Uncomfortable Truth Hindu Nationalism

The Uncomfortable Truth: How Well-Intentioned Ideas May Have Paved the Way for Hindu Nationalism

What if I told you that the intellectual framework for the Hindu rashtra—the very ideas that underpin its current rise—weren't solely built by those in saffron robes and khaki shorts?

What if, for decades, some of India's most celebrated, radical, and progressive intellectuals, in their noble quest to decolonize the Indian mind, inadvertently sharpened the very knives now being used to wound the Indian republic?

This is the difficult, uncomfortable, yet profoundly important argument laid out with devastating clarity by scholar Meera Nanda in her latest book, Postcolonial Theory and the Making of Hindu Nationalism. It's a crucial point to grasp because an idea that originates in a university seminar doesn't simply remain there; it travels from academic journals to political rallies and ultimately influences the laws that govern our lives. This is the story of how seemingly well-intentioned academic theories became strange bedfellows with political forces, contributing in five crucial ways to the current landscape.

1. Turning Criticism into Treason: The "Mental Slavery" Mantra

The academic theory initially sounded radical and even noble. For years, influential postcolonial thinkers, such as Ashish Nandi in his book The Intimate Enemy and Parachhati, argued that the gravest crime of colonialism wasn't just the theft of resources but the "colonization of the mind". They posited that Western ideas – concepts like science, rationality, secularism, and the rule of law – constituted a "mental cage". To think within these frameworks, they argued, was to be a "pathetic copy," suffering from "mental slavery".

Does that phrase, "mental slavery" (Gulami Ki Maansikta), ring a bell? It should, because it has now become the official ideology of the Indian state. The Prime Minister himself frequently speaks of shedding this "slave mentality," dishonestly lumping centuries of Mughal rule with the British Raj as "1200 years of slavery". This very premise forms the backbone of massively popular books like J Saiak's India That Is Bhat, which openly calls for the tearing up of the Indian constitution on the grounds that it is merely a "colonial document".

The connection is direct and chilling: the postcolonial left provided the Hindu right with both the intellectual framework and the moral legitimacy for their project. They made it fashionable to view universal ideas as "foreign poison". Consequently, when you now defend scientific temper, you're not just engaging in policy debate; you're branded a "Macaulay putra" – a child of the coloniser. When you advocate for secularism, you're not upholding the constitution; you're accused of possessing a "slave mentality". This weaponisation of an academic critique has transformed genuine dissent into accusations of treason, shifting the battleground from reasoned debate to identity-based denunciation.

2. Making Science Just Another Belief System: The Relativisation of Truth

Another powerful academic idea that took root was the notion that modern science is not a universal truth. Influential figures like Wandana Shiva and Claude Alvarez argued that science was merely an "ethnoscience," specifically that of the "Christian West". They claimed its objectivity was a myth, and therefore, it was arrogant to judge traditional Indian knowledge systems, such as astrology or ritual healing, by the standards of modern science. Their core assertion was that "all knowledge systems... are equal".

The result of this relativisation of truth has been, as the video states, an "absolute carnival of absurdity promoted by the state itself". We've seen preposterous claims at the Indian Science Congress that ancient Indians flew airplanes. The Ayush ministry, flush with public money, makes dangerous and unsubstantiated claims about curing everything from COVID-19 to cancer. Even "Vedic mathematics" – a collection of calculation tricks that are neither genuinely Vedic nor truly mathematics – is now being pushed in schools, packaged as ancient wisdom.

The logic is simple and insidious: if science is just one Western way of knowing things, then "who's to say that Vic science isn't the Indian way?". By flattening the intellectual landscape and stripping away the authority of universal truth, these intellectuals created an intellectual vacuum. Into this vacuum, "state-backed superstition [has come] marching proudly under the flag of decolonization".

3. Attacking Secularism as a Foreign Disease: Undermining a Foundational Principle

For decades, brilliant minds like Tian Madan and Ashish Nandi told us that secularism was an "alien concept to India," a European construct stemming from the historical struggle between the church and the state. India, they contended, possessed its "own natural authentic way of being tolerant".

This sophisticated academic critique has provided a ready intellectual source for the crude political jibe of "pseudocularism" that we hear so often today. The Hindu right doesn't claim to be against secularism; instead, they declare themselves to be for "true secularism that respects the faith of the Hindu majority". This exact logic was invoked to justify the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. New intellectual warriors of the right, from Rajiv Malhotra to the Kent school, have eagerly amplified this very argument: that secularism is a "Christian idea unfit for a dharmic land".

But let's be honest about this "natural tolerance" of the past. What was it, truly? Often, it was the "tolerance of the cast system" – communities living separately and unequally, governed by "brutal divinely ordained rules of purity and pollution". It was decidedly not a tolerance between free and equal citizens. The secular state, despite its flaws, holds the profound promise that an individual possesses rights against the so-called mob. By branding this vital promise as foreign, these intellectual critiques have severely "weaken[ed] the very wall that was meant to protect" individual liberties.

4. Romanticising the "Pure God-Loving Common Man": Fueling Populist Poison

Another academic theory involved the idealisation of the "subaltern" – the ordinary, non-elite Indian – as a "reservoir of pure authentic tradition". The historian Deep Chakraarti, in his hugely influential work Provincializing Europe, even urged us to accept the supernatural beliefs of the people – their gods and spirits – not merely as metaphors, but as reality itself. Their religiosity, in this framework, was cast as a "noble resistance against the cold modern state".

This intellectual romanticisation perfectly mirrors the populist poison disseminated by the Hindu right today. They claim to be the "sole voice of the pure people, the simple god-fearing Hindu, against a corrupt English-speaking dassinated elite". This narrative is the very "engine driving the entire temple movement," from Ayodhya to Kashi. The underlying argument is clear: the "faith of the people must crush the facts of law and history".

In their championing of this "authentic faith," its intellectual proponents conveniently ignored its darker side. They overlooked the "iron cage of cast, the subjugation of women, the violence of superstition". They inadvertently created a false choice: "you are either with the people and their faith or you are a westernized enemy". The Hindu right simply walked into this intellectually prepared space and declared, "we are the people, we are the faith".

The Chilling Warning: A Weimar Analogy

This brings us to a final, chilling warning. Scholar Miraandanda draws a comparison that should make us all pause: she argues that the intellectual climate in India today mirrors that of the Weimar Republic in Germany during the 1920s. There, too, brilliant "conservative revolutionaries" – philosophers like Heidegger and jurists like KL Schmidt – despised liberal democracy. They "launched a total war on reason and science in the name of an authentic German culture". Their intellectual revolt against the Enlightenment, however, did not create the romantic utopia they envisioned. Instead, it "created an atmosphere of anti-rationalism and contempt for democracy that prepared the ground... for the Nazis to seize power".

The ultimate warning is not that these left intellectuals are fascists; that is a crude and false claim. The true danger lies in the fact that their ideas, "when pursued without a vigilant sense of the political consequences," can create a "wasteland where only monsters can thrive".

What Are We, the Citizens, Supposed to Do?

We are supposed to think. To defend reason is not to be a slave to the West; it is to be an heir to India's own magnificent traditions of dissent, from the Buddha and the Lokayatas to Foolkar, who dared to question the gods of their time. To defend secularism is not to be "dassinated"; it is to defend the one principle that allows a nation of a billion and a half people, of every faith and no faith, to live together as equals under the law.

The struggle against communal fascism demands more, not less, of the critical thinking and unflinching, evidence-based reason that these fashionable theories sought to discard. The architecture of our republic, battered as it may be, is the only shelter we have. To help tear it down in the name of an imaginary pure past is to invite a truly dark future.

One must think, and think with rigor. That is the only way.

Power, Fear, and Control: The Politics of Manufactured Threats

Arnab Goswami on US Deep State Conspiracy Theory

Palki Sharma on US Plot to topple India's Government

The use of fear and external threats by those in power to maintain their dominance is an age-old strategy employed by many authoritarian rulers throughout history. This tactic serves to divert the public’s attention away from the ruler’s true intentions and the reality of their governance, ensuring that the masses remain subservient and unchallenging. Such leaders often manufacture or exaggerate fears, whether they be internal dissent or external dangers, to keep the populace in a constant state of anxiety. This fear mongering makes the people reliant on the ruler, viewing them as the only safeguard against the perceived threats. The true character of the ruler, the corruption, and the actual issues plaguing society—such as poverty, inequality, and oppression—are overshadowed by the artificially created fear.

One of the most prominent examples of this strategy in modern history is the Emergency declared by Indira Gandhi in India from 1975 to 1977. This period is often cited as one of the darkest chapters in Indian democracy, where civil liberties were suspended, political opponents were jailed, and the press was heavily censored. Indira Gandhi justified the Emergency by citing threats to the nation’s security, both from within and outside its borders. She claimed that internal disturbances, largely driven by opposition parties and their protests, had reached a level that threatened the very existence of the nation. To further solidify her position, there were assertions that international forces, particularly the United States and its intelligence agencies like the CIA, were involved in destabilizing India.

The idea that America was conspiring against India was not entirely unfounded in the context of the Cold War, where India’s non-aligned stance and its close relations with the Soviet Union often put it at odds with Western powers. However, the narrative of an imminent American threat was also a convenient tool for Indira Gandhi to suppress dissent and consolidate her power. By projecting an external threat, she was able to justify draconian measures that would otherwise have been unacceptable in a democratic society. The real motive, as many historians and political analysts argue, was to protect her political career in the wake of a court ruling that invalidated her 1971 election due to electoral malpractices. The fear of losing power and the rise of a strong opposition movement led her to impose the Emergency, using the pretext of national security to quell any opposition.

Similarly, in Bangladesh, the political landscape has often been shaped by the narrative of external threats, particularly involving the United States. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s tenure has seen various allegations and conspiracy theories suggesting that the United States, through its agencies like the CIA, has been involved in attempts to destabilize her government. These theories often emerge in the context of Bangladesh’s strategic importance in South Asia, its relationship with India, and its complex interactions with global powers. The notion that Western powers are conspiring to influence the politics of smaller nations is a recurring theme in global geopolitics, and in the case of Bangladesh, it serves as a way to rally nationalistic sentiments and discredit political opposition.

Sheikh Hasina, like Indira Gandhi, has been accused of using the specter of external threats to justify authoritarian measures. Critics argue that by portraying herself as a protector of national sovereignty against foreign conspiracies, she has been able to legitimize actions that undermine democratic processes. This includes the suppression of political rivals, restrictions on the media, and the use of state machinery to maintain her grip on power. The narrative of foreign interference allows her to cast any opposition as unpatriotic or as agents of external powers, thereby diminishing their credibility in the eyes of the public.

In a similar vein, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India has also brought up concerns about foreign interference in Indian elections. Recently, Modi claimed that there are attempts by "foreign powers" to influence India's elections, suggesting that these external forces are not merely offering opinions but are actively trying to meddle in India's electoral process. His remarks echo a familiar pattern where external threats are used to rally domestic support and discredit critics. Modi's statements have been supported by India's External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar, who pointed to the Western media as being part of this alleged interference. Jaishankar argued that the criticism coming from Western press outlets is not due to a lack of information but because these media entities see themselves as political players in India's elections.

This narrative is further complicated by the ongoing geopolitical tensions and the role of Western nations in commenting on or interfering with the internal politics of other countries. For instance, Western media has often been critical of Modi's policies, particularly regarding India's treatment of its Muslim population and the erosion of civil liberties under his leadership. Such criticism, especially during election periods, is seen by Modi's government as an attempt to influence public opinion and the election outcome. The government's response to these criticisms is to portray them as part of a broader conspiracy by foreign powers to undermine India's democracy, thereby justifying stricter controls and rallying nationalist sentiments.

Adding another layer to this narrative are reports of U.S. diplomats meeting with key Indian opposition leaders and activists, a development that has raised further suspicions about foreign interference in India's domestic affairs. For instance, ahead of the Assembly Elections in Jammu and Kashmir, U.S. diplomats, including Minister-Counsellor for Political Affairs Graham Mayer and First Secretary Gary Applegarth, met with National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah at his residence in Srinagar. During this meeting, they reportedly discussed a wide range of issues related to Jammu and Kashmir. Similar meetings have also taken place with other Indian political figures, such as AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi. These diplomatic engagements, especially in the context of ongoing political tensions in regions like Jammu and Kashmir, have been perceived by some as attempts by the United States to exert influence over India’s internal matters.

Arnab Goswami, in his debate, delves into the covert operations allegedly conducted by U.S. diplomats in South Asia. He raises serious questions about whether there is a hidden agenda behind these diplomatic meetings, particularly in light of the timing—occurring just as critical elections are approaching. Goswami's analysis suggests that these actions could be part of a broader strategy by the United States to influence political outcomes in South Asia, echoing concerns that have been voiced by Indian leaders like Modi. These developments align with a pattern of Western interference that has been observed in other parts of the world, where diplomatic engagements are often followed by significant political shifts, sometimes in favor of Western interests.

These allegations are not entirely without precedent, as the global landscape is rife with accusations of foreign meddling in domestic affairs. Countries like the United States have long accused other nations, particularly Russia and China, of interfering in their elections. Similarly, Canada has accused both India and China of meddling in its political processes. The Western media's portrayal of Modi and his government can be seen as part of this larger pattern of international interference, where powerful nations attempt to influence the political outcomes in other countries to serve their strategic interests.

However, as Palki Sharma points out in her analysis, while these allegations of foreign interference are serious, they also need to be substantiated with clear evidence. Without concrete proof, such claims can easily be dismissed as mere political rhetoric aimed at discrediting opponents or justifying authoritarian measures. In India's case, the government has not provided specific evidence of foreign meddling, making it difficult to ascertain the veracity of these claims. Nonetheless, the narrative of foreign interference serves to bolster the government's position by framing it as a defender of national sovereignty against external threats.

The use of conspiracy theories and fear of external threats is not limited to these two examples. It is a common strategy used by authoritarian regimes around the world. Leaders in countries like Russia, North Korea, and even Turkey have often invoked the threat of foreign intervention or conspiracies to justify repressive measures. Vladimir Putin’s Russia, for instance, frequently cites the danger posed by NATO and Western intelligence agencies to justify crackdowns on political dissent and the suppression of civil liberties. In North Korea, the regime constantly portrays itself as being under siege from hostile foreign forces, particularly the United States, to maintain strict control over its population. In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has used the failed coup attempt in 2016 as a pretext to purge political opponents, restrict the media, and centralize power, all while claiming to protect the nation from foreign-backed subversion.

This strategy is effective because it taps into a basic human instinct—the need for security. When people feel threatened, they are more likely to support strong, decisive leadership, even at the cost of their own freedoms. By creating a sense of fear, rulers can justify their actions as necessary for the protection of the nation, turning any criticism of their policies into a challenge to national security. This not only silences opposition but also unites the populace under the leader’s banner, making it difficult for any alternative voices to gain traction.

In conclusion, the use of fear and the narrative of external threats as tools of political control is a deeply ingrained tactic in the playbook of authoritarian leaders. Whether it is Indira Gandhi’s Emergency in India, Sheikh Hasina’s political maneuvers in Bangladesh, or similar actions by other leaders around the world, the goal remains the same—to maintain power by keeping the population in a state of fear and dependence. This strategy not only undermines democratic institutions and civil liberties but also perpetuates a cycle of repression and mistrust that can have long-lasting consequences for a nation’s political and social fabric. The challenge for any society facing such tactics is to remain vigilant, questioning the narratives being presented and recognizing when fear is being used as a tool of manipulation rather than as a genuine concern for national security.

अरनब गोस्वामी रिपब्लिक टीवी के इस वीडियो _ विचार को इस तरह समझे _______

 शासक, खासकर निरंकुश या तानाशाह, जनता पर अपनी सत्ता बनाए रखने के लिए उन्हें डर में रखते हैं। यह एक प्राचीन रणनीति है जिसे कई तानाशाहों ने अपनाया है। 

ऐसे शासक अक्सर किसी बाहरी या आंतरिक खतरे का डर दिखाकर जनता को नियंत्रित करते हैं। वे इस डर को प्रचारित करते हैं, ताकि जनता उनकी सत्ता को एकमात्र सुरक्षा का साधन समझे और विरोध करने की बजाय उनकी शरण में रहे। 

इस प्रक्रिया में, जनता का ध्यान वास्तविक मुद्दों से हट जाता है। जैसे गरीबी, भ्रष्टाचार, या अन्य सामाजिक और आर्थिक समस्याएं। लोग शासक की वास्तविक मंशाओं को समझने की बजाय दिखाए गए डर से प्रभावित होते हैं। 

तानाशाहों का मुख्य उद्देश्य यह होता है कि लोग उनके असली चरित्र या उनके गलत कार्यों को न समझ पाएं। भय के माहौल में लोग सोचने और सवाल उठाने की शक्ति खो देते हैं, और इस तरह शासक अपनी सत्ता को कायम रखता है। 

ऐतिहासिक दृष्टि से, हिटलर जैसे कई तानाशाहों ने इस रणनीति का उपयोग किया है, जहां उन्होंने अपने विरोधियों या एक खास समूह को जनता के लिए खतरे के रूप में पेश किया और इसी बहाने अपने कठोर नियमों और अत्याचारों को जायज ठहराया। 

अतः यह एक रणनीति है जिसमें शासक जनता को भयभीत करके, उनकी स्वतंत्रता और सोचने की क्षमता को दबाकर अपनी सत्ता को लंबी अवधि तक कायम रखने का प्रयास करता है।

अरनब गोस्वामी के वीडियो की बाते नई नही है। इंदिरा गांधी द्वारा भारत में लगाई गई इमरजेंसी और शेख हसीना को देश छोड़ने के पीछे अमेरिका की डीप स्टेट (जैसे सीआईए, एफबीआई) से संबंधित षड्यंत्र सिद्धांतों का जिक्र किया जाता है। इन घटनाओं में शासकों ने अपनी सत्ता को बनाए रखने या अपने विरोधियों को दबाने के लिए अंतर्राष्ट्रीय खतरे का इस्तेमाल किया।

 इंदिरा गांधी और इमरजेंसी (1975-1977)

इंदिरा गांधी ने 1975 में इमरजेंसी लागू की, जो भारतीय लोकतंत्र के इतिहास में एक विवादास्पद घटना मानी जाती है। इमरजेंसी के दौरान इंदिरा गांधी ने संसद और नागरिक अधिकारों पर नियंत्रण कर लिया। इंदिरा गांधी ने इमरजेंसी लगाने के पीछे विभिन्न कारण बताए, जिनमें देश में आंतरिक गड़बड़ी और बाहरी खतरे की संभावना शामिल थी। 

इमरजेंसी का औचित्य साबित करने के लिए, इंदिरा गांधी और उनके सहयोगियों ने दावा किया कि भारत के खिलाफ एक अंतर्राष्ट्रीय षड्यंत्र चल रहा है, विशेष रूप से अमेरिका द्वारा। यह कहा गया कि अमेरिका और उसकी एजेंसियां, जैसे सीआईए, भारत में अस्थिरता फैलाने और सरकार को कमजोर करने की कोशिश कर रहे हैं। इस प्रकार, इंदिरा गांधी ने इमरजेंसी को देश की सुरक्षा के लिए आवश्यक कदम के रूप में प्रस्तुत किया। 

लेकिन कई विद्वानों और आलोचकों का मानना है कि इमरजेंसी का असली उद्देश्य इंदिरा गांधी की राजनीतिक सत्ता को बनाए रखना और विरोधी दलों को कुचलना था। इस दौरान हजारों राजनीतिक कार्यकर्ताओं और पत्रकारों को गिरफ्तार किया गया, प्रेस पर सेंसरशिप लागू की गई, और नागरिक स्वतंत्रताओं को सीमित कर दिया गया।

शेख हसीना और अमेरिका का प्रभाव

शेख हसीना के संदर्भ में भी अमेरिका और उसकी एजेंसियों का उल्लेख किया जाता है। बांग्लादेश की राजनीति में अमेरिका का प्रभाव अक्सर चर्चा का विषय रहा है। शेख हसीना की सरकार पर भी कई बार आरोप लगे कि उन्हें सत्ता से हटाने या उनके खिलाफ षड्यंत्र रचने में अमेरिका की भूमिका हो सकती है।

इन षड्यंत्र सिद्धांतों के अनुसार, अमेरिका और उसकी एजेंसियां जैसे सीआईए, बांग्लादेश की राजनीति में हस्तक्षेप करने और शेख हसीना को कमजोर करने की कोशिश कर सकती हैं, खासकर जब उनकी नीतियां अमेरिका के हितों के खिलाफ जाती हैं। 

 निष्कर्ष

इन दोनों उदाहरणों में, शासकों ने अपनी सत्ता बनाए रखने के लिए अंतर्राष्ट्रीय षड्यंत्र सिद्धांतों का इस्तेमाल किया। इंदिरा गांधी ने इमरजेंसी लगाने के पीछे अमेरिका से खतरा बताया, जबकि शेख हसीना के मामले में भी अमेरिका की भूमिका के बारे में षड्यंत्र सिद्धांत चलाए जाते हैं। 

इस तरह की रणनीतियों का उद्देश्य जनता को डर में रखना और अपने राजनीतिक विरोधियों को कमजोर करना होता है। जनता के सामने बाहरी खतरे का डर दिखाकर शासक अपनी सत्ता को मजबूत करने की कोशिश करते हैं, जिससे जनता उनके असली मकसद को न समझ सके और उनकी सत्ता बनी रहे।

Postcolonial Studies: An Introduction

Postcolonial Studies and Criticism - An Introduction

1. Watch video resources

2. Read study material

3. Future of Postcolonial Studies

4. Check your progress - appear in 4 Online Test linked at the bottom of this blog

1. Watch Video Resources

1. Postcolonial Studies - Introduction 1
2. Postcolonial Studies - Introduction 2
3. Postcolonial Criticism - 1
4. Postcolonial Criticism - 2
5. Postcolonial Criticism - 3
6. Era of Darkness - Shashi Tharoor
7. Dangers of One Story - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
8. Discussion on Ashutosh Gowariker's Lagaan
9. Discussion on Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Rang De Basanti
10. Nation and Hybridity: Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children

2. Reading Resources

Click here to download reading resources

3. Future of Postcolonial Studies

(i) Globalization and Postcolonial Studies

    (a) Simplified version of the above article

    (b) Globalization and Fiction - Article with examples

(ii) Climate Change and Postcolonial Studies

    (a) Postcolonial Studies in the Anthropocene: Bridging Perspectives for a Sustainable Future

4. Online Tests

(i) Edward Said's Orientalism - Basic Introduction - 16 Questions - 24 Marks

(ii) Key Concepts: Postcolonial Studies - 23 Questions - 30 Marks

(iii) Introduction to Postcolonialism: Click here to appear in an online test to check your understanding of this topic - 16 Questions - 50 Marks

(iv) Future of Postcolonialism: Click here to appear in an online test to check your understanding of this topic - 27 Questions - 75 Marks

Postcolonial Studies and Bollywood

 Postcolonial Theory and Bollywood Films

Lagaan: Lagaan (transl. Agricultural tax), released internationally as Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India, is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language epic musical sports film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, and produced by and starring Aamir Khan, along with debutant Gracy Singh and British actors Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne in supporting roles. The film is set in 1893, during the late Victorian period of India's colonial British Raj. The story revolves around a small village in Central India, whose inhabitants, burdened by high taxes, and several years of drought, find themselves in an extraordinary situation as an arrogant British army officer challenges them to a game of cricket, as a wager to avoid paying the taxes they owe. The narrative spins around this situation as the villagers face the arduous task of learning a game that is alien to them and playing for a result that will change their village's destiny.

Reading resource on 'Lagaan'

1. Subaltern Studies, Bollywood and "Lagaan" 

Using 'Lagaan' as a case in point, this paper argues that popular Bollywood films with their appeal to the mass audience of uprooted peasants, factory workers, the unemployed, uneducated and poor can decolonise the imagination of the Indian masses. It points out that "Lagaan's" efforts at indigenisation and interrogation of prescribed discourses of modernity and history deserve credit for making possible the creation of public debates within a culture where the majority of the population is non-literate, and is unable to partake in elite discussions of culture and modernity.
Chandrima Chakraborty. “Subaltern Studies, Bollywood and ‘Lagaan.’” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 38, no. 19, 2003, pp. 1879–1884. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4413550. Accessed 2 July 2021. 

2. Reading cricket fiction in the times of Hindu nationalism and farmer suicides

This paper will critique postcolonial theory's attempt to read the cricket nationalism portrayed in the Oscar-nominated Bollywood film Lagaan as one that subverts the civilizing mission of British colonialism and also restores the agency of the subaltern classes. Instead, it will argue that this cricket nationalism replicates Indian bourgeois nationalism, which has no place for the subaltern in its imaginary. It will also argue that the postcolonial thesis of decolonization and indigenization of cricket supposedly achieved by Lagaan is marked by a culturalism that does not take into account structural factors such as capital, class and caste that dominate the institution of cricket in India. Finally, against postcolonial theory's tendency to read a text in isolation from the context, it will be contended that the cricket nationalism of the film can only be understood by locating it in relation to the present socio-historic conjuncture wherein forces of capital and nationalism are hegemonic.

Nissim Mannathukkaren (2007) Reading cricket fiction in the times of Hindu nationalism and farmer suicides: Fallacies of textual interpretation, The International Journal of the History of Sport, 24:9, 1200-1225, DOI: 10.1080/09523360701448349 

3. Post Colonialism And Political Resistance In Lagaan: Once Upon A Time In India

Using the movie Lagaan as a case in point, the paper examines the post-colonial and political resistance in the 19th century. Lagaan is a Bollywood movie released in 2001 and is directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. The fictional story is set in a village in India and it explores the struggles faced by the citizens to earn their rights. Taking in account of the movie, the paper analyses the socio-political scenario of the country.

4.  INDIAN CINEMA: Then and Now - PARTHA CHATTERJEE

https://www.jstor.org/stable/41804040  

5. Subaltern Studies, Bollywood and "Lagaan" - Chandrima Chakraborty

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4413550  

6. Real and Imagined Audiences: "Lagaan" and the Hindi Film after the 1990s - Rachel Dwyer

https://www.jstor.org/stable/25758031

7. What's so Great about Lagaan? - Sudhanva Deshpande

https://www.jstor.org/stable/23005829

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4413550  

8. Leadership Lessons from Lagaan

 https://www.slideshare.net/mohitsingla/lessons-from-lagaan-16096178 

Watch film 'Lagaan'

Rang De Basanti:

Rang De Basanti (transl. Paint it saffron) is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language drama film written, produced and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and co-written by Rensil D'Silva.

The film follows a British film student traveling to India to document the story of five freedom fighters of the Indian revolutionary movement. She befriends and casts five young men in the film, which inspires them to fight against the corruption of their own government. It features an ensemble cast consisting of Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Atul Kulkarni, Soha Ali Khan, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor and British actress Alice Patten.

A major point of criticism the film faced was regarding the possibility of the Indian Army attacking students in a radio station. When Rakeysh was questioned about the same in a scriptwriter's conference conducted by the Film Writers Association in the year 2008, he said the following, "So, in 2005, in Allahabad, a bunch of 4 students took the TV station there, and they were shot dead. Everything I did, it was kind of borrowed, as I said right here. Obviously, what I am also learning is the way I tell a story is not real; you can term it as a-real. For maximum impact, for the message to go through, I felt—since the story was against the establishment—let the establishment do it. After all, the establishment did hang Bhagat Singh. After all, the establishment did come down on the innocent, innocent students in Mandal Commission. After all the establishment did come down on Tiananmen Square. After all the establishment did come down when the whole concept of Flower Power emerged in America. So it's all there. It's borrowed, maybe not as realistically, but it is definitely there in the society. During emergency, there are horror stories. If we have to go back to Kriplani and his movement in Bihar, the stories are absolutely horrific."

Reading resources on Rang De Basanti

1. Rang De Basanti - Consumption, Citizenship and the Public Sphere

The central objective of this thesis is to explore whether the consumption of RDB stimulated citizenship among young audiences and caused an expansion of the public sphere in India.

2. Bollywood as National(ist) Cinema - Violence, Patriotism and the National - Popular in Rang De Basanti

This essay sets out to explore the relationship between violence, patriotism and the national-popular within the medium of film by examining the Indian film-maker Rakeysh Mehra’s recent Bollywood hit, Rang de Basanti (Paint It Saffron, 2006). The film can be seen to form part of a body of work that constructs and represents violence as integral to the emergence of a national identity, or rather, its recuperation. Rang de Basanti is significant in contemporary Indian film production for the enormous resonance it had among South Asian middle-class youth, both in India and in the diaspora. It rewrites, or rather restages, Indian nationalist history not in the customary pacifist Gandhian vein, but in the mode of martyrdom and armed struggle. It represents a more ‘masculine’ version of the nationalist narrative for its contemporary audiences, by retelling the story of the Punjabi revolutionary Bhagat Singh as an Indian hero and as an example for today’s generation. This essay argues that its recuperation of a violent anti-colonial history is, in fact, integral to the middle-class ethos of the film, presenting the viewers with a bourgeois nationalism of immediate and timely appeal, coupled with an accessible (and politically acceptable) social activism. As the sociologist Ranjini Majumdar noted, ‘the film successfully fuels the middle-class fantasy of corruption being the only problem of the country’.

 Watch film 'Rang de Basanti'

Reading Resource:

Postcolonial theory in films - Oxford Bibliographies

Postcolonial theory has hardly been a defining paradigm in the field of film studies. Postcolonial theory originally emerged from comparative literature departments and film from film and media studies departments, and despite the many intersections postcolonial theory has not been explicitly foregrounded. However, there are more similarities and natural points of intersections between the two areas than it would at first appear. For example, both postcolonial theory and film studies emerged at the end of the 1970s with the development of semiotic theory and poststructuralist thought. Both areas engage intensively with the field of representation, implying the ways in which a language, be it cinematic or otherwise, manages to convey reality as “mediated” and “discursive,” and therefore influenced by power relations.

The Anti-Colonial Revolutionary in Contemporary Bollywood Cinema - Vidhu Aggarwal 

In her article "The Anti-Colonial Revolutionary in Contemporary Bollywood Cinema" Vidhu Aggarwal discusses several contemporary films including Rakesh Omprakash Mehra's Rang de Basanti with focus on the figure of the revolutionary hero. The Bollywood film is a cultural form that combines several aesthetic styles, from within India and from the outside. With its formal heterogeneity and as a product of one of India's largest cities, Mumbai Bollywood has had an ongoing fascination with "arrival," that is, with India's status as a contemporary nation-state. While some Bollywood films seem to celebrate fantasy scenarios of India's arrival on the global scene, at the same time they express anxiety about affective possibilities within a new Bollywood of higher production values and larger global reach, an India of mobile borders and attenuated historical context. Aggarwal examines the way the contemporaneity of Bollywood — both in terms of acting style and aesthetics — is negotiated through reenactments of the colonial period and compares Bollywood cinema with aspects of the British film Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Danny Boyle.

Postcolonialism Today: Bill Ashcroft

 

Quizlets - Postcolonial Studies

Quizlets on Postcolonial Studies

Click on the links to open online quizzes on various topics of Postcolonial studies:

1. Postcolonial Studies - Key Concepts

1. Orientalism - 'An Introduction' - Edward Said

1. Black Skin, White Masks - Franz Fanon

1. A Tempest - Aime Cesaire

1. Imaginary Homelands - Salman Rushdie

Shashi Tharoor and Dark Era of Inglorious Empire

Speech at Oxford Union:



Looking Back at the British Raj in India: The University of Edinburgh



Exclusive Interview By Karan Thapar On His Book 'An Era Of Darkness'





About British Colonialism In India In His New Book 'An Era Of Darkness'

The Black Prince 

is a 2017 international historical drama film directed by Kavi Raz and featuring the acting debut of Satinder Sartaaj. It tells the story of Duleep Singh, the last Maharajah of the Sikh Empire and the Punjab area, and his relationship with Queen Victoria.

The story revolves around the young prince as he attempts both to regain his throne and reconcile himself with the two cultures of his Indian birth and British education. (Wikipedia)

Victoria & Abdul 

is a 2017 British biographical drama film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Lee Hall. The film is based on the book of same name by Shrabani Basu, about the real-life relationship between Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her Indian Muslim servant Abdul Karim. It stars Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Michael Gambon, Eddie Izzard, Tim Pigott-Smith and Adeel Akhtar.

The postcolonial critique of the film

The arguments presented by Shashi Tharoor are based in real research and facts. They are not concocted from hearsay talks or tea-stall gossips.

Listen to Dr. Shidhanshu Trivedi. Even though he is doctorate degree holder in Mechanical Engineering, all his arguments are based on hearsay talks and not based on hard facts. This speech is one of the best example of misplaced postcolonial argument. One should be proud of one's cultural identity. However, our perception of our culture shall be based on real life lived experience. The difference in Shashi Tharoor's highly academic post colonial argument and that of Dr. Shidhanshu Trivedi's fake rhetorics is very clear.

The popular resistance of post colonial subject results in reply words, like tale told by an idiot, signifying nothing.

Points to ponder:

• Write on key arguments in Shashi Tharoor's book - An Era of Darkness.
• Write critique on both the films with reference to postcolonial insights.
• Summarise Ngugi Wa Thiongo's views in 'Introduction: Towards the Universal Language of Struggle' - from 'Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature'.  

Talks by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie born on 15 September 1977) is a Nigerian novelist, writer of short stories, and nonfiction.^[3] She has written the novels Purple Hibiscus (2003), Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), and Americanah (2013), the short story collection The Thing Around Your Neck (2009), and the book-length essay We Should All Be Feminists (2014).

In 2008, Adichie was awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant. She was described in The Times Literary Supplement as "the most prominent" of a "procession of critically acclaimed young anglophone authors [who] is succeeding in attracting a new generation of readers to African literature".^[4] Her most recent book, Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions, was published in March 2017.^[5] (Wikipedia).

Read more about the author in Encyclopedia Britannica

Official Website of Chimamanda.

She is an excellent speaker.

Listening her is an amazing experience.

1) Talk on importance of Story / Literature

In this talk - Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

2) We Should All Be Feminist

3) Talk on importance of Truth in Post-Truth Era

Postcolonialism and Ecology

Postcolonial reading of Ecology

One of the most persistent and controversial topics of contemporary politics is the issue of the environment. Global warming has demonstrated the devastating effects of the industrial revolution and the unfettered pursuit of capital expansion. The environment, and attendant topics such as ecofeminism, ecological imperialism, environmentalism,speciesism have all taken an increasingly prominent place in post-colonial thought because it has become clear that there is a direct connection between colonialist treatment of indigenous flora and fauna and treatment of colonized and otherwise dominated subjects and societies.The devastation of colonized place (and potentially of the planet) paved the way for the devastation of societies.Until now the destruction of the physical and human environments have become the same thing. (Introduction to the Second Edition: POST-COLONIAL STUDIES: The Key Concepts by Bill Ashcroft,Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. Routledge. 2007.)

This animation by Steve Cutts explains in nutshell the encroachment and thus colonization of Ecology by Human Beings. The deconstructive hermeneutics of  helps us in developing the perspective necessary for both, the ecocriticism as well as postcolonial reading of relation between human and environment.

 

Postcolonial Perspective and Shashi Tharoor

Postcolonial Perspective and Shashi Tharoor

As India celebrates 70 years of its independence from colonial rule, this session debates colonialism’s claims of benefit and development despite evidence of its fundamental nature. The panelists discuss if this period — from the time of Vasco da Gama's arrival to the final emergence of the English as the principal colonisers of the Indian subcontinent — was one of acquiring as much and as many of India's riches as each European power could lay their hands on. Session co-hosted by the South Asia Centre, LSE and The British Library, as part of the series ‘Colony as Empire: Histories from Whitehall’

Shashi Tharoor was present on the Q & A Australian show. Here are his highlights.

0:00 - Shashi Tharoor on Loots of the British Empire and how that affected India
10:08 - Shashi Tharoor on Homosexuality and Trans-gender rights in India
7:56 - Shashi Tharoor on rise of the Right and the backlash against Liberlism
11:50 - Shashi Tharoor on North Korea and Kim Jon Un



The article on this video

The motion: This house believes Britain owes reparations to her former colonies.

ABOUT THE OXFORD UNION SOCIETY: The Union is the world's most prestigious debating society, with an unparalleled reputation for bringing international guests and speakers to Oxford. It has been established for 189 years, aiming to promote debate and discussion not just in Oxford University, but across the globe.

Postcolonial Studies: Film Screening: Midnight's Children and The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Screening films related to the themes of Postcolonial studies with a task to review these films

1) Midnight's Children: 

From one of the most acclaimed novel Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, emerges this drama Midnight's Children 2013 film highlighting the lives of two individuals born at the stroke of midnight when India achieved its independence from the British. The legendary yet dramatic Midnight's Children movie features a great story that marks it as an epic saga of the decade. This movie takes us through all the ages beginning from the grandparents to the grandchildren. Switched at the time of birth by a nurse at a Bombay hospital, the lives of the two individuals are mysteriously intertwined. As fate would have it, one (Saleem) is a son of a beggar woman whereas the other child (Shiva) becomes the destined son of a wealthy couple. Over a period of time, their fate makes them face each other on the field of rivalry, politics, romance and class.

The Midnight Children film is a controversial potboiler that has tragedy, romance and comedy. A journey of two individuals through the tragic disasters, trials and triumphs gives you an incomparable experience of watching India in the early years of Independence. It offers an astute view of the divide when the rich become poor and poor rise to power. Brilliantly directed and compiled by Oscar nominated director Deepa Mehta, the movie features some unforgettable moments that make your heart bleed and then there are those that bring a smile to your face. Midnight's Children English movie has a dramatic and mysterious touch that gets you an entire picture of India's journey through all its trials. Offering some fodder for thought and complete visual delight, this Midnight's Children DVD is a story that touches your soul. (This blurb is taken from Amazon product details)

The problem is that some - in fact a good many - of the events of Midnight's Children actually happened. it is not a historical novel in the conventional sense, but what Timothy Brennan has called "patches of straight history" are woven into the extravagant, nonlinear, fictional narrative of the novel's hero, Saleem Sinai. This "baggy monster of a book", as Rushdie has described it using Henry James's phrase, contains a detailed, chronological survey of the major events in India from the Amritsar massacre of 1919 to the end of the Emergency in 1977. In fact, Rushdie himself has said on several occasions that the novel is actually 'about' history and the way in which memory recovers and recreates the past. Not many critics, however, have chosen to pursue this approach to the book.

Rather than explore the novel's relation to history, the Academy has discussed it as a 'postmodern epic', a work of magic realism (or not), and a hybrid text that crosses elements of the Indian oral tradition with a critique of earlier British writers such as E. M. Forster and Paul Scott. 

From - Katherine Frank's  'Mr. Rushdie and Mrs. Gandhi' (https://www.jstor.org/stable/23539764)

Refer to this article to understand Hybridity and Postcoloniality in Midnight's Children

Fundamentalism

2) The Reluctant Fundamentalist: 

A young Pakistani man is chasing corporate success on Wall Street where he finds himself embroiled in a conflict between his American Dream, a hostage crisis, and the enduring call of his family s homeland.  It is a 2012 political thriller drama film based on the 2007 novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist byMohsin Hamid, directed by Mira Nair, starring Riz Ahmed and Kate Hudson in lead.^[4] The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a post-9/11film, a movie about the impact on one man of the Al Qaida attacks and the American reaction to them. (Wikipedia)

3) The Black Prince:

The last King of Punjab, Maharajah Duleep Singh's kingdom was one of the most powerful and prosperous kingdoms of the 19th century before it was annexed by Britain. Placed on the throne at the age of five, he was robbed of his legacy by treason at the hands of trusted courtiers. He was then torn away from his mother and taken to England by the British at the age of fifteen. While in England, he was introduced to Queen Victoria, who took an immediate liking to him, calling him The Black Prince. Meeting his mother again after thirteen years, the Maharajah is awakened to the realities of his former life in Punjab. He then begins the arduous journey to regain all that was lost, and re-embrace the faith of his birth, Sikhism. As the character of Maharajah Duleep Singh evolves, is torn between two contrasting cultures - his royal ancestry from the Kingdom of Punjab as its last King, set against his upbringing in the UK as he embarks in a new journey of exile, away from his mother. Duleep Singh's lifelong journey to regain his identity, dignity, and Kingdom took him across the world but his struggle was not met with success. He never won the chance to set foot again in his own land of Punjab.(CBFC/DIL/2/62/2017-MUM)

Provider:Vista India

Rating

U/A

Release date

2017

Running time

2:00:54

Language

Punjabi

Actors

Satinder SartajAmanda RootShabana AzmiJason FlemyngRupinder MagonSophie StevensDavid Essex

Director

Kavi Raz

Producers

Kavi RazJai KhannaJasjeet Singh

Writer

Kavi Raz

How to Analyze a Film:

Read this in detail to understand basics to analyze a film

Points to remember while reviewing a film:

• A film review should have a number of purposes:
• To inform. The review needs to tell people who is in the film, who it is by and where or when readers can see it.
• To describe. The review should describe the story, characters and some of the action - without spoiling the plot or giving too much away!
• To analyse. A good review gives an opinion on whether the film is good or not and why.
• To advise. Finally, the review should tell the reader whether or not to go and see the film.. .  Read BBC link from the below given links for further study.
• A good movie review should entertain, persuade and inform, providing an original opinion without giving away too much of the plot. A great movie review can be a work of art in its own right. Read on to learn how to analyze a movie, come up with an interesting thesis and write a review as entertaining as your source material.
• Method 1 of 3: Studying Your Source Material
• 1. Gather basic facts about the movie

2. Take notes on the movie as you watch it.

3. Analyze the mechanics of the movie

Method 2 of 3: Composing Your Review

1. Create an original thesis based on your analysis.

2. Follow your thesis paragraph with a short plot summary.

3. Move into your analysis of the movie.

4. Use plenty of examples to back up your points.

5. Give it some personality.

6. Wrap up your review with a conclusion

Method 3 of 3: Polishing Your Piece

1. Edit your review.

2. Proofread your review.

3. Publish or share your review (in form of COMMENT under this blog and also on your personal blog) . . . read more on wikihow link given below.

Some examples of reviews:

1. To do cinematic justice to Salman Rushdie’s novel “Midnight’s Children,” it would take a razzle-dazzle entertainer with Bollywood flair and a literary bent, someone equally at home with comedy and allegory, ghosts and little snot-nosed boys, Indian history and Indian myth. (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/movies/midnights-children-adaptation-of-salman-rushdies-novel.html?_r=0)
2. Though a bit literal for a film that traffics in magical realism, Deepa Mehta'sMidnight's Children is both dreamy and dramatic, a fascinating view of Indian history seen through the prism of a personal -- and occasionally twinned -- story. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marshall-fine/movie-review-imidnights-c_b_3153638.html?ir=India&adsSiteOverride=in)
3. The film, directed by Deepa Mehta (“Water”), is stunning to watch. Between the colorful textiles and the lush landscapes, the elephants on parade and the stilt walkers, “Midnight’s Children” is a visual treat. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/midnights-children-movie-review/2013/05/01/123822fa-b1cb-11e2-9a98-4be1688d7d84_story.html)
4. As a result, Midnight’s Children has neither the magic nor the realism of the magic realist narrative it regurgitates into soft, digestible pablum for a Western audience it clearly expects little but cooing approval from. (http://vancouverweekly.com/midnights-children-film-review/)

Some examples of reviews of 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist':

1. Relations between east and west, and the experience of the subcontinent diaspora in Britain and North America, have been the predominant concern ofMira Nair. Her perceptive, generous, inquiring films have pursued issues that the older, more reserved, less politically engaged Merchant-Ivory-Jhabvala team held back from. Based on a well-regarded novel by Mohsin Hamid, this schematic film interweaves two narratives in 2011 Lahore. (http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/may/19/reluctant-fundamentalist-review-mira-nair)
2. In his slim 2007 novel, “The Reluctant Fundamentalist,” the Pakistan-born writer Mohsin Hamid takes these two words and rubs them together until they throw off intellectual sparks. Written as a monologue, it is a somewhat claustrophobic blurt of a book that, given world events, continues to feel eerily timely. (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/movies/the-reluctant-fundamentalist-directed-by-mira-nair.html)
3. The story is recounted in flashback by Changez, now an academic back in Lahore, to an American journalist (Liev Schreiber) on the trail of a kidnapped professor. How deeply is this reluctant fundamentalist implicated in anti-American insurgency? Nair, adapting from the 2007 novel by Mohsin Hamid, draws a terrific performance from Ahmed as the divided hero, mild-mannered then warier by degrees. (http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/film-review-the-reluctant-fundamentalist-15-8609955.html)
4. But Khan's challenge comes less from without and more from within. He questions his identity, while his conscience struggles with his ethical choices. He is a Third World man rising to the heights of an imperialist nation. As an American, he benefits from our foreign interventions exploiting his "own people." Further, he contributes to the problem: In arranging mergers and acquisitions, he himself drives thousands of people into unemployment. (http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-reluctant-fundamentalist-2013)

A few Reviews of The Black Prince:

1. https://www.criticalmuslimstudies.co.uk/the-black-prince-and-coloniality/
2. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jun/17/how-film-and-tv-romanticises-life-in-india-after-the-raj

Reading resources on 'How to review film?'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english/creativewriting/movingimagesrev2.shtml

http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Movie-Review

http://twp.duke.edu/uploads/media_items/film-review-1.original.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_theory

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_studies