Chura Ke Dil Mera Goriyan Chali
Agamjyot Kaur
SY B.Sc. Economics
Average reading time – 4 minutes
If our country was governed by the advertising industry and marketing folks, Indian colleges and universities wouldn’t bother with degrees and placements. Instead, they’d simply dole out a tiny pink, life-changing tube of a skin lightening cream, since that’s all you need to have a smooth career, perfect life partner and a charming personality.
Although in the real world the connection between our colour and the quality of job we bag is about as strong as the connection between a pizza and aam ka achaar, we’ve been molded to believe that our colour decides our personality. Hence, the household remedies of turmeric face pack, rose water, and all the other witchcraft-level mixtures our grandmothers make, but when we see these creams claiming the same benefits but in a shorter time frame, our impatience takes over. What we don’t realise is that we’re not only choosing temporary changes over the long-lasting ones, but we’re also subconsciously promoting an agenda. Have you ever thought about why we are so obsessed with white, even though the majority of our population has a dark complexion? For centuries, lighter skin was linked to higher caste status because upper-caste groups traditionally worked indoors while lower castes often worked outdoors, leading to darker tans. This embedded the idea that “fairer = higher social standing”. This notion was further promoted by the British. Even though they left our nation 78 years ago, their thoughts and perceptions have been engraved in us.
The false beauty standards set by these “skin enhancing brands”, to scale up their business, plays a significant role in shaping the Indian youth and their parents’ mindset. From ads where the heroine regains her confidence and lands a great job just by toning down her skin tone, to casting directors and matrimonial sites preceding skin tone over talent and personality, we’ve been brainwashed and trained to believe that the colour ‘white’ means supremacy and even if there’s a slightest chance of softening the browns in our Indian tones, we tend to grab it. As per Bonafide Research, which did an in-depth analysis of the market and identified trends over the years, the skin brightening industry has feasted upon this ideology and swollen up to a multi-billion dollar juggernaut with an upward trajectory. Over 25 derma giants like L’Oréal, Himalaya and Unilever are a part of this market and they thrive on the Indian obsession with colourism.
The jaw dropper is that even in 2025, where uniqueness is celebrated, the fairness cream and bleach market in India is projected to hit ₹10,500 crore, growing nearly at 6% CAGR, by 2027 according to an article published by Research and Markets (India Fairness Cream & Bleach Market Outlook, 2027-28) and a marginal credit of this growth can be given to the manipulative skills of the marketing teams of these firms. Several brands have conveniently rebranded and relaunched these complexion enhancing creams as a part of skincare, boosting their sales and penetrating deeper in the market. Take Hindustan Unilever, for example. In the mid-2020s, they decided to rebrand Fair & Lovely, a product so synonymous with skin whitening that the brand name itself became shorthand for fairness creams as “Glow & Lovely.” What did this do? According to a paper published in moneycontrol several dealers reported consistency in sales since hardcore Fair and Lovely paglus didn’t mind the name change and stayed loyal to the product, and at the same time, it allowed them to tap into a wider market and temporarily dust off accusations of promoting colourism. (Not really. Potato, potahto, it’s the same thing.)
The social cost is enormous. Despite the fact that this market has significantly increased foreign investment and earnings, cosmetics imports have more than doubled, climbing from USD 80.9 million in FY20 to USD 171.9 million in FY25. Face creams led the surge, with imports soaring nearly sevenfold from USD 7.7 million to USD 53.6 million over the same period, says Economic Times via LinkedIn News, with multinational behemoths like L’Oréal, Olay, and Johnson & Johnson profiting from India’s obsession, and Indian companies like Godrej exporting creams overseas. These goods are a minefield that preys on people’s confidence and sense of value. Additionally, the industry offers a buy one, get one free deal, which means you can get your skin skimmed and lower your pride at the same time! Ironically, the chemicals in the creams accelerate rashes, thinning, and premature aging, even though they promise younger, fresher skin. Glow now, disappear tomorrow.
As beings of variety, we need to embrace every skin tone. After all, even the most beautiful painting loses its charm if you stare at it every day without change. We are nothing less than paintings of God, and it’s the mixing of colours and the little differences that make the whole.
If there’s anything that really needs whitening, it’s the prejudice baked into our minds. On a different note, if there ever was a soul brightening cream, I would definitely buy it and donate some of it to the needy.