Invoking the Past: The Uses of History in South Asia (SOAS Studies on South Asia)

The Essays In This Volume Reflect On An Undeniably Important Form Of Knowledge: History. The Essays In This Volume Alert Us To The Problem Of The Shifting Significance And Place Of The Past At Different Moments In The History Of South Asia. They Also Suggest The Need For A More Nuanced And Sustained Examination Of The Often Stereotypical Attributes Of Pre-colonial, Colonial, And Nationalist History.--jacket. Some Appropriations Of The Theory Of Aryan Race Relating To The Beginnings Of Indian History / Romila Thapar -- Inventing The History Of South India / Thomas R. Trautmann -- Being A Brahmin The Marxist Way / Dilip Menon -- History Textbooks And The Transmission Of The Pre-colonial Past In North-western India In The 1860s And 1870s / Avril A. Powell -- Monumental Texts / Peter Van Der Veer -- Time For Science / David Arnold -- Use Of The Past In A Public Campaign / Kavita Sivaramakrishnan -- Discovering India / Kumkum Chatterjee -- Imperial Orders Of The Past / Sudipta Sen -- Smṛtis And Jātis / Mikael Aktor -- Recovering Babel / Sanjay Subrahmanyam -- Mahāsena At The Mahāvihāra / Jonathan S. Walters -- History, Devotion And The Search For Nabhadas Of Galta / William Pinch. Edited By Daud Ali. Conference Proceedings. Published In Association With The School Of Oriental And African Studies. This volume of essays explores the various ways in which the past has been used to construct identity and authority in south Asia. The essays examine various genres, with a view to understanding the different frames through which the past has been viewed and used to remake the present.