Is The Colonial Mentality Hindering India’s Success?
Introduction
- Colonial mentality refers to the inferiority complex that was harboured in the minds of Indian thinkers, policymakers, and general public due to the long colonial rule in India. Such mentality views all things foreign as being superior while indigenous things are considered to be inferior.
- Examples of colonial mentality in our daily lives include the adoption of the western system of education, western medicine, western ideals of democracy, principles of liberty, equality, and other values, etc.
- Main argument of the essay: Colonial mentality is hindering India’s success to a certain extent, as it limits the ways in which we organize our society and plan our development. It may not always suit our cultural, geographical, and historical needs. However, colonial mentality has also helped India in terms of education, medicine, space science, etc., as it pushes us to compete and strive for better standards.
Body
Colonial mentality is hindering India’s success:
Social:
- Blind following of western models of medicine and education without exploring the strength and utility of Indian alternatives.
- Gandhi’s ideals, older education system, and India’s glorious past. Argue that this may be the reason that India is not doing well in the field of research and innovation.
- Social ills such as standards of beauty which are very western. Craze for fairness and the problems arising out of it such as low self-esteem among young women and issues with marriage alliances.
- Less tolerance towards alternative lifestyles such as homosexuality. Indian society was tolerant and open but Victorian standards of morality have made us less tolerant.
Political:
- Institutions of governance, polity, etc. borrowed from the British model and the west in general. Maybe there lies a better Indian alternative.
- Examples of village systems that worked harmoniously. Again use Gandhi’s arguments. Maybe his arguments are too idealistic, but there is an alternative.
- Why does India try to get involved in the western race of becoming a superpower? Is it really worth it to allocate resources towards that end when millions are deprived of basic necessities?
Economic:
- We have borrowed the western model of economy. Referring to Bhutan’s initiative of calculating GNH, can we also adopt something different that suits our societal aspirations better?
- Capitalism and its problems. Again a western gift.
- The essay topic refers to ‘success’, but again our definition of success is also shaped by this colonial mindset. Maybe we need to explore a different path.
How colonial mentality has helped India:
- R.M. Roy was influenced by the western ideals of freedom and equality and attempted to bring reforms in India on those lines. This was dine by some other thinkers as well during the freedom movement Ambedkar, Phule, etc.
- Western medicine has helped tackle diseases, reduce mortality rates, etc.
- Western science and scientific nature of enquiry has helped us grow out of the dark ages of sorts that existed before colonial rule in India.
- Ideals of equality that we have adopted due to western pressure. o Maybe this inferiority complex pushes us to do well.
Conclusion
- There are both positive and negative sides to the colonial mindset, so it is not hindering our progress (and success) entirely.
- It is not possible to get rid of the mindset that has taken roots in our society for over 200 years now. The best way is to use it positively.
- All we can do is to recognize that this mindset exists and understand our strengths. It must be used to help us become a better society instead of hindering our progress.
Notes
- Keywords: colonial mentality, hindering, India’s success
- For this topic, it is important that you understand what colonial mentality is. It is unwise to attempt a topic without having clarity on keywords.
- Bring in as many relevant examples from as many areas as you can for an impactful essay on this topic.