The book traces the personal histories of the Chattopadhyays in Calcutta, their home city and in Hyderabad, the city of their education and profession; Chatto’s turning towards revolutionary activities under the influence of radical Indian nationalists at the India House, London3; his initiative to create the Berlin Indian Committee with the help of Indian pan-Islamists and to obtain the support of the Ameer of Afghanistan.
Language, the author contends, does more than convey information. It reflects values, ideologies and social norms. Nuance is often lost in translation, and this becomes more problematic during periods of crisis when clarity is essential. In such moments, misinformation can spread rapidly and undermine communication. The saying, ‘truth is the first casualty of war’ serves as a stark reminder of the importance of precise translation in volatile situations.
Each chapter explores different dimensions of childhood and adolescence, tracing concepts and theoretical insights historically. ‘Understanding Development and Diversity: Key Concepts and Ideas’ by Ranganathan summarizes the principles of development and key classic cognitive development theories, foregrounding their relevance in the contexts of education and schooling. ‘Childhood or Childhoods?’ by Ravneet Kaur brings out the findings of a twelve-family contemporary study to present the nature of childhoods in different income-group families in the Indian context, highlighting the diverse and ‘non-monolithic Indian childhood’.
The modern subject is not just isolated, but curated; nudged toward desire and performance, rather than presence or reflection. The result is a public that appears connected and expressive, but is internally alienated, disoriented, and incapable of deep solidarity. This is the quiet violence of neoliberal modernity: the substitution of relationality with curated experience,
Navigating the various chapters, one gets a true sense of the wildlife crisis and the need for its management in a developing country. Rahmani is a scientist as well as a policy maker who has to deal with government agencies and explain to the powers that be the need for bringing in certain laws and banning some activities for broader welfare and conservation. But more often than not,
Arabinda Samanta’s essay ‘Imagining an Epidemic: Literary Representations of Plague in Colonial Bengal’ studies Saratchandra Chattopadhyay’s novel, Srikanta, Rabindranath Tagore’s novel Chaturanga and Premangkur Atarthi’s Mahasthabir Jatak to make his arguments. One thing common in these novels is the deep distrust of the colonial state that they reveal. Second is the fact that the horrors of the plague bring out the worst and the best in people.