Colonial Discourse and the Suffering of Indian American Children Book Cover.webp

In this book, we analyze the psycho-social consequences faced by Indian American children after exposure to the school textbook discourse on Hinduism and ancient India. We demonstrate that there is an intimate connection—an almost exact correspondence—between James Mill’s colonial-racist discourse (Mill was the head of the British East India Company) and the current school textbook discourse. This racist discourse, camouflaged under the cover of political correctness, produces the same psychological impacts on Indian American children that racism typically causes: shame, inferiority, embarrassment, identity confusion, assimilation, and a phenomenon akin to racelessness, where children dissociate from the traditions and culture of their ancestors.


This book is the result of four years of rigorous research and academic peer-review, reflecting our ongoing commitment at Hindupedia to challenge the representation of Hindu Dharma within academia.

Ākāśamaṇḍapa

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Ākāśamaṇḍapa is literally translated as ‘hall open to the sky’.

Places of worship have existed from very ancient times. A temple, though a place of worship, is a replica of the universe, an image of God, an image of man with God in his heart—all rolled into one.

The most essential part of a temple is the garbhagṛha or sanctum sanctorum. It is here that the image or the symbol of the deity is installed. In front of this garbhagṛha there is typically a hall (at least in the big temples) known as maṇḍapa or nṛtta-maṇḍapa or navaraṅga that is used for congregational purposes like singing, dancing, recitation of religious texts or religious discourses. This maṇḍapa can have walls or it can be just a shelter without walls. When the roof of this maṇḍapa is supported on pillars (w/o a wall) it is referred to as ākāśamaṇḍapa.

References[edit]

  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore