A Princely Imposter? The Kumar of Bhawal & the Secret History of Indian Nationalism

Author: Partha ChatterjeePublisher: Permanent BlackYear: 2002Language: EnglishPages: 429ISBN/UPC (if available): 8178240416 DescriptionAn accessible and fascinating story, this is one of the most riveting books of history ever written in the Indian subcontinent. The book tells the incredible story of the prince as pauper, of pauper as resurrected prince. Partha Chatterjee's retelling of the notoriously famous 'Bhawal Sannyasi Case' - one of India's best-known and most historic legal battles - is narrative history of the finest kind. It is replete with dramatic incident, sexual debauchery, family violence, and political intrigue. It is an epic story of war within a household which spills out into the social life of colonial Bengal; and beyond, into the administrative and legal fabric of India during the heyday of nationalism; and then beyond that again, into spirituality and philosophy, legend and folklore, theatre and cinema.In 1921, a half-naked, ash-smeared sannyasi appears in Dh