Tradition and Modernity of The Elite : A Saga of the Acharyyas of Muktagachha and the Paikpara Raj, 1857-1947

Contents: Preface. List of abbreviations. Introduction. 1. The districts of Murshidabad and Mymensigh. 2. The Sinhas of Kandi and The Acharyyas of Muktagachha. 3. The Rise of the Sinhas and the Acharyyas in the wake of The permanent settlement. 4. The political milieu. 5. Cultural and welfare feats. Conclusion. Appendices. Bibliography. Index.

“Zamindars had played a very important role in the political, economic and social life of Bengal. However there is a dearth of studies into the Zamindari system from the standpoint of social history as most of the researches in this arena are focussed on the Agrarian economy of Bengal. The present work, by taking the Sinhas of Kandi, Murshidabad and the Acharyyas of Muktagachha, Mymensingh as the two representative families tries to give a truthful pen picture of the different stages of vicissitudes and evolution that the institution of Zamindari had gone through during colonial rule in India.

The period of British Suzerainty in India had witnessed rise of an educated middle class which played a great role in the national regeneration during the second half of the 19 century and the first half of the 20 century. This work seeks to analyse the interactions that the Zamindars had with this newly emerging class which ultimately contributed, in it’s own way, towards independence of India.” (jacket)