“The Psychology of Colonialism: Sex, Age, and Ideology in British India” by Ashish Nandy: Summary and Critique

Introduction: “The Psychology of Colonialism: Sex, Age, and Ideology in British India” by Ashish Nandy

“The Psychology of Colonialism: Sex, Age, and Ideology in British India” by Ashis Nandy was published in Psychiatry in 1982, argues that colonialism transcends mere economic and political exploitation, existing primarily as a “state of mind” for both colonizers and colonized. Nandy posits that Western colonialism relied heavily on a “homology between sexual and political dominance,” with colonizers projecting a masculine, dominant identity onto themselves and a feminine, submissive one onto the colonized. This dynamic facilitated “identification with the aggressor,” wherein the colonized internalized the colonizers’ views, often striving to emulate them. Furthermore, Nandy highlights the “homology between childhood and the colonized state,” portraying colonizers as mature adults guiding “childlike” colonized societies towards progress. He uses British India as a case study, demonstrating how these psychological mechanisms shaped colonial policies and influenced Indian responses, including cultural movements and social reforms. As Nandy states, “Colonialism…cannot be identified with only economic gain and political power,” but rather involves a deeper cultural and psychological interplay. This psychological dimension of colonialism, as Nandy reveals, is crucial to understanding its lasting impact, as “that which begins in the minds of men must also end in the minds of men.”

Summary of “The Psychology of Colonialism: Sex, Age, and Ideology in British India” by Ashish Nandy

Theoretical Terms/Concepts in “The Psychology of Colonialism: Sex, Age, and Ideology in British India” by Ashish Nandy

Theoretical Term/Concept	Explanation	Reference in Text
Colonial Consciousness	The shared psychological state of colonizers and colonized, encompassing desires for economic and political gains and psychological dynamics of domination.	Nandy, 1982, p. 197
Identification with the Aggressor	A psychological mechanism where the oppressed adopt the values and norms of their oppressors to cope with dominance, forming a dependency relationship.	Nandy, 1982, p. 200
Cultural Continuity	The transformation of both colonizers’ and colonized cultures, prioritizing recessive subcultures and reshaping cultural identities.	Nandy, 1982, p. 198
Homology Between Sexual and Political Dominance	The alignment of colonial dominance with Western sexual stereotypes, reinforcing the dominance of masculinity over femininity.	Nandy, 1982, p. 201
Masculinity and Femininity in Colonialism	The redefinition of masculinity (puruṣatva) as dominance and femininity (nārītva) as submission, with hermaphroditism (klibatva) as an insult to masculinity.	Nandy, 1982, p. 203
Childhood and Colonization	The parallel drawn between childhood (immaturity) and the colonized state, portraying colonies as needing guidance from “adult” colonizers.	Nandy, 1982, p. 202
Management of Dissent	The use of psychological rewards and punishments to enforce acceptance of colonial norms, making resistance difficult and internalized.	Nandy, 1982, p. 199
Cultural Reordering	The reshaping of traditional Indian values and myths to align with colonial ideals, evident in reinterpretations of epics and societal norms.	Nandy, 1982, p. 203-204
Civilizational Mission	The ideological justification of colonialism as a “civilizing” effort, positioning colonizers as morally and culturally superior.	Nandy, 1982, p. 201
Primitivism and Infantility	The association of “primitive” societies with childishness, reinforcing the colonizers’ sense of superiority and the need for cultural development.	Nandy, 1982, p. 202
Western Values in Anti-Colonial Movements	The paradox of anti-colonial movements adopting Western concepts and frameworks even while resisting colonial rule.	Nandy, 1982, p. 199
Tragedy and Modernity	The reinterpretation of traditional Indian myths to reflect modern notions of tragedy and masculine heroism, aligning with colonial narratives.	Nandy, 1982, p. 203-204

Contribution of “The Psychology of Colonialism: Sex, Age, and Ideology in British India” by Ashish Nandy to Literary Theory/Theories

1. Postcolonial Theory

• Colonial Consciousness: Nandy’s analysis of colonialism as a shared psychological state between the colonizers and colonized enriches postcolonial theory’s focus on the internalized effects of imperialism (Nandy, 1982, p. 197).
• Cultural Hybridity: The prioritization of recessive subcultures within colonial contexts illustrates the hybrid cultural spaces theorized by Homi K. Bhabha (Nandy, 1982, p. 198).
• Resistance within Frameworks of Oppression: Nandy highlights how anti-colonial movements often unconsciously operate within colonial frameworks, a key theme in postcolonial critique (Nandy, 1982, p. 199).

2. Psychoanalytic Theory

• Identification with the Aggressor: The concept of psychological assimilation with the oppressor draws upon Freudian ideas of ego defense mechanisms, offering insights into the colonized psyche (Nandy, 1982, p. 200).
• Symbolism of Masculinity and Femininity: Nandy explores how colonial narratives construct hypermasculinity and emasculate the colonized, resonating with psychoanalytic readings of gender and power (Nandy, 1982, p. 203).

3. Cultural Materialism

• Reordering of Myths and Values: Nandy examines how traditional Indian epics and myths were reinterpreted to align with colonial ideologies, contributing to materialist readings of culture as a site of ideological struggle (Nandy, 1982, p. 203-204).
• Economic and Cultural Intersectionality: The integration of economic motives with cultural hegemony aligns with Raymond Williams’ analysis of cultural materialism (Nandy, 1982, p. 197).

4. Gender Studies and Feminist Theory

• Sexual Hierarchies in Colonial Discourse: Nandy’s linkage of political dominance with sexual stereotypes supports feminist critiques of patriarchal structures in imperialism (Nandy, 1982, p. 201).
• Redefinition of Masculinity: The colonial reconfiguration of Indian masculinity into hypermasculine ideals informs gendered readings of colonial literature (Nandy, 1982, p. 203).

5. New Historicism

• Colonialism as Cultural Practice: By situating colonialism within cultural and psychological frameworks, Nandy reinforces New Historicism’s emphasis on the interplay between power, culture, and history (Nandy, 1982, p. 198).
• Historical Recontextualization of Myths: Nandy’s discussion of Meghnadbadh and its reinterpretation of Ramayana aligns with New Historicist analyses of how texts interact with historical power structures (Nandy, 1982, p. 203).

6. Structuralism and Semiotics

• Binary Oppositions: Nandy critiques the colonial binary of “adult colonizer” vs. “childlike colonized,” expanding structuralist analyses of power and cultural dominance (Nandy, 1982, p. 202).
• Symbolic Systems: The use of Indian myths to encode colonial ideologies reflects semiotic interpretations of texts as systems of signs (Nandy, 1982, p. 203).

Examples of Critiques Through “The Psychology of Colonialism: Sex, Age, and Ideology in British India” by Ashish Nandy

Literary Work	Critique through Nandy’s Framework	Key Concepts from Nandy
Rudyard Kipling’s Kim	Kipling’s portrayal of the Indian boy, Kim, as an apprentice of British imperial intelligence reflects the infantilization of colonized subjects.	Infantilization, Cultural Continuity
Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness	The depiction of Africans as primitive and childlike mirrors the colonial construction of the “other” as immature and needing guidance.	Primitivism and Infantility, Colonial Consciousness
E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India	The tension between Aziz and Fielding reveals the psychological dynamics of identification with the aggressor and cultural alienation.	Identification with the Aggressor, Cultural Reordering
Rabindranath Tagore’s Ghare Baire	Tagore’s exploration of Swadeshi nationalism critiques the adoption of colonial masculinity in anti-colonial movements.	Masculinity and Femininity, Resistance within Oppression
Michael Madhusudan Dutt’s Meghnadbadh	Dutt’s reimagining of Ravana as a heroic, masculine figure reflects the colonial influence on reordering traditional myths.	Reordering of Myths, Hypermasculinity
William Shakespeare’s The Tempest	Prospero’s dominance over Caliban and Ariel parallels the colonial ideology of dominance legitimized by “civilizing missions.”	Civilizational Mission, Sexual Hierarchies
Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart	Okonkwo’s hypermasculine identity and his struggle against colonial forces highlight the imposed colonial notions of masculinity.	Masculinity and Femininity, Cultural Reordering
Raja Rao’s Kanthapura	The Gandhian resistance depicted in the novel illustrates the internalization of colonial norms even in anti-colonial movements.	Resistance within Frameworks, Identification with the Aggressor
Toni Morrison’s Beloved	The trauma of slavery portrayed in the novel mirrors the psychological violence of colonial dominance as described by Nandy.	Psychological Violence, Inner Rewards of Submission
Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea	The erasure of Antoinette’s identity reflects the psychological domination and cultural alienation imposed by colonial systems.	Psychological Domination, Cultural Alienation

Criticism Against “The Psychology of Colonialism: Sex, Age, and Ideology in British India” by Ashish Nandy

Representative Quotations from “The Psychology of Colonialism: Sex, Age, and Ideology in British India” by Ashish Nandy with Explanation

Quotation	Explanation
“Colonialism could be characterized by the search for economic and political advantage without concomitant real economic or political gains.”	Nandy challenges the traditional narrative of colonialism as purely economic and political exploitation, emphasizing its psychological and cultural dimensions. This highlights colonialism as a state of mind rather than just a material project.
“Colonialism never seems to end with formal political freedom. As a state of mind, it is an indigenous process released by external forces.”	This quotation captures Nandy’s argument that the psychological and cultural impacts of colonialism persist beyond the political independence of a nation, embedding themselves in the consciousness of both the colonizers and the colonized.
“The culture of colonialism presumes a particular style of managing dissent… through inner rewards and punishments.”	Nandy discusses how colonialism internalizes oppression by making the colonized accept social norms and categories defined by the colonizers. The psychological control is more enduring than overt political dominance.
“It is not an accident that the specific variants of concepts used by anti-colonial movements were products of imperial culture itself.”	This reflects the paradox of resistance, where anti-colonial ideologies often borrow frameworks from colonial structures, reinforcing the cultural dominance of the colonizers even in opposition.
“The homology between sexual and political dominance… legitimized Europe’s models of dominance, exploitation, and cruelty as natural.”	Here, Nandy explores how colonialism reinforced Western gender and power hierarchies, projecting masculinity and femininity as metaphors for political dominance and subjugation.
“Identification with the aggressor bound the rulers and the ruled in an unbreakable dyadic relationship.”	This highlights the psychological process where the colonized internalize the values and perceptions of the colonizers, perpetuating the colonial dynamic even within post-colonial societies.
“Colonialism minus a civilizational mission is no colonialism at all.”	Nandy critiques the rhetoric of the “civilizing mission” used to justify colonial rule, pointing out that this mission was essential to sustaining colonial hegemony, both politically and psychologically.
“The ideology of colonialism was built of the cultural meanings of two fundamental categories of institutional discrimination—sex and age.”	This captures Nandy’s thesis that colonial ideology was structured on deeply entrenched social hierarchies, which were used to justify and perpetuate colonial control.
“Colonialism was not seen as an absolute evil. For the subjects, it was a product of their own emasculation.”	This provocative statement reflects how colonial subjects internalized their subjugation, often perceiving their colonization as a consequence of their own weaknesses, thereby reinforcing the colonial narrative.
“The rest of this essay examines… how the colonial ideology in British India was built of the cultural meanings of two fundamental categories of institutional discrimination in Britain—sex and age.”	Nandy frames his essay as an exploration of how British cultural categories, especially those related to gender and age, were transplanted into the colonial framework to maintain dominance over Indian society.

Suggested Readings: “The Psychology of Colonialism: Sex, Age, and Ideology in British India” by Ashish Nandy

1. Bagchi, Jasodhara. “Representing Nationalism: Ideology of Motherhood in Colonial Bengal.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 25, no. 42/43, 1990, pp. WS65–71. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4396894. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025.
2. Basu, Anustup. “The Geo–Televisual and Hindi Film in the Age of Information.” Bollywood in the Age of New Media: The Geo-Televisual Aesthetic, Edinburgh University Press, 2010, pp. 42–120. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt1r2brj.6. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025.
3. Arora, Poonam. “DEVDAS: INDIAN CINEMA’S EMASCULATED HERO, SADO-MASOCHISM, AND COLONIALISM.” Journal of South Asian Literature, vol. 30, no. 1/2, 1995, pp. 253–76. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40873587. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025.
4. Nandy, Ashis. “The psychology of colonialism: Sex, age and ideology in British India.” The New Imperial Histories Reader. Routledge, 2020. 125-135.