Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan came out with a heartfelt message on social media in which she revealed that her tenure was labelled “black” based on her skin tone and gender as compared to her civil servant husband’s.
“Heard an interesting comment yesterday on my stewardship as chief secretary – that it is as black as my husband’s was white. Hmmm. I need to own my blackness,” the 1990 IAS batch officer wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday night, without mentioning the name of the commenter.
The personal note led to a wider social media discussion in Kerala on deep-rooted bias against darker skin tones and gender, as many have expressed solidarity to the state’s highest ranking civil servant.
Sarada said she had made the same post on Tuesday morning, but decided to delete it as she was feeling flustered by the responses. She added that she decided to repost it as certain well-wishers told her about the importance of having a discussion on the subject.
In the post, she says that her tenure for the last seven months was a “relentless parade” of comparisons with her husband.
“It was about being labelled black (with that quiet subtext of being woman), as if that were something to be desperately ashamed of. Black is as black does. Not just black the colour, but black the ne’er do good, black the malaise, the cold despotism, the heart of darkness,” she said.
“But why should black be vilified? Black is the all pervasive truth of the universe. Black is that which can absorb anything, the most powerful pulse of energy known to humankind. It is the colour that works on everyone, the dress code for office, the lustre of evening wear, the essence of kajol, the promise of rain.”
Sarada had taken over as the 49th chief secretary of Kerala in August 2024 following the retirement of her husband and an IAS cadre of the same year, V. Venu.
Previously, she was the additional chief secretary (planning and economic affairs) in the state. Sarada has also held various posts in the state as well as at the Centre, including her tenure as the Chief Operating Officer at National Rural Livelihoods Mission of the Ministry of Rural Development from 2012 to 2013, and the joint secretary in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj from 2014 to 2016.
The IAS officer went on to question the reason behind vilifying black and said she had asked her mother if the latter could give birth to her a second time “all white and pretty”.
Sarada said she lived her life for over 50 years buried under a narrative of being in a colour that was not good enough. She added that she was always fascinated by fair skin and had a relentless thought that she was a lesser person because of her skin tone.
“Till my children. Who gloried in their black heritage. Who kept finding beauty where I noticed none. Who thought that black was awesome. Who helped me see. That black is beautiful. That black is gorgeousness. That I dig black,” she reminisced.
Among those who came out to express solidarity and to question the glorification of fair skin was Kerala’s Leader of Opposition and Congress leader V.D. Satheesan. “Salute, dear Sarada Muraleedharan. All the words you said are heart and need to be discussed. I also had a mother with darker skin,”
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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