The case of falling walls politics of demolition and preservation in Rampur
The city that merits immediate attention of the Uttar Pradesh Urban Development and Minority Affairs Minister Azam Khan is his own hometown and constituency, Rampur. Alas, this has not been the case; instead we see newspaper headlines about Khan’s plans to demolish walls of the historic Rampur fort (Times News Network: 2013). The erstwhile cultural centre of the city now lies in a deeply neglected condition and deserves conservation, not demolition. Any plans of “beautification” should be centred on preservation of the historic character of the city.
The Indian Princes and Their States
Barbara Ramusack bases her study of indirect rule under British imperialism mainly on research, including her own, which has been done since the 1960s. As she reiterates throughout the book, the topic of the ‘Native States’ is not one which has attracted widespread scholarly attention. The main weight of research on the colonial period lies in British India, the three-fifths of the sub-continent which was under direct imperial administration. With the development of relatively new understandings and theories during the last 25 years concerning the structure and nature of indigenous rule, it seems possible that new generations of students of India will want to know how pre-colonial political institutions fared under European domination. Signs of movement in that direction include Marzia Balzani’s study of ritual of the Jodhpur royal court, Modern Indian Kingship: Tradition, Legitimacy and Power in Rajasthan.(1)
Fortune and Responsibility in Calderón's La gran Cenobia
La gran Cenobia deals with the war between Queen Zenobia of Palmyra and the Emperor Aurelian. Calderón de la Barca draws most of his information from historical sources; the dramatist, however, changes history and adapts it to his own dramatic purpose. The theme of Fortune gives unity to the play. Aureliano is portrayed as a tyrant who, to prove his independence from Fortune, behaves tyrannically, causing his eventual downfall. Cenobia believes that Fortune controls her life, but does not acknowledge that her own actions contribute to her misfortune. The analysis concludes that Fortune, as depicted in this play, is not an omnipotent and blind force, but what one has forged with his or her own actions coupled with the actions of others and circumstance.