Overview

THE UNBROKEN CHAIN: Decolonising Minds in Post-Colonial Asia Why do the colonizers' mental chains remain unbroken, long after independence? In Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, colonial rule ended decades ago. Yet the English-educated elite still measure success by Western standards, speak the colonizer's language at home, and unconsciously perpetuate the hierarchies their grandparents fought to dismantle. Physical independence came-but mental freedom never followed. This groundbreaking work exposes how Thomas Babington Macaulay's 1835 blueprint for ""mental colonization"" created generations who were taught to be ashamed of their own languages, cultures, and identities. Through meticulous historical analysis and contemporary examples, The Unbroken Chain reveals: How colonial education systems engineered psychological dependency that survives to this day Why Lee Kuan Yew, builder of modern Singapore, had to ""sweat blood"" learning his own ethnic language at age 38 How linguistic imperialism created internal hierarchies where speaking English became the measure of intelligence and civilization Why successful, educated Asians often feel like strangers in their own cultures Drawing on postcolonial theory, historical documents, and personal narratives, this book challenges readers to recognize the invisible chains that bind our minds-and shows pathways toward genuine decolonization. For scholars, students, thought leaders, diaspora communities, and anyone questioning why ""independence"" didn't bring true freedom, The Unbroken Chain offers uncomfortable truths and necessary insights. The empire may have left, but has your mind come home?

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9781764391016

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Man Lee (李文雅) is a scholar of postcolonial studies with personal experience navigating the complexities of colonial education's legacy in Asia. Born and raised in Malaysia, Lee witnessed firsthand the psychological tensions between Western-educated identities and Asian cultural heritage. The Unbroken Chain emerged from decades of observation, research, and conversation with others struggling to reconcile colonial mental structures with postcolonial realities.

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