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CWS organises a seminar by Dr. Mallarika Sinha Roy

CWS organises a seminar by Dr. Mallarika Sinha Roy

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CWS organises a seminar by Dr. Mallarika Sinha Roy
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Event From Date: 
Tuesday, 26 March 2019
Event End Date: 
Tuesday, 26 March 2019
Event Title: 
CWS organises a seminar by Dr. Mallarika Sinha Roy
Event Details: 
CENTRE FOR WOMEN’S STUDIES, SSS-I, JNU
 
Invites you to a Seminar on
 
The Modern Maharani: Suniti Devi and Colonial Cooch Behar 
 
by
 
Dr. Mallarika Sinha Roy
 
(Assistant Professor, Centre for Women’s Studies, SSS-I, JNU)
 
 
 
Abstract:- In 1878 Nripendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur (1863-1911), king of the princely state of Cooch Behar married Suniti Devi (1864-1933), daughter of Keshab Chandra Sen, a renowned leader of Bhrahmo Samaj – the reformist religious sect founded by Rammohun Roy.
 
 Royal marriages are rarely events without political significance and this marriage was no exception. The royal marriage of 1878 included a split within the Brahmo Samaj, consolidation of British authority in Cooch Behar and the hierarchisation between tradition and modernity where ‘backwardness’ of Cooch Behar was pitted against the historical progress of Brahmo modernity. References to the ‘embarrassing Cooch Behar marriage’ in the history of Brahmo Samaj and the discomfiture of British colonial administration with the incomprehensibility of ‘native’ queens produce a far more complex context of this marriage than recording it in the history of colonial India as another instance of British intervention in princely states. The dramatis personae – Mr. Dalton, the British Deputy Commissioner in Cooch Behar; Keshub Chandra Sen; the dowager queens of Cooch Behar and other members of the Cooch Behar royal family participated in this marital alliance in various capacities to shape the social and cultural identity of Koch and Rajbansi people. This paper is an attempt to describe the context of the marriage from available documents and academic scholarship.
 
 
Date: 26th March 2019, Tuesday, Time: 3.00 PM
 
Venue: CWS, Lecture Room No.324, 3rd Floor, SSS-I
 
 
All Are Welcome!

A warm welcome to the modified and updated website of the Centre for East Asian Studies. The East Asian region has been at the forefront of several path-breaking changes since 1970s beginning with the redefining the development architecture with its State-led development model besides emerging as a major region in the global politics and a key hub of the sophisticated technologies. The Centre is one of the thirteen Centres of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi that provides a holistic understanding of the region.

Initially, established as a Centre for Chinese and Japanese Studies, it subsequently grew to include Korean Studies as well. At present there are eight faculty members in the Centre. Several distinguished faculty who have now retired include the late Prof. Gargi Dutt, Prof. P.A.N. Murthy, Prof. G.P. Deshpande, Dr. Nranarayan Das, Prof. R.R. Krishnan and Prof. K.V. Kesavan. Besides, Dr. Madhu Bhalla served at the Centre in Chinese Studies Programme during 1994-2006. In addition, Ms. Kamlesh Jain and Dr. M. M. Kunju served the Centre as the Documentation Officers in Chinese and Japanese Studies respectively.

The academic curriculum covers both modern and contemporary facets of East Asia as each scholar specializes in an area of his/her interest in the region. The integrated course involves two semesters of classes at the M. Phil programme and a dissertation for the M. Phil and a thesis for Ph. D programme respectively. The central objective is to impart an interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of history, foreign policy, government and politics, society and culture and political economy of the respective areas. Students can explore new and emerging themes such as East Asian regionalism, the evolving East Asian Community, the rise of China, resurgence of Japan and the prospects for reunification of the Korean peninsula. Additionally, the Centre lays great emphasis on the building of language skills. The background of scholars includes mostly from the social science disciplines; History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, International Relations and language.

Several students of the centre have been recipients of prestigious research fellowships awarded by Japan Foundation, Mombusho (Ministry of Education, Government of Japan), Saburo Okita Memorial Fellowship, Nippon Foundation, Korea Foundation, Nehru Memorial Fellowship, and Fellowship from the Chinese and Taiwanese Governments. Besides, students from Japan receive fellowship from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.