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Civilisation ⇔ Freedom of Speech's Reviews > India that is Bharat: Coloniality, Civilisation, Constitution
India that is Bharat: Coloniality, Civilisation, Constitution
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3.5/5 So many thoughts.
Conservative intellectuals are less in no. and also less known in most countries. But in India there has been an acute shortage for 2 reasons:-
A) The arts, media and literature space is usually dominated by Left-liberals. In India this was neatly aligned with the dominant Congress’s ideology. And they are good at cancelling, harassing dissenting Right-Wing opinion.
B) Importantly - The RSS actively discouraged intellectualism and believed in action.
And this led to a vaccum which was especially noticeable after 2014.
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So, despite having a perfectly legitimate POV on issues like CAA (not NRC), Article 370, Triple Talaq abolition etc, the Union BJP govt was unable to put forward coherent and well-constructed arguments. While they somehow managed the Indian public with emotional appeals and SM, the international perception was and is continued to be shaped by our left-liberals. Hopefully this changes with the rise of J.Sai Deepak (and Vikram Sampath).
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This may perhaps be the first study of the massive colonial impact of the British on India. The book’s core idea is that while we attained political independence, our minds remain colonised. And our entire way of thinking had changed to become aligned with British mindset.
Why do I classify this as a conservative/RW intellectual book ? 2 reasons :-
A) The left-liberal intellectuals are largely Macaulay-putras - English Medium educated with a colonial mindset. A good example is the “privilege” narrative which they have copied from the West and tried to hammer in India. Or “anti-Brahminism”.
B) The author seems somewhat aligned with Hindutva. Also, ironically like soft-Islamists, he calls secularism a Western value that has been forcibly hammered on our societies. Here, I disagree with him totally.
——————————
The book itself was hardly readable with long, lawyerly sentences and took me some time and effort to read. Because the author is a renowned lawyer, the points were put across convincingly but also repeatedly. Finally, a must read if you are interested in Indian politics.
And eagerly waiting for the next one.
Conservative intellectuals are less in no. and also less known in most countries. But in India there has been an acute shortage for 2 reasons:-
A) The arts, media and literature space is usually dominated by Left-liberals. In India this was neatly aligned with the dominant Congress’s ideology. And they are good at cancelling, harassing dissenting Right-Wing opinion.
B) Importantly - The RSS actively discouraged intellectualism and believed in action.
And this led to a vaccum which was especially noticeable after 2014.
————————-
So, despite having a perfectly legitimate POV on issues like CAA (not NRC), Article 370, Triple Talaq abolition etc, the Union BJP govt was unable to put forward coherent and well-constructed arguments. While they somehow managed the Indian public with emotional appeals and SM, the international perception was and is continued to be shaped by our left-liberals. Hopefully this changes with the rise of J.Sai Deepak (and Vikram Sampath).
—————————
This may perhaps be the first study of the massive colonial impact of the British on India. The book’s core idea is that while we attained political independence, our minds remain colonised. And our entire way of thinking had changed to become aligned with British mindset.
Why do I classify this as a conservative/RW intellectual book ? 2 reasons :-
A) The left-liberal intellectuals are largely Macaulay-putras - English Medium educated with a colonial mindset. A good example is the “privilege” narrative which they have copied from the West and tried to hammer in India. Or “anti-Brahminism”.
B) The author seems somewhat aligned with Hindutva. Also, ironically like soft-Islamists, he calls secularism a Western value that has been forcibly hammered on our societies. Here, I disagree with him totally.
——————————
The book itself was hardly readable with long, lawyerly sentences and took me some time and effort to read. Because the author is a renowned lawyer, the points were put across convincingly but also repeatedly. Finally, a must read if you are interested in Indian politics.
And eagerly waiting for the next one.
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Reading Progress
October 27, 2021
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0.21%
"Long sentences that make me feel the lawyer has trumped over the engineer in the author. Really wanted to read this as a friend praised his talks on youtube. Shelving."
page
1
October 30, 2021
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Started Reading
October 30, 2021
– Shelved
October 30, 2021
– Shelved as:
indian-history-1857-1947
October 30, 2021
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7.0%
"I was told on SM that the use of ‘Bharat’ for India was bigoted and against the Constitution’s promise of secularism.
The fact that Article 1 of the Constitution expressly began with ‘India, that is Bharat.…’ to declare its roots and heritage to the world was barely known, and even if it was, the significance of the use of ‘Bharat’ in the very first Article appeared to have been lost over time."
The fact that Article 1 of the Constitution expressly began with ‘India, that is Bharat.…’ to declare its roots and heritage to the world was barely known, and even if it was, the significance of the use of ‘Bharat’ in the very first Article appeared to have been lost over time."
October 31, 2021
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20.0%
"Was listening to one of J.Sai Deepak's debates with Shashi Tharoor. Where J.Sai attacks the concept of (European) secularism and separation of church and state. And Tharoor agrees somewhat.
Ironically, I am a staunch secularist, classical liberal and "modernist" and "rationalist" (Quotes because J.Sai Deepak thinks these are colonial terms). But interesting guy to read nonetheless."
Ironically, I am a staunch secularist, classical liberal and "modernist" and "rationalist" (Quotes because J.Sai Deepak thinks these are colonial terms). But interesting guy to read nonetheless."
November 3, 2021
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31.0%
"A lot to disagree with, a lot to learn, a lot to think. What a book !
सब लोग जल्दी इसे पढ़े ताकि इसपे बात हो सके :)"
सब लोग जल्दी इसे पढ़े ताकि इसपे बात हो सके :)"
November 18, 2021
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73.0%
"Reminded of "Guns , Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond.
This too is an important book and equally difficult to read !"
This too is an important book and equally difficult to read !"
November 20, 2021
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Finished Reading
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Poornima
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rated it 4 stars
Jan 02, 2023 06:52AM
Could not have put it better.
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