Kashika Jain, Class XI
Is it sensible to segregate people on the basis of their looks – I mean, ‘ugly’ looking people from the mainstream? I believe we can’t justify calling ourselves civilized while we gradually ignore, insult, hurt, punish and seclude people from the mainstream. It pains me to see how people humiliate those who are fat, short, suffering from leukoderma or even those with acne.
Recently, in the bus, I came across an incident where a girl, who was very fat, sat alone on her seat, crying. Apparently, the other girls and boys in the bus had ridiculed her behind her back and were laughing at her. She grabbed her bag tightly upon her lap and tried to ignore while looking out of the window.
It’s not just that her eyes dropped tears, but somewhere inside her, her heart had bled. For it was stabbed for no reason. For it was trampled upon for no cause. She felt as if she was all alone. Her heart had suffered an injury, a damage without repair. She was lost somewhere, or probably we had lost her forever.
Have you ever thought what we do to their self-esteem when we laugh at them? They start questioning themselves, their own abilities. They start feeling that it is their mistake that they have leukoderma or an acne problem or are short. But do you know what, it is not their mistake. It is natural or genetic. But people do not sit with them, talk to them or work with them.
Don’t cut them off or set them apart. Try to connect with them, see their qualities and their beauty. I assure you that even once if you talk to these people, you will start developing a kinship and will soon realize that they are no different from you.
