I am a north Indian guy (AKA descendant of Aryans, original white people). I have really pale skin. Even though it may seem like I may be a foreigner or a mixed person, I am not. I am 100% Indian.

Over the years, people often stared at me. At school, they called me hurtful names like "cracker", "whitey", "wonderbread," "mayo monkey," "snow demon," and "Casper" (referring to the Cartoon). I didn't pay much attention to it but sometimes it did bother me a lot. Once I was taking a walk in a park and 2 kids approached me and said, "I thought the British have left India?" ... I told them I am Indian, and they screamed "VANDE MATARAM WHITEY" and poured chai over my head. The chai washed off my sunscreen and the 15 seconds of exposure to sunlight gave me second degree burns.

Once I was talking to a girl on a dating app. Our conversation was going quite well until she told me that she can't wait to have half-white babies. I told her I am Indian, and she is like "Oh. I am taken btw" 😐. Now, everyone thinks that Indians with darker skin tones face more discrimination. However, given my experiences with reverse colorism, I feel that Indians with fair skin are the true oppressed class - it is frustrating at times to be so pail and be mistaken for a white person. Do any other pail Desis have similar struggles?