Colour Matters by Anuranjita Kumar

Reading Colour Matters by Anuranjita Kumar should matter a lot to individuals who have faced discrimination based on caste, colour, creed, religion, region, etc. The book deals with colour discrimination but deals with other types of discrimination. The book contains a lot of real-life instances of colour discrimination including a few from the authors’ personal life. The best thing about this treatise is it is not just a rant but also contains solutions, and how to handle sticky situations. The book also contains some interesting and thought provoking conversations between the author and her children on adjusting to new cultures, enabling someone to adapt to Indian culture, and tackling colour discrimination.

I am dark-skinned and come from a low caste, so this book resonates with me in multiple ways. Based on my skin colour, I have been judged about my intelligence, ability to buy, and speak English. I will not comment on the discrimination faced because of belonging to the lower caste because that will mean recalling many incidents I have faced at work-place.


The book is a well-knit panoply of stories of discrimination told in easily understandable language and is a must-read for all those interested in understanding human behaviour.

My rating for the book is 4.5 stars out of 5.

It is available on Amazon.