With the rise of British colonization of South Asia in mid-late 18 century came western ideas of the “public”, contextualized in spatial, social and political terms. The later construction of “public” spaces during mid-late 19th century, like parks, evidences that overtime the municipalities, consisting of both Indian and European officials, attempted to alter the landscape of the major cities in an effort to replicate the sociopolitical environment of the western world. However, although, as Sudipta Kaviraj argues, notions of the common or collective identity readily existed in India, adoption of a socio-politically defined “public” sphere proved to be difficult precisely because the ideas were not organically grown but rather were transplanted (88). Consequently, the conflicts that arose from the inclusion of aforementioned ideals within the indigenous ideology had impacts on the physical layout of the colonial city.
In Calcutta, and in other provinces as well, common spaces, structures and activities surely existed but did not align with the European philosophy of the “public”. Open spaces for games, festivals and Puja’s were common features of many villages (Kaviraj 88). Even though there were no legal or official markings for the space, it was assumable that these commons fit the colonial definition of a “public” space.
Accordingly, municipal committees were formed in 1862 to govern the use of urban space and property. As such Indians were forced to align their property claims within European definitions of the “public” versus private. In one such case that Glover extracts, a shopkeeper Nabi Baksh built a mosque without government permission. He persuaded the officer in charge to let him proceed with building because t...
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...o be unsustainable due the influx of refugees. The refugees’ conceptions of public space also radically altered the physical make up of the city as Kaviraj comments the destitute, “ …appreciated the physical stratum of the stature or railings rather than their symbolic or aesthetic values, “ (Kaviraj 107). The occupation of parks like Deshapriya led to the creation of new public spheres. Thus it’s seen that the universality is achieved at least on a class-based scale in Calcutta. On a different note, Glover’s observations lend to the notion that during colonial times construction of public/private structures was dependent on how well one could articulate or manipulate their claims within the European framework. This is because an elected authority could vote upon claims to “public interest” because they were in theory representatives of the interest (Glover 9).
In order to understand why Whitty’s argument is effectively communicated it must be noted that this article was published in the politically progressive magazine, Mother Jones. The audience of Mother Jones mostly consists of young adults, mostly women, who want to be informed on the corruptness of the media, the government and the corporate world. In order to be fully effective in presenting her points, Whitty starts her article by creating a gloomy imagery through her story of the city of Calcutta and the hard lives which its citizens live. Through her use of words such as “broken down…. Smoky streets” to describe the scene at Calcutta, she is able to create this gloomy image. She ties this gloomy story to how the population of Calcutta is the reason for the harsh living environment and how immense its population density is when compared to cities like New York. Additionally, she discusses how the increase in population has caused harsh lives for individuals in the Himalayas, the rest of India and the rest of the world. Through these examples she ties the notion that the root causes of such hard lives are because of the “dwindling of resources and escalating pollution,” which are caused by the exponential growth of humankind. She goes on to
In order to raise awareness of the staggering injustices, oppression and mass poverty that plague many Indian informal settlements (referred to as slum), Katherine Boo’s novel, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, unveils stories of typical life in a Mumbai slum. Discussing topics surrounding gender relations, environmental issues, and corruption, religion and class hierarchies as well as demonstrating India’s level of socioeconomic development. Encompassing this, the following paper will argue that Boo’s novel successfully depicts the mass social inequality within India. With cities amongst the fastest growing economies in South Eastern Asia, it is difficult to see advances in the individual well-being of the vast majority of the nation. With high
... India had a caste dimension. Games, holidays, music, and leisure time activities varied greatly by the social group into which one was born. As in other aspects of daily life, accident of birth had a significant role. Thus by studying the recreational life of 19th century people, we can more fully understand the societies in which they belonged.
The first perception discussed in the essay compares the way the Indians run their form of government to that of the English. He notes how the Indian are able to run a government without police, prisons, or punishment, and instead it is run on a sort of basis of respect with “great order and decency” (Norton, 477). When someone speaks in the Indian counsel everyone listens and remains silent, and once the speaker is finished the rest remain silent to allow time for th...
Butalia, Urvashi. The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India. Durham, NC: Duke UP, 2000. Print.
Nicholas B Dirks. (1989). The Invention of Caste: Civil Society in Colonial India: Social Analysis. The International Journal of Social and Cultural Practice. No. 25, pp. 42-52
2 Stein, Burton (2001), A History of India, New Delhi and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp. xiv, 432,
A joyful scene is in view, there is a family celebrating an event and making quite a ruckus with an abundance of food and music. The bride is beautiful in her dress, and her family picks her up and carries her to her husband. They are not headed for the alter however, but for a fiery funeral pyre. There her family will toss her into the fire, and this widow will join her dead husband in the afterlife, prove her commitment to him and to her faith. In the corner stand two well-dressed British men, with their faces turned away from the scene they find dreadful. There is a clear contrast between the British and the Indians here regarding this practice called sat. This scene paints the picture created by the missionary James Pegg and it seems to say a lot about the relationship between Britain and India during the nineteenth century. This state of the British being present but taking no action seems to summarize the relations between India and Britain when it came to sati for a time. However, there came a point when British officers started making illegal certain kinds of sati, and eventually banned it all together. This makes one wonder what sparked the change from passivity to such strong action. This article will examine the change and try to prove the point that a fear of sati on the part of the British made them want to get rid of this unfamiliar practice. The article will try to verify the stance that the British who outlawed sati felt threatened by it because of its strangeness, the lack of control they had over it, and the bad reputation it gave to Britain since they claimed to be a civilizing and good nature upon India; by outlawing it they regained control and were able to maintain a good character for their nation. Befor...
Johnson David A., ‘A British Empire for the twentieth century: the inauguration of New Delhi, 1931’, Urban History, 35 (2008), pp. 462-84.
“The notion of a single hierarchy or multiple hierarchies based on purity and pollution is inadequate to address the reality of caste in India. It fails to recognize the inequality of castes founded on unequal access to land and political power, and the consequent exploitation of the lower castes by the higher castes that was intrinsic to the system. Alternatively, it is argued that the status of a caste in the caste system was determined above all by its access to land, which also carried with it political power and social honour” (Singh 2008: 119).
Another important element of the distinction between metropolitan and colonial spaces is the understanding that this distinction exists because of the differences in power. Said defines metropolitan space as a “socially desirable empowered space (52).” He goes on to say that metropolitan spaces are connected to colonial spaces by the “design, motive and development” of these colonial spaces. Further, he says that cultures want to move into these colonial spaces because they are viewed as ‘desirable but subordinate (52).” This point is especially important to note. There is a definite understanding that those who occupy the metropolitan space have the power while those who occupy the colonial space do not.
Sri Nandanandana, “Preaching in India’s Northeast For Cultural Preservation” VaiShnava News February 21, 2003; Retrieved information Dec. 9,2003 http://www.vnn.org/world/WD0302/WD21-7837.html
Indian history provides umpteen examples of mobility of people that undoubtedly was motivated by varied interests, facilitated the cultural exchanges with the rest of the world. Bhabha remarks in his Location of Culture: “The transnational dimension of cultural transformation -- migration, diaspora, displacement, relocation – makes the process of cultural translation a complex form of signification. The natural(ized), unifying discourse of nation, peoples, or authentic folk tradition, those embedded myths ...
BOSE, Sugata and JALAL Ayesha. Modern South Asia: history, culture, political economy. London, Routledge, 2011
Bengali 'Bhadralok' and Educational Development in 19th Century Bengal, Economic and Political Weekly 28 may 1988