Would you agree with Namvar Singh that ‘neo-colonialism’ can be resisted? Discuss

Namvar Singh in his essay Decolonising the Indian Mind, identifies decolonisation as the single most significant event of the 20″ century. Importantly, he goes on to express his anxiety about the “new onslaught” of colonisation and explores the ways in which neo-colonialism can be resisted. He rejects the easy solutions of turning to tradition, to nationalism or to an anti-West sentiment. Singh suggests setting up of a global network of resistance along with the many anti-imperialist individuals and groups who have actively expressed their disagreement with colonialism and imperialism. The West is seen as a complex, multi-dimensional entity with which we need to negotiate with care, and not to dismiss out of hand.

Singh maintains that there is no one simple given tradition in India. Any tradition that is used to oppose the onslaught of colonisation will have to be reconstructed as “the rediscovery of the past by the present as desired”. This means that the tradition that will be constructed as the past of the country will be according to the needs of the present. This will thus be a biased version of tradition.

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