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.

Daiva

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Daiva literally means ‘related to deva,’ ‘luck or fate’.

Throughout the history, some kind of belief in destiny and unseen hand of fate seems to have existed. The people have been no exception to this phenomenon. The word ‘daiva’ has been derived from ‘deva’, a god or a superior being or a supernatural power. In effect, it means the unseen power of fate (adṛṣṭa).

The dharmaśāstras and the purāṇas have discussed in detail whether daiva or puruṣakāra (human effort) is more powerful. Three different views have emerged:

  1. Daiva is all-powerful
  2. Human effort is superior
  3. Both have an equal place in our life.


Since daiva (fate or luck) is generally interpreted as the cumulative effect of our past karmas tending to give a particular direction in this life, the third view seems to be more reasonable.


References[edit]

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

Contributors to this article

Himanshu Bhatt, Krishna Maheshwari

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