Our main discussion in this book Indian society, polity and culture of the colonial period. Indian society in the 19th century was caught in an inhuman web created by religious superstition and social obscuration. Hinduism, has become a compound of magic, animation and superstition and monstrous rites like animal sacrifice and physical torture had replaced the worship of God. The most painful was position of women. The British conquest and dissemination colonial culture and ideology led to introspection about the strength and weakness of indigenous culture and civilization. The social reform movements which emerged in India in the 19th century arose to the challenges that colonial Indian society faced. The well-known issues are that of sati, child marriage, ban on widow remarriage and caste discrimination. It is not that attempts were not made to fight social discrimination in pre-colonial India. They were central to Buddhism, to Bhakti and Sufi movements. What marked these 19th century social reform attempts were the modern context and mix of ideas. It was a creative combination of modern ideas of western liberalism and a new look on traditional literature.We hope that students will benefited a lot from reading this book.
The product of years of cross-border and cross-disciplinary collaboration, this is an innovative volume of essays situated at the intersection of multi-disciplinary fields: postcolonial/subaltern theory; comparative literary analysis, especially with a South Asian and transnational focus; the study of 'alternative' and 'indigenous' modernities
Author: Lawrence a Kimpton Distinguished Service Professor of History and South Asian Languages Dipesh Chakrabarty
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226100383
Category: History
Page: 212
View: 666
In Habitations of Modernity, Dipesh Chakrabarty explores the complexities of modernism in India and seeks principles of humaneness grounded in everyday life that may elude grand political theories. The questions that motivate Chakrabarty are shared by all postcolonial historians and anthropologists: How do we think about the legacy of the European Enlightenment in lands far from Europe in geography or history? How can we envision ways of being modern that speak to what is shared around the world, as well as to cultural diversity? How do we resist the tendency to justify the violence accompanying triumphalist moments of modernity? Chakrabarty pursues these issues in a series of closely linked essays, ranging from a history of the influential Indian series Subaltern Studies to examinations of specific cultural practices in modern India, such as the use of khadi—Gandhian style of dress—by male politicians and the politics of civic consciousness in public spaces. He concludes with considerations of the ethical dilemmas that arise when one writes on behalf of social justice projects.
Focusing on Portuguese, British and French colonial spaces, this book traces changing concepts of mixed-race identity in early colonial India. Starting in the sixteenth century, it discusses how the emergence of race was always shaped by affiliations based on religion, class, national identity, gender and citizenship across empires. In the context of increasing British power, the book looks at the Anglo-French tensions of the eighteenth century to consider the relationship between modernity and race-making. Arguing that different forms of modernity produced divergent categories of hybridity, it considers the impact of changing political structures on mixed-race communities. With its emphasis on specificity, the book situates current and past debates on the mixed-race experience and the politics of whiteness in broader historical and global contexts. By contributing to the understanding of race-making as an aspect of colonial governance, the book illuminates some margins of colonial India that are often lost in the shadows of the British regime. It is of interest to academics of world history, postcolonial studies, South Asian imperial history and critical mixed-race studies.
This book provides an interpretive and comprehensive account of the history of India between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, a crucial epoch characterized by colonialism, nationalism and the emergence of the independent Indian Union. It explores significant historiographical debates concerning the period while highlighting important new issues, especially those of gender, ecology, caste, and labour. The work combines an analysis of colonial and independent India in order to underscore ideologies, policies, and processes that shaped the colonial state and continue to mould the Indian nation.
The history of medicine and disease in colonial India remains a dynamic and innovative field of research, covering many facets of health, from government policy to local therapeutics. This volume presents a selection of essays examining varied aspects of health and medicine as they relate to the political upheavals of the colonial era. These range from the micro-politics of medicine in princely states and institutions such as asylums through to the wider canvas of sanitary diplomacy as well as the meaning of modernity and modernization in the context of British rule. The volume reflects the diversity of the field and showcases exciting new scholarship from early-career researchers as well as more established scholars by bringing to light many locations and dimensions of medicine and modernity. The essays have several common themes and together offer important insights into South Asia’s experience of modernity in the years before independence. Cutting across modernity and colonialism, some of the key themes explored here include issues of race, gender, sexuality, law, mental health, famine, disease, religion, missionary medicine, medical research, tensions between and within different medical traditions and practices and India’s place in an international context. This book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of modern South Asian history, sociology, politics and anthropology as well as specialists in the history of medicine.
"Renowned as the predominant farmers and landlords of Punjab, and long possessed of an autocthonous agricultural identity, Jat Sikhs today often live urban and diasporic lives. Rural Nostalgias and Transnational Dreams examines the formation of Jat Sikh identity amid diverse ideals and incursions of modernity, exploring the question of what it means to be Jat Sikh in the contemporary Indian city.Nicola Mooney describes a number of Jat Sikh social practices and narratives – education, professional development and employment, the making of appropriate marriage matches, and the discourse of progress – through which contemporary notions of identity are developed. She contextualizes these elements of Jat Sikh modernity against local, regional, and national histories of cultural and political differentiation, perceptions of marginality, and the expression of increasingly exclusive notions and practices of identity. Mooney argues that class practices incorporate urban Jat Sikhs into national and transnational communities, separating them from rural Jat Sikhs and confounding caste solidarities. Nevertheless, rural attachments remain important to urban identities.This is a unique ethnography that incorporates first-hand observations and local narratives to develop insights into the traditions and social memory of Jat Sikhs, as well as on the issues of urban and transnational social transformation."
The process of globalization has had a dramatic impact on the lives of women in developing countries in the past decade. They have been increasingly drawn into insecure flexible employment working for the world market. The feminisation of the labour market has increased the burdens on women, and the inability of men to access full-time well-remunerated employment has exacerbated the process of male out-migration and has left many families headed by women. At the same time the reduction in state services and welfare has increased the burdens placed on women. Nevertheless the consequences of globalization have been different for different women in different places. In some circumstances it has created opportunities for greater empowerment, whilst in others it has stimulated a reaction and increased the subordination of women. This book explores the experiences of women in diverse local contexts within different cultures and faiths, drawing on case studies from Asia, Africa and Latin America. It draws out the contradictory and fragmented impact of globalization at the local level on the lives of women in the developing world.
Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century when Korea became entangled in the world of modern imperialism and the old social, economic and political order began to change; this handbook brings together cutting edge scholarship on major themes in Korean History. Contributions by experts in the field cover the Late Choson and Colonial periods, Korea’s partition and the diverging paths of North and South Korea. Topics covered include: The division of Korea Religion Competing imperialisms Economic change War and rebellions Nationalism Gender North Korea Under Kim Jong Il Global Korea The Handbook provides a stimulating introduction to the most important themes within the subject area, and is an invaluable reference work for any student and researcher of Korean History.
In Kerala, Vakkom Moulavi motivated Muslims to embrace modernity, especially modern education, in order to reap maximum benefit. In this process, he initiated numerous religious reforms. However, he held fairly ambivalent attitudes towards individualism, materialism and secularization, defending Islam against the attacks of Christian missionaries.
This book examines the reasons behind the Great Divergence. Kaveh Yazdani analyzes India’s socio-economic, techno-scientific, military, political and institutional developments. The focus is on Gujarat between the 17th and early 19th centuries and Mysore during the second half of the 18th century.
