Maroona Murmu:

Now that we have these colonies or settler colonies being dissolved, we have come to a position from where we are trying to reformulate various ideas, as I said that this was colonization, mostly of the mind. Imperialism was colonization of the mind. So what we are trying to do is trying to take concepts, knowledge out of the stranglehold of imperial powers, be it America, be it Britain, so that's what basically I think is the process of decolonization.

Partha Chatterjee:

‘Decolonization’, I think has been, or is being, used somewhat indiscriminately in recent years. There was a time, of course, from the 1950s and ‘60s, when ‘decolonization’ was basically meant to indicate a period of when, you know, the major colonial empires of the world, British, the French, the Dutch, were various countries that were under those colonial powers, they gained their independence in that period, following World War Two, that was broadly understood as decolonization. From which, some years later, the idea of post-colonial countries and a whole range of questions about possible continuities between the colonial and postcolonial, what was new about the postcolonial, all of these questions emerged in through the 1970s, ‘80s, and so on. In more recent times, there seems to be a new argument to say that this period of the end of colonial rule, and the emergence of the new post-colonial countries, did not actually mean an end to colonialism, that a whole range of institutions and practices that were created under colonial rule have, in a sense, continued. And so there is a need now to make a further push to decolonize.

Frances Martin and Fatima Pirbhai-Illich:

… there is no single definition of colonization. Each definition will relate to the specific contexts within which those processes are being enacted. And in fact, to think that there is a single definition of colonization would be colonialist. We write ‘decolonizing’ with a forward slash between the ‘de’ and ‘colonizing’ using Battacharya’s idea that there is no utopian decolonizing space that is separate from colonizing spaces, because we are all always already in relationship with colonizing discourses and materiality. And this signals to us that it's imperative to understand what those colonizing discourses and materialities are before we can begin to find ways of deep linking.

Shubranshu Mishra:

…when we talk about decolonization in higher education, I talk about it not only as a person of colour in the West, but also as an upper caste, man and identity that ensures my mobility in the West, but also my upper caste and southern privilege that puts me in close proximity to whiteness. It's about taking this first step about self-reflection that is necessary to engage to genuinely engage in the process of decolonization. Decolonization, after all, is about praxis. And when we are talking about decolonization, we are not talking about achieving political independence and the end of colonial rule alone. We are also talking about the various continuities in which the colonial governance, you know, perpetuates in society. So, decolonization is about dismantling that colonial governance. It is about dismantling structural inequalities that continue to marginalize and exclude people, traditions, epistemologies, pedagogies, and systems of knowledge.

Maisha Reza:

I would say that decolonization is the dismantling of power structures that are a result of, and are strengthened by, the practices of colonization. Decolonization will directly challenge the systemic disadvantages experienced by those who have been racialized and marginalized through historic processes of colonial violence, and the contemporary oppression lingering from colonial practices. It is also to move away and decentre the white, heteronormative, masculine, able-bodied privileges to create a socially just future for those subjected to and who are impacted by colonial oppressions, whether directly or indirectly. To me personally, it means that individuals who are furthest and lowest in the scale of white supremacy structures that uphold unfair power hierarchies will finally be able to have a significant voice in shaping their future and shaping fair, equitable, systemic ,and social values.

Aveen Hameed:

For me, decolonization is about understanding our past and the legacy that this has left for our world today. The only way that we can fix the legacy we can address the negative legacy of our colonial past is by knowing our past, I don't think we should associate this with hate or blame. There is no hate, there is no blame the people that made all these decisions are no longer here. But I think it's really important to move forward in a positive way, and just try and make things better for future generations.