Anthropology as Satyagraha (Truth-force):Elwin in pre-independence India

Rycroft, Daniel (2017) Anthropology as Satyagraha (Truth-force):Elwin in pre-independence India. In: Pathways of Creative Research. Primus Books, New Delhi, pp. 9-30. ISBN 978-93-84082-05-5

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Abstract

This article questions the articulation of national values through anthropological and ethnographic discourses circulating in central India during the 1930s-40s. The focus is on Verrier Elwin’s use of the Muria (Adivasi) institution of the ghotul (youth dormitory) to ascertain a creative dialogue between the emerging nation-state and tribal heritage. I argue that Elwin articulated a post-Gandhian approach in his interpretation of the ghotul, which may be re-considered both historically, in relation to Ananda Coomaraswamy’s concept of ‘high swadeshi’, and ideologically, in relation to the philosophy and praxis of Satyagraha. I address these representational shifts according to the analytical logic of satyagraha-as-dialogue, with a view to enhancing an understanding of the travails of inter-cultural outlooks in historical anthropology.

Item Type: Book Section
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Art, Media and American Studies
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Art History and World Art Studies
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Depositing User: Pure Connector
Date Deposited: 23 Jan 2018 16:30
Last Modified: 21 Jul 2023 10:41
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/66065
DOI:

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