Mill’s Colonial-Racist Discourse in School Textbooks

James Mill was the first colonial to write a comprehensive history of India. Soon after its publication, he became a high-ranking employee of the East India Company. In no time, he became its chief at India House, the headquarters of the Company. His rank and popularity in British society ensured that the History of British India became the paradigm determiner of India studies, its people, culture, and traditions. The framework behind the creation of grade-school discourse on India and Hinduism currently bears a complete reflection of the narrative set in motion by Mill more than two hundred years ago. Given the political power that Britain wielded over India, there was no need for Mill to camouflage his language in describing India, Hinduism, and the Hindu people. The times have changed, and the language must be politically correct. The current-day school discourse reproduces Mill’s narrative, minus his language of savagery and uncivilization of the Hindu people. This chapter exposes Mill’s stamp on the India-and-Hinduism discourse in American middle schools.