She had deleted the initial post with the remarks, overwhelmed by the flood of responses. However, she later chose to repost it, saying that she believed it was an important conversation that needed to be had.
Published Mar 26, 2025 | 11:11 AM ⚊ Updated Mar 26, 2025 | 1:06 PM
Kerala Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan.
Synopsis: Kerala Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan called out skin colour bias and gender discrimination against her. She said the remarks against her were a reflection of deep-seated prejudices against dark skin and, by extension, against women in leadership.
Kerala Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan has sparked a widespread discussion on skin colour bias and gender discrimination after publicly calling out a remark made about her tenure.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, 25 March, she recalled a comment that compared her leadership to that of her predecessor and husband, V Venu, stating: “Heard an interesting comment yesterday on my stewardship as chief secretary — that it is as black as my husband’s was white.”
She had deleted the initial post with the remarks, overwhelmed by the flood of responses. However, she later chose to repost it, saying that she believed it was an important conversation that needed to be had.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan expressed solidarity towards Muraleedharan.
“Salute, dear Sarada Muraleedharan. Every word you have written is heart-touching. It deserves to be discussed. I had a mother whose skin colour was black,” Satheesan wrote in Malayalam on Facebook.
Responding to Muraleedharan’s social media post, CPI(M) MP K Radhakrishnan emphasised the need for society to develop awareness and an active fight against discrimination.
Muraleedharan, who took charge as Kerala’s Chief Secretary on 31 August 2024, said she was used to comparisons with her predecessor.
However, this particular remark, she pointed out, went beyond performance — it was a reflection of deep-seated prejudices against dark skin and, by extension, against women in leadership.
“It was about being labelled black (with that quiet subtext of being a woman) as if that were something to be desperately ashamed of,” she wrote.
She challenged the negative connotations often attached to the colour black, arguing that black is powerful, all-encompassing, and fundamental to the universe.
“Black is the colour that can absorb anything, the most powerful pulse of energy known to humankind. It is the dress code for office, the lustre of evening wear, the essence of kajal, the promise of rain,” she wrote.
Reflecting on her personal struggles with colour bias, Muraleedharan shared a childhood memory — how, at the age of four, she had asked her mother if she could be “born again” with fair skin.
For over 50 years, she admitted, she had internalised the idea that fair was better, equating it with beauty, goodness, and worthiness.
“I have lived buried under that narrative, buying into it, believing that I was lesser for not being fair. That I had to compensate somehow,” she wrote.
However, she credited her children with helping her unlearn these biases. While she had once seen a lack of beauty in dark skin, they embraced and celebrated their heritage.
“They thought black was awesome. They helped me see. That black is beautiful. That black is gorgeousness,” she concluded.
Muraleedharan’s post has resonated widely, drawing praise for its candidness and reigniting conversations about society’s deeply ingrained preference for fair skin.
Going by the responses from the social media, her words have struck a chord, particularly in a society where skin colour bias remains a persistent issue, from everyday interactions to professional spaces.
Speaking to the media, former Kerala Assembly Speaker and former minister for the welfare of backward and scheduled communities Radhakrishnan said that discussions on discrimination only emerge when society chooses to engage with them.
He pointed out that even today, marginalised communities — including Dalits, tribals, women, and other oppressed groups — are often questioned for voicing their experiences.
Radhakrishnan criticised the societal tendency to acknowledge discrimination only when personally affected.
“Society must cultivate the ability to recognise and challenge discrimination wherever it exists, rather than realizing its presence only when faced individually,” he said.
Drawing from his own experiences, he recalled a question he encountered in his childhood: “There is a saying in Malayalam ‘Kakka kulichal kokkakumo‘ (can a crow become a stork if it baths), referring to the colour of the crow, that is black, and stork, which is white.”
The very question, he noted, reflected the deep-seated prejudices in society
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil with inputs from Dileep V Kumar.)
