Modern Indian History

The executive council of the State University in Bhopal recently passed a resolution asking the Madhya Pradesh government to rename the institution to Vagdevi Bhojpal University. "Vagdevi" refers to Goddess Saraswati, and "Bhojpal" is the old name for Bhopal, tied to Raja Bhoj. Saraswati is the goddess of knowledge and wisdom, and Raja Bhoj was a legendary scholar. Back in 1970, it used to just be called Bhopal University. This new proposal might seem perfectly fine-until you realize that back in 1988, under Congress Chief Minister Arjun Singh, it was renamed Barkatullah University to honor a massive figure in the freedom struggle from the Ghadar Party. So, the real question here is: is this name change actually about celebrating Raja Bhoj, or is it just an excuse to strip a Muslim name off the university?

The Hindu decolonial right is no different than the Anglo restorationist right, sharing striking sociological and intellectual characteristics. Both movements draw much of their energy from segments of the lower-middle class and are marked by a form of partial education that is often accompanied by a striking absence of history or curiosity. Their rhetoric tends to be intensely ideological, frequently dismissive of moderation, and often indifferent to democratic restraint. Both camps rely on a simplified and racialized narrative in which a small group of Englishmen are portrayed as having merely conquered and exploited India, a framing that conveniently sustains their respective political fantasies. For the British side, this narrative channels a sense of impotence amid perceived national decline, while for the Indian side it sustains a posture of historical grievance that diverts attention from contemporary shortcomings such as corruption, institutional weakness, and limited achievement. In both contexts, the discourse is animated by a resentful social class seeking redress through historical reinterpretation.

The Marathi Theatre is sort of an art-environmental fixture in itself, enveloping and defining the socio-cultural and literary disposition of Maharashtra. This is an academic research paper on the History of Marathi Theatre from folk traditions to modern experimental drama. The study commences with ancient forms of performing arts such as Tamasha, Dashavatar Gondhal and Kirtan, which cover the grassroots of folk cultural dramas. It traces the beginnings of modern Marathi theatre, initiated by Vishnudas Bhave, and of musical theatre through the Sangeet Natak movement, as well as by playwrights such as Annasaheb Kirloskar. The scope further extends to the social-reformist era of Marathi drama associated with the pioneering thrust of our modern playwrights like Vijay Tendulkar, and to the subsequent decades of politically charged writing by professionals like Satish Alekar & Mahesh Elkunchwar that challenged the naturalness of theatre through deep psychology or political critique. This paper explores the persistence of Marathi literature to change definition given the time and circumstances, while reminding itself that art must be rooted in human experience and serve the norms of society.

Reconstructing the historical chronology of ancient India is an inherently multidisciplinary endeavour requiring the reconciliation of literary, epigraphic, genealogical, archaeological, genetic, linguistic, archaeoastronomical, climatological, and geological evidence. However, much of the world chronology constructed by modern historians during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries was established without adequate multidisciplinary validation. In many cases, dogmatic theories and entrenched historical narratives were developed to reject the traditional antiquity claimed by ancient civilizations and, indirectly, to preserve the Biblical chronological model prevalent at that time. Consequently, the antiquity of Indian civilization has often been significantly underestimated through an overreliance on the absence of archaeological evidence for the period spanning the Vedic era to the Mahabharata era, while extensive archaeoastronomical, literary, and genealogical traditions were largely ignored, dismissed or inadequately examined. Therefore, a comprehensive reassessment of the chronology of India is essential through a genuinely multidisciplinary framework that systematically integrates descriptive archaeoastronomical evidence with literary, genealogical, archaeological, geological, climatological, linguistic, and genetic data.

The demand for Pakistan did not emerge overnight. It was the result of decades of political experiences, social changes, and growing concerns among the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. Like travelers on a long and uncertain journey, Muslims gradually came to the realization that their future, identity, and rights could only be fully protected in an independent homeland. When the British ruled India, Muslims and Hindus lived side by side, sharing the same land but often following different religions, cultures, traditions, and social values. For many years, Muslims hoped that these differences could coexist peacefully within a united India. However, political developments in the early twentieth century began to raise serious questions about their future.

Following up on last year’s round table organized by the Balkan Studies Research Unit and focusing on the rich collections from archives of Roman Catholic institutions – such as the Congregation of Propaganda Fide, the Holy Office, and the Society of Jesus –, this round table aims to put sources drawn from regional archives in the center of the study of the confessional and religious history of the Balkans. Researchers working on different regions, themes, and time periods will bring together their experience with such archives, shedding light on their potential for future research, but also problematizing archival silences and difficulties in accessing collections.
From the Aegean archipelago to the Banat, from Sofia to Budapest, from Dubrovnik to Bosnian monasteries, the participants will discuss how to connect sources from different – and at times unexpected – places within a unified analytical framework.
The round table thus aims to foster dialogue on integrating local archival material more fully into the study of Catholic and other confessional and religious groups – Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish, Armenian – in the Ottoman and non-Ottoman Balkans.

ABSTRACT

This study presents a Bayesian time-calibrated phylogenetic analysis of Satpuda Bhoyari's divergence within the Western Indo-Aryan macro-family, using three complementary computational historical linguistics frameworks: (1) BEAST2 Bayesian phylogenetic inference with a Relaxed Lognormal Clock and Binary Covarion substitution model; (2) Bayesian Posterior Predictive Checking (PPC) for model adequacy assessment; and (3) Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) for independent divergence time validation. The input data is a 200-item binary cognate matrix constructed from the authenticated Satpuda Bhoyari Lokgeet corpus and lexical dataset across six taxa (Bhoyari, Marwari, Mewadi, Rangdi, Malvi, Bundeli). Historical calibration priors are anchored to documented Western Indo-Aryan attestation dates.

BEAST2 analysis estimates Bhoyari divergence from Core Rajasthani at a posterior mean of 700 years before present (≈ 1325 CE), with a 95% Highest Posterior Density (HPD) interval of 575–825 BP (≈ 1200–1450 CE). Posterior node probability at the Proto-Bhoyari node is 0.92 — strong phylogenetic support. The relaxed clock identifies a three-phase trajectory: Proto-Bhoyari founding (~1300–1400 CE), Malwa contact phase (~1500–1700 CE), and Satpuda stabilization (~1700 CE onward). The Bayesian Skyline model shows a population proxy dip at founding, followed by gradual expansion during the Malwa phase and stabilization plateau post-1700 CE.

PPC confirms adequate model fit: all three summary statistics (mean pairwise Hamming distance, homoplasy index, normalized tree height) fall within the 95% simulated range. ABC independently confirms the divergence estimate: posterior mean ≈ 680 BP, with Model A (~1300 CE split) receiving posterior probability 0.71 vs Model B (~1500 CE split, P=0.19) and Model C (~1700 CE split, P=0.10). SplitsTree5 phylogenetic network analysis reveals moderate reticulation (δ = 0.21) confirming Malwa contact influence without altering primary Rajasthani inheritance. Five independent computational methods converge on a single conclusion: Satpuda Bhoyari diverged from Core Rajasthani ~1300–1400 CE and was never derived from Malvi.

Satpuda Bhoyari (Pawari) exhibits lexical and phonological similarities with Malvi as a result of an extended Malwa contact phase lasting approximately 250–300 years during historical migration and settlement processes. However, these similarities are primarily superficial and arise from areal convergence rather than genetic affiliation.

Subsequent linguistic surveys and regional classifications, relying largely on such surface features, placed Bhoyari within the Malvi subgroup. Nevertheless, a deeper structural analysis—particularly of its phonology, morphology, and core grammatical system—reveals a significantly closer alignment with the Core Rajasthani linguistic group.

Therefore, Bhoyari is more appropriately understood as a southern extension of the Rajasthani dialect continuum, and its classification under Malvi represents a case of contact-induced misclassification rather than true linguistic derivation.

Results

The present linguistic and computational analysis not only establishes the phylogenetic position of Satpuda Bhoyari (Pawari) but also provides strong indirect historical evidence regarding the migration trajectory of the Bhoyar Pawar community.

Results
The convergence of five independent Bayesian methods—BEAST2, Bayesian Skyline, Posterior Predictive Checking, Approximate Bayesian Computation, and SplitsTree5—confirms that Bhoyari diverged from the Core Rajasthani linguistic group around 1300–1400 CE. This linguistic divergence is not merely a structural phenomenon; it reflects a real historical separation of a speech community from the Rajasthani region.

Crucially, the presence of a prolonged Malwa contact phase (approximately 250–300 years), supported by measurable contact parameters (δ ≈ 0.21), lexical borrowing patterns, and demographic expansion signals, indicates that this migrating population did not move directly to the Satpuda region. Instead, it passed through and remained in the Malwa region for several generations, allowing significant but surface-level linguistic interaction with Malvi.

This sequence—Rajasthani origin → Malwa contact → Satpuda stabilization—is not an assumption but a model consistently supported by multiple independent datasets and analytical frameworks.

Therefore, the linguistic evidence aligns closely with and strongly supports the historical migration narrative of the Bhoyar Pawar community:



Rajasthani Origin (~1300 CE):

The divergence of Bhoyari from Core Rajasthani indicates that the ancestral Bhoyar Pawar population was originally part of the Rajasthani linguistic and cultural sphere.





Malwa Phase (~1400–1700 CE):
The statistically detectable Malwa contact phase demonstrates a prolonged period of settlement or interaction in the Malwa region, during which linguistic convergence with Malvi occurred.



Satpuda Settlement (~1700 CE onwards):

The stabilization phase marks the final establishment of the community in the Satpuda region (the Betul–Chhindwara zone), where Bhoyari developed into its present form.

Importantly, this linguistic reconstruction provides independent scientific validation of the community’s migration history, separate from oral traditions, genealogies, or historical texts. In other words, the language itself preserves the migration pathway.



Key Inference

The Bhoyari language functions as a linguistic record of migration: it indicates that the Bhoyar Pawar community originated in Rajasthan, underwent a significant Malwa phase, and later settled in the Satpuda region.

Thus, this study goes beyond classification. It establishes that:

Bhoyari is structurally Rajasthani, confirming its origin.
Malvi influence is contact-based, confirming the Malwa phase.
Final linguistic stabilization occurred in Satpuda, confirming settlement.


Final Statement

Language here is not merely a medium of communication—it is historical evidence.

In the case of Bhoyari, it preserves and reflects the Rajasthan → Malwa → Satpuda migration pathway of the Bhoyar Pawar community.



Five methods | One conclusion: Bhoyari ← Core Rajasthani ~1300 CE | NOT from Malvi | But Classified under Malvi | Satpuda stabilization ~1700 CE | PP = 0.92

India gained freedom from British colonial rule in 1947 and was subsequently divided into two sovereign nations; India and Pakistan. It was marked by extensive bloodshed, devastation, rape, abduction and evacuation of masses from their homelands. Riots broke out in Central districts of Punjab in March 1947 following the resignation of coalition ministry under Khizar Hayat Khan and persisted for many months. In the coming months, communal frenzy continued in all five divisions of Punjab. Jullundur division also witnessed communal unrest as innocent people paid the price of the freedom with their blood. The present paper delves deep into the communal anguish and violence in Jullundur division which ultimately led to the forced migration and ethnic cleansing of the communities from their native places.

Partition of Indian subcontinent into India and Pakistan is a permanent blot on British rule in India. In February 1947, the British government announced its decision to transfer of power in India before June 1948. The announcement resulted in the deteriorated law-and-order situation in Punjab. Due to the continuous violence and destruction, the Khizar Hayat Khan ministry collapsed in March 1947. Despite the imposition of martial law, communal conflict raged in Lahore and Rawalpindi from March onwards. By mid-July over 700 non-Muslim homes had been burnt down. The present research paper traces out the devastation and bloodshed in Ambala division of united Punjab followed by British Prime Minister Attlee's announcement of transfer of power in Indian hands before June 1948.

The decade between 1937 and 1947 marked the final, decisive phase of British colonial rule in India, culminating in the subcontinent's independence and its simultaneous vivisection along religious lines. This study examines the intertwined trajectories of electoral politics, constitutional negotiations, and intensifying power struggles that transformed the demand for Pakistan from a bargaining counter into an irreversible political reality. The Congress's impressive victory in the 1937 elections and the formation of ministries in eight provinces and the Muslim League's decisive defeat in these elections, followed by its exclusion from power-sharing in Congress-ruled provinces, catalyzed a profound organizational and ideological reorientation under Muhammad Ali Jinnah. By 1940, the League had articulated the Lahore Resolution, reframing Muslim political identity from minority safeguards to the demand for sovereign nationhood. The 1945-46 provincial and central elections, conducted on an expanded but still limited franchise, dramatically validated the League's claim to represent the majority of Indian Muslims, providing empirical legitimacy to the two-nation theory. The research argues that the collapse of the Cabinet Mission Plan in 1946 represented the last viable opportunity for a united India. Subsequent communal violence, the Interim Government's paralysis, and the British decision to advance the transfer of power created a momentum toward Partition that proved impossible to arrest. By focusing on the interplay between electoral mandates, constitutional mechanics, and high-political maneuvering, this study offers a nuanced understanding of how democratic experiments under colonial constraints accelerated the subcontinent's division.

The Partition of India in 1947 remains one of the most traumatic and consequential events of the twentieth century, resulting in unprecedented communal violence, mass migration, and the creation of two sovereign states amid deep civilizational scars. This paper reassesses the question of responsibility for the Partition by moving beyond deterministic narrativeswhether the "two-nation theory," inexorable Hindu-Muslim antagonism, or British "divide and rule"-towards a critical analysis of contingency and leadership failures. The study argues that Partition was not inevitable but emerged from a series of avoidable contingencies and critical miscalculations by Indian political leaders and the departing colonial power. The analysis highlights the pivotal role of leadership failures during the Cabinet Mission Plan (1946), formation of the Interim Government and the final months of British rule. Jawaharlal Nehru's impulsive rejection of the Cabinet Mission's grouping formula, Sardar Patel's growing acceptance of Partition as a "surgical operation," Mahatma Gandhi's inconsistent positions, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah's tactical rigidity all contributed to narrowing political options. Lord Mountbatten's hasty timeline and flawed boundary decisions further exacerbated the chaos.

Theory of Middleman minorities proposed by Sociologist Blalock provides insight into the status of the minority in the social set up, how it affects its choice of occupations and its relations with the other communities. Theory has been understood and applied in the context of a range of minorities. The paper explores the implications of the theory in case of the Jains in Mumbai. The study probes into the limitations of the theory and a number of factors such as the migration, the dominant position and responses towards the position of the Jains in Mumbai.

Human behaviour is a reflection of society. Society changed accordingly to human behaviour time to time. The present study deals with the society and its different phases as described by Buchanan in his Patna Gaya survey of (1811-1812). After the order of East India Company Buchanan Surveyed Bihar which was a part of Bengal during the time of his survey. Buchanan tried to give all aspects of society in his writing, he evaluate the cast system of Gaya, customs and rituals followed over there, the life style of people, their beliefs and traditions, their costumes, food habits, the fairs and festivals.

In the context of achievements in the social sciences and humanities in the study of a not only
negative historical past of the aristocracy, inspiring intellectual commitments to deepen the
understanding and comprehension of the processes and phenomena of the 19th century, which
changed the world, and whose legacy remains difficult to assimilate even today, the current
round table seeks to fill gaps in studies of the Balkans, turning its attention to the importance of
classes that have long shaped its history: the aristocrats and the meritocrats. Given that the
Balkans and the Black Sea region have historically functioned as a crossroads of empires,
cultures and political models, where the concepts of hereditary power (aristocracy) and
belonging to the elite based on personal merit and abilities (meritocracy) constantly intertwine,
predetermine and interact, the organizers of this conference have the ambition to encourage,
among others, discussions in search of answers to the question: To what extent do contemporary
societies in the region succeed in building working meritocratic systems or rather reproduce new
forms of closed, privileged elites?

There are a number of philosophers, intellectuals, leaders and religious gurus gave their thoughts time to time and added value in the concept. Deen Dayal Upadhyay who was one of the leading Indian philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and political scientist gave the concept of Integral humanism who developed the doctrine of integral humanism. Upadhyay and his all counterparts aimed at the happiness of society, though the Upadhyay concentrated on the happiness an undivided society as the primary aim whether the others seems to depended more on the business theories and approaches to attain the prosperity and happiness of the society. Gandhi was a great socioeconomic thinker and his views were based on global development. This paper studies the comparative study of Pandit Deendayal and his counterparts concerning to integral humanism.

The Indian independence movement was a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that involved various individuals, groups, and ideologies. The Revolt of 1857 marked a pivotal moment in India's history, being the first widespread rebellion against British rule after the fall of the Mughal Empire. This study highlights the significance of preserving the accounts of those who participated in this revolt, particularly in Gujarat, to inspire future generations. Gujarat played a significant role, with leaders such as Garbaddas Mukhi, Jodha Manek, and Mulu Manek mobilizing resistance in key areas like Nandod, Dahod, and Chota Udepur. Despite lacking centralized leadership and support from local princely states, the revolt set a precedent for future movements. In the early 20th century, Gujarat also contributed to revolutionary activities, with figures like Sri Aurobindo and his brother Barindra Ghosh inspiring nationalist fervor. Other revolutionaries, such as Chhotubhai and Ambubhai Purani, and Mohanlal Pandya, furthered the cause, promoting both violent and non-violent methods of resistance. Gujarati revolutionaries abroad, such as Shyamji Krishna Verma, Sardarsinh Rana, Madam Bhikhaiji Cama, and Chagan Keraj Verma, played critical roles in raising international awareness, organizing protests, and fostering the revolutionary spirit. Their efforts, particularly through the Ghadar Party and other organizations, underscored the global dimension of India's struggle for independence.

The abstracts published in this Book of Abstracts are reproduced from the submissions received for the international seminar. The editors and publisher do not take responsibility for the accuracy of facts, opinions, or language expressed by the authors.

Iie colonizers howwer ptayed an important role in irutitutionalbation of hunting-The control of the foist by the Roj also added a new flavour in the sport. Bengal was covered with numerousforest lands and mangroves. Thus, the sport gained popularity among landed potentates whofrequented these jungles with a large team as o part oftheir leisurely activities. 'sometimes thq, toik up gunfor protecting subjects from the aggression of vild beats. These team members *"r" ,lto eficient hunters though they were sometimes not duly recqgnized-Contemporory sources iniluding fficiat records and hunting narratives rweals plenty of facts rigarding the wide spread acceptance of this irutitutionalized sport.

This is a random reflection on four novels on India's Partition. Of these, three novels were published in the 1960s and one in the 1980s. It points out the disjunctions between literary depiction and historical reconstruction. In both genres, aspects of causation is either ignored or downplayed.

This study intends to analyses the health culture of the Colonial society of Punjab through the gender lens from 1849-1947. Focusing on the relation between gender and the colonial subjects during the emergence of western medicine. This work based on the secondary sources hitherto traces almost since the middle of the nineteenth century which paved the pivot towards the establishment of hospital medical facilities in Punjab. This created a public space for western health-care system for female patients___ albeit a narrow one. The Western Medicine health services in Colonial Punjab initially were predominantly in approach of the British troops, mainly the Europeans, Eurasians, Government employs, members of Indian Medical Service and the indigenous elite. Subsequently, the rich class also benefited by the Western medicine services on handsome spending of money. Before the emergence of Western medicine hospital culture in contrast unlike to colonial medical practice, female patients were predominantly treated by the female indigenous practitioners or therapists known as vaids, hakims or dais. This study also analyses the growth and advancement in medical education especially for females in the colonial Punjab and the colonial administrative role in its process. This study also probes the gender discrimination after probing the official records and documents, determinants such as sexual health, mortality rates, reproductive health services, famines and racial discrimination against the role of female administration in the Western medicine system determined, moreover, health services and practices in the colonial administrative health care setup in Punjab analyzed. It also discusses the social history about the discrimination and brutality against women in western health care practices such as European styled hospitals, dispensaries and colonial lock-hospitals.

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, often hailed as Sahitya Samrat, emerged as a pivotal architect of modern Indian nationalism by fusing Hindu cultural revivalism with anti-colonial political consciousness. Through seminal works like Anandamath (1882) and the hymn "Bande Mataram," he personified the nation as a Hindu Mother Goddess (Bharat Mata), advocated Anushilan (disciplined self-culture), and reinterpreted Hindu dharma as a call to action. This article examines how Bankim laid the ideological foundations for a Hindu-inflected cultural nationalism that influenced the Indian freedom struggle and continues to resonate in contemporary debates on identity, secularism, and Hindutva.

he tribal orga ni za tion of the Sayyids is con fus ing," wrote Brit ish colo nial offi cer and eth nol o gist William Crooke in 1896, "because some of the divi sions take their name from an epon y mous ances tor and some are merely ter ri to rial." 1 Underlying Crooke's frus tra tion at being unable to iden tify a sin gle prin ci ple for describ ing the social posi tion that say yids occu pied in India was the pre sump tion that there ought to have been one. He went on to rea son that the far ther say yids trav eled away from Arabia, the more their sayyidness-marked by lin eal descent from the Prophet of Islam-must have dimin ished, betraying what some his to ri ans have called a the ory of racial mis ce ge na tion. 2 In the same entry on say yids, Crooke quoted an unat trib uted adage about inau then tic say yids that was widely repeated by colo nial offi cers: "Last year, I was a butcher, this year I am a Shaikh, next year if prices rise, I shall become a Sayyid." Anthropological and socio log i cal schol ar ship through out the twen ti eth cen tury con tin ued to refer to dif er ent ver sions of this adage, indi cat ing that the colo nial search for say yid authen tic ity had a last ing influ ence on debates about social strat i fi ca tion among Mus lims in the sub con ti nent. 3 In these debates, sayyidness was shaped by the pur ported encoun ter between for eign say yid migrants and native Indic com mu ni ties in medi e val and early mod ern India. Much of this dis cus sion dwelled on the notion that, in gen eral, Mus lims in India had tended to adopt vary ing degrees of local castelike prac tices, such as strict endog amy and hered i tary occu pa tions. 4 It was thought that under such con di tions, authen tic elite sta tus was held by Mus lims who had found ways to side step the influ ence of their Indian envi ron ment. 5 They consisted of four sha rif (noble) groups: say yids, shaykhs, Mughals, and Pash tuns. 6 By con trast, Mus lims who were the descen dants of con verts to Islam in India were con ceived of as low born or ajlaf. 7 In this way, say yids fig ured into nineteenth and twen ti ethcen tury epistemologies as the most elite and least Indian of the four sha rif Mus lim sta tus groups, far removed from the ajlaf. More recently, the claim that the neb u lous for eignerindi gene inter face outlined above laid the ground work for social strat i fi ca tion among Mus lims has been called into ques tion. By con trast, it is argued that a more "con struc tiv ist" his tor i cal inquiry into Mus lim hier ar chies is warranted, one that does not take her i ta ble elite sta tus as an objec tive, unchang ing, and mea sur able qual ity. 8 Drawing upon the case of the Wasiti say yids of Bilgram, a his tor i cal qasba located in the pres entday Hardoi dis trict of Uttar Pradesh in India, this arti cle is pred i cated on the notion that say yids con tin u ally nego ti ated their priv i lege under dif er ent local and impe rial his tor i cal con di tions. 9 It pro poses that dur ing the years of impe rial cri ses that wracked the Mughal empire in the eigh teenth cen tury, the say yids of Bilgram, despite being claim ants to descent from elite Mus lim migrants, did not rep re sent them selves as for eign, and they dou bled down on the local social priv i le ges that they had cul ti vated. Indeed, at cho sen moments, their sayyidness was con veyed entirely in the cus tom ary lex i con of their qasba. To begin to under stand why they did this, it is nec es sary to con sider how they became local elites.

Feminist historiography foregrounds questions about the historical representation of women and the use of various tools of inquiry. The methodological challenges posed by these questions become particularly pronounced when attempting to recover the lived historical experiences of women from small agricultural and forest communities who remain marginal to mainstream history. This study is undertaken as a methodological experiment to investigate the historical experiences of Kodava women from an indigenous community residing in Kodagu-a densely forested, mountainous region in Karnataka. Kodagu, once an independent principality until its incorporation into the Mysore state in 1956, has a minimal presence in dominant historical narratives. To overcome the limitations of conventional historiography in accessing Kodava women's experiences, this study turns to the oral traditions of the Kodavas, based on the assumption that these sources may contain traces of women's lived experiences in history. The study underscores the difficulty of recovering women's historical experiences from sources-both textual and oral-that are controlled by men. It reveals more about how men represented women's lives in historical narratives than about how women themselves perceived and navigated their lives amid broader socio-economic and political transitions.

Feminist historiography foregrounds questions about the historical representation of women and the use of various tools of inquiry. The methodological challenges posed by these questions become particularly pronounced when attempting to recover the lived historical experiences of women from small agricultural and forest communities who remain marginal to mainstream history. This study is undertaken as a methodological experiment to investigate the historical experiences of Kodava women from an indigenous community residing in Kodagua densely forested, mountainous region in Karnataka. Kodagu, once an independent principality until its incorporation into the Mysore state in 1956, has a minimal presence in dominant historical narratives. To overcome the limitations of conventional historiography in accessing Kodava women's experiences, this study turns to the oral traditions of the Kodavas, based on the assumption that these sources may contain traces of women's lived experiences in history. The study underscores the difficulty of recovering women's historical experiences from sources-both textual and oral-that are controlled by men. It reveals more about how men represented women's lives in historical narratives than about how women themselves perceived and navigated their lives amid broader socio-economic and political transitions.

मध्य प्रदेश के अनूपपुर जिले में स्थित दारसागर ग्राम के निकटवर्ती क्षेत्र में किए गए पुरातात्विक सर्वेक्षण और उत्खनन से अत्यंत महत्वपूर्ण पुरावशेष प्राप्त हुए हैं । अनूपपुर जिला नर्मदा, सोन और जोहिला नदियों के उद्गम स्थल के रूप में प्रसिद्ध है। पवित्र-स्थल और तपस्थली के रूप में अमरकंटक की विशिष्ट धार्मिक और अध्यात्मिक महिमा है। अनूपपुर जिले में इंदिरा गांधी राष्ट्रीय जनजातीय विश्वविद्यालय द्वारा किए गए पुरातात्विक अभियानों से क्षेत्र के ऐतिहासिक महत्त्व के विविध पक्ष उद्घाटित हुए हैं। शिवलहरा की प्राचीन गुफाओं और गम्भीरवा टोला के पुरातन टीलों से प्राप्त सूचनाएँ इस क्षेत्र के इतिहास के प्रच्छन्न तथ्यों को प्रकाशित करती हैं । शिवलहरा की गुफाओं के ब्राह्मी लेख तथा गुफाओं का स्वरूप इस क्षेत्र को प्रथम शताब्दी ई. का एक महत्त्वपूर्ण स्थल सिद्ध करते हैं। इन्ही गुफाओं से दक्षिण दिशा मे लगभग 2 किलोमीटर की दूरी पर केवई नदी के तट पर ही सर्वेक्षण के दौरान पुरावशषों से परिपूर्ण सात बडे टीले प्राप्त हुए थे। जहाँ से कुषाणकालीन ईंटे, मण्डलकूप में प्रयुक्त होने वाली मृण्मय नाली के अवशेष तथा मृद्भाण्ड खण्ड बडी संख्या में प्राप्त हुए।

The object for this essay's discussion is a chromolithograph titled the 'Last Journey of Mahatma Gandhi' (Figure 1). The original artist of this chromolithograph was Navrottam Narayan Sharma. He belonged to the Nardwara area of Rajasthan and was a member of the Nardwara School of Art during the Freedom Struggle. It was printed at the Brij Basi press, Mathura in the year 1948. 1 Since the objective of this essay is to study the practice of portraiture in South Asia, this image offers a whole new perspective on Modern Indian Art especially its strong presence in the struggle for Independence. The three elements that constitute a portraiture are intention, function and perception. This essay shall attempt to identify the image as a group portrait and discuss at length the application of these three elements on the image.

The Mithila region, extending across northern Bihar and parts of the Nepal Terai, has historically been recognized as one of the most intellectually vibrant regions of the Indian subcontinent. While the area is often celebrated for its traditions of Sanskrit scholarship, Nyaya philosophy, and Vedic learning, the evolution of technical education in Mithila remains insufficiently explored in academic discourse. This journal article examines the development of technical education in Mithila from ancient indigenous systems to colonial interventions and post-independence institutional modernization. The study argues that technical education in Mithila evolved through multiple phases: the early scientific and philosophical traditions embedded in Sanskrit learning; medieval systems of specialized instruction; colonial-era vocational and engineering initiatives; and the expansion of polytechnic, agricultural, and engineering institutions in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The article draws upon historical records, gazetteers, educational reports, and modern research to present a comprehensive historical account.

The history of India’s national movement is often narrated through metropolitan centres such as Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, and Ahmedabad. Yet, the true vitality of the Gandhian struggle emerged from rural India, where peasants, students, women, workers, and local leaders transformed nationalism into a mass movement. North Bihar occupies a distinctive place in this process. Stretching across the fertile plains of Mithila, Tirhut, Champaran, Saran, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, and Purnea, the region became one of the earliest and most dynamic laboratories of Gandhian politics. It was in Champaran that Mahatma Gandhi first experimented with satyagraha on Indian soil in 1917, and from there the Gandhian ethos spread throughout North Bihar.This journal examines the participation of North Bihar in Gandhian movements from the Champaran Satyagraha to the Quit India Movement. It analyses how agrarian distress, colonial exploitation, caste dynamics, local leadership, educational reform, women’s activism, and rural nationalism contributed to the making of a unique political culture. The study argues that North Bihar was not merely a passive recipient of Gandhian ideology but an active contributor in shaping the strategies, symbolism, and mass character of India’s freedom struggle.

THERE is nothing unusual in celebrating the will of the people in a democracy. It is the source of legitimacy of both power and authority and it is on this principle that democracy shows itself superior to, and better than, other types of political regimes. There is a history behind this celebration which started in the aftermath of the bourgeois revolutions of the18th century in the West when a new political category called the people was born. Later on, this new political category travelled to other parts of the world and entered in to the political-constitutional discourse of many societies when they embarked on the democratic path.

The Paper discusses the invocation of 'we, the people' as the author of democratic constitutions and as sign post of modern republic to analyses its historical and theoretical significance. The birth of the people as the author of the constitution from the congeries of disparate population after the bourgeois revolutions of 18th century has been analysed to see the connection between the revolution and modern constitutionalism. The contemporary tension between two types of people; republican-majoritarian and liberal-democratic, culminating into the phenomenon of populism has also been analysed. The paper is divided in three sections. Section one discusses the process through which disparate population was turned in to a homogenous we and eventually got elevated to the status of the author of the modern republican constitution. Section two looks at the Indian story and tries to untie the riddle of the invocation of people as the author of the constitution without having the precedence of a bourgeois revolution. Section three discusses the multiple usages of the people in Indian democratic discourse till the recent time.

Dr Patil is also to be commended for the sheer mass of rare vernacular printed material that she has assembled as the basis for this original and imaginative study. It will certainly appeal to scholars of literature and performance cultures across colonial India. But the book will also be of great interest to all those looking to understand the reconfiguration of key forms of social power in the colonial milieu, as older hegemonies were reinforced and new ones brought into being which carried their own internal potential for counter-challenges. It has been a real pleasure to read this original and path-breaking work.

This research paper examines the contributions of the Dakshina Prize Committee in facilitating colonial objectives through Marathi translations of European plays during the British imperial period. The Committee, tasked with evaluating translations and awarding prizes, became a driving force in this literary and cultural endeavour. A significant early example of its influence is Tara Natak, a Marathi translation of Shakespeare's Cymbeline, rendered by Vishnu Moreshwar Mahajani. The financial incentives offered by the Dakshina Prize led to a surge in drama translations that disseminated European literary traditions and ideologies within the colonial framework. The mid to late nineteenth century is often referred to by Marathi historiographers as the 'Bhashantar Yug' (Translation Age), 'Rupantar Yug' (Adaptation Age), or the 'Shakespeare ani Molière Yug' (Shakespeare and Molière Age). However, these historians often overlook the significant role played by the Dakshina Prize Committee therefore, it would be valuable to map the milestones of comparative literature, trace the trajectory of translation theory in colonial Marathi theatre, and study translation as a form of cultural contact while also examining the colonial ambitions that shaped these efforts.