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.

Maṇḍapa

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

In the works on architecture like the Mānasāra, the word maṇḍapa is used in several senses. It is also spelt as maṇtapa. Generally it means a detached building, a pavilion or an open hall, with a roof supported on pillars, but without any wall-enclosure.

In temples, the small corridor in front of the garbhagṛha (santcum) is called śukanāsī or ardhamaṇḍapa or mukha-maṇḍapa. The general pavilion or hall is called maṇḍapa or nṛttamaṇḍapa which is used for congregational religious acts like singing, dancing or religious discourses. The maṇḍapa should be built to the northern or the eastern side of the temple.


References[edit]

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