India is dominated by the West
August 6 2013
'India may be independent politically and it may even become an economic power like Japan, but it remains and will still remain part of the global capitalist economy and system, dominated and controlled by the West,' says historian J B P More.
Nothing much has changed since Vasco da Gama's time, says historian J B P More.
That is why he holds the view that the Clash of Civilisations, between the West and the rest of the world which started in the 15th century with Vasco da Gama traveling to India and Christopher Columbus stumbling upon America, has continued till today and will continue for many more decades to come.
"I am sure Samuel Huntington (who proposed the Clash of Civilisations theory in a memorable 1993 Foreign Affairs essay) will agree with me," he told Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier in an interview conducted done over e-mail.
J B P MoreBorn and brought up in Pondicherry, More, left, moved to Paris to pursue a BA degree. He later did his PhD in history at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (the School for Higher Studies in Social Sciences) where his thesis was on the Muslims of Tamil Nadu.
He has published more than a dozen books with quite a few on the Muslims of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In the first part of his interview to Rediff.com, he provides insights into the Muslims of Kerala and the consequences of Vasco da Gama's arrival in India.
Do you feel Indian (and Third World) history is seen always from the Western perspective?
Yes. Indian history is seen most of the time from the Western perspective. It is a colonial legacy.
Even after the colonial period, many Indian historians continue to work within the Western ideological frameworks and methodologies. They have not evolved anything worthwhile of their own, which is not Western. Therefore, they are bound to look at history from a Western perspective.
Besides, even after decolonisation, Western scholars continue to work on Indian history and society in greater numbers. They produce innumerable books from the Western perspective.
They have even resorted to collaboration and cooperation with like-minded Indian scholars and institutions after Independence in 1947, (which is part of the globalisation agenda of the West), thus ensuring their hegemony in the Indian intellectual and historical world even after decolonisation.
This has contributed largely to look at history greatly from the Western perspective, which is thought to be universal.
Most Western scholars never adopt a completely neutral attitude towards history and society and the Indians largely follow it.
A historian has to view history as an outsider, standing above all group interests. He needs to be uncommitted.
August 6 2013
'India may be independent politically and it may even become an economic power like Japan, but it remains and will still remain part of the global capitalist economy and system, dominated and controlled by the West,' says historian J B P More.
Nothing much has changed since Vasco da Gama's time, says historian J B P More.
That is why he holds the view that the Clash of Civilisations, between the West and the rest of the world which started in the 15th century with Vasco da Gama traveling to India and Christopher Columbus stumbling upon America, has continued till today and will continue for many more decades to come.
"I am sure Samuel Huntington (who proposed the Clash of Civilisations theory in a memorable 1993 Foreign Affairs essay) will agree with me," he told Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier in an interview conducted done over e-mail.
J B P MoreBorn and brought up in Pondicherry, More, left, moved to Paris to pursue a BA degree. He later did his PhD in history at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (the School for Higher Studies in Social Sciences) where his thesis was on the Muslims of Tamil Nadu.
He has published more than a dozen books with quite a few on the Muslims of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In the first part of his interview to Rediff.com, he provides insights into the Muslims of Kerala and the consequences of Vasco da Gama's arrival in India.
Do you feel Indian (and Third World) history is seen always from the Western perspective?
Yes. Indian history is seen most of the time from the Western perspective. It is a colonial legacy.
Even after the colonial period, many Indian historians continue to work within the Western ideological frameworks and methodologies. They have not evolved anything worthwhile of their own, which is not Western. Therefore, they are bound to look at history from a Western perspective.
Besides, even after decolonisation, Western scholars continue to work on Indian history and society in greater numbers. They produce innumerable books from the Western perspective.
They have even resorted to collaboration and cooperation with like-minded Indian scholars and institutions after Independence in 1947, (which is part of the globalisation agenda of the West), thus ensuring their hegemony in the Indian intellectual and historical world even after decolonisation.
This has contributed largely to look at history greatly from the Western perspective, which is thought to be universal.
Most Western scholars never adopt a completely neutral attitude towards history and society and the Indians largely follow it.
A historian has to view history as an outsider, standing above all group interests. He needs to be uncommitted.
