The International Day
for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on the day
the police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid "pass laws" in 1960.
UN declared March 21 is being marked as an International Day
for Elimination of Racial Discrimination aims to foster a global
culture of tolerance, equality, and anti-discrimination and
calls on each and every one of us to stand up against racial prejudice and
intolerant attitudes. This provides an opportunity to explore the nuanced
causes and consequences of modern racism, and renew an important commitment to
combat discrimination.
Racism is the belief that natural superiority over others. It is a false conception created among the human minds. It is a socially constructed belief on human being which led to various forms of violence, abuse of human rights, racial discrimination, racial profiling, racial stereotyping, systematic racism. The forms of racism evolved over a period of time and presently the technology-driven racism where the AI tools are designed to perpetuate Racism through targeting criminal suspects on the basis of color using facial recognition, credit scoring algorithm that identifies color people as risks to avail loans.
In 1601, Queen Elizabeth I issued a proclamation saying that Negroes should be deported from England because they were contributing to social and economic problems like poverty and famine.
In Germany, there were anti-Semitic feelings towards the Jewish people and the result was the killing of some 6 million Jews during World War 2.
Australian fan hurled a racist attack on Mohammad Siraj in the 3rd test match played in Sydney.
Recently Rashmi Samant, An Indian student who stepped down from the post of Oxford University Student Union after facing racial discrimination through continued cyberbullying.
If we look at current forms of racism and
discrimination, they are complex and often covert. Though public attitudes
towards anti-racism have improved with less socially acceptable racist ideology
- Young people in the world had massively supported the cause of "Black
Lives Matter" after the death of George Floyd which drew millions
around the world to demonstrate against Social injustice in the form of racial
discrimination.
But the anonymity of
the internet has proliferated the racist stereotypes and made the inaccurate
information spread online. For example, traffic to hate sites and specific
posts against Asians grew by 200% in the US. On the other hand, In India and
Sri Lanka, social media groups, and messaging platforms were used to call for
social and economic boycotts of religious minorities and also accused them of
spreading the virus.
A study published by the Lancet free attention
on the social dimension of the COVID -19 pandemic and the greater vulnerability
of the ethnic minorities, who have been disproportionately affected.
Women and girls also carry a double burden of
being exposed to racial and gender-based prejudices. The
consequences of racial discrimination, beyond being a breach of human rights,
have harmful effects on human health and well- beings causing risks of wider
disruptions to social cohesion.
Tackling Racism:
Sensitize the future generations
through Education, Sciences appreciate multi-cultural society and better
communication.
Music creator from Michael Jackson
(Black or White) to AR Rahman (Infinite Love) created the legacy to fight
against Racism through their music which should be voiced out continuously by
future composers.
Encourage Youth to understand the
processes that sustain Racism and avoid those certain actions which inflict
Racial stereotypes, Racial Profiling, and Racial Discrimination.
In India, we have a “Student Exchange
Programme” where students from foreign universities and Indian students go
abroad to pursue education for 6 months. This programme of
life-enriching experiences will helps to know and understand each other
culture.
Inter-Cultural dialogue and learning
will equip the youth with relevant skills to eradicate racial stereotyping and
foster equality & tolerance.
UNESCO offers masterclasses to empower
students to become champions of Anti-racism.
International Coalition of Inclusive
and Sustainable cities provides the platform for city-level planning to create
an atmosphere to end racial violence.
The new proposed roadmap to tolerance
and eradicate any form of Racism and other forms of social exclusion by a
multipronged approach through laws, policies, and programmes.
Everyone must unite in the world to
create a global culture of tolerance, unity, equality, and anti-discrimination.
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