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Papers presented at the National Seminar on Social and Political Tensions in North Bengal Since 1947, held at Alipurduar during 17-18 December 2006.
This is a study of the economic, social, and political changes in Jalpaiguri district (North Bengal) in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The broad focus of the book is on the unfolding of many strands of social and political movements.
In recent decades, India has been witness to the assertion of geographically, culturally and historically constituted distinct and well-defined regions that display ethnic, communal, caste and other social–political cleavages. This book examines the changing configurations of state politics in India. Focussing on identity politics and development, it explores the specificities of the regions within states — not merely as politico-administrative constructs but also as conceived in historical, geographic, economic, sociological or cultural terms. Adopting a comparative approach, the book looks at alternative theoretical approaches — the quest for homeland, identity, caste politics and public policy. This second edition includes a new Introduction that updates the research in the area, while further developing the theoretical framework. One of the first major volumes on federalism in India, including studies from across the nation, this book will be indispensable for students and scholars of political science, sociology, history and South Asian studies.
This book tries to theorize the evolution of identity politics leading to separatist mentalities in India. Constructed ideas of identity have been posing a threat to humanity in the name of separatism. It is now one of the biggest threats to the Indian nation-building process. The Indian government has invested crores of rupees to secure the unity of India. In spite of that, many parts of India are now demanding separate statehood or sovereign nation-state. Demands vary according to the motif, mode and magnitude. But behind every demand for full or partial political autonomy, their remains some unequal treatment which occurs in the eco-socio-political sphere and separatist movements often take place. This Study revolves around two movements led by Rajbanshis and Gorkhas in the Northern part of West Bengal. In the tiny and strategically important North Bengal region, numerous movements are ongoing for getting separate statehood, some notables of which are 'Gorkhaland', 'Kamtapur', and 'Greater Cooch Bihar' movements. Why and how this area is facing this kind of activism is the main thrust of this study. With statistical data and historical references, the authenticity of the claim of 'marginalization' tried to validate. The question of Bengali hegemony and backwardness of North Bengal is also discussed elaborately. This book thus can be an ideal reference copy for the social scientists as well as administrative officials working in/on North Bengal/Northeast India/ ethno-regional separatist movements. This book covers the hundred-year history of movements of two important ethnic groups (Rajbanshis and Gorkhas) of India and touched three most crucial issues–viz. identity, marginality and separatism.
This book explores contesting identities, international politics, migration and democratic practices in the context of globalizing India. Drawing on extensive ethnographic research, it looks at one of the oldest migratory routes across a volatile region in eastern India which is fraught with violent claims of separate statehood. The book offers an account of how the ‘North Bengal’ region has acted as a gateway to migrant populations over time and points to why it must be understood as a shifting and liminal space through a study of Bodoland, Gorkhaland, Kamatapuri, Siliguri and the Greater Cooch Behar movements. It shows the region’s politics of identity or quest for homeland not as a means of compensating for the lack or absence of identity, but as an everyday practice of living that very absence, across borders and boundaries, without arriving at any definitive and stable identity, along with impacts and manifestations in democratic political processes. A major intervention in modern political theory – shedding new light on concepts such as home and homeland, space and self, sovereignty, nation-state, freedom and democracy – this book will be of interest to scholars and researchers of political science, modern South Asian history, sociology and social anthropology, and migration and diaspora studies.
This book examines the nature of ethnopolitics evolving in the Darjeeling hills, located in the Eastern Himalayas. It highlights how in the wake of regional politics minorities pursue alternative avenues to attain rights and recognition. The book provides an astute analysis of competing claims of culture and identity engendered both by demands for regional autonomy and struggles for scheduled tribe status. It highlights the varied forms of ethnic demands often demonstrated through performative and discursive claims. The volume initiates a timely discussion on the discourse of recognition, politics of difference, and alterity which has wider implications and applications to understand South Asian realities. Drawing on rich empirical research, this work will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of politics, anthropology, sociology, tribal studies, ethnography, minority studies, and South Asian studies.
The period from 1872-1947 witnessed the rise of many movements in Bengal, where those who were considered lower castes were mobilised to protest against the inequality and injustice meted out to them in various fields, including religion, politics and education. The focus of their struggle was the social injustice within the Hindu caste hierarchy. Unlike in south and western India where caste movements were often associated with anti-Brahmanical movements, in Bengal it was upgradation of caste from Sudra to Kshatriya varna. The main focus of the study is the Kshatriyaization movement of Rajbansis, the Matua movement of Namasudras, and the colonial policy of ‘Protective Discrimination’ and its impact. It studies the attempt by Rajbansi community to establish themselves as Kshatriyas in the first half of the twentieth century, though the movement started in the late nineteenth century itself. It also includes their struggle against the Brahmanical dominance and the elites of their own community. Alongside the Kshatriyaization movement, a parallel movement for the social uplift started among the Namasudra community, which later spread to northern Bengal. Their struggle actually began from the time of the first Census in 1872, when the census authorities classified the Namasudras as Chandals in the census report. The Namasudra protest movement, hereafter, developed through a different channel provided by a Vaishnava religious sect named Matua, started under a Namasudra leader Harichand Thakur. This book is essential for those wishing to understand the socio-religious movement of the Namasudra and the Rajbansi communities in their historical context. Print edition not for sale in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
In studying the social, political, and economic history of Bengal during 50 critical years, this book unravels the complex relationship between imperialism and nationalism in Calcutta and its hinterland. Here, Ray analyzes both the long-term goals and short-term parochial preoccupations of Bengali nationalists in their struggle against imperialism. He examines how well the Bengalis fared on the all-India platform, how and why Bengali nationalism became divided within the region, and the movement's ability to penetrate from elite Calcutta to the grassroots of provincial Bengali society. Throughout, Ray effectively demonstrates that the dynamics of political change in Bengal lay in the increasing conflict between the European commercial and administrative elite and the Indian business and professional groups before, during and after World War I.