(AUTO)Biographical Nationalism: The Legacies of Twentieth Century Radical Elites in the Himalayas

Shakya, Mallika

This paper explores the contributions of two early 20th-century radical figures from the Himalayas: Chittadhar Hridaya from Nepal and Rahul Sankrityayan from India. Their intertwined lives and works traversed the Himalayan region, forging connections between Lhasa (Tibet), the Kathmandu Valley, and the Indo-Gangetic plains of northern India. By juxtaposing their autobiographies with their diverse roles as travelers, fiction writers, poets, traders, and radical dissenters, the paper highlights how they shaped early discourses on anti-colonialism and opposition to dictatorship in northern South Asia.

Through a sociological lens, their experiences are examined alongside contemporary ethnographies of ongoing social movements, particularly those centered on indigenous and Marxist activism in the Nepal-India border region, which regard these two dynamic individuals as symbolic figures. The paper raises critical questions about the relevance of early 20th-century social and literary history for today’s young activists resisting the rising tides of religious and market fundamentalism in South Asia. It also investigates the paradoxes inherent in the ways ideas from a century ago are leveraged by those seeking to undermine progressive subversion. Ultimately, this study situates their literary works and ethnographic narratives within broader sociological debates concerning the epistemologies of cultural writing.