Inscribing Identity : Essays from Nineteenth Century Bengal

Contents: Foreword. Preface. I. The political environment: 1. Appeal to his countrymen/Babu Keshub Chunder Sen. 2. An apology for the Pubna Rioters/Romesh Chunder Dutt. 3. Joseph Mazzini/Surendranath Banerjea. 4. Speech on the founding of the Indian National Congress/W.C. Bonnerjee. 5. Speech on Congress Resolution on the Repeal of the Arms Act (Extract)/Bipin Chandra Pal. II. Culture and society: 6. The Anglo-Saxon and the Hindu/Michael Madhusudan Dutt. 7. Confessions of a young Bengal/Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay. 8. Beef in ancient India (Extract)/Rajendralala Mitra. 9. Response to the address at Madura/Swami Vivekananda. III. The condition of women: 10. A conference between an advocate for and an opponent of the practice of Burning Widows alive (Part I)/Raja Rammohun Roy. 11. Brief remarks regarding modern encroachments on the ancient rights of females/Raja Rammohun Roy. 12. A sketch on the condition of the Hindoo women/Mahesh Chandra Deb. 13. Marriage of Hindu widows/Iswarchandra Vidyasagar. IV. Education: 14. A prize essay on native female education/Rev. Krishna Mohan Banerjea. 15. A few desultory remarks on the "Cursory review of the institutions of Hindooism affecting the interest of the female sex" contained in the Rev. K.M. Banerjia's Prize Essay on native female education/Baboo Peary Chand Mittra. 16. National education (Extract)/Hurrish Chunder Mookerji. 17. University of Calcutta Convocation Addresses (Extracts)/Gooroodass Banerjee. 18. Principles of university education from the East and the West/Anon. V. Science and industry: 19. Letter to His Excellency the Right Hon'ble William Pitt, Lord Amherst/Raja Rammohun Roy. 20. Letter to R. Macdonald Stephenson on the introduction of the Railways in Bengal/Mutty Lall Seal. 21. On the desirability of cultivation of the sciences by the natives of India (August 2, 1869); Dr. Sircar's Prospectus for the 'Indian Association for the Cultivation of Sciences' in The Hindoo Patriot (January 3, 1870); Review of Vernacular works on Physics (1874)/Mahendralal Sircar. 22. A proposal for school of industry or practical science/Dinanath Sen. 23. Scientific education in India/Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy. VI. Bengali language and literature: 24. Plan for a new spelling book/Baboo Gobinda Chunder Bysak. 25. What he (Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay) did for Bengal/Sri Aurobindo. Annotations. Biographical notes. 

"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." (jacket)