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Performing Nationhood
 Performing Nationhood
The Emotional Roots of Swadeshi Nationhood
in Bengal, 1905–12

MIMASHA PANDIT

1
 1
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It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship,
and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trademark of
Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries.

Published in India by
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© Oxford University Press, 2019

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

First Edition published in 2019

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

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ISBN-13 (print edition): 978-0-19-948018-0

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‘White shores, and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.’
—J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

For every such place you choose to be in, I choose to be with you. For you, Baba.
 Acknowledgements

T he ideas that unsettled me during my doctoral years left me with

little peace even when the thesis was submitted. Engendering of
nationhood through performance formed the mainstay of my doctoral
research in the context of the Swadeshi age. Dealing with the intrica-
cies of performative mechanisms, I dwelled in the emotional plane
of the Bengalis: ideas emerged out of their intellectual praxis into
the passion of the people, eventually assuming the form of people’s
emotions. Moving from the papers (newspapers, books, journals,
and pamphlets) people read to the performances they enjoyed, ideas
travelled far into the emotional world, where they assumed different
forms. Nuanced they were, indeed, as I concluded in my doctoral thesis,
but the shades they assumed remained beyond the framework of my
research. However, the ‘self/selves’ of the dominated/colonized mind
were a cause of constant consternation for my ‘self ’. If the colonized
did experience a mere discoursed and engendered nationhood, why did
the emotional chronology of the period not attest to it? Why did the
literature of the period, the memoires, repeatedly speak of a narrow
line of separation, segregation? Above all, what in essence were the
contours of the hidden transcript of resistance? As I engaged with these
questions, a deeper understanding of the emotional world of Swadeshi
nationhood emerged, and the resultant product is this book.
The research work that stands in the form of a book today could not
have become a reality without the help and constant encouragement
of several people who stood by me through thick and thin. This is my
humble attempt to acknowledge the trust they showed in me, especially
when I lost faith in myself.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude towards
my supervisor, Dr Shukla Sanyal. She saw me when I was an invisible
non-entity in the masters’ batch of 2005–7 at the University of Calcutta,
x Acknowledgements

India. Even after I started working on this topic, there were moments
when I faltered, fell, and felt compelled to escape it. However, she stood
by me resolutely and, never imposing herself on me, showed me the
right path to take. When the arduous hours of checking and rewrit-
ing the manuscript began to take a toll on my morale, she made me
see sense and put me under a disciplined order to bring out the best in
me. I remain ever so grateful to her for those long hours of discussions
and critical engagement that helped the framework of this book—my
doctoral thesis—to assume a concrete form and shape.
I would also like to thank Professor Arun Bandopadhyay; Nurul
Hasan, professor of Modern India, for his advice and support; my teach-
ers at the Department of History, University of Calcutta; Professor
Suranjan Das, vice chancellor of Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India;
Professor Bhaskar Chakraborty; Professor Suparna Gooptu; Professor
Nirban Basu; Professor Amit De; and Professor Ritwika Basu, who have
been, and still are, a constant source of support for me in my research
endeavours.
I would like to extend a special thanks to Professor Hari S. Vasudevan
and Professor Biswamoy Pati for the interest they showed in my work.
Extensive hours of discussions with them helped me put my work in
perspective. My gratitude is also due to Professor S. Maswood for her
valuable suggestions and the effort she put into making me a better
academician. I am also grateful to Professor Rajshekhar Basu whose
constant encouragement and help enabled me to tide over the rigor-
ous process of writing this book. To my teachers who endured me all
through my formative period, Professor Subhash Ranjan Chakraborty,
Professor Jayasree Mukherjee, and Professor Rajat Kanta Ray, thank you
for encouraging me to be myself. I also remain humbly grateful to the
late Professor Tripti Chaudhuri for her invaluable suggestions that gave
my book and me a new direction.
While working on this book, I had to consult various primary records
at the West Bengal State Archives (both in the Home Political Section
as well as the Intelligence Branch Records) and the help I received there
from Sucharita-di, Jhuma-di, Professor Subhash Ranjan Chakraborty,
and the late Professor Basudeb Chattopadhyay deserves special mention
because without their assistance, I could not have completed this book.
I am much indebted to the staff at the National Library of India,
Bangiya Sahitya Parishad, Kolkata Police Museum Library, Ariadaha
 Acknowledgements xi

Public Library, and Central Library, University of Calcutta (Alipore

Campus), all in Kolkata, and the National Archives and Nehru Memorial
Museum and Library, in New Delhi, who extended help to me graciously
and tirelessly for this book. All my hard work would have been in vain
had I not found the platform to work and for that I owe a lot to Samir-da
in the Department of History Library, University of Calcutta, Anisur-da
of the department office, and Bijoy Dey of Presidency College Library,
Kolkata.
The limits of my critical faculties were put to the test whenever
the ideas that came alive in this book were presented before my peers,
The exercise always resulted in helpful observations and comments
that enhanced the analytical potential of the book. For this, I remain
ever grateful to the journals that published my papers and graciously
extended their permission and support when these papers became a
part of the present book. I hereby take the opportunity to extend my
gratitude towards The Journal of Historical Review, Exploring History, The
Inclusive (an online journal), Social Scientist, Indian Historical Review, and
Societal Studies.
I have been considerably fortunate in finding support in my col-
leagues, family, and friends who have borne my complaints and bad
temper with the sweetest disposition. This book would perhaps have
remained an unrealized dream had my friends not constantly coaxed me
into action. Therefore, I take this opportunity to thank my colleagues
at Victoria Institution College, Kolkata, St. Paul’s Cathedral Mission
College, Kolkata (especially Mousumi-di, Santanu-da, Sutapa-di, and
Anamitra-di), and Mankar College, West Bengal. My friends have
constantly supported me through my bad as well as good times, but
above all, I would like to thank Monideepa, Priyanka, and Ausmita for
standing by me. A special thanks goes to Manas and Nandini who have
not only been my friends, but also my support during trying times. I
would also like to thank Babli, Piku, Chumki, Babai, Bukan, Arghya,
Munna-di, Partha-da, Arghyadeep, Avirup, Gurguri, and July for being
with me when I needed them the most.
Most importantly, I would like to extend my gratitude to my sisters,
Sudataa and Sabik, for being my guiding stars, my mother for being so
patient with my erratic work hours and tremendous bad temper, my
brother-in-law Rahul for always being there for me, and my nephew
Gogol for being the most pleasurable diversion whenever I felt suffocated
xii Acknowledgements

by the pressure of work. Last, but definitely not the least, I would like to
dedicate this book to the loving memory of my father, who always gave
me (and still does) the strength to re-invent myself at every turn of my
life. Thank you all for being the bricks I needed to build this dream with.
 Introduction
In Search of An Emotional History of
Swadeshi Bengal

T he present study is a critical analysis of the process of develop-

ment of an emotional bond among the people of Bengal during
the Swadeshi era and the role performative spaces played in this regard.
A major centre of popular entertainment, performative spaces also
emerged as an arena for contesting the colonial authorities during the
swadeshi and boycott agitation.
In this study, I have paid close attention to the three most popular
performative media of Bengal—theatre, jatra, and songs. I have tried to
map the patterns of modification introduced in performative techniques
by Swadeshi performances. This has enabled me to unveil the intricacies
of the interaction between sentiments, emotions, and ideas and contem-
porary political discourse, and the eventual development of a Swadeshi
nationhood. For a detailed examination of the emotional nature of
nationhood that developed in Bengal, I have restricted the timespan of
the book from 1905 to 1912. The unfolding of the swadeshi and boycott
agitation, however, was not the only reason for choosing this period as
the chronological framework of the book. The vibrant and experimental
nature of popular Bengali performances of the time and the treatment
of theatre as an active political space by colonial authorities also drew my
attention to this period. The association and intermingling of prevalent
political ideas with performance was remarkable, and greater so was the
emotional expression that it engendered (often referred to as seditious
by various documents of the British Raj). The emotion and bond that
emerged from it set a paradigm for the twentieth-century nationalist
movement and for the generation that followed.

Performing Nationhood: The Emotional Roots of Swadeshi Nationhood in Bengal,

1905–12. Mimasha Pandit, Oxford University Press (2019). © Oxford University Press.
DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780199480180.001.0001
xiv Introduction

‘The play-as-text can be performed in a space, but the play-as-event

belongs to the space, and makes the space perform as much it makes
actors perform.’1 Space of performance, in traditional performance
terminology, was believed to be a mere arena of enactment. When ana-
lysed in the light of performance studies, however, the space includes
not the area alone, but the actors and the spectators as well. In this
capacity, it serves as a point of communication between the narrative
of the performance, the performers, and the audience. As a result, space
can combine different time frames, that in which the performance takes
place (in this case, the Swadeshi age) and that of the performance (for
instance, morning or evening) with the time performed onstage (that
is, the historical or social time presented in performance). Such a pro-
cess of framing evoked a connection between the real and the fictional
space.2
The process of dissemination and understanding of ideas acquired
volatility due to this inherent quality of the performative space. Caught
within the web of enactment, the performer and the spectator weaved
new meanings and interpretations into their shared experience of the
performance.
Swadeshi jatra, theatre, and songs reworked the traditional perfor-
mative space into a performative element, transforming the space of
folk entertainment into an area of meeting, seeing, understanding, dis-
cussing, and finally, responding. Watching a performance together and
simultaneously responding to it allowed the spectators to realize the
similarity in their responses. By virtue of this connection, people gained
the power to pass judgements. The voice of the people began to be
taken into account due to the changes it could demand to be introduced
in the performance. The performer and other performative faculties, on
the other hand, could modulate the opinion of the people, that is, the
way they responded to the ideas exhibited in the space. In most cases,
both the performer and the spectator engaged in a tussle to influence
the other’s opinion/expression. In this manner, the performance estab-
lished a cyclic relationship between the performer and the audience.

1 David Wiles, ‘Introduction’, A Short History of Western Performance Space,

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

2 Gay McAuley, ‘Introduction’, Space in Performance: Making Meaning in the

Theatre, Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1999.

 Introduction xv

Performative space included the spaces of gathering where the per-

formance took place. In traditional performance terminology, space of
performance is defined as an area where both the performer and the
spectator come together. Having the ability to connect the two, space
frames the performance.3 Encompassing the performance with its
ensemble of performers and spectators, space sets the parameters of
representation and drawing meanings from it.
In order to make it easier to understand the unique, though critical,
contribution of performative space to the history of engendering of
an emotional bond among Bengalis, I would like to clarify the usage
of the terms ‘popular entertainment’ and ‘folk entertainment’ in the
book. I have used the terms interchangeably, referring to forms of
entertainment enjoyed by people. A distinction can hardly be drawn
on the ground of recognizability, as it seems that such features are not
confined to any one form of entertainment. Sumanta Banerjee is of the
opinion that folk entertainment and popular entertainment had features
in common, and that a performance by performers familiar with the
spectators at a social level was equally valid for both forms of entertain-
ment.4 Though popular performances retained ‘collective autonomy’,
the means of performance served as a common feature exhibited by
both these forms of entertainment. The autonomy, in context of the
Swadeshi intellectual world of the early twentieth century, engendered
homogeneousness among the audience.
The term ‘performative tools’ best describes the collective autonomy
of the performances, highlighting the various features of popular per-
formances. Performative tools encompass little details like costumes,
props (including scenery, posters, banners, or even pamphlets), and
even the space of performance, that is, the mise-en-scène that enhances
the meaning-making ability of a performance and engenders a bond
between the spectators.

3 McAuley, in his analysis of the significance of space in theatrical perfor-

mance, grants the area of performance the role and status of a catalyst. Space
played a powerful role in forging a close relationship among wholly uncon-
nected groups of people and two different time frames. For an in-depth discus-
sion, see McAuley, Space in Performance.
4 Sumanta Banerjee, The Parlour and the Streets: Elite and Popular Culture in

Nineteenth Century Calcutta, Calcutta: Seagull Books, 1989, p. 2.

xvi Introduction

Performative tools introduced a change in the way people/the

audience visualized the space of performance, as well as their socio-
political sensibility. However, the introduction of change needs to be
gauged in the context of two developments that occurred during the
period—presence of a fully grown public sphere, and the outbreak of
the Swadeshi and boycott agitation against the decision of the colonial
authorities to partition Bengal. Ever since the development of a pub-
lic sphere, the politics of Bengal worked within its domain. Constant
reference to the colonial administration and remission of the situation
(social, political, economic as well as cultural) created by its presence
formed the mainstay of the political expression of the colonized. The
presence of a public sphere, however, required the political ideas to earn
the approval of people. Communicative media, especially performance
media, became a popular means of disseminating these political ideas
and for allowing the people to pass their judgment on them.
Dramatic representations of the nineteenth century, with cynical por-
trayals of the evils of modern society, tried to launch an attack on colo-
nial rule as the perpetrator of all evil. Farces dealing with the low ebb of
social morality and economic problems proliferated and were performed
on the stages of Bengal and tried to generate popular support against
colonial modernity.5 Scandalous affairs (such as the Mahanta–Elokeshi

5 A new genre of patriotic plays made their appearance during the 1870s
that contextualized the lives of fictitious characters in a historical setting, ones
holding a reference to the colonial rule of the British in Bengal. By patriotic
plays, I mean to highlight plays based on the life and amours of some ficti-
tious characters. In these plays, the tyranny of the colonial rule provided the
background for generation of a crisis in the lives of the characters, resolved
through restoration of the pristine order. Upendranath Das, Sarat Sarojini,
Surendra Binodini, Calcutta: J. P. Ray and Co., 1880; Jyotirindranath Tagore,
Sarojini, Purubikram, Kiranchandra Bandopadhyay’s Bharat Mata [Mother
India], Bharat Jaban [Indian Infidels], and Haran Chandra Ghosh’s Bharat
Dukkhini [Ill-fated India] belonged to this genre of plays performed during this
period. For a detailed discussion of the historical plays of the 1870s, see H.
N. Dasgupta, The Indian Stage, Metropolitan Printing and Publishing House
Ltd., 1934, pp. 270–86; Sisir Kar, British Sashone Bajeyapto Bangla Boi [Bengali
Books Proscribed under the British Rule], Calcutta: Ananda Publishers, 1988,
pp. 130–4. Also see, Pabitra Sarkar, ‘Unobingsho Shatabdir Bangla Natok O Tar
Proyogkala’ [Bengali Drama and its Application in the Nineteenth Century],
 Introduction xvii

affair)6 became a staple of this genre of performances that tried to unveil

the disruption caused by colonial rule in the idyllic social fabric of India.
Until the advent of the Swadeshi and boycott agitation, such a portrayal
had remained subtle in nature, never directly engaging with the colonial
authorities. The wrath of Bengalis against the partition of Bengal found
a voice in the vituperations that poured out in the performative space.
The language of accusation became more direct, owing to the intellec-
tual milieu of the age. One begins to comprehend the Bengali world of
ideas through an article published in the Bengali journal Natyamandir,
where the author drew the attention of readers to two very impor-
tant terms: Bangadesh and jatiyabhab. The term ‘Bangadesh’ brought
together two different social–geographical ideas—Banga and desh7—that
coalesced to give form and shape to a political/territorial boundary of
Bengal. However, the process of imagining this boundary offered sev-
eral obstacles that required one to overcome the abstract nature of the
boundary. In order to give the boundary a form, the population residing
within it needed to be marked out by the presence of a common bond
among them, a jati. Treated as a multi-dimensional term, jati implies an
association by birth, race, caste, sub-caste, tribe, and nation. Thus, the
emotional bond among the members of a jati, or one’s kinsfolk, came
to be referred to as jatiyabhab.
However, this presented a problem for the Santhals, the Biharis, and
the Ahoms, who could not be incorporated into the linguistic and ethnic

in Unish Shotoker Bangali Jibon O Sangoshkriti [Bengali Lifestyle and Culture of

the Nineteenth Century], ed. Swapan Basu and Indrajit Choudhury, Calcutta:
Pustok Biponi, pp. 511–29, 520–2.
6 Tanika Sarkar, Hindu Wives, Hindu Nation: Community, Religion and Cultural

Nationalism, New Delhi: Permanent Black, 2000, pp. 56–9.

7 The word Banga or Vanga, actually a Persian word, gained currency dur-

ing the Muslim period. Historians maintain different opinions regarding the
meaning of the word Vanga. Some believe it to be the name of an ancient
Magadhan king, while others consider it to be a derivative of the word Vanga,
which means a marshy land. The meaning of the word desh was multi-con-
notative during the age. It was used to signify a range of meaning from a sub-
region, to a region, to a country. For a detailed discussion on both the terms,
see Swarupa Gupta, Notions of Nationhood in Bengal: Perspectives on Samaj, 1870–
1905, Leiden: Brill, 2009, pp. 108–9, 277–8.
xviii Introduction

framework of jati. To overcome this problem, the intellectuals endeav-

oured to build a jati, jatir gathan (engendering nationhood), imbued
with a samajik (social) meaning.8 Accommodating various families,
jatis, castes, and regions within its domain, samajik linkages served as an
all-encompassing concept. It forged a link between all who shared the
same bloodline, matrimonial relations, private spaces (houses), social
spaces (neighbourhoods), office spaces and so forth, that came to be
referred to as atmiya svajan (kith and kin).9 The emotion people felt for
their samajik linkages, a social network, was associated with the emo-
tion they nurtured for a cultural notion of jati, thereby transforming
jati into a socio-cultural identity. The roots of self-identification were
shifted from ethnicity to the samajik linkage of atmiya svajan to lay the
foundation of self-knowledge.
Atul Chandra Basu praised natyashala or the theatrical houses of
Bengal for engendering jatiya bhab among the people of Bangadesh.10
Following his argument, one can assume that if the Bengalis were
imbued with the knowledge of ‘self ’, performance had an important
role to play in it. The knowledge of the ‘self ’, in the context of colonial
domination—which was felt most acutely in 1905 due to the partition
of Bengal—assumed the form of what intellectuals described as swadhi-
natar bhab. The word ‘swadhinata’ stood for liberation from the control
of the ‘other’ dominant power. What the intellectuals sought was not
just liberation from colonial control, but liberation of the swadesh that
loosely meant one’s country (sva: one’s own, and desh: region, country).
Dissemination of such ideas by means of performance conferred upon
people the sense of ‘jatiya bhab’, a distinctive status that separated them
from the ‘other’. Meaning, once the emotion of jati associated with the
notion of swadesh, it created an ‘other’ that was opposed to the one-
ness invoked by the coalescence of the two. The presence of the ‘other’
served as an additional, and a very important, source of engendering
indigeneity. However, the engendered emotion needed to be ingrained

8 Gupta, Notions of Nationhood in Bengal, p. 143.

9 For an in-depth discussion, see Ronald B. Inden and Ralph W. Nicholas,
Kinship in Bengali Culture, New Delhi: Chronicle Books, 2005, p. ix, Chapter 1.
10 Atulchandra Basu, ‘Banglar Rangalay’, Natyamandir, 1318 B.S. (1911),

cited in Prabhatkumar Das, ‘Bangabhanga: Bangarangamancha O Jatrar Ashor’,

Parikatha, 2005, pp. 281–319, p. 281.
 Introduction xix

not merely in the minds of the people, but in their hearts as well. This
could not be achieved unless a passion was invoked. A solution to this
dilemma appeared in an article of a seditious series, ‘Mukti Kon Pathe’,
where the author suggested a simple means:

Jatra … dvara svadhinatar abashyakata prachar kora … rogike chini makhano

bodi khawaibar moto eishakal amod-promoder bhitor diya swadhinatar bhab
prachar sadharaner mon bodo sahajei taha graham kore.
[Jatra … preaches the necessity of independence … like giving a patient
a sugar-coated pill, if the passion of independence is promoted amongst
people through such a medium of entertainment, people would easily
accept it.]11
Such measures ensured a union of the ideas of the intellectuals with the
emotions of people.
The process of establishing this link, however, was not easy. Popular
emotion, closely associated with their inherent emotions, could only
be invoked by calling upon the root metaphors that triggered it. A set
of culturally identifiable motifs typical to the socio-cultural sensibility
of the people, the root metaphors held the key to popular emotion.
The Swadeshi performances, in order to effect the desired coalescence,
used more of such metaphors to trigger and direct the inherent emo-
tions of people in favour of swadeshi and against the ‘other’. Therefore,
vigorous attempts were made to create a public space where the
Bengali audiences could be made to understand the ideas of the age,
discover a concord between it and their beliefs, internalize the product
that emerged from this concord, and transform it into a part of their
mentality.
It was in this intellectual ambience that the colonial government
introduced the plan to partition Bengal in 1905. Although a vigorous
agitation unfolded, the partition of Bengal was carried out and the new
provinces of Eastern Bengal and Assam were formed. Speech-making,
political gatherings, monster-sized meetings, and display of violence
(political dacoity and assassinations) began to work changes in the
opinion of the people. Narratives in newspapers and other print media

11 Abinash Chandra Bhattacharyya, Mukti Kon Pathe [Which Way Lies the

Freedom], Kolkata: Punascha, 2006, p. 145.

xx Introduction

made such actions a much talked-about affair. This influenced the

mentality of the people and affected the prevailing ties holding them
together. The erstwhile bond, rooted in factors like caste, ethnicity,
clanship, and regionality, was replaced by a broader category of com-
munion. However, one would be sorely mistaken to assume that the
old sentiments and emotions were totally rejected. On the contrary, the
ancient sentiments were modulated to adapt to a broader framework of
belonging—more suited to the politics of the time.

***

I adopted cultural criticism, anthropology, and performance studies

to form the standard theoretical approach while working on the per-
formance history of the Swadeshi era. Navigating through untraced
terrains proved a difficult task and required me to work with a frame-
work that would throw light on the obvious as well as the suppressed.
I used cultural criticism as the broader framework to understand the
process of identity formation in the context of political developments
and social progress. Since the late twentieth century, cultural criticism
has served its purpose well to decipher the patterns of cultural develop-
ment at social, political, and emotional planes, and the link it shared
with the broader mentality of the era. Ethics of analysis and ethics of
interpretation12 have been applied to understand different historical
landmarks such as the French revolution, various cultural developments
like that of England, and the process of identity formation as in the
case of Americanism. Cultural criticism combined with anthropology
helped critically trace the development of unique identities in respec-
tive societies. This, however, assumed a more complicated aspect when
applied in the framework of Swadeshi performance and simulacrum.
Multiple definitions and interpretations can emerge from the exercise.
To sift through the multilayered terrain, I adopted performance analysis
as a necessary tool to understand the transition that diverse emotions
underwent in order to develop a perceived homogenous passion.
Homogenization of emotions occurred in the context of cultural
mentality. Therefore, to appreciate the transition of public emotion

12 Greg Forter, and Paul Allen Miller, Desire of the Analysts: Psychoanalysis
and the Cultural Criticism, New York: SUNY Press, 2008, p. 14.
 Introduction xxi

from diverse to homogenous, one must first comprehend the mental

framework in which it unfolded. Thus, a brief analogy of the cultural
mentality that the Bengalis held and nourished in the beginning of the
twentieth century,13 in such a case, becomes indispensable. Bengalis
viewed culture as an aesthetic product that developed from a spiritual
engagement of the colonized with the Western framework created
by the colonizers. The critical faculty of culture that emerged in the
beginning of the twentieth century was, in a way, a distant echo of
the contests and reconciliations that had occurred in the previous cen-
tury. For such obvious reasons, despite differing on finer elements, the
essence of understanding and critiquing culture remained the same
among the larger section of Bengalis. In the eyes of early nationalists,
the union between spiritual form and culture was inevitable, even desir-
able. Men such as Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Nabagopal Mitra
(the progenitor of Hindu Mela), and Madhusudan Dutta and Bhudeb
Mukhopadhyay (dubbed as reformist and traditionalist respectively)
believed that spiritual forms triggered cultural development. Everything
material lacked aesthetic, hence was deemed unfit to be a part of culture
as a whole. Folk and popular art forms bore the brunt of the crusade
against vulgar elements that morally corrupted the taste and mentality
of people. Nationalists carried out vigorous acts of purification using

13 The nineteenth century in Bengal was an era of intellectual efflores-

cence. Sushovan Sarkar (alias Amit Sen) and Kenneth W. Jones located in the
efflorescence of new ideas about one’s past, language, literature the roots of
a new Bengali culture that adopted the Classical past to the Western idea to
develop a new Bengali identity. A root of this new identity was located in the
Western ideology of culture. The reservation of ‘moral’ and ‘vulgar’, hence,
figured prominently in the emergent Bengali culture and its sense of aesthetic.
These elements became the basic standards for measuring the value of a per-
formance. Unless the performance carried character building and moral ele-
ments, it was neither critically acclaimed nor considered viewable. Popular
and acclaimed performances like Bilbamangal, based on moralizing spiritual
and historical themes, had little or no connection with the folk or popular ele-
ment characterized as vulgar and harmful to the character-building process
of the society. For an in-depth discussion, see Susobhan Sarkar, On the Bengal
Renaissance, Calcutta: Papyrus, 1979; Amit Sen, Notes on the Bengal Renaissance,
Bombay: People’s Publishing House, 1946; Kenneth W. Jones, New Cambridge
History of India, vol. 3, Part 1, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
xxii Introduction

media such as newspapers, periodicals, and journals. It warned the

Bengalis that unless discarded, vulgarity of popular art forms would
disrupt the moral and social order of Bengal. Only such performances
that supported the moral character-building elements of civilization
held the promise of replenishing the moral value of a society, attracted
the attention of critiques, and came to be defined as ‘culture’.
Parameters of culture underwent transformation when the coloniz-
ers, in their attempt to gather more knowledge about the colonized,
theorized Indian culture. The beginning of this process can be traced
back to the early twentieth century, when volumes of reports reached
the local government from the local policing authorities. The reports
were sampled, labeled, and stacked in a neat order of reference for the
government translators. Their duty was to translate the collected mate-
rial and detect traces of sedition in it. A list of aesthetic materials that
held the status of culture, based on the précis and remarks that the trans-
lator wrote down in neatly marked columns, was recorded in a book.
Such compilations often held a brief account of the performances noted
in a column adjacent to the name of plays. The Criminal Investigation
Department collected common Bengali songs in 1912 and compiled
them together in a report to send to the home department of the British
Indian government. Similar in structure to the official compilations of
Swadeshi plays and jatras, the report had neat columns reserved for
registering the opinion of the translator and the legal remembrancer.
The analysis featuring in these columns formed the foundation of
the colonial theoretical framework employed for investigating Indian
culture. A puritanical approach was taken towards performative texts
that appeared to be ‘bad books’ lacking ‘literary merit’.14 According to
the colonial authorities, these pieces were poisonous trash concocted to
gain popularity15 and not as innocent as they seemed on the surface.16

14 West Bengal State Archives (WBSA)-Eastern Bengal and Assam

(Confidential), F.N. 410 of 1909, Notes and Translations of ‘Matripuja’ Songs,
and so on, compiled by Special Branch, Eastern Bengal and Assam.
15 WBSA-Home Political Branch (HPB) (Confidential), F.N. 129 of 1911,

Extract from the Report on Native Papers in Bengal for the week ending the
25 June 1910.
16 WBSA-HPB (Confidential), F.N. 129 of 1911, Confidential letter on

27/28 January 1911.

Another Random Scribd Document
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 Architecture - Term Paper
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Prepared by: Prof. Jones

Date: July 28, 2025

References 1: Current trends and future directions

Learning Objective 1: Research findings and conclusions
• Theoretical framework and methodology
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
[Figure 1: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Learning Objective 2: Experimental procedures and results
• Case studies and real-world applications
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Learning Objective 3: Current trends and future directions
• Critical analysis and evaluation
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Learning Objective 4: Comparative analysis and synthesis
• Interdisciplinary approaches
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Learning Objective 5: Experimental procedures and results
• Study tips and learning strategies
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Definition: Learning outcomes and objectives
• Interdisciplinary approaches
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Key Concept: Study tips and learning strategies
• Literature review and discussion
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
[Figure 7: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Important: Experimental procedures and results
• Theoretical framework and methodology
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Remember: Literature review and discussion
• Comparative analysis and synthesis
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Practice Problem 9: Best practices and recommendations
• Case studies and real-world applications
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
[Figure 10: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Background 2: Literature review and discussion
Key Concept: Statistical analysis and interpretation
• Historical development and evolution
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Example 11: Case studies and real-world applications
• Learning outcomes and objectives
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Practice Problem 12: Interdisciplinary approaches
• Problem-solving strategies and techniques
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
[Figure 13: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Practice Problem 13: Critical analysis and evaluation
• Critical analysis and evaluation
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Practice Problem 14: Ethical considerations and implications
• Statistical analysis and interpretation
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Remember: Current trends and future directions
• Statistical analysis and interpretation
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Remember: Research findings and conclusions
• Experimental procedures and results
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Practice Problem 17: Comparative analysis and synthesis
• Assessment criteria and rubrics
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Key Concept: Problem-solving strategies and techniques
• Best practices and recommendations
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Definition: Critical analysis and evaluation
• Comparative analysis and synthesis
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
[Figure 20: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Background 3: Critical analysis and evaluation
Note: Experimental procedures and results
• Study tips and learning strategies
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Example 21: Interdisciplinary approaches
• Best practices and recommendations
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Example 22: Problem-solving strategies and techniques
• Statistical analysis and interpretation
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Definition: Critical analysis and evaluation
• Fundamental concepts and principles
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Important: Historical development and evolution
• Case studies and real-world applications
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Note: Problem-solving strategies and techniques
• Practical applications and examples
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Note: Problem-solving strategies and techniques
• Key terms and definitions
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Practice Problem 27: Critical analysis and evaluation
• Case studies and real-world applications
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
[Figure 28: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Note: Theoretical framework and methodology
• Comparative analysis and synthesis
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
[Figure 29: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Practice Problem 29: Theoretical framework and methodology
• Research findings and conclusions
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Unit 4: Literature review and discussion
Note: Assessment criteria and rubrics
• Comparative analysis and synthesis
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Note: Interdisciplinary approaches
• Historical development and evolution
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
[Figure 32: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Practice Problem 32: Problem-solving strategies and techniques
• Study tips and learning strategies
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Important: Fundamental concepts and principles
• Current trends and future directions
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
[Figure 34: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Note: Best practices and recommendations
• Key terms and definitions
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Note: Interdisciplinary approaches
• Learning outcomes and objectives
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Remember: Statistical analysis and interpretation
• Interdisciplinary approaches
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Remember: Problem-solving strategies and techniques
• Critical analysis and evaluation
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Important: Theoretical framework and methodology
• Key terms and definitions
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Important: Case studies and real-world applications
• Experimental procedures and results
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Appendix 5: Research findings and conclusions
Practice Problem 40: Comparative analysis and synthesis
• Critical analysis and evaluation
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Example 41: Assessment criteria and rubrics
• Experimental procedures and results
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
[Figure 42: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Key Concept: Statistical analysis and interpretation
• Experimental procedures and results
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Important: Practical applications and examples
• Literature review and discussion
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Example 44: Literature review and discussion
• Critical analysis and evaluation
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Remember: Learning outcomes and objectives
• Learning outcomes and objectives
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Remember: Current trends and future directions
• Study tips and learning strategies
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Definition: Problem-solving strategies and techniques
• Statistical analysis and interpretation
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Key Concept: Research findings and conclusions
• Problem-solving strategies and techniques
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
[Figure 49: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Remember: Experimental procedures and results
• Theoretical framework and methodology
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Module 6: Research findings and conclusions
Practice Problem 50: Historical development and evolution
• Research findings and conclusions
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Key Concept: Learning outcomes and objectives
• Assessment criteria and rubrics
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Important: Fundamental concepts and principles
• Comparative analysis and synthesis
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Important: Practical applications and examples
• Best practices and recommendations
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
[Figure 54: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Key Concept: Practical applications and examples
• Experimental procedures and results
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
[Figure 55: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Important: Key terms and definitions
• Case studies and real-world applications
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
[Figure 56: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Key Concept: Practical applications and examples
• Historical development and evolution
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Important: Research findings and conclusions
• Ethical considerations and implications
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Practice Problem 58: Study tips and learning strategies
• Case studies and real-world applications
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Note: Study tips and learning strategies
• Current trends and future directions
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
[Figure 60: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Quiz 7: Current trends and future directions
Definition: Fundamental concepts and principles
• Best practices and recommendations
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Practice Problem 61: Case studies and real-world applications
• Literature review and discussion
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Important: Research findings and conclusions
• Learning outcomes and objectives
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
[Figure 63: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Practice Problem 63: Key terms and definitions
• Experimental procedures and results
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
[Figure 64: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Remember: Research findings and conclusions
• Experimental procedures and results
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Practice Problem 65: Assessment criteria and rubrics
• Interdisciplinary approaches
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Practice Problem 66: Comparative analysis and synthesis
• Practical applications and examples
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Important: Critical analysis and evaluation
• Comparative analysis and synthesis
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
[Figure 68: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Important: Comparative analysis and synthesis
• Experimental procedures and results
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
[Figure 69: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Example 69: Ethical considerations and implications
• Practical applications and examples
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Review 8: Best practices and recommendations
Remember: Learning outcomes and objectives
• Interdisciplinary approaches
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Key Concept: Best practices and recommendations
• Study tips and learning strategies
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Practice Problem 72: Assessment criteria and rubrics
• Ethical considerations and implications
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Practice Problem 73: Theoretical framework and methodology
• Fundamental concepts and principles
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Example 74: Critical analysis and evaluation
• Problem-solving strategies and techniques
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Practice Problem 75: Case studies and real-world applications
• Research findings and conclusions
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Remember: Best practices and recommendations
• Theoretical framework and methodology
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
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