Democratization of Knowledge, Open Access, Validation, and Rights in Nineteenth Century

Abstract

In late 19th century India, renaissance emerged within the colonial-cultural context, leading people to believe that science and technology-based colonial modernity would liberate them from a past filled with myths—a narrative intentionally promoted in regions like Kerala. Admitting this narrative would imply that there were no indigenous efforts against intellectual dominance. However, substantial evidence disproves the notion that Indians were intellectually backward and passively accepted Western modernity. During the renaissance, indigenous thinkers criticized Western dominance and restrictions on knowledge, promoted humanistic philosophy, and contributed to areas such as uplifting the marginalized and gender equality. Figures like Vivekananda and Chattampi Swamikal, who predated Antonio Gramsci's definitions of intellectuals, were far ahead of their time. The West adopted the concepts of Open Access to Knowledge, the right to education and information, and methods to validate knowledge, which Chattampi Swamikal addressed in India during the late nineteenth century, only a hundred years later. Failing to recognize the contributions of these intellectuals shows a lingering blind acceptance of colonial modernity.