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.

Jaṭāyu

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Jaṭāyu, the bird-hero, is a glorious and inspiring example of handful of persons in the history of the world who were prepared to fight and lay their lives for dharma and he is part of the immortal epic of the Rāmāyana written by Vālmīki.

According to the Mahābhārata,[1] he and Sampāti were the sons of Aruṇa[2] and Śyeni. Once Sampāti and Jaṭāyu flew to great heights towards the sun to test their flying powers. Since Jaṭāyu was getting exhausted by the hot rays of the sun, Sampāti spread his wings over him to protect him. Wings of Sampāti got burnt as a result of heat of Sun and he fell down in the Daṇḍaka forest. Jaṭāyu started living there, but did not know the whereabouts of his brother.

When Rāma came to the Pañcavatī area of the forest, to live there, Jaṭāyu introduced himself as the friend of his father Daśaratha. At Rāma’s request, Jaṭāyu started living in the nearby area. When Rāvaṇa was abducting Sītā, Jaṭāyu ambushed him and fought fiercely with him to rescue Sītā but died in the effort.

Rāma, while searching for Sītā, came across the dying Jaṭāyu and got the information about Sītā and her abductor. Rāma even performed his last rites after his death.


References[edit]

  1. Ādiparva 67
  2. Aruṇa was the son of Vinatā and Kaśyapa and the elder brother of Garuḍa, the bird-mount of Lord Viṣṇu.
  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore