Abstract
Late19th-early 20th century Bengal witnessed a
renewed interest on behalf of Bengali scholars,
to engage with the ruins of Gour and Pandua,
from what has on retrospect been regarded as
a Nationalist perspective. These nationalist
narratives were however communally pluralised
in correspondence to the religiously informed
politics of the period. Gour-Pandua soon became
a site of communal contestation on account of
its multiple pre-colonial identities: that of a
Hindu capital till the reign of Lakshmanasena
and of a Muslim capital thereafter. This paper
intends to analyse the multiple imaginations such
accounts develop, viewing the ruins as a site for
legitimisation of Hindu and Muslim nationalist
sentiments and delegitimisation of colonial rule.
renewed interest on behalf of Bengali scholars,
to engage with the ruins of Gour and Pandua,
from what has on retrospect been regarded as
a Nationalist perspective. These nationalist
narratives were however communally pluralised
in correspondence to the religiously informed
politics of the period. Gour-Pandua soon became
a site of communal contestation on account of
its multiple pre-colonial identities: that of a
Hindu capital till the reign of Lakshmanasena
and of a Muslim capital thereafter. This paper
intends to analyse the multiple imaginations such
accounts develop, viewing the ruins as a site for
legitimisation of Hindu and Muslim nationalist
sentiments and delegitimisation of colonial rule.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 55-82 |
| Number of pages | 28 |
| Journal | Presidency Historical Review |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |