How Colonial Thinking, History Has Severely Distorted Perception Of India | GD Bakshi Explains

New Delhi: Retired Indian Army officer, Major General GD Bakshi, on Friday, shed light on how colonial thinking and historical distortions have severely impacted our perception of India and its past. At his book, titled ‘Indian Strategic Culture’ launch event, Maj Gen Bakshi, a defence expert, argued that country's history has been misrepresented and manipulated by colonial powers, leing to a distorted understanding of India's rich herit.

Bakshi emphasized that British colonial era saw a systematic effort to undermine India's cultural and intellectual tritions. He ted that colonial historians deliberately distorted historical facts to portray India as a backward and primitive society, in need of British enlightenment.

He said that distorted presentation of history has h a lasting impact on how Indians perceive mselves and ir history.

GD Bakshi asserted about how colonial thinking has distorted India's perception of itself. He highlighted strategic culture that has been persistent over time and emphasizes that it's t a short-term affair.

dressing media personnel, Bakshi said, “ most salient part of this definition is that a strategic culture is persistent over time and it tends to outlast era of its inception. That is critical. It has to have a trition of focus, strategic thoughts going over million era. It's t a short term affair.”

“ simple fact of matter is, unfortunately, colonial thinking, colonial historiography, has so severely distorted perception about India and its past that we are still facing problems and problems faced by George K Tanham, Stephen P Cohen, George Rosen was that y relieved on colonial historiography to analyse past and present of India and quite obviously that is place where you go wrong from very outset,” retired Indian Army officer said.

He furr explained, “Colonial historiography was rar focused on immediate past of Ahimsa: n-violence based struggle so called, for India's freedom. I am afraid some of historians (Indian historians) beg to differ. 26000 men of Indian National Army laid down ir lives to make India free and to call such a struggle an insult to those martyrs and ir families.”

“But, that has crowded thinking about India as a pacific country, new buddhist in its approach, Ahimsa, spinning wheel, etc. I am afraid truth is orwise. Vedas mentioned war and major wars,” Major General Bakshi ded.

“Ramayan is about war, invasion of Sri Lanka, by kingdoms of rth, by locally assembled tribal armed forces,” he stated.