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.

Gāndhārī

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Gāndhārī is one of the brightest women characters of the Mahābhārata. She was the eldest daughter of Subala, the king of Gāndhāra. She was the chief queen of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the blind prince of Hastināpura. She was the personification of many virtues including the wifely virtues. It is an irony that Duryodhana, the primary villain of the Kurukṣetra war was her son. She had thirteen brothers and ten sisters. Śakuni, the master plotter of the Kurukṣetra war, was her elder brother. All her sisters also had married Dhṛtarāṣṭra.

Since Dhṛtarāṣṭra was born blind, she decided to bind her eyes with a wrapper and thus remain sightless, voluntarily and willingly. By the grace of Śiva, whom she had worshiped with great devotion, she had secured the boon of getting one hundred sons. Since her delivery was very much delayed, the story goes that she forced the foetus out. The sage Vyāsa, who arrived there at that time averted the disaster and arranged for the proper care of the same. In course of time one hundred sons and one daughter were born out of that fetus. Duryodhana and Duśśāsana were the first two sons.

As her sons grew up she, with great dismay, noticed their animosity and ill-treatment towards the Pāṇḍavas. Her interventions and sage advice had no effect at all upon Duryodhana. She had even taken her own husband to task for his blind infatuation towards their eldest son. When the war between the Pāṇḍavas and the Kauravas became inevitable and when Duryodhana approached her for blessings, she refused to give him the blessing that he be victorious.

When Duryodhana died in the battle, her mother heart was shaken and she wanted to curse Yudhiṣṭira. This was however prevented by the timely intervention of the sage Vyāsa. She consented to live in Hastināpura along with her husband. They were taken good care by Yudhiṣṭira. Later she retired to the forest, along with Kuntī and Dhṛtarāṣṭra and perished in a forest fire.


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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