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. Al-Qadir Trust corruption case: Pakistan's jailed former PM Imran Khan moves Supreme Court for bail

That being said, I agree with the views of Roy as expressed in the book and as i understood, that Science is what needs to be taught because it teaches you critical thinking unlike anything else! And i believe that it makes us Human. I also do agree with the author on our Culture being closer to Nature like i am not in the favor of promoting Tourism and Development like having Airport in Andaman ironically named after poster-boy of Hintuva-movement! What about different schools of Hinduism itself? What about the Bhakti movement overpowering others and end up solidifying Monotheism! Sorry, i couldn’t refrain from this whataboutery, reminds of Nietsche, fighting a monster one must fear of becoming one!

Reviews

The second section features the concept of Civilisation and here the author lays bare the basic precepts of the same and comes forth with a rather poignant analysis of how the colonial consciousness has been spawned in our minds and verily juxtaposes the pervasion of European Coloniality and how the same has hindered the true recognition of the Indic Civilisation. Through meticulous research and a balanced perspective, the author engages readers in a discourse that encompasses colonisation, colonialism, coloniality, decoloniality, civilization and foundations of our Indian constitution. He starts with the facts of how the East India Company found its roots in Bharat, spread across the depth and breadth of this country and then power was transferred to the British in the name of the Queen. However, the Hindu and Muslim leaders did come together to fulfil their individual goals and put up a pretence of interfaith harmony to extract better bargains from their colonial overlords. Deepak explains that while Hindus had the realisation of self-government in mind, the Muslims, on the other hand, wanted a communal electorate in a democratic form of government proposed to be introduced in the country, with a higher proportion of seats reserved in every province of the country compared to their numerical strength.

This is a book you will keep returning to refer in the coming decade. Whether or not you want or like, you will be pushed to take a position. I believe this volume and the two to come, will offer you wise counsel. In ‘India, That is Bharat’, Deepak takes on the role of an intrepid explorer. His quest leads him to the very core of the idea of Bharat, where he immerses himself in an exploration of its fundamental underpinnings. Starting with a deep dive into historical accounts, he unearths the gradual corrosion that has plagued this concept throughout the ages. In the final part, the author analyzes the role of Christian secularism and gives a sneak-peek into whether it had an influence during the framing of the Government of India act of 1919, which formed the basis for our constitution later. Debates and discussions in European parliament about the Company's role, later brought under the Queen's rule, are explored. They provide chilling insights into how the British empire wanted to subjugate the people of Bharat in all aspects. The European approach to look at Indic philosophies and traditions from their ethnocentric lens resulted in them superimposing their worldview on Indic traditions. While Sanatana Dharma encompasses all aspects of life, the Christian colonizer reduced it to be a "religion" of "books." We are made aware of how these standardizations and laws percolate to this day, resulting in government control of Hindu temples in a supposedly "secular" state. The colonial influence on the legal systems and constitution is still felt, mostly to the detriment of diversity and indigenous spirit. Traditionally, the colonies were forced to adopt legal mechanisms to preserve their integrity upon achieving independence to overcome the fissiparous tendencies created by the imposition of nation-statehood. The foremost among these was a constitution which was initially intended to be a means to forge a nation-state. This was often elevated to the status of a religious document. Judiciary in decolonized societies assumes a similar position as the Roman Catholic Church during Reformation. Instead of decentralizing morality and allowing the society’s indigenous cultural moorings to inform law and policy, blind and unthinking constitutionalism has effectively contributed to the concentration of totalizing powers over morality and world view in the hands of unelected institutions and individuals. This is a clear reference to the author’s own experience when he appeared in court to argue against the plea of feminists demanding entry into the Sabarimala temple in Kerala. This temple forbids entry of women of reproductive age based on custom and legend of the deity who is worshipped as a brahmachari. The court ruled for entry of women in an immediately stunning though eventually fruitless verdict. He then introduces 'Decoloniality', what it means, its origins and refers to the scholarship works on it. Decoloniality was first coined in Latin America and was first proposed in the 1980's and is now spread to South America and most parts of Africa. He goes on to explain in great detail what is decoloniality, it's methods of working, it's desired outcomes and its effect on society. He also goes on to explain it's importance to Bharat and it's civilisational existence. However, what surprises me most on Decoloniality is we in Bharat have never heard about it or have an idea that such a school of thought exists and what it's implications are formerly colonised societies.However, the beauty of the book doesn't lie in its use of complex English terms, or Deepak's brilliance in matters of civilisation or his skills as a lawyer. Neither does it lie in his understanding of Christian nature and intent of the European Coloniser or in his ability to put it down in the form of a scholarly book. The beauty entirely lies in the ugly, uncomfortable and often terrifying and spine chilling questions it poses to the reader and how those questions put a mirror to the Indic society and the petrifying form of its present state of existence.

This is the first book of a trilogy where the author explores the roots and influence of European colonialism on the Indian state of Bharat. Colonisation is a process by which the people of one nation establish colonies in other societies while retaining their bonds with the parent nation, and exploit the colonised societies to benefit the parent nation and themselves. The author then moves on to explain how the colonizer could dislodge awareness of one’s roots from the minds of Indian ‘heathens’. The education policy of Britain was heavily tinted by the evangelical hue where the missionaries were assigned the task of teaching the children of other faiths seemingly secular topics. The evangelists always dangled the carrot of conversion as a way of uplifting the natives through plum jobs in the colonial administration. On the other hand, the government wanted to produce a generation of people ‘Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals and in intellect’. We have to accept that the colonizer achieved what he targeted. Colonial education annihilated a society’s belief in itself. It made the colonized people see their past as one vast wasteland of non-achievement and it made them desirous of distancing themselves from that wasteland. European coloniality was directly responsible for disrupting the sacred relationship between indigenous peoples and nature, the destruction of their faith, language, political and social structures and knowledge – in short, their entire culture. The Christian tenet that placed man at the centre of creation brought in the idea of nature as just a resource for exploitation. The world is still witnessing the dreadful aftereffects of carrying this idea too far. In fact, the East India Company is more sinned against than sinning in this regard. It would have been quite content to be left free to go after gold, rather than market god. It was the British crown, parliament and clergy that mandated it to evangelise, using part of its profits. When direct rule by the crown followed, evangelical fervour was further stoked, with state protection given to the church’s activities. All the while a sanctimonious charade was maintained that the ruler will not intrude in the natives’ ways, however distasteful they are thought to be.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). With a view to ameliorating the malevolent designs of colonialism from constantly festering in the psyche of policy making mavens and the common man alike, decolonization attempts to “release production of knowledge from the stranglehold of the West, which could lead to greater diversity of thought and subjectivity, in particular, resurgence and re-existence of indigenous perspective.” The primary goals of decolonization as articulated by Sai Deepak include an untethering from the moorings of identity politics and a conclusive escape from the entrenched dogmas of exclusionary ethnocentrism (race politics in short). We get an in-depth view to understand what decoloniality means and how it differs from other schools of thought like modernism, post-modernism, and post-colonialism. Summarizing this in the author's words - "the decolonial framework seeks to reinscribe the primacy of indigeneity, indigenous consciousness and its subjectivity in formerly colonized societies and civilizations." He also explains the difference between colonization, colonialism, and coloniality and how it excludes native perspectives. One thing i can speak jokingly. It seems to me that the author may be called as the ' Rana Ayub of the Indic wing' ( newly emerged far right spectrum in a different name ). The author traces the origins of Eurocentrism to ‘the Age of Discovery/Exploration’ in the 15th century, when Christopher Columbus set out in 1492 to ‘discover’ the ‘New World’. This was the beginning of European colonisation. This volume ends in 1919, when the British gave India a constitution — the Government of India Act of 1919, 84 years after Macaulay introduced his education policy. This was also the year when the League of Nations was formed, which was a cosy club of European nations which ruled most of the world. The Asian experience could impact the way colonialism, coloniality and decoloniality are perceived.