Re-locating Archaeology and local History: Cultural Historiography of the Sundarbans (original) (raw)
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International Journal of Advanced Research in Islamic and Humanities e-ISSN: 2682-8332 | Vol. 4, No.3, 35-47, 2022 http://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/ijarih, 2022
Abstract: This article explores the various discourses on forming Muslim Bengali identity from the Eleven century to the twenty century. It becomes hardened and used in multiple politically mobilizable forms in Bengal politics. This study engages numerous articulations of the Muslim Bengali identity to show the changing representations of what qualifies as Muslim Bengali and who played role as major key figures of Muslim Bengali Nations from 1200 CE to 1999 CE. It also critically engages with new knowledge production. For instance, the different forms of non-fictional Bengali literature, and the views of the English-educated Urdu speaking and Sanskrit elites of Bengal. These writers wrote about the collaborative of forces acting upon the formation of a Muslim Bengali identity. While literature played an essential role in developing an initial awareness among Muslims, Bengali identity preparations' developments and processes diverse in different sites, thereby producing new shades on Muslim Bengali identity. This study uses qualitative and quantitative methods to see the identity crisis among Bengal Muslims. This article shows the historical traces that play vital role for identity crisis among Bengali Muslims. Keywords: Muslim Identity, Islam, language, Bengali Civilization
Kanpur Historiographers ISSN 2348-3814 Volume-6 Issue-2 December 2019
New Archaeological & Genological Society Kanpur India, 2019
Issue two volume six of Kanpur Historiographers is here for common readers, researchers and a vast audience interested in South Asian history. From the first volume it has opted for the less traversed road of writing the history of marginalized, excluded and subjugated. Historiographer instead of taking the linear deterministic course tried to unearth the people, events and processes excluded from the dominant course of Eurocentric historiography. In the 1980’s a group of renowned Indian historians initiated subaltern studies. The group became a voice of the weak that resisted the dominant powers in far of places. The western view of history is a universal progressive phenomenon excluded the narrative of subaltern, indigenous, peasant and common populous. Papers in all the previous volumes of Kanpur Historiographers, as well as the current issue, is an increment in the same process of recording the forgotten history of people and places. The historiographers contributing in this issue has addressed the themes of historical geography, cultural history, civilization studies and literary history. The topics addressed are as vast as the maritime history of the Indian Ocean to cultural history reflected in popular film culture. However, the main focus of the present issue remains in the history of Malabar region. The first article ‘Indian Ocean a Zone of Peace’, traces the importance of Indian Ocean bases in the creation of British and US hegemony. It presents a picture of great power rivalry in the presence of all major powers in Indian Ocean and the consequences for Indian Ocean littoral states. The littoral states despite their repeated insistence on creating a zone of peace and collective security in the Indian Ocean can’t change the present scenario as international law and the concept of freedom of seas work for their disadvantage. The paper ‘Madras native association: a pioneer of political association of South India’ deals with genesis, growth and decline of Madras native association. The association much before the formation of Indian National Congress resisted Christian Missionary activities working under the patronage of East India Company. When Madras became a Presidency the society organised on non-cast lines, articulates the demands like a decrease in taxation, better provision of education and formation of local government. The article ‘Indo-Tibetan friendship Scenario of Uttarakhand province’ traverse through the Indian civilizational history to create a scenario of friendship and foresee future of Tibet as a peace zone. The author believes that monastic traditions Tibet have roots in Indian soil. ‘Writing local history: a journey Pothukal Panchayath, Malapurram District’ is a well written piece of cultural and economic history. It traces the process of culturl synthesis taking place as a result of internal and external migration. It tells the story of a land where parochial indigenous tribes were involved in hunting, gathering and tilting the land. How the natural resource of forest attracted the capitalist, who for the sake of raw material altered the natural habitat. The article is vast in scope as it presents the multiple phases of resistance between indigenous tribes and national bourgeois like Birla’s: land rights struggle between locals and migrant and state reformed to provide communal ownership of land. The paper ‘Music in Malabar: culture and aesthetics’ traces the cultural influence of migration and trade activities in port region of Malabar. The imprints of Muslim folklores, music and poetic traditions are deeply evident in popular film music of 1960’s and 1970’s. Musicians like K. Raghvan and M.S. Baburaj seems to be inspired by tunes of Ghazal, considered to be Muslim heritage. ‘The saga of service: A case of early leaders of SIS in Malabar’ is about the services of Servants of India Society created by Gokhle. The society was created as an aftermath of Malabar rebellion 1921-22. To redress the untold miseries of people of Malabar belonging to both Hindu and Muslim communities, the leaders like A. V. Thakkar Bappa who devoted his life for the services and uplift of the Harijan community. ‘Contribution of Admiral Kunjali marakkar to Calicut Navy’ is the clear example of resistance struggle of forgotten heroes. The European history narrates the story of Portuguese hegemony on seas and oceans but it remains but it remains silent on history of resistance. Even Indian history tells the story of King Zamorin fighting with the help of his naval admiral Kunjali, a born Muslim, belonging to the Mappila community of seaman was chief admiral of King Zamorin. Kunjali was successful in establishing a naval base between Kochin and Calicut, hindering the trade as well as military ambitions of European naval powers. Kunjali was a military strategist who initiated Guerilla warfare against heavy slow-moving Portuguese ships with fast moving small boats. With the help of rowing boats, he reached to Europe through Cape of Good Hope. The article is an ode to Kunjali dynasty who dominated trade through Cape of Good Hope and China. ‘Literay Historiography under the eastern and western eyes: a comparative study of Oriental and Occidental Historiography models’ draws a parallel between traditions of literary history in the west and non-west. The author traces the indigenous modes of literature, especially Prakartis where folklores, myth and oral history combine to narrate the story of a hero and many heroes. The writer also contrasts the linear manner of western history with a cyclical notion of history as a repetition. He also believes that western and Indian attitudes towards language and literature are not only exclusive but contradictory. When west treats language as a body or corpus having an origin, process and demise; the Indian concept of language is as ever-present energy. West treats readers as advisors and commentators, while in India reader is an audience. The author is if the view that western literary history is exclusionary because it creats a binary between independent marga (dominant) and indigenous marginalized. Western literary historiography is the strategy to colonize. The last article entitled ‘The idea of Pakistan at 1940’ is an effort to analyze the Indian politics in colonial India. The present collection of Historiographers is not only the “history from below” the hierarchical division of power, but also an alternative conception of future as well, articulated in suggestion of peace, collective security, communal bonding, Environmental preservation and service of marginalized. The untiring efforts of Prof. Dr. Purushottam Singh, the Chief Editor has made Kanpur Historiographers a successful story.
KANPUR HISTORIOGRAPHERS VOLUME 6 ISSUE 2 ISSN 2348-3814 DEC 2019
NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND GENOLOGICAL SOCIETY INDIA, 2019
Issue two volume six of Kanpur Historiographers is here for common readers, researchers and a vast audience interested in South Asian history. From the first volume it has opted for the less traversed road of writing the history of marginalized, excluded and subjugated. Historiographer instead of taking the linear deterministic course tried to unearth the people, events and processes excluded from the dominant course of Eurocentric historiography. In the 1980’s a group of renowned Indian historians initiated subaltern studies. The group became a voice of the weak that resisted the dominant powers in far of places. The western view of history is a universal progressive phenomenon excluded the narrative of subaltern, indigenous, peasant and common populous. Papers in all the previous volumes of Kanpur Historiographers, as well as the current issue, is an increment in the same process of recording the forgotten history of people and places. The historiographers contributing in this issue has addressed the themes of historical geography, cultural history, civilization studies and literary history. The topics addressed are as vast as the maritime history of the Indian Ocean to cultural history reflected in popular film culture. However, the main focus of the present issue remains in the history of Malabar region. The first article ‘Indian Ocean a Zone of Peace’, traces the importance of Indian Ocean bases in the creation of British and US hegemony. It presents a picture of great power rivalry in the presence of all major powers in Indian Ocean and the consequences for Indian Ocean littoral states. The littoral states despite their repeated insistence on creating a zone of peace and collective security in the Indian Ocean can’t change the present scenario as international law and the concept of freedom of seas work for their disadvantage. The paper ‘Madras native association: a pioneer of political association of South India’ deals with genesis, growth and decline of Madras native association. The association much before the formation of Indian National Congress resisted Christian Missionary activities working under the patronage of East India Company. When Madras became a Presidency the society organised on non-cast lines, articulates the demands like a decrease in taxation, better provision of education and formation of local government. The article ‘Indo-Tibetan friendship Scenario of Uttarakhand province’ traverse through the Indian civilizational history to create a scenario of friendship and foresee future of Tibet as a peace zone. The author believes that monastic traditions Tibet have roots in Indian soil. ‘Writing local history: a journey Pothukal Panchayath, Malapurram District’ is a well written piece of cultural and economic history. It traces the process of culturl synthesis taking place as a result of internal and external migration. It tells the story of a land where parochial indigenous tribes were involved in hunting, gathering and tilting the land. How the natural resource of forest attracted the capitalist, who for the sake of raw material altered the natural habitat. The article is vast in scope as it presents the multiple phases of resistance between indigenous tribes and national bourgeois like Birla’s: land rights struggle between locals and migrant and state reformed to provide communal ownership of land. The paper ‘Music in Malabar: culture and aesthetics’ traces the cultural influence of migration and trade activities in port region of Malabar. The imprints of Muslim folklores, music and poetic traditions are deeply evident in popular film music of 1960’s and 1970’s. Musicians like K. Raghvan and M.S. Baburaj seems to be inspired by tunes of Ghazal, considered to be Muslim heritage. ‘The saga of service: A case of early leaders of SIS in Malabar’ is about the services of Servants of India Society created by Gokhle. The society was created as an aftermath of Malabar rebellion 1921-22. To redress the untold miseries of people of Malabar belonging to both Hindu and Muslim communities, the leaders like A. V. Thakkar Bappa who devoted his life for the services and uplift of the Harijan community. ‘Contribution of Admiral Kunjali marakkar to Calicut Navy’ is the clear example of resistance struggle of forgotten heroes. The European history narrates the story of Portuguese hegemony on seas and oceans but it remains but it remains silent on history of resistance. Even Indian history tells the story of King Zamorin fighting with the help of his naval admiral Kunjali, a born Muslim, belonging to the Mappila community of seaman was chief admiral of King Zamorin. Kunjali was successful in establishing a naval base between Kochin and Calicut, hindering the trade as well as military ambitions of European naval powers. Kunjali was a military strategist who initiated Guerilla warfare against heavy slow-moving Portuguese ships with fast moving small boats. With the help of rowing boats, he reached to Europe through Cape of Good Hope. The article is an ode to Kunjali dynasty who dominated trade through Cape of Good Hope and China. ‘Literay Historiography under the eastern and western eyes: a comparative study of Oriental and Occidental Historiography models’ draws a parallel between traditions of literary history in the west and non-west. The author traces the indigenous modes of literature, especially Prakartis where folklores, myth and oral history combine to narrate the story of a hero and many heroes. The writer also contrasts the linear manner of western history with a cyclical notion of history as a repetition. He also believes that western and Indian attitudes towards language and literature are not only exclusive but contradictory. When west treats language as a body or corpus having an origin, process and demise; the Indian concept of language is as ever-present energy. West treats readers as advisors and commentators, while in India reader is an audience. The author is if the view that western literary history is exclusionary because it creats a binary between independent marga (dominant) and indigenous marginalized. Western literary historiography is the strategy to colonize. The last article entitled ‘The idea of Pakistan at 1940’ is an effort to analyze the Indian politics in colonial India. The present collection of Historiographers is not only the “history from below” the hierarchical division of power, but also an alternative conception of future as well, articulated in suggestion of peace, collective security, communal bonding, Environmental preservation and service of marginalized. The untiring efforts of Prof. Dr. Purushottam Singh, the Chief Editor has made Kanpur Historiographers a successful story.
Inventing the New, Re-defining the Old: Bengali Identities in post-1947 Bangla Stories
A study of the history of the Bengal region proves the fact that it is a record of creation and recreation of several identities. These identities had constantly divided and united the people residing within the region. Class, language and region have been the major factors which have conceptualized these identities. However, the Partition of 1947 had rendered its people with identities which were communal in nature and superseded all other identities which had existed in Bengal, so far. Post-1947, the two parts of Bengal, i.e. West Bengal in India and East Pakistan in the newly created Pakistan either redefined their earlier identities or invented new identities. The present paper attempts to trace these identities through available historical accounts and also studies them through the Bengali short stories which deal with the Partition of 1947 and Partition of 1971. The ultimate objective is to conclude that the continually redefined identities and the new invented identities have resisted the formation of identities on the basis of religion. The paper has four sections. The Introduction proposes the aim of the paper and discusses the other works done in the area in brief. The second and the third sections, titled 'Redefining the Old…' and 'Inventing the New…', trace the various Bengali identities which have existed in the region through historical accounts and by analyzing the Bengali short stories based on the Bengal Partitions of 1947 and 1971.
Review of Kumkum Chatterje's The Cultures of History in Early Modern India
Kumkum Chatterje"s The Cultures of History in Early Modern India is an extremely important contribution on a range of themes which include historiography and historical traditions, the relationship between an imperial centre and (its) province, as well as, culture and power. It shows these registers to be concretely interconnected, through a detailed study of various genres of (historical/literary) writing in Sanskrit, Persian, Bengali and English, in Bengal, largely focusing on the 16 th , 17 th and 18 th centuries. Chatterjee attempts to synthesize a conceptual claim about the nature of history writing, with a historical one about the ways in which a "provincial" literary tradition (Bengal is the site) carries within it, elements of both Islamo-Persian and Sanskritic-Brahmanical traditions, formulating them in wholly original ways. The second claim is related to the first; that is to say, such genres can be characterized as History because they reflect, as well as reflect upon, the political processes of Empire building, while at the same time carry a regional inflection. In a related vein, linguistic identity (Bengali) as expressed in a literary tradition "documents" cultural crisscrossing (Persian and Sanskritic).