This book analyses the political thought and practice of Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866–1915), preeminent liberal leader of the Indian National Congress who was able to give a ‘global voice’ to the Indian cause. Using liberalism, nationalism, cosmopolitanism and citizenship as the four main thematic foci, the book illuminates the entanglement of Gopal Krishna Gokhale’s political ideas and action with broader social, political and cultural developments within and beyond the Indian national frame. The author analyses Gokhale’s thinking on a range of issues such as nationhood, education, citizenship, modernity, caste, social service, cosmopolitanism and the ‘women’s question,’ which historians have either overlooked or inserted in a rigid nation-bounded historical narrative. The book provides new enriching dimensions to the understanding of Gokhale, whose ideas remain relevant in contemporary India. A new biography of Gokhale that brings into consideration current questions within historiographical debates, this book is a timely and welcome addition to the fields of intellectual history, the history of political thought, Colonial history and Indian and South Asian history.

This companion presents a comprehensive overview of educational policies in India, tracing the development of modern education from the late eighteenth century until Indian independence. It also studies various aspects of indigenous education and examines the education system under the British administration. Drawing on archival and contemporary sources, the book explores the influence of geopolitics on educational policies and gives an in-depth analysis of debates related to access, curriculum, textbooks, funding, girls' education, missionary education, and the education of the Muslim community. It analyses school and collegiate education, various Education Commissions, and the Government of India Resolutions. It surveys Indian response to modern education and various forms of National Education. It also discusses Gandhi’s educational ideas and brings forth the entire curriculum of Nai Talim. An important contribution to the history of education in India, the companion will be indispensable to scholars and researchers of history, education, history of education, sociology, colonial education, Indian education, and political science.

This book explores the history and agendas of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) through its activities in South Asia. Focusing on interactions between American 'Y' workers and the local population, representatives of the British colonial state, and a host of international actors, it assesses their impact on the making of modern India. In turn, it shows how the knowledge and experience acquired by the Y in South Asia had a significant impact on US foreign policy, diplomacy and development programs in the region from the mid-1940s. Exploring the 'secular' projects launched by the YMCA such as new forms of sport, philanthropic efforts and educational endeavours, The YMCA in Late Colonial India addresses broader issues about the persistent role of religion in global modernization processes, the accumulation of American soft power in Asia, and the entanglement of American imperialism with other colonial empires. It provides an unusually rich case study to explore how 'global civil society' emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, how it related to the prevailing imperial world order, and how cultural specificities affected the ways in which it unfolded. Offering fresh perspectives on the historical trajectories of America's 'moral empire', Christian internationalism and the history of international organizations more broadly, this book also gives an insight into the history of South Asia during an age of colonial reformism and decolonization. It shows how international actors contributed to the shaping of South Asia's modernity at this crucial point, and left a lasting legacy in the region.

Colonial and Post-Colonial Identity Politics in South Asia analyses the colonial and post–colonial documentation and caste classification among Muslims in India, demonstrating that religion negotiated with regional social customs and local social practices whilst at the same time fostering a shared religious belief. The central question addressed in this is book is how different castes assert their identity for classification and how caste encountered colonial documentation. Identifying the colonial context of the documentation of caste among Muslims, and relying on colonial documentation in various census reports, Gazetteers, government or police records, ethnographic studies and travelogues, the author demonstrates the sheer diversity of attempts and caste among Muslims. The book deconstructs how under Colonialism Muslims were categorized into three broad but overlapping categories - Ashraf, Ajlafs and Arzals - and that Muslims were categorized into Asiatic, Non-Asiatic, Foreign, Mixed and Hindustani –Muslim categories. It argues that few colonial theories applied to Muslims. Finally, the author explores post-colonial documentation of castes among Muslims in various Commission reports, particularly in Backward class commission reports and its interplay in the reservation politics of the contemporary period and examines the growth of various Muslim caste organizations in different parts of India and their role in identity politics. Providing a new perspective on the issue of minorities in India, this book will be of interest to scholars of religion, Islam, history, politics and sociology of India.

This book analyses the human dimension during and after the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. The chapters investigate questions of belonging and being an “alien”, civil rights and ethnic demands, and broader issues of citizenship and statelessness. The analysis centres around the situation of those who crossed into the Indian side of the border during the Liberation War, the Bengali speaking population who chose Pakistan as their country after the birth of Bangladesh, and “stranded Pakistani” or “Bihari Muslims” living in Bangladesh. The book addresses three key questions: how do the modern nation-states of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh categorize citizens based on the narratives of 1971; how the acceptance of certain groups as part of the Indian citizenry affected its concept of belonging; and, after 1971, how do Pakistan and Bangladesh define who is part of their citizenry, and how do so-called “aliens” negotiate their identity in national debates. A timely contribution to the subject of forced migration, citizenship and identities in South Asia, edited by three academics with Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage, this book will be of interest to a variety of academics studying the history, politics and sociology of South Asia.

Reinterprets Dadabhai Naoroji's Indian contribution to global debates on liberalism, capitalism and labour alongside concerns of civil peace.

Keshab Chandra Sen (1838-84) was one of the most powerful and controversial figures in nineteenth-century Bengal. A religious leader and social reformer, his universalist interpretation of Hinduism found mass appeal in India, and generated considerable interest in Britain. His ideas on British imperial rule, religion and spirituality, global history, universalism and modernity were all influential, and his visit to England made him a celebrity. Many Britons regarded him as a prophet of world-historical significance. Keshab was the subject of extreme adulation and vehement criticism. Accounts tell of large crowds prostrating themselves before him, believing him to be an avatar. Yet he died with relatively few followers, his reputation in both India and Britain largely ruined. As a representative of India, Keshab became emblematic of broad concerns regarding Hinduism and Christianity, science and faith, India and the British Empire. This innovative study explores the transnational historical forces that shaped Keshab's life and work. It offers an alternative religious history of empire, characterized by intercultural dialogue and religious syncretism. A fascinating and often tragic portrait of Keshab's experience of the imperial world, and the ways in which he carried meaning for his contemporaries.

How the legacy of monarchical empires shaped Britain, France, Spain, and the United States as they became liberal entities Historians view the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries as a turning point when imperial monarchies collapsed and modern nations emerged. Treating this pivotal moment as a bridge rather than a break, The Imperial Nation offers a sweeping examination of four of these modern powers—Great Britain, France, Spain, and the United States—and asks how, after the great revolutionary cycle in Europe and America, the history of monarchical empires shaped these new nations. Josep Fradera explores this transition, paying particular attention to the relations between imperial centers and their sovereign territories and the constant and changing distinctions placed between citizens and subjects. Fradera argues that the essential struggle that lasted from the Seven Years’ War to the twentieth century was over the governance of dispersed and varied peoples: each empire tried to ensure domination through subordinate representation or by denying any representation at all. The most common approach echoed Napoleon’s “special laws,” which allowed France to reinstate slavery in its Caribbean possessions. The Spanish and Portuguese constitutions adopted “specialness” in the 1830s; the United States used comparable guidelines to distinguish between states, territories, and Indian reservations; and the British similarly ruled their dominions and colonies. In all these empires, the mix of indigenous peoples, European-origin populations, slaves and indentured workers, immigrants, and unassimilated social groups led to unequal and hierarchical political relations. Fradera considers not only political and constitutional transformations but also their social underpinnings. Presenting a fresh perspective on the ways in which nations descended and evolved from and throughout empires, The Imperial Nation highlights the ramifications of this entangled history for the subjects who lived in its shadows.

This volume investigates both violent conflicts and non-violent conflict behavior. It addresses a variety of topics, including responsibility and guilt in connection with war, violent conflicts, and terrorist attacks; conflict escalation in disputed areas such as the South China Sea, Syria, and Ukraine; war as an instrument of the United States’ and Russia's global peace policy, and the experiences with non-violent conflict strategies in the Indian independence movement. Furthermore, it presents country studies on Switzerland and Catalonia. Peaceful interethnic relations in multilingual states in Switzerland are examined and juxtaposed against independence movements, such as in Catalonia. Current political challenges faced by the European Union, e.g. divergent refugee policies and the Brexit, are also discussed.

Citizens of Everywhere traces the international careers of a cohort of extraordinary Indian women leaders during the final decades of colonial rule. Working in pursuit of the dual goals of Indian independence and women's rights, the women featured in this book established productive transnational connections to gain influence on the world stage, all against the backdrop of momentous events in India and beyond. In doing so, they contributed a distinct set of ideas to global conversations about rights and citizenship. By bringing this transnational activism to light, the author offers new perspectives on Indian nationalism. More broadly the book establishes Indian women as actors in the global histories of women's rights and international movements during the era of decolonisation.