Sva⋅rāj
(hindi: स्वराज,
urdu: سوراج)
is autonomy, sovereignty in
🇮🇳 India.
Cognates with english: self-rule,
german: selbst-recht,
french: soi-roy
(same indo-european roots).
It is swaraj when we learn to rule ourselves. […] If the English become Indianized, we can accommodate them. If they wish to remain in India along with their civilization, there is no room for them.Hind Swaraj, §14 (Mohandas K. Gandhi, )
Self sustain means own food;
Food comes fro culture;
Culture is power.
India has the 🕉️ Vedas, …,
🎥 Bollywood.
He who perceives, loves, and knows everything as the Self; he becomes svarājChāndogyopaniṣad 7:25
Before British colonization, ☪️ Mughal dominion wasn’t painfree either. In the , the Marathas conquered (back) a lot of land from the Mughals. They wanted Hindavī Svarājya.
Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior is based on this. It’s a good action movie, with brave fights, special effects, and some human chess!
As for a Mughal good guy, see Dara Shikoh.
Set in , Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India depicts a village gambling the British yearly tax in a funny “double or quits” bet. 🏏 Cricket rules! India has indeed become a world-class cricketer.
The characters and plot are a bit gross: the British governor is really mean & cocksure, but his sister is nice & loving; after much suspense… an happy ending. Many songs, danced in group.
The Legend of Bhagat Singh is a biographical film. There is also the free animated movie Shaheed Bhagat Singh.
Bhagat Singh was disappointed by Gandhi in his youth. He turned to 🚩 revolutionary socialism, fought more directly. The bloody Brits executed him in , aged 23.
Related book: The Communist Challenge to Islam.
Nathuram Godse - The Man Who Killed Gandhi is a short documentary about, you guessed it, Nathuram V. Godse, who murdered Gandhi in .
Godse was actually 🤔 more sensible that you’d expect:
Gandhi’s recent prayer meetings in Hindu temples had started the practice of reading passages from the Quran, despite Hindus protesting this practice. However, Gandhi dared not read the Gita in a mosque in the teeth of Muslim opposition. Gandhi knew what a terrible Muslim reaction would have been if he had done so. Gandhi knew it is safe to trample on the tolerant Hindu.
Related essay: The Most Intolerant Wins: The Dictatorship of the Small Minority.
Anti-colonialism has been economically catastrophic for the Indian people for decadesclaimed in Marc Andreessen, a Sillycon Valley 💸 mogul, Facebook investor.
To better understand imperialism, read
The Bugbear of Literacy
essay.
Go deeper into the Indian mind, watch the
Upanishad Ganga
TV serie.
Hindus heartbeat their epics, the
Mahā⋅bhārata
and the
Rāmā⋅yaṇa ∎