Comments on: On a street named Moliere http://www.mahmudrahman.com/travels/on-a-street-named-moliere/ mahmud's weblog Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:03:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Raghu Krishnan http://www.mahmudrahman.com/travels/on-a-street-named-moliere/comment-page-1/#comment-13 Raghu Krishnan Sat, 31 Dec 2005 04:55:00 +0000 http://www.mahmudrahman.com/?p=4#comment-13 Congratulations on the interesting blog! I worked and lived in Mexico City for a year and return most years to visit. Mexico, and Mexico City in particular, has to be the least xenophobic and, historically at least, most outwardly-oriented place I know. I think this developed through three major phases in the contemporary period, but obviously has deeper roots, extending back through the initial struggle for independence in the mid-19th century and even into the pre-Hispanic period. The three contemporary phases are the Mexican Revolution (1910-1921), the Cardenas years in the 30s and 40s (in addition to the oil nationalization, and the radical land and education reforms, Cardenas also gave exile to Trotsky) and the student radicalization (mostly associated with the magnificent and massive UNAM) from 1968 through the 1970s. The daily newspaper La Jornada is the best enduring representative of this lineage, and has provided the most reliable coverage of the uprising in Chiapas from 1994 onwards -- proving that the tradition of anti-imperialist and "universalist" Left nationalism is alive and well in Mexico... Librería Gandhi is a product of those heady days of the 60s and 70s. I lived near the flagship store at the Miguel Angel de Quevedo metro stop. It opened in 1971 and now has 10 branches across Mexico City and in a couple other cities. Congratulations on the interesting blog!

I worked and lived in Mexico City for a year and return most years to visit. Mexico, and Mexico City in particular, has to be the least xenophobic and, historically at least, most outwardly-oriented place I know. I think this developed through three major phases in the contemporary period, but obviously has deeper roots, extending back through the initial struggle for independence in the mid-19th century and even into the pre-Hispanic period.

The three contemporary phases are the Mexican Revolution (1910-1921), the Cardenas years in the 30s and 40s (in addition to the oil nationalization, and the radical land and education reforms, Cardenas also gave exile to Trotsky) and the student radicalization (mostly associated with the magnificent and massive UNAM) from 1968 through the 1970s. The daily newspaper La Jornada is the best enduring representative of this lineage, and has provided the most reliable coverage of the uprising in Chiapas from 1994 onwards — proving that the tradition of anti-imperialist and “universalist” Left nationalism is alive and well in Mexico…

Librería Gandhi is a product of those heady days of the 60s and 70s. I lived near the flagship store at the Miguel Angel de Quevedo metro stop. It opened in 1971 and now has 10 branches across Mexico City and in a couple other cities.

]]> By: Mahmud http://www.mahmudrahman.com/travels/on-a-street-named-moliere/comment-page-1/#comment-12 Mahmud Thu, 06 Oct 2005 13:14:00 +0000 http://www.mahmudrahman.com/?p=4#comment-12 It looks like I was wrong. A more thorough web search revealed a few more streets in Calcutta that have been named after political and artistic figures from elsewhere: Marie Curie; Helen Keller; Karl Marx; Picasso; and Martin Luther King. I am not familiar with those streets and do not know if any of these names have really been embraced in daily use. It looks like I was wrong. A more thorough web search revealed a few more streets in Calcutta that have been named after political and artistic figures from elsewhere: Marie Curie; Helen Keller; Karl Marx; Picasso; and Martin Luther King. I am not familiar with those streets and do not know if any of these names have really been embraced in daily use.

]]> By: Mahmud http://www.mahmudrahman.com/travels/on-a-street-named-moliere/comment-page-1/#comment-11 Mahmud Mon, 03 Oct 2005 13:34:00 +0000 http://www.mahmudrahman.com/?p=4#comment-11 Thanks for that example. I remember those street names from the time I lived in Calcutta in '71. The Left Front government began to replace many colonial-era place names, a nod to decolonization and, in one instance, an in-your-face gesture (Harrington Street, where the U.S. Consulate sat, was named Ho Chi Minh Sarani). However, if memory and a quick web search are accurate, the three streets you mention are the only ones that got named after international figures. Most of the renamed streets were given names of personalities from Bengal or India as a whole. Many people have been reluctant to use a lot of the new names. People still refer to Lenin Sarani as Dharamtala/Dharmatala Street and to Shakespeare Sarani as Theatre Road. Renaming is often contested territory for a variety of reasons. Thanks for that example. I remember those street names from the time I lived in Calcutta in ‘71. The Left Front government began to replace many colonial-era place names, a nod to decolonization and, in one instance, an in-your-face gesture (Harrington Street, where the U.S. Consulate sat, was named Ho Chi Minh Sarani). However, if memory and a quick web search are accurate, the three streets you mention are the only ones that got named after international figures. Most of the renamed streets were given names of personalities from Bengal or India as a whole. Many people have been reluctant to use a lot of the new names. People still refer to Lenin Sarani as Dharamtala/Dharmatala Street and to Shakespeare Sarani as Theatre Road. Renaming is often contested territory for a variety of reasons.

]]> By: Ajit Sanzgiri http://www.mahmudrahman.com/travels/on-a-street-named-moliere/comment-page-1/#comment-10 Ajit Sanzgiri Sun, 02 Oct 2005 17:28:00 +0000 http://www.mahmudrahman.com/?p=4#comment-10 Calcutta is full of streets named after world personalities. These include, among others, Ho Chi Minh, Lenin, Shakespeare etc to name a few. Calcutta is full of streets named after world personalities. These include, among others, Ho Chi Minh, Lenin, Shakespeare etc to name a few.

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