ABSTRACT
European imperialist colonisation is characterised by, among other things, its extensive exploitation of indigenous resources and population as labour and its use of colonies as captive markets for goods and services. As an academic discipline, colonial and postcolonial studies are a new, growing and somewhat heterogeneous field. Colonialism impacts on all areas of a colonised people's life, with the colonial agenda being implemented and maintained through both force and propaganda. Taking colonial rule in India as one example of this process, the introduction of an English curriculum formed a key mechanism of the ideology. While educational encounters in colonial contexts operated to extend hegemony through persuasion, and power is being exercised in very similar ways within postcolonial setups, domestic educational policy and praxis too often conspire to create contemporary colonial subjects in the classroom. While challenged by alternative education, decolonisation in schools and wider society has a considerable way to go.
