Colonized and hyperintellectual activist spaces contrasted with non-English speaking resistance by marginalized groups in India
Location
Daseke Room (Hoover)
Start Date
29-4-2026 9:10 AM
End Date
29-4-2026 10:10 AM
Item Type
Paper Session
Description
I approach this research project from a critical, reflective perspective that will expose and deconstruct the manifestation of neocolonialism in activism through linguistic inequalities in my home country, India. I aim to explore the origins of class, caste and consequential linguistic separation within activist spaces in India, and how methods of resistance vary across these groups. I will then go on to center the limitations and benefits of English and other Indian languages as they pertain to discussions of global, national and local issues. Decolonial works of literature by oppressed identities from India but also internationally – in translation and original language – provide an avenue into investigating the linguistic reach of different activist groups.
Growing up in a predominantly English-speaking household and education system, I have been surrounded by upper-middle class perspectives and academic environments, and experienced activism through this privileged positionality. Subsequent exposure to other communities of different class and caste backgrounds allowed me to develop an understanding of how people perform and embody resistance in other ways. This prompted inquisition into the creation of separate spaces for activism by privileged, English-speaking groups and marginalized, non-English speaking groups. Configuration of the divide can be attributed to British colonialization’s current manifestations in power dynamics and sociopolitical disenfranchisement in India. English literacy and regional accents are thus significant demarcations of class status and belonging that divide people into distinct ideological groups. The project will represent social stratification as it is created by language – speech fluency, accent and reading levels – and how this is represented in the understanding of and action taken upon humanitarian injustice and inequality.
Research methods will entail interviews with critical thinking workshop leaders who cater to a diverse audience from across the country, educators that imbue radical literature and exercises into their curricula, and translators proficient in both English, their mother tongue and/or other South Asian languages. My paper will further engage with past research on linguistic barriers to social and economic mobility in India, language inclusivity in educational institutions, and the paradox of writing oneself to liberation in the colonial language.
It is thus my goal to represent the linguistic diversity and division in India that manifests and is perpetuated within activist spaces and conversations to highlight the English language’s neocolonial hold over the nation.
Colonized and hyperintellectual activist spaces contrasted with non-English speaking resistance by marginalized groups in India
Daseke Room (Hoover)
I approach this research project from a critical, reflective perspective that will expose and deconstruct the manifestation of neocolonialism in activism through linguistic inequalities in my home country, India. I aim to explore the origins of class, caste and consequential linguistic separation within activist spaces in India, and how methods of resistance vary across these groups. I will then go on to center the limitations and benefits of English and other Indian languages as they pertain to discussions of global, national and local issues. Decolonial works of literature by oppressed identities from India but also internationally – in translation and original language – provide an avenue into investigating the linguistic reach of different activist groups.
Growing up in a predominantly English-speaking household and education system, I have been surrounded by upper-middle class perspectives and academic environments, and experienced activism through this privileged positionality. Subsequent exposure to other communities of different class and caste backgrounds allowed me to develop an understanding of how people perform and embody resistance in other ways. This prompted inquisition into the creation of separate spaces for activism by privileged, English-speaking groups and marginalized, non-English speaking groups. Configuration of the divide can be attributed to British colonialization’s current manifestations in power dynamics and sociopolitical disenfranchisement in India. English literacy and regional accents are thus significant demarcations of class status and belonging that divide people into distinct ideological groups. The project will represent social stratification as it is created by language – speech fluency, accent and reading levels – and how this is represented in the understanding of and action taken upon humanitarian injustice and inequality.
Research methods will entail interviews with critical thinking workshop leaders who cater to a diverse audience from across the country, educators that imbue radical literature and exercises into their curricula, and translators proficient in both English, their mother tongue and/or other South Asian languages. My paper will further engage with past research on linguistic barriers to social and economic mobility in India, language inclusivity in educational institutions, and the paradox of writing oneself to liberation in the colonial language.
It is thus my goal to represent the linguistic diversity and division in India that manifests and is perpetuated within activist spaces and conversations to highlight the English language’s neocolonial hold over the nation.