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.

Dādu

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Dādu (A. D. 1544-1603) was one of the brighter stars of his time and the most famous of Kabir’s followers (A. D. 1440-1518). Born in Ahmedabad (in Gujarat) he seems to have spent most of his time in Rajasthan. He passed away in the village Narāṇā (or Nārāyaṇa) of Rajasthan, where his followers known as ‘Dādupanthis’ have their chief center even now.

He established the ‘Brahma or Parabrahma Sampradāya’ with a view to uniting all the divergent faiths in one bond of love and friendship.

Dādu did not believe in the authority of the scriptures but in the value of realization. He laid great stress on the cultivation of virtues like humility, compassion, fearlessness, forgiveness and firmness in one’s path. He was a householder and believed that the natural life of the householder was best suited for spiritual realization. His children too (two sons and two daughters) were persons of high spiritual caliber.

At his request, his disciples made (in A. D. 1600) a collection of the devotional writings of all the different sects. This anthology helped the spiritual aspirants of all types in their journey towards perfection.

References[edit]

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

Contributors to this article

Explore Other Articles