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Anirvan Chatterjee Nov 24, 2022

I'm done. I'm never in my life going to find a historical document that checks off so many of my boxes:

• a #Bengali #Ghadar poster from ~1916

• promoting a Williams Jenning Bryan pamphlet at 1324 Valencia, #SanFrancisco

• via a book scanned by Uttarpara, West Bengal library

This is cool because (a) the Ghadar Party published in English, Punjabi, Urdu, but this is the first time I'm seen anything in Bengali, and (b) I've seen the Uttarpara library many times!

#Histodons #AsianAmerican

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Anirvan Chatterjee Nov 24, 2022

It reads: ভারতবর্ষে ইংরেজ শাসন. আমেরিকার যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের ভূতপূর্ব্ব সেক্রেটরী ও সভাপতির পদপ্রাথী মাননীয় উইলিয়াম জেননিংস ব্রায়ান লিখিত ইংরেজি প্রবন্ধের বক্ষানুবাদ. হিন্দুস্থান গাদার আফিস হইতে প্রকাশিত. ১৩২৪ ভালেনশিয়া স্ট্রিট ফ্রানন্সিস্কো, আমেরিকা

"English rule in India. Excerpt from an English essay by Honorable William Jennings Bryan, former Secretary of State and Presidential Candidate of the United States. Published from Hindustan Gadar Office. 1324 Valencia Street Francisco, USA"

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Anirvan Chatterjee Nov 24, 2022

📖 2. What's the work being advertised?

"British Rule in India" was a short piece by the populist pol and 1908 prez candidate on British exploitation in India. It was published multiple times by Indian nationalists. Example: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101054845449

📅 3. When is this from?

Maybe around 1916?

Here's what I know: (1) Bryan was sec of state 1912–1915, (2) 1324 Valencia was in use by Ghadar ~1912–1917 (need to verify), and (3) Ghadar was publishing editions in 1915 (https://google.com/books/edition/A_Few_Facts_about_British_Rule_in_India/Wos6AQAAMAAJ).

William Jennings Bryan on British rule in India.

HathiTrust

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Anirvan Chatterjee Nov 24, 2022

👥 4. Who was the audience?

I'm confused. Most Bengalis in the US Ghadar universe would have known English. So maybe this was for a more global Ghadar-exposed (and class-diverse) audience? Or maybe it was done on a lark by Bengali SF Ghadarites, w/out specific target audience?

🔗 5. Source?

This is from the collection of images around page 63 of "Indian Freedom Movement: Revolutionaries in America" (1969) by IITKGP historian Kalyan Kumar Banerjee (https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12486/page/n78/mode/1up)