Ravana had ten heads — and British colonialism had ten faces too. This thought-provoking talk by Sri Jatayu maps the symbolism of the Ramayana onto India’s colonial experience, framing Shri Rama as the archetypal force of liberation and the British Raj as a ten-headed Ravana of systematic exploitation.
From de-industrialization and cultural erasure to forced labor and the suppression of Indian identity, the speaker details how colonialism’s ten “asuric” dimensions played out — and how the sustaining power of Rama bhakti, particularly the Ramayana tradition, gave ordinary Indians the psychological fortitude to endure and ultimately resist. A powerful civilizational reading of India’s freedom struggle.

About the speaker:
Jataayu has been writing on a range of topics around spiritual, cultural themes and Hindutva since 2005, both in Tamil and English. He is well-read on Hindu philosophy, history, culture and arts, and a scholar of Tamil literature. Currently a resident of Bengaluru, he is an Electronics technology professional by vocation.