Debraj Bhattacharya

"Of Matters Modern" analyses the experience of modernity in South Asia. Arguing that South Asia's experience of modernity has to be understood in a global context, the book explores a wide range of topics: the emergence of 'Assam Fever' in colonial discourse; an experiment with fusion music in early colonial India; The emergence of detective fiction in colonial Punjab; the search for authenticity among nationalist and post-colonial thinkers; the critique of the "Bhadralok" by a "Bhadralok" writer; the experience of modernity in Kolkata during early twentieth century; the emergence of a cosmopolitan 'underworld' in Kolkata during the nineteenth century; the Italian connections of a Bengali poet, Michael Madhusudan Dutta; the ambivalence of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan; and, the construction of Gandhari in "Amar Chitra Katha", a comic strip series for children.

The purpose of this draft paper is to trace the appearance and disappearance of the Community Development Block in the development discourse of India. I shall try to show that the Community Development Block, (or more colloquially ‘Block’) was an important element in the development discourse and policy making of independent India but over time its discursive significance got reduced although it continued to remain significant for the practical purpose of implementation of development programmes. I conclude by examining why the Block disappeared from development discourse of India after a certain point in time.

The discourse of contemporary development increas- ingly calls for more local participation and more local empower- ment, on the assumption that these will somehow make develop- ment more "effective." In practice, the priorities of international elites have been replaced by those of national and regional elites, who continue to behave like "experts" usually do: they "know" what is best for those to "be developed." However, those priorities are increasingly contested when culture and ethnicity become cru- cial factors, and indigenous intellectuals, an elite in their own right, raise profound questions about the meaning of development, while wishing to take advantage of the opportunities offered by moder- nity. While claims are made that such subalterns cannot speak and, by association, cannot plan, evidence from Colombia indicates that certain indigenous groups are successfully "provincializing" the process, producing their own local ...

Studies on local government in India have so far focused on certain themes such as devolution of power, local government and poverty reduction, organisational dimensions, gender and inclusiveness, etc. What is missing in the literature is an analysis of the innovations brought about local governments themselves in spite of the limited autonomy that is provided to them by Union and State Governments. This paper hopes to initiate a discussion on this aspect of local government in India through a case study of Durgapur Gram Panchayat of Bardhaman district of the state of West Bengal. The paper analyses how the Gram Panchayat developed a successful model of combating tuberculosis within its jurisdictional area. Since tuberculosis is a major health problem in India the case study will also be of interest to the scholars and planners of public health policy.

"Of Matters Modern" analyses the experience of modernity in South Asia. Arguing that South Asia's experience of modernity has to be understood in a global context, the book explores a wide range of topics: the emergence of 'Assam Fever' in colonial discourse; an experiment with fusion music in early colonial India; The emergence of detective fiction in colonial Punjab; the search for authenticity among nationalist and post-colonial thinkers; the critique of the "Bhadralok" by a "Bhadralok" writer; the experience of modernity in Kolkata during early twentieth century; the emergence of a cosmopolitan 'underworld' in Kolkata during the nineteenth century; the Italian connections of a Bengali poet, Michael Madhusudan Dutta; the ambivalence of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan; and, the construction of Gandhari in "Amar Chitra Katha", a comic strip series for children.

The purpose of this draft paper is to trace the appearance and disappearance of the Community Development Block in the development discourse of India. I shall try to show that the Community Development Block, (or more colloquially ‘Block’) was an important element in the development discourse and policy making of independent India but over time its discursive significance got reduced although it continued to remain significant for the practical purpose of implementation of development programmes. I conclude by examining why the Block disappeared from development discourse of India after a certain point in time.

This paper attempts to theoretically understand what it means when we say "underworld" of a city. It then explores the specific history of the "underworld" of Colonial Calcutta - the various layers of it, the economic logic of it, and the response of colonial administration to it.

Between 2011 and 2021 West Bengal was dominated by the personality of Mamata Banerjee and the period can be described as the Mamata era. She destroyed the power of both the Maoists and Left Front after coming to power, introduced several populist schemes and appeared to be the undisputed ruler of the state by 2016. However, she committed a
same-side goal in the panchayat election of 2018 and gave a fresh lease of life to the opposition. Ironically, it was not the left but the right that capitalised on it.

This paper analyses a wide range of Indian print magazines and newspapers in three languages - Bengali, English and Hindi to understand how media is constructing the Indian "male". It was published in Amitava Chatterjee (ed.) Gender and Modernity, Setu Prakashani, Kolkata, 2015. The uploaded file is a proof copy. Hence there are some copy errors, including my name.