Author: Sumit Sarkar
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 2006
Language: English
Pages: 390
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0195646339
Description
The essays in this volume seek to combine empirical study of specific themes pertaining to late-colonial Indian history with interventions in current debates on the extent and nature of Western cultural domination.
They range from a study of liberal British attitudes to essays on Vidyasagar and Ramakrishna; from the relevance of E P Thompson to the decline of the subaltern in Subaltern Studies; from a village scandal in Bengal to the evolving urban landscape of its capital;, Calcutta.
Deploying the long-essay form, Sumit Sarkar makes a powerful case for the importance of richly detailed, nuanced social history. He highlights several neglected themes - such as responses to the colonial imposition of a new discipline via clock-time; the specificities of a clerical lower-middle-class world as partially distinct from the well-known world of prominent intellectuals, and conceptualizations of caste in emerging political ideologies.
EXCERPTS FROM REVIEWS:
Sarkar has given us a highly sensitive portrayal of the impact of Western colonial domination on certain sections of Bengali society. - The Indian Economic and Social History Review
This book will reinforce the respect felt by Sarkar's many admirers. - Economic and Political Weekly
Contents
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