Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Abbreviations and Glossary
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 The Origins of an Idea, 1905–18
- Chapter 2 The Signs of the Times: Constructing a Nation
- Chapter 3 Legitimizing Violence
- Chapter 4 The Battle for Domination: State Repression of Revolutionary Pamphlets
- Chapter 5 Summing Up: An Identity Forged in Battle
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Conclusion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 November 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Abbreviations and Glossary
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 The Origins of an Idea, 1905–18
- Chapter 2 The Signs of the Times: Constructing a Nation
- Chapter 3 Legitimizing Violence
- Chapter 4 The Battle for Domination: State Repression of Revolutionary Pamphlets
- Chapter 5 Summing Up: An Identity Forged in Battle
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The revolutionary nationalist pamphlets may be described as clarion calls summoning the young men of Bengal to take up arms against the colonial rulers. The appearance of numerous editions of the pamphlets in large numbers and at frequent intervals and the alarm that their publication provoked in ruling circles, indicate that the pamphlets were perceived as an effective medium with which to build up support for the nationalist revolutionary movement. The pamphlets provided their readers information and perspective on the political events of the day, urged them to take a political stance and invited them to join in the impending revolution against colonial rule. The rhythm of the language, the urgency of tone and the richness of rhetoric convey even to the modern day reader a sense of immediacy and evoke feelings of identification with the political pulse of the times that go to demonstrate the power of the pamphlets as tools of political communication.
Further, an analysis of the language and the rhetoric adopted by the pamphleteers allows us access into the world of Bengali public opinion and political culture in the early twentieth century. These pamphlets, at first glance, appear to refer to only a cross-section of the political world of Bengal in the early twentieth century but since revolutionary nationalist ideas were an integral part of the mosaic of intellectual, political and cultural currents in early twentieth century Bengal, these pamphlets, as vehicles of these ideas, allow us an understanding of the overall political culture of the period.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2014