The
message behind Gandhi’s writing was to inform the public that to get completely
rid of the culture imposed through Britain's dominance, they must strip every
aspect of the culture they have become accustomed to. Although I don't agree
with what he was suggesting because it was not practical, I like his logic
around certain issues. When questioned how they will do it, if it has never
been done before, Gandhi responds, "To believe what has not occurred in
history will not occur at all is to argue disbelief in the dignity of a
man" (page 202). His use of analogies and tricky language conveys not only
his message but also how his mind really works through logic. My issue with his
approach is that to eradicate a whole population's culture is not so easily
done as he claims it is; there are a lot of things people become accustomed to
that are not the most beneficial but with no alternative continue to do it. A
prime example of this in the contemporary Western world would be the phenomenon
of capitalism. Just like capitalism, the culture imposed on Indians was through
hegemonic forces. By the time there was any effort to try to push back, both
were far too ingrained into society for anything to be done about it. As far as
how I felt about what Gandhi was saying, I was not in total agreement with it.
As for the reading by James, I don't
have as much to say. His reading was a bit more boring, seeing as what took him
a really long time to discover was probably more obvious to others a lot more
quickly. The racism and injustice that was imposed was extremely evident, but I
can understand how James was taught that British culture is the best and most
elite in contrast to others. If you are raised through that mindset, it can
take a long time to finally emerge outside of that and see what reality
actually is.
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