• ISBN13: 9788126940776
• Binding: Hardcover
• Subject: Politics and Current Affairs
• Publisher: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors (P) Ltd
• Publisher Imprint: Atlantic
• Publication Date: November 9, 2024
• Pages: 286
• Original Price: INR 1295.0
• Language: English
• Edition: 842
• Item Weight: 440 grams
• BISAC Subject(s): N/A

Most writings on the theme of the nation confine themselves to discussions of ideology and thoughts on nationalism, leaving out the question of the form of the nation. This selection of writings by Ranabir Samaddar fills in that void and presents a whole range of dimensions, perspectives and controversies of the last two decades on the question of the nation in India. It looks at the form of the Indian nation in terms of contests, contradictions, classes and nationalist strategies of inclusion and exclusion, thereby addressing two significant issues in view of the nation form—its relation with democracy and the problem of governing the nation.

This selection not only comprises essays that stand on their own merit, but also, in totality, presents a historical summary of the nation’s experience through decades—before and after Independence.

Dr. Ranabir Samaddar is the Distinguished Chair in Migration and Forced Migration Studies at Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group. He belongs to the critical school of thinking and is one of the foremost theorists in his field. His writings on migration, forms of labour, urbanisation and political struggles have signalled a new turn in post-colonial thinking. Among his influential works are The Marginal Nation: Transborder Migration from Bangladesh to West Bengal (1999) and Karl Marx and the Postcolonial Age (2018). His most recent publication is written in the background of the COVID pandemic, A Pandemic and the Politics of Life (2021).