The Politics of Self-Expression: The Urdu Middleclass Milieu in Mid-Twentieth Century India and Pakistan

ISBN-13: 9780415544467 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 266 str.

UK) Daechsel Markus (University of Edinburgh

Opis

The 1930s to 1950s witnessed the rise and dominance of a political culture across much of North India which combined unprecedented levels of mobilization and organization with an effective de-politicization of politics. On the one hand obsessed with world events, people also came to understand politics as a question of personal morality and achievement. In other words, politics was about expressing the self in new ways and about finding and securing an imaginary home in a fast-moving and often terrifying universe. The scope and arguments of this book make an innovative contribution to the historiography of modern South Asia, by focusing on the middle-class milieu which was the epicentre of this new political culture.

Spis treści

Introduction 1. Urbanization, Bureaucratization and the Emergence of a Middle-Class Milieu 2. New Sign Objects and New Identities 3. Consumption and Romantic Sentimentalism 4. Authenticity, Power and the Magic of Objects 5. The Political Culture of Radical Self-Expression in its Time Period. Conclusion

O autorze

Markus Daechsel has studied history and political science at the University of Erlangen and the University of London. He is currently a lecturer in South Asian History at the University of Edinburgh. His research interests focus on the society, culture and politics of South Asian Muslims.