Decolonization of Higher Education in Kerala: An Analysis of Intial Two Decades of Post Independence Period

Abstract

Decolonization is an ongoing process engaged consciously or unconsciously by the colonized world. The political independence from colonizers doesn’t indicate colonization. Rather, it set the exact background for the indigenization of the colonized. Transfer of power from colonial colonial masters to the natives ensured the process of colonization. The deep routes of colonization need time for rectification. In some cases, the colonial cultural values have influenced the native ways of life in such extent that decolonization seems difficult. This is particularly applicable in the case of cultural life of the natives. Colonialism as a cultural conquest percolated to native life primarily through the introduction of western education in colonized countries. India, as a colony of Britain was not an exception. The paper examines the colonial influence in the field of higher education in Kerala and the process of decolonization initiated in the first two decades of post independence period