Abstract
This essay explores the pervasiveness of Western conceptual frameworks in the Indian context and seeks to argue that a lack of “responsiveness” – a numbness – among Indians towards these concepts is proof of a complete absence of understanding and is precisely what gives Western concepts their stronghold. The essay attempts to map the range and nature of the influence these concepts have on India and tries to understand the extent to which this influence compromises an Indian “way” of thinking and functioning. It then considers the forms in which Indian concepts may be preserved today and in what ways they may still be accessible to us.