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.

Taapa

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

Taapa is a Sanskrit word meaning miseries in worldly life. There are three types of Taapa

  • Aadhyaatmika (those caused by the supreme spirit based on our good and bad actions of the past lives)
  • Aadibhoutika (those caused by worldly beings like being bitten by a snake or betrayed by a friend, etc)
  • Aadidaivika (those caused by fate or destiny)