Political Imaginaries in Twentieth-Century India - (Critical Perspectives in South Asian History) (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This volume reconsiders India's 20th century though a specific focus on the concepts, conjunctures and currency of its distinct political imaginaries. Spanning the divide between independence and partition, it highlights recent historical debates that have sought to move away from a nation-centred mode of political history to a broader history of politics that considers the complex contexts within which different political imaginaries emerged in 20th century India.

Representing the first attempt to grasp the shifting modes and meanings of the 'political' in India, this book explores forms of mass protest, radical women's politics, civil rights, democracy, national wealth and mobilization against the indentured-labor system, amongst other themes. In linking 'the political' to shifts in historical temporality, Political Imaginaries in 20th century India extends beyond the interdisciplinary arena of South Asian studies to cognate late colonial and post-colonial formations in the twentieth century and contribute to the 'political turn' in scholarship.

Review Quotes

"Manu Goswami and Mrinalini Sinha's edited volume Political Imaginaries in Twentieth-Century India examines what they term "the shifting modes and meaning of the political across India's twentieth-century." Chart[s] new directions in our understanding of the human elements of 20th-century transitions between empire and nation." --Himal

"This is an exciting and wide-ranging collection of scholarship on Indian politics that explores fresh territory in the twentieth century and opens up new possibilities for understanding this transformational era in India and the world." --Taylor C. Sherman, Associate Professor, Department of History, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK

"An outstanding collection of essays that powerfully illuminates the multiple and shifting meanings of the political through an imaginative, rigorous and inter-disciplinary exploration of the idea of the political imaginary in 20th century India." --Niraja Gopal Jayal, Professor in Gender Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK

"An urgent and necessary project, this volume defines and rethinks 'the political.' Comprised of essays by some of the smartest theorists, historians, and scholars of India, it elaborates how we might imagine new political futures and imaginaries that offer radical and revolutionary possibilities." --Durba Ghosh, Professor of History, Cornell University, U.S.A.

"Empirically rich and theoretically sophisticated, this timely volume retells the history of the 20th century by placing decolonization at its centre. Speaking of/from India, it offers a globally salient rethinking of democracy, economy, citizenship, statistics, political symbols and radical dissent. A must read for historians, political philosophers, anthropologists and theorists of the contemporary." --Prathama Banerjee, Professor, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Delhi, India

"This represents the cutting edge of scholarship on political life modern India. Guided by the strong editorial vision of Manu Goswami and Mrinalini Sinha, this stellar, diverse collection of authors bridges regions, languages, and archives to illuminate the breadth of political imaginaries that have shaped modern India, with reverberations across the Global South. This a vital book, which will appeal widely across fields and disciplines" --Sunil Amrith, Professor of History, Yale University, USA

About the Author

Manu Goswami is Associate Professor of History at New York University, USA. The author of Producing India: From Colonial Economy to National Space (Chicago, 2004), her expertise includes 19th and 20th century India, history of economic thought, political economy and social theory.

Mrinalini Sinha is Alice Freeman Palmer Professor of History at University of Michigan, USA. A historian of Modern South Asia and the British Empire, her books include Colonial Masculinity: the 'manly Englishman' and the 'effeminate Bengali' in the late 19th century (Manchester, 1995) and Specters of Mother India: The Global Restructuring of an Empire (Duke, 2006).