Theatre & National Identity in Colonial India:: Formation of a Community Through Cultural Practice

This Book Looks At The Genealogy Of The Discourse Of Indian Theatre Where The Category Indian Assumes National Identiy Which It SelfEvident. It Finds The Roots Of Such Grouping In Colonial India. It Focuses On The Transformation Of Something Like The Grupuscule Or The Smallest Unit Of The Group To The Nation. In India By The Late Nineteenth Century There Was Enough Discussion In Such Grupscules Often Called SamitiS Around Certain Concepts Like Desh, Sanskriti, Sabhyata, Etc. And Theatre/Performance Became A Tool To Mould These Concepts To Create Something As The Bharatiya Sabhyata O Sanskriti Or The Indian Civilisation And Culture Which Got Representation Not Only In The Republic Day Parade In PostIndependent India But Also In State Politics Around The Arts. It Cites Moments From Indian Colonial History Such As The So Called Coming Of Theatre In India During The Colonial Period In Bengal And Bombay Presidencies, Indian Colonial HistoryS Encounter With Swadeshi Through Swadeshi Theatre In Bengal And The Cultural Movement Initiated By The Central Squad Of Indian PeopleS Theatre Association. In Doing So It Engages With Questions Of Experience, Performance, Freedom, Institution, Modern, Nation, Etc. Not Only At A StructuralConceptual Level But Also As Philosophical Queries.