Karatoya : North Bengal University journal of History, Vol. 11

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://ir.nbu.ac.in/handle/123456789/3931

Message from the Editorial Desk

We are delighted to present the eleventh issue (March 2018) of Karatoya: North Bengal University Journal of History (ISSN 2229 4880, a Refereed and Peer Reviewed Journal, UGC approved, Serial no: 42512) for the readers, scholars, learners and researchers of history. It has incorporated sixteen research articles from different areas of history, reflecting the expansion and diversification that has occurred in historical research in India in recent years. History no longer is the representation of the past with stories of kings and kingdoms and wars and truce, but it is the profundity of the past to comprehend the foundation of the socio-economic and cultural milieu of the present. The journal examines the regional and national history with this perception, pays attention to the neglected areas of India’s past, and keeps into consideration the new directions of history by adopting an interdisciplinary approach. It provides a forum for well-known researchers, faculties of reputed institutes and budding scholars of history. 

We are thankful to all the contributors for bringing up important historical nuances across the local and national boundaries. A special thanks is given to Prof. Mary Hanneman, Fullbright Nehru Visiting Scholar at the Department of History, University of North Bengal in 2019, for contributing a well-researched article of academic excellence.  All the articles in the journal explore a wide range of newly emerging paradigms of historical research which consist of urbanization, power and society, labour issues, industrialization during the post-independent period, environmental history, plantation economy as part of the capitalist economy, post-structuralism, national movement, identity formation, subaltern history, communalism, partition, municipal administration, art, architecture and regional history. We are hoping that all these articles will provide new perceptions of the social, economic and cultural dimensions of history to the researchers and academic society.

We convey our deep gratitude to the Honourable Vice-Chancellor, University of North Bengal, The Registrar, and The Finance Officer for their support on this academic endeavour. We are grateful to the cooperation and encouragement provided by the colleagues of the Department of history in publishing this journal. A heartfelt thanks to all the reviewers who have taken the responsibility of reviewing the articles in spite of their busy academic schedule. We express our appreciation for all those who have directly or indirectly helped in the publication of this volume. The unfailing cooperation and help of the officials and staffs of the North Bengal University Press are greatly remembered for publishing the journal within a short span of time. 

The editors have worked as a team in editing, processing and proofreading as required in the publication of the journal. The facts, opinions and conclusion reached in the articles are solely the concern of the author and the editor- in- chief or the associate editor of the journal does not accept any responsibility for the same. 

 

Dr. Dahlia Bhattacharya (Editor-in-Chief)

Dr. Amrita Mondal (Associate Editor)



Browse

Filters

201816

Advanced Search

Filter by

Settings

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 16
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Public Associations in North Bengal from the early years of the 19th Century to Independence
    (University of North Bengal, 2018-03) Biswas, Supam
    Societies and associations were the harbingers of the new awakening in Bengal among urban middle class. Bengal or India had not known any such societies organised for collective thinking and discussion until the 19th century. The journey of pubic Associations in Undivided Bengal began with the foundation of Atmiya Sabha, Brahma Samaj led by Raja Rammahan Roy the ‘Father of Modern India’. The northern part of colonial Bengal also did not lag behind much in this field. A large number of socio – cultural, religious, political Associations grew up under the patronage of urban middle class, Jotedars, merchants, tea planters and the members of royal family Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri. Professional historians appear to be reluctant to come forward to undertake this task in a concerted and coordinated manner. This is the vacuum that this article seeks to fill in.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Contributions of the Muslims for Creative Writings: A Study on North Bengal with Special Reference to Malda (1835- 1947)
    (University of North Bengal, 2018-03) Das, Biswajit; Pain, Swapan Kumar
    The major part of population in few districts of West Bengal especially Malda are the Muslims. In the early phase of colonial period, the Muslims were not able to take the advantage of western education and even they refused to learn English language and as a result of which they lagged behind the Hindus in various types of writing. But the fact is that, they did not lack skills in writing. The number of their writings was relatively small but their contribution to different types of writing was important. They also tried to enhance the writing culture of this region. The present article will focus the historical and literary works of the Muslim writers of North Bengal with special reference to Malda from academic point of view.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Urbanization of the Siliguri town: Understanding the transformation from Union Board to Municipal Corporation (1915-1994)
    (University of North Bengal, 2018-03) Khasnobish, Sudip
    Siliguri situated in the foothills of the Himalayas and about eight hundred and forty two feet above the sea level is now a part of the district of Darjeeling in the state of West Bengal .During the colonial period there were three police stations under Siliguri subdivision i.e Siliguri, Phansidewa and Khoribari. Siliguri is termed as the uncrowned capital of Northern part of Bengal popularly known as North Bengal. Some notable scholars and academicians have contributed in the studies of urbanization of Darjeeling hill town and very few academic works have been done. The focus was largely on the growing commercial activities of Siliguri after post- partition era. Certain areas of study have not been touched. The proposed article intends to understand the various issues or factors which transformed Siliguri from a sleepy hamlet to a Municipal Corporation within a very short period during 20th century and to find out the importance of its strategic geographical location in the context of ongoing Indo-Chinese conflict after Doklam.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Shattered minds: Controlling the body in the lunatic asylums in colonial India (1858-1920)
    (University of North Bengal, 2018-03) Bhattacharya, Dahlia
    Taming with discipline and confinement the ‘mentally ill’ was largely a colonial concept. The colonial government particularly after 1857 revolt became more concerned about the insane and in controlling insanity they passed Lunatic Acts and constructed asylums throughout the country. In identifying the lunatics the colonial institution used Victorian morality rather than clinical observation. The vagrants and beggars were the mostly classified as insane by the British which was in contrary to the Indian concept of saints and sages. The ganja smokers, hemp and alcohol addicted men were also identified as lunatics. The Victorian morality recognized ‘work’ as a therapy and the ‘mentally ill’ were made to work in the garden, carpentry, grinding wheat and other works leading to monetary gain. The funds were applied to maintain the asylums, sometimes the local jails and led to profit for the British. The paper seeks to look into the colonial policy towards the asylums and the hard work imposed upon the lunatics leading to asylum ‘industries’ and how it received a new direction of economic gains.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Working Class and Politics of Drinking in Bengal (1856-1900)
    (University of North Bengal, 2018-03) Mondal, Amrita
    In colonial Bengal, being the victims of economic exploitation, the working class’s idea of drinking pleasure faced the moral question of the Indian reformists, Europeans and Christian missionaries. These three groups presented three perceptions on the drinking pleasure of the working class; however, all these narratives indicated that excessive drinking led this particular class into the paths of immorality and financial distress. The paper, while revisiting all these narratives, especially colonial excise policies, finds out patterns of drinking practice of the working class and the reasons for changing the perception of the society on working-class drinking and redefining drinking pleasure of the working class in the nineteenth century Bengal.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Suhrawardy and the ‘Great Calcutta Killing’: Revisiting the Episode and its Consequences
    (University of North Bengal, 2018-03) Bhattacharjee, Dhananjoy
    Soon after the installation of the League Ministry headed by H.S. Suhrawardy in Bengal, the Cabinet Mission announced its draft plan on 16 May 1946 rejecting the Muslim League’s demand for ‘Pakistan’ which prompted the League Council to give a clarion call to all the Muslims to go for ‘Direct Action’ for achieving ‘Pakistan’. Following the Council’s decision, Suhrawardy, the Bengal Premier-cum Home Minister, came forward to observe the ‘Direct Action Day’ on 16 August 1946 declaring a public holiday on that day which brought disastrous consequences in Calcutta as the city witnessed communal riot, blood-shed and a ‘reign of terror’ for four days. The entire episode vitiated Bengal politics, embittered Hindu-Muslim relationship and intensified communal tension which altogether made the partition inevitable in 1947.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    The Origin and Growth of Kalimpong as an Urban Hill Station in Colonial India: A Historical Study
    (University of North Bengal, 2018-03) Roy, Dipesh
    Urbanization has not been uniform all over the world. Different ages have witnessed localized growth. The degree of urbanization of a nation is generally defined as a proportion of the population resident in urban places. Kalimpong as a hill urban centre was developed later than the most hill stations in India. Kalimpong was nowhere on the map of India before 1865. Actually, the region of Kalimpong was originally a part of Sikkim from which it was taken over by Bhutan. Finally following a defeat in the Anglo- Bhutanese war in 1865 Bhutan handed over the tract to the British government of India in 1865. The trend of urbanization in Kalimpong was not same as the satellite town of Darjeeling rather Kalimpong civil station had a character of its own, totally different from the seasonal retreats by virtue of their social life, their good spirits and style. Above all it was meant for the Indians and Anglo- Indians.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Commercial cash crop and the development of capitalist economy: A study of colonial tea plantations in Darjeeling hills
    (University of North Bengal, 2018-03) Sarkar, Tahiti
    The present study focuses primarily on the development of Darjeeling hills as a region of tea plantation since the beginning of the mid-nineteenth century. The development of tea plantation ushered in infusion of colonial capital, which completely altered the existing feudal economy. Darjeeling’s potential and possibilities as a zone of tea cultivation had attracted the immediate attention of the EIC officials who sought to transform the almost uninhabited forested tract of Darjeeling into a tea region. Large tracts of virgin forest and grasslands were cleared by British Planters and cultivated with tea. In establishing and cultivating their estates it was apparent that the planters were initially able to secure labor from the neighboring Nepal hills. In fact, tea as commercial plantation in Darjeeling since early fifties of the nineteenth century had been a sheer coincidence which was taken place as a part of larger imperial project. Since then tea continued to be the backbone of the economy of Darjeeling hills. The expansion of tea industry in Darjeeling had fundamentally altered the nature of political economy of Darjeeling hills and that too at the cost of forests, ecology and environment in particular. The colonially induced expanding tea plantation lovably called ‘imperial cash crop’, owned and engineered by the British planters under the patronage of British East India Company gave rise to an insular economy hitherto unknown by the indigenous people lived in so far on tradition based subsistence economy. The substantial quantum of profits accrued from Darjeeling tea used to be siphoned out to Europe and tea labourers had to be kept satisfied with wages only. Such a situation gave rise to a kind of dependent development economy in Darjeeling under the aegis of new technology transformation. In this way, as a part of grand imperial political project, Darjeeling hill was drawn into the world capitalist system.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Pan-Asianism: Rabindranath Tagore, Subhas Chandra Bose and Japan’s Imperial Quest
    (University of North Bengal, 2018-03) Hanneman, Marie L.
    Bengali intellectuals, nationalists and independence activists played a prominent role in the Indian independence movement; many shared connections with Japan. This article examines nationalism in the Indian independence movement through the lens of Bengali interaction with Japanese Pan-Asianism, focusing on the contrasting responses of Rabindranath Tagore and Subhas Chandra Bose to Japan’s Pan-Asianist claims.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    From Doro to Dock: Transformation of Haldia Port Complex
    (University of North Bengal, 2018-03) Das, Abhinandan
    In West Bengal an example of post-1947 industrialization is Haldia industrial zone that flourished in the verge of liberalisation and privatisation and this region was anticipated as one of the important centres of industrial resurgence in West Bengal. However, it was first developed as a river-port in late 1960s to reduce the burden of century old Calcutta port. This article is an attempt to investigate the genesis of Haldia port complex. It examines whether this port based urban industrial space was developed aiming at national requirement or to supplement the foreign interest and how far it changed the livelihood of local population.