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.

Dīpakalikā

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

During the ancient and medieval period, the religious works that regulated the complete conduct of the religion, are known as the dharmaśāstras. The first stratum consists of the gṛhyasutras and the dharmasutras. The second stratum is formed by the smṛtis.

Among the smṛtis, the Manusmṛti and the Yājñavalkya Smṛti occupies a place of importance. During the growth of the society, these smṛtis needed explanations, amplifications and clarifications of doubts. The commentaries written by later scholars who were well-versed in this field supplied the much-needed material for this.

The Dīpakalikā is a commentary on the Yājñavalkya Smṛti written by Śulapāṇi (A. D. 1365-1445). It is a brief work quoted as an authority by well-known writers like Raghunandana.

References[edit]

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