
Talking Back
The Idea of Civilization in the Indian Nationalist Discourse
Sabyasachi Bhattacharya(Author)
OUP India (Publisher)
Published in December 2011
Book
Hardback
192 pages
978-0-19-807504-2 (ISBN)
Description
The British discourse on India's history, for the greater part of the nineteenth century, was by and large a monologue. This volume highlights how around the turn of the century, Indians began to 'talk back' and question the colonial assumptions in imagining and narrating India's past. This book highlights how the idea of civilization formed one of the strong elements of the Indian nationalist discourse. It examines the debates surrounding the civilization discourse and nationhood. While Gandhi, Tagore or Nehru were the foremost thought-leaders in the representation of Indian civilization in a new way, the author argues that there were many others, mainly academic intellectuals in the areas of sociology, linguistics, intellectual history, and various branches of historiography, who contributed to make 'Indian civilization' a central theme in all forms of Indian studies.
This book will be of considerable interest to scholars and students of modern Indian history particularly those interested in social and intellectual history.
This book will be of considerable interest to scholars and students of modern Indian history particularly those interested in social and intellectual history.
Reviews / Votes
India needed to write its own discourse on civilization to counter global capitalism and its totalizing narrative, and this book is a rich source on those who wrote, and are continuing to write, back. * R. D. Long, CHOICE *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Delhi
India
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Paper over boards
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 221 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
363 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-807504-2 (9780198075042)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
08/2011
1st Edition
OUP
€26.39
Available for download
Person
Sabyasachi Bhattacharya is former Vice Chancellor of Visva-Bharati University; and former professor, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Content
INTRODUCTION; BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX