Browsing by Subject "Language"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6

Open Access
Babus and the Social Body in Conceptual Proposition in Early Colonial Bengal
(University of North Bengal, 2020-03) Roy, Varun Kumar
Edward Said maintains: “Knowledge of the Orient because generated out of strength, in a sense, creates the Orient, the Oriental and his world” (Said 1978: 40). The emergence of the Babus brought new changes in the social atmosphere of early colonial Bengal. The elite, wealthy, western educated Bengalis began imitating western culture and were very much eager to forge a new social class, which would align them with the Britishers. This research paper tries to revisit existing literature in conjunction with historical texts to understand the formation of the Babu identity and how this was mirrored in the new social body that had come into existence.
Open Access
Bengal-Bihar Merger Movement of 1956: A Glance of West Dinajpur, A District of West Bengal
(University of North Bengal, 2017-03) Ghosh, Arun
The proposed study is on Bengal-Bihar merger movement of 1956, and the district of West Dinajpur of West Bengal. In the eve of independence of India and partition of Bengal in 1947, the northern part of West Bengal or North Bengal was separated from the rest of West Bengal. Along with this, there was demand of incorporation of Bengali speaking area of Bihar with West Bengal. In 1953, the States Reorganisation Commission was formed to examine this issue on linguistic line. After forming that Commission, West Bengal put forwarded memorandum, claiming partition of land of Bihar. But there was protest in Bihar against that. Then the Chief Minister of West Bengal and Bihar decided to merge Bengal and Bihar. But movement started against this merger proposal. Then they withdraw the merger proposal and a portion of land of Bihar added within West Bengal by the recommendation of States Reorganisation Commission, which effects on demography, economy, culture of that area of West Dinajpur district of West Bengal and which evoked separatist trend in form of political movements.
Open Access
Remapping India since Independence: Critical reflections
(University of North Bengal, 2015) Singh, Rajvinder
Political history of state formation in India after independence can be divided into four distinctive periods. In all four phases, different situations and factors have played a decisive role. The paper ‘Remapping India since Independence’ is an attempt to explore the connection and difference between these four phases. It would also try to explore the basic reasons which are responsible for the formation of a new state. With the new developments taking place in the Indian politics after independence about the demands of the creation of new states, the time may come for the formation of the Second State Reorganisation Commission to consider redrawing the map of India.
Open Access
Rethinking Kosli Identity: Language, Literature and Culture of Western Odisha
(University of North Bengal, 2018-03) Kumar, Tila
Western Odisha’ once upon a time, formed a part of the ancient Koshal kingdom having its distinctive history, culture and unique salient features. The proponents of the separate Koshal state movement which is going on in the western part of Odisha have been mobilizing people and spearheading their movement along such a historic path so as to bring back their golden past and to preserve, protect and promote their rich cultural heritage. The people of western Odisha living in as many as eleven different districts not only ascertain their common ancestry but also share their common fate of being backward and underdeveloped due to ‘internal colonialism’ including state apathy and ‘coastal conspiracy’. Nevertheless, they are struggling and mobilizing forcefully to deconstruct their stigmatized identity and asserting today a unique ‘Kosli identity’, which is increasingly being recognized world over. And it is this ‘Kosli identity’ - which the leaders of the Koshal movement are using to garner people’s support and galvanize Kosli consciousness and ‘Kosli nationalism’ - the emblematic chord of the demand for a separate Kosal state. It is, therefore, that we discuss in the present article, some of the significant markers of what constitute Kosli identity in terms of a) Kosli language and literature and b) Kosli culture.
Open Access
Wittgenstein on Aesthetics: The Silent Language of Beauty
(University of North Bengal, 2025) Banerjee, Moumita; Dhar, Tripti
This paper examines Ludwig Wittgenstein's contributions to the philosophy of aesthetics, charting the development of his ideas from his early work, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (TLP), to his later text, Philosophical Investigations (PI). Wittgenstein’s aesthetic philosophy is marked by a shift from a more formal, structured perspective in TLP to a pragmatic, context-dependent understanding in PI. In TLP, Wittgenstein’s early philosophy of language suggests that aesthetic experiences and judgments fall within the realm of the ineffable, belonging to what cannot be said but only shown. Aesthetic values, like ethical and metaphysical truths, are outside the limits of language that can describe facts, leading to the idea that aesthetics, though deeply meaningful, transcends propositional language. In his later work, Wittgenstein moves away from the notion of a rigid logical structure and adopts the idea of "language games," highlighting the importance of context, usage, and the varied nature of language in influencing aesthetic understanding. Aesthetic judgments are seen as interwoven with particular forms of life, and Wittgenstein introduces the notion of "family resemblance" to account for the fluid, non-essentialist way we speak about beauty, art, and taste. Here, the focus shifts from trying to define aesthetics in abstract terms to analyzing how we talk about and engage with aesthetic experiences in everyday life. This inquiry examines both periods of Wittgenstein’s thought, comparing his early mystical conception of aesthetics with his later pragmatic approach. The paper contends that Wittgenstein's later work provides a more adaptable and socially rooted approach to interpreting aesthetic discourse. In this paper includes an introduction part, then section one to section four we’ve discussed various aspects of Aesthetic view of Wittgensein’s philosophy.
Open Access
Wittgenstein’s Counter-explanatory take on Religion
(University of North Bengal, 2025) Jha, Purbayan
If we try to understand any philosophy of religion in Ludwig Wittgenstein’s writings we may not find one, still his remarks on religious beliefs and languages draw some interesting points that could tempt us to look at religions and religious practices with an open ended perspective. Wittgenstein’s Remarks on Frazer’s Golden Bough is an example of his approach against explanation of religious beliefs and rituals. Wittgenstein thinks that the explanation of killing the priest-king in order to keep his soul as fresh does not add any significant value to the religious discourses. Any kind of metaphysical thematization in this regard is better to get rid of, as far as Wittgenstein’s views are concerned. Rather he takes an anthropological approach to religion and its practices, where the practices are intertwined with his notions of language-games and forms of life. D.Z. Phillips addresses the fact that in Wittgenstein’s earlier writings on Frazer we find that there could be a principle in the language by which all the rituals could be ordered, but later on as Rush Rhees points out, it has been found that the imagination of ritual implies it imagining in a form of life. Our urge for explanation often takes us to a juggernaut from where it becomes so much difficult to return and have peace. I will be trying to show how clarity in the Wittgensteinian sense could help us better to comprehend the value of religion and have impact over our religious discourse. Rituals in religion can’t be based on evidences, like what is done in science. Religion is based on faith. If there is loss of faith in God, then it need not be based on rational justification rather a shift in the form of life where the older language might seem meaningless to the concerned person.