Fraud Of The Fairness Dream

In a country not comfortable with its own genes, fairness creams sell a lie to pander to a deep-seated self-loathing

- Zia Haq

First things first, in black and white—and all the greys. The science is as dubious as the sociology. the Indian market is flooded with fairness products. if all of them had made the promised effect, we’d have become a country of icelanders—close to realising again that old pop notion of the North Pole having been in India. “The truth should be out,” says Paras Jain, a Delhi law student, who is on the verge of securing a verdict that could forever change the way personal care products and fairness creams market themselves in India—even if attitudinal changes will take longer.

Depending on the verdict, the industry could still find grey areas to work around the law. But from an uncontrolled run, it has at least come to a pass where a willingness to question their claims—and the collective inferiority complex it panders to—is visible. Bollywood actor Abhay Deol unleashed a refreshing send-up of his colleagues just last week for endorsing fairness products. But the legal story began in 2013, when young Paras decided to take on the Rs 10,000-crore personal care giant, Emami Ltd. A two-and-a-half-year court battle awaited him, but he was firm on seeing it through.

Paras was goaded into this by his brother Nikhil’s experience with a product called Fair and Handsome. The fairness cream, which Nikhil believed would eventually make his skin tone lighter with diligent use, hadn’t made a whit of a difference in years. For a looks-conscious young adult, this naturally was cause for a great deal of frustration. But Paras, who had just been initiated into the world of torts and the Consumer Protection Act, saw more than a random failure. For him, this was a “seriously unfair trade practice”. How is it, he muttered to himself, that cosmetic companies get away with “lies, damn lies”.