HISTORY 312: INDIA UNDER THE BRITISH RAJ.

Class Meetings:  T Th  9:35-10:50 a.m., LA 321
Instructor: SANJAY JOSHI
Office Hours: T-Th.  11:00-12:00 and 2.10 to 3.10 and by appointment.
Office: BS 205
Phone: 523-6216 or 523 4378
E-mail: Sanjay.Joshi@nau.edu
 

Course Description
 This course examines the history of India from the mid 1700s to 1947.  In this period the British established a trading base in India, acquired political control over the region, and were finally compelled to relinquish political power over the Indian subcontinent. The course examines the material as well as ideological structures of British imperialism, as well as the many strands that went into the making of Indian nationalism.  We will pay particular attention to the events that led towards decolonization, and created in 1947 not one, but two independent nation-states of India and Pakistan.  Much of the course  will examine the nature of the mainstream leadership of the anti-colonial movements, and look at the differences and similarities within this nationalist leadership.  Equally important however,  will be the history of many groups at the margins of mainstream politics.  Here, the course explores ways in which marginalized groups differed from the elite leadership, and the extent to which elite politics represented the interests of the less powerful people..  Looking at this history will allow us to better evaluate the nature of the transition that took place in India in 1947, and also point us towards the necessity of critically examining all nationalist ideologies.

Readings
 We use one textbook, by Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal, along with a small set of extra readings included in  a course packet.  In order for you to get a better sense of social life and attitudes of the times, as well as to provide more entertaining reading, I have also included one novel as part of the reading for this course.  I will expect you to read Kipling's Kim not just as a story, but also as an example of the way in which a British writer living in India represented its society and politics in this novel.  In complete contrast are the other two readings for this class.  Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule is a succinct summary of some of the ideas of India's most famous nationalist, Mahatma Gandhi.  I would like you to read Gandhi's writings in conjunction with the information in the book titled Dalit Visions, which is critical of mainstream Indian nationalism for ignoring the plight of India's most oppressed groups.  There is an effort to provide you with many different points of views of Indian history in these readings, in the hope that you will be able to make your informed arguments and hypotheses about the important questions we discuss in the course.

 The following REQUIRED texts have been ordered at the NAU Bookstore for this course.
1.  Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal.   Modern South Asia: History, Culture, Political Economy.
2.  M. K. Gandhi.  Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule.
3. Rudyard Kipling.  Kim.  Edited and with an introduction by Edward Said.
4. Gail Omvedt.   Dalit Visions.
5.  A Course Packet of required readings.

Course Requirements and Evaluation
 Students will be expected to write two papers and take a mid term and a final exam.  In addition you  need to write and submit notes for scheduled discussions.

Discussions
The class will be divided into small groups to facilitate discussion. You will be given specific questions or topics around which to frame your discussion notes 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 the FOUR sets of discussion notes will count towards 15% of the total course grade.  Attendance and participation in all discussions is mandatory; there is no possibility of make-ups in this regard.  Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES will discussion notes be accepted after the discussion has already taken place.

Papers
 Both papers need to be about 1500-2000  words in length.  The first paper will be based on Kipling's novel Kim, and the second will ask you to compare and contrast the writings of Gandhi with the criticism offered by the representatives of  Dalit (oppressed) groups.  The papers need to incorporate a HISTORICAL reading of the texts and reflect not just a close reading of the novels and books in question, but also other related course material on those aspects of Indian history.  Detailed instructions for writing the papers will be provided a few weeks before they are due.

 ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE IN CLASS UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED.
Grades
 The grades for the course will be determined according to the following criteria:
  Paper One       20%
  Paper Two       20%
  Final Exam       25%
  Mid-Term Exam      15%
  Discussion Notes      15%
  Class and 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.

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 required by University policy.  Plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will result in failing the course.  Please consult the NAU Student Handbook's sections on academic dishonesty (particularly Appendix F) if you are not certain of the meaning of any of these terms.  IT IS THE STUDENTS' RESPONSIBILITY TO FAMILIARIZE HERSELF/HIMSELF WITH THESE MATTERS AS DEFINED BY THE UNIVERSITY.

Provisional Course Schedule (Subject to Modification)

January 12    Course Introduction.

January 14    An Introduction to India.
  Reading
   Bose and Jalal, Chapter One.

January 19    India Before the British: I
  Reading
   Bose and Jalal, Chapters Two and Three.

January 21    Before the Raj: II
  Reading
   Bose and Jalal, Chapters Four and Five.

January 26    Coming of British Rule
  Reading
   Bose and Jalal, Chapters Six and Seven
YOU SHOULD BEGIN READING THE NOVEL KIM ON YOUR OWN BY THIS DAY.

January 28   Colonialism and Culture
  Reading
   Bose and Jalal, Chapter Eight..

February 2   Revolt and the Raj
  Reading
   Bose and Jalal, Chapter Nine and Ten.

February 4   Colonial Attitudes
  Reading
   Francis Hutchins, "Concepts of Indian Character." (Course Packet, henceforth CP)
   Edward Said, "Introduction" to Kim.
  Assignment
   Discussion Questions for Kim and India in the late nineteenth century assigned.
   PAPER ONE ASSIGNED.

February 9   Discussion #1:  Kim and India in the late nineteenth century

February 11   Cultural Nationalism in India
  Reading
   Bose and Jalal, Chapter Eleven.

February 16    Questions of Gender in early Indian Nationalism
  Reading
   Tanika Sarkar, "Hindu Wife and Hindu Nation."  (CP)
  Screening of first part of film, "Home and the World" by Satyajit Ray.

February 18   Gender and Indian Nationalism II
  Complete viewing "Home and the World" and informal discussion of the article and film.
  Assignment
   Questions for Discussion #1: Gender, Class, and Early Indian Nationalism.

February 23    Discussion #2: Nation, Class, and Gender in the early Twentieth Century.
February 25   Colonialism Under Pressure
  Reading
   Bose and Jalal, Chapter Twelve.
  PAPER ONE DUE: IN CLASS
 
March 2   Nationalist Politics Ascendant
  Reading
   Bose and Jalal, Chapter Thirteen.
   MID TERM REVIEW

March 4  MID TERM EXAMINATION

March 8 to March 12 SPRING BREAK: ENJOY!
    But do start reading Gandhi's Hind Swaraj.

March 16   Gandhi's India I
  Reading
   M.K. Gandhi, Hind Swaraj, pp. 5-69.
  I will arrange for a special screening of Richard Attenborough's film, "Gandhi" at the Media Center in Cline Library.  I would  urge all students to attend the screening or see the film independently during this week.

March 18   Gandhi's India II
  Reading
   M.K. Gandhi, Hind Swaraj, pp. 69-98.
 
March 23   Gandhi and the Peasantry
  Reading
   Gyan Pandey, "Peasant Revolt and Indian Nationalism." (CP)
  Assignment
   Questions for Discussion #3: Gandhi and India in the 1920s.

March 25   Discussion #3: Gandhi and India in the 1920s
      PAPER TWO ASSIGNED

March 30  Dalit Visions I
  Reading
   Karen Leonard, "Caste."  (CP)
   Omvedt, Dalit Visions, pp. 1-33.
 
April 1  Dalit Visions II
  Reading
   Omvedt, Dalit Visions, pp. 34-62.
   Informal discussion about the significance of a Dalit perspective on Indian history.

April 6  Complications of Nationalism
  Reading
   Bose and Jalal, Chapter Fourteen.

April 8  Towards Freedom and Partition
  Reading
   Bose and Jalal, Chapter Fifteen.

April 13  The High Politics of Partition
  Reading
   Asim Roy, "The High Politics of India's Partition."  (CP)

April 15  The Partition of the Subcontinent
  Reading
   Bose and Jalal, Chapter Sixteen.
  PAPER TWO DUE

April 20  The Human Tragedy of the Partition
  Reading
   Short stories on the partition in the course packet.
   Bose and Jalal, Chapter Seventeen.
  Assignment
   Questions for Discussion #4: Why Partition? Who Benefits?

April 22  Discussion #4: Why Partition? Who Benefits?

April 27   New Beginnings or An Epilogue? South Asia Since 1947
  Reading
   Bose and Jalal, Chapters Eighteen to Twenty.  (Skim)

April 29    End of Term Review
 

THE FINAL EXAM FOR THIS COURSE WILL BE ON TUESDAY MAY 4, 7:30 TO 9:30 A.M.