Its officially a Race.

Recently, we were filling some government paperwork and just like every other time before, we were asked to identify our race. This questions is never mandatory, however, it has a way of snaking itself into important decision making. Since Nikhil had completed the paperwork online and with his attention to detail, all the T’s are crossed and I’s dotted, this question was correctly and completely answered.

Although we had an audience of two other people, I politely told Nikhil that I never want to answer this question, unless mandatory. Almost immediately, and with equal civility, our witness thought it was necessary to clarify that the race classification is to ensure that we have not been discriminated against. That this is a neutral process, neither leaning towards affirmative action nor prejudiced.

I thanked him and confirmed that I was aware of this approach, and that in principle do not agree with the existence of this question – please identify your race. The gentleman I was talking to became surprisingly uncomfortable, even amused at my unexpected request. But there is a background to all this.

In general, discrimination is stereotyping and prejudice that impacts behavior of the person holding the bias. So unless the ‘victim’ specifically identifies the exact nature of bias, it actually hard to say the kind of discrimination you have faced. As a legal alien, I have been discriminated against in more countries than just America. However, the most discrimination I have faced has been in my own country. Ironic that it is the single nation in the world that harbors most cultural diversity. To what I can recollect, I have been discriminated with staggering variety - being a female, being educated compared to masses, for being a proletariat amongst elite, caste, religion, for being single or for being married, being too young or too old – whatever applies, for being a north Indian in south India, for studying in Kendriya Vidyalaya, for being a social worker, for being a corporate woman, for being a Delhi-ite, for being a Punjabi, for being a city dweller visiting a village and for perhaps many reasons that I could not even clearly distinguish.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in an “it-only-happens-to-me” syndrome. I am not picking any personal example where people’s tolerance was tested when I was being myself, rather I am picking situations where I was fit into a stereotype and subsequent actions were taken in alignment with the said prejudice. Where any person with a common context as mine would be subjected to similar biases.

Again, don’t get me wrong, this is not a petulant rumination of all that was pitted against me. I saw discrimination as being very individual and yet nothing personal. Once I was able to extricate the precise stereotype, it would become easier for me to manage the situation. So over the years, I’ve gotten wired to look for the prejudice and deal with it as if it were screen door to an entrance. This was a battle that was given. Everyday. And this is perhaps the unique story of everyone in India – a nation of diversity where people are desperate to label you as ‘one-of-them’.

And then I moved to America. A country that is exceptionally sensitive to differences amongst people. Sensitive to a fault. Where children are taught to celebrate individual differences and to own their preferences. And yet, as like-minded folks commune they talk about not feeling accepted along with their differences & preferences. The political affiliations, sexual orientation, class, race, gender, physical abilities anything can cause people to disagree. But it gets tricky when the government steps in. When the government lends a validation that people belong to different races and that is the most pervasive prejudice and that they need to be ‘protected’. Additionally, enough research is being done in our current world where race is being hauled to limelight as being a closeted deciding factor. A small but significant and growing section of population in America does not fall under any of the race classifications. America being a multi-cultural melting pot, mixed race children here may find their options for race identity to be limiting. And this is how a prejudice becomes personal.

Sadly, America is still dealing with racial conflicts every day. And every time I have to identify myself with a race, I lend a voice that supports race identification. Of all the times I have been discriminated solely on the basis of my race (in America or the 11 other countries I have visited), it would probably amount to less than 10%. Perhaps I haven’t fully evaluated the cost of all the racial discrimination against me – did it cost me a college seat? Or a job? Or equal pay? I don’t know. But to even recognize race to be a differentiating factor, in my opinion, is not progressive or productive.

Biases don’t offend me and discrimination doesn’t scare me. But to create and maintain differences that impact the social fabric of a country and touch each individual personally, is something I do not support.

So onward I march. Each time I am asked to identify with a race, I chose the ‘skip question’ option