Understanding the Impact of Colonialism: Postcolonial Hindu Studies

Colonialism is commonly associated with political dominance and economic exploitation. Colonialism, on the other hand, has involved the representation, analysis, classification, and ordering of the colonized via "intellectual" works such as translations, commentaries, travelogues, surveys, and so on, which were disseminated through the construction of academic institutions. This intervention progressively eroded the indigenous worldview and ways of positioning and situating oneself in the world. In a nutshell, colonialism entailed the conquering of culture through what is now known in academics as "epistemic violence." India, Hindus, and Hinduism were victims of epistemic violence, with reams written to separate them from their epistemological and cosmological foundations. The consequences have been twofold: 1) In today's politically correct mainstream academics, the same skewed and demonized language persists. 2) Postcolonial India has not systematically examined the pernicious and erroneous discourse directed at its culture and traditions in general, and Hinduism in particular.

Url: https://www.hua.edu/programs/certificate-programs-postcolonial-studies/

Main category: Regional

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Tags: epistemic violence, hindu culture

Added: 22-05-2023