Revisiting Nationalist Historiography: Amin's Narrativisation of Chauri Chaura

Abstract

This study is a re-reading of two essays by Shahid Amin which make an attempt to re-tell a twentieth century event in the nationalist history of India, popularly known as "Chauri Chaura". It highlights the importance of revisiting the past through the narrativisation of events, in the context of historiographical studies in India. The main objective is to look at the ways in which the re-construction of a past event has informed the contemporary understanding of nationalist movement and even the idea of the nation.