Department of Social Science

The widely renowned Bandel Basilica 1 or the Basilica of the Holy Rosary located on the banks of river Hooghly is the oldest church 2 in the region of eastern India. The Church came to being as a result of the Portuguese settlement in Hooghly which began from 16 th century. It was erected by the Augustinian missionaries who received a Farman from the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1633. Since its inception the church has passed through "interesting times" ranging from facing total devastation to being the place of miraculous incidents. From humble beginnings in 16 th century the church has been elevated to the status of a Basilica, a journey which has been intriguing and imposing as the Church itself. This paper discusses the history and evolution of the Bandel Church from its inception till the present day. It traces the story from the coming of the Portuguese in Hooghly and how they evolved from mere traders to owners of land which paved the way for the establishment of the Church. The first section of the paper deals with the history of the church, it tells the story of the church under the Portuguese in the Mughal era followed by the British and how the church stands today post the departure of the British from India. The paper in this regard also delves into the activities various missionary bodies under whom the church functioned, beginning with the Augustinians, the Jesuits and finally the Salesians 3. Apart from the 1 BasilicaThe word basilica is derived from a Greek term meaning "royal house." In the Catholic world, a basilica is a church building that has been accorded special privileges by the pope. Over the centuries the Catholic Church has used the term in this sense, with the pope granting the title of Basilica to a church that has unusual historical significance, or is especially sacred because of the presence of a relic or relics. 2 Church is a building used for religious activities, particularly worship services. The term in its architectural sense is most often used by Christians to refer to their religious buildings. 3 Augustinians the Order of St. Augustine generally called Augustinians is a Catholic Religious Order, was formally created by St. Augustine of Hippo in the thirteenth century. This monastic tradition has its earliest traces soon after St. Augustine's conversion in Milan, when he and some friends returned to his native Tagaste, gave away their possessions, and began a life of prayer and study as "servants of God". Ordained a priest in 391 A.D, Augustine obtained the use of a garden at Hippo to build a monastery for his lay community. He later wrote a Rule for his brothers. On December 16 ,1243, Pope Innocent IV issued the bull Incumbit nobis calling on several eremitical communities in Tuscany to unite themselves into a single religious order with the Rule and way of life of St. Augustine. The following March, 1244, the hermits held a founding chapter in Rome under the guidance of Cardinal Richard Annibaldi and put the union into effect. Thus began the history of the Order of St. Augustine. In its establishment in its current form, it was shaped as a mendicant Order, one of the four great Orders which follow that way of life. The Order has done much to extend the influence of the Church, to propagate the Roman Catholic Faith and to advance learning. The Order has, in particular, spread internationally the veneration of the Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Good Counsel.

The widely renowned Bandel Basilica1 or the Basilica of the Holy Rosary located on the banks of river Hooghly is the oldest church2 in the region of eastern India, which came into being as a result of the Portuguese settlement in Hooghly in the 16th century, but subsequently played a major role in the life of the local Catholic community that developed in the southern part of Bengal. However, precious little attention has been paid so far to it in the historical literature dealing with Christians in the region. This paper intends to explore how from humble beginnings in the 16th century the church was elevated to the status of a Basilica and also how the church aided the formation of a Catholic community in Bandel.

The growth trajectory of Indian Sociology in the past few decades is unsurpassed. From being treated as a 'residual category' and a subordinate disciple, it is now a well-developed and self-sustaining discipline. There are various demands placed on sociology after Independence which explicitly contributed to its development. But this development of Indian sociology is not free from certain dominations: (1) Domination of popular trends in sociology produced by western scholars, (2) Domination of certain sections in India, (3) Domination of State and Identity Politics. These domains of domination are significantly hindering the development of Indian sociology in an inclusive manner and degrading the efficacy of the knowledge produced in this field. The only way forward for Indian sociology is to develop indigenous sociological traditions, concepts, and methods to explain the social reality of India, to recognize the diverse trends of sociological knowledge being produced and promote civility, reason, and reflexivity among diverse perspectives of sociological knowledge.

'Gandhi stopped three bullets on their deathly trajectory of hate' - Ramachandra Gandhi.

Gandhi was assassinated today in 1948, just months after Independence. His contemporary Winston Churchill considered Gandhi to be his arch-rival. Both Gandhi and Churchill are two different poles divided by oceans and ideologies. But they both shared a similar fate after their death. Here is a short note on how these rivals shared a common fate.

Review of Arundhati Roy's new book 'Azadi: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction'.
Arundhati Roy leaves her readers with hope and despair- “We can only hope that, someday soon, the streets in India will throng with people who realize that unless they make their move, the end is close. If that doesn’t happen, consider these words to be intimations of an ending from one who lived through these times”
(Published in Countercurrents.org)

Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of trusteeship is a pragmatic model of development that aims to attain economic equality in society. This idea is an alternative to communism and capitalism and is based on nonviolence and inclusivity.  Trusteeship seeks to resolve the conflict between labour and capital by emphasizing on equitable distribution of work and wages, giving equal importance to manual and mental labour, promoting people to labour for their own bread, creating a society in which all the people are entitled only to as much wealth as required to satisfy their needs and have time for leisure. Trusteeship replaces competition with cooperation by promoting wealthy people to voluntarily abdicate their wealth for the underprivileged. It aims to transform self-interested individuals to work for group-interest. This idea is relevant for the present times when inequality is widening the gap between rich and poor, and weakening the prospects of inclusive development. Trusteeship is a workable solution that can ensure sustainable progress in contemporary times.