1st Edition

Africa in the Bengali Imagination From Calcutta to Kampala, 1928-1973

By Mahruba T. Mowtushi Copyright 2025
264 Pages 11 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge India

264 Pages 11 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge India

264 Pages 11 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge India

This book examines textual representations of Africa in the Indian imagination from 1928 to 1973. It critically analyses Bengali literature during this period, their imitation of colonial racial prejudices and how it allowed Bengalis to fashion their identity. It analyses the development of ‘Africa’ as an idea and historical reality through the writings of five Bengali writers including the... Read more

List of figures and tables. Acknowledgements. A note on Names and Spellings. Chapter I: Introduction Chapter II: The Replenishment of Bengal: Bibhutibhusan Bandyopadhyay’s African Adventure Novel, Chander Pahar (1933) Chapter III: Space, Place and the Body: The Nationalist Bhadrolok in Hemendrakumar Roy’s African Story, Abar Jakher Dhan (1933) Chapter IV: ‘A Call to Duty’: Rabindranath Tagore on Africa Chapter V: Ganesh Bagchi and the Narratives of Longing and Belonging in Uganda, 1948-1964 Chapter VI: Nations and nationalities in Transition: The Poems of Rajat Neogy for Transition Magazine, 1962-1973 Conclusion. Bibliography. Index

Biography

Mahruba T. Mowtushi The author writes for the Journal of Commonwealth Literature (JCL), Research in African Literature (RAL) and the journal of South Asian Review (SAR) among others. In recent years, she has published works on Bengali cinema, street art in Dhaka, South Asian Muslim food culture and African writers of Bengali descent. The author works in both English and Bengali and her research and writing interests cut across South Asian and African literature and cultural history. The author is currently working on a two-volume project on wireless broadcasting in eastern Bengal and Bangladesh and the rise of modern nation-states.