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Q33 (CDS-I/2019) History & Culture › Culture, Literature, Religion & Philosophy › Ancient Indian knowledge systems Answer Verified

Which Indian social theorist had argued that the idea of a homogenized the 'cultural arrogance of postenlightenment Europe'?

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Ashis Nandy is a prominent Indian social theorist known for his postcolonial critique of Western modernity. He argued that the construction of a homogenized, monolithic version of Hinduism was a product of the 'cultural arrogance of post-Enlightenment Europe'. Nandy's work, particularly in 'The Intimate Enemy', explores how colonialism internalizes Western categories and frameworks within the colonized mind, leading to a 'cultural stratarchy' where the West's assumptions become normative. He critiques the Enlightenment's rationalism for imposing a singular, universal consciousness that suppresses the diverse, 'vernacular' cultural identities of Asia and Africa. By framing the homogenized view of Indian traditions as a colonial construct, Nandy highlights the epistemic violence of European thought that sought to categorize and simplify complex indigenous social structures to fit Western intellectual paradigms.

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