Department of History

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://ir.nbu.ac.in/handle/123456789/3711

The Department of History was established in the year 1964, just two years after the foundation of this University. The history of this department is indeed decked with the contribution of many academicians, teachers, research scholars, students, non-teaching members, and others. In 1965, with the initiative of Professor Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya, the then Head of the Department, a University level museum, primarily intended for collecting, preserving, and exhibiting objects of Indian art and antiquity, was founded and named after Akshaya Kumar Maitreya, the famous historian of the colonial period. It is one of the very few History departments of our state which in its syllabus has well-delineated specializations pertaining to the ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary periods. For more than five decades, this department has produced able students, researchers, teachers, and a number of academicians who have received acclamation from every nook and corner of the country. Now the department offers Post Graduate, M.Phil. and Ph.D. courses, besides, giving NET/SET coaching, remedial classes. The department also conducts Study Tour every year for the fourth semester Post Graduate students. It also received various seminar and research grants from UGC, ICSSR, etc. time to time. Significantly, it publishes a peer-reviewed and UGC approved journal, known as Karatoya. The Department has organized a number of special lecture programmes by eminent historians and academicians. From the year 2019, the department has also initiated a monthly Faculty Lecture Programme with a view of sharing the research orientations of the in-house faculty members.

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    Nepali as a matribhasa: Tracing the growth of Linguistic identity among the Nepali-speaking people in India
    (University of North Bengal, 2022-03) Zimba, Topgyal
    Article traces the historical trajectory of language based identity formation among the Nepali speaking people in India. The paper focuses particularly on colonial Darjeeling Hill, where these people were concentrated. The article explores the geo-political and ethno-linguistic context of Nepali speakers in Nepal and India till the establishment of Nepali Sahitya Sammelan (1924), to understand the emergence of Nepali linguistic identity. The paper argues that the political and cultural necessity induced by the colonial policy led to the emergence of language-based identity among the Nepalis in British India.
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    Displacement, Rehabilitation and Resettlement: Bengali Migrants from Assam to Siliguri (1947-1991)
    (University of North Bengal, 2022-03) Paul, Sweety
    Siliguri attracted a bulk of immigrants from Assam to settle down in the region. The unnatural population-growth of Siliguri during the second half of the twentieth century indicates the influx of the evacuees from Assam into the realm. In post-colonial India, Siliguri Sub-division confronted with an unprecedented pace in its development. The mercantile amenities, the ample scope of secondary and tertiary sectors in the town helped the people to get engaged in the commercial field of the region. However, the people initiated their journey in a new way in the town through their own initiatives. A voluminous number of them were the East Bengali Hindu refugees and they should be provided with the Refugee Rehabilitation Scheme of West Bengal. But in reality, they did not find any kind of facilities for their resettlement by the Government. There was also significant number of immigrants who entered into this region to settle for their own financial interests as they wanted to grasp the mercantile opportunities of the town to live better livelihood. The words of these displaced people revealed the truth about their struggle for resettlement in Siliguri after being escaped from Assam. Keywords: 1947 Partition, East-Bengali Refugee,
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    Socio-Economic and Cultural Life of the Bediyas of Bengal during British Rule
    (University of North Bengal, 2022-03) Sufia Khatun
    Bediya is the generic name given to a number of gipsy tribes wandering in different parts of Bangladesh. In ancient and medieval Bengal, the Bediyas have been mentioned in contemporary literature as the ‘antyaja’ castes, displaying snake games and playing magic. During British rule, the Bediyas would live in boats or in houses raised on piles in different parts of Bengal. Unlike the settled cultivating class, they subsisted by selling snake venom, fancy goods, and small articles; by practising indigenous medicine; and by displaying magic, gymnastics, and shows of snakes and animals. A few Bediya families elected their own Sardar, whose decision was binding to all of them. A Bediya woman was more industrious compared to her husband. Their occupations, food habits, social organization, and everyday life were different from those of the settled communities of the country. In society, the Bediyas were treated as low-grade people. Most of the Bediyas followed Islam but were addicted to alcohol and ganja. They worshipped the goddess Manasa and observed many Hindu rituals.
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    From Effeminacy to Revolutionary: A Historical Analysis of the Rise of the Revolutionary Movement in Colonial Bengal
    (University of North Bengal, 2022-03) Ghosh, Subir
    In India, the origins of the revolutionary movement had a long-term historical process. In the early decade of the twentieth century, the revolutionary movement was mainly confined to Bengal, Maharashtra, and Punjab. This article focuses on the origins of the revolutionary movement in colonial Bengal. In Bengal, the revolutionary movement had a historical root. It was the result of the physical culture movement in Bengal. This paper is trying to argue that the concept of the revolutionary movement was not exported from Maharashtra. However, historians like Peter Heehs, Partha Chatterjee, and Bimanbehari Majumdar have argued that the idea of the Bengali revolutionary movement came from Maharashtra. This article discusses that the Bengali revolutionary movement started against the charge of effeminacy and cowardice of Bengali people. Some Bengali intellectuals, like Rajnarayan Bose, Nabagopal Mitra, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, later Sarala Ghosal, Pramatha Nath Mitra, Aurobindo Ghosh, Sister Nivedita, and Jatindranath Banerjee, played a crucial role in forming a revolutionary organisation in Bengal.
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    Emergence of the Local Print Culture in Banaras, 1800-1900
    (University of North Bengal, 2022-03) Sahani, Santosh Kumar
    When the Europeans established most printing presses in different parts of India, an indigenous print culture emerged in Banaras during the nineteenth century. Despite the direct influence of missionaries and the British government, Banaras lacked the mission or government printing presses. It was indigenous people who played a pioneering role in the establishment of printing presses in Banaras. The local patronage, traditionally dominant literate groups and the introduction of the lithography printing press accelerated the growth of the print culture in Banaras. This development marked the transition from private printing press ownership to print entrepreneurs. The development of print culture could be seen in two phases, i.e., the pre-mutiny period and the post-mutiny period, which eventually produced a multilingual literary sphere in nineteenth century Banaras. While discussing all these nuances, this article explores how the Indians established private printing presses and helped in the rise and growth of the local print culture in Banaras in the nineteenth century.
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    Devadasis: A historical analysis
    (University of North Bengal, 2022-03) Lama, Sudash; Mahanta, Sanchita
    Tradition of Devadāsī is a century-old phenomenon. The theme of pleasing the Supreme Being is nothing but a continuous process of devotion and belief in divinity. One association with divine power can be seen in the case of devadasis. These women were considered as the wives of the Gods, but in later periods they were also associated with the Goddesses too. As devadasis was seen as the utmost replica of chaste women because of their connexion with the celestial beings. The temple was the epicentre of the early medieval and medieval society. The temples were mainly donated by the royal families, rich merchants, and merchant guilds to legitimize the feudal polity to form an equation between the deity and the ruler in the world of authority in the agrarian fields as well as in materialistic matters. They were never recognized as widows or deprived of their marital status, as they were married to a god who was immortal. The theme of social constructs changed with in the bygone times; it translated from gender to sex, biological identification to define human beings. The system has gone through erosion in its position because of the existing power struggle of men in the social, political, economic, and cultural yards. In the shadow of patriarchy, devadasis occupied the role of a man, yet remained as like another woman in the social conjuncture. The practice of donating girls in the temples gave birth to a quasi-matrilineal community under the patriarchal equilibrium.
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    Understanding the Real and the Imagined: Birsa Munda 1870- 1902
    (University of North Bengal, 2022-03) Paul, Ratna
    Colonial India witnessed many tribal uprisings against the exploitative and infringing attitude of British rule. One such uprising was led by Birsa Munda, who steered the Munda rebellion in the Chotanagpur plateau of southern Bihar. With the demographic changes caused by the encroachment of outsiders, the native tribal people faced new challenges in maintaining their livelihood, and even their traditional culture and ancient religion faced the threat of gradual erosion. Birsa became a religious preacher, declared himself as the representative of God, and initiated various reforms in the Munda society. Legends broke out, crediting him with some supernatural powers, further advancing his leadership. In principle, he and his followers wanted to establish a ‘Munda Raj,’ and the myths were perhaps popularized to gain the faith and support of the people of his community.
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    Communication Revolution in an Enthusiastic Society: The Revamp of Postal Organisation and its Role in Nineteenth Century Bengal
    (University of North Bengal, 2022-03) Chowdhury, Chanchal
    In the eighteenth century, the communication networks in Bengal were archaic. The province of Bengal was a combination of its thousands of self-sufficient villages. Ordinary people could communicate only with those in their immediate vicinity. Postal communication was not intended for the general public. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, roadways were renovated and railways were introduced. The postal system of the country was thoroughly reformed, and its services were converted into cheaper, more efficient ones and made available to all. Under a hundred years of British rule, the ordinary people of Bengal became more enthusiastic about reading, writing, and communicating with others in distant places. To exchange information, emotions, ideas, and expectations with others, they sent letters in their millions through post offices. They also used the postal service to get printed books and newspapers. This tremendous change in the mental world and behavioural patterns of the Bengalis to expose them and know others by availing of the services of the post office can be called a communication revolution.
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    Forays of the English East India Company into the Kumaon-Garhwal Belt of the Central Himalayas (1800’s-1840’s)
    (University of North Bengal, 2022-03) Gairola, Anukta
    After the Gurkha ruler was defeated in the Anglo-Gurkha war (1814-15), the treaty of Sugauli (1815) was signed and as war indemnity, the areas of Garhwal and Kumaon in the Central Himalayan region along with the territory of Sikkim that belonged to the Gurkha king were transferred to the Company. The paper attempts to explore various reasons of interest that the Company had in gaining access to the Central Himalayan region during the period of 1800’s-1840’s. The paper draws out the importance of the Himalayan region as a haven for the Europeans traveling far from ‘home’. The development of hill stations of Mussourie, Lansdowne, and Nanital as retreat centers attest to the interest of the Company in the region. Furthermore, both land revenue and revenue from the rich forest wealth were important reasons for the Company to gain access to this region. In addition, the new army recruits that were available in the region became an important source for expanding the strength of Company’s army. Last but not least was the trade with Tibet that attracted the attention of the Company. The author of the paper aspires to examine the diverse contributing factors that led the Company to choose the Central Himalayan region as an area for its political expansion.