The Zakir Husain Memorial Lectures : 1992-2004
Contents: Foreword/M. Aslam Parvaiz. Three hundred years of history/Madhu Prasad. Introduction/Sanjay Sharma. 1. Capitalism and the labouring poor: some reflections/P.C. Joshi. 2. Reason and history/Irfan Habib. 3. The nation-state in the era of 'Globalization'/Prabhat Patnaik. 4. Human rights education: the promise of the third millennium/Upendra Baxi. 5. The tyranny of labels/Romila Thapar. 6. Uncommon opportunities for a learning revolution/M.S. Swaminathan. 7. The Constitution and the people/Somnath Chatterjee. 8. Civil society and the good society/Andre Beteille. 9. Urdu and the question of its Linguistic identity/Namwar Singh. 10. The power politics of culture: Akbar Ilahabadi and the changing order of things/Shams-Ur-Rahman Faruqi. 11. The hegemony of English and modern Indian literatures/Sisir Kumar Das. 12. Globalization and education: defining the Indian crisis/Anil Sadgopal. Contributors.
"The Zakir Husain Memorial Lectures, held at Zakir Husain College each year, honours an eminent educationist, nationalist and distinguished President of India. Dr Zakir Husain was well aware of the historical contribution and contemporary significance of the College for higher education in modern India. The Memorial Lecture commemorates the vital role he played in the governance of the college in the pre- and post-independence periods.
It is said that the twentieth century closed with the 'end of history', the demise of ideology and many certainties. However, a view has also emerged that the proclaimed demise of all certainties in itself has turned into a new orthodoxy, thereby necessitating the need to critically engage with all forms of received knowledge - old and new. The twelve Zakir Husain Memorial Lectures collected in this volume seek to do precisely this - that is, interrogate a range of ideas that continue to inhabit and shape our contemporary intellectual space. These lectures grapple with critical issues that are at the heart of contemporary life: the nation-state, capitalism, modernity, globalization and a variety of representations -- linguistic, cultural, pedagogical and historical. The writers are experts from different disciplines; they are firmly rooted in their subjects but they posses the macro vision to make connections with broader processes, especially globalization, identity formation and democratization." (jacket)
