Indian research in English Studies has a long and rich tradition but, unfortunately, it has failed to make any notable impact on the academic world. This is largely due to the fact that most of the Indian doctoral dissertations in English studies lie buried in University libraries and are inaccessible to aspiring researchers. No attempt has been made so far to establish any link or co-ordination between research activities of different universities/institutes. This has resulted in a total neglect of earlier research and unnecessary duplication.
The present volume is designed to end this unhappy situation by providing a complete and authentic account of research carried out in Indian universities not only in British, American, Commonwealth and Indian English literature but also in comparative studies, translation studies, language, linguistics and ELT. Entries on the above mentioned are arranged subject-wise in chronological sequence and are followed by a separate section on individual authors in alphabetical order. Thus it provides a consolidated view of Indian research in English and serves as an invaluable reference manual. It is a step towards orientation and systematisation of Indian research in English studies and will help to make research a well-informed, well-planned and meaningful exercise.
Dr. M.S. Kushwaha has been actively engaged in research in English for the last three decades. He has not only guided research but tried to bring about a kind of reorientation and necessary co-ordination in the field of research in English being carried out at Indian Universities. His pioneering work in this direction was his book, English Research in India (Lucknow, 1972), followed by Glimpses of Indian Research in English Literature (Sterling, 1984). He is a recognised Byron Scholar and his book, Byron and the Dramatic Form (Salzburg University, Austria, 1980), is included in the New Pelican Guide to English Literature in its essential “Reading List” on Byron. Besides an annotated edition of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House (MacMillan, 1982), he has also published more than dozen papers in literary journals and edited Indian Poetics and Western Thought, New Perspectives on Indian Poetics and Dramatic Theory and Practice. He is an astute Sanskrit scholar and his voluminous Hindi Commentary on LaghusiddhÈnta-Kaumudi (Chowkhamba, 1965) has run into several editions and also won him a literary award from the U.P. Government.
Dr. Kushwaha retired from the post of the Head of the English department, Lucknow University last year.
Dr. (Ms.) Kamal Naseem brought out the first-ever authentic and comprehensive version of Greek mythology in Hindi, Greece PurÈn KathÈ Kosh (Akshar Prakashan, 1983) which won her ‘Delhi Hindi Academy Award’, 1983-84. Her next book, Urdu SÈhitya Kosh (VÈni, 1988), was also hailed as a pioneering work in the direction. The book was reprinted in 1998 and a second comprehensively revised edition of the same is in press right now. Her Hindi translation [with Commentary] of Sophocles’ Oedipus Trilogy has been published by the Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi [Feb. 2000].
She has also been reading news and compering women’s programme ‘Ghar-BÈhar’ on Doordarshan for over a decade and has scripted and voiced several documentaries. She has been deeply involved with issues concerning women.
Dr. Naseem worked on “Women Characters of Lord Byron’s Poetry and Plays” for her Ph.D. (1991). She is a Reader in the English Department of S.P.M. College of Delhi University.
