edited d n jha (5 Ergebnisse)

Pbk. Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi July 31 1907 ? June 29 1966 was a man with a Renaissance type of versatility he had a wide range of knowledge without sacrificing depth He was a mathematician statistician and polymath who contributed to genetics by introducing Kosambi?s map function He did pioneering work in numismatics and in compiling critical editions of ancient Sanskrit texts Above all he was an outstanding Marxist historian The present volume brings together articles by scholars who assess Kosambi?s contributions to Indian historiography Indology philology the study of religions historical materialism and our understanding of caste in Indian history While most essays deal with Kosambi the historian the final essay presents a detailed scientific historical and political assessment of his mathematical work The essays are neither allergic to nor adulatory about Kosambi?s work but seek to present a balanced and critical appraisal as well as updating our knowledge with the current thinking in the field 203 pp.

Hardcover. Zustand: New. Zustand des Schutzumschlags: New. 1st Edition. Contents: Preface. 1. Stereotypes and history. 2. Questioning the symbols. 3. Diversity of epic traditions. 4. Nudity and sexuality: divine and human. The construction of Hindu religious identity began in the late nineteenth century and has continued unabated. Accompanied by the demonization of minorities, especially Muslims, and the creation and propagation of absurd ideas about Hinduism, the Hindu identity has become increasingly aggressive in its manifestations. Its ideologues incessantly try to create fanciful stereotypes about Hinduism and redefining its boundaries is their monomania. By projecting Rama as the supreme God, denying the diversity of religious beliefs and practices negating the plurality of epic traditions, and by appropriating and inventing cultural symbols of questionable Hindu association, they present a grossly falsified view of India's past. (jacket).

The primary focus of most scholars in the field of medieval Indian studies has been on economic history Their judgement and estimate of medieval Indian society are largely based on the data available on economic social and politico-administrative institutions In contrast processes and phenomena that belong to the spheres of mentality religion culture scientific knowledge the very worldview of medieval Indians have attracted little attention and mostly as an appendix to the ?fundamental? themes The typical historical treatise on the medieval period deals with political events the economy agriculture crafts and trade major social groups their relations and life the administrative system taxation and at the end as a concession ?a bit of culture? brief descriptions of religious life literature and the fine arts In such a scheme cultural and mental phenomena are a reflection of socio-economic processes and a secondary source of the latter This volume seeks to create an interest in the mental and behavioural aspects of medieval society in India and widen the area of research The contributors to the volume belong to various schools of thought and follow different methodological approaches in their study of the socio-economic and administrative development of medieval India But when they discuss medieval Indian society from the viewpoint of ideas mental patterns and religious and cultural developments they come to certain shared terms and allow their findings to complement each other at a somewhat broader levelThe papers presented here make a collective effort to denote several components of the medieval Indian ?mental programme? First that the medieval Indian state may be viewed not only in terms of control exploitation extraction and appropriation but also in terms of practices ideas and ideologies that were closely linked among other things with religion Second that medieval Indian society had a specific understanding of the past and of social experience and that history individual or collective was recorded and reproduced not just to state facts but also to create patterns for subsequent generations to follow Third that a central feature of medieval society was hierarchy as embedded in the relations not only between social classes and groups but between individuals and as encompassing even intimate feelings and desires Further that the intellectual worlds of medieval India as revealed by literary philosophical and grammatical treatises which are the repositories of intellectual spiritual and emotional experience reflect the modes of dissemination and preservation of tradition as well as of dissent Fourth the presence of social and communal conflict and of mechanisms of conflict resolution that were peculiar to medieval Indian societyThe editors of the volume believe that there is need for comparative studies first to realize the peculiarities of the medieval outlook in various regional cultures of India and second to study what in the worldview under research was specifically Indian and what was typically medieval and common to other pre-modern societies They offer this volume as an invitation to their colleagues of whatever school and methodological affiliation to join in a search for new dimensions in medieval India research The primary focus of most scholars in the field of medieval Indian studies has been on economic history Their judgement and estimate of medieval Indian society are largely based on the data available on economic social and politico-administrative institutions In contrast processes and phenomena that belong to the spheres of mentality religion culture scientific knowledge the very worldview of medieval Indians have attracted little attention and mostly as an appendix to the ?fundamental? themes The typical historical treatise on the medieval period deals with political events the economy agriculture crafts and trade major social groups their relations and life the administrative system taxation and at the end.

Hardcover. Zustand: New. 1st Edition. Professor Ram Sharan Sharma (d.20 August 2011) was a trendsetter in the field of Indian historical research and has the unique distinction of changing its direction in post-Independence India. He made sharp departures from both colonialist and chauvinist perceptions of India's past. He shifted the focus of history writing from the chronicle of kings and queens to the history of the common people, took Indian history away from the realm of myths and legends, and radically demystified it. A champion of India's secular social fabric and its composite culture, he led the historians in their fight against communalism, advocated the cause of scientific history and repudiated those who indulged in undue glorification of the past. The present volume consists of articles by scholars researching on themes and periods different from those on which Professor Sharma himself worked but were always with him in his effort to decolonize and secularize Indian historiography. This collection of papers on themes from pre-colonial to post-colonial history of India deals with issues like periodization, rise of military feudalism and caste in medieval Bengal. They examine documents on medieval urbanization and the various facets of Mughal state and its administrative apparatus. The essays also focus on the importance of specific literary genres, medieval Indian trade with outside world, colonialism's impact on the colonies as well as the colonizers, and survey the development of communal politics as well as the left movement. These contributions deepen our understanding of the subjects that were dear to Professor Sharma. (jacket).

Hardcover. Zustand: New. 1st Edition. Professor Ram Sharan Sharma (d. 20 August 2011) was a trailblazer in the field of Indian historical research and has the unique distinction of changing its direction in post-Independence India. He made sharp departures from both colonial and chauvinist historiography, exploded the myth of a stagnant Indian society, shifted the focus of history writing from the chronicle of kings and queens to the history of the common people, especially the underprivileged and the marginalized, took Indian history away from the realm of myths and legends, and radically demystified it. He analysed the past through the prism of the present championed the cause of scientific history and did not seek to gild the lily. The present volume seeks to perpetuate his memory and celebrate his contribution from which the subsequent generation has immensely benefited. The essays brought together here deal with diverse themes and cover a wide canvas. They range from Harappan civilization, the Rigvedic chronology, and early historical archaeology to the history of urbanization, level of monetization, nature of trade, and to issues arising out of early medieval land grants, and other aspects of early Indian material culture. The anthology also contains articles of seminal importance on the nature and ideology of the caste and gender inequality and social dimensions of early Indian art. It bears the unmistakable stamp of R.S. Sharma's perspectives on India's past. (jacket).