New Books in South Asian Studies · New Books Network

Renny Thomas and Sasanka Perera, "Decolonial Keywords: South Asian Thoughts and Attitudes" (Columbia UP, 2025)

·36 min·3 clips

Sasanka Perera unpacks 'Aragalaya,' a Sinhala word for struggle that evolved from meaning women's foot jewelry to defining Sri Lanka's recent non-violent revolutionary protests.

Host Dr. Raj Balkar interviews Dr. Renny Thomas and Dr. Sasanka Perera, co-editors of 'Decolonial Keywords: South Asian Thoughts and Attitudes.' They discuss the book's origin, its aim to generate social theory from South Asian languages and concepts, and provide specific examples like 'Aragalaya' (struggle) and 'laboratory.' The conversation explores how the project challenges Western theoretical hegemony without falling into nativism.

As heard by us

A close look at how one word can carry older meanings, protest, and new political force.

The discussion treats decolonial thought as a question of language as much as doctrine, moving across South Asian language politics, hierarchy within countries, and ideas that arrive from outside.

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Why you'd press play

If one keyword can open up language politics, colonialism, and protest history, this is for you.

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