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.

Bāl Gaṅgādhar Tilak

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Bāl Gaṅgādhar Tilak lived in A.D. 1856-1920. He was one of the most towering personalities of pre-Independence India who fought for the freedom of this country. He was born as the only son of Gaṅgādhar Pant and Pārvatī in A. D. 1856 at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. He was extraordinarily intelligent, endowed with an iron will. He was well-educated in Sanskrit and Marāṭhī apart from the usual subjects in languages and science. After getting his Law degree in A. D. 1879, he preferred the teaching profession.

Deccan Education Society[edit]

He along with one of his friends named Agarkar, started the New English School, the very next year. It became an instant success because of its special methods of teaching and strict discipline. Within a few years it grew into a big educational institution known as Deccan Education Society.

Bāl Gaṅgādhar Tilak

Revolutionary Steps by Bāl Gaṅgādhar Tilak[edit]

Tilak started two newspapers which were totally dedicated to nationalism and freedom struggle. They were:

  1. Kesarī in Marāṭhī
  2. Marāthā in English

His revolutionary writings in these journals made him a hero in the eyes of the people and also roused the wrath of the British rulers. During this period, he started the tradition of public celebrations of the Gaṇeśa festival with a view to uniting all the Hindus irrespective of their caste or creed. This very soon attained the status as a national festival. He also did relief work among the masses during famine in A. D. 1896 and epidemic diseases next year.

He was closely associated with the Indian National Congress along with Lālā Lajpat Roy,[1] Bipincandra Pāl[2] and many other well-known leaders. His active propagation for attaining “Svarājya’[3] through the famous statement, ‘Svarāj is my birthright!’ resulted in his imprisonment several times.

Books by Bāl Gaṅgādhar Tilak[edit]

During the six-year period that he spent in the Mandalay jail,[4] he wrote his now famous work Gitārahasya. His other works are Orion:

  1. Researches into the Antiquities of the Vedas
  2. The Arctic Home of the Aryans
  3. Home Rule League

He launched the Home Rule League to mobilize public opinion towards political freedom and draft a comprehensive blueprint for the reconstruction of India after freedom. He passed away on 31st July 1920.


References[edit]

  1. He lived in A. D. 1865-1928.
  2. He lived in A. D. 1858-1932.
  3. It means independence.
  4. It is in the then Burma, now Myanmar.
  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore