oppn parties Fair & Lovely: No More 'Fair', But Still Use It To Be 'Lovely'

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Tiranga Rally Is Excellent. Breaking The Law Was Not

October 17, 2026

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  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
oppn parties
Fair & Lovely: No More 'Fair', But Still Use It To Be 'Lovely'

By Linus Garg
First publised on 2020-06-26 21:07:31

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.

After nearly 40 years of leading Indian women to think that a fair tone of skin was better, HUL has now decided to drop the word fair from its popular skin tone enhancement brand "Fair & Lovely".  But it is not going to drop the product; instead, it is going to reposition it as a radiance product. Shall we then be thankful for small mercies or berate the company for being extra smart? For, even though the word fair will be removed and the cream would be repositioned, word of mouth will still induce girls to use it as a fairness cream. HUL should have withdrawn it altogether if it was so concerned about the adverse health and psychological effects of the product.

While HUL's current action is largely due to the worldwide protests against discrimination based on the colour of the skin following the death of George Floyd in the US, activists in India have for long railed against companies making fairness products which they said made girls feel inferior because of their natural skin tone, caused gender discrimination and stereotyping and harm the skin as most of them were made using bleach. Actor Nandita Das has been the most vocal against these products and has been running a successful and diverse campaign against them. Other actors like Ranbir Kapoor and Taapasee Pannu have refused advertising contracts or withdrawn from events sponsored by such companies. Stars from Mumbai or South who endorsed such products were often criticized for doing so.

HUL had changed its tag lines on Fair & Lovely in the recent past, but words like "skin clarity" and "superior brightness" did not leave anything to the imagination and were but mere substitutes for "the fairness cream" or "daily fairness expert" used earlier. One good thing about it is that since the market leader is taking action, others are thinking along the same lines. Most other companies making similar fairness products have indicated that they will also reposition their brands. If these companies are seriously concerned about making a difference, they should drop these products altogether and come out with a new brand to help in 'radiating' the skin or whatever they feel their product will do. But they should not promote inferiority complex in girls just because of their natural skin tone and make them feel that they need to lighten it or make it glow to be more acceptable. 

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