The Historian as an Archivist

This volume of papers by an eminent historian of the last generation provides dependable source-based information on Nawab Mirqasim’s desperate state of mind, Maharaja Nandakumar caught between two worlds, glimpses of the late Mughal period, the age and caste of women who became satis, the salt workers of the eighteenth century, the earliest court records in Bengal and the motivation for western education. The author’s methodical presentation of facts and arguments offers a model for future research. The retrieval of obscure archival material, from India and abroad, has added to the richness of the content. A rare combination of sensitivity and insight is displayed by the author in piecing together this material. This book will be useful to scholars as well as general readers interested in a reliable historical account of India in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. N. K. Sinha (1903–74) was Asutosh Professor of Medieval and Modern History of the University of Calcutta. His interaction with his students led to the growth of a virtual school of modern history based in Calcutta. Among his notable works are Rise of the Sikh Power, Ranjit Singh, Haider Ali and The Economic History of Bengal—3 volumes. He edited the History of Bengal: 1757–1905 published by the University of Calcutta. Pradip Sinha, the editor, taught history in a number of colleges and universities in India and abroad. His published works include Nineteenth Century Bengal—Aspects of Social History and Calcutta in Urban History. Samita Sinha, the compiler, teaches History at Manindra Chandra College, Calcutta. She is the author of Pundits in a Changing Environment—Centres of Sanskrit Learning in Nineteenth Century Bengal.