Books in the History for Peace series

Offers insight into the links between the development of print culture and the many dynamic strains of nationalism in dialogue during the Partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947.   How did inexpensive posters influence nationalism in the decades leading up to and succeeding the Partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947? If mechanically reproduced images that occupy public spaces reflect the aesthetics of the “masses,â€? what can a critical interpretation of subcontinental popular visual culture in the mid-twentieth century reveal about the formation of communal identities?   In this essay, Yousuf Saeed studies the selective deification of leaders fighting for Indian independence. He highlights the biased representation within the domain of “patrioticâ€? posters of the time and the evolving portrayal of religious minority communities in India‿s popular print culture over subsequent decades. Also charts the turn popular print culture took in post-Partition Pakistan, Saeed focuses on the country‿s thriving industry of Sufi-saint posters. Partitioning Bazaar Art is a timely exploration of how nationalism can be defined through popular imagery. Â

An original analysis of religion versus the religionization of society in India.   What is unique about Indian secularism? In this book, Rajeev Bhargava argues that secularism in India, as opposed to in the West, did not arise in a society that had already been religiously homogenized, where the need of the hour was to break the political nexus between church and state. In India, secularism does not demand that the state is against or indifferent to religion, but rather that it combat institutionalized religious domination, both between and within religions. Apathy or antipathy to religion, Bhargava points out, would foment inter-religious rivalries that intensify anti-reformist tendencies, fueling further division.   As secularism receives daily ridicule in India, Bhargava provides an account of how this “principled distanceâ€? from religion has been a victim of misunderstandings by its proponents, abuse by its practitioners, and deliberate distortion by its opponents. Reimagining Indian Secularism offers a proposal of how we might one day be able to rehabilitate secularism. Â

This essay examines the history of the Indian subcontinent and the Partition of 1947 from a pedagogical perspective.   How does education shape political rivalry and hostility? The Partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947‿the violence that followed it, and its living legacy of rival nationalisms‿has made a deep and pervasive impact on education in both India and Pakistan. In Learning to Live with the Past, educationist Krishna Kumar dwells on the complex terrain every history teacher has to navigate: how to make the past come alive without running the risk of creating a desire to lose this “pastness.â€?   Substantiating this question with a wealth of experiences gained from his extensive research on history textbooks, as well as his interactions with students and teachers in both countries, Kumar explores the integral function the discipline of history plays in the project of nation-building. To help children learn to live with the past, Kumar amplifies the need for spaces that create possibilities for inquiries into a “longerâ€? common heritage shared by South Asia without necessarily denying a national narrative or encouraging an urge to undo the past. Â