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Treatment of History in William Dalrymple's Works TREATMENT OF HISTORY IN WILLIAM DALRYMPLE’S WORKS THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF Doctor of Philosophy IN ENGLISH BY SHEIKH SANA MARIYAM UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF DR. RUBINA IQBAL DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH-202002 (U.P.) INDIA 2016 CANDIDATE’S DECLARATION I, Sheikh Sana Mariyam Department of English certify that the work embodied in this Ph.D. thesis is my bonafide work carried out by me under the supervision of Dr. Rubina Iqbal at Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. The matter embodied in this Ph.D. thesis has not been submitted for the award of any other degree. I declare that I have faithfully acknowledged, given credit to and referred to the research workers wherever their works have been cited in the text and the body of the thesis. I further certify that I have not willfully lifted up some other’s work, para, text, data, result, etc reported in the journals, books, magazines, reports, dissertations, thesis, etc., or available at web-sites and included them in this Ph.D. thesis and cited as my own work. Date: (Signature of the candidate) Sheikh Sana Mariyam (Name of the candidate) Certificate from the Supervisor/ Co- Supervisor This is to certify that the above statement made by the candidate is correct to the best of my/ our knowledge. Signature of the Supervisor Name& Designation: Dr. Rubina Iqbal Associate Professor Women’s College Dept. of English Aligarh Muslim University (Signature of the Chairman of the Department with seal) COURSE/COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION/ PRE-SUBMISSION SEMINAR COMPLETION This is to certify that Mr. /Ms. Sheikh Sana Mariyam, Department of English has satisfactorily completed the coursework / comprehensive examination and pre-submission seminar requirement which is part of his/her Ph.D. programme. Date: (Signature of the Chairman) COPYRIGHT TRANSFER CERTIFICATE Title of the Thesis : “Treatment of History in William Dalrymple’s Works” Candidate’s Name : Sheikh Sana Mariyam Copyright Transfer The undersigned hereby assigns to the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh copyright that may exist in and for the above thesis submitted for the award of the Ph.D. degree. Signature of the candidate Note: However, the author may reproduce or authorize others to reproduce material extracted verbatim from the thesis or derivative of the thesis for author’s personal use provided that the source and the University’s copyright notice are indicated. Acknowledgement First of all, I would like to thank “Allah” the lord of the Alamin, the most gracious and most merciful, who gave me potential and courage to accomplish this work. I would like to dedicate this study to my parents, my husband and my lovely daughter. I would like to pay deep reverence from the bottom of my heart to my supervisor Dr. Rubina Iqbal for her constant supervision. Her research acumen and motivation has always supported and enlightened me. I always feel free in her company. With her guidance and constant encouragement, I accomplished this work with success. Her moral support and masterly guidance was a constant inspiration for me throughout my research work. It gives me immense pleasure to express my deep sense of gratitude and sincere thanks to Prof. Seemin Hasan, Chairman, Department of English, AMU; Aligarh who was gracious enough to furnish facilities to me to accomplish this work .Other teachers of the Department were available for valuable suggestion, advice and guidance. I would like to mention here especially the name of my teacher Prof. Asim Siddique for his advice and guidance. I can never ever repay the debt I have incurred. I acknowledge my thanks to the staff of the Seminar Library, Department of History, Seminar Library, Department of English and Chief Librarian, Maulana Azad Library, and his team of colleagues for their promptness in rendering their valuable help. I would also like to acknowledge the fund granted by University Grants Commission in order to conduct my research. Words fail me for the appreciation and support that I received from all my dear friends particularly Sumbul, Atiya, Ariba. They were very supportive throughout my research endeavor and helped me in overcoming all those gloomy phases which I encountered during my research work. I find it my pleasant duty to express my extreme gratitude to my hostel colleagues and friends Farhat, Sadaf, Farah, Saika, Samina. i With profound sense of gratitude I take this opportunity to express my thanks to my beloved parents Zafar Mehmood and Masooda Khatoon . This academic venture would have been impossible without their constant, kind and generous support. They were source of inner strength for me. Their blessings have remained a constant source of enlightenment in my entire academic endeavor. Whatever I am today is because of their fervent prayers, loving care and sincere endeavors. They were the main source of my happiness and progress. The role of my maternal aunts Dr. Khalida Sheikh and Sajeeda Khatoon is also immense. Their affection and support continuously flowed throughout my research work. It gives me immense pleasure to express my special thanks to my husband Zeeshan Talat for his remarkable patience, continual support, and understanding. He was always by my side during the critical phase in which this thesis was written. So he is worthy of the special gratitude. I want to thank my grandparents Asghari Begum, Afroz Jabeen, Vakil ur-Rahman and Mehmood bin Mohammed for their blessings and support. It is pertinent to acknowledge the role of my loving sisters Fatima and Hadiya and my younger brothers Mohammed, Umar and Bilal who encouraged and provided emotional support me through their love and affection. I will take the opportunity to thank especially my younger sisters Fatima and Hadiya who helped me by looking after my daughter at the time of my study and helping me by giving valuable suggestions and also other miscellaneous help. I can blindly trust them in any phase of my life. I would thank my aunts Sameena Afroz and Mehmooda Bano for their care and support during my stay in Aligarh. I am really thankful to my cousins Anam, Madeeha, Sania and Zainab for their continuous motivation and support. My work is incomplete if I do not mention the name of my daughter Khadeeja who was deprived of motherly attention and care during my study. My little angel was also one of the driving forces and strength in completion of this work. Sheikh Sana Mariyam ii ABSTRACT William Dalrymple is a popular writer and art historian. He is known for his travelogues and historical narratives. He is also very active in the field of journalism. Dalrymple’s major publications include: In Xanadu: A Quest (1989), City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi (1993), From the Holy Mountain: A Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium (1997), The Age of Kali: Indian Travels & Encounters(1998), White Mughals: Love & Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India (2002), The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty, Delhi, 1857 (2006), Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India (2009), and Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan (2012). Dalrymple has written articles, reviews, and commentaries that have been published in The Times, The New Statesman, The Guardians, The New York Review of Books and The Washington Post. He has successfully hosted various television shows and has done many radio documentaries. Besides, he is a regular organizer of the popular DSC Jaipur Literary Festival. Hence, Dalrymple is known not only because of his published historical works, but also for his active involvement in other literary fields. This thesis Treatment of History in William Dalrymple’s Works aims to explore the strategies employed by the author in writing the history of Colonial India. His writings are the result of thorough combing of archival materials which he has found in various libraries of India. He keeps himself abreast with the trends of writing academic history as well as art history. The thesis examines Dalrymple’s three works: City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi (1993), White Mughals: Love & Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India (2002), and The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty Delhi, 1857 (2006).This study critically analyses Dalrymple’s style of narration, use of rhetoric devices, his intention and strategies in writing the history of India. This proposed reading also studies these texts from the point of new historicism and subaltern historiography. Dalrymple’s texts are fine examples of multiple genres intersecting each other. His works attract all kinds of readers whether they are lovers of history, romantic tales or travelogues. He shifts his works between genres, modes, and medium, hence, the structure of his work becomes very complex. His texts show an engagement with colonial discourses and his attempt to rewrite history from a new perspective. Dalrymple’s style of writing history can be categorized as narrative history. It is different from the academic style of history writing. Narrative history writing allows the writer to present factual details in an interesting and enthralling manner. Dalrymple attempts to write the kind of history books that he himself admires and enjoys. They are based on 1 years of primary research. He projects serious and genuine historical details in an appreciative literary style. This presentation of raw facts of the past in a novel and lively manner is commendable. Dalrymple’s narratives draw attention of historians and literary critics alike. The present study also focuses on Dalrymple’s treatment of the colonial past. Because of his British origin, his reading of the British colonial history in India becomes a challenging task. This reading highlights the author’s objective in writing Imperial history and looks at how consciously or unconsciously his personal prejudices and affiliations colour his narration.
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