Quayum, Mohammad A. and Hasan, Md. Mahmudul (2021) Bangladeshi anglophone literature: an old and evolving tradition. In: Bangladeshi Literature in English: A Critical Anthology. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka, pp. 1-16.
|
PDF
- Published Version
Download (4MB) | Preview |
Abstract
It is significant to note that, as opposed to comparable literary traditions in other regions of the South Asian subcontinent, the Bangladeshi Anglophone literary tradition has arguably the most prolific and distinguished historical origins. Once considered the jewel in the crown of British India, where the country’s capital was located (until 1911) and where the process of European colonisation began, the Bengal region was more exposed to English education during the British period than the other British Indian provinces. The first institution of its kind, the Hindu College in Calcutta was established in 1817 by the joint initiative of the British colonists and the native gentry, led by Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1774-1833), an iconic Renaissance figure who was keen to spread English education among the local population long before Thomas Macaulay’s policy of the Anglicisation of Indian education.4 If we take this historic context into account, then Bangladeshi literature in English can be traced back to the East India Company period, to a time before Macaulay wrote his now infamous Minutes on Indian Education in February 1935 or Bentinck’s English Education Act took effect in March of the same year and can, therefore, be regarded as one of the oldest and most illustrious English-language literary traditions outside the English-speaking world.
| Item Type: | Book Chapter |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | 6409/91870 |
| Subjects: | P Language and Literature > PE English P Language and Literature > PI Oriental languages and literatures P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0080 Criticism P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0441 Literary History P Language and Literature > PR English literature |
| Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button): | Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences > Department of English Language & Literature |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Md. Mahmudul Hasan |
| Date Deposited: | 01 Sep 2021 16:22 |
| Last Modified: | 10 Sep 2021 16:09 |
| URI: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/91870 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
Download Statistics
Download Statistics