This book examines the impact of Partition on refugees in East and Northeast India and their struggle for identity, space and political rights. In the wake of the legalisation of the Citizenship Amendment Act in 2019, this region remains a hotbed of identity and refugee politics. Drawing on extensive research and in-depth fieldwork, this book discusses themes of displacement, rehabilitation, discrimination and politicisation of refugees that preceded and followed the Partition of India in 1947. It portrays the crises experienced by refugees in recreating the socio-cultural milieu of the lost motherland and the consequent loss of their linguistic, cultural, economic and ethnic identities. The author also studies how the presence of the refugees shaped the conduct of politics in West Bengal, Assam and Tripura in the decades following Partition. Refugees, Borders and Identities will be indispensable for scholars and researchers of refugee studies, border studies, South Asian history, migration studies, Partition studies, sociology, anthropology, political studies, international relations and refugee studies, and for general readers of modern Indian history.
Sherlock Holmes, Byomkesh Bakshi, and Feluda: Negotiating the Center and the Periphery presents a postcolonial reading of Conan Doyle’s canonical detective texts—Sherlock Holmes adventures, and some lesser known detective texts written by two Bengali (Indian) writers—Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay (1899-1970), and Satyajit Ray (1921-1992). The book proposes that in a postcolonial reading situation, the representation of Holmes problematizes the act of reading and also the act and discourse of inquiry. The fact that the Holmes adventures contribute to the hegemonic culture of “Anglo/Eurocentrism” is seen as a reinforcement of racial superiority among the “colonized.” This book studies how literary texts function as a signifier of a particular national identity, and can indicate the cultural construct of a state. It contends that only those texts which cater to the standards of global hierarchy are considered canonical, and indigenous texts, however significant, remain as "Other" literature. The book highlights colonial and postcolonial discourse in the Bengali detective texts and examines, how far Holmes has been able to reinforce racial dominance over the Indian detectives Byomkesh Bakshi and Feluda.
This book highlights the present status of manuscript collection in the different repositories of India, and also suggests some remedial measures which are required to be adopted for the proper conservation, care and management of manuscripts. It showcases the nature of base material, ink, pigments, binding materials, writing and illustration techniques used in different manuscripts, given the importance of having thorough knowledge about the chemical composition of different materials before adopting any kind of conservation practice. As dating of manuscript is a very difficult task, a great variety of techniques and methodology such as palaeography, style of writing, illustration and terminology, colophon, spectrometric methods, and radio carbon dating, among others, are discussed here. Furthermore, as prevention is better than cure, different preventive measures, including indigenous methods practiced during the ancient period for preservation of manuscripts, are also outlined, as are the hazards of using different chemicals for conservation of manuscripts.
Although estimated as a multi-billion dollar industry, surrogacy has still not found prominence in legislation in India, neither does it feature in the nation’s public discourse. This short introduction explores how surrogacy is practiced and understood in India and across the world. Why is a surrogate hired? Why does a woman carry a child for an infertile couple? Why is there a need to delve deeper into the motivations for and notions attached with entering a surrogacy arrangement for all involved? This book focuses on the relationship between surrogacy and issues of reproduction, kinship, women’s bodies, assisted reproductive technologies, and transnational reproductive tourism. At the same time it places surrogacy in the context of mythology, popular imagination, and legal and public discourses. In exploring the differences between various forms of surrogacy—commercial and altruistic, genetic and gestational, domestic and transnational—the book seeks to move beyond these opposing dualities and begin a dialogue regarding the practice.
This book re-examines 'everyday resistance', gender and power through the lens of women's experiences in colonial South Asia. Moving away from educated and outstanding figures and drawing on a range of unconventional sources, it unearths a narrative of deep and enduring resistance offered by less extraordinary women in their daily lives.
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