THE DEFINING MOMENTS IN BENGAL: 1920-1947 By Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, Oxford, Rs 995

Sabyasachi Bhattacharya is an accomplished historian and a former vice-chancellor of Visva Bharati. This book is an attempt to portray the redefinition of the identity of Bengal which started in the 1920s. It begins with the rethinking of Indian nationalism, and the growth of a new "Bengali patriotism". The social condition that existed during the partition of Bengal in 1905 was changing. By the second decade of the 20th century, nationalist consciousness was fairly widespread. Regional identity - not necessarily incompatible with national identity - was also gaining strength. According to the author, Bengali patriotism did not merely mean the greater use of the Bengali language, but also meant an "indigenization of idiom and style of expression and action in the public sphere."

The author notes the transformation that was taking place in public discourse since the beginning of the 20th century. Intellectuals of that time such as Chittaranjan Das, the man whom the Mahatma referred to as the 'uncrowned king of Bengal', felt the need for a shift in the prevailing political narrative. He was a vocal critic of the leaders of Surendranath Banerjea's generation. Das attempted to replace the latter's European-style politics with the newly-rising regional patriotism. "Bengali consciousness" started dominating the political discourse and the public lives of all leading politicians of the time. Due to the rise of regional identity, an erosion of the English identity was witnessed. This not only made Das the spokesperson of early 20th century Bengal but also helped the province to redefine itself.

A high level of consciousness on gender issues was also witnessed during this period. "Letter from the Wife"by Rabindranath Tagore or "The Worth of Women" by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee were critiques of the patriarchal society in Bengal. Bhattacharya succeeds in portraying the transformation in the status of women, till then restricted to the inner quarters of the household, to the new bhadramahila. But he also remains critical of such a development. He rightly claims that the new trends "did not by any means suggest that enlightenment had dawned on the votaries of tradition."

The writer skilfully uses anecdotes from various sources to back his cogent arguments. He borrows experiences of women to make his point. Jnanadanandini reminisces, "One night I suddenly woke up and raising my head I saw my mother writing or reading something. Seeing me she quickly hid all those, fearing that as I was a child, I might tell someone... Nevertheless, people got to know, and she was publicly denigrated by the residents of the locality."

Prior to 1900, women's education was an unusual enterprise. But in the 1920s, the new political narrative succeeded in bringing about drastic changes in the social condition of women. Even the most conservative families understood the importance of women's education. But confusion remained as to what kind of education should be provided to them. The former vice-chancellor of Calcutta University, Jadunath Sarkar, claimed, "In our country, the woman's place is in the home and the family... In these circumstances, education for women should be appropriate to the household, family, society and nature of women in our country."

Along with these developments, the growth of a new Bengali Muslim identity played an important role in redefining Bengal. The province had already suffered a partition in 1905. Therefore, any new rise of Muslim identity was looked upon with suspicion. Bhattacharya asks questions to challenge the popular narratives that have existed over the course of time. He criticizes the oft-used depictions of the tensions that existed between Hindus and Muslims by historians. He is right when he claims that one should take into account the daily transactions between individuals of the two communities instead of focussing solely on the conferences of communal parties and the sonorous speeches of divisive leaders. He observes that the policy of mutual exclusion that was followed by the Hindu and Muslim leaders in all public spaces tore apart the socio-political fabric of the province. This was fuelled by inflation, famines and riots.