Indian History Paper

Spring 2019 History 362: Modern South Asia Prof. Fozdar

PAPER ASSIGNMENT

In religiously and racially diverse states, the question arises as to how citizens who are different in religion, race, caste, etc., from the majority of the population are to be treated. Modern India’s motto is “unity in diversity,” and it claims to uphold full equality for all its citizens. In a 1500 to 1800-word paper, examine how effective the post-1947 Indian government and Indian society have been in achieving equal treatment for all its citizens, regardless of religion, caste, or gender. Look at these three areas through the prism of:

1) Governmental and administrative policies 2) Social divisions and hierarchies 3) Societal tolerance and interaction

You should develop a thesis, which you will then support using evidence drawn from your sources, and, where possible, you should situate your arguments historically—especially in the period of British rule. Sources: You will use only readings assigned or given by me (i.e., no outside sources). My lectures are not acceptable, although they can serve as a guide. You need to cite from at least five (5) sources (and at least two should be primary sources). You may use your textbook, but keep citations of it to a minimum. I have included some extra helpful primary and secondary sources in the AAWOSL folder.

You must quote from and cite your sources in order to back up your arguments (but keep your quotations short). In doing this, use only the Chicago humanities/Turabian style of citing your sources, and use footnotes, not endnotes or in-text citations. This style can be found at: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. Another website that you might find useful is: http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocChicago.html. Proper footnoting will constitute 20% of your paper grade. You must have a minimum of two footnotes per page.  For each of the above areas that you choose, use section headings in your paper, so I can easily see which topic you are discussing at any given moment.  Include a bibliography, although this will not apply to your word count. Use the Chicago style for bibliographies, which is different from the Chicago style for footnotes. There are some websites that will even generate a bibliographic entry (although not a footnote entry) for you: e.g., http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/index.php. (NOTE: Students are responsible to double-check the accuracy of the formatting job of such websites.)  You must number and double-space your pages, and use 12-point Times New Roman font.  You must use grammatical and properly spelled and punctuated English. (Consider visiting the SCAA.)  Turnitin.com: In addition to giving me a hard copy, you must also upload a digital version of your paper to the turnitin.com link on the course website in “Course Materials.”

Deviation from any of the above instructions will detract from your grade. DO NOT PLAGIARIZE—YOU WILL GET AN “F” IN THE COURSE, NOT JUST ON THE PAPER: Plagiarism is the submission or presentation of work—in any form—that is not a student’s own, without acknowledgment of the sources, and can occur whenever you make use of the words or ideas of another without including an appropriate citation. Regardless of intent, the failure to provide proper acknowledgment of another’s work constitutes plagiarism. Put in quotation marks any text string from your sources that is over 4 to 5 words long. Also, do not cite without quoting. Place any direct quotation inside quotation marks, followed by a footnote reference number at the end of the sentence (with a corresponding reference number at the bottom of the page and the citation). NOTE: beware of unwitting plagiarism—keep notes of where you got text and ideas from. DUE DATE: Thursday, May 9, 2019 in class. For every day the paper is late, one full grade point will be deducted from it. Start soon!