An unusual feature of the banyan is its ability to produce adventitious roots from the branches. This characteristic of developing aerial roots allows a single tree to spread over a large area. The biggest banyan tree in Pune, India is said to measure 800 m around its perimeter. (wikepedia.org)

The Banyan tree is a tree that intrigued me since I arrived in India. The tree’s branches grow down into the earth and create roots for a new tree. I think of the tree as a metaphor for the legacies of colonialism that I have thought about in this major. Bureaucratic education is the trunk of the system because through it colonial governments gained legitimacy and taught the colonized middle class how to think. The branches of my tree were components of British (and sometimes French) colonialism that have set root in Indian contemporary society. Follow the links within the tree branches to find out about how each branch was a part of the colonial agenda and how that branch has taken root in the post-colonial context. The legacies of colonialism are strong and specific to India. They have sprang as new trees as Indians take control of the institutions that the British used to colonize.

(This website mostly follows my interaction with India's postcolonial situation, however I have included work from other courses to show the progression through my major.)