Foreign and domestic colonialism is an old story probably dating back to biblicaltimes, which over time has taken numerous and varied shapes and sizes impacting every aspect of all life forms across the entire globe.
Foreign
and domestic colonialism is an old story probably dating back to biblical
times, which over time has taken numerous and varied shapes and sizes impacting
every aspect of all life forms across the entire globe. Depending on who
colonized who, where and how for obvious reasons, there are different degrees
of the impact of colonialism the world will always suffer. There has always
been opposition to colonialism, as evidenced in wars throughout history, and
this opposition will also continue in various forms. There is an entire
cornucopia of academic work and a profusion of literary genre, which has found
dedicated departments and research and study centres on colonialism in numerous
universities across continents, especially in former colonies. Not surprisingly,
former colonial powers have also joined the bandwagon of this academic pursuit,
either as apologists or antagonists.
Indubitably
the more we know of the insidious ways of colonialism ~ which not only
ceaselessly appear unannounced but also keep on taking newer forms and pour out
from a bucket with a million minuscule invisible holes ~ we would be better
informed on how to deal with it. But the problem is each of us is a perpetrator
of colonialism unconsciously or subconsciously ~ an opinion that will be met
with much indignation and protest, no doubt. Colonialism that slowly but
determinedly pours out through the bucket with a million minuscule holes first
invade and then flood our thoughts, emotions, sentiments, beliefs, motions,
actions, language, religion, interactions and our present and future, as also
our political, economic, social, cultural, educational and numerous other
systems making us clones of the newer forms of our colonial masters, whose
corporates laugh all the way to the bank. And this laughter rings into newer
forms of technology increasingly invasive but we celebrate that we live in a
post-neo-colonial, post-modern and highly technology-centric world.
We are
yet to realised how much our thought process, our privacy and our ways of
living have been compromised, manipulated and dictated by algorithms and it is
now difficult to say who is fiddling with these algorithms ~ human or
automatons. In the name of comfort and convenience ~ all a part of progress
seemingly ~ we have become puppets on a string and have lost a huge part of our
human-ness. So, long gone conquerors and fragile egos and sentiments become
more relevant than our dying earth, our joblessness, our poverty, our hunger,
crimes, violence, injustice, inequality, flouting of human decency and
shrinking freedom. Religious and cultural festivals take on greater relevance
than our abysmal educational, health and communications infrastructure but life
goes on because increasingly we live online. Never has the disparity between the
farmer, who sees no option but to consider suicide, and the privileged person
been starker. Oh yes, we are only too willing perpetrators of colonialism ~
whatever its form ~ but we swear by our political, economic, social and
cultural sovereignty and patriotism.
Against
this background, committed and dedicated endeavours to repair the damages
caused by colonialism, especially on small agrarian indigenous communities, are
rays of sunlight keeping hopes alive for us, who are still rooted to Mother
Earth for survival. For those of us, who have not fully abandoned our
forefathers’ ways of life ~ for we know that would hasten our early demise
literally and otherwise ~ such endeavours validate our existence and our ways
of life. We have come a long way and cannot go back because going back is a
place that no longer exists, therefore reviving and rejuvenating inerasable
ancient memories in the form of protecting and preserving our environment,
flora and fauna, retelling stories and re-singing songs, re-weaving handloom
and re-crafting handicraft and reviving and strengthening community bonds
through community participation and reclaiming ownership of our ways of life
are ways of repairing the damages caused by colonialism. However, because we
still deal with the problems of the bucket with a million minuscule holes, how
do we ascertain that these attempts and endeavours to reclaim our ways of life
in consonance with Nature are not done through the prism of the lingering
debris of the colonial education system imparted to us, as well as so many
influences we have imbibed through history, movies, music, books, social norms
and market behaviour, etc? How do we know that we aren’t reshaping our
communities, thought processes, beliefs, actions, etc., through the lenses of
all that we have imbibed in a post-neo-colonial, post modern world and highly
technology-centric world? How do we know that our emotions and actions are not
guided by sentiments and ideologies of the othering we have suffered? What if
we too have internalized such sentiments and ideologies and could be striking
back at other’s othering with our own othering at a sub-conscious level?
Take,
for instance, our lifestyles, clothes, food habits, architecture, etc. so much
influenced by the non-indigenous and the alien that are trending globally.
Globalisation, after all, is a more evolved form of capitalism, isn’t it? So,
while we join the global village as its citizens, what are our motives for
endeavouring to repair colonialism’s damages? Because we live in a constantly
integrating linked market economy, would it be incongruous to investigate the
agenda beyond the headlines and between the lines? Consider the way we are
relentlessly bombarded with media messages of the ‘health benefits’ of
non-indigenous fruits, vegetables and other superfoods manipulating our choices
and dictating our food habits and shopping lists ~ definitely an ace marketing
strategy of non-indigenous items, which is the insidiously clever model of any
form of colonialism’s modus operandi. We become not only the victim but also
participants and perpetrators of colonialism, perhaps unknowingly, but we
prefer to focus on the victim part only and see a ‘constituency’ to champion
anti-colonialism.
Surely
it isn’t asking for too much to delve into the inspiration of these damage
repair attempts and endeavours? We have seen decades and decades of the
Northeast being perceived and transformed into different platforms by all sorts
of people and groups of people ~ sometimes even our own ~ that have left this
region neither here nor there. Colonialism cloaks itself with mystery and
meaning ~ both covert and overt, both simple and complex ~ persuasively
concealing its underbelly but a reality check would reveal that we are drowning
in this underbelly.
(The Columnist is a journalist
and poet. Published in the March 28, 2025 issue of Assam Tribune)
