1st Edition
Theorizing a Bengali Nation Abul Hashim and the United Bengal Movement, 1937–1947
This book explores the philosophical and political roots of the United Bengal movement of 1947 that emerged as a final bid to keep the province united against Partition. Through Abul Hashim, one of its architects, it explores the idea of an independent Bengali nation in the years preceding Independence and examines the underlying tensions of the concept of a Muslim-led independent Bangalistaan and its repercussions on a sizeable Hindu minority. Focusing on Hashim’s writings and political contributions, this monograph highlights his vision of an aesthetic identity rooted within religious principles as well as civic ideals in a new united Bengal, where common law underwritten through religious ideals did not need to be necessarily opposed to western discourses of a modern state.
A major, new intervention, this book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of modern Indian history, especially the Partition, politics, and South Asian studies.
Introduction 1. Exploring Alternative Nations and Nationalisms: The League’s Story in Bengal 2. Negotiating between Religion and Culture: Theorizing the Rationale Behind the United Bengal Proposal 3. A Sovereign Independent Bengal: Bridging the Religious Gap through ‘Aesthetic Nationalism’ 4. The Formation of a Bengali Nation: Debating Ethnic and Civic Nationalisms in the 20th Century 5. Reception of the United Bengal Proposal- Failure and Discontent. Conclusion.
Biography
Sucharita Sen is Associate Professor of politics at the Jindal School of Liberal Arts and Humanities (JSLH), O.P. Jindal Global University (O.P. JGU), Haryana, India. She completed her PhD at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi in 2020. She received her MPhil in Modern South Asian Studies from the University of Cambridge in July 2013. Her areas of interest are the study of nationalism, ethnic identity constructions, and issues of modernity. This book is primarily based on her doctoral thesis.
