IEA

Fellowship time: April to June 2010

Research project:
"Democratic Nation-building in a Multicultural Society : A Comparative Study"

Abstract :
"I would like in my research project at Nantes to analyse in a comparative framework a critical feature of the history of the initial years after independence in India, presided over by Jawaharlal Nehru, viz., the complex and closely interlinked process of the emergence of democracy and the process of nation building in society which was deeply divided on the basis of language, religion, caste, etc., a division greatly exacerbated during the colonial experience. I would like to examine how a similar commitment to democratic principles emerges in other societies, in which historical contexts diverge, and is it envisaged in similar ways as playing a role in nation-building. I would like to study the examples of France, Britain, and the USA as well as former colonial societies, particularly those with a multi-cultural, multi-religious, multi-lingual or multi racial populations, such as South Africa, Turkey and Brazil. What are the historical moments, if any, when this principle comes under challenge or is weakened? Which are the historical circumstances that lead to its weakening and which are those that lead to its strengthening. Such an exploration would help to delineate the areas of risk as well as hope and act as an aid and a warning for democracy in India."

Biographical elements:

Professor of Modern History at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU, New Delhi, India), Mridula Mukherjee’s work has focussed on the role of peasants in the non-violent revolution. It analyzes the challenges that now India is facing and the successes it has achieved, in light of its colonial legacy and its centennial struggle for freedom. Meanwhile, she has directed since 2006, the Nehru Memorial Museum. She is particularly responsible for the preservation and development of the library on the history of modern India. In 2008 she published "India Since Independence" (Penguin).

Publications:

BOOKS:

1. India’s Struggle for Independence, Viking, 1988, Penguin, 1989 (co-author with Bipan Chandra, et. Al.), 44th reprint in 2008.
2. India After Independence, 1947-2000 Viking (India), New Delhi, 1999, Penguin (India), 2000,(Co-author with Bipan Chandra and Aditya Mukherjee).
3. Communalisation of Education, The History Textbook Controversy, editor (with Aditya Mukherjee), Delhi Historians’ Group, 2002
4. Peasants in India’s Non-violent Revolution, Practice and Theory, Sage Publications, 2004.
5. Colonialising Agriculture: The Myth of Punjab Exceptionalism, Sage Publications, 2006.
6. India Since Independence, Penguin, 2008.

7. Bharat Ka Swatantrata Sangharsh, Delhi University, 1990 (co-author). This is a translation in Hindi of item no.1
8. Bharater Swadhinata Sangram, K.P.Bagchi and Co.,1994(co-author.).This is a Bengali translation of item no. 1
9. Bharat Swatantrata ke Bad, Delhi Unversity, (In press) This is a translation in Hindi of item no. 2.
10. Bharatacha Swatantraya Sangharsh, K’Sagar Publications, Pune, 2003, This is a translation in Marathi of item number 1.
11. Bharat Swadhintar Pare, Ananda Publishers, 2006. This is a translation in Bengali of item no. 2.

ARTICLES and Chapters in books:

1. "Premchand and the Agrarian Classes", in Proceedings of Indian History Congress, Chandigarh, 1973.
2. Review article on Judith M. Brown, Gandhi’s Rise to Power, Cambridge University Press, 1972, and Judith M. Brown, Gandhi and Civil Disobedience, Cambridge University Press, 1977, in Studies in History, Vol.I, No.1, 1979, pp.164-75.
3. "Peasant Movement in Patiala State, 1937-48" in Studies in History, Vol.I, No.2, 1979, pp.215-283.
4. "Some Aspects of Agrarian Structure of Punjab, 1925-47" in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.XV, No.26, June 28, 1980, pp. A-46 to A-58.
5. "Communists and Peasants in Punjab: A Focus on the Muzara Movement in Patiala, 1937-53" in Studies in History, Vol.III, 1981. Also reprinted in Bipan Chandra, ed., The Indian Left: Critical Appraisals, Vikas, 1983, pp.401-46
6. "Commercialisation and Agrarian Change in Pre-Independence Punjab" in K.N. Raj et. al., eds., Essays on the Commercialisation of Indian Agriculture, OUP, 1985, pp.51-104.
7. "She Fought for Freedom: An Interview with Sushila Chain" in Manushi, Vol.22.
8. "Imperialism and the Growth of Indian Capitalism in the Twentieth Century" in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.XXIII, No.11, March 12, 1988 (with Aditya Mukherjee). Also reprinted in Ghanshyam Shah, ed., Capitalist Development: Critical Essays, Felicitation Volume in honour of Prof. A.R. Desai, Popular, Bombay, 1990, pp.77-114.
9. "Peasant Resistance and Peasant Consciousness in Colonial India: `Subalterns’ and Beyond - Part I" in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.XXIII, No.41, October 8, 1988, pp.2109-20.
10. "Peasant Resistance and Peasant Consciousness in Colonial India: ‘Subalterns’ and Beyond - Part II" in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.XXIII, No.42, October 15, 1988, pp.2174-85.
11. "Rural Indebtedness in Colonial Punjab" in The Panjab Past and Present, Vol.XXIII-I, April 1989, pp.154-83.
12. "The Relevance of Nehru" in Link, September 22, 1991.
13. "Itihas ke Pariprekshaya Mein Rashtravad" in Pashyanti, April-June 1994.
14. "The Bardoli Peasants Struggle, 1928" in Ravi Dayal, ed., We Fought Together for Freedom, ICHR and OUP, 1995.
15. "Aupniveshik Bharat Mein Krishak Pratirodh aur Krishak Chetna: "Upashrayavad" aur uske bad" in Itihas, Vol.II, pp.96-156. This is a Hindi translation of the articles listed at nos.8 and 9 above.
16. "Peasant Protest in Punjab: Forms of Struggle and Mobilisation", Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, December 1998.
17. Review article on Judith M. Brown, Gandhi’s Rise to Power, Cambridge University Press, 1972, and Judith M. Brown, Gandhi and Civil Disobedience, Cambridge University Press, 1977, in Studies in History, Vol.I, No.1, 1979, pp.164-75.
18. Peasants and Nationalism: A Critique of Subaltern Historigraphy Presidential address, Historiography Section, Andhra Pradesh History Congress, 1999.
19. "Indian Historiography: Ideological and Political Challenges", in Hema V. Raghavan, ed., Contending Ideologies: A Quest for New Moorings, Gargi Publications, 2002.
20. "Communalisation of Education, The History Textbook Controversy: An Overview," Mainstream, Annual Number, 22 December 2001, (with Aditya Mukherjee).
21. ‘Vajpayee, Sangh Cohorts and Indian Nationalism’, Mainstream, 1 May 2004 (with Aditya Mukherjee)