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.

Vedavyāsa

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana was the son of the sage Parāśara and Satyavatī. Since he was kṛṣṇa or dark in complexion and was born in a dvīpa or an island, he came to be known by this name. He gathered all the mantras of the Veda available during his time and edited them, dividing them into four parts now well-known as Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda and Atharvaveda. Because of this great work, he got the appellation ‘Vedavyāsa’.[1] He was known as Vyāsa also.

Tradition ascribes to him the authorship of the epic Mahābhārata, the eighteen Mahāpurāṇas or the major purāṇas, and the eighteen Upapurāṇas or minor purāṇas. Boy Gaṇeśa, the little god, is said to have been Vyāsa’s scribe who took down the Mahābhārata as he dictated it. It was Vedavyāsa who begot Dhṛtarāṣtra, Pāṇḍu and Vidura by the command of his mother Satyavatī, on the wives of Vicitravīrya.[2] He gave divine sight to Sañjaya[3] so that he could describe the Kurukṣetra battle to his master. Vyāsa was in touch with almost all the important persons of the Mahābhārata period.


References[edit]

  1. Vedavyāsa means the ‘one who divided the Vedas’.
  2. Vicitravīrya was the son of the king Śantanu.
  3. Sañjaya means the charioteer of Dhṛtarāṣṭra.
  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

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