The Ugly Truth

Let's talk about poverty and skin colour today.

Some random guy took this photograph of a girl child in the arms of a lady beggar. Now, in India, this is not an unusual scene. Everyday, we are confronted with such stark inequality in our society. But, the gentleman in question has arrived at a conclusion that this girl is missing and is being used by a begging "Mafia" (which is something rich people convince themselves is real so that they don't feel guilty about having so much more than others). Does he arrive at the same conclusion every time he sees a girl child in the arms of a beggar? No. The why in this case? The answer is obvious. The girl is not dark. She's fair.

Now, it is entirely possible that this girl has indeed been kidnapped or abducted. But it is also entirely possible that she hasn't been. We get a sneak peek into the mind of a typical privileged Indian. The girl is fair, so she obviously must not be poor. He immediately jumps to that conclusion.

The replies to this tweet amazed me even more.

Other people also agree that she must've been abducted. One amateur detective even notices that the lady has a star tattooed on her arm, which will help the police identify her. They are very concerned about the girl, praying for her and asking for her live to be saved. But again, this is a sight we see everyday in India. Do they feel the same concern towards a child who is poor and not fair? No. Why? Because that is normal. That's something we are used to seeing.