A Memoir of Pre-Partition Punjab
Ruchi Ram Sahni, 1863–1948
Price: 1495.00
ISBN:
9780199474004
Publication date:
30/05/2017
Hardback
426 pages
Price: 1495.00
ISBN:
9780199474004
Publication date:
30/05/2017
Hardback
426 pages
Neera Burra
A Memoir of Pre-Partition Punjab is a richly annotated autobiography of Ruchi Ram Sahni (1863–1948)—social reformer, scientist, science educator, and, later, active participant in political affairs. A riveting account of life in nineteenth-century colonial Punjab, it covers Sahni’s growing up in a Hindu business family in Dera Ismail Khan in Waziristan, and captures the social, political and intellectual ferment of the times.
Rights: World Rights
Neera Burra
Description
A Memoir of Pre-Partition Punjab is a richly annotated autobiography of Ruchi Ram Sahni (1863–1948)—social reformer, scientist, science educator, and, later, active participant in political affairs. A riveting account of life in nineteenth-century colonial Punjab, it covers Sahni’s growing up in a Hindu business family in Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, and captures the social, political and intellectual ferment of the times.
Sahni belonged to the first generation of Punjabis educated in English. The book recounts his confrontation with orthodox Hinduism and the ostracism he faced because of his secular and liberal Brahmo Samaj values. A close confidante of Dyal Singh Majithia, founder of The Tribune, he was for nearly thirty years a trustee of and contributor to this influential newspaper.
Sahni also describes the discrimination practised by Europeans against Punjabis and his responses to maintain his self-respect. His close association with Motilal Nehru, Lala Lajpat Rai, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, and other freedom fighters provides a behind-the-scenes record of the early phase of India’s freedom struggle.
About the Editor
Neera Burra, a sociologist, is a great granddaughter of Ruchi Ram Sahni. Her previous publications include Born Unfree: Child Labour, Education and the State in India (with Myron Weiner and Asha Bajpai, in 2006) and Born to Work: Child Labour in India (Oxford University Press, 1995). She is now an amateur historian of the Punjab.
Neera Burra
Table of contents
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Introduction
By Neera Burra
Autobiography
By Ruchi Ram Sahni
1. Self-Revelations of an Octogenarian
2. Growing Up in Dera Ismail Khan: 1863–78
3. High School Education at Jhang and Lahore: 1878–81
4. My College Life: 1881–5
5. An Indian Official’s Trials and Struggles: 1885–7
6. I Join the Punjab Education Department: 1887
7. Public Life: 1885 Onwards
8. My Public Life: 1891–2
9. My Connection with the Brahmo Samaj: 1879 Onwards
10. The Punjab Science Institute
11. A Long Healthy Life
12. The Ethics and Technique of Maintaining Self-Respect
13. An Indian Official’s Trials and Tribulations
14. My First Visit to Europe
15. Jallianwala Bagh and Its Aftermath
Appendix: Writings of Ruchi Ram Sahni
Glossary
References
Index
About the Editor
Neera Burra
Description
A Memoir of Pre-Partition Punjab is a richly annotated autobiography of Ruchi Ram Sahni (1863–1948)—social reformer, scientist, science educator, and, later, active participant in political affairs. A riveting account of life in nineteenth-century colonial Punjab, it covers Sahni’s growing up in a Hindu business family in Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, and captures the social, political and intellectual ferment of the times.
Sahni belonged to the first generation of Punjabis educated in English. The book recounts his confrontation with orthodox Hinduism and the ostracism he faced because of his secular and liberal Brahmo Samaj values. A close confidante of Dyal Singh Majithia, founder of The Tribune, he was for nearly thirty years a trustee of and contributor to this influential newspaper.
Sahni also describes the discrimination practised by Europeans against Punjabis and his responses to maintain his self-respect. His close association with Motilal Nehru, Lala Lajpat Rai, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, and other freedom fighters provides a behind-the-scenes record of the early phase of India’s freedom struggle.
About the Editor
Neera Burra, a sociologist, is a great granddaughter of Ruchi Ram Sahni. Her previous publications include Born Unfree: Child Labour, Education and the State in India (with Myron Weiner and Asha Bajpai, in 2006) and Born to Work: Child Labour in India (Oxford University Press, 1995). She is now an amateur historian of the Punjab.
Table of contents
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Introduction
By Neera Burra
Autobiography
By Ruchi Ram Sahni
1. Self-Revelations of an Octogenarian
2. Growing Up in Dera Ismail Khan: 1863–78
3. High School Education at Jhang and Lahore: 1878–81
4. My College Life: 1881–5
5. An Indian Official’s Trials and Struggles: 1885–7
6. I Join the Punjab Education Department: 1887
7. Public Life: 1885 Onwards
8. My Public Life: 1891–2
9. My Connection with the Brahmo Samaj: 1879 Onwards
10. The Punjab Science Institute
11. A Long Healthy Life
12. The Ethics and Technique of Maintaining Self-Respect
13. An Indian Official’s Trials and Tribulations
14. My First Visit to Europe
15. Jallianwala Bagh and Its Aftermath
Appendix: Writings of Ruchi Ram Sahni
Glossary
References
Index
About the Editor
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