Taking Gandhi's statements about civil disobedience to heart, in
February 1922 residents from the villages around the north Indian
market town of Chauri Chaura attacked the local police station,
burned it to the ground and murdered twenty-three constables.
Appalled that his teachings were turned to violent ends, Gandhi
called off his Noncooperation Movement and fasted to bring the
people back to nonviolence. In the meantime, the British government
denied that the riot reflected Indian resistance to its rule and
tried the rioters as common criminals. These events have taken on
great symbolic importance among Indians, both in the immediate
region and nationally. Amin examines the event itself, but also,
more significantly, he explores the ways it has been remembered,
interpreted, and used as a metaphor for the Indian struggle for
independence.
The author, who was born fifteen miles from Chauri Chaura, brings
to his study an empathetic knowledge of the region and a keen ear
for the nuances of the culture and language of its people. In an
ingenious negotiation between written and oral evidence, he
combines brilliant archival work in the judicial records of the
period with field interviews with local informants.
In telling this intricate story of local memory and the making of
official histories, Amin probes the silences and ambivalences that
contribute to a nation's narrative. He extends his boundaries well
beyond Chauri Chaura itself to explore the complex relationship
between peasant politics and nationalist discourse and the
interplay between memory and history.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(1)
(4)
