Author: Mukesh Williams
Rohit wanchoo/
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 2008
Language: English
Pages: 344
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0195692268
Description
This book provides a critical commentary on politics, language, literature, identity, media, religion, caste, and the Indian Diaspora over the last two centuries. While analysing and synthesizing work done in diverse intellectual traditions, it discusses the significance of Sanskrit and its relationship with the regional languages of India; the relationship between Hindi and Urdu; and the role of English as a language of colonial administration and education after Independence.
The study also deals with the new generation of post-Independence Indian English writers, who express a whole range of emotions, which were articulated through the vernacular in the colonial period. It explores the representation of Indian identities—Hindu and Muslim—through Hindi films and also looks into the role of Hindi television programmes in construction of national and regional identities.
The authors examine the problems of creating a national identity; the rise of Hindu politics in the 1990s; and Hindu–Muslim relations in the context of religious reform and political loyalty to the nation-state. They also analyse the relationship of the Indian Diaspora with the motherland and the host country. Going beyond conventional boundaries of nation-states, academic disciplines, and conceptual categories, this interdisciplinary book will aid those embarking on a ‘new’ discovery of India
Contents
Acknowledgement
A Further Note
Introduction
the Sanskrit Heritage: Bengali and Hindi Literature
English and Indian English Literature
Representing the Nation in the Hindi Media
Hindu Politics and the Nation
religious Identities and Politics
South Asian Diaspora
conclusion
Bibliography
Index