What Does It Mean To Be Indian

Why ask this question today? After all, a lot is written about India, her culture, her past, her society, the psychology and sociology of individuals and groups. Why is that not enough? It is because what we have learnt so far is either false or fragmentary. If Indian culture is not a slightly inferior, slightly idiosyncratic variant of Western culture, as the received view has it for a very long time, what else is it? Research into culture and cultural differences gives novel and surprising answers. Written for an intelligent but lay public, this book shares the results of 40 years of scientific investigations in the research programme Comparative Science of Cultures. It transcends the political distinction between ‘the right’ and ‘the left’ by looking deeper into ideas on human beings, society, culture, experience, the past, impact of colonialism etc. Today, the question ‘What does it mean to be ‘Indian’?’ is both important and difficult to answer. Is there something ‘Indian’ about this culture that goes beyond the differences between Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs or Jains? What does it überhaupt mean to belong to Indian culture?

An illustrated edition of the award-winning, bestselling Canadian classic, featuring over 150 images that add colour and context to this extraordinary work. "Every Canadian should read [this] book." —Toronto Star Since its publication in 2012, The Inconvenient Indian has become an award-winning bestseller and a modern classic. In its pages, Thomas King tells the curiously circular tale of the relationship between non-Native and Indigenous people in the centuries since the two first encountered each other. This new, provocatively illustrated edition matches essential visuals to the book's urgent words, and in so doing deepens and expands King's message. With more than 150 images—from artwork, photographs, advertisements and archival documents to contemporary representations of Native peoples by Native peoples, including some by King himself—this unforgettable volume vividly shows how "Indians" have been seen, understood, propagandized, represented and reinvented in North America. Here is a book both timeless and timely, burnished with anger and tempered by wit, and ultimately a hard-won offering of hope—an inconvenient but necessary account for all of us seeking to tell a new story, in both words and images, for the future.

This Book Is A New And Dramatically Different Inquiry Into What India And Being Indian Mean In The New Millennium. Such An Inquiry Is Especially Relevant Today When The World'S Largest Democracy Is Also A Nuclear Power, A Potentially Major Economic Power Poised To Emerge As The Second Largest Consumer Market In The World, And A Growing Force In Information Technology. Misconceptions About India And Indians Abound, Fed By The Stereotypes Created By Foreigners, And The Myths About Themselves Projected By Indians. In Being Indian, Pavan K.Varma Demolishes These Myths And Generalizations As He Turns His Sharply Observant Gaze On His Fellow Countrymen To Examine What Really Makes Indians Tick And What They Have To Offer The World In The 21St Century. Varma'S Insightful Analysis Of The Indian Personality And The Culture That Has Created It Reaches Startling New Conclusions On The Paradoxes And Contradictions That Characterize Indian Attitudes Towards Issues Such As Power, Wealth And Spirituality. How, For Example, Does The Appalling Indifference Of Most Indians To The Suffering Of The Poor And The Inequities Of The Caste System Square With Their Enthusiastic Championing Of Parliamentary Democracy? And Why Do Indians Have A Reputation For Being Spiritual And `Other-Worldly' When Their Philosophy And Tradition Exalt The Pursuit Of Material Well-Being Artha As A Principal Goal Of Life? The Book Also Examines India'S Future Prospects As An Economic, Military And Technological Power, Providing Valuable Pointers To The Likely Destiny Of A Nation Of One Billion People. Drawing On Sources As Diverse As Ancient Sanskrit Treatises And Bollywood Lyrics, And Illuminating His Examples With A Wealth Of Telling Anecdotes, Pavan Varma Creates A Vivid And Compelling Portrait Of Indians As He Argues That They Will Survive And Flourish In The New Millennium Precisely Because Of What They Are, Warts And All, And Not Because Of What They Think They Are Or Would Like To Be. This Book, Which Will Stimulate Reflection, Discussion And Controversy, Is A Must Read For Both Foreigners Who Wish To Understand Indians And Indians Who Wish To Understand Themselves.

Based on a viral article, 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act is the essential guide to understanding the legal document and its repercussion on generations of Indigenous Peoples, written by a leading cultural sensitivity trainer.Since its creation in 1876, the Indian Act has shaped, controlled, and constrained the lives and opportunities of Indigenous Peoples, and is at the root of many enduring stereotypes. Bob Joseph's book comes at a key time in the reconciliation process, when awareness from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities is at a crescendo. Joseph explains how Indigenous Peoples can step out from under the Indian Act and return to self-government, self-determination, and self-reliance--and why doing so would result in a better country for every Canadian. He dissects the complex issues around truth and reconciliation, and clearly demonstrates why learning about the Indian Act's cruel, enduring legacy is essential for the country to move toward true reconciliation.

"An unforgettable work of art."—The National Post Saul Indian Horse is dying. Tucked away in a hospice high above the clash and clang of a big city, he embarks on a marvellous journey of imagination back through the life he led as a northern Ojibway, with all its sorrows and joys. With compassion and insight, author Richard Wagamese traces through his fictional characters the decline of a culture and a cultural way. For Saul, taken forcibly from the land and his family when he's sent to residential school, salvation comes for a while through his incredible gifts as a hockey player. But in the harsh realities of 1960s Canada, he battles obdurate racism and the spirit-destroying effects of cultural alienation and displacement. Indian Horse unfolds against the bleak loveliness of northern Ontario, all rock, marsh, bog and cedar. Wagamese writes with a spare beauty, penetrating the heart of a remarkable Ojibway man. Drawing on his great-grandfather's mystical gift of vision, Saul Indian Horse comes to recognize the influence of everyday magic on his own life. In this wise and moving novel, Richard Wagamese shares that gift of magic with readers as well.

An all-new edition of the tragicomic smash hit which stormed the New York Times bestseller charts, now featuring an introduction from Markus Zusak. In his first book for young adults, Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist who leaves his school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white high school. This heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written tale, featuring poignant drawings that reflect the character's art, is based on the author's own experiences. It chronicles contemporary adolescence as seen through the eyes of one Native American boy. 'Excellent in every way' Neil Gaiman Illustrated in a contemporary cartoon style by Ellen Forney.

Adventure abounds when a toy comes to life in this classic novel! It's Omri's birthday, but all he gets from his best friend, Patrick, is a little plastic warrior figure. Trying to hide his disappointment, Omri puts his present in a metal cupboard and locks the door with a mysterious skeleton key that once belonged to his great-grandmother. Little does Omri know that by turning the key, he will transform his ordinary plastic toy into a real live man from an altogether different time and place! Omri and the tiny warrior called Little Bear could hardly be more different, yet soon the two forge a very special friendship. Will Omri be able to keep Little Bear without anyone finding out and taking his new friend away?