Description
Over the past two decades, several International Studies scholars have powerfully argued that the discipline is ripe for decolonial critique and reimagining. However, there has not been sufficient attention paid to the “decolonial dangers” that Mignolo and Walsh warn against, particularly the risk of decoloniality being co-opted by the state. In this paper, I will build on my previous work on the dangers of decoloniality, which has focused on the rise of right-wing hyper-nationalism in India and its co-option of the decolonial framework to legitimise its agenda. I will address the question of how we can build a mestizo South Asian decolonial approach to International Studies as an answer to Deepak’s emphasis on Hinduism and Hindutva as the “authentically” indigenous framework for India and South Asia. Using decoloniality as my theoretical framework and Smith’s methodology of decolonial indigenous qualitative research, I will argue that there is room for a relational and mestizo approach to decolonising South Asian International Studies by exploring the relationality of diverse philosophical and spiritual ideas that have contributed to the distinctive culture of the sub-continent. I will contribute to International Studies scholarship by drawing on the insights of researchers from diverse disciplines who have suggested that decoloniality risks legitimising exclusionary ideas such as Hindutva. I will further explore how decoloniality can help to globalise International Studies while circumventing the dangers of decoloniality, using India and South Asia as a case to make broader claims for the discipline at large.
Keywords: colonial; decolonial; decoloniality; Asia; non-Western; knowledge production; epistemologies
