Indian Historical Review

In medieval Tamil country, starting from the eighth-ninth centuries, nagaram was the town, where merchants conducted commercial activities, through a corporate body called either as nagaram or nagarattār. if has been studied to some extent by some scholars in the context of the elucidation of medieval state structure and social formation. In the past studies, however, the relations between the state and nagarattār and those between nagarattār and itinerant merchant guilds like ainnūrruvar were not made clear. This study, using a larger corpus of inscriptions, seeks to clarify the changing character of nagaram through a period of five centuries.

In the earlier phase of our study period there was not much difference between nagaram (town) and other agriculture-based villages, and the former was utilized by the state for its local administration, but in the later phase, namely in and after the twelfth century, it transformed its character to the promoter of commerce by associating itself with itinerant merchant guilds. Jāti formation by merchants of various sorts also accelerated the process of network formation by nagarams in the later phase.

We find also a subtle difference in the activities of merchants between the central and northern regions of the Tamil country. As against the more independent attitude of merchants of the central region, who were organized in guilds, merchants and artisans in the northern region, appearing as kāsāyakudi (‘those who pay money taxes’), seem to have been placed under the control of the political powers such as local chiefs.

Women's education in Mysore was not a product of social reform movement as was the case in the Presidencies. Here it began as a conscious effort first by the British bureaucracy during the direct colonial rule and then by the Indian bureaucracy after the rendition. The elite conflict among the Madras Party consisting of officials from the Madras Presidency, the Mysore Party consisting of Tamil speaking Iyangars and the third group consisting of local Kannada speaking Mysorians for controlling the administration dominated the public space during this period. The debates regarding the regional and linguistic identity often centred on the issues related to women. This article deals with the identity conflict and their positive effect on the growth of women's education in princely Mysore during 1860–1920.

This article, for the first time, attempts to give details about Keshub Chandra Sen's visit to Bombay in March-April 1864 and his interactions with the ‘Young Bombay’ reformers and also the missionaries, as reflected in reports and letters that appeared in contemporary newspapers and other writings. It seeks to shed light on the differences in the method of reform as perceived by the Bombay reformers during the early days of renaissance movement vis-à-vis the Bengal reformers. The records also reveal the trials and tribulations these reformers had to undergo in the form of social ostracism on the one hand, and on the other the general ridicule faced by them for lassitude and lack of courage. The Bombay reformers declined to follow the radical approach suggested by Keshub Chandra, namely, to make a different sect of the reformers. Instead, they believed in moderation and cautious approach, and offered reasons for their preference for making reformism a general or social movement rather than an individual or a personal one. In their opinion, if that phase of Hindu religion—namely, the social conditions created by the medieval Maharashtrian saints—can be accepted as the base ground, and new improvements engrafted on it, without doubt, people would come in more readily with the change than in any other manner since the method would not spring any surprise or novelty. For them, the reforms ought to encompass all religions and, like the Brahmo Samaj, not confined to Hindu religion alone. The debate also unfolds how much before the establishment of Prarthana Samaj on 31 March 1867, the idea of a ‘Prayer Society’ was afoot in 1864 itself

This article contests the argument that the rise of sub-regionalism, and hoisting linguistic nationalism by the dominant communities—religious, linguistic—was the primary reason for dissolution of the Nizam's Dominions as often claimed. However, such perceptive developments instead fashioned the communitarian and communal blocs fitting against each other and pushed the region to a threshold of communal frenzy. It was for this reason that the nationalist agenda of independence for princely states did not develop sufficiently to challenge the Asafia State of Nizams. On the other hand, the movements that developed in rural areas by the lower class militancy engaged the state in armed clashes, shaking its foundations and paving the way for its fall. The militant masses seized control of the villages in certain districts, driving out the landlord supporters of the regime but did not politically manoeuvre the events in their favour, and their leadership was slowly drawn into the linguistic agenda that primarily caused a smooth transition for the reorganization of the region on linguistic basis. Since we do not have serious academic works on the subject—and to view things from a perspective that is different from the ready-made political frames that have been in currency till today—this work therefore intends to unravel the actual limitations of the regional, religious and caste combines that threw hammer in the process for a political gain.

The life and work of Nalini Ranjan Sarkar forms an interesting saga in the history of freedom movement of Bengal in the first half of the twentieth century. Starting from the provincial level, his activities in the economic and the political field soon spilled over to the events in the national mainstream movement with involvement in the Indian National Congress on the one hand, and active participation in the newly founded Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on the other. By establishing an Indian insurance company on a sound footing amongst the unequal competition with the foreign enterprises in a colonial setting, he may be credited with achieving a milestone in the sphere of nascent indigenous entrepreneurial adventures, something which a very few of the Bengalis could achieve. This article attempts' to study the dynamic display of the balancing act between Sarkar's economic and political activities as well as propagation of different social and educational issues, which has been, many a time, undermined and overshadowed with scepticism by his ambiguity and opportunistic approach.

This article explores the demand of the Indian women's movement in the period 1917–1937 for political representation for women. This campaign took place within the framework of the constitutional reforms of 1919 and 1935. The Women's Indian Association founded by Margaret Cousins and her colleagues in 1917 demanded women's franchise and eligibility to the legislature on the same basis as men. The WIA launched a vigorous campaign and was supported by the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League. The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms left the question of women's suffrage to be decided by the provincial legislatures. Madras was the first province to grant votes to women and between 1921 and 1930 one by one the provinces extended the franchise to women and allowed them to stand as legisalative candidates.

In the years 1928–1937, there were debates on the terms under which women's franchise should be expanded. The British Government supported reservation of seats for women, separate electorates and continued but expanded franchise qualifications. Most of the leaders of the women's movement opposed separate electorates and reservation of seats for women and demanded adult franchise.

The demand of the women's movement for equal political rights and women's active participation in the freedom struggle led the Indian National Congress at its Karachi session in 1931 to pledge gender equality before the law and universal adult franchise. This pledge was honoured in the Constitution of free India.

The article also examines the 33 per cent reservation for women in panchayats and in municipal corporations and how far it has empowewred women.

During the Second World War, Japan and Germany raised several auxiliary armies in South East Asia and Europe. One such Japanese sponsored army was the Indian National Army (INA). The historiography of the Second World War gives marginal importance to the INA because of its low combat effectiveness. Neither the mainstream historiography of modern India nor the literature on decolonization did attach much importance to the INA. In contrast, a minority group (mostly ex-INA personnel, including some historians) overemphasizes the INA's contribution to India's struggle for independence. However, it would be interesting to analyse how the Japanese and some Indian nationalist leaders attempted to structure an army out of the British controlled Sepoy Army. Much light could be thrown on this complex interaction by studying the managerial format of the INA. Moreover, the INA also influenced the genesis of post-1947 Indian Army. This article places the INA as an institution at the centre stage. It tries to figure out who joined the INA and why and the nature of interaction between the human materials of the INA and its command structure. The focus is on the social base of the INA and its managerial infrastructure. Recruitment techniques and disciplinary mechanism of the INA are highlighted. Instead of focussing merely on Subhas Chandra Bose, the functions of the middle and low ranking officers are emphasized. The INA utilized the social and cultural ethos of pre-colonial India and also the organizing principles of the Western armies. This blend of pre-British Indian martial traditions with the institutions of professional militaries of the West, in the context of alliance with the Axis powers, had its own contradictions. Though this contradiction made the INA an ineffective combat organization, it had a multiplier effect on the process of erosion of the Raj's legitimacy. The strength of this essay lies in utilizing untapped sources like The Oracle, Fauji Akhbar, the INA files in the National Archives and oral interview transcripts of the leading figures.

Indian constitutionalism is embedded in the culture, geography, history, sociology, and politics of the country. The Western Modernity and Indian Tradition have uniquely fused to engender this construct that has gone into the mixed cultural and socio-economic formations and political ideological spectrum that is contemporary India. Its constitutional foundations and democratic developmental state as well as strategies of development have been predicated on a middle path between bourgeois democratic rights, socialistically inspired economic rights and ecologically sustainable capitalist development. It is a measure of the resilience of our constitutionalism that it has made possible the transitions from a predominantly parliamentary regime driven by the prime ministerial executive to divided coalition/minority governments with widest possible federal power-sharing under a judiciary-driven political system. It appears to be a far cry from the Westminster-inspired parliamentary-federalism in the White Commonwealth and is somewhat reminiscent of the US American constitutionalism premised on separation of powers and checks and balances.

Our constitution is based on the ideals of liberalism, welfare state, parliamentary federal government with a strong Centre, electoral and multi-party democracy. These ideals are enshrined in our Preamble, Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy. The constitution also delineates the separation of powers of the Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary. Constitutional values have been fortified by parliamentary amendments as well as by judicial interpretations and path breaking decisions on important issues like ‘basic structure of the constitution’ and powers of the Parliament to enact laws amending the constitution. However, this over-determinative federalizing effect on parliamentary component of government is aggravated due to party system decay, fragmentation, and regionalization. Collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers to the Parliament and individual accountability of ministers to the Prime Minister has become fragmented and transferred to the powerful chief ministers causing distortions. Party system reforms are imperative to reinvent authentic parliamentary-federal governance consistent with our constitution. It is also notable that a successful transition from state-led strategy of economic development to one with a gradually expanding role of the market forces—national and multinational—has also been made. Radical democratic decentralization of political power is making slow headway through constitutional amendments and grassroots and social movements.