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.

Bandhu

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Bandhu literally means ‘one who binds through love or blood relationship’.

The word ‘bandhu’ when used in early Vedic literature meant a ‘friend.’ Later, it was used to indicate any relative or blood-relation in general.

Gradually, by the time of the medieval digests of dharmaśāstras, it acquired a more technical or legal sense. It was very important to have a clear definition of the word as it was very important in cases of rights to the property of a deceased person. Hence it was defined as a person related to the deceased through one or more female relatives (cognate) against the gotrajas (agnates) or relatives through the male members of the family. Elaborate details with regards to the line of succession have been provided by the dharmaśāstras.


References[edit]

  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

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