Colonial Discourse and the Suffering of Indian American Children is now freely available.
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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.

Caturthavisarga

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Caturthavisarga literally means ‘giving up the fourth’.

Honoring the dead ancestors through appropriate rituals is a phenomenon common to many cultures. Such a ceremony among the people is called ‘śrāddha’. Riceballs called ‘piṇḍas’ are offered to the ancestors with suitable mantras during these ceremonies.

In one of these śrāddhas called ‘pārvaṇaśrāddha,’ the offerings are made to the dead ancestors up to three generations (father, grandfather and great-grandfather) only. In this śrāddha the fourth one is omitted (visarga = omitting). This is called ‘caturthavisarga’.


References[edit]

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

Contributors to this article

Krishna Maheshwari, Deval Sancheti

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