Decolonisation refers to the historical, political, and legal process of ending formal colonial rule, resulting in independent nations, e.g. the Indian subcontinent getting independence from British colonial rule in 1947. However, decoloniality is the ongoing, long-term, and intellectual process of dismantling the "coloniality of power"—the enduring economic, social, and cultural hierarchies, ideologies, and mindsets left behind after formal colonialism ends, i.e. a comprehensive sovereignty or self-rule.

For decolonisation, the focus is on seeking political freedom, sovereignty, returning land, and ending administrative control. It remains a time-bound event often associated with 20th-century independence movements, with the objective to gain the state/administration (physical territory and governance). However, decoloniality is the inescapable follow-up cognitive process (continuous/present), with a focus on knowledge production, cultural de-linking from Eurocentric thought, and dismantling systemic oppression in areas like education, gender, and the economy (dismantling power/knowledge structures). It ought to be an ongoing process, sometimes called the "project" of decoloniality, dealing with the long-term effects of the 15th-century-onward colonial system. The ultimate objective remains the decoloniality of the mind, culture, and social structures.

Why does the distinction matter? Scholars emphasise this distinction because political independence (decolonisation) has often failed to change the hierarchical structures (coloniality) that continue to marginalise non-European cultures and........

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