Why are Indians obsessed & covet light skin?

Despite of the fact that many dusky skinned women have made their mark in the Film and TV world the indian obsession for fair skin continues. It is sickening to watch the advertisements which project the message 'Fair is Beautiful and Dark is ugly'.

 

Re: Hi i am Trisha devi

the root of this lies within the aryan white supremacy agenda instilled by the British during the British Colonial times in India (white people actually created this mess). During the colonial times, the British men happily took Indian women for themselves but didn't like the idea of Indian men marrying white women. They actually went to the point of sending the british women back to Britain to prevent that. They referred to this as preserving chastity. Biggest bunch of hypocrites to walk the earth. Funny thing its still present today and it has rubbed off on the indian culture to make them think white is always better.
Personally, I think pple should be free to prefer whatever they want but at the same time not discriminate or insult anyone. People should be free to pursuit their liking instead of being judged bc they want a fair person or vice versa.

 

It's also a historical and classist idea. Lighter skin implied wealth, particularly in a primarily agrarian society. If you, as a woman, had light skin, your family obvious could afford for you to stay in the house out of the darkening rays of the sun. The implication was: you didn't have to work in the fields, therefore your family was wealthy, ergo you were a good marriage bargain (dowry-wise). Men were exempt from the desire for light skin, since they were presumed to ride or walk around outside conducting their business. Nowadays it's a silly, outdated tradition, as women who are dark (in societies that find light skin desirable) go to ridiculous, fruitless, and often dangerous lengths to lighten skin (think Michael Jackson). The only really successful means of lightening skin is a good sunblock, whether chemical or physical (like zinc oxide). It will not remove pigment, but will prevent the darkening of the skin, gradually the previous tan will fade, and that will give the appearance of 'lightening'
The laboring in the fields=dark skin is also the basis for the American term "redneck", which originally referred to farms workers. The back of the neck would get sunburned as they worked in the fields, bent over, picking produce.