In many non-Western contexts, modernization has tended to be equated with Westernization, and hence with an abandonment of authentic indigenous identities and values. This is evident in the recent history of many Asian societies, where efforts to modernize - spurred on by the spectre of foreign domination - have often been accompanied by determined attempts to stamp national variants of modernity with the brand of local authenticity: 'Asian values', 'Chinese characteristics', a Japanese cultural 'essence' and so forth. Highlighting (or exaggerating) associations between the more unsettling...

In retracting from the popular view that India s modern educational policy was shaped almost entirely by Macaulay, this incisive work reveals the complex ideological and institutional rubric of the colonial educational system. It examines its wide-ranging and lasting impact on curriculum, pedagogy, textbooks, teachers role and status, and indigenous forms of knowledge. Recounting the nationalist response to educational reforms, the book reinforces three major quests: "justice" as expressed in the demand for equal educational opportunities for the lower castes; "self-identity" as manifest...