Community Identity Constructs: Education for the Construction of Caste & Community Identity - Example of Namboodiri Community of Kerala

Abstract

The paper discusses the discourses within a Kerala community on accepting Colonial modern Western education. Namboodiri community and the reformist organization Yogakshema Sabha conducted many discussions on accepting modern Western education. The transformation of Namboodiri into human beings envisages the erasure of their pre-colonial educational practices and acceptance of the values of the modern educational system. Internalizing the colonial modernity disseminated ideas was fundamental in transforming Namboodiri as a colonial subject. Educational institutions are one of the sites through which such notions are internalized. Therefore, it is imperative to understand how Namboodiri viewed colonial education and how they appropriated its value. This paper is an attempt to understand this process.