Memorialisation and Identity in Mah India: Revealing French Colonial Legacies

Title

Memorialisation and Identity in Mah India: Revealing French Colonial Legacies

Creator

Vijay S.; Nayar A.

Description

Mah nestled in the Mahdistrict of the Puducherry Union Territory in India, holds profound historical ties to French colonial India. Unlike the broader Indian subcontinent, which witnessed fervent anti-colonial movements against British rule leading to political decolonisation in 1947, Mahexperienced a belated political awakening, reluctantly integrating into the Indian Union in 1954. Despite the withdrawal of the French, the enduring legacy of French colonial ideology and culture continued to shape the ethos of Mah In contemporary times, a significant presence of French nationals in India, particularly in Pondicherry, Karaikal, and Mah has fostered the evolution of a unique linguistic identity known as Indian French. Within Mah landmarks such as St. Teresas Shrine, the Statue of Marianne in Tagore Park at Cherukallayi, remnants of St. George Fort, and sculptures inspired by M. Mukundans novel On the Banks of the Mayyazhi stand as tangible vestiges of the erstwhile French presence. Serving as repositories of bygone French culture, these sites emerge as dynamic arenas of memory production. Notably, Tagore Park in Mah adorned with fictional documentation through sculptures, assumes a pivotal role as a space that harmonizes memory and history, functioning as a reservoir for collective memory concerning French colonial rule. Mah deliberate urban planning reflects a nuanced approach, embodying the concept of a living testament to French colonialism rather than a conventional museum. This architectural strategy underscores the deliberate preservation and commemoration of Mah historical past. Through interviews with French nationals residing in Mah this research explores how these landmarks have become pivotal in the production of memories and the construction of identities for the French community in India and Mah Leveraging Maurice Halbwachs theoretical framework, the study unveils the intricate interplay between collective memory and present-day identity formation, shedding light on the transformation of personal memory into historical memory and its subsequent amalgamation into collective memory. With close to 50 French families residing in and around Mahstill, the study involves interviews with ten families, focusing on landmarks like St. Teresas Shrine, the Statue of Marianne, the ruins of St. George Fort, and sculptures based on one of M. Mukundans novels. So, through interviews of the French citizens of Mah this paper highlights how the cultural artefacts and popular landmarks of Mahbecome sites of memory of the French colonisation. 2024, The International Academic Forum (IAFOR). All rights reserved.

Source

IAFOR Journal of Cultural Studies, Vol-9, No. 1, pp. 59-77.

Date

2024-01-01

Publisher

The International Academic Forum (IAFOR)

Subject

collective memory; diffused museum; French colonialism; Mah memorialisation

Coverage

Vijay S., Department of English CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, India; Nayar A., Department of English CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, India

Rights

All Open Access; Gold Open Access

Relation

ISSN: 21874905

Format

Online

Language

English

Type

Article

Identifier

https://doi.org/10.22492/ijcs.9.1.03

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