Revisiting Subaltern Studies Sharma K.L. Jaipur National University, Jaipur Online published on 14 February, 2012. Abstract Subaltern Studies emerged in the 1970s to find answers to the nature of colonialism and nationalism in India and to the politics and culture of the colonial past. The main concern of the subaltern studies has been the neglect of the voice of the subalterns in Indian historiography. The founder of the subaltern studies, the late Ranjit Guha and his young colleagues realized that the Indian historiography was dominated by “elitism” of colonialists and bourgeoisie-nationalists. There was no space for the poorest of the poor and the marginalized as they were left ignored and unnoticed. No doubt, the subaltern studies were initially influenced by Marxism, but in course of time took diverse roots. Social Sciences from “below” is the key message of the subaltern studies. Hence, the studies of dalits, ex-untouchables, poorest of the poor, marginalised communities, dalit women, hunters, food gatherers, bonded labourers, etc., have made the subaltern studies different from the conventional social science. The trajectory of the subaltern studies is evident in the twelve volumes, published between 1982–2005. The themes in these volumes reflect upon elitist domination, colonialism, nationalism, lack of mass articulation, narrow and partial view of politics, absence of people's politics, exploitation of the subaltern classes, etc. Thus, subaltern studies have created a new space for historiography. A fresh intervention and interpretation of the neglected sections of society is the hallmark of the subaltern studies. Subaltern studies can be rightly termed as a project of restoring suppressed histories of women, nonwhites, non-Europeans and the subordinate of colonial South Asia. A sort of reconstruction of history has been attempted by the subaltern scholars. In the past decade, however, there is decline of interest in subaltern studies. Globalization and liberalization could be significant factors for disenchantment in subaltern historiography. Generally speaking, subaltern studies would remain an enigma, an enchanting paradigm in social sciences. Top Keywords Agrarian relations, Bourgeoisie, Capitalism, Civil society Class Colonialsim Community Consciousness Culture. Top |