The Myth of Racial and Ethnic Supremacy

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 15 May 2024 Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, expressed her humility upon discovering her Nigerian heritage through a genealogy test during her visit to Nigeria on Saturday. Alongside Prince Harry, she is in the West African nation to promote mental health initiatives for wounded soldiers and young girls. Acknowledging Nigeria as "my country," Meghan shared her eye-opening experience of learning more about her heritage. She said, "Never in a million years would I understand it as much as I do now. And what has been echoed so much in the past day is, 'Oh, we are not so surprised when we found out you are Nigerian'." Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, signs Lagos State visitors register as she and Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, visit the State Governor House in Lagos as they visit Nigeria as part of celebrations of the Invictus Games anniversary. (Image: AFP) ------- It's anthropologically heartening news! Famous Urdu poet from Aurangabad Sikandar Ali Wajd wrote, "Door Tak Phaili Hain Jadein Har Shakhs Ki/ Tahzeebein Judi Hain Aapas Mein/ Har Nasl Vaabsata Hai Kisi Doosri Nasl Se/ Kai Mumalik, Kai Insaan Hote Hain Ek Insaan Mein...." (Well-spread are the roots of every individual/ Cultures are mutually intertwined/ Every generation is linked to some other generation/ An individual is an amalgam of many countries and many humans). So, all talks of racial supremacy and ethnic cleansing are absolutely useless. In a very long history of human civilization, we all have elements of many a culture and civilization. The ideas of race, colour, country, continents etc. are human constructs with a view to establishing the supremacy of one group, one culture, one civilization and one religion over others. Dr Radhakrsishnan’s equally intellectual son S Gopal wrote, " A white man in Europe may have a non-white ancestor at some point in time and a Brahmin may have a so-called Dalit ancestor lost in a journey of generations." Once the myth of colour and racial hegemony is detonated, we're all equal individuals. Acceptance of this fact can enrich all of us and make humans of all hues act in unison. The walls of ethnic differences will eventually be demolished and humans will emerge as one big family. It'll be humankind's shared futuristic reality. Let it take thousands and lakhs of years to manifest. All great dreams take time to become realities. Crystallization doesn't happen in a day. Coals take crores and crores of years to turn into diamonds. Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day. ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/myth-racial-ethnic-supremacy/d/132319 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism