European modernity was always exported to the colonized world as a form of oppression. It uprooted native ways of life, broke natural relationships & replaced them with new ones. It annihilated native views of reality & rationality. "Itihaas" for example, became "mythology" 1/5
It doesnt mean that its ideas arent worthwhile. But its ontological position is that of a colonizer. Any analysis, or politics, which espouses european progressivism needs to be self aware about the hierarchical nature of its vocabulary & vision. For eg. "individual rights" 2/5
The centrality of the individual person in european modern thought is violent for native societies to the extent that the organic, communal aspect of native traditions gets vilified in it as a form "illegality" against which the rights of the individual ought to be preserved. 3/5
This means that european modernity pits the individual against her own society, a concept deeply divisive & violent for native societies which for thousands of years survived & thrived on communal living. It doesnt mean they were perfect, but they had their own ways of life. 4/5
The distinction between the "sacred" & "profane" is yet another example. The modern "individual" navigates these two realms separately, while in many native cultures, the whole existence is sacred with no room for the profane. We therefore, need to be conscious that any 5/6
conversation which deals with "progressivism" & "conservatism" in erstwhile colonized contexts, is rooted in an understanding of local traditions & their resistance to colonial efforts of displacing their way of life @Anuraag_Shukla
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