Department of History

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://ir.nbu.ac.in/handle/123456789/3711

The Department of History was established in the year 1964, just two years after the foundation of this University. The history of this department is indeed decked with the contribution of many academicians, teachers, research scholars, students, non-teaching members, and others. In 1965, with the initiative of Professor Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya, the then Head of the Department, a University level museum, primarily intended for collecting, preserving, and exhibiting objects of Indian art and antiquity, was founded and named after Akshaya Kumar Maitreya, the famous historian of the colonial period. It is one of the very few History departments of our state which in its syllabus has well-delineated specializations pertaining to the ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary periods. For more than five decades, this department has produced able students, researchers, teachers, and a number of academicians who have received acclamation from every nook and corner of the country. Now the department offers Post Graduate, M.Phil. and Ph.D. courses, besides, giving NET/SET coaching, remedial classes. The department also conducts Study Tour every year for the fourth semester Post Graduate students. It also received various seminar and research grants from UGC, ICSSR, etc. time to time. Significantly, it publishes a peer-reviewed and UGC approved journal, known as Karatoya. The Department has organized a number of special lecture programmes by eminent historians and academicians. From the year 2019, the department has also initiated a monthly Faculty Lecture Programme with a view of sharing the research orientations of the in-house faculty members.

Browse

Filters

20181

Advanced Search

Filter by

Settings

Subject: search.filters.subject.Bimarstan

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Shattered minds: Controlling the body in the lunatic asylums in colonial India (1858-1920)
    (University of North Bengal, 2018-03) Bhattacharya, Dahlia
    Taming with discipline and confinement the ‘mentally ill’ was largely a colonial concept. The colonial government particularly after 1857 revolt became more concerned about the insane and in controlling insanity they passed Lunatic Acts and constructed asylums throughout the country. In identifying the lunatics the colonial institution used Victorian morality rather than clinical observation. The vagrants and beggars were the mostly classified as insane by the British which was in contrary to the Indian concept of saints and sages. The ganja smokers, hemp and alcohol addicted men were also identified as lunatics. The Victorian morality recognized ‘work’ as a therapy and the ‘mentally ill’ were made to work in the garden, carpentry, grinding wheat and other works leading to monetary gain. The funds were applied to maintain the asylums, sometimes the local jails and led to profit for the British. The paper seeks to look into the colonial policy towards the asylums and the hard work imposed upon the lunatics leading to asylum ‘industries’ and how it received a new direction of economic gains.