Abstract
The Lahore Museum stands as a poignant site for interrogating the colonial legacy embedded in its narratives and displays. This study explores the process of decolonizing the museum’s narratives, focusing on how they shape and mediate collective memory formation. Engaging with decolonial theory, the narrative perpetuates the politics of amnesia by silencing indigenous epistemologies and disassociating artifacts from their cultural and historical contexts. The study situates the Lahore Museum within the broader framework of memory politics, investigating how colonial-era curatorial practices continue to influence contemporary interpretations of South Asia’s past. By introducing counter-narratives that reclaim indigenous perspectives, the research highlights the potential of the museum as a space for resisting Eurocentric hegemony and fostering decolonial memory formation. Central to this analysis is the concept of epistemic disobedience proposed by Mignolo, which challenges the universality of Western knowledge systems. Similarly, Fanon’s critique of the colonial psyche underscores the imperative to dismantle the cultural alienation perpetuated by colonial institutions. Through a critical analysis of exhibitions, archival practices, and visitor engagement, the research seeks to illuminate the museum’s role in either perpetuating or disrupting the colonial matrix of power. It advocates for a participatory curatorial approach that foregrounds marginalized voices, contextualizes artifacts within their lived histories, and addresses the erasures inherent in colonial historiography. By doing so, this study contributes to the ongoing efforts to decolonize cultural institutions, offering a framework for reconstructing memory politics in ways that counteract Eurocentric biases and promote a pluriversal understanding of South Asia’s rich and diverse heritage.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Counter-Histories, Eurocentrism, Memory Politics, Cultural Reclamation, Epistemic Disobedience, Lahore Museum
