Recently, for my literature class in school, I was given the assignment of finding my voice through a journal entry that would answer the question: "How have you been oppressed?". I wrote the following short essay with the title "Decolonize Your Mind" which touches on the issue of dealing with modern colonization in today's youth.
Colonial processes, which seem like an ancient undertaking, have unknowingly shaped our society today and told us that western society is the benchmark of success and progress. I am told to be ashamed of my heritage, bury it in the deepest hole I can dig and leave it in the past as an untamed and uncivilized wild animal that no longer deserves to run free in the beautiful forest of my mind. Colonial society is not historic trend, it is a blood that runs deep into my veins, that was forced into my ancestors in place of their own blood, and poisons me every time I deny my own culture for what I have been told is purer.
The trend of viewing western culture as the model of an idealistic society has impacted my everyday life. When I dress myself, I dress to be western, when I write, I can only do so in English, and though I am capable of fluently speaking my own language, my thoughts are in a language that is foreign to my peoples. So you must understand, the assignment of finding my voice has been quite the challenge because I feel that my voice has been lost---both literally and figuratively.
If your parents are immigrants, you will understand, at least a little, a constant feeling of guilt, inadequacy, or betrayal towards your home country. Many of us cannot read or write our own language, only dress in traditional clothing on special occasions, and seldom take the time to appreciate our religion or values. This is because of the lack of importance that is given to our own culture in a country that worships the progress of every individual towards a modern, western culture. During the British occupation of India, Indians were only seen as valuable when they adopted to British ideals and culture and neglected their own in the process. The dehumanization of the average Indian, which was clear in signs that read “Indians and dogs NOT allowed” on the gates of properties of British officials in India, drove my people away from their own culture which they now envisioned as a gross dirt only hindering their progress towards an idealistic, western society.
My nani (grandmother) was a very talented person and my mother has countless talents too, but they lived in a society that subdued their creativity and heritage and determined their value off of their capability to conform to western standards. Both of them pursued a path of safety or what they believed to be guaranteed success without bothering to acknowledge that of which could have genuinely made them happy. 70 years after independence from colonial rule, my mother’s mind is still colonized every day, my mind is still colonized every day, and my daughter’s mind will be colonized every single day.
If you visit modern day India, you will see the lasting impact of British colonial rule. The average Indian dresses in exclusively western clothing, to work and school and on any casual occasions---western clothing is a norm. We have large businesses, modern infrastructure, and numerous successful industries (not to mention one of the world’s largest film industries). However, the constant viewing of India as a “poor” and “backward” nation, remains to this day. This image of India was created by the same people who oppressed India during its colonial rule in order to drive some of India’s greatest minds away from their own country to a “highly developed” country that would not hinder their growth. My own parents left India for the United States, which was believed to be a promise land that would take them away from the repulsive backwardness of their homeland. In fact, recent controversy over the Snapchat C.E.O., Evan Spiegel, labeling India as “poor” nation has received a lot of attention considering Spiegel’s net worth is 4.9 billion USD and Mukesh Ambani’s (one of India’s most famous businessmen) net worth is 30.3 billion USD. This view of India only perpetuates the cultural oppression and ignorance that strays from western societies; the once diverse and beautiful Indian culture has been reduced to henna and tapestries.
The fear that I carry in my heart, that I’ll forget how to pray, or my children won’t be able to speak a word of their mother tongue is proof of the impact of colonialism on not only the scars on our homeland but those on our heart. We must not stray farther away from the culture that we worked so hard to preserve in the darkness of colonialism, or forget the pains and blemishes of colonial oppression that our own people and culture have so tirelessly endured. We must dig our hands into the beautiful soil of our mother country and plant new seeds for a brighter future while not forgetting to appreciate the vast forests that our ancestors have already planted for us.
