Prasannajit De Silva Page

Best known for his groundbreaking book Colonial Self-Fashioning in British India, c. 1785-1845: Visualising Identity and Difference , published in 2018, de Silva's work focuses on how art, design, and architecture intersect with political and social contexts within colonial settings. Through a meticulous examination of overlooked portraits, sketches, and domestic architecture, he challenges binary assumptions of total British isolation or idyllic racial harmony, showing instead how expatriates navigated a fragile, hybrid existence. Academic Background and Teaching Career

: He leads in-depth courses on the "Golden Age of British Portraiture" and the "picturesque aesthetic" in India. prasannajit de silva

Analyzing paintings, portraits, and miniature prints to understand the social interactions of mixed-race families and British households. Academic Background and Teaching Career : He leads

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ HISTORICAL MODELS OF THE RAJ │ ├────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┤ │ Traditional View 1 │ Traditional View 2 │ │ (18th-Century Utopia) │ (19th-Century Bias) │ │ High integration, shared │ Rigid, absolute racial │ │ hybrid spaces, "White │ segregation, isolation │ │ Mughal" coexistence. │ from Indian life. │ └────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘ │ ▼ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ DE SILVA'S HYBRID NUANCE │ │ Identity was fragile, contested, and fluid. Visual culture│ │ didn't just document life—it actively negotiated │ │ anxieties regarding both local Indians and peers in the│ │ British metropole. │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Deconstructing the "Two Indias" Myth │ from Indian life