The Effect of Colonialism - Dr Manisha Patil

 The Effect of Colonialism

Colonization has wide ranging effects in all the spheres of life – physical, economic, social, psychological and cultural. There is no denying the fact that oppression is a basic ingredient of colonialism. Colonization is for the benefit of the colonizer. So, on the colonizer it has positive effect while on the colonized it has negative impact. Possibility of physical movement means mobility and liberation to the colonizer while the same means displacement for the colonizer. Colonization boosts the economy of the imperial center by providing raw material at cheap rate and ensuring captive markets for the final products. In contrast it destroys the economy of the colonized land by denying it the fair trade and competition. Economic prosperity brings about social stability in the mother country while forced displacement, indentured labor and finally slavery destructs the very fabric of family and community in the colony. Moreover, it creates acute trauma and inferiority complex in the colonized which becomes trans-generational. Ultimately, cultural hegemony of the colonizer suppresses the local cultures.

The initial submission of the natives may be forced or mutual. But after some period through their experience and exposure to wider political climate and world ideologies they realize that the settlers are mere parasites sucking off the blood and labor of the natives without awarding them their dues. The natives realize that their hopes and aspirations would always remain subdued under the foreign rule. As a result, the natives resort to violent struggle to shake the colonizer off his shoulder; and eventually they do it.

There are so many views on the effects of colonialism. These views depend on the political and ideological position of those who disseminate them. Some claim that in spite of the ugly face of colonialism, it did a lot of good to the colonized. It brought to the colonized a new vision of life, mainly western and advanced. It fostered a strong sense of national unity. It brought industrialization and modern economy to the colonies; and above all it advanced cultural life where it occurred. Implicit in these claims is the colonizers’ high moral grounds mentioned above. On the other hand, there is the view that colonialism is pure oppression, immoral, evil, and nothing more than a form of a Neo-slavery. As a result, no possible good can come out of such evil, and it should be combated with sheer force. This radical view not only denies any positive effect of colonialism, but also incriminates those so-called apologists for colonialism.

Some of the results and effects of colonialism can be put in the following terms:

• The total or partial erosion of the colonized culture

• The mediation of the identity and subjectivity of the colonized

• The total rejection by some elements among the colonized of everything western as a form of reaction and protest against the colonizer.

• The categorization of the world into ranks, such as first world, second world, the West and the rest with all the subsequent stereotyping and prototyping that follows.

• The emergence of different forms of fundamentalism that aim at purifying their local cultures from the residues of the colonial past

• The emergence of bourgeoisie classes in the colonies, modeling themselves after their masters, who endeavor to maintain their status quo by getting closer to Western culture

• The emergence of societies with a lot of contradictions and split loyalties.

Dr Manisha Patil