A Princely Impostor? The Strange and Universal History of the Kumar of Bhawal / Partha Chatterjee.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chatterjee, Partha.

Series:

Princeton paperbacks

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Roy, Ramendra Narayan, Raja of Bhowal, 1884?-1946.

Roy, Ramendra Narayan.

Roy, Ramendra Narayan, Raja of Bhowal, 1884?-1946--Trials, litigation, etc.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (452 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

Princeton N.J. : Princeton University Press, op. 2002.

Summary:

In 1921 a traveling religious man appeared in eastern British Bengal. Soon residents began to identify this half-naked and ash-smeared sannyasi as none other than the Second Kumar of Bhawal--a man believed to have died twelve years earlier, at the age of twenty-six. So began one of the most extraordinary legal cases in Indian history. The case would rivet popular attention for several decades as it unwound in courts from Dhaka and Calcutta to London. This narrative history tells an incredible story replete with courtroom drama, sexual debauchery, family intrigue, and squandered wealth. With a novelist's eye for interesting detail, Partha Chatterjee sifts through evidence found in official archives, popular songs, and backstreet Bangladeshi bookshops. He evaluates the case of the man claiming, with the support of legions of tenants and relatives, to be the long-lost Kumar. And he considers the position of the sannyasi's detractors, including the colonial government and the Kumar's young widow, who resolutely refused to meet the man she denounced as an impostor. Along the way, Chatterjee introduces us to a fascinating range of human character, gleans insights into the nature of human identity, and examines the relation between scientific evidence, legal truth, and cultural practice. The story he tells unfolds alongside decades of Indian history. Its plot is shaped by changing gender and class relations and punctuated by critical historical events, including the onset of World War II, the Bengal famine of 1943, and the Great Calcutta Killings. And by identifying the earliest erosion of colonialism and the growth of nationalist thinking within the organs of colonial power, Chatterjee also gives us a secret history of Indian nationalism.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS

PREFACE

ABBREVIATIONS

Chapter One. THE FACTS OF THE MATTER

Chapter Two. AN ESTATE CALLED BHAWAL

Chapter Three. ON HUNTING AND OTHER SPORTS

Chapter Four. WHAT HAPPENED IN DARJEELING?

Chapter Five. FIRST BRUSH WITH THE LAW

Chapter Six. THE HOUSE ON LANSDOWNE ROAD

Chapter Seven. A FONDNESS FOR MIRACLES

Chapter Eight. THE IDENTITY PUZZLE

Chapter Nine. THE TRIAL BEGINS

Chapter Ten. DARJEELING: THE PLAINTIFF’S CASE

Chapter Eleven. EXPERTS ON RECOGNITION

Chapter Twelve. FOR THE DEFENSE

Chapter Thirteen. THE CLIMAX

Chapter Fourteen. REASONINGS

Chapter Fifteen. THE JUDGMENT

Chapter Sixteen. THE APPEAL

Chapter Seventeen. RAZOR’S EDGE

Chapter Eighteen. THE DECISION

Chapter Nineteen. TO LONDON AND BACK

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [409]-415) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780691218311

0691218315

OCLC:

1202623852