Colonial Discourse and the Suffering of Indian American Children Book Cover.webp

In this book, we analyze the psycho-social consequences faced by Indian American children after exposure to the school textbook discourse on Hinduism and ancient India. We demonstrate that there is an intimate connection—an almost exact correspondence—between James Mill’s colonial-racist discourse (Mill was the head of the British East India Company) and the current school textbook discourse. This racist discourse, camouflaged under the cover of political correctness, produces the same psychological impacts on Indian American children that racism typically causes: shame, inferiority, embarrassment, identity confusion, assimilation, and a phenomenon akin to racelessness, where children dissociate from the traditions and culture of their ancestors.


This book is the result of four years of rigorous research and academic peer-review, reflecting our ongoing commitment at Hindupedia to challenge the representation of Hindu Dharma within academia.

Svāmi Premānanda

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Svāmi Premānanda lived in A. D. 1861—1918. The name ‘Svāmi Premānanda’ was given to Bāburām by Svāmi Vivekānanda at the time of accepting the monastic orders. He was a true reflection of his basic trait, universal love.[1] Born to affluent parents on December 10, 1861, Bāburām completed his early schooling in his village of Āntpur,[2] came to Calcutta for higher education and joined the Metropolitan Institution. There he had the privilege of having Sri ‘M’,[3] the celebrated author of The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna as his Headmaster and Rākhāl[4] as his classmate. It was the Svāmi Brahmānanda who was instrumental in taking Bāburām to Rāmakṛṣṇa. Rāmakṛṣṇa examined Bāburām’s features in his own, rather queer, way and was satisfied about his high spiritual potentialities.

Increased contacts with Rāmakṛṣṇa intensified Bāburām’s inherent spiritual thirst which had been manifesting itself even from his childhood. After the passing away of Rāmakṛṣṇa, Bāburām, along with his brother-disciples like Narendranāth[5] embraced the monastic life, becoming ‘Svāmi Premānanda.’ He spent most of his life in the monasteries at Barānagore, Ālambazār and Belur taking care of worship, internal management and training of the new monastic recruits. His innate motherly love endeared him to one and all.

Many young men were reformed by his golden touch. During his later sojourn in several parts of Bengal, especially in East Bengal,[6] he inspired the youth to be useful to the society by voluntary service. Though a man of high spiritual attainments, he expertly hided them and was also very reticent in giving expression to them. The deadly disease of Kālā Āzār took him away on the 30th July 1918.


References[edit]

  1. Prema means love.
  2. It is now in Bengal
  3. It is Mahendranāth Gupta.
  4. He is Svāmi Brahmānanda.
  5. Narendranāth was Svāmi Vivekānanda.
  6. It is present Bangladesh.
  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

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