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.

Vivartavāda

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Vivartavāda literally means ‘the doctrine of apparent transformation’.

The basic cause of an erroneous perception, as that of a snake in rope, is called ajñāna or avidyā. It has two powers:

  1. Āvaraṇaśakti - veiling power
  2. Vikṣepaśakti - transforming power

It veils the real nature of the rope and apparently transforms it into a snake. This apparently transformed object is called a ‘vivarta’ of the original and the theory that propounds it is known as vivartavāda.


References[edit]

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