Mapping the Path to Maturity

This book delves into varied aspects of the history of Bengal and North east situated within a time frame of more than a hundred years, from the colonial times to the present. The individual essays deal with ideas, literary texts, politics, gender, industries, culture, health, sports and tribal issues relevant to these regions.

Probing health issues in the colonial period the volume also explains the development of the modern coal industry on the one hand and the survival of the traditional potter’s craft on the other. The significance of traditional healing practices is dwelt upon as also the question of female health and dissemination of knowledge. The pen-picture of the happenings at the bathing ghat reveals the vibrant rural social life of the times. The modernization of the theatre gives a glimpse into the cultural ethos. The institutionalization of sports is examined. Analysis of contemporary cinema throws light on the perception of a woman’s position in society. As the reader travels from Bengal to the North-East, the impact of missionary activities on tribal life is revealed. The tribals’ search for identity is explored. The issues of peace, security and the interests of independent India are also dissected.

This volume would be indispensable for scholars of literature, history, film studies, political science and contemporary studies in South Asia.

Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka

Bipasha Raha is Professor and Head, Department of History, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan. She is the author of Living a Dream: Rabindranath Tagore and Rural Resuscitation (2014) and The Plough and the Pen: Peasantry, Agriculture and the Literati in Colonial Bengal (2012). She has also co-edited with Deepak Kumar Tilling the Land: Agricultural Knowledge and the Practices in Colonial India (2016). She has specialized in the agricultural and intellectual history of nineteenth and early twentieth century Bengal. She is currently working on the literary representations of rural Bengal in the late colonial period.

Subhayu Chattopadhyay is Assistant Professor, Department of History, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan. He has specialized on the history of science and technology in colonial India. He is currently working on the social and cultural aspects of colonial and post-colonial India.