All Roads Lead to Jerusalem!

Colonial Consciousness and Victorian Morality

By hipkapi March 23, 2011 Balagangadhara, colonial consciousness, law, normative

1. You suggest that calling Apsaras as “prostitutes in the court of Indra” is an extreme statement. Of course, you would be right if you mean that the English word…

Victorian morality of NRI and middle class Hindus: Prostitution, Adultery

By hipkapi March 23, 2011 Balagangadhara, colonial consciousness, normative, NRI, symbolism

1.1. The Indian traditions did not have the same attitude as Christianity towards prostitution or adultery. And the Indians of yesteryears were not defenders of the Victorian (and Christian) morality. Of…

What is the most ideal social security system (safety net)?

By hipkapi March 23, 2011 Balagangadhara, colonial consciousness

Let me invite you to do a thought-experiment along with me. Imagine that all human beings seek happiness. Imagine too that they can all achieve this state of being. Because,…

Is tradition akin to following moral obligations?

By hipkapi March 23, 2011 Balagangadhara, colonial consciousness, normative, practice, tradition

Traditions are inherited practices, which mean two things: they are both transmitted and learnt. The learning occurs through imitation, following instructions, through stories and so on. Consequently, traditions ‘change’ (i.e. undergo…

What is experience? IV

By hipkapi March 17, 2011 Balagangadhara, colonial consciousness, experience, ignorance, psychology

1. If we take our English language use as a reference point, it appears as though we can speak sensibly about experiencing our feelings (‘I experience sadness’), experiencing thoughts (‘I…

Explanations that trivialize experiences

By hipkapi March 7, 2011 Balagangadhara, colonial consciousness, stories

1. In many cultures, especially in the Indian case, it is important to understand that stories are not explanations. They are neither true nor false because they do not describe…

Colonial Consciousness as a process and as an event

By hipkapi March 5, 2011 Balagangadhara, colonial consciousness

It is an event because the colonial consciousness that I am talking about comprises of multiplicity of actions executed by indefinitely many Indians over a long period. It is a…

Introspection vs. reflection on experience—S.N.Balagangadhara

By hipkapi March 5, 2011 Balagangadhara, colonial consciousness, enlightenment, experience, psychology

In this post, I want to reflect on what it means to access and think about experience. Perhaps, not so much on what these words mean but what is entailed…

Normative assumptions and Corruption

By hipkapi March 3, 2011 Balagangadhara, colonial consciousness, corruption, normative

The first thing to note is that there is no distance between how we use corruption in our daily language and the way it is used in political and sociological…

Colonial Consciousness: Burden of Proof

By hipkapi March 3, 2011 Balagangadhara, caste, colonial consciousness, corruption, immoral

1. The first thing that is really striking involves what I will call the burden of proof. That is, I am being asked to prove that my assertions about corruption…