Author Description

Language: EnglishPages: 320About The bookThe Maratha period of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when an independent Maratha state successfully resisted the Mughals, is a defining era in Indian history. Prachi Deshpande examines the invocation of this period in various political projects, including anticolonial Hindu nationalism and the non-Brahman movement, as well as popular debates throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries over the meanings of tradition, culture, colonialism, and modernity. Deploying a rich body of literary and cultural sources, Deshpande highlights shifts in history writing in early modern western India, as well as the deep connection between historical and literary narratives. She also shows how historical memory provided a space for Indians to negotiate among their national, religious, and regional identities, pointing out historys pervasive potential for shaping politics within thoroughly divers societies. A study of