Cultural History of Modern India : Readings in History Book

India's recent history has been narrated largely in terms of the nationalist movement, personalities, and what has been seen as the 'high' politics of the state. Recent shifts in historical writing try to bring a wider understanding of politics, history and the ordinary people who make history. These six essays push the emerging paradigm further by moving away from conventional notions of the history of the nation and the political to present original and pioneering forays in the study of cricket, oral history, gender studies, film, popular culture and Indian classical music. These essays show how ideas of self, community and art are formed within a larger politic and how culture, far from being a refuge from the political, is also the space within which politics is formulated.