HISTORY 399  CONTEMPORARY INDIA: 1947 TO THE PRESENT

Instructor: SANJAY JOSHI
Meeting time: T-Th. :  4- 5:15, LA 204
Office: BS 205
Office Hours: T-Th. 11:00 - 12:00 and  2:10 - 3:10, and by appointment.
Phone: 523-6216 or 523-4378
E-mail: Sanjay.Joshi@nau.edu
 

Course Description
 This course  examines social, political and economic developments in India since independence in 1947, and places the developments in a historical and comparative context.  Exploring the sources of India's diversity as well as unity, riches as well as poverty, the roots of cooperation as well as conflict, its progress as well as shortcomings, the course aims at achieving a nuanced understanding of the working of the world's largest democracy.  Studying the work of well known scholars, the insights of literary figures, as well as a selection from the many sources of information available over the Internet, this course introduces students to the multiple facets that make up India today.

Required Readings
1. Mark Tully and Zareer Masani.   From Raj to Rajiv: Forty Years of Indian Independence.  Delhi:  UBS, 1992.
2. Shashi Tharoor.  India: From Midnight to Millennium.  New York: HarperPerennial (A Division of Harper Collins Publishers), 1998.
3. A course packet of REQUIRED readings.
4. Recent important articles on India available on the WWW. URLs cited in the course schedule belwo, under the dates when articles are to be read.

Recommended Readings
Students need to choose ONE of these books to report on for their first paper (see below). A brief description is attached to help with your selection.  Most books are around a 100 pages in length except for Freeman's Untouchable.

1.  C.T. Kurien. Global Capitalism and the Indian Economy.  Delhi: Orient Longman, 1994.
Description: On the relationship between the Indian economy and the globalization.

2. A.  Vaidyanathan. The Indian Economy: Crisis Response and Prospects.  Delhi: Orient Longman, 1995. Description: A closer focus on the internal workings of the Indian economy in recent years.

3. Tapan Basu et. al. Khaki Shorts and Saffron Flags. Delhi: Orient Longman, 1993.
Description: Recounts the history of Hindu right wing movements in the country up to 1993.

4. Balraj Puri.  Kashmir Towards Insurgency.  Delhi: Orient Longman, 1993.  Description:  Discusses the troubled history of Kashmir, an area that has been in dispute between India and Pakistan since independence in 1947, and has seen the rise of a militant separatist movement.

5. James Freeman: Untouchable: An Indian Life History.  Delhi: Indus (An imprint of Harper- Collins Publishers, India), 1993.  Description: An anthropologist describes the everyday life of an Untouchable man in modern India.

6.  A compiled READER on women's issues in contemporary India.   Students wishing to write on this subject need to contact the instructor as soon as possible.  A selection of readings that will then be made available on reserve at the library.

Assignments
 In addition to regular participation in class activities, the course requires students to write two short papers, take a mid-term and a final examination, and prepare notes for class discussions.

I.  Papers
Paper One (700 to 1000 words) will ask students to write a report on ONE of the recommended books for this class (see the list above).  Each of these books covers a very important theme in  economy, society, or politics of contemporary India.  More guidelines will be presented when the paper is assigned.  This paper will count towards 20% of the total course grade.  Paper Two (between 1000 and 1500 words) will require that students survey and analyze CONTEMPORARY  media coverage of the theme they chose for their first paper.   The Internet is the best source for following contemporary developments, and I urge students to begin their media study early in the semester.
A variety of English language newspapers from India are available over the Internet, and a list of relevant sites will be provided early in the semester.  The coverage needs to span the entire semester and place contemporary events in a historical context.  The work for your first paper should give you the necessary historical background to understand many of the issues connected with the  theme you choose to focus on.  Paper two will count towards 25% of the total course grade.

II.  Exams
There will be one final and one mid term exam.  The mid term will consist of a map quiz and a number of short answer questions.  A list of map locations and topics for short answer questions will be provided in advance of the exam.  The mid term will count towards 15% of the total course grade.  In addition to the components of the mid-term, the final exam may also involve writing out longer essay-type answers to questions.  A list of map locations, short answer topics, and essay themes will, again, be handed out in advance of the exam.  The final will count towards 20% of the course grade.

III.  Scheduled Discussions: A series of FOUR formal discussions have been scheduled as part of this course.  The class will be divided into small groups to facilitate discussion. You will be given specific questions or topics around which to frame your discussions a few days in advance of the discussion day.  On the day of the discussion you need to come prepared with TWO copies of your notes on the discussion topics.  You will hand one copy of that to me, and use the other to participate in the discussion.  The best THREE of FOUR discussion notes will count towards the course grade.  Attendance and participation in all discussions is mandatory; there is no possibility of make-ups in this part of the course.  Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES will discussion notes be accepted after the discussion has already taken place.
 ALL WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE IN CLASS.

Attendance and Course Policy
 I expect regular class attendance of course, without which  there is no point in your being enrolled in this class, but I do not demand it.  Missing too many classes will undoubtedly and negatively impact on your class performance.  Absence from discussion groups will certainly bring your grade down as there is no possibility of make-ups for that part of the class.

 If you miss a class, whatever your reasons for doing so, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to arrange to meet or call a classmate and find out what happened in that class.  I also expect you to come to class having done all the required reading, and prepared to engage in discussion.  Finally, I expect you to be motivated to learn about the subject, and to improve your skills as a historian.

PLEASE NOTE: I do not give extensions, incompletes, or make-up exams, except in cases allowed for by University Policy.

Plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in any of the assignments, and will result in failing the course.  Please consult the section on "Academic Integrity" in the  NAU Policy Statements appended to this syllabus for further details.  IT IS THE STUDENTS' RESPONSIBILITY TO FAMILIARIZE HERSELF/HIMSELF WITH THESE MATTERS AS DEFINED BY THE UNIVERSITY.

Evaluation
 Grades for the course will be determined according to the following criteria:
  Paper One        20%
  Paper Two        25%
  Mid-Term Exam      15%
  Final Exam       20%
  Written Discussion Notes     15%
  Class & Discussion Participation    5%

   TOTAL FOR COURSE    100%
 The grading scale for the course will be as follows:
 90%+ = A; 80 - 89%= B; 70-79%= C; 60-69%= D; below 60%= F.

PROVISIONAL COURSE SCHEDULE (subject to modification)
Tuesday January 12:   Course Introduction.

1.  India: An Introduction to Politics and Society
Thursday January 14   Historical Background
 Reading
 Tully and Masani, pp. 13-29.

January 19 to January 26  Indian Political History Since 1947
 Reading
 Tuesday January 19:   Tharoor, pp. 1-22.
 Thursday January 21:  Tharoor, pp. 23-49.
     Tully and Masani, pp. 29-43.
 Tuesday January 26:  Tully and Masani, pp. 103-148

 This part of the course will consist of lectures based on readings and screening of a documentary film titled "Dynasty: The Nehru-Gandhi Story."

Thursday January 28:  Indian Politics Since 1947: An Overview
 Lecture and informal discussion synthesizing readings since January 14.
 Assignment
 Questions for Discussion #1 assigned.

Tuesday February 2:   DISCUSSION #1: Salient features of Indian politics since 1947
 PAPER ONE ASSIGNED

2.   The Indian Economy
February 4 to February 16:  Political Economy since Independence
 Readings
 Thursday February 4: Tully and Masani, pp. 45-71.
 Tuesday  February 09: Tharoor, pp. 159-198.
 Thursday  February 11:  P. Sainath, "Dregs of Destiny."
 Link to:  Dregs of Destiny
 Tuesday  February 16: Amartya Sen, "Well Beyond Liberalization."  (Course packet, henceforth, CP)
 Assignment
 Tuesday  February 16:  Questions for Discussion #2 assigned.

Thursday  February 18:  DISCUSSION #2: Political Economy Since Independence.

3. Caste and Class
Tuesday  February 23:   Caste From the Point of View of Privilege
 Readings
 Tharoor, pp. 79-111.

Thursday  February 25:   Caste, Class, and Power
 Readings
 Selections from Poisoned Bread in CP.

Tuesday March 2:      MID TERM REVIEW

Thursday March 4:    MID TERM EXAM

 March 8 to 12 SPRING BREAK.... ENJOY!!  But finish that paper!!!

3.  The Non Resident Indians
Tuesday March 16:    Imagined Homelands
 Readings
 Tharoor, pp. 139-158.
PAPER ONE DUE

Thursday March 18:   Bittersweet Experiences
 NO CLASS: come for special screening of film and discussion.  See below.

FRIDAY MARCH 19: A special presentation and film screening by Sanjeev Chatterjee, the maker of numerous documentary films on the Indian diaspora in north America and other parts of the world.  Location and time TBA.   Please make it a point to attend.

4. Gender and Religious Revivalism in Modern India
Tuesday March 23   Oppressed Women
 Readings
 Tully and Masani, pp. 87-101.
 Mrinal Pande, "Girls." (CP)
 K. Saraswathi Amma, "The Subordinate." (CP)
PAPER TWO ASSIGNED

Thursday March 25   Women's Resistance
 Screening of documentary, "When women unite: The story of an uprising"

Tuesday March 30   Emergence of Religious Revivalism
 Readings
 Tully and Masani, pp. 73-86.
 Tharoor, Chapter Three.

Thursday April 1   Women and Religious Revivalism
 Amrita Chhachhi, " The State, Religious Fundamentalism and Women in South Asia."  (CP)

Tuesday April 6   Gender and Hindu Revivalism in India
 Readings
 Tharoor, Chapter Five.
 Screening part one of Anand Patwardhan's film, "Father, Son, and Holy War."
 PLEASE ARRANGE A TIME TO SEE PART II of the film on your own.
 Assignment
 Questions for Discussion # 4: Relations between politics of gender and that of religious revivalism.

Thursday April 8   DISCUSSION # 3: Masculinity, Femininity, and Revivalist Politics.
5.  The Bomb!
Tuesday April 13   The Case for the Indian Bomb
 Readings
 Jaswant Singh, "Against Nuclear Apartheid" (CP)
 

Thursday April 15   The Voices of Peace and Protest
 Readings
 1. Arundhati Roy,  "The End of Imagination" Outlook Online.  Issue Dated: August 3, 1998
 Link to  End of Imagination
 OPTIONAL: a rejoinder by Sadanand Dhume in The Earth Times, "Can India's testing of nuclear weapons be equated with using them?"
 Link to  Rejoinder to Arundhati Roy
 2. Praful Bidwai, "Dangerous Descent: Flawed Logic of Nuclear Tests."  Opinion article in Times of India, May 15, 1998.  (CP)
 3. Siddhartha Vardarajan, "Pokharan as Pandora: Remapping the Geography of Power."  Opinion article in Times of India, May 16, 1998.  (CP)

 Assignment
 Questions for Discussion #4: The Bomb: How is it justified?

Tuesday April 20   DISCUSSION # 4: Pride or Peace? The Nuclear Issue in India.

6. Winding Down
Thursday April 22:   What does the future hold?
 Reading
 Tharoor, Chapter 10
 Tully and Masani, Chapter 10.
PAPER TWO DUE

Tuesday April 27:  END OF TERM REVIEW

Thursday April 29:  NO CLASS, PREPARE FOR EXAM

FINAL EXAM FOR THIS CLASS WILL BE ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 03:00-05:00 PM