We are pleased to share that we completed our 6th IKS Meta-Retreat “Deconstruction and Reconstruction: Beyond Colonial Discourse” with Prof. Kundan Singh, Professor @ Sofia University, Palo Alto as the Lead Faculty at Bilvam Foundation, Tiruvannamalai from 26-July to 28-July 2024.
The Meta Retreat was organised in the context of the publication of Prof. Kundan Singh’s book “Colonial Discourse and the Suffering of Indian American Children.” The book, while characterising the impact of colonial distortions on Indian American children, presents a universally relevant deconstruction of James Mill’s The History of British India which is applicable to every context where its narrative made an impact. Prof. Singh’s book has been published Open Access as well in order to ensure a wide readership across the world. Please find its pdf as well as epub versions at the following website: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-57627-0
An Abstract from the Book
The following is the abstract of the book that acted as the conscience of the MetaRetreat :
“In the early nineteenth century, James Mill, who eventually became one of the topmost officials in the imperial East India Company, wrote a three-volume work titled The History of British India. In volume one, he wrote seven chapters on the Hindu people with the thesis that they are savage, uncivilised, brute, primitive, uncouth, rude, coarse, etc. Making their primitiveness and savagery the defining characteristic of his work, he wrote on topics about their social structure and social laws, their governance and taxation systems, and their manners and customs. In addition, he devoted considerable space to arguing that Hinduism was a primitive and pagan religion that was irrational, superstitious, incoherent, and child-like. Backed by the massive imperial power that Britain eventually exerted on the world, this colonial-racist discourse set the narrative on Hindus, Hinduism, and Ancient India, which continues to get regurgitated in different places in different forms in educational institutions from school to higher learning, not only in other countries but also India, albeit in politically correct and sanitised ways.
Consequently, this archaic and racist discourse, camouflaged under the cover of political correctness, produces a psychological impact quite similar to what racism is known to have: shame, inferiority, embarrassment, identity confusion, assimilation, and a phenomenon identical to racelessness where the children dissociate from the tradition and culture of their ancestors. The irony of it all is that Mill’s discourse is one of complete fabrication and projection, given that there also is an exact correspondence between his British social and political writings on the one hand and his noxious discourse on Hindus and Hinduism on the other. Mill concocted his narrative on India, Hinduism, and Hindus in light of the social and political conditions that he wanted to reform and expel from British society—at the expense of India and Hinduism.
Mill’s characterization of Hinduism is in the shadows of the practices of the Church of England—the Church of Englandism as he called it. His description of the Hindu society bears an exact correspondence with his description of the British society that he did not want in Britain to exist. Given that his discourse got the backing of the imperial East India Company, it became the normative discourse as time passed. It now finds a reproduction in the school text- books in a politically correct and sanitised form, causing damaging psycho-social consequences for many generations of educated Indians.”
With Prof. Kundan Singh’s book at the core, this MetaRetreat sought to discuss ways and means of deconstructing the Colonial Discourse and begin a process of reconstruction of civilizational discourse. This could be a multi-dimensional, multi-decade, multi-generation project. The MetaRetreat sought to map all directions in even this deconstruction/reconstruction must spread and explore particular strands of it in depth.
The MetaRetreat Discussion
The discussion at the retreat began by delving into the concept of binaries in Western and Indic civilizations, examining how dualities like secular vs. material and true vs. false had historically shaped philosophical and cultural outlooks. This exploration naturally led to the challenge of transcending these dualities, where it was noted that while the ego initially aided spiritual progress, it eventually became a barrier.
Prof. Kundan Singh then presented a detailed view of how Bharateeya Cosmology comes to the aid of building an Indian Post Colonial Theory that explains several defining features of western civilization and Indian civilization through a productive contrast. The lens for the contrast is drawn from the Yogic Cosmology which is also found in different ways in Sankhya and other Darshanas. Our Puranas also reflect this in their Srishti sections. Our Buddhi operates in this Binary and our Cosmology locates Buddhi in lower universes while there are more fundamental realities in higher universes onto which man has the power to transcend. Thus, transcendence enables man to overcome Binaries that create dialectics and conflicts, which is a critical feature of our civilization, while the west by default operates in Binaries without transcendence. The culture of Bharat not only saw this reality but also developed methods and techniques for transcendence in diverse ways. Thus, this Indian Post Colonial theory not only explains James Mill’s distortions but also explains the overall approach of the west to Bharat in both the colonial and post colonial times.
The conversation then shifted to the historical context, exploring how figures like Sir William Jones and James Mill influenced India’s colonial history by translating and reformulating ideas to serve Western interests. This naturally brought in a discussion on Bentham’s utilitarian principle, contrasting it with the Indian concept of Bahujana Sukhaya Bahujana Hitaya, showcasing the differences in governance philosophies between the East and the West.
Nagarjuna’s contributions were then highlighted, particularly his work on deconstructing the mind and addressing binaries through the concept of Pratītyasamutpāda, emphasising the depth of Indian philosophical thought. The narrative further covered how Western ideologies, particularly through thinkers like Mill and Bentham, had significantly influenced Indian thought, prompting the need for a creative response to these challenges.
Concerns about cultural appropriation and intellectual theft were raised, including undisclosed artefacts and knowledge taken by the Vatican, which underscored the losses India had endured. This led to an examination of modern phenomena like Wokism, with discussions on how its roots could be connected to traditional Indian cosmology.
The impact of Macaulay and James Mill on shaping modern Indian education and governance systems was revisited, highlighting the ongoing influence of their ideas. Finally, the retreat emphasised the critical need for reconstructing Indian knowledge systems, suggesting the development of new scholars, creative dissemination methods, and further research as essential steps in decolonizing Indian studies.
Cohort members brainstormed ways to carve a deconstruction/reconstruction journeys within their own fields of work.
The IKS Changemakers who were part of the Meta Retreat cohort are
Prof Kundan Singh – MetaRetreat Leader, Professor, Sofia University, California
Prof. Jyotirmaya Tripathi – Professor, Dept Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras
Dr. Arun Krishnan – Data Scientist, Bengaluru
Smita Barooah – Counsellor, Scholar, Commentator
Dr. Yogini Deshpande – Entrepreneur, Chief Editor & Co-Founder, INDICA Today
Dimple Kaul – Director – Academic Programs. INDICA
Sharan Shetty – Journalist, Swarajya
Anshuman Panda – Senior Research Associate, Brhat
Ajay – Architect
Rekha Kumar – Teacher, Mentor, Activist
Rohith Krishna – Research Scholar, Chanakya University
Shivakumar GV – Director – IKS Changemakers, INDICA
IKS Meta-Retreats are immersive intellectual explorations spanning 2-3 days, led by an Acharya in the ambience of a Gurukula and conducted with an attitude of Shraddha. Acharya, is the subject matter expert (SME), seeking to explore a specific topic, discipline, or domain along with a cohort. 9-12 participants who possess shradda and the right experience in the chosen theme form the cohort. This cohort then comes together with an upanishadic attitude of learning through immersion at a location that echoes the ambience of a Gurukula.
