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David Washbrook, on the Issues 112,000 Km Away from the Collision Site

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David Washbrook, on the Issues 112,000 Km Away from the Collision Site internal heat, while winds in the high INTERVIEW Jovian stratosphere move primarily from the poles toward the equator. Just after the impact of one of the largest comctary fragments, the Hubble telescope detected unusual arc-like auroral emissions at Jupiter's northern mid-latitudes, where the planet normally does not have auroras. Astronomers said the aurora - glow- ing gases that create northern and southern lights similar to those on earth - was apparently produced by the impact, though it appeared nearly David Washbrook, on the issues 112,000 km away from the collision site. David Washbrook, who was appointed tury South India, and he offers a cri- Auroras, which are common at Director of the Centre for Indian tique of the subaltern studies school of Jupiter's extreme northern and south- Studies at the University of Oxford in Indian history-writing. ern latitudes, are produced by high- January this year, is a leading historian energy charged particles trapped in the of colonial South India. When ^- This trip to India was to partici- planet's magnetic field that cause Washbrook's work on late 19th centu- pate in the International Congress atmospheric gases to glow. ry and early 20th century South India on Kerala Studies, wasn't it? What Astronomers believe the cometary appeared in the late 1970s, it received are your impressions? impact created an electromagnetic dis- wide attention. The work introduced I enjoyed it very much, and was turbance that travelled along magnetic an emphasis on localised, provincial extremely impressed with the organisa- field lines into Jupiter's upper atmos- history, moving away from the tradi- tion of the conference and the enthusi- phere. tion of studies of broader trends in his- asm of the organisers and participants. Finally, there is still a debate among torical development. His work, which It was particularly encouraging to see astronomers as to whether Shoemaker- drew largely on colonial-bureaucratic questions of social welfare and distrib- Levy 9 was a comet or an asteroid: records, provided an analysis of one ution occupying a major place on the comets consist largely of ice while level at which events occur, a level that political agenda and to see that all asteroids are thought to be giant rocks (it must be said) has yet to be fully political questions were not immediate- that exist mainly in a belt between the interpreted within a more comprehcn- ly surrendered to a logic of income orbits of Jupiter and Mars. sive, qualitative growih and According to Harold Weaver, an understanding of | advancement, in astronomer at the Space Telescope historical processes. 2 the hope that, Science Institute in Baltimore, Washbrook's | somehow or other, Maryland, telescope observations seem current research = welfare will dribble slightly to favour a cometary origin for interests are in the ^ down to the masses Shoemaker. social history of " and majorities of "The fragments were releasing dust capitalism in India society. all along the path toward Jupiter, as and, in particular, Of course, Kerala would be expected from a comet," he in socio-political does have problems said. "This was evident in the persis- and economic of production and tence of spherical clouds of dust sur- processes in 18th these were also rounding each nucleus throughout century and early explored. But there most of the comet's journey." 19th century South certainly were no But Weaver said it would not be easy India. He is work- demands that social to provide a definite answer because ing on two books, welfare pro- comets and asteroids have so much in one on South India, grammes be cut in common: they are small bodies; they 1750-1850, for the the interests of eco- are primordial, having formed 4,600 Cambridge History nomic growth; million years ago along with the plan- of India series, and given that bottom ets; and either type of object can be another in collabo- line, the discussions expected to be found in Jupiter's vicin- ration with on possible ways of ity. Rosalind O' increasing Kerala's Hammel said it would be interesting Hanlon of the economic growth if the objects turned out to be asteroid university of Cambridge, a book he were very interesting. One of the fragments because scientists do not describes as "an attempt to write, at the strong points in Kerala's history has know much about the strength of such level of a university textbook, a social been the creative use of cooperation, objects. history of colonial India." and I was pleased to see that coopera- "We know about comets," she said. Washbrook was in India recently to tive programmes are still very much on "We know they are very weak... and attend the landmark International the political agenda. have a tendency to fall apart. If this was Congress on Kerala Studies in So for those of us from the West and an asteroid and it was that weak, that Thimvananthapuram; in this conver- with a leftwards disposition, battered would change our ideas about asteroids sation with V. K. Ramachandran, in by arguments that put economic dramatically." • Bombay on September 14, he speaks growth and "structural adjustment" of Indian history studies in Britain and before anything else, it was extremely United States Information Service issues in the social history of 18th cen- pleasant and encouraging to find an Frontline, December 2,1994 87 alternative political discourse alive and very good. There are, however, certain history or ancient history, that is to say, well and very convincing in Kerala. advantages to coming to Britain, at scholarship in departments of Sanskrit ^ You've taken over as the Director least for a period. One is the general or ancient Indian history that work on of the Centre for Indian Studies at scholarly environment, particularly in the period up to A.D. 1000. What is Oxford; what is your assessment of places like Oxford, Cambridge and missing and is very problematic now is the state of Indian history scholar- London, where students of Indian his- the mediaeval period of Indian history. ship in Britain? tory can meet students of other kinds For example, K. N. Chaudhuri has not Thriving under difficult conditions. of history, which perhaps they couldn't been replaced at SOAS, and there is no History is a very popular subject in to the same extent at home. Students mediaeval or Mughal historian as such Britain; applications to read history at gain access to a wide spectrum of views at Oxford or Cambridge. Christopher Universities are very on tne nature ot nisto- Bayly and I work on the fringes of that high, and applications ry, and become aware period, but our interests are really in for research grants are of the wider context in the 18th to 19th centuries. This is a running at virtually which Indian history major gap in Indian history studies in record levels. We face itself came to develop. Britain. problems of institu- Equally, whether for ^- And is modern history mainly tional funding in gen- good or ill, one of the political and economic history? eral, the scope of legacies of the empire is Compared with the United States, history studies in excellent collections of there is much more of a bias towards schools has recently books and materials for "hard" economic and political history. been reduced, there is the study of history in We wouldn't like to think that we a strict quota placed the India Office neglect issues of culture, but very few upon university places, Library, in the Indian of us seek to treat culture as and the whole world of Institute Library in autonomous of the spheres of politics, history is under con- Oxford and in other economics and society. We have been straints in Britain. collections, which help more resistant than the United States Within those restric- make study easier. to using cultural theories from other tions, however, the his- These materials are disciplines, such as anthropology and tory of India is more available in India, but it social psychology, which may not be than holding its own at is arguable that they are very securely grounded in history. The certain centres, for put together in any one mainstream of the British study of instance, Oxford, place in the same way Indian history is a species of social his- Cambridge and the as in some of the major tory with political, economic and cul- School of Oriental and African Studies British libraries and institutes. These tural orientations, as opposed, say, to (SOAS). We are fortunate in having a facilities help save time and make it the United States, where the main- number of scholarships specifically for possible to do quite a lot of original stream is really culture studies and cul- people from India and, as a result, we work on India in Britain. Of course, a tural anthropology. are able to attract some very good stu- requirement of a higher research ^ What is the thrust of your own dents, particularly for research pro- degree on India in Oxford, Cambridge work on 18th century state forma- grammes. Cambridge is Number One or London is that only part of the time tion and society? in this, because of Dr. Anil Seal's abili- be spent in Britain; original research My interests are, first and foremost, ty to raise very large sums of scholar- has also to be conducted in India in in the social history of capitalism, that ship money (I understand that he has Indian archives. is to say, in social relations and their money to finance around 500 students ^ My question was also about who's connection to relations of production.
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