Parimal Ghosh

There is good reason to believe that there were telltale signs in West Bengal even in the late 1970s, at the moment of the left's greatest triumph, that there was something intrinsically wrong in the process through which the left had come to power and retained it. This article attempts to establish this through a brief examination of Calcutta's Group Theatre movement, which since its inception was largely driven by left-democratic ideals. A strong movement in the 1960s, by the 1980s it had begun to fade away. It is possible to see the crisis in the Group Theatre movement as a fallout of the much bigger crisis in the constitutional left movement of the country.

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Where Have all the 'Bhadraloks' Gone?

Vol. 39, Issue No. 03, 17 Jan, 2004

Parimal Ghosh

In colonial times, the term 'bhadralok' was taken to mean primarily upper caste Hindus, with some access to landed property or wealth and with a claim to a liberal education. By the early 20th century, however, socially mobile lower castes were soon staking their claim to the term. Since independence, vertical changes brought on by increased government spending and other associated economic changes, together with the physical expansion of the city have implied further social change, including a continual change in the meaning of the notion - bhadralok. This paper attempts to map this story of change. Its description of the slow transformation of a Calcutta neighbourhood indicates more significant changes in a mode of living and in the belief systems that marked a bhadralok.

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Colonial State and Colonial Working Conditions-Aspects of the Experience of Bengal Jute Mill Hands. 1881-1930

Vol. 29, Issue No. 31, 30 Jul, 1994

Parimal Ghosh

Aspects of the Experience of Bengal Jute Mill Hands. 1881-1930 Parimal Ghosh This paper examines certain facets of the working conditions in the jute mills within the triangular structure constituted by the colonial state in India, the Anglo-Scottish management of these mills in and around Calcutta, and the labour force employed therein. The paper concentrates on two issues, those relating to the minimum age of the workers and their hours of work, and argues that the rules concerning these were systematically flouted by the employers with the connivance of the state.

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Communalism and Colonial Labour-Experience of Calcutta Jute Mill Workers, 1880-1930

Vol. 25, Issue No. 30, 28 Jul, 1990

Parimal Ghosh

Experience of Calcutta Jute Mill Workers, 1880-1930 Parimal Ghosh This paper attempts to find out to what extent colonialism dominated the milieu of jute mill workers in Calcutta. It is shown that, the two selves of the mill worker