From India's northern mountains to its southern swamps, it is home to people with skin as light as northern Europeans to skin as dark as Black Africans. Though not one state, the region that is pretty close to India's modern borders has been one civilization for thousands of years. The northern, light skinned Indians often came from temperate open areas, from where they had contact with the technologically prolific East Asian and Arab societies. They also lived in a place much more conducive to farming and ranching. Aryans, a type of light-skinned Indians took over much of the region in the earlier classical era. They started a rigid caste system, with themselves at the top. The northern Indians have historically been stronger. This is part of their attraction to light skin. Another part is that many Indians are still primative farmers and manual laborers. For modern, middle class Indians to have pale skin shows they dont spend all their time outside. It carries some prestige, as it says, "I posess valuable skills and knowledge and dont need to sell my simple ability to do work like you miserable proleterian."

In short, the desire of Indians to have lighter skin goes back far before colonialism, continued during colonial reign, and continues now. Its not that huge a deal. Its closer to American interest in being tan than some really bad pervasive thing.