Decolonizing Knowledge: The Historical, Social, and Cultural Political Economy of Indian Knowledge Systems
Dr.Anita Sarve
Assistant Professor
Dept.of Sociology Hislop College Nagpur
Abstract
Indian Knowledge system (IKS) is a body of knowledge epistemics that is diverse and extensive and has developed on the Indian subcontinent over a number of millennia. IKS is a historically specific and culturally contextualized form of knowing that is encompassing, i.e. philosophy, science, medicine, agriculture, arts and systems of government and is challenging to the narrow, Eurocentric conceptions of knowledge. Indian Knowledge System is explored in this paper on the four dimensions that are interconnected: historical development, social structure, economic activities, and cultural perceptions of the world. Using historical writings, archaeology and current literature, the paper will follow the evolution of Indian knowledge traditions since the Indus Valley civilization and the Vedic era to the classical, medieval, colonial and postcolonial era and the processes of continuity, change, and disruption. The paper also examines the social nature of IKS, its incorporation into caste, gender, community, and pedagogical practices including guru-shishya tradition and also recognizes exclusions and hierarchies that influenced access to knowledge. In economic terms the study places IKS in the context of agrarian production, artisanship, trade systems and ecological management systems under which people used to make livelihoods and the regional economies before the colonial intervention. The paper examines the philosophical, linguistic, and aesthetic basis of the Indian knowledge traditions with emphasis on the plural epistemologies, dialogical character and the incorporation of the ethical, spiritual and material aspects of life in these traditions. Through a critical approach to colonial epistemic problems, as well as modern attempts to revive and institutionalize IKS, the paper will claim the need to consider Indian knowledge systems as living, adaptive, and global. It ends by highlighting the need to consider epistemic pluralism and culturally based knowledge in order to solve the modern issues of sustainability, development, and social justice.
Keywords: Indian Knowledge Systems; Indigenous Knowledge; Epistemic Pluralism; Decolonization of Knowledge; Culture and Society; Knowledge Economy
DOI link – https://doi.org/10.69758/GIMRJ/2601S01V14P014
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