"English Anti-Imperialism: The varied lights of Willie Pearson" a talk by Mr. Anil Nauriya at Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg > 3pm on 10th September 2013
Time : 3:00 pm
Entry : Free (Seating on First-Come First-Served basis)
Place : Seminar Room, First Floor, Library Building, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML), Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg, New Delhi
Venue Info : Events | About | Map | Nearest Metro Station - 'Race Course(Yellow Line)'
Event Description : The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library cordially invites you to the Weekly Seminar on ‘English Anti-Imperialism: The varied lights of Willie Pearson’ by Mr. Anil Nauriya, Senior Fellow, NMML.
Abstract : British imperial rule in India enjoyed far from universal support among the English people. Some aspects of the life and work of W. W. (‘Willie’) Pearson (1881-1923) provide a vivid early 20th century illustration of this fact, evolving, in his case, into an active dissidence. After completing his studies at Cambridge and Oxford, majoring in the natural sciences and producing a thesis on theories of evolution, Willie Pearson joined the London Missionary Society. That led to his 1907-1911 stint as a Lecturer in Botany with the LMS Institution in Bhowanipur, Kolkata during a seminally eventful period in Bengal. Having been infused early, however, with strong Non-Conformist and Quaker influences, he soon left LMS to chart his own course. Though not before the young man had made an intellectual intervention that required him to disclaim an intention to spread disaffection against the established government. Later Willie Pearson taught in Delhi and subsequently joined the staff at Santiniketan, producing in the interregnum significant work on indentured labour in Natal and making known in South Africa his support for the promotion of racial equality and the fostering of social and political protest in that country. Along with his growing association with Indian nationalist tendencies, Willie Pearson had thus come to cross many lines and several borders. His activities and work in support of Indian freedom attracted the unfriendly attention of British intelligence and colonial authorities, leading to some extraordinary legal processes being invoked against him in a manner which provides us with some insights into the working and concerns of the colonial intelligence apparatus. The multiple linkages that Willie Pearson may be seen to have reflected include those between Tagore and Gandhi, between the latter’s struggle in South Africa and his subsequent strivings in India, and between Indian and Japanese opinion-makers. Though Willie Pearson’s short life is overshadowed in the historical literature by that of C F Andrews (1871-1940), with whom much of his work in South Africa, India, Fiji and elsewhere overlapped, it will be argued that Willie was no mere acolyte, being quite his own man. It will be suggested that even in the Tagore-Gandhi universe, Willie Pearson mapped his own position which did not necessarily conform to those of either of these two colossi at any given point or juncture. Some of his texts will be examined to underline these specificities.
Speaker : Mr. Anil Nauriya is a Senior Fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. He studied economics, qualified for the Bar and has, since 1984, been counsel at the Supreme Court of India and the High Court of Delhi. He has written on contemporary history and politics in India and has contributed to various books and journals, the latter including the Economic and Political Weekly, Mumbai and Monthly Review, New York. In recent years, he has focused increasingly on struggles in Africa and on some legal issues in the Indian freedom movement. Some of his publications include: ‘Gandhi and Some Contemporary African Leaders from Kwa-Zulu Natal’, Natalia, Pietermaritzburg, (2012); ‘Soundings in Kindred Struggles: The Egyptian Voice in Gandhi’, Identity, Culture and Politics, Dakar (2011); ‘Freedom, Race and Francophonie: Gandhi and the Construction of Peoplehood’, Identity, Culture and Politics, Dakar (2009); ‘Gandhi’s Little-Known Critique of Varna’, EPW (2006); ‘The African Element in Gandhi (2006); Some Portrayals of Jinnah: A Critique’ [in Sheth & Mahajan, (eds), Minority Identities and the Nation-State] (1999); ‘Interception of Democratic Rights In India: Limits and Extent of the Constitutional Discourse’ [in Sathyamurthy (ed.) Class Formation and Political Transformation in Post-Colonial India, Vol 4] (1996); ‘Securing the Right to Work: Some Constitutional and Economic Aspects’, EPW (1990); Indian Judicial Renascence’, EPW (1987); ‘Presidential Form of Government: Some Fundamental Propositions’, EPW (1984). He has visited and lectured in various universities and institutions in India and abroad, viz. University of Delhi; Jawaharlal Nehru University; Jamia Millia Islamia; Indian Law Institute (Delhi); NALSAR, (Hyderabad); Durban University of Technology; Australian National University, (Canberra); Institute of Oriental Philosophy, (Tokyo); and the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg).
Related Events : Talks | History
Entry : Free (Seating on First-Come First-Served basis)
Place : Seminar Room, First Floor, Library Building, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML), Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg, New Delhi
Venue Info : Events | About | Map | Nearest Metro Station - 'Race Course(Yellow Line)'
Event Description : The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library cordially invites you to the Weekly Seminar on ‘English Anti-Imperialism: The varied lights of Willie Pearson’ by Mr. Anil Nauriya, Senior Fellow, NMML.
Abstract : British imperial rule in India enjoyed far from universal support among the English people. Some aspects of the life and work of W. W. (‘Willie’) Pearson (1881-1923) provide a vivid early 20th century illustration of this fact, evolving, in his case, into an active dissidence. After completing his studies at Cambridge and Oxford, majoring in the natural sciences and producing a thesis on theories of evolution, Willie Pearson joined the London Missionary Society. That led to his 1907-1911 stint as a Lecturer in Botany with the LMS Institution in Bhowanipur, Kolkata during a seminally eventful period in Bengal. Having been infused early, however, with strong Non-Conformist and Quaker influences, he soon left LMS to chart his own course. Though not before the young man had made an intellectual intervention that required him to disclaim an intention to spread disaffection against the established government. Later Willie Pearson taught in Delhi and subsequently joined the staff at Santiniketan, producing in the interregnum significant work on indentured labour in Natal and making known in South Africa his support for the promotion of racial equality and the fostering of social and political protest in that country. Along with his growing association with Indian nationalist tendencies, Willie Pearson had thus come to cross many lines and several borders. His activities and work in support of Indian freedom attracted the unfriendly attention of British intelligence and colonial authorities, leading to some extraordinary legal processes being invoked against him in a manner which provides us with some insights into the working and concerns of the colonial intelligence apparatus. The multiple linkages that Willie Pearson may be seen to have reflected include those between Tagore and Gandhi, between the latter’s struggle in South Africa and his subsequent strivings in India, and between Indian and Japanese opinion-makers. Though Willie Pearson’s short life is overshadowed in the historical literature by that of C F Andrews (1871-1940), with whom much of his work in South Africa, India, Fiji and elsewhere overlapped, it will be argued that Willie was no mere acolyte, being quite his own man. It will be suggested that even in the Tagore-Gandhi universe, Willie Pearson mapped his own position which did not necessarily conform to those of either of these two colossi at any given point or juncture. Some of his texts will be examined to underline these specificities.
Speaker : Mr. Anil Nauriya is a Senior Fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. He studied economics, qualified for the Bar and has, since 1984, been counsel at the Supreme Court of India and the High Court of Delhi. He has written on contemporary history and politics in India and has contributed to various books and journals, the latter including the Economic and Political Weekly, Mumbai and Monthly Review, New York. In recent years, he has focused increasingly on struggles in Africa and on some legal issues in the Indian freedom movement. Some of his publications include: ‘Gandhi and Some Contemporary African Leaders from Kwa-Zulu Natal’, Natalia, Pietermaritzburg, (2012); ‘Soundings in Kindred Struggles: The Egyptian Voice in Gandhi’, Identity, Culture and Politics, Dakar (2011); ‘Freedom, Race and Francophonie: Gandhi and the Construction of Peoplehood’, Identity, Culture and Politics, Dakar (2009); ‘Gandhi’s Little-Known Critique of Varna’, EPW (2006); ‘The African Element in Gandhi (2006); Some Portrayals of Jinnah: A Critique’ [in Sheth & Mahajan, (eds), Minority Identities and the Nation-State] (1999); ‘Interception of Democratic Rights In India: Limits and Extent of the Constitutional Discourse’ [in Sathyamurthy (ed.) Class Formation and Political Transformation in Post-Colonial India, Vol 4] (1996); ‘Securing the Right to Work: Some Constitutional and Economic Aspects’, EPW (1990); Indian Judicial Renascence’, EPW (1987); ‘Presidential Form of Government: Some Fundamental Propositions’, EPW (1984). He has visited and lectured in various universities and institutions in India and abroad, viz. University of Delhi; Jawaharlal Nehru University; Jamia Millia Islamia; Indian Law Institute (Delhi); NALSAR, (Hyderabad); Durban University of Technology; Australian National University, (Canberra); Institute of Oriental Philosophy, (Tokyo); and the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg).
Related Events : Talks | History
"English Anti-Imperialism: The varied lights of Willie Pearson" a talk by Mr. Anil Nauriya at Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg > 3pm on 10th September 2013
!["English Anti-Imperialism: The varied lights of Willie Pearson" a talk by Mr. Anil Nauriya at Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg > 3pm on 10th September 2013]()
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Tuesday, September 10, 2013
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