Rajat Ray
University of Cambridge
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Indian Economic and Social History Review | 1973
Rajat Ray
During the era of ’high imperialism’ in Bengal from 1870 to 1914, European capital and European enterprise built up a modern industrial complex around the metropolis of Calcutta, which drew its sustenance from the cash crop agriculture of the hinterland. Yet this impressive growth in the manufacture of raw materials, which in turn stimulated the export of primary products and agriculture, seemed to exercise little multiplier effect on the agricultural economy of Bengal. The long-term trends in the agriculture of the province, as reflected in official statistics relating to movements in population and acreage, were slightly downward from the beginning of the twentieth century. The virtual absence of any linkage effects between the growth of modern industry and the state of the rural economy calls for an explanation. The economic basis of the existence of the metropolis of Calcutta-its government, its business, its multifarious activities and professions-was the extraction and transfer of a large surplus from its agricultural hinterland without any equivalent return to
Indian Economic and Social History Review | 1980
Rajat Ray
ever, might expect something more. The title of the work might arouse the expectation of an analytical treatment of the theme of a traditional supremacy dissolving under colonial impact and giving way to a primary resistance mcvement from deep in the rear. The expectation is belied. Pemble has defired in his title a grand theme which a more sociologically inclined historian might profitably explore in future. The social and political structure of this traditional supremacy and the dynamics of the popular rebellion that followed its breakdown is a subject to which modern sociological techniques might be profitably applied along with the tools of
Indian Economic and Social History Review | 1980
Rajat Ray
as we know, was often directed against both zamindars and indigoplanters. An analysis of the social and economic background of its leadership would possibly reveal an important area of rural tension that Palit may have overlooked. Palit also has some novel conclusions to offer on the indigo-rebellion of 1859-60. They contrast rather markedly with some of the more temperate observations of Blair Kling (The Blue Mutiny, Calcutta, 1977, first pub. 1966). For example, Palit has &dquo;little doubt&dquo; (p. 148) that &dquo;the landlords were solely responsible for engineering the indigo uprising ...&dquo; (p. 141, italics added), whereas Kling’s considered opinion is: &dquo;Although the hard pressed ryots and the minor landholders looked to the great zamindars for their initial encouragement, not infrequently the zamindars lost control of the movement ... and the initiative devolved to the lower
Indian Economic and Social History Review | 1979
Rajat Ray
under section 93 prevailed between then and May 1943 when with British support a Muslim League-Akali Ministry was formed. Boycotted by the Congress, the N.W.F.P. Legislative Assembly functioned between May 1943 and March 1945 without any opposition. With the release of the Congress leaders a second Congress ministry was formed in March 1945. During its short tenure of one year, it achieved little. There were no discussions in the assembly on the socio-economic problems of the country. The opposition, consisting mainly of Muslim Leaguers championed feudal interests and preached communalism and separatism. The third and last Congress ministry of the 1946-47 was not qualitatively very different from the earlier ones. The real contribution of the ministries under Dr Khan Saheb was their persistent opposition to communal politics. During the fifteen years covered in this volume, the Congress either boycotted the legislature or was in office. It never formed the opposition. Hence there was little criticism of British rule or debates on national issues in the legislature. The N.W.F.P. legislature in fact played an extremely limited role in the freedom struggle. The book gives the impression of being more a constitutional history of the province than a study of the nationalist movement. The first volume of such a series should have been on one of the three Presidencies whose legislatures have a much longer history and played at least a
Indian Economic and Social History Review | 1977
Rajat Ray
Sarvepalli Gopal’s biography of Jawaharlal Nehru, of which only the first volume covering his life up to 1947 has seen the light of day, has already provoked widely diverging reactions ranging from bitter denunciation to effusive admiration. It has been summarily dismissed, in the Times Literary Supplement, as &dquo;neither a biography of Nehru, nor an adequate history of the nationalist movement from 1919 to 1947.&dquo; The eminent litterateur who made the above observation describes Nehru’s life as a tragedy and then adds, in a pointless quibble : &dquo;And now we have another tragedy-the present biography.&dquo; Altogether different is the reaction of a professional historian who has compared the merits of this volume to Isaac Deutscher’s biography of Trotsky. Deutscher’s work of genius is identified as &dquo;one of the probable creative influences on Gopal’s historical style&dquo; and it is also observed: &dquo;Gopal consciously emulates the quick simplicity and Anglo-Saxon straightforwardness of Christopher Hill’s biography of Oliver Cromwell, God’s Englishman, as well as the political emphasis and rich psychological elucidation of Issac Deutscher’s three volume biography of Trotsky-The Prophet Armed, The Prophet Unarmed, and The Prophet Outcast.&dquo; As will thus be evident, the book has aroused wide interest, and justly so. It is by far the most authentic biography of Nehru, the product of truly massive research and painstaking and far-reaching investigation. But nowhere is the prose heavy-going or ponderous. There are flashes of inspiration, but on the whole the book lacks the sort of magical touch that would justify a comparison with Deutscher’s Trotsky. After all, Nehru was no Trotsky. The subject imposes limitations; and Gopal has wisely opted for producing an authentic biography rather than a literary masterpiece. That sort of inspiration which characterizes Deutscher’s Trotsky is the product of a deep passion and a life-long commitment which is not at all appropriate to a professional historian’s investigation into the life of Nehru, officially financed by a constituted fund. The most impressive feature of Gopal’s biography is his immense command
Indian Economic and Social History Review | 1977
Rajat Ray
Dr Webster traces in detail the Christian community’s complex and variable attitude to nationalism, a discussion which is of particular value as demonstrating that it is an oversimplification to portary the Indian Christians, or the missionaries for that matter, as unswerving and unquestioning loyalists to the British Raj throughout the nineteenth century. He also discusses the manifold implications of the integration of the American Presbyterian mission into broader Christian circles through the movement for church unity. Granted that Christian ideas were in .many ways influential in contributing
Indian Economic and Social History Review | 1976
Rajat Ray
confirms the analysis presented earlier by the author. In some ways, the conditions of farm labourers have worsened. ’Depatronization’ has left the agricultural labourers in a condition of isolation. Landlords are no longer prepared to accept responsibility for the well-being of the Dublas who depend upon them. They are dependent on the landlords as much as the halis were, but no longer receive the aid and protection their predecessors received. Unlike in the past, the Dublas consider their dependence dishonourable and degrading. Unfortunately for them, the government has not been able
Indian Economic and Social History Review | 1973
Rajat Ray; Ratna Ray
Indian Economic and Social History Review | 1980
Rajat Ray
Indian Economic and Social History Review | 1974
Rajat Ray
