Overview

This book examines textual representations of Africa in the Indian imagination from 1928 to 1973. It critically analyses Bengali literature during this period, their imitation of colonial racial prejudices and how it allowed Bengalis to fashion their identity. It analyses the development of ‘Africa’ as an idea and historical reality through the writings of five Bengali writers including the Bengali novelist Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, the children’s author Hemendra Kumar Roy, the poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore, the playwright Ganesh Bagchi and the surrealist poet and founding editor of Transition magazine Rajat Neogy. The book shows how these writers engage with the idea of Africa and their influence in the construction of the Bengali cultural identity during the freedom struggle, the Partition of Bengal in 1947 and the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. The book offers readers a glimpse of the exotic imaginary locales of Africa while offering an in-depth look into the interconnected histories, cartographic routes and cultural exchange between India and Africa. A first of its kind, this book will be an excellent read for students and scholars of literature, comparative literature, history, cultural studies, postcolonial studies, South Asian studies, African studies and diaspora studies. .

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9780367272319

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Mahruba T. Mowtushi The author writes for the Journal of Commonwealth Literature (JCL), Research in African Literature (RAL) and the journal of South Asian Review (SAR) among others. In recent years, she has published works on Bengali cinema, street art in Dhaka, South Asian Muslim food culture and African writers of Bengali descent. The author works in both English and Bengali and her research and writing interests cut across South Asian and African literature and cultural history. The author is currently working on a two-volume project on wireless broadcasting in eastern Bengal and Bangladesh and the rise of modern nation-states.

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