“A Black Umbrella and a White Man”

Niloy Samanta

In the play Moniram Dewan, there’s a conversation between Captain Holroyd and Mohan Hazarika. Hazarika says, “The entire populace is swayed by MoniramDewan’s words. Everyone has taken up arms to kill the white monkeys.” Holroyd responds, “What did you say, Hazarika? Are you mocking us by calling us white monkeys?” Hazarika replies, “No, sir. Your humble servant hasn’t said such a thing. I am merely conveying what the subjects are saying.”

During my last visit to Assam, I bought a copy of the play Moniram Dewan. The term “white monkey” particularly caught my attention, so I made a mental note of it. The colour-based distinction between black and white exists even today–and it existed back then too. But from time to time, we encounter certain experiences that compel us to reconsider our preconceived notions. If we fail to do so, we risk falling prey to what’s known as confirmation bias.

When we reflect on the British colonial era, a sense of anger or a desire for retribution against the white rulers can naturally arise within us. The speech delivered by Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor at the Oxford Union had gone immensely viral for this very reason.

Humans are inherently weak creatures. Apart from their intellectual capacity, in most other aspects, humans are weaker than many other beings. That’s why, in many situations, people seek divine refuge. As Chaliha once said, if we imagine a society where people accept only those things backed by scientific facts and evidence, such a society would be nothing more than a utopian dream.

Even the term scientific temperament is often contentious. You or I, despite being educated in modern science, may have consumed medicines prescribed by doctors in the past that are now banned. Perhaps the research of that time was flawed, and newer research has now presented new evidence. Newton’s theory of gravity, too, was redefined through Einstein’s theory of space-time curvature. Science, of course, is self-correcting–it evolves over time and revises itself.

Our daily experiences significantly impact our brain. Research has shown that learning a foreign language or acquiring a new skill can alter the brain in new ways. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s lifelong ability to develop new connections. One study found that taxi drivers in England had more grey matter in the hippocampus–a region of the brain involved in spatial navigation and memory. These taxi drivers had to memorise the entire layout of London’s streets, which resulted in a larger hippocampus compared to others.

In essence, our brain is constantly changing. So, can we use the brain’s neuroplasticity to transform a negative mind-set into a positive one?

One known way to develop a positive mind-set is through meditation. People who meditate regularly–like Buddhist monks–have neural structures that differ from those of the average person. “Certain parts of their brain are capable of experiencing much higher levels of empathy and awareness than ordinary individuals.” A significant study conducted in 2008 found that experienced meditators showed greater brain activity than less experienced individuals when exposed to emotionally charged sounds like crying or laughter. It was observed that meditation had, in fact, trained them to be more empathetic toward others.

Although often overlooked, the significance of these findings is especially relevant today. We live in a time marked by growing intolerance. There’s a disconnect with anyone who holds differing ideologies– “they are wrong, we are right.” Such thinking has deepened religious and ideological divides. Meditation gradually alters the brain. Meditators tend to respond to everyday events with calmness, empathy, and mindfulness. Meditation activates those regions of the brain associated with compassion and empathy.

If we do not begin by changing ourselves first, then blaming society, the administration, or those in power for social problems becomes nothing more than a way to evade responsibility. After all, governments and political parties come and go. True change is only possible through a transformation of the mind–perhaps that’s why Mahatma Gandhi once said, “By persistently trying to attain self-purification, I have been able to develop, to some extent, the capacity to hear ‘the still small voice within’ more clearly and precisely.” Gandhi believed that without self-purification, no lasting solution to social issues was possible. He may not have known much neuroscience in his time, but today we understand–albeit partially–that our brain is plastic, meaning such inner transformation is possible.

First, we must be able to acknowledge that each of us, to varying degrees, carries biases–and we must at least be willing to let them go. Suppose you manage to calm your ego and commit to changing yourself first. Now, let’s explore a highly effective technique to support this process: it’s called priming.

To understand priming, we must refer to some translated insights from Daniel Kahneman’s book Thinking, Fast and Slow.

“Imagine you’re shown a few incomplete words. What would you think when you see ‘sop’? Perhaps nothing in particular. But what if you had seen the word ‘cat’ just before that? Then you are more likely to complete ‘so_p’ as ‘soup’. This process is called priming. That is, instead of thinking of ‘soap’, you thought of ‘soup’.”

We fall under the influence of priming when the presence of a word, event, or concept subtly compels us to think of other related ideas. If, instead of seeing ‘cat’, you had seen the word ‘shower’, you would likely have completed the word as ‘soap’.

Priming doesn’t just affect our thoughts–it also influences our actions. Just as the mind is influenced by certain words or ideas, so too is the body.

In one study, participants were primed with words associated with old age–such as “Florida” and “wrinkle”–and it was observed that their walking pace slowed down compared to usual. They began to walk like elderly individuals. Strikingly, this process was entirely unconscious–it occurred without their awareness.

This priming reveals that we are never fully conscious in our actions, decisions, and choices. In reality, at every moment, we are being “primed” by countless social and cultural factors. Just like other social influences, priming can shape an individual’s thoughts, and thus their choices, judgments, and behaviours–which in turn reflect back into society, heavily influencing the environment we live in.

If, day and night, you keep hearing communal rhetoric from political leaders, and repeatedly see or hear on social media or television that your religion is superior to others, you too become unconsciously primed to think in that same direction.

Everyone holds their own ideals and makes relentless efforts to promote and expand them. Politicians, however, often abandon their individuality and adopt opportunistic positions. There is certainly nothing inherently wrong with this–as long as it does not infringe upon people’s fundamental rights.

But the so-called ‘moral policing’ by religious organisations is increasingly becoming an assault on individual freedom. When this issue was mentioned on social media, a professor from Assam commented, “Are you trying to appear secular by criticising Hindutva organisations?” Perhaps the professor has not yet understood that there is no place for fanaticism in Hinduism itself, which is why such words, born of anger and agitation, were spoken.

“What Gandhi said about Hinduism and his thoughts on it have not been discussed as much as they should have been, and that is truly unfortunate. In the university where I conduct my research, an annual Gandhi Essay Competition is held for school students. I voluntarily took up the task of evaluating a few of the essays. Witnessing the reverence Gandhi’s ideals receive in Western countries, while they are often ridiculed in his own homeland, leaves me deeply moved.”

All these theoretical analyses can be found in the book “A Black Umbrella and a White Man”.* This is a collection [in Asomiya] of DebanjanBorthakur’s previously published essays in newspapers and journals, written from a psychological perspective. For the first time, psychological discussions of Assam and India’s political and social issues are compiled in this anthology.

DebanjanBorthakur is a researcher and teacher in the fields of psychology and neuroscience. He holds postgraduate degrees from McMaster University in Canada and Bowdoin College in the United States. Currently, he is teaching at the University of Toronto while pursuing his PhD research. His research articles include engaging topics in social and political psychology.

Not just as a scholar, he has also been contributing to nearly all major Assamese newspapers and journals, offering psychological analyses of Assam’s socio-political issues. He is actively involved in topics such as animal rights, human rights, and mental health in the workplace. He works on these issues both nationally and internationally, publishing articles and essays.

[*”Ata Kola Sati Aru Ajon Boga Manuh” An Assamese book written by DebanjanBorthakur, published by RupjyotiDevnath on behalf of JagaranSahityaPrakashan Price 275]
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Vol 58, No. 19, Nov 2 - 8, 2025