Colonized Decolonization
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By Adrija Das, PG 1st Year, Roll No: - 249, Department of Sociology.
The state of the world as we see it, believe it and live in today has inadvertently put many of us in despair. The world affairs have left us wondering where humanity is heading. Is there a final destination for humanity? Did it even exist? However even with the feeling of despair so many of us struggling with, deep down we all predicted it. Injustice and oppression in today’s world is predictable. This nature of injustice and oppression is where humanity has lost unfortunately. Those who are in power and have the privilege are predictable. So why is it that we cannot stop it? Why are we unable to end persecution and a life of turmoil of others even when we know people in power manipulate and control us? There are various ways to approach the question of why are we unable to fight oppression. There is a crucial need to evaluate how we fight oppression. What are our tools that we use to fight for justice? Our tools are still not our own. It belongs to the oppressor and as Audre Lord said, “The Master’s tools will never dismantle the Master’s House.” (Lord, 2018)
Decolonization has been a buzz word in the past few decades not just in academia but in realm of activism as well. The language we use for decolonization is still the colonizers’ language. Somehow the word “decolonization” has been co-opted by colonialist themselves. They provide us with a framework of what we should understand and fight for. It is high time we question that. Because colonialist have a vested interest in keeping certain communities as oppressed. Fighting colonialism is not only through the acknowledgement that it thrives in modern society but understanding that our fight against colonialism has also been colonized. With the rise of neoliberalism during the 1970s, concept of individual freedom, dignity and human rights took central stage. These values were already central tenants of American capitalism and governance. (Harvey, 2005) These values started to rule, control and co-opt fight against oppression and violence. Peace became the goal. World peace was the goal set by the west tosave the doomed East. All this while the west destroyed civilization, created conflicts and more sectarian divide ensuring the east never finds peace.
Human Rights, Peace and individual freedom peddled by the West will not lead to the emancipation of the oppressed. These cannot be the tools for decolonization. No matter how idealistic “their” version of peace sounds like, it will never lead to liberation. These versions of western values of peace and freedom exist to effectively control and suppress revolution. With all the destruction of everything humane that we are witnessing today has led us into the path of despair. We are witnessing genocides being committed in real time and the horrifying pictures have remained ingrained in our minds. However that inadvertently has multiplied our feelings of despair, of helplessness and of whatever we do, the problems are too complicated to be resolved. Some of us are bound to a life of misery and violence for the peace of others. There needs to be a decolonization of the way we are attempting to address and negate decolonization in this world.
It is also high time we realize that we have been lied to. We have been lied to and manipulated into propagating the western version of decolonization. We do not need to take a close look into our own ideals; values and goals are of our activism and protests. It should not be to only transform or change only so much that it is just a minor inconvenience to people in power. It should be a complete upheaval of those in power. Revolutions should be and are loud! And it definitely should not be based on a framework provided by the oppressor themselves.
Let us come back to the concept of despair and helplessness. Liberation and revolution are uncomfortable. The priority cannot be as simply to keep certain people feel comfortable because this idea of comfort for some automatically means misery for others. The feeling of despair is valid. However it is also a privilege to have. Communities actively going through genocide do not have the luxury to feel this despair. Their existence is struggle and resistance. As allies of the movement we need to move beyond despair and channel the pain and anger into action. Our despair otherwise is being weaponized by those in power to push propaganda and manipulate the movement into theirs. Our feelings of anger and helplessness must fuel our action towards fighting against injustice and oppression.
Finally the act of decolonization must act towards addressing the divides created by those with vested interest in keeping movements fragmented. Making us each other’s enemies instead of understanding that colonialism and imperialism are still thriving. Revolution is uncomfortable, questions our core values and loud. Resistance is not silent. It shakes the core ideals and belief systems that govern our world. And our world is still governed by capitalism, colonialism, patriarchy and imperialism. To question them, to boycott, to raise our voice against them, to protest openly and loudly is resistance and is a step towards healing. We are capable of that.
Bibliography
- Federici, S. (2004). Caliban and the Witch. Autonomedia.
- Harvey, D. (2005) A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford University Press
- Lorde, A. (2018). The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. Penguin UK.