered themselves as the most superior and influential.
The Indians being of a dark color were highly condemned and were subject to
utmost exploitation and harassment by the British rulers. In 1935, the British
introduced 400 Indian groups which were known as the untouchable and the
impure due to their tone of the skin color. The comparatively light skinned
Indians earned a position in the Army but the dark skinned were either denied
access to employment or were given odd, degrading jobs. Freedom fighters like
Mahatma Gandhi, BR Ambedkar, Jyotiba Phule etc. fought deeply for the
eradication of untouchability. The untouchables formed a group and referred
themselves as the Dalits.
The Dalits and Shudras were denied access to drinking water, entering
temples, educational institutions, employment etc. They were considered so
impure and contaminated that if a person touched them, they should wash
themselves with the holy water. The Hindu Swaraj movement led by Gandhiji
did not only focus from freeing India from the clutches of British, but also to
free the untouchables and the Shudras from the exploitation and oppression.
Gandhiji named the Dalits as Harijans, which meant that they are the people of
God. He opened an ashram for them, where he co-lived with the Harijans.
Jyotiba Phule led the Anti-Caste Dalit Movement in the 19th century which
emphasized on giving the same level of respect, dignity and honor to the Dalits.
Thus, the white skin rulers had moulded the Indian society on the basis of skin
complexion and caste. The white people became the ruling class and the dark
people were the victims to racial discrimination and oppression.
(The Growing Crime) and (Abuse due) to Racial Discrimination.

Abuse And Violence Against The Schedule Caste And Scheduled Tribes
Example
In Uttarakhand, a Dalit man named Jitendra was brutally attacked by the men of
the upper class and 9 days later, due to the severe injuries he died. The reason of
the attack was that he ate food in a wedding in the presence of the upper- class
villagers. The local residents claimed that since the food was prepared by the
upper-class people, the Dalits were not allowed to touch or eat it. Such cases of
killings for ordinary and common reasons posed as a threat to the Dalits, fearing
the outcome, they never rose their problems to the higher authorities.
Racism is also followed in many countries in the earler period and even now it
is in practice in some countries.
especially united states of america (usa) and united kingdom (uk).
Racism in the United States comprises negative attitudes and views on race or
ethnicity which are related to each other, are held by various people and groups
in the United States, and have been reflected in discriminatory laws, practices
and actions (including violence) at various times in the history of the United
States against racial or ethnic groups. Throughout American history, white
Americans have generally enjoyed legally or socially sanctioned privileges and
rights, which have been denied to members of various ethnic or minority groups
at various times. European Americans, and affluent white Anglo-Saxon
Protestants in particular, are said to have enjoyed advantages in matters of
education, immigration, voting rights, citizenship, land acquisition, and criminal
procedure.
Racism in the United Kingdom refers to negative attitudes and
views on race or ethnicity within the viewpoints of groups or individuals or
existing systemically in the United Kingdom. The extent and the targets of
racist attitudes in the United Kingdom have varied over time. It has resulted in
cases of discrimination, riots and racially motivated murders. Racism was
uncommon in the attitudes and norms of the British class system during the 19th
century, in which race mattered less than social distinction: an African tribal
chief was unquestionably superior to an English costermonger.[1] Use of the
word "racism" became more widespread after 1936, although the term "race
hatred" was used in the late 1920s by sociologist Frederick Hertz. Laws were
passed in the 1960s that specifically prohibited racial segregation.
Racism has been observed as having a correlation between factors
such as levels of unemployment, immigration and population replacement in an
area. Some studies suggest Brexit led to a rise in racist incidents, where locals
became hostile to foreigners or immigrants. Poles, Romanians and other
European groups have been adversely affected in recent decades.
Studies published in 2014 and 2015 claimed racism was on the rise in the UK,
with more than one third of those polled perceiving they were racially
prejudiced.[7][needs update] However a 2019 EU survey, the prevalence of
perceived racist harassment toward people of African descent in the UK was the
second lowest among the 12 Western European countries surveyed.[8]
Sectarianism between British Protestants and Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland

has been called a form of racism by some international bodies.[9] It has resulted
in widespread discrimination, segregation and serious violence, especially
during partition and the Troubles.
leaders fought against discrimination:
Champions of Human Rights
Mahatma Gandhi (1869 –1948)
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 –1962)
César Chávez (1927–1993)
Nelson Mandela (1918 –2013)
Martin Luther King Jr. ( 1929 –1968)
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021)
Oscar Arias Sánchez (b. 1940)
Muhammad Yunus (b. 1940)
CHAMPIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Twenty-seven million people live in slavery—more than twice the number

during the peak of the slave trade. And more than a billion adults are unable to
read. Given the magnitude of human rights violations—and those listed in the
Violations of Human Rights section of this website are only a glimpse of the
full picture—it is not surprising that 90 percent of people are unable to name
more than three of their thirty rights.
Who, then, with so many unaware of their most basic rights, will make sure that
human rights are promoted, protected and become a reality?
To answer that question, we can draw inspiration from those who made a
difference and helped create the human rights we have today. These
humanitarians stood up for human rights because they recognized that peace
and progress can never be achieved without them. Each, in a significant way,
changed the world.
Martin Luther King, Jr., when championing the rights of people of color in the
United States in the 1960s, declared, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice
everywhere.”
The great advocate of peaceful resistance to oppression, Mahatma Gandhi,

described nonviolence as “the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is
mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of
man.”
Fighting fiercely against religious persecution in eighteenth-century France,
Voltaire wrote, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death
your right to say it.”
Thomas Jefferson, inspiration and principal author of the American Declaration

of Independence, declared that “The care of human life and happiness, and not
their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government.”
There are those who, through thought and action, have made a difference and
changed our world. Among them are the following humanitarians, each a
powerful and effective advocate and each an inspiration to all who today
dedicate themselves to the cause of universal rights:
Mahatma Gandhi (1869 –1948)
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 –1962)
César Chávez (1927–1993)
Nelson Mandela (1918 –2013)
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 –1968)
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021)
Oscar Arias Sánchez (b. 1940)
Muhammad Yunus (b. 1940)
José Ramos-Horta (b. 1949)

Finally, at the societal level, we need frank and open debate about
environmental change and its current and future human impacts – crucially, how
our attitudes and values can affect other lives and livelihoods. We need public
dialogue around climate-driven human migration and how we respond to that as
a society, allowing us to mitigate the knee-jerk reaction of devaluing others.
Let’s defuse this ticking ethical timebomb and shame those who stoke the
flames of bigotry beneath it. Instead, we can open ourselves up to a more
expansive attitude of connectedness, empowering us to work together in
cooperation with our fellow human kin.
It is possible to steer our cultures and rewire our brains so that xenophobia and
bigotry all but disappear. Indeed, working collaboratively across borders to
overcome the global challenges of the 21st Century relies upon us doing just
that.

RACISM

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RACISM

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RACISM

Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different

Ancient India and Racism

(The Growing Crime) and (Abuse due) to Racial Discrimination.

Sectarianism between British Protestants and Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland

CHAMPIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Twenty-seven million people live in slavery—more than twice the number

The great advocate of peaceful resistance to oppression, Mahatma Gandhi,

Thomas Jefferson, inspiration and principal author of the American Declaration

Mahatma Gandhi (1869 –1948)

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 –1962)

César Chávez (1927–1993)

Nelson Mandela (1918 –2013)

Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 –1968)

Desmond Tutu (1931–2021)

Oscar Arias Sánchez (b. 1940)

Muhammad Yunus (b. 1940)

José Ramos-Horta (b. 1949)

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