Colonial Modernity: A Critique
Keywords:
race, casteAbstract
This paper attempts to articulate the predicament of colonial modernity. Since modernity was ushered in India under British colonial rule, should it be renounced? After all this was a period marked by severe forms of violence and exploitation, and retaining institutions and ideas such as the nation-state, parliamentary secular political life, rule of law, university education etc., derived from this period requires some reflection on their origins. Further, many of these institutions have for most part catered to the elite sections of our society and have been beyond the reach of the masses. Moreover, they have shown their insensitivity to accommodate the underprivileged others in a substantive way: these 'others' are those marginalized by race, caste, class, gender and even the empire.
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