Windows into the Past: Life Histories and the Historian of South Asia PDF
Preview Windows into the Past: Life Histories and the Historian of South Asia
Critical Problems in History Windows into the Past Life Histories and the Historian of South Asia JUDITH M. BROWN “this book provides an example of the historian’s craft at its best. Known throughout the world for her balanced and influential interpretation of modern india, mahatma Gandhi, and nehru, Judith Brown has excelled herself by opening windows into india’s recent past that hitherto have remained closed. the elegance of style adds to the power of the argument. read it: you will enjoy the experience.” —antHOny PareL, University of Calgary “Once again, Judith Brown has amazed us with something truly remarkable. Her latest book, so exquisitely well crafted, is a gem. it gives us fresh glimpses into facets of india’s (or South asia’s) recent past, of things never before seen, or imagined. reflecting brilliance of imagination and insight, it shows us new ways of ‘doing history.’ By focusing upon dynastic ‘lives’ of specific institutions—cohorts and families of Balliol College, as well as individuals in their ‘public’ and ‘private’ worlds—this work turns our understandings around. never again will we look at the raj, or at Gandhi and nehru, in quite the same way.” —rOBert eriC FryKenBerG, University of Wisconsin-Madison “Utilizing Balliol College records, personal photographs, life histories, and more tradi- tional sources such as autobiographies and private papers, Judith Brown incisively explores multiple themes in the history of colonial and independent india. they range from the graduates of Balliol College who formed ‘dynasties’ within an imperial administration to how the iconic indian leaders, Gandhi and nehru, confronted public and private challenges while creating an indian nation. Her fascinating narrative of family histories will stimulate both professional historians and popular audiences to reconsider how such histories can illuminate broader topics such as imperial domi- nance, nation-building, and globalization.” —BarBara ramUSaCK, Charles Phelps Taft Professor, University of Cincinnati Judith M. Brown is Beit Professor of Commonwealth History and Professorial Fellow of Balliol College, the University of Oxford. She is the author of a number of books, including Nehru: A Political Life and Gandhi: Prisoner of Hope. UniverSity OF nOtre dame PreSS notre dame, indiana 46556 • undpress.nd.edu COVER DESIGN: ThE DESIGNWORkS GROup, JEff MIllER COVER IMAGES: ShuTTERSTOCk Windows into the Past The University of Notre Dame Press gratefully acknowledges the generous support of alumnus Robert Dilenschneider, his wife, Jan, and their sons, Geoffrey and Peter, in the publication of titles in this series. Judith M. Brown Windows into the Past Life Histories and the Historian of South Asia University of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame, Indiana Copyright © by University of Notre Dame Notre Dame,Indiana www.undpress.nd.edu All Rights Reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Brown,Judith M.(Judith Margaret),‒ Windows into the past : life histories and the historian of South Asia / Judith M.Brown. p. cm.—(Critical problems in history) Includes bibliographical references and index. -: ----(pbk.:alk.paper) -: ---(pbk.:alk.paper) .South Asia—Historiography. .India—Historiography. .South Asia—Biography. .India—Biography. .Balliol College (University of Oxford)—Alumni and alumnae—Biography. .Family life—South Asia— Historiography. .Family life—India—Historiography. .Gandhi, Mahatma,‒. .Nehru,Jawaharlal,‒. I.Title. . .—dc ∞ The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. The study of history offers us an opportunity to illuminate the work of institutions and communities, but it often overlooks the lives that are molded by those same social forces.Judith M.Brown,Beit Professor of Commonwealth History and Professorial Fellow of Balliol College,the University of Oxford,is a leading historian of South Asia who has de- veloped a stimulating and provocative technique to conduct historical research.Dr.Brown explores “life histories”of families and institutions, examining them in all their richness while letting readers peer into cap- tivating “windows into the past.” In her scholarly work Professor Brown observes,“there is much to begained from moving beyond the study of groups of similar people to alongitudinal studyof families and the study ofthe life of different sorts of critical institutions.”Her astute exploration of family life history re- veals patterns over the course of generations that ultimately provide tell- ing insights into people and communities who often left little historical documentation that could assist researchers. In recent decades the study of history itself has become a conten- tious issue.Howweinterpret the past,often through the lens of politics, religion,and ideology,says a great deal about a society.It affects the pres- ent and can direct or misdirect the future.As the author says,“The prac- tice of history is also consistently on the move,as contemporary issues suggest new interpretations of the past or new problems to examine,and as development in neighboring disciplines suggest new intellectual and scholarly problems and routes into the study of the past.” The Dilenschneider family is very proud to support this remarkable historical project,the second in the “Critical Problems in History”series published by the University of Notre Dame Press.It is preceded in this series by Doris L.Bergen’s The Sword of the Lord: Military Chaplains from the First to the Twenty-First Century.These works are truly a credit to Notre Dame and the scholars who produced them. —Robert L.Dilenschneider Contents List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction:The Practice of History Chapter . Colleges,Cohorts,and Dynasties Chapter . Family Histories Chapter . Individual Lives and Their Public World Chapter . Individual Lives and Their Inner World Conclusion Notes List of Sources Index Illustrations Figurea–c. The covenant signed byW.W.Loch (Balliol,‒)when he entered the ICS in . Courtesy of the Rev.Hamish Fullerton,great-great-nephew of Willie Walker Loch. Figure. British domestic interior,UP,India,‒. From the Sladen photograph albums,Balliol College archives. Figure . Wife and children of J.H.Cox,Deputy Commissioner of Hardoi and senior ICS colleague of F.Sladen (Balliol,‒).They are shown in front of their bungalow with their retinue of servants,c..From the Sladen photograph albums,Balliol College archives. Figure. The Nehrufamily,.Courtesy of the NehruMemorial Library,New Delhi. Figure. Grandparents of Professor Tapan Raychaudhuri, formerly Reader in Indian History,University of Oxford, c..Courtesy of Professor Tapan Raychaudhuri. ix
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