Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Hindu
The Hindu
National
The Hindu Bureau

Dravida, Arya false identities created by colonial powers: Governor

The colonial powers, for their own interest, started evangelising India through its proponents such as Bishop Robert Caldwell “by creating false identities such as Dravida and Arya” and did gross damage to the country’s civilization by destroying our social institutions, Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi said in Chennai on Monday.

During his interaction with students and faculty members of Anthropology Department, University of Lucknow, who are on a cultural studies tour to TN, an official communication said: “He [the Governor] said Bharat is a Rashtra and not just a geographical and political entity.”

Bharat is an age-old civilizational evolution based on principles defined during the period of the Vedas, which include believing in one creator who permeates every element of creation, the Govenor said: “Unfortunately, the politics became so overwhelming that it overshadowed the very basics of Bharat. The word “India” was given by the Europeans.”

Even after Independence, “we continued the colonial mindset. The nation progressed economically, but the civilizational, spiritual, and cultural parts of Bharat’s identity were left unattended. As a result, our society continued to divided and subdivided. “New identities in the forms of caste, language, and region started emerging. Our diversity, which is one of our strengths, was projected as a weakness by calling it differences. It created division in our society.”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.