Postcolonial Hindu Studies

Colonialism is not about economic exploitation alone; it severely impacts the civilizational ethos and culture of the colonized. The Hindu civilization has been under assault for the last thousand years because of which it has been significantly transformed. In the recent times, although there has been a detailed study of the economic impact of the British imperialism, a detailed and critical study of how imperialism has decisively altered the consciousness and culture of the Hindu people and society, in particular, the Hindus, has not happened adequately in mainstream academia. Filling the gap, the Postcolonial Hindu Studies area is a collection of courses that investigate the cultural legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the human consequences of the control and exploitation of Hindu society and civilization. The series of courses will address the impact of the European and Islamic imperialism, with at least the following aims: 1. Recovery of the worldview, paradigm, or cosmology of the ancestors of the Hindus before they came under colonization. 2. A detailed study of the measures that were undertaken by the colonizers to alter the cultural consciousness of the Hindu people. 3. A comprehensive study of the misrepresentations and distortions of the Hindu worldview introduced by European Indologists. 4. How those distortions have acquired a life of their own in western narratives, Indian narratives, and postcolonial Hindu consciousness. 5. Correcting the misrepresentations and recovering its ancient worldview, how Hindus can move forward honoring their unique and distinct cosmology. The courses in this concentration will also create opportunities for students to interrogate and critically examine the contemporary mainstream and media narratives regarding the Hindu culture and society and their roots in the social and political power relationships that sustained colonialism. They invite students to explore the impact of colonial consciousness on the formation of postcolonial Hindu identity, self, and society as well as the Hindu response to colonialist thought, and the contemporary social, cultural and political narratives surrounding the colonizer and the colonized.