India was imperialized. So were the Unites States of
America, Australia and many other countries. One may wonder what the difference
between imperialism and hegemony is. One may also mistake these two terms to be
the same (they are not). Basically, imperialism is the direct power of one
country over another whereas hegemony is the indirect power of a country over
another. There’s colonialism too when we talk about our geographical landscape
and its succinct resume but let’s save that topic for another day.
Before I go any further, let me make everyone understand
the difference between these two terms. Imperialism is when you take control
and rule another country through colonization or exertion of military
influence. What America did to Iraq according to me is a blatant attempt at
imperialism (asserting power to rule) in the modern world although they
screamed ‘hegemony’ (guidance & leadership). One true example of imperialism
is the British Empire’s rule over India. The British governed India for about
200 years and made rules for everybody to follow. We can now contrast it with
India’s hegemony over Nepal where India majorly helps the administration
of Nepal in making decisions but lets the ultimate power of decision making go
to the Government of Nepal. Another example of Hegemony is the Caribbean where
the American countries help many islands function as separate independent
countries.
I recently read a book which brilliantly brought out the
societal norms surrounding the ideologies of imperialism & hegemony. The
society, especially the American one, thinks Hegemony is cool and regards it as
‘desirable’ or ‘admirable’. This has not only spurred people to think about
America as a very liberal and benevolent empire but also has changed moral
terrain of every citizen in the world. I feel that the idea of ruling another
state or territory – the idea of imperialism & hegemony has brought the
idea of ‘dominance’ in this society. Dominance can be anything – male
dominance, dominance of locals in a classroom, dominance of a particular
political party in a state, dominance of a certain race in the society and
others similar to these ones.
Dominance as an ideology in itself rose from our
mythological stories & tales like the Mahabharata & Ramayana and has
paved the way for the imperialistically infused thinking of a common man. I’ll
even go as far as saying that imperialism has found its way in popular culture
(note, not pop culture). Hegemony is a part of imperialism but it can never be
the other way round.
