Browsing by Author "Saha, Anjan"

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Open Access
Criminal tribes & the raj : ideology of control in colonial India
(University of North Bengal, 31-03-2020) Saha, Anjan
‘Criminal tribes’, born criminals or ‘Denotified Tribes’ represent a concept etched onto the minds of people at the time of British rule, varnished over with legislation and preserved for considerable period. The arbitrary categorisation was first made by the company raj in 1871 and this dubious status reigns even today, reducing them to one of the most neglected elements of Indian society. In India in the late 19th century there existed several wandering groups akin to gypsies of Europe. There were travelling magicians, traders, cultivators, pastoralists and forest dwellers. Their so called rootlessness caused severe headache for the authorities. Not only did their wandering existence reinforce an economy the East India Company was attempting to replace with settled agricultural production, but these wanderers might well have proved themselves indistinguishable from roving bands of thugs. Their desire to feel in control of this floating population encouraged the production of official stereotypes like criminal tribes. They have taken recourse to theories of criminology and social control prevalent in the western world, to justify the passing of the Criminal Tribes Act 1871, branding for the first time some tribes as a whole, as criminals. Therefore, in a nutshell, in this essay an effort has been made to find out the philosophical justification/rationalisation of this notorious act and its operation
Open Access
Escaping the Revolution: Interpreting French Migration after 1789
(University of North Bengal, 31-03-2023) Saha, Anjan
French Revolution of 1789 is regarded to be an epoch making event – a watershed in history with ample justification. However, the incident triggered a massive wave of political migration. Émigré (French for emigrant) from all levels of French society dispersed throughout Europe in the 1790s. Politically speaking, these ‘enemies’ of the Revolution belonging overwhelmingly to the Aristocracy and Clergy, attempted to mobilize their host societies against the Revolution, which grew increasingly radical as it spilled across French boundaries. The response of the Revolutionary France was swift and brutal, as the emigres were stripped of their titles, property, rights and promised an immediate visit to guillotine should they dared to return. At the same time they became agents in a multifaceted process of cultural transfer, as part of their attempt to earn their livelihood in exile. They had demonstrated that there were alternatives to the revolutionary process outside of France, before most of them returned to their motherland under Napoleon Bonaparte.