H331 Nehru and India's Modernity, 1936-64 (I)
- Course Code:
- 154800199
- Status:
- Course Not Running 2012/2013
- Unit value:
- 1
- Taught in:
- Full Year
What did it mean for India to be a 'modern' society and to have a 'modern' state? How far could modernity be reconciled with tradition? This course examines these issues through the political career and writings of the individual who more than any other political leader symbolised India's modernity - Jawaharlal Nehru. It covers the period from Nehru's presidential address to the Lucknow Congress in April 1936, through India's independence in 1947 and Nehru's prime ministership to his death in 1964. Topics considered include: Nehru's relations with Gandhi and Jinnah, his views on socialism and nationalism, state planning, secularism, non-alignment, the language question, science, technology, and nation-building.
This is a document-based course, which draws mainly on Nehru's own writings and speeches as well as some important public documents of the period.
Objectives and learning outcomes of the course
- To provide students with an in-depth and critical understanding of a major period of Modern Indian history, centering on the career and ideology of Nehru
- To train students in the critical evaluation of historical evidence through a selection of documentary sources and secondary literature,
Suggested reading
- Khilnani, S. The Idea of India (London, 1997);
- Nanda, B.R. Jawaharlal Nehru: Rebel and Statesman (Delhi, 1995);
- Nehru, J. The Discovery of India (Delhi, 1946);
- Wolpert, S. Nehru: A Tryst with Destiny (New York and Oxford, 1996)
