Watch Insight's episode Diversity Dilemma — exploring if the push for diversity is broadening our horizons or stifling us — on SBS On Demand. I grew up in India, a country where there are so many different languages and cultures. My parents were quite progressive, so to me, diversity, and my understanding of it, felt like something very positive.
I was able to travel and experience a lot of different cultures and that helped broaden my perspectives too. But this isn't the case for everyone who grows up in a diverse society. I feel as though there's this false narrative out there that only white people are not inclusive.
Karan (left) and his husband David on his wedding day. Source: SBS There have been instances where the most judgement I've received was from a group of people from my own cultural background. Some people in India still hold on to the archaic beauty standards that consider having lighter skin as more attractive than dark skin.
The progressive and liberal beliefs of my family were also not the norm when I was growing up. I almost feel like I was a minority in my own country because my views were too progressive for the society we lived in. Hitting the 'diversity jackpot' When I moved to Australia to study at 19, I grappled with feeling like a minority for entirely different reasons.
I was an Indian man living in Perth, I was gay, and I was going blind. It's been almost twenty years since I first arrived and though things feel better than they did, I still th.