American Research Journal of History and Culture

Udaya Raj Paudel

 This paper tries to analyze A Bend in the Ganges by Manohar Malgonkar in terms of Gyanendra Pandey’s critique of partition historiography and nationalism, and V. D. Savarkar’s ideology of Hindutva or Hindu Rastra. Although both views are critical of the attempts by traditional historiographers to erase the violent history of India, their critiques of traditional historiography have diametrically opposite purposes and interests to serve. Pandey writes from a Marxist subaltarnist point of view, emphasizing the oppression of minorities like women, dalits, and Muslims at the hand of the state which he sees as predominantly serving the interests of upper class Hindus, whereas Savarkar and Malgonkar emphasize the need for a strong nation and people based on common religious and cultural aspirations. The ideology of Hindutva as formulated by Savarkar which sees religion as the most important element in deciding the loyalty of the people and sees violence as an effective tool against tyranny is amply reflected in the novel by Malgonakar. Savarkar and Malgonkar moreover see non-violence of the kind envisioned by Gandhi as being too idealistic and hence incompatible in the everyday world where the very existence sometimes depends on the effective use of violence. 

Fekede Sileshi Fufa1*, Tesema Ta’a2 

The main aim of this paper is to assess the political crisis happened in Darfur/Sudan. The paper is also review the ethnic conflict over economic interests and the response of Africa leaders with particular reference to the current Darfur crisis of 2003/04. The Darfur crisis began in 2003 and resulted in more than 2.7 million forced displacements of Darfurians and death of hundred thousands of the communities of the region. According to different humanitarian, organizations, writer and observers the estimated number of people who lost their lives due to this conflict ranges between 200,000-400,000. Over three-fourth of the villages in Darfur have been destroyed by Janjaweed militia. The Janjaweed militia began pillaging towns and villages inhabited by members of the African ‘tribe’ from which the rebel armies drew their strength in the Zaghawa, Masalit and Fur ‘tribes’. Based on written sources the Janjaweed were well-equipped fighting force that enjoyed the obvious assistance of the Sudanese government in 2003. The 2003 Darfur crisis was causes for the deaths of hundred thousands of Darfurian, displacement, malnutrition, epidemic and various diseases. Due to the abovementioned problems various international actors were participated in the Darfur crisis to solve the existed difficulty. Finally, in this paper emphasis is given to clarify the causes for the deaths of hundred thousands of Darfurian and displacement of the communities and the response of international governments and non-governmental organization to solve the problem. Here, the process of the Darfur crisis was not yet fully reconstructed. Recently many historians were tried to explain the problem of the war. As far as the abovementioned problems are concerned, however, those scholars have so far focused more on the activities of the conquerors rather than on the dilemma of the victims of war. The dilemma of Darfur crisis at the time of conflict were still need further investigation. So, the paper is present to fill the gap by cross-checking the gathered sources as a whole. 

Dr. Manisha Choudhary

The details in the Jahangirnama are much a query in nature and the desires of emperor to show the crack of dawn for the herculean task of knowledge creation which was undertaken by the intriguing and truth searching mind of him. Much of the record created by Jahangir is an effort to assert for his own royal status, affirm the warrior instinct and tocast self as a protector and spiritual elements. The noting around the flora and fauna and his hunting expeditions form a major section of the text and are immense to understand the personality of the Mughal emperor-Jahangir. Interestingly, the super seceding numbers of the hunts have been missed and the partial collection of the flora and fauna have been highlighted enough to project Jahangir as ‘Naturalist’. This paper is an effort to understand the hunts of Jahangir and his approach towards components of nature. Much of his recordings were surrounded with ingredients of strangeness and rarity and were engagement of a self acclaimed ‘truth searching mind’. The absenteeism from military expeditions gave him enough space for undertaking the kills and making leisure records. The curiosity around birds and animals has been expanded much beyond the capacity by outreaching and outsourcing the task of painting, on to the painters.It is an effort to re-look the observations of the emperor to understand his perspective towards the components of nature.

Uhembe Clement Ahar

 In spite of many years of slave trade in Africa, this paper finds relevant contemporary political economy relationship with the current politics of development and under development in Africa with Europe. The paper, by way of political economy analysis, argues that Europe did not start the slave trade. African societies had sold slaves to each other for centuries and for export to North Africa and Asia across the Sahara through Ethiopia and the Azanian ports. However, the flow of slave across the Indian Ocean was very minimal compared with transatlantic trade. It is the sheer volume of the slave traffic across the Atlantic and the brutality/the current impact that has continued to affect Africans that this paper investigates. The paper interrogates the ideological metamorphosis of nomenclature to globalization and capitalism and examines its implication in our contemporary society with particular reference to Nigeria and recommends that the issue be readdressed in the light of the present capitalism.

Esther Merino

Parma, the capital of the lands ruled by the Farnese family, was one of the most active centres in Italy in the design of architectures for shows. A proposal for an approach to the history of Italian scenography during the Seicento is presented here – a some what in depth view is presented as it is not very well known in Spain – using iconological and semiotic analyses of the decorations for the staging of the libretti, beginning with the scenographic creations of Giovan Battista Aleotti, and finishing with Carlo Pasetti, one of his most fruitful heirs, focusing on his work with the opera La Filo overo Giunonerepacificata con Ercole, created by Francesco Berni (1631), a preserved copy of which can be found in the Library of the El Escorial Monastery (Madrid), a rare fact amongst the works with Florentine origin collected in Spanish document repositories, even though it became, with other scenographies of the same author, a powerful inspiration for several courtesan parties (theatre shows, choreographed dance or carousels) in Spain during the XVII and XVIII centuries.

Endalkachew Lelisa Duressa

 This Review primarily focuses on ‘Discourse Analysis of Origin and Distribution of Coffee Arabica’. The Significance of this review is to present the summary of existing information on the origin and expansion of Coffee Arabica around the globe and to minimize the degree of controversies among scholars. Information has been drawn from the works of several authors and oral traditions. For the historical root of coffee and its discovery, there is no clear direction. Still it is a controversial one among different scholars. However, there are two competing local areas, which have recently emerged in Southwestern parts of Ethiopia. These are Mankira of the present Kaffa zone and Coccee of the present Jimma zone. However, these study showed that the former Limmu Awraja of Gomma district, Coccee Guddaa kebele at a site called ‘katta muuduu ga’a’ is said to be the historical origin of coffee Arabica. There is no enough studies showing and focus on above controversies on coffee distribution around the world. It is not yet clear how coffee spread from its birth place of Ennarya regions to other parts of Ethiopia. It believed that it was during the Oromo expansion of the16th century that coffee spreading out in Ethiopia regions. Later, it was probably by long distance trade of the 19th century that coffee disseminated. Next, coffee spread to the rest of the world by Arab merchants and the European colonizers. The data in this study consisted of the written and oral sources. Secondary data sources were collected by assessing published and unpublished materials. The available oral traditions were used as sources of data in reviewing the origin and expansion of coffee in southwestern Ethiopia. After that, the data would be described, expressed and articulated qualitatively. All the data would be analyzed carefully and interpreted in accordance with the standardized canons of the social science disciplines based on the nature of information obtained.