Economic Principles in Ancient India
(Part II)
-- Nicholas Kazanas
In Part I, the author examined the general principles regarding civil and economic liberties and
mainly the forgotten tradition of access to land for all citizens. This was in accord with man's spiritual
development and attainment of the supreme aim, i.e.,
moksha or `liberation'. Thus, the author examined at
length the sources on which the study is based and what is said about the system of land-tenure in the
early Vedic and in post-Vedic times. This part now looks at the function of government, aspects of
labor, taxation, including Land-Value-Taxation, and the conclusion brings together the ancient Indian
tradition with some modern Western concepts.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Flexibility and Adaptability:
Agrarian Expansion and Traditions
of Water Management
-- Mayank Kumar
This paper explores the numerous methods of water harvesting in the semi-arid and arid conditions
of Rajasthan. Considering the erratic nature of monsoon dependent rains, a closer examination of
the traditional agricultural practices in pre-colonial Rajasthan suggest a certain level of plasticity
inherent in their approach. It is evident in numerous methods of water harvesting, both for drinking
and agricultural purposes. This paper simultaneously examines the role of a highly stratified community
and state to bring out the complexity of their interactions with respect to various users/uses of water in
pre-colonial Rajasthan. Usual questions of level of technology in pre-colonial times are being examined
in terms of relevance and appropriateness for a given geographical and social landscape. The dynamics
of agrarian production necessitated delineations of very complex interface between community
participation and state intervention in the methods of water management. At a larger level this paper also tries
to draw insights for the contemporary concerns.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Textile Technology in Medieval Orissa:
A Case Study of Production and Export During the
17th and 18th Centuries
-- K N Sethi
As in most of the regions of India, textiles constituted a significant item of export from Orissa; but it
was not on the same level as in Gujarat, Coromandel and Bengal, except in the case of certain varieties.
The textiles exported from Orissa were of different varieties, like cotton, silk and mixed piece goods.
Tussar was the most important among silk clothing. Though in quantitative terms the manufacture of
tussar cloth was not so important, its quality was considered to be the best in Orissa. The piece goods
enjoyed predominance in the export of the Europeans throughout the
17th and 18th centuries. The present
study makes an attempt to study the mercantile scenario pertaining to textiles from Orissa during the
late medieval period.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Humanitarian Intervention or Political
Convenience? Runaway Slaves and Abolition
of Slavery in Colonial Western India
-- Avanish Patil
It is well known that the British ended slavery in India. It is generally believed that they
abolished slavery and freed all slaves in India by passing Act V of 1843. What is not known is that there were
many cases even during the latter half of the
19th century in which people were living together in a
relationship recognized by both sides as of master and slave. By the joint operation of Act V of 1843 and the
Indian Penal Code, the British did not free the slaves, but merely deprived slavery of all its legal incidents
and placed the slave in a position that he may be free if he chose to exert his will. These legal provisions
were made so that slavery in India would wither away in course of time. The model of `gradual
emancipation from slavery' was developed by the British in response to the political exigencies they faced in India.
This paper explores the evolution of the model in the Bombay Presidency with reference to cases of
runaway slaves. It tries to show how the vested interest and political convenience of the British influenced
the making of British policy towards slavery in the Bombay Presidency.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Imperial Railways, Political Economy, Ecology,
Famine and Disease in British India
-- Laxman D Satya
This study makes a comprehensive analysis of the British imperial railways during the second half of
the 19th century. Aspects such as the development of colonial economy, the role of finance capital,
comparative spread effect, British monopoly and colonization of Indian economy, labor on the railway projects,
colonial forestry, famine and disease, etc., are dealt at some length in this paper. The massive predatory
and exploitative nature of imperial railway project under the facade of Britain's benevolence to the
backward people of India could not have been further from the reality of the material condition of masses
under colonial hegemony.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Religious Transformation and Identity
Construction: Trinidad Hinduism (1917-1945)
-- Sherry-Ann Singh
This paper endeavors to examine various levels of religious transformation that was evident
within the Hindu community in Trinidad from the end of the system of Indian indenture in 1917 to 1945. By
the 1920s, factors such as acceptance of Trinidad as homeland by those Indian indentured laborers who
had opted to remain in the colony, the leavening out of the male-female ratio and the age imbalance and
the noticeable increase in the birth rate of Indians contributed to the characterization of the Indian
population as a `whole' population, a vehicle and a receptacle for cultural ferment and effort. This `wholeness'
would facilitate the establishment of a community. This would, in turn, generate a focus on and acceleration
of social and religious change, which would, ultimately, contribute to the process of identity
formation within the Hindu community. With most of the fundamental, inherently Indian social, religious,
economic and political structures in place, the drive towards personal and communal advancement saw a
dynamic interplay between `Indian' and `Trinidadian', the traditional and the modern, the religious and
the secular, and retention and transformation, between the theory of being `free' and the reality of
restrictions. This paper, thus, attempts to explore this social intercourse in the areas of religion, internal
organization and social change within the traditional caste system and the attempts of the Hindu community
at visibility, mobility and self-definition within the larger Trinidad society.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Can Globalization Lead to Cultural Hegemony?
-- Nitin Gupta
The advent of globalization has ushered a frequent interaction among world cultures. As a result of
this phenomenon, we are witnessing the development of a `global culture'. The problem is that this so
called global culture is nothing more than an `American culture'. This paper discusses viewpoints of
various authors on the questionCan a single culture lead to the hegemonization of all other cultures?
Can globalization enforce such a hegemonistic occurrence? The discussion encompasses views and
counter views of many intellectuals who have debated on the positive as well as the negative aspects of globalization.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Book Review
India: The Rise of an Asian Giant
-- Author: Dietmar Rothermund
Reviewed by Sunanda Easwaran
© 2009 IUP holds the copyright for the book review. All Rights Reserved. |
