Categories: History

Debrahmanising History: Dominance and Resistance in Indian Society (Extensively Revised Edition)

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<p>Egalitarianism is neither alien to India nor the gift of the West. Marginalised people everywhere have always aspired to build an inclusive world. Espousing the perspective of the commoners this revised edition of Debrahmanising History brings out the beauty and resilience of a counter-tradition by visiting some of the major sites of resistance and creativity from below. Ranged against caste and brahmanism this liberating tradition is to be found in the egalitarians of diverse inclinations particularly in the strands of shramanism Buddhism the movements of subaltern sant-poets Sufism and Sikhism. This counter-tradition was carried forward in modern India by more than anybody else Jotiba Phule Iyothee Thass Narayana Guru Periyar and Ambedkar. Recognising the power of culture in the politics of transformation they had emancipatory visions that embraced the whole of Indian experience and stand firmly as an alternative to Tilak-Savarkarite Gandhian and Nehruvian visions. Their determined but diverse and 'resourceless' struggles fought in the teeth of opposition from the caste elites could not arrest the neo-brahmanism which under colonial complicity and the archaeology of knowledge derived from Orientalism went on to reincarnate – and nationalise – itself into octopus-like Hinduism and 'Indian culture'. Their sublime failure adds to their enduring appeal to the dalit-bahujans as old forms of hierarchy and hegemony menacingly morph into new structures of inequality in the 'world's largest democracy'. In some studies the emancipatory thrust of this tradition is occasionally recognised but it is seldom integrated with civilisational studies on Indian culture and society. An attempt in that direction this searing critique of caste and dominant historiography is meant for all those who are – or want to be – part of the ongoing struggle of human liberation. About the Author Braj Ranjan Mani is the author most recently of Knowledge and Power: A Discourse for Transformation (2014). One of India's unconventional scholar-activists Mani was formerly a journalist with The Times of India a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study Shimla and worked for a while as Dr Ambedkar Chair-Professor at NISWASS Bhubaneswar before deciding to work autonomously.</p>

Companies, Commerce and Merchants: Bengal in the Pre-Colonial Era

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India`s Economic Growth: Opportunities and Challenges for the Regions

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Rise of China and India: Implications for the Asia Pacific

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My Journey: A Tale of Two Births

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Towns and Cities of Medieval India: A Brief Survey

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This much anticipated volume looks at the historical evolution of towns and cities in medieval India from the early thirteenth to the late eight­eenth century. The selection is based on the availability of documents. These include the narratives of European travellers in English French Italian Dutch and German with the exception of Ibn Battuta in mid-fourteenth century and also Middle Bengali literature in case of towns in Bengal. While the coastal towns and cities have been looked at the interior ones are also described on the basis of the writings of later historians and archaeologists. Care has been taken to explain the rise growth and the decline of some towns and cities in which the changing courses of rivers had played a crucial role. Attempts have been made to search other factors responsible for such eventualities. The delineation of physical features within the city has been given due emphasis including the different quarters of the city and the manners and customs of the local population with reference to craft production and commercial links. The morpho­logical differences between the cities of eastern and those of the western or northern India have also been described. This is clear from the observations of port towns described here. All these would show that India was one of the most urbanized area in the medieval period before advent of the British. About the Author Aniruddha Ray was born at Calcutta in 1936. He passed his M.A. in 1958. After teaching in Charu Chandra College for several years he went to the University of Paris Sorbonne (France) in 1964 for research and returned at the end of 1967 with a Ph.D. degree. He joined the Department of Islamic History &amp; Culture Calcutta University in 1968 and retired from there in November 2001. After occupying several posts at the Indian History Congress he was elected General President of the Indian History Congress in 2011. He was also the President of Paschim Banga Itihas Sansad for six years. He has published more than 36 books and a large number of articles in English and Bengali. He was awarded a Gold Medal with citation by The Asiatic Society Calcutta for his lifelong achievement. He passed away in December 2018.