This book is about the Communist-inspired cultural activism in Bengal that had strong national and international links, and responded to the critical social and political climate of the late colonial and early- Independence years. One of the main objectives of this activism was to give political direction to the middle-class and help them reach out to the labouring 'other'. The ultimate aim was to establish a cultural counter-hegemony in society by preparing people for a big revolution.

The Cultural Industries of India is the first book length study dedicated to the Indian cultural and creative industries. By covering specific aspects of the cultural and creative sectors in India– from film festivals to music and performing arts, from cinema to tourism, including a policy review on innovation in the creative industries – the various chapters offer a comprehensive overview of the relationship between the cultural and creative industries and the wider economic, social, cultural and political processes taking place within India and its diaspora. The study of cultural and creative industries in India is important not only for their potential for economic growth and its knock-on effect on social and cultural development, but also because their analysis reveal the ways in which cultural production shapes politics and identities, income generation and urban renewal. This volume focuses on questions of structural inequalities within the sector at the local level, and to account for asymmetries in economic power and the possibility to circulate and access symbolic content within and beyond the boundaries of the Indian nation. This book will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of creative and cultural studies, economics, history, development studies and media studies in India. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Cultural Trends.

This book explores the aesthetic forms of the political left across the borders of post-colonial, post-partition South Asia. Spanning India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the contributors study art, film, literature, poetry and cultural discourse to illuminate the ways in which political commitment has been given aesthetic form and artistic value by artists and by cultural and political activists in postcolonial South Asia. With a focused conceptualization this volume asks: Does the political left in South Asia have a recognizable aesthetic form? And if so, what political effects do left-wing artistic movements and aesthetic artefacts have in shaping movements against inequality and injustice? Reframing political aesthetics within a postcolonial and decolonised framework, the contributors detail the trajectories and transformations of left-wing cultural formations and affiliations and focus on connections and continuities across post-1947/8 India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Intimation of Revolution studies the rise of Bengali nationalism in East Pakistan in the 1950s and 60s by showcasing the interactions between global politics and local social and economic developments. It argues that the revolution of 1969 and the national liberation struggle of 1971 were informed by the 'global sixties' that transformed the political landscape of Pakistan and facilitated the birth of Bangladesh. Departing from the typical understanding of the Bangladesh as a product of Indo-Pakistani diplomatic and military rivalry, it narrates how Bengali nationalists resisted the processes of internal colonization by the Pakistani military bureaucratic regime to fashion their own nation. It details how this process of resistance and nation-formation drew on contemporaneous decolonization movements in Asia, Africa, and Latin America while also being shaped by the Cold War rivalries between the USA, USSR, and China.

The book is a comprehensive study of border-related issues arising from the 1947 Partition of India. It looks at various cases of border disputes and affrays such as disputes related to the incorporation of princely states like Kashmir and Jaunpur, the agitation for the creation of new political entities, post-partition reconstruction of Punjab and old pre-partition Punjabi leaders losing their relevance, the Kamtapuri movement, Khasi and Mizo and Chin dissatisfactions, as well as the secession of East Pakistan in 1971. An important contribution to the study of borders, the volume will be useful for students and researchers of modern Indian history, colonial India, Partition studies, borderland studies, refugee studies, minority studies, political science, film studies, postcolonial studies, and South Asian studies.

Religion in decline in an age of progress -- Untidy realms -- A Swadeshi Chaitanya -- Recovering Bishnupriya's loss -- Utopia and a birthplace.

This book explores dance and choreography as sites for the articulation of new theoretical and historical paradigms in inter-Asia cultural studies. The chapters in this volume cover a wide range of dance works, artists, genres, and media, from Kathak to K-pop flash mob dance, from Cold War diplomacy to avant-garde dance collaborations, and from festival dance to dance on screen. Working against the Western-centric category of “Asian dance” and Western-centric theorizations of intercultural performance that foreground “East-West” relationships, each contribution shows how dances in Asia make one another as their key aesthetic references beyond Eurocentric influences, as well as how inter-Asia relations emerge from cultural, geographical, and aesthetic diversity within the region. This book is the first of its kind in both cultural studies and dance studies. It will contribute greatly to readers’ understanding of how performance shapes and transforms the cultural and political dynamics of inter-Asia, with a focus on dance circulations in and across East, South, and Southeast Asia. Inter-Asia in Motion: Dance as Method will be a key resource for academics, researchers, and advanced students of Dance Studies, Performance Studies, Cultural Studies, Asian Studies, International Relations and Politics, History, and Sociology. The chapters included in this book were originally published in Inter-Asia Cultural Studies.