Language and the Making of Modern India: Nationalism and the Vernacular in Colonial Odisha, 1803–1956

Pritipuspa Mishra

doi:10.1017/9781108591263

Language and the Making of Modern India

Nationalism and the Vernacular in Colonial Odisha, 1803–1956

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Pritipuspa Mishra, University of Southampton

Publisher:: Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:: January 2020
Print publication year:: 2020
Online ISBN:: 9781108591263
DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108591263
Creative Commons:: This content is Open Access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence CC-BY-NC 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/creativelicenses

Subjects:: Area Studies, South Asian Government, Politics and Policy, South Asian History, Asian Studies, History, Politics and International Relations

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Through an examination of the creation of the first linguistically organized province in India, Odisha, Pritipuspa Mishra explores the ways regional languages came to serve as the most acceptable registers of difference in post-colonial India. She argues that rather than disrupting the rise and spread of All-India nationalism, regional linguistic nationalism enabled and deepened the reach of nationalism in provincial India. Yet this positive narrative of the resolution of Indian multilingualism ignores the cost of linguistic division. Examining the case of the Adivasis of Odisha, Mishra shows how regional languages in India have come to occupy a curiously hegemonic position. Her study pushes us to rethink our understanding of the vernacular in India as a powerless medium and acknowledges the institutional power of language, contributing to global debates about linguistic justice and the governance of multilingualism. This title is also available as Open Access.

‘This sweeping study clarifies our understanding of the role of language and authority in the Indian nation through Odia speakers' use of literature, education, politics, and identity. Anyone interested in the intersection of language politics and culture, along with its ties to nation and territory, should read Mishra's book.'

Rosina Lozano - Princeton University, New Jersey

‘Intensely engaging, lucidly written and carefully drawn upon rich archival, historical and literary sources, Mishra presents a set of compelling arguments and theoretical insights while analysing the six decades of Odisha as a linguistic state formation. Language and the Making of Modern India shows how regional and national formations are not opposed but reproduce each other in multiple ways.'

Asha Sarangi - Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India

‘Language and the Making of Modern India will be valuable to scholars of Indian vernacular politics, regionalism, nationalism, and citizenship. Mishra's is a pioneering study that shows how regional linguistic politics are crucial to understanding the history of citizenship in modern India, and how language became the crucial grounds for the constitution of the Indian national subject.'

Farina Mir - University of Michigan

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Language and the Making of Modern India

Nationalism and the Vernacular in Colonial Odisha, 1803–1956

This Book has been cited by the following publications. This list is generated based on data provided by Crossref.

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Contents

Language and the Making of Modern India
pp i-ii

Language and the Making of Modern India - Title page
pp iii-iii

Copyright page
pp iv-iv

Dedication
pp v-vi

Contents
pp vii-vii

Maps
pp viii-viii

Acknowledgments
pp ix-xi

Additional material
pp xii-xii

Introduction
pp 1-30

1 - How the Vernacular Became Regional
pp 31-75

2 - Vernacular Publics: A Modern Odia Readership Imagined
pp 76-105

3 - The Odia Political Subject and the Rise of the Odia Movement
pp 106-151

4 - Odisha as Vernacular Homeland
pp 152-169

5 - The Invisible Minority: History and the Problem of the Adivasi
pp 170-197

6 - The Genius of India: Linguistic Difference, Regionalism, and the Indian Nation
pp 198-225

Postscript
pp 226-232

Bibliography
pp 233-243

Index
pp 244-248

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Language and the Making of Modern India

Nationalism and the Vernacular in Colonial Odisha, 1803–1956

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