Untitled Quiz

Decolonisation

• India declared free and independent in 1947
• August 15th is celebrated annually
• Colonisation is viewed as a thing of the past
• Reminders of colonisation include the Independence Day, birthdays, deaths of freedom fighters, and statues
• Images associated with British colonisation often include violence, suffering, looting, and imposed law
• Key events and figures include the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Kohinoor diamond, Bhagat Singh, the violence of the creation of Pakistan, the death/disappearance of Subhas Chandra Bose, Gandhi's assassination
• Colonisation involved political and economic control, and much violence
• Personal recollections of colonisation were not experienced by the current generation but are important to recall
• Colonisation is not over; there are deeper impacts than just domination, looting, or violence
• Understanding colonisation is the beginning of decolonisation

Defining Colonisation

• Europeans began "discovering" foreign lands over 500-600 years ago
• Colonisation involved the conquest of territories by European nations.
• Later research examined the impact and experience across the globe.
• Colonisation is more than just political and economic control
• It often includes population transfer, contempt for indigenous cultures, and changes in culture
• Some theories suggest colonialism is synonymous with imperialism.
• Difficulty exists in differentiating the two terms.
• Settlement and population transfer are distinguishing factors between colonialism and imperialism.
• Cultural, economic, and/or political and religious motivations in colonisation were identified

Coloniality of Knowledge

• Colonization is the theft of history, culture, and philosophy to subjugate those being colonized.
• Decolonisation is the process of regaining one's true identity
• Colonization significantly twists the history of colonized people
• A significant aspect of colonization is the distortion of history and knowledge systems.

Taking Notice of Colonisation

• Monoculture is a visible aspect of colonialism
• Communities worldwide have unique aspects such as language, dress, aesthetics, architecture, food, and the divine
• There are hundreds of thousands of communities in India, and millions more across the world

Colonised Identity

• Individuals define themselves through personal details, hobbies, family traditions, and perceptions of life.
• Identity is often threatened through artificially removing memory or identity aspects.

Colonisation and Education

• British education aimed to create a new class of individuals who could interpret British customs to the Indian people, instead of focusing on Indian education and identity.
• Colonial education often overlooked the contributions of existing Indian knowledge systems and instead privileged Western knowledge.
• The current education system is still largely shaped by colonial influences.

Benefits and Progress

• Debates on whether the British were beneficial for India persist
• Indian knowledge systems and educational structures were undermined by colonial influence.

Indian Education

• India's history is rich with contributions in various fields
• Key fields include mathematics, chemistry, medicine, astronomy, metallurgy, linguistics, philosophy, law, architecture, and more.

Conclusion

• Colonization negatively prejudices people against their own culture
• Colonisation makes indigenous knowledge seem inferior to colonizer's knowledge
• Decolonization entails overcoming prejudiced perceptions established in the colonizer mindset