THIS BOOK began as a doctoral dissertation at Columbia University under the astute guidance of Ainslie Embree, Robert Bone, Trygve Tholfsen, and Edward Said. I am very grateful for their intellectual generosity and constructive advice. A Mellon Fellowship at Columbia’s Society of Fellows in the Humanities enabled the completion of the book manuscript. The Society provided a warm, supportive environment for writing and research; I owe special thanks to Barbara Stoler Miller for her personal interest and encouragement. Stimulating discussions with Mary Campbell, Richard Andrews, and Peter Sahlins helped sharpen main arguments. I want to thank Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak for her instructive reading of the manuscript and for the many helpful suggestions and comments she took the time to make. I am particularly thankful to my editor, Jennifer Crewe, whose cheerfulness and patient understanding made preparation of the manuscript much less painful.
I have benefited from the support of many institutions. The library staffs of Columbia University, the Union Theological Seminary, Teachers College, and the New York Public Library were always resourceful in tracking down elusive material. The National Archives of India, the National Library in Calcutta, and the Madras Literary Society were responsive to many queries. I am grateful to the Executive Council of the University of Delhi for approving a generous leave of absence that permitted me to begin work on this project. I thank Robert Bagg and Murray Schwartz for many courtesies extended by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Portions of the book were published in the Oxford Literary Review (1987), vol. 9, and Social Text (Fall 1988), vol. 7. I am grateful to Robert Young, Aijaz Ahmad, and Bruce Robbins for their encouraging response.
For their continued friendship and sympathetic understanding I am very thankful to Anne McClintock and Rob Nixon. Tim Kelly and Timothy Cabot taught me more about ideology and education than they could ever learn from me. Philip and Veena Oldenburg never failed to rush to my assistance in untangling problems related to computers and Indian history, respectively. Roger Blumberg is much appreciated for his resourcefulness in inventing titles.
The project was sustained in great measure by the reassuring constancy and friendship of Una Chaudhuri, Rupen Guha Majumdar, Lynn Mulkey, Tanusree Raha, Rubina Saigol, and Rachel Trubowitz. My parents were supportive in many ways too.
Finally, to Edward Said, who inspired me to write this book in the first place, I offer my warmest appreciation. The most encouraging of teachers, he deepened the excitement of intellectual inquiry. His friendship, kindness, generosity, and enthusiasm hold these pages together.