"I dig black" Kerala chief secretary slams being labelled 'black'

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan has spoken out about the colour and gender bias she's faced, highlighting how these issues still persist in society. Her words have sparked a vital discussion on social media, with many offering support and solidarity from various quarters.

In a Facebook post, Kerala Chief Secretary Muraleedharan opened up about her personal struggles with colour bias, revealing how she was made to feel like a "lesser person" since childhood due to her dark skin tone. However, she credits her children with helping her overcome this insecurity, as they taught her that "black was 'beautiful'."

Muraleedharan, who succeeded her husband Dr V Venu in the post, recently shared a disturbing comment someone made about her stewardship. The person compared her performance to her husband's, saying, "It is as black as my husband's was white."

Hurt by the comment, Muraleedharan had put up a Facebook post about it but later deleted it because she was "flustered by the flurry of responses".

"I am reposting it because certain well-wishers said that there were things that needed to be discussed. I agree. So here goes, once again," she said in her post, which garnered over 1,000 reactions and has been commented upon and shared hundreds of times.

Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan expressed his admiration for her courage, commenting, "Salute, dear Sarada Muraleedharan. Every word you have written is heart-touching. It deserves to be discussed. I too had a dark-skinned mother. Muraleedharan, while not naming who made that comment, said that she wanted to call this particular instance out, as she was hurt by it.

She mentioned that since taking over as chief secretary seven months ago, replacing her husband, she's faced constant comparisons with her predecessor, saying there's been a "relentless parade" of them, and she's become "quite inured" to it.

"It was about being labelled Black (with that quiet subtext of being a woman), as if that were something to be desperately ashamed of. Black is as black does. Not just black the colour, but black the ne'er-do-good, black the malaise, black the cold despotism, black the heart of darkness," she said.

She further questioned why black was vilified when it was the "all-pervasive truth of the universe".

Highlighting the symbolic power of the colour black, Muraleedharan noted that it "can absorb anything" and is "the most powerful pulse of energy known to humankind." She also emphasised its versatility as a colour that complements everyone, whether for office wear or evening events.

Muraleedharan also shared a childhood memory from when she was just four years old. She recalled asking her mother if she could be put back in the womb and reborn "all white and pretty".

She said that she has lived for over 50 years buried under the narrative of not being a colour that was good enough and also bought into it by not seeing beauty or value in Black and being fascinated by fair skin.

It led to her feeling like a lesser person for not being fair, which had to be compensated somehow, she said in her post. But her children, who "gloried in their Black heritage", changed her point of view.

"Till my children. Who gloried in their Black heritage. Who kept finding beauty where I noticed none. Who thought that black was awesome. Who helped me see. That black is beautiful. That black is gorgeousness. That I dig black," she said.

(inputs from PTI)