Kerala chief secretary Sarada Muraleedharan has sparked a debate, after she raised her voice against “being labelled black”, asking why the colour is vilified when in reality it is the “all pervasive truth of the universe”.
It all started after, Sarada Muraleedharan, Kerala Chief Secretary wrote a post on social media platform Facebook about a colourist remark comparing her leadership to that of her husband and predecessor.
Having felt hurt by the comment, the chief secretary decided to post on Facebook and address the matter. However, she later deleted it after being “flustered by the flurry of responses”.
Later, she reposted the post, saying that several of her well-wishers told her that there were things that needed discussion. After being re-shared, her post attracted more than 1,000 reactions, comments and hundreds of re-shares.
Muraleedharan in her post said,“Heard an interesting comment yesterday on my stewardship as Chief Secretary – that it is as black as my husband’s was white. Hmmm. I need to own my blackness.”
In her post, she recalled how since she was a child, she felt like a lesser person due to her dark complexion, till her own children helped her realise that “black is gorgeousness”.
“Why did I want to call this particular one out? I was hurt, yes. But then these last seven months have been a relentless parade of comparisons with my predecessor, and I have become quite inured. It was about being labelled black (with that quiet sub text of being woman), as if that were something to be desperately ashamed of. Black is as black does. Not just black the colour, but black the ne’er do good, black the malaise, the cold despotism, the heart of darkness,” she said in her post.
“But why should black be vilified? Black is the all pervasive truth of the universe. Black is that which can absorb anything, the most powerful pulse of energy known to humankind. It is the colour that works on everyone, the dress code for office, the lustre of evening wear, the essence of kajol, the promise of rain,” the post further read.
Further sharing an anecdote from her childhood she said, “As a four year old I apparently asked my mother whether she could put me back in her womb and bring me out again, all white and pretty. I have lived for over 50 years buried under that narrative of not being a colour that was good enough. And buying into that narrative. Of not seeing beauty or value in black. Of being fascinated by fair skin. And fair minds, and all that was fair and good and wholesome. And of feeling that I was a lesser person for not being that – which had to be compensated somehow.”
She concluded the post saying, “Till my children. Who gloried in their black heritage. Who kept finding beauty where I noticed none. Who thought that black was awesome. Who helped me see.That black is beautiful.That black is gorgeousness. That I dig black.”
Sarada Muraleedharan’s FB Post | FB/Sarada Muraleedharan
Who is Sarada Muraleedharan?
Muraleedharan, a 1990 batch IAS officer, took over the post of Kerala chief secretary from her husband Dr V Venu in September 2024.
She started her journey by heading the Kudumbashree Mission of the Kerala government for six years, from 2006 to 2012. The mission aimed at empowering women, reducing poverty and emphasising on human rights perspectives.
She served as the chief operating officer at the National Rural Livelihoods Mission of the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, from 2012 to December 2013.
From 2014 to 2016, Muraleedharan served as the joint secretary in the ministry of Panchayati Raj, wherein she was tasked with conceptualising and promoting the gram panchayat development plans (GPDP) that put a premium on citizen participation via gram sabha.
