It is an established fact that the ancient India characterized by the most glorious phase of Vedic culture has a kind of similarity with the Hellenistic culture of Greece as per the researches of some Indologists. While noting the fact that the Vedic culture has the unique feature of worshiping the ‘speech’/‘language’ as the deity, one has to understand the phenomenal significance of Vedic and Greek cultures in terms of their ability to influence the course of human progress. Education has been an integral component of socioeconomic and cultural development from the earliest time. In India, Hindus, in general, continued their system of educating the girls within the family. The first regular school open to Bengali girls was established in 1819, whereas the madrasas founded by Muslim rulers focused only on religious education. The most important source of examining the above trends has been the observations and experiences documented by various foreign travelers at various times. Precisely, the travel accounts have an undeniable bearing in revisiting the cultural fabric of India and the current issue focuses on the above themes. Also, Subaltern and Diaspora studies, the two most important segments of social sciences research of contemporary times, is given due attention in this issue.

No country is immune from the pace of socioeconomic renaissance happened at regular intervals but there is a variation in degree and intensity depending on the local scenarios. Nicholas Kazanas touched the sensitive subject of examining the Greek and Vedic cultures from a new dimension in the paper titled, “Renaissances with Vedic Va__k and Hellenic Logos”. It also brings to light the common parameters of studying the intensity and impact of these cultures with a sophisticated analysis.

Had the Muslims realized what Jawaharlal Nehru rightly opined, “Educate a man and you educate one person, educate a woman and you educate the whole family”, female education among Muslims would have paved the way for the progress and development of the community. During the later half of the 19th century and early 20th century, some prominent Muslim leaders placed hurdles in the dissemination of education among Muslim females against the favorable attitude towards Muslim female education by a number of institutions and the British rulers. Sir Syed, a prominent Muslim leader and an educationist, who made tremendous contribution towards Muslim male education, was unwilling to seek equality for Muslim female education. Nilofar Izhar and Rais Akhtar dealt with the subject in the paper, “Historical Perspective of Muslim Female Education Scenario in India: Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries” that revolves around a threadbare discussion on the role of individuals who supported female education, such as Nazir Ahmad, Badruddin Tayabji and Sheikh Abdullah. At the same time, the opposition towards female education by Sir Syed have been highlighted. In the end, the paper focuses on the dynamic leadership of Sheikh Abdullah whose immense contribution resulted in widespread female education even at higher level in India. It also attempts to present similarities in the movement of female education between Sheikh Abdullah and Ismail Bey Gaspirali of Turkey.

Francois Bernier’s travelogue is the most significant travel account about the Oriental world for the Occidental audience. This travel account needs to be analyzed in terms of comparing political situation in France, Bernier’s native country, and his travel land India. Sakul Kundra has made a passionate study of the subject in the paper titled, “The Charisma of Royal Authority and Popular Culture in the Mughal Period: Representations of Francois Bernier”, which forms an important document in the annals of travel history. This paper has tremendous potential to interpret the unexplored areas of Bernier's travel accounts in comparison to Oriental and Occidental arenas.

The composition of adivasis in the Indian population is significant not only from numerical point of view but also from the critical dimensions of their socioeconomic lives. Since, forest land being the major source of their livelihood, adivasi tribes in India had a long saga of relentless fight against the oppression of their rights both in colonial and post-colonial times. The portrayal of the dynamics behind the land assertion struggles of adivasis in Andhra region is attempted by Bhangya Bhukya in the paper titled, “Adivasis and Land Assertion in Andhra Agency”. A critical appraisal of British land revenue policies in terms of protecting the land rights of adivasis forms the central feature of research by the author. No doubt, it further enables our understanding of legal protection offered by the State during the post-independence times.

The 19th and 20th century migration of Indians giving rise to Indian Diaspora communities offer researchers a unique opportunity to examine related aspects and the aftermath. While Indians have been migrating for centuries, not many in India are aware that Indians have settled in countries like Trinidad, Guyana, Surinam, Mauritius, Fiji, Malaysia, etc. Indians numbering more than 20 million in 70 countries worldwide over 40% of the population are in Fiji, Mauritius, Trinidad, Guyana and Surinam. The paper “Forget Indianizing, Fijianizing and Focus on Humanizing”, by Narayan Jashwini Jothishna acknowledges the work done so far on Indian Diaspora. This paper adds to the ongoing literature but goes further as it tops up with recent updates, and is country specific. While capturing the early beginnings, it exposes the current issues in Fiji, on Fiji Indians, race relations as well as Fiji’s relations with India. The key contribution, however, is the specific recommendations on how to improve the ongoing racial divide between the two major races in Fiji—the ethnic Fijians and Fiji Indians—owing to the fact that racial divide continues. This paper is also timely and can impact policies with respect to education given that the current regime is pro-racial harmony.

In recent times, the growing emphasis on ‘regional history’ in understanding the national identities has been noticed by the new generation of scholars and this finds reflection in the emerging doctoral theses in social sciences. Aniket Alam’s Becoming India: Western Himalayas Under British Rule and Neena Ambre Rao’s Forest Ecology in India Colonial Maharashtra 1850-1950 certainly go a long way in enriching the understanding about the British governance from ecological perspective. Rila Mukherjee’s attempt to capture the essence of these books from a comparitive perspective certainly adds a new value to the book review feature of this journal.

-- Radha Mohan Chebolu
Consulting Editor