Colonial Discourse and the Suffering of Indian American Children is now freely available.
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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.

Prāyaścitta

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Prāyaścitta literally means ‘expiation’.

Sin and its expiation is one of the important subjects discussed by the scriptures, especially the dharmaśāstras and the purāṇas. The general name for an expiation is ‘prāyaścitta’. It is defined in various ways:

  1. A firm resolve[1] to undergo tapas or austerity.[2]
  2. Purification of citta from the effects of sins.[3]
  3. Destruction[4] of sins and regaining the original pure state of citta.

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Resolve means citta.
  2. ↑ Austerity means prāya.
  3. ↑ Sins means prāya.
  4. ↑ Destruction means prāya.
  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

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Deval Sancheti

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