Is fair always lovely?
Chandan Mitra
It may sound a bit far-fetched to attribute the Congress Party’s relative success in 2009 to the same factor, but there appears to be some basis to the conjecture that fair-skinned people have a higher rate of acceptability among voters compared to others.
But irrespective of achievements, politicians from erstwhile princely families usually have a head-start over their opponents; often, their indifferent performance in the constituency is overlooked by voters while the record of others is subject to intense scrutiny. Arguably, this is in part due to the average voters’ familiarity with scions of erstwhile ruling houses in such constituencies. But I also wonder whether this acceptability has something to do with appearance.
Whichever part of India one may consider there is an underlying factor of appearance, which helps propel a politician ahead of his not so fortunate counterparts. This could even be an explanation why film actors are motivated to take the plunge into the political arena. Heroes and heroines are usually better looking than the average fan, which is why they get a flying start to their political career:
India may have progressed in many ways, but socially we appear to be regressing in attitudes. Till we collectively conclude that fair is not necessarily lovely, I don’t see an escape from this atrophied mindset.
Chandan Mitra
It may sound a bit far-fetched to attribute the Congress Party’s relative success in 2009 to the same factor, but there appears to be some basis to the conjecture that fair-skinned people have a higher rate of acceptability among voters compared to others.
But irrespective of achievements, politicians from erstwhile princely families usually have a head-start over their opponents; often, their indifferent performance in the constituency is overlooked by voters while the record of others is subject to intense scrutiny. Arguably, this is in part due to the average voters’ familiarity with scions of erstwhile ruling houses in such constituencies. But I also wonder whether this acceptability has something to do with appearance.
Whichever part of India one may consider there is an underlying factor of appearance, which helps propel a politician ahead of his not so fortunate counterparts. This could even be an explanation why film actors are motivated to take the plunge into the political arena. Heroes and heroines are usually better looking than the average fan, which is why they get a flying start to their political career:
India may have progressed in many ways, but socially we appear to be regressing in attitudes. Till we collectively conclude that fair is not necessarily lovely, I don’t see an escape from this atrophied mindset.
