We are sorry Mr Darren Sammy-the Stallion

I couldn’t hold it anymore. So what got me out of slumber, you’d think. The simple old bête noir of the developed world, Racism. The alleged use of the word Kalu (blacky in English) by some Indian

players for Darren Sammy, a St.Lucian cricketer who played international cricket, during his stint with the IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad got me thinking. Is it even fathomable that brown men can be racists? I mean, in reality, how many fair-complexioned brown men do you see in India? Not many I suppose. Aghast by the allegations against the Indian cricketers, I took a plunge down the memory lane and, holy moly as it turned out, we are racists. The sight of a black person in the office invites jeering. Black children are bullied in schools. Black sportspersons are called names. Dark complexioned people are seen more suspiciously in public life than otherwise. I mean it is such a common sight in the country that hardly anyone seems to care, that is until you are Darren Sammy.

I can’t imagine the shudder and repulsion he must have felt when he learned the actual meaning of the word. The fact that none other than Ishant Sharma, the lanky spearhead of the Indian cricket team, used the racist word Kalu (blacky in English) for him must have been degrading for him but to be fair to the pacer he must have used it as nonchalantly as any Indian does. I am sure he didn’t mean any malice or degradation towards him when he said that word. It’s just the way we are. Delhi, in

particular, seems to lead when it comes to racist attacks. I mean these Dilliwalas wouldn’t even spare their compatriots from the North East and the South. What else do you expect from them? Recently, a Manipuri girl was spat on by a North Delhi man, calling her Corona in the process. You can dismiss it as a one-off incident arising out of abhorrence for the beleaguered Chinese, but then you must be living in obscurity and ignoring the reality. Indian society, in general, is obsessed with fair skin and, quite naturally, therefore, is repulsed by black skin. I mean you’d have to be extraordinarily ingenuous to believe that we aren’t repulsed by the sight of black skin. Just look around and see the kind of advertisements we encounter on print and television media. Oh, you poor baby must be outraged, how can a black man accuse us Indians of racism, even though we are giving him greenbacks in the IPL!

Dear Mr Sammy, I apologise on behalf of us Indians for being racists and discriminating based on colour. I understand the outrage you must have felt when you learnt that Kalu doesn’t mean a great stallion as you had previously thought, but instead meant blacky. I myself was bullied in school for my not so fair complexion and I empathise with your feelings. We love cricketers irrespective of their colour, caste, class and creed. Do not wait up for any public apology to come from Indian players. Tell me, have the Gods ever apologised for their blunders? If you thought this would cause public outrage in India, you couldn’t have been further from the truth. The news wasn’t even a part of the National media circus, which had more significant issues to cover, pun intended.  

We owe you an apology, and we owe an apology to our fellow countrymen as well. I am sorry for being racist. 

-Sunny Gusain

* Views expressed are personal. If you get offended then I've succeeded.