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Talking Politics: Bhikhu Parekh in Conversation with Ramin Jahanbegloo
by Ramin JahanbeglooOne of the most distinguished political philosophers of our time, British-Indian academic and peer Lord Bhikhu Parekh's work continues to deeply influence our understanding of identity, politics, and multiculturalism. Based on a series of interviews of Bhikhu Parekh by Iranian philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo, Talking Politics is a journey into the life and work of the acclaimed political thinker. From cultural diversity and global ethics to universal moral rights and duties, liberalism, multiculturalism, Marxism, Islam and Europe, and Gandhi in the twenty-first century—Parekh addresses issues which India and nations across the world are grappling with in a changed and changing global order. Moving from the public to the personal domain, this engaging conversation affords rare glimpses of Parekh's world: from early-life struggle and sacrifice to the joys of success, and finally his entry into the House of Lords.
The Making of the Dalit Public in North India: Uttar Pradesh, 1950–Present
by Badri NarayanThis book is a detailed commentary on politics and political consciousness, participation, and mobilization among the Dalits in northern India. Based on extensive fieldwork at the village level in eastern Uttar Pradesh, it deals with Dalit social and political history in the state from 1950 to the present. Using alternative sources—stories and narratives alive in the oral tradition and 'collective memory' of the oppressed and marginalized Dalits—Narayan documents various social upheavals that have taken place in post-Independence India. He also examines the process of politicization of Dalit communities through their internal social struggles and movements, and their emergence as a 'political public' in the State-oriented democratic political setting of contemporary India. How has the ongoing process of politicization of the Dalits developed their politics? How far does it appear as an alternative? To what extent is it similar to the politics played out by dominant parties? Does it imitate or seek break away from the methods of the upper castes? This book seeks to answer these important questions as it maps the changing nature of contemporary Indian politics. In doing so, it unfolds the multiple, suppressed, layers of Dalit consciousness in vibrant ethnographic detail, hitherto overlooked by mainstream discourse.
The Bhagavadgita in the Nationalist Discourse
by Nagappa Gowda K.The Bhagavadgita has lent itself to several readings to defend or contest various views on life, morality, and metaphysics. This book explores the the role of the Bhagavadgita in the formation of nationalist discourse. It examines the ways in which the Gita became the central terrain of nationalist contestation, and the diverse ethico-moral mappings of the Indian nation. Focusing on Bankimchandra Chatterjee, Balgangadhar Tilak, Swami Vivekananda, Aurobindo Ghose, Mahatma Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave, and B.R. Ambedkar as the representatives of different strands of nationalist discourse, this volume probes their reflections on the Gita. The author also discusses with issues such as the relation between the nation and the masses, renunciation and engagement with the world, the ideas of equality, freedom, and common good, in the context of a nationalist discourse. He argues that the commentaries on this 'timeless' text opened up several possible understandings without necessarily eliminating one another.
Article 370: A Constitutional History of Jammu and Kashmir
by A.G. NooraniOn 26 January 1950, the Constitution of India came into force with a unique provision—Article 370. The special status accorded to the state of Jammu and Kashmir in the article meant that its people lived under a different set of laws while being part of the Indian Union. Alternating deftly between history and politics, A.G. Noorani examines a wide range of documents pertaining to Article 370. He incisively analyses the implications and consequences of the article for the constitutional democracy of the state and the nation. From Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India in 1947 to the various negotiations thereafter; Sheikh Abdullah's arrest to the framing of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir and the replacement of Sadar-i-Riyasat, this book impeccably documents the little-known constitutional history of the state. Noorani underscores the politics behind the gradual erosion of Article 370 and the need for restoration of autonomy. Critically analysing the various judgments relating to this constitutional arrangement, he suggests a framework for resolving the 'Kashmir problem'. Collecting together rare, often unseen and unnoticed, letters, memoranda, white papers, proclamations, and amendments, this book will be an indispensable resource on Kashmir.
Talking Back: The Idea of Civilization in the India Nationalist Discourse
by Sabyasachi BhattacharyaBritish histories in the nineteenth century were by and large monologues. From the turn of the century Indians began to 'talk back', questioning colonial assumptions and narratives of India's past. What was the point of this endeavour? What was said when the Indians began to talk back? What was the discourse of civilization all about? Sabyasachi Bhattacharya explores these questions and lays bare the various forms this rhetoric took: from the defence of Indian civilization to a tendency towards vainglorious depiction of 'Hindu civilization'; from asserting civilizational unity in the distant past to creating a surrogate for nationhood. Tracing the inception of this discourse in the works of R.G. Bhandarkar and Bankimchandra Chatterjee, this book explores the evolution of the idea of civilization in the writings of luminaries like Gandhi, Tagore, Vivekananda, and Nehru, as well as works of intellectuals, historians, linguists, and sociologists like M.G. Ranade, V.K. Rajwade, D.D. Kosambi, Sardar K.M. Panikkar, Nirmal Kumar Bose, and many present-day scholars.
Sex and Sensibility: Richard Blechynden’s Calcutta Diaries, 1791–1822
by Peter RobbRichard Blechynden was a surveyor, architect, and builder in early colonial Bengal. This volume and its companion (Sentiment and Self) use 80 volumes of his diaries and other archival material along with anecdotes, extracts, and stories to recreate histories of everyday life. While Sentiment and Self explores issues like interactions between Europeans and Indians, race and tolerance, this volume focuses on the position of women, especially concubines, or bibis and their sexual and emotional relationships; the social milieu of the early empire; dynamics of household; contexts for cross-cultural contact and misunderstanding; the complexities of class, culture, and race; and the overlapping public and private life. It examines the domestic life, personal sensibilities, and private and public persona of the main diarist, Richard Blechynden. This book will interest scholars and students of modern Indian history, gender studies, cultural studies, and British Imperialism, as well as those interested in biographies.
Sentiment and Self: Richard Blechynden’s Calcutta Diaries, 1791–1822
by Peter RobbRichard Blechynden was a surveyor, architect, and builder in early colonial Bengal. This volume and its companion (Sex and Sensibility) use 80 volumes of his diaries and other archival material along with anecdotes, extracts, and stories to recreate histories of everyday life. While Sex and Sensibility deals with larger issues of sexuality, concubines, and dynamics of households in colonial Bengal, this volume deals with life in Calcutta and the re-creation of a British identity. It explores issues like interactions between Europeans and Indians; race and tolerance; laws and legal system; and establishment of colonial city and government giving a bird’s eye-view of colonial Calcutta and its dynamic society. This book will interest scholars and students of modern Indian history, gender studies, cultural studies, and British Imperialism, as well as those interested in biographies.
Travels of Bollywood Cinema: From Bombay to LA
by Anjali Gera Roy Chua Beng HuatFrom Bombay (Mumbai) and other production centres on the Indian subcontinent, Indian popular cinema has travelled globally for nearly a century, culminating in the Bollywood-inspired, Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire. This volume brings together perspectives on Indian popular cinema, universally known as Bollywood now, from different disciplinary and geographical locations to look afresh at national cinemas. It shows how Bollywood cinema has always crossed borders and boundaries: from the British Malaya, Fiji, Guyana, Trinidad, Mauritius, and East and South Africa to the former USSR, West Asia, the UK, the USA, Canada, and Australia. While looking at the meanings of nation, diaspora, home, and identity in cinematic texts and contexts, the essays also examine how localities are produced in the new global process by broadly addressing nationalism, regionalism, and transnationalism, politics and aesthetics, as well as spectatorship and viewing contexts.
Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas (Oxford India Perennials)
by Romila ThaparThis classic provides a comprehensive account of the hstory of the Mauryas with a special emphasis on the reign and activities of Aśoka. It examines the sources, socio-economic conditions, administration, Dhamma, foreign relations, and the decline of the Mauryas. This edition comes with a new Pre-word which updates research on the subject.
Implications of the Philosophy of Kant: Kāntdarśaner Tātparya
by Krishnachandra BhattacharyyaImmanuel Kant's three Critiques—Critique of Pure Reason, Critique of Practical Reason and Critique of Judgment—have been the cornerstone of Western philosophy. While the West has extensively debated on these works, Indian perspectives on them have been few and far between. This book is a singular example of how Western philosophy can be creatively interpreted and appropriated from the perspective of Indian philosophy. Delving into concepts like free will, knowledge of the self and the role of imagination in knowledge, Bhattacharyya integrates the three Critiques showing their interconnections and presents their essential theses. He extends the meaning of concepts like knowing and experience from the standpoint of Nyaya and Advaita schools to evaluate judgments and certainties, thereby extending the domain of Kantian insight. Hailed as one of the most original and creative Indian academic philosophers of the twentieth century, Bhattacharyya explains, amplifies and transcreates, moving beyond Kant's original texts, without distorting the essential tenets of Kant's philosophy. With detailed notes and annotations as well as a critical introduction, this translation presents a radical departure from traditional analyses of Kant.
Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion: 1770–1870 (Oxford India Perennials)
by C.A. BaylyThis path-breaking work on the social and economic history of colonial India traces the evolution of north Indian towns and merchant communities from the decline of Mughal dominion to the consolidation of British empire following the 1857 'mutiny'. C.A. Bayly analyses the response of the inhabitants of the Ganges Valley to the upheavals in the eighteenth century that paved the way for the incoming British. He shows how the colonial enterprise was built on an existing resilient network of towns, rural bazaars, and merchant communities; and how in turn, colonial trade and administration were moulded by indigenous forms of commerce and politics. This edition comes with a new introduction.
Punjab Reconsidered: History, Culture, and Practice
by Anshu Malhotra Farina MirWhat is Punjabiyat? What are the different notions of Punjab? This volume analyses these ideas and explores the different aspects that constitute Punjab as a region conceptually in history, culture, and practice. Each essay examines a different Punjabi culture—language-based and literary; religious and those that define a 'community'; rural, urban, and middle class; and historical, contemporary, and cosmopolitan. Together, these essays unravel the complex foundations of Punjabiyat. The volume also shows how the recent history of Punjab—partition, aspirations of statehood, and a large and assertive diaspora—has had a discernible impact on the region's scholarship. Departing from conventional studies on Punjab, this book presents fresh perspectives and new insights into its regional culture.
Forging a Region: Sultans, Traders, and Pilgrims in Gujarat, 1200–1500 (SOAS Studies on South Asia)
by Samira SheikhGujarat lies at the confluence of communities, commerce, and cultures. As the modern Indian state of Gujarat marks its fiftieth year in 2010, this book charts its coalescence into a distinct political and linguistic unit roughly five hundred years ago. From the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries, Gujarat's cosmopolitan coastline and productive hinterland were held together in a contested unity which nurtured the political integration of the region's pastoralists, peasants, soldiers and artisans, and the evolution of the Gujarati language. Forging a Region explores the creation of Gujarat's unified identity, culminating under a lineage of sultans who united eastern Gujarat and Saurashtra by military action and economic pragmatism in the fifteenth century. Delineating the evolution of the Gujarati political order alongside networks of trade and religion, Samira Sheikh examines how Gujarat's renowned entrepreneurial ethos and dominant discourses on pacifism, vegetarianism, and austerity coexisted, then as now, with a martial pastoralist order. She argues that the religious diversity of medieval Gujarat facilitated economic and political cooperation leading to its cosmopolitan ethos. Sifting through Persian, medieval Gujarati, and Sanskrit sources, Sheikh addresses the long-term history of communities and politics in Gujarat to provide an understanding of the past and present of the region.
Forests and Ecological History of Assam, 1826–2000
by Arupjyoti SaikiaThis book presents a comprehensive account of the transformation of Assam's forests and ecology from early nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth century. It locates present-day ecological conflicts in the colonial era when contest over forest, land, and resource began to take new shape. Arupjyoti Saikia delineates how forest resources in Assam were mapped and intergrated with mechant capitalism since the early nineteenth century. He shows how imperial forestry practices led to changes in traditional resource utilization patterns. The book also examines the political economy of conservation practices. It explores the question of law and conservation, role of institutions and organizations, and the changing role of the forests in imperial economy. The book argues how the making of forest policy in the postcolonial period was defind by the complexities of the political matrix. It discusses plantation, silvicultural practices, protection and regeneration of forests, and livlihood practices. The author also analyses public debates surrounding ecology and environmental changes in conservation practices after the 1980 Act.
The Defining Moments in Bengal: 1920–1947
by Sabyasachi BhattacharyaThis work explores some of the constitutive elements in the life and mind of Bengal in the twentieth century. The author addresses some frequently unasked questions about the history of modern Bengal. In what way was twentieth-century Bengal different from 'Renaissance' Bengal of the late-nineteenth century? How was a regional identity consciousness redefined? Did the lineaments of politics in Bengal differ from the pattern in the rest of India? What social experiences drove the Muslim community's identity perception? How did Bengal cope with such crises as the impact of World War II, the famine of 1943 and the communal clashes that climaxed with the Calcutta riots of 1946? The author has chosen a significant period in the history of the region and draws on a wealth of sources archival and published documents, mainstream dailies, a host of rare Bengali magazines, memoirs and the literature of the time to tell his story. Looking closely at the momentous changes taking place in the region's economy, politics and socio-cultural milieu in the historically transformative years 1920-47, this book highlights myriad issues that cast a shadow on the decades that followed, arguably till our times.
Kashmir’s Contested Pasts: Narratives, Geographies, and the Historical Imagination
by Chitralekha ZutshiA pioneering and comprehensive study of the historical imagination in Kashmir, this book explores the conversations between the ideas of Kashmir and the ideas of history taking place within Kashmir’s multilingual historical tradition. Analysing the deep linkages among Sanskrit, Persian, and Kashmiri narratives, Kashmir’s Contested Pasts contends that these traditions drew on and influenced each other to imagine Kashmir as far more than simply an unsettled territory or a tourist paradise. By offering a historically grounded reflection on the memories, narrative practices, and institutional contexts that have informed, and continue to inform, imaginings of Kashmir and its past, the book suggests new ways of understanding the debates over history, territory, identity, and sovereignty that shape contemporary South Asia.
Shifting Ground: People, Animals, and Mobility in India’s Environmental History
by Mahesh Rangarajan K. SivaramakrishnanEnvironmental history of India has developed as an important field of inquiry in the last twenty-five years. While providing major insights, the existing scholarship has primarily focused on drawing sharp lines of distinction - those between geographical spaces (forest, rivers, farms), people (herders, farmers, townspeople), eras (colonial, post-colonial) and so on. The limitations of these sharp divides are brought to the forefront when there is a critical engagement with the region's contested environmental past. Shifting Ground brings together an array of essays that pose critical questions regarding India's environmental past and the way it has been approached by scholars. From debunking the idea of a primeval, pristine forest cover, to analysing the dynamics that shape human-animal relations, to examining the conflicts created by post-Independence projects of rural development and conservation - this volume touches upon the various aspects of environmental studies and juxtaposes them with social history, history of science and technology and history of trade and culture. Drawing on original case studies the book not only explores the past, but also portrays how its traditions are often invoked to be deployed in contemporary conflicts - those that are often aggravated by the pressures on natural assets created by the recent prosperity and the vaulting aspirations of a rapidly expanding Indian middle class.
An Independent, Colonial Judiciary: A History of the Bombay High Court during the British Raj, 1862–1947
by Abhinav ChandrachudIn 2012, the Bombay High Court celebrated the 150th year of its existence. As one of three high courts first set up in colonial India in 1862, it functioned as a court of original and appellate jurisdiction during the British Raj for over 80 years, occupying the topmost rung of the judicial hierarchy in the all-important Bombay Presidency. Yet, remarkably little is known of how the court functioned during the colonial era. The historiography of the court is quite literally anecdotal. The most well known books written on the history of the court focus on humorous (at times, possibly apocryphal) stories about 'eminent' judges and 'great' lawyers, bordering on hagiography. Examining the backgrounds and lives of the 83 judges-Britons and Indians-who served on the Bombay High Court during the colonial era, and by exploring the court's colonial past, this book attempts to understand why British colonial institutions like the Bombay High Court flourished even after India became independent. In the process, this book will attempt to unravel complex changes which took place in Indian society, the legal profession, the law, and the legal culture during the colonial era.
Swaminarayan Hinduism: Tradition, Adaptation, and Identity
by Raymond Brady Williams Yogi TrivediTowards the end of the eighteenth century, a lone pilgrim reached Gujarat and joined a small ashram in Loj. In time, his followers not only accepted him as the leader of the ashram but also as the manifestation of deity and called him Swaminarayan. His followers increased rapidly and today Swaminarayan Hinduism is a transnational religious movement with major centers in India, East Africa, UK, USA, and Australasia. In a first multidisciplinary study of the movement, this volume provides new and vital information about its history, theology, as well as its transnational development, and brings forth current academic research from fields as diverse as the arts, architecture, sociology, and migration studies, among others. It analyses the philosophy, conduct, and principles that guide Swaminarayan Hindus and provides a case study of the historical and social processes of adapting religious traditions to shape new identities in response to evolving social, economic, and political changes.
Myanmar: A Political History
by Nehginpao KipgenMyanmar, since its independence from the British in 1948, has witnessed decades of military dictatorship, a plethora of ethnic and political problems, and an arduous struggle to political normalcy and democracy. Reinventing its place in international trade, diplomacy, and geo-strategy, Myanmar today presents a complex picture—and how it engages with its own history plays an important part in this process of transformation. Myanmar: A Political History examines the politico-historical antecedents of contemporary Myanmar: from colonial rule to the establishment of its first civilian government; the subsequent fall into military dictatorship; and the transition from an authoritarian regime to a democratic government. Kipgen weaves in its relations with the United States, Myanmar’s political, economic, and military connect with China; India–Myanmar relations in the context of India’s Look East policy; and Myanmar’s cooperation problems on human rights within the ASEAN. Lucid and well researched, this book is a valuable guide to those interested in the future of Myanmar as well as South and Southeast Asia, to understand the historical knowledge as to how different political actors played differing roles in the country’s transition across governments.
The Rays before Satyajit: Creativity and Modernity in Colonial India
by Chandak SengooptaIn the history of Indian cinema, the name of Satyajit Ray needs no introduction. However, what remains unvoiced is the contribution of his forebears and their tryst with Indian modernity. Be it in art, advertising, and printing technology or in nationalism, feminism, and cultural reform, the earlier Rays attempted to create forms of the modern that were uniquely Indian and cosmopolitan at the same time. Some of the Rays, especially Upendrakishore and his son, Sukumar, are iconic figures in Bengal. But even Bengali historiography is almost exclusively concerned with the family’s contributions to children’s literature. However, as this study highlights, the family also played an important role in engaging with new forms of cultural modernity. Apart from producing literary works of enduring significance, they engaged in diverse reformist endeavours. The first comprehensive work in English on the pre-Satyajit generations, The Rays before Satyajit is more than a collective biography of an extraordinary family. It interweaves the Ray saga with the larger history of Indian modernity.
Roads to Freedom: Prisoners in Colonial India
by Mushirul HasanIn its most brutal form, the prison in British India was an instrument of the colonial state for instilling fear and dealing with resistance. Exploring the lived experience of select political prisoners, this volume presents their struggles and situates them against the backdrop of the freedom movement. From Mohamed Ali, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, the Nehru family, and Gandhi, to communists like M.N. Roy—we get a vivid glimpse of their lives within the confines of the prison in a narrative that is at times deeply personal and yet political. The struggles of some remarkable women of the time are also brought to the fore—be it the feisty doctor Rashid Jahan, Aruna Ali, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, or Sarojini Naidu. Extensively researched, the volume draws upon the records at the National Archives of India, private papers, creative writings of the prisoners, newspapers, memoirs, biographies, and autobiographies. The volume also brings to light the differences between Indian and European prisons during the colonial period and the conception of ‘criminal classes’ in the colony. Capturing the sharp pangs of loneliness, the poetry born out of solitude, and the burning desire for independence, Roads to Freedom breathes new life into accounts and tales long forgotten.
Evolution of Economic Ideas: Adam Smith to Amartya Sen and Beyond
by Vinay Bharat-RamThe history of economic thought can be traced to the Industrial Revolution and the 19th-century Great Divergence until which it remained an integral part of philosophy. This book deals with different thinkers and theories to explore ideas that later became the foundation of modern economics. Through the lives and social circumstances of eminent economists from Adam Smith through Marx, Keynes and many others to Amartya Sen and beyond, it establishes that each one was a keen observer of the social conditions of his time. The book adopts a unique approach of not only bringing together the thoughts of such thinkers but also highlighting how they were often vehemently different from one another. Through a narrative inspired by a kind of Socratic dialogue based on the author’s classroom interactions with his students, it discusses the evolution of economic ideas, ending with a look at modern economics in the context of the great recession.
A Memoir of Pre-Partition Punjab: Ruchi Ram Sahni, 1863–1948
by Neera BurraA Memoir of Pre-Partition Punjab is a richly annotated autobiography of Ruchi Ram Sahni (1863–1948)—social reformer, scientist, science educator, and, later, active participant in political affairs. A riveting account of life in nineteenth-century colonial Punjab, it covers Sahni’s growing up in a Hindu business family in Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, and captures the social, political and intellectual ferment of the times. Sahni belonged to the first generation of Punjabis educated in English. The book recounts his confrontation with orthodox Hinduism and the ostracism he faced because of his secular and liberal Brahmo Samaj values. A close confidante of Dyal Singh Majithia, founder of The Tribune, he was for nearly thirty years a trustee of and contributor to this influential newspaper. Sahni also describes the discrimination practised by Europeans against Punjabis and his responses to maintain his self-respect. His close association with Motilal Nehru, Lala Lajpat Rai, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, and other freedom fighters provides a behind-the-scenes record of the early phase of India’s freedom struggle.
Bheda
by Akhila NaikThe entire village was in an uproar when the news spread that Laltu had beaten up Yuvaraj. How dare a Dom boy thrash the gauntia’s nephew, a Teli? The Telis set out to seek revenge by breaking Laltu’s limbs. Conscious of the plight of the Dalits and the lower castes, and hoping to improve their lot, Laltu leads an uprising against the upper castes. Does he succeed? Or is he silenced and crushed by caste power? Set in a remote village in the Kalahandi district of Odisha, the story draws from the real, lived experiences of the region’s Dalits. Bheda, the first Odia Dalit novel, is not only a poignant tale of rebellion and betrayal, it is also a record of the caste atrocities and cultural politics that have defined India.