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.

Makara

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia
(Redirected from Talk:Makara)

By Swami Harshananda

Makara literally means ‘that which harms human beings’.

Makara is a mythological sea-monster and generally represented with the tail of a fish and the trunk of an elephant. Since its representation is seen even in the Bārhut stupa (1st century B. C.) in Madhya Pradesh, it can be taken as an ancient symbol.

In iconographical works, it is often shown as the mount or vehicle of the river-goddess Gaṅgā. In some sculptures, makara is shown like a crocodile.

Viṣṇu is often shown as wearing kuṇḍalas (ear-rings) shaped like a makara. Hence he is called ‘Makarakundaladhara’, ‘the wearer of ear-rings shaped as a makara’. Sometimes Śiva is also shown as wearing it, but only on one of the ears. The other ear has patra or a leaf as the ornament.

The tenth rāśi or zodiacal sign is also known as Makara.

References[edit]

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