The Black Hole of Empire: History of a Global Practice of
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Chatterjee, Partha, PUBLISHER: Princeton University Press, When Siraj, ong>theong> ruler ong>ong>ofong>ong> Bengal, overran ong>theong> British settlement ong>ong>ofong>ong> Calcutta in , he allegedly jailed 146 European prisoners overnight in a cramped prison. ong>ong>Ofong>ong> ong>theong> group, 123 died ong>ong>ofong>ong> suffocation. While this episode was never independently confirmed, ong>theong> story ong>ong>ofong>ong> "ong>theong> black hole ong>ong>ofong>ong> Calcutta" was widely circulated and seen by ong>theong> British public as an atrocity committed by savage colonial subjects. "ong>Theong> Black Hole ong>ong>ofong>ong> Empire" follows ong>theong> ever-changing representations ong>ong>ofong>ong> this historical event and founding myth ong>ong>ofong>ong> ong>theong> British Empire in India, from ong>theong> eighteenth century to ong>theong> present. Partha Chatterjee explores how a supposed tragedy paved ong>theong> ideological foundations for ong>theong> civilizing force ong>ong>ofong>ong> British imperial rule and territorial control in India. Chatterjee takes a close look at ong>theong> justifications ong>ong>ofong>ong> modern empire by liberal thinkers, international lawyers, and conservative traditionalists, and examines ong>theong> intellectual and political responses ong>ong>ofong>ong> ong>theong> colonized, including those ong>ong>ofong>ong> Bengali nationalists. ong>Theong> two sides ong>ong>ofong>ong> empire's entwined history are brought togeong>theong>r in ong>theong> story ong>ong>ofong>ong> ong>theong> Black Hole memorial: set up in Calcutta in , demolished in , restored by Lord Curzon in , and removed in to a neglected churchyard. Challenging conventional truisms ong>ong>ofong>ong> imperial history, nationalist scholarship, and liberal visions ong>ong>ofong>ong> globalization, Chatterjee argues that empire is a necessary and continuing part ong>ong>ofong>ong> ong>theong> history ong>ong>ofong>ong> ong>theong> modern state.