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"In the last twenty-five years significant epistemological shifts and methodological innovations have enriched the historiography of colonial Bengal. The essays in this collection by noted scholars in the field critically examine some of these trends. Section One, for instane, deals with the debates concerning the early fortunes of the English East India Company: the literatures on peasant and tribal movements: the industrial working classes: the changing trends in the interpretation of Bengal Renaissance: the historical significance of fish, fisheries and the social life of Bengali fishermen Section two focusing on social identities and politics, the Bengali Muslims’ quest for identity: :literature on caste system and construction of identities among lower caste Hindus while Samita Sen, in her essay, critically examines recent researches on the history of women, existing views on nationalism in Bengal the problems of interpreting the troubled politics of the 1940s, etc This book does not propagate any particular view of history but looks critically at the existing historical discourses with a view to stoke new debates.
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