Region, Nation, "Heartland": Uttar Pradesh in India's Body Politic: 10 (SAGE Series in Modern Indian History) - Softcover

Kudaisya’s survey of literature and official documents is commendably meticulous. The epilogue, a political chronology, and biographical notes on key political figures, all serve as additional reference tools.... the book presents a valuable perspective on the political history of UP, and the vast literature on the subject, and as such, is a must read for students of modern Indian history and colonial/post-colonial politics in UP and on the subcontinent.

(Contributions to Indian Sociology)

Imaginatively written and drawing upon massive archival research, this book will be of considerable interest to scholars and students of modern history, political science and those with a serious interest in contemporary South Asia. (Free Press Journal)

The book...is worth a read for any serious student of contemporary history and political science. The comprehensive political chronology, biographical notes of key political figures, glossary, detailed bibliography and index provided at the end are extremely helpful for both the uninitiated and those curious to know more. (The Tribune)

This book interrogates Uttar Pradesh’s identity as India’s “heartland” and unravels the historical processes that have shaped this region. In looking at this constructed identity of the state it argues that UP’s existence as a “region” cannot be taken uncritically as a given, considering the complex and divergent traditions that have been constituent of the state. It makes the case that UP has been imagined in multiple ways and explores five such distinct, though overlapping, constructions through its modern history: UP as a “colonial heartland”, as a “nationalist heartland”, as a “Hindu heartland”, as a “Muslim heartland”, and finally as a “postcolonial heartland”. The book closely examines UP’s transformation from a colonial to a postcolonial society, looking at issues of identities, mobilization and governance.

With its size, location and demography, UP has occupied a distinct position within India’s body politic. In the last two decades, the state has seen dramatic political change, marked by fragmentation along lines of religion, region, class and caste. Region, Nation, “Heartland” offers insights into factors that lie behind this social and political churning, which promises to transform not just UP, but India itself. The book offers a fresh perspective into the dynamics of how “regions” have contributed to the projects of state and nation-building in South Asia.