China and Taiwan: A Saga of strained relations
Global Politics
On Tuesday, 28 Chinese military aircrafts entered the Taiwanese airspace. This is reported as the largest daily incursion and threat to their regional stability.
What provoked this attack, and what is the background of the strained relations between China and Taiwan? Let’s dive into it.
The root cause
Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), is an island nation separated from China by the Taiwan Strait and is governed independently of mainland China since 1949. China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province which it has vowed to retake (by force, if necessary). On the contrary, the people of Taiwan consider it to be a sovereign state with its own constitution and democratically elected leaders.
Chinese invasion threat
China is known to express its discontent over Taiwan’s international stature by exerting military pressure on the island nation. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army flew about 380 sorties* into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in 2020, over the warming of relations between Taiwan and the United States. This episode marked the initiation of “grey zone” warfare - an irregular type of conflict, short of an actual shooting war.
*Sortie is a short flight made by a military aircraft (generally during a war) over enemy land to make a quick attack.
China’s real intention
The main message that the Chinese attach to these forays is that they are routine Chinese operations or “combat drills”. However, Taiwanese officials believe these exercises are an attempt to ratchet up political pressure and subdue the island nation to exhaustion by expressing military aggression.
What provoked Beijing recently?
Tuesday’s military operation came after the G7 group of developed economies issued a communiqué following its UK summit in which it highlighted “the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” and called for a peaceful resolution of issues between China and Taiwan. China ensured to clearly signal its displeasure over the soaring international support for Taiwan.
Recognition from the world
Though Taiwan is not a member of the United Nation agencies and other international organizations, it is finally receiving the due attention it deserves. In April 2021, US president Joe Biden and Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga issued a joint statement that stressed the importance of peace in the Indo-Pacific region. The G7 world leaders also recently expressed their concerns over Chinese activities that are inconsistent with the international rules order.
Taiwan’s tactical approach
China has been Taiwan’s largest trading partner and top destination for outbound investment since the 1980s. Taiwan identified the enormous danger of being over-reliant on China and initiated an ambitious plan called the New Southbound Policy (NSP) in 2016.
The NSP aims to diversify Taiwan’s economy and eliminate the logistical vulnerabilities of concentrating manufacturing supply chains in a single country. It also minimizes the risk of dealing with the antagonistic and unreliable behavior of China.
China in a tight spot
The US-China trade war, the coronavirus pandemic, war-like clashes in the Indo-Pacific region and concerns that highlight China as a ‘security threat’ for the world, draw a negative image of China at the global stage. Japan and the US have been deepening ties with the island nation and the unprecedented reference to Taiwan by a South Korean leader also signals that the world is becoming increasingly alarmed with China’s destabilizing behaviour.
Brownface in Bollywood: Problematic or just makeup?
Opinion
Family Man Season 2 started streaming 2 weeks ago and netizens across social media platforms are in a frenzy. People love the new season and Chellam Sir has already become the hero everyone needs but does not deserve.
Amidst this hype is also a slow buzz of disapproval rising over one issue: How the character of Raji, a member of the Srilankan Tamil diaspora played by Samantha Akkineni, was shown to have layers of makeup on to darken her skin significantly. Many have called this character portrayal insensitive, offensive and have likened it to brownface.
What is ‘Brownface’?
This term is derived from ‘Blackface’, which is makeup used by primarily non-black performers to portray black characters. It is considered to be offensive to the race the character belongs to, whether or not the offence was intended by the performer.
Similarly, ‘Brownface’ is defined as imitating people, like those from Middle Eastern, North African, Latin American, Native American and South Asian ethnic origins. This definition however largely applies to the western world.
Is it brownface if an Indian actor does it?
TL;DR: Yes
While India’s melting pot of cultures makes it a very layered topic to approach, there is a certain privilege that people with fairer skin tones enjoy in the country. When people notice your skin colour, assumptions are made regarding your socio-economic situation, caste, state and even region.
Bollywood is notorious for upholding a beauty standard when casting protagonists that predominantly caters to the Savarna and Aryan ideals - the most telling standard being a light skin tone. This mode of casting worked until the advent of OTT platforms lent a voice to the marginalised and oppressed sections of the society to tell their stories.
Yet, even with new stories and a demand for fresh perspectives, we have the same old set of privileged actors playing these roles. Eg: Konkana Sharma, a Brahmin woman played a Bahujan in Ajeeb Dastaans, when this could have been a brilliant opportunity to discover and cast a Bahujan actor.
Similarly, when a privileged actor plays the role of a marginalised person by putting on layers of makeup to make their skin darker, we miss out on expanding the pie and hiring actors Bollywood typically never does.
History of brownface in Bollywood
While Family Man certainly brought this issue into the limelight, Bollywood is no stranger to adopting brownface in various movies.
Bhumi Pedankar in Bala
Hrithik Roshan in Super 30, Agneepath and Mohenjodaro
Alia Bhatt in Udta Punjab
Ranveer Singh in Gully Boy
All of these are just a few examples where actors donned a brownface to stay authentic to their characters.
Who is to blame for brownface?
Samantha Akkineni has received her share of criticism for her portrayal even as others continued to praise her for the fire in her eyes and her practised ease of breaking bones. Also to keep in mind is the fact that a South Indian actor bagging a role in Bollywood is in itself a rare occurrence.
And that’s just it! We can be appreciative of an actor’s performance while still holding them accountable for the kind of roles they should choose going forward. While it goes without saying, equitable criticism should also be laid on the producers, directors and casting agents of the show. Change in the casting practises must seep in from all directions and across the casting funnel.
Family Man and brownface
The creators of Family Man when questioned about the brownface, replied that Samantha was not hired for her race. Makeup was used to make the character right since Raji does not go to the spa, is heavily tanned and has no time to focus on beauty.
Three very problematic issues arise with their statement:
Likening beauty to skin colour
Implying that socio-economic status is tied to skin colour
Not hiring for race!
Verdict?
Raji’s character is a clear illustration of brownface and is very problematic. The creators of the show and the film fraternity need to be sensitized to this and we need to start demanding diversity and inclusion in the casting process!
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