Maia Ramnath - Decolonizing Anarchism.pdf - Libcom

Introduction I 5
of the British government left incomplete the task of ending
injustice and inequity. The postcolonial state, insufficient
at best, at its worst actually perpetuated the same
kinds of oppression and exploitation carried out by colonial
rule, but now in the name of the nation.
I should emphasize that what I am not doing here is
looking for anarchism in South Asia (although I do sometimes
find it), staking out territorial claims with a red-andblack
flag. Rather, I am exploring a slice of South Asian
history through the lens of an anarchist analysis. In doing
so, what becomes visible or legible, what is foregrounded
or emphasized, that may otherwise seem to defy logic or
simply be overlooked? What in India's counterhistory does
this shed light on-what forgotten but not lost possibilities?
Where and in what form do I recognize certain questions
being asked, certain concerns being addressed, that
I as an anarchist share-for example, regarding the role of
the state, the nature of industrial development, or attitudes
toward modern rationalism? How and in what terms do
people embedded in this particular history generate theory
and praxis regarding those questions and concerns? Where
do I see intersections, articulations, or direct points of contact
with the Western anarchist tradition? Why is there a
recurring linkage made (in praise and condemnation alike)
between anarchism and certain elements of an Indian social
movement history, such as the militant wing of the freedom
struggle from 1905 to the 1930s, or the postindependence
offshoots of Gandhism? Without either taking the
equation at face value (given the questionable usage of the
word) or dismissing it as groundless (given its persistence),