Bengal has long been one of the key centres of civilisation and culture in the Indian subcontinent. However, Bengali identity – "Bengaliness" – is complicated by its long history of evolution, the fact that Bengal is now divided between India and Bangladesh, and by virtue of a very large international diaspora from both parts of Bengal. This book explores a wide range of issues connected with Bengali identity. Amongst other subjects, it considers the special problems arising as a result of the division of Bengal, and concludes by demonstrating that there are many factors which make for the idea of a Bengali identity.
Being Bengali: At Home and in the World: Some Speculations 1. The University of Dhaka and National Identity Formation in Bangladesh 2. Does Caste Matter in Bengal? Examining the Myth of Bengali Exceptionalism 3. Producing and Re-producing the New Woman: A Note on the Prefix `Re´ 4. The Refugee Woman and the New Woman: (En)gendering Middle-Class Bengali Modernity and the City in Satyajit Ray´s Mahanagar (The Big City 1963) 5. Re-Visioning the Subject of Intimacy: Rabindranath Tagore and Post-Colonial Habitations 6. Religion and the Demonic Form of Sacralization: The Case of Swami Vivekananda 7. In Pursuit of the `Authentic´ Bengali: Impressions and Observations of a Contested Diaspora 8. Being Bengali Abroad: Identity Politics among the Bengali Community in Britain 9. Eternal Bengal 10. Bengal(is) in the House: The Politics of National Culture in Pakistan, 1947-1971
Bengal has long been one of the key centres of civilisation and culture in the Indian subcontinent. However, Bengal identity – "Bengaliness" – is complicated by the fact that Bengal is now divided between India and Bangladesh, and by the fact that there is a very large international diaspora from both parts of Bengal. This book explores a wide range of issues connected with Bengali identity. Amongst other subjects, it considers the special problems arising as a result of the division of Bengal, and concludes by demonstrating that there are many factors which make for a single Bengal identity.
Über den Autor
Mridula Nath Chakraborty is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Writing and Society Research Centre at the School of Humanities and Communication Arts, the University of Western Sydney, Australia.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Being Bengali: At Home and in the World: Some Speculations 1. The University of Dhaka and National Identity Formation in Bangladesh 2. Does Caste Matter in Bengal? Examining the Myth of Bengali Exceptionalism 3. Producing and Re-producing the New Woman: A Note on the Prefix 'Re' 4. The Refugee Woman and the New Woman: (En)gendering Middle-Class Bengali Modernity and the City in Satyajit Ray's Mahanagar (The Big City 1963) 5. Re-Visioning the Subject of Intimacy: Rabindranath Tagore and Post-Colonial Habitations 6. Religion and the Demonic Form of Sacralization: The Case of Swami Vivekananda 7. In Pursuit of the 'Authentic' Bengali: Impressions and Observations of a Contested Diaspora 8. Being Bengali Abroad: Identity Politics among the Bengali Community in Britain 9. Eternal Bengal 10. Bengal(is) in the House: The Politics of National Culture in Pakistan, 1947-1971
