The Defining Moments in Bengal

The Defining Moments in Bengal
Author: Sabyasachi Bhattacharya
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 553
Release: 2014-05-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 0199089345

This 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.

Gentlemanly Terrorists

Gentlemanly Terrorists
Author: Durba Ghosh
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2017-07-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107186668

Durba Ghosh uncovers the critical place of revolutionary terrorism in the colonial and postcolonial history of modern India.

Making World English

Making World English
Author: Michael G. Malouf
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2022-01-27
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1350243868

Uncovering the role of literature, late imperialism, and the rise of new models of internationalism as integral to the invention of Global English, this book focuses on three key figures from the “Vocabulary Control Movement” - C.K. Ogden, Harold Palmer, and Michael West - who competed for market share for their respective language teaching systems - Basic English, the Palmer Method, and the New Method - through battles over word lists and teaching methods in the 1920s and 30s. Drawing on archives from the Carnegie Corporation and considering language teaching in eight global sites, this book analyzes how a series of conferences in New York and London resolved their conflicts and produced a consolidated, international standard form of English. As a postcolonial approach to the development of the field of English Language Teaching, it reveals how these language debates were proxy battles over an idealized global subject: an urban, secular, consumer moving seamlessly between the tribal and global, speaking both mother tongues and an international lingua franca, Global English. Featuring analysis of the primary texts of each of the three key figures in this book as well as close readings of their readers, which featured adaptations of well-known literary texts from writers like Poe, Dickens, Wordsworth, Milton and Wells, it recovers a neglected history of English as it was redefined as an international language through anti-colonial resistance in the peripheries and transatlantic power struggles in the metropole during the interwar period.

The Long History of Partition in Bengal

The Long History of Partition in Bengal
Author: Rituparna Roy
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2024-02-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 1003851894

This book focuses on the aftermath of the 1947 Partition of India. It considers the long aftermath and afterlives of Partition afresh, from a wide and inclusive range of perspectives and studies the specificities of the history of violence and migration and their memories in the Bengal region. The chapters in the volume range from the administrative consequences of partition to public policies on refugee settlement, life stories of refugees in camps and colonies, and literary and celluloid representations of Partition. It also probes questions of memory, identity, and the memorialization of events. Eclectic in its theoretical orientation and methodology, this book will be of interest to scholars and researchers of partition history, colonialism, refugee studies, Indian history, South Asian history, migration studies, and modern history in general.

Partition of India

Partition of India
Author: Amit Ranjan
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2018-11-20
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0429750528

The Partition of British India in 1947 set in motion events that have had far-reaching consequences in South Asia – wars, military tensions, secessionist movements and militancy/terrorism. This book looks at key events in 1947 and explores the aftermath of the Partition and its continued impact in the present-day understanding of nationhood and identity. It also examines the diverse and fractured narratives that framed popular memory and understanding of history in the region. The volume includes discussions on the manner in which regions such as the Punjab, Sindh, Kashmir, Bengal, Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow) and North-East India were influenced. It deals with issues such as communal politics, class conflict, religion, peasant nationalism, decolonization, migration, displacement, riots, the state of refugees, women and minorities, as well as the political relationship between India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Drawing on major flashpoints in contemporary South Asian history along with representations from literature, art and popular culture, this book will interest scholars of modern Indian history, Partition studies, colonial history, postcolonial studies, international relations, politics, sociology, literature and South Asian studies.

Periodicals, Readers and the Making of a Modern Literary Culture: Bengal at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

Periodicals, Readers and the Making of a Modern Literary Culture: Bengal at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
Author: Samarpita Mitra
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 447
Release: 2020-06-15
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9004427082

In Periodicals, Readers and the Making of a Modern Literary Culture: Bengal at the Turn of the Twentieth Century Samarpita Mitra studies literary periodicals as a particular print form, and reveals how their production and circulation were critical to the formation of a Bengali public sphere during the turn of the twentieth century. Given its polyphonic nature, capacity for sustaining debates and adaptability by readers with diverse reading competencies, periodicals became the preferred means for dispensing modern education and entertainment through the vernacular. The book interrogates some of the defining debates that shaped readers’ perspectives on critical social issues and explains how literary culture was envisioned as an indicator of the emergent nation. Finally it looks at the Bengali-Muslim and women’s periodicals and their readerships and argues that the presence of multiple literary voices make it impossible to speak of Bengali literary culture in any singular terms.

Critical Coalitions

Critical Coalitions
Author: Rimika Singhvi
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2024-09-13
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1036407659

Step into a thought-provoking world to explore the dynamic interplay of literary aesthetics and some of the key contemporary themes of postcoloniality, posthumanism, the female body, gendered geographies, myth and new media, cinema, and literature. While the first three sections of the book foster a dialogue amongst scholars and practitioners to examine how literature engages with and shapes our understanding of these multifaceted themes, the next two extend the discussion through no-holds barred interviews and poignant poetry-contributions that add depth and texture, offering fresh perspectives on culture, identity, and representation. With each turn of the page, discover the transformative power of literature in today’s globalized landscape.

Tagore, Nationalism and Cosmopolitanism

Tagore, Nationalism and Cosmopolitanism
Author: Mohammad A. Quayum
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2020-01-29
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1000042383

This book is a fresh examination of Rabindranath Tagore’s ideas on nationalism and his rhetoric of cosmopolitanism. It critically analyses the poetics and the politics of his works and specifically responds to Tagore’s three lectures on nationalism delivered during the early years of the twentieth century and later compiled in his book Nationalism (1917). This volume: Discusses Tagore’s perception of nationalism – the many-sidedness of his engagement with nationalism, the root causes of his anathema against the ideology, ambiguities and limitations associated with his perception and his alternative vision of cosmopolitanism or global unity; Cross-examines an alternative view of cosmopolitanism based on Tagore’s inclusivist ideology to “seek my compatriots all over the world”; Explores how his ideas on nationalism and cosmopolitanism found myriad expressions across his works – in prose, fiction, poetry, travelogue, songs – as well as in the legacy of cinematic adaptations of his writings; Investigates the relevance of Tagore’s thoughts on nationalism and cosmopolitanism in relation to the contemporary rise of religious, nationalist and sectarian violence in the twenty-first century. A key study on the relevance of Tagore’s political philosophy in the contemporary world with contributions from eminent Tagore scholars in South Asia as well as the West, this book will be of great interest to readers and researchers in the fields of literature, political science, cultural studies, philosophy and Asian studies.

The Defining Moments in Bengal, 1920-1947

The Defining Moments in Bengal, 1920-1947
Author: Sabyasachi Bhattacharya
Publisher:
Total Pages: 403
Release: 2014
Genre: Bengal (India)
ISBN: 9780199083039

In what way was 20th century Bengal different from the late 19th century 'Renaissance' Bengal? How did a regional identity consciousness develop? What social experiences drove the Muslim community's identity consciousness? How did Bengal cope with crises like the inflation during World War II, and the famine of 1943, the communal riots, climaxed by the Calcutta riots of 1946? This book looks at these crises which cast a shadow on the decades that followed the period under study, 1920-1947.