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Chargement... Savaging the Civilized : Verrier Elwin, His Tribals, and India (1999)par Ramachandra Guha
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"Verrier Elwin (1902-1964) was unquestionably the most colorful and influential non-official Englishman to live and work in twentieth-century India. A prolific writer, Elwin's ethnographic studies and popular works on India's tribal customs, art, myth and folklore continue to generate controversy."--BOOK JACKET. "Described by his contemporaries as a cross between Albert Schweitzer and Paul Gauguin, Elwin was a man of contradictions, at times taking on the role of evangelist, social worker, political activist, poet, government worker, and more. Intensely political, the Oxford-trained scholar tirelessly defended the rights of the indigenous and despite the deep religious influences of St. Francis and Mahatma Gandhi on his early career, staunchly opposed Hindu and Christian puritans in the debate over the future of India's tribals."--BOOK JACKET."Savaging the Civilized is both biography and history, an exploration through Elwin's life of some of the great debates of the twentieth century, the future of development, cultural assimilation versus cultural difference, the political practice of postcolonial as opposed to colonial governments, and the moral practice of writers and intellectuals."--BOOK JACKET. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
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Google Books — Chargement... GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)301.092Social sciences Social Sciences; Sociology and anthropology Sociology and anthropology standard subdivisions of sociology and/or anthropology History, geographic treatment, biography BiographyClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
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I had not heard of Verrier Elwin until a friend of mine recommended this book to me. I started to read it, and when I did I was hooked.
Now, some reviewers have referred to Ramachandra Guha as having a Nehruvian hangover, and that this book is a whitewash of a most unscrupulous character, namely Verrier.
Indeed, Verrier Elwin was not a trained anthropologist, but he did live amongst the tribals for many years, and almost became one of them. He did, in my view, great service to the tribals by studying them and writing about them. His contributions to NEFA, later Arunachal Pradesh, are immense.
The book traces his life from school through to the early years in India, his fascination with Gandhi, and then his journey towards becoming an expert on tribals; towards becoming an Indian, and then an Indian government servant.
That a man like this is largely forgotten is a tragedy, and it is indeed a great service that Ramachandra Guha has done us by bringing his story to us in a readable, unbiased book. ( )