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Canada 1 THE OPPRESSIVE RELATIONSHIP IN COLONIAL CONTEXT: AN EXPLORATION OF THE IMPACT OF IMPERIALISM ON SOUTH ASIAN HINDUS By Ravi Gokani Wilfrid Laurier University THESIS Submitted to the Department of Psychology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Master of Arts Wilfrid Laurier University 2012 © Ravi Gokani, 2012 2 Table of Contents Abstract 4 Acknowledgements 5 Introduction Personal Context 8 Orienting Definitions 11 Literature Review Introduction 18 British Raj Redux 19 On the Oppressive Relationship 27 On Colonial/Imperial Oppression 32 On the Imperial Oppression of Hindus 41 Method 51 Findings Globalization as Imperialism 65 The Impact of Anglo-American Imperialism 68 The Impact of Capitalism 69 The Impact on Epistemology 75 The Impact on Hinduism or dharma 86 The Impact on Gender & Sexuality 93 The Internalization of Inferiority 98 Emergent Findings Impact on Women 106 Impact on the Caste System 108 3 Discussion 110 Conclusion 136 References 138 Appendices Letter of Invitation 143 Informed Consent Statement 145 Interview Guide 149 4 Abstract I conduct an exploratory study in which I seek to determine the perceptions of South Asian Hindus concerning the impact of Anglo-American imperialism on Hindus and Hindu culture, as well as the relationship between British imperialism and globalization. These research questions are situated within the context of an oppressive relationship, as discussed by theorists such as Paulo Freire and Franz Fanon. Using a qualitative interview-guide approach and a snow­ ball sampling method, I interviewed 10 South Asians, 5 men and 5 women, from Southern Ontario. I found that my participants perceived a link between British imperialism and globalization, warranting my use of the term Anglo-American imperialism. I also found that my participants perceived the impact of Anglo-American imperialism as largely, though not entirely, negative. Five major themes emerged from interviews. They are (a) The Impact of Capitalism; (b) The Impact on Epistemology; (c) The Impact on Hinduism or dharma; (d) The Impact on Sexuality and Gender; and (e) The Internalization of Inferiority or Colonial Mentality. In addition to these five major themes, I also found what I call two "emergent" themes. They are (a) The Impact on Women and (b) The Impact on Caste. I labelled these two findings as emergent because of my insufficient account of them in my literature review but primarily because limited data did not permit me to treat either of these complex and controversial topics sufficiently. I reflect on how my participant's perspectives on these 5 major and 2 emergent themes match up against literature, pointing out instances of novel contribution. Moreover, I discuss how my findings bear on the literature on the oppressive relationship. To conclude, I discuss the strengths, limitations, and directions for future research, and with a personal comment from me, followed by the "last word" to one of my participants. 5 Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor and friend, Dr. Richard Walsh- Bowers, for being one of the few people in my life who sought actively not to interfere with my education, and whose pithy gems and helpful suggestions went a long way. Second, I would like to thank my peers and professors in the Community Psychology programme, each one of whom has at some point helped me with my professional, personal, or academic development. If you think that such a statement is hyperbole then simply ask me and I will give you at least one example for each of the following persons: Heidi Newton, Lisa Armstrong, Hany Ibrahim, Heather Hunter, Brenda Moore, Gina Hickman, Lisa Hickman, Geoff Nelson, Manuel Riemer, Colleen Loomis, Rob Travers, Pedro Poblete, Sandra Yuan, Kate Klein, Darren Thomas, Rebecca Pister, Gurveer Shaan Dhillon, Timothy Macleod, Livia Dittmer. Third, I would like to thank the internal committee member, Dr. Terry Mitchell and my external examiner, Dr. Ashwani Peetush, for their thoughtful comments and helpful suggestions. Fourth, I would like to thank my two mentors, both of whom have continued their support and guidance despite being cities or continents apart: Dr. Gordon Hodson and Dr. Becky Choma. I would like to thank my "participants," some of whom have become friends, for their time, patience, their trust, their chai. I would like to thank my mom and dad, who, despite contending with the continued pressure of the Hindu community to coerce their children into adopting one of few sacrosanct and woefully Western occupations, continued their support of me in pursuing my programme of choice. I would like to thank my sister, a kindred spirit, who understands the value of rebellion. And last but certainly not least, I would like to thank my Kitchener family, which includes two beautiful doves, who continually inspire me with peace, the several plants in my office, who remind me of my roots, one giant 160-pound Great Dane by the name of Marcus, who reminds continually that human and non-human animals are one and the same, and Aylah, my beloved 6 partner, who, much to her chagrin, began dating me just before this programme commenced, and has continued to support and challenge me in various ways that I can only consider beneficent and significant. 7 Introduction A thesis is a curious thing. Like a photograph, it can capture who you are at any given moment. To the extent that your appearance (e.g., your haircut or clothing) does not change suddenly, a photograph is likely to reflect how you look. Similarly, to the extent that one's opinions, knowledge, values, etc., do not change suddenly, a thesis is likely to reflect your perspective on a topic. But this analogy has an obvious weakness. A photo can be snapped in less than a second, while a thesis can and often does take over a year to complete from start to finish. In that year, so much can change that by the time you get to the end of your journey, you are no longer the same person; the person who began writing the thesis is no longer the one who finishes it. In this sense, I am defending someone else's work. Not only is the experience of writing and researching personally formative in this sense (i.e., one grows), but it is also frustrating, because no matter what, one's writing is like a still- life: always dead in time. While you continue living, changing, one might like to think evolving, toward a deeper understanding of what it is you study, your thesis is, in my opinion, often a futile attempt at capturing an image of you as you are on your journey. At some point in my journey I accepted this fact, and therefore, what you read now is a reflection of who I was almost two years ago, which is when I began this thesis. In my case, I travelled faster than my thesis could capture, which is to say my perspectives on the topic have changed, my knowledge has expanded, and, I would like to think, my appreciation of qualitative research and inquiry has become finer. At first, my manner of coping was to rewrite my literature review, which I did, this time according to an outline. But then to stick to the outline of the thesis that I had created, I was obliged yet again to ignore much new information that emerged. In other words, out of interest, I continued reading on my topic well after I had defended my proposal and wrote my second 8 literature review. In fact, I continue today to read on this topic. What I know now of Indian history, Britain, America, of qualitative methods, as well as other theoretical literature, such as Marxism, anarchism, and critical race theory, would have undoubtedly produced a different thesis. In the interest of time, however, I stuck with the second literature review.