Essay about Hinduism, Hindutva, Colonial and Post-Colonial Myths

As a first generation Indian-American, I am no stranger to being a part of a distinct community while observing two unique cultures. Traveling to India exposed me to a dynamic population with rich diversity comprising of numerous languages and differing religions. Though these individuals may have had differing customs from their neighbors, there were similar ambitions to conquer grinding poverty. This poverty can be clearly noticed by seeing citizens sleeping on floors of a railway station, or the lack of air conditioning in searing hot weather. The frailty and mortality of the human condition was starkly visible in India. As a fellow human, I was humbled not only by the lack of privilege and opportunity of many citizens, but also by their

As India’s modernization developed, the entire civilization of India improved remarkably. The country’s improvement of civilization is exemplified through it’s establishment of schools and law. Western education was introduced by Britain and laws were well made with courts that enforce them. (Doc 3). One should take into account the speaker of this document because Romesh Dutt is an Indian like any other, yet he praises the British for what they have done to contribute to the development of India. In addition to these establishments is Britain bringing finer ideals of humanity to India. Infanticide, the killing of female babies, was brought to a halt as well as participation in the slave trade (Doc 5). Without the interference of Britain, these inhumane actions would be prevalent throughout India and the country would suffer from a bad reputation. These

The caste system has been extremely stable in India for over two thousand years. It is only since the more modern, independent state of India was formed that the system has come under any scrutiny at all. It is presently outlawed, but many of the practices, attitudes and traditions remain ingrained in Hindu society (University of Wyoming, 1997).

India was under imperialistic rule by the British Empire or the “Bristish Raj” from 1858 to 1947.The region under British control—commonly called “India” in the British period included areas directly administered by the United Kingdom as well as the “princely states” ruled by individual rulers under the paramount of the British throne. In my recent visit to London precious jewels and Indian made goods are displaced in Windsor castle under high security. Most of the goods accumulated from India were under Queen Victoria’s reign; the other monarchs who were reigning during this imperialistic time were Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, and George VI. W.E.B Dubois writes in “the Souls of White Folks,” “We see Europe’s greatest sin precisely where we found Africa’s and Asia’s,—in human hatred, the despising of men; with this difference, however: Europe has the awful lesson of the past before her, has the splendid results of widened areas of tolerance, sympathy, and love among men, and she faces a greater, an infinitely greater, world of men than any preceding civilization ever faced.” England took advantage of its darker counterparts by showing superiority through color, religion, and technological advances.

Throughout the years many historians have compilated and examined why Indian people were so desperate to gain back their independence from the British Empire during their rule over India, from 1612 to 1947. The reasoning can most definitely be found as the British discriminated against Indian people as they believe that they were inferior; it is no surprise that Indian people fought so hard for their independence. Throughout the British Raj, they placed and put forward unbelievably racist acts and laws which discriminated against Indian people. Which of course led to Indians to rebel against the British rule and which the British reacted with causing massacres. Explaining the nationalistic many India’s felt during the British Raj.

The structures of colonial social formations took a different shape, Using India as a classic example. The resulting structure was neither the unchanged pre-colonial system nor was it identical with that of conventional capitalism. It is properly designated as, I have suggested, a colonial mode of production.

In this essay I will be discussing the impact that the rule of the British Empire had on India’s development as a nation. I will be looking at how British imperial rule both benefitted and hindered the growth of India economically, socially, and culturally. To do this I will be looking at the beginning of the British Empire’s involvement in India, right up until India gained its independence from Britain on the 15th of August 1947. The purpose of this essay is to examine the long lasting effects of the British Empire on the Indian nation. India, like all colonies, was affected in many ways by the age of imperialism, and those effects are still evident today. The essay will look at both sides of the argument, allowing for positive and negative effects before finally concluding with a summary and re iteration of the points and arguments made throughout the essay. The essay will avoid taking sides, but rather the aim is to merely give an account of the positive and negative effects of British imperialism in India. The essay as previously mentioned will focus on the economic, cultural, and social effects.

In the beginning of the nineteenth century, British claimed the title and position as the world’s greatest imperial power. It had convinced itself, after its victory in the Napoleonic wars, that the British were the chosen race to rule the world and bring about the western civilizations to the back. This belief of possessing supreme authority is what led British to conquer its remaining colonies, one of which was the great India. Its quest to conquer India under the workings of the title of the East India Company is what led to one of the greatest battles in the world history. This battle is termed as the “patriotic national war of independence” by the Indians, whereas the British call it as the “single coherent mutiny”. But it

Samskaras are an important element in the belief and practice of the Hindu religion. The word samskar is evolved from the root 'samskri' which means to purify or form thoroughly. Samskriti – meaning "civilization" and Sanskrit are derived from the root 'samskri'. Samskrit was considered the most refined and grammatically perfect language compared to other regional languages in ancient times. The best rendering of samskara in English is made by the word "sacrament," meaning "religious ceremony or act regarded as an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual grace." Sacrament also means "confirmation of some promise or oath; things of mysterious significance, sacred influence and symbol."

For thousands of years the caste members was well known how they lived, class, region, gender, tribe, and language. They ate, married, and worked with their own group and if that person was born they rarely changed caste or even mixed with other castes. Social rules defined how to behave within a caste and when in the presence people from other castes. In a caste system was well known in India and was supported by Hindu beliefs “the acceptance of one’s fate in life, several major caste dictated one’s life chance from the moment of birth, especially in rural areas” (Kerbo, 2009). The been many controversy in India’s society with stratification and inequality specially in the lower caste that lived in poverty in their lives and the lowest caste was the Dalits known has the untouchables and lived in polluting and unclean occupations and was considered outcastes. In the caste system it caused problems when each other overlapped each other when it came to unequal access to wealth, income, prestige, and power. This paper will examine the history of this group in the United States and misconception about this ethic group.

. As Jalal and Bose have argued that “the cracking and crumbling of the modern nation-state system, the disintegration of the socialist alternative, the disillusionment with the false promises of capitalism, and the resurgence of redefined social identities thought to have been obliterated by the steam-roller of modernization have all rendered interpretations of the modern era in South Asian and world history much more complex. Recent themes in South Asian historiography have been the role of intermediate social groups in the construction of the British raj and that of ‘subaltern’ social groups in anti-colonial resistance; the part played by the colonial state in the reinvention of communal and caste categories; the refashioning of social relations of class by the linking of Indian economic regions to wider capitalist systems; and the impact of the interplay between national, communal and regional levels of politics on the process of

At that period, ancient Vedic rituals, practices and traditions were being replaced and this was also the first step toward the Hinduism we know nowadays. Other dynasties were known for supporting traditional Hindu arts and for developing Hindu culture in significant ways. Sometime in eight century, Muslims invaded India and this gave rise to the Mogul Empire (1526-1757) and with it came an end to what might be called the “Hindu tolerance”. History by its side shows facts about several Muslim leaders to be sympathetic to ancient Indian culture and continued to support it

Throughout the novel Balram Halwai, the protagonist and the narrator, alludes to the issue of social mobility in the new social hierarchy of India. He discusses how the social hierarchy has undergone massive changes since the colonial times. Like we learned in class, there is considerable social mobility among the castes in India today (Week 5, Lecture 1). Adiga illustrates this transition and clash of ideologies in relation to caste beautifully through the various characters. On one hand is Mr. Ashok, who having being educated in America believes that the caste system is a thing of the past and on the other hand is his father, who still believes that caste lines are rigid and cannot be dissolved.

Because the domain of culture is extremely broad, and encompasses many facets of civilized social life - the task of post-colonial cultural regeneration was much larger than what even what the most well-meaning advocates of de-colonization could have anticipated. And whereas some aspects of culture are immediately apparent to all (or most people in society), there are other more subtle and complex aspects of social culture that are not as readily understood or appreciated by the majority - especially at times (and in situations) when there have been sharp and forcible breaks in cultural continuity.

Aziz agrees, the Englishmen have no choice but to insult the Indians to emphasize that they are the superiors and the rulers of India. Both Dr. Aziz and Hamidullah commend that, the British, “all are exactly alike” (Foster, 9), under the colonial system, a to be unanimously contemptuous. Even though at first, some of the English newcomers are friendly, they all turn out to be racists as their conversation goes: