Inscribing Identity: Essays from Nineteenth Century Bengal

Inscribing Identity : Essays from Nineteenth Century Bengal, edited by Krishna Sen in collaboration with Ramkrishna Bhattacharya, is a collection of twenty-five essays and long extracts, all written originally in English between 1818 and 1899 by eminent Bengali thinkers, leaders, scholars, scientists and business men of that era. The authors range from Raja Rammohun Roy and Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay to Iswarchandra Vidyasagar, Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo, and from Sir Surendranath Banerjee and Bipin Chandra Pal to Hurrish Chunder Mookerji, Justice Sir Gooroo Dass Banerjee, Mutty Lal Seal, Dr. Mahendralal Sircar and Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray. The selections, which reflect the major movements, debates and controversies of those eventful years in the history of Bengal, have been grouped under six main headings–the political environment, culture and society, the condition of women, education, science and industry and Bengali language and literature. Some date from the period of the Bengal Renaissance and some from the immediately succeeding decades, and mirror the quick-silver Bengali mind in its panoramic sweep from the poetic to the practical. Collectively, the pieces represent the myriad ways in which Bengali intellectuals came to terms with or creatively appropriated Western modernity, how they articulated and confronted emerging political and social crises, how deeply they thought about building new institutions such as universities and industry and a free press, and their dreams for a resurgent Bengal. The notes that follow provide biographical sketches of the authors, set each piece within its specific socio-historical context, and provide exhaustive annotations. As a record of the inscription of a challenging new identity in a tempestuous period of India's colonial history, this volume aims to serve as a meaningful introduction to one of the most significant socio-cultural locations that contributed to the making of modern India.