Archaeology of Vagabondage: Colonial Encounter and After

Although working as a functional umbrella, the concept of ‘vagabond’ is notoriously nebulous. Can we say with a modicum of certitude that we know what (the phrase) ‘vagabond’ exactly means? In other words, how many of us can define a ‘vagabond’? Fa Hien, Hueng Tsang, Marcopolo, Megasthenes were all travelers who had walked thousands of miles, but were by no means vagabonds. On the other hand, the homeless panhandler who had never stepped out of the town is often maliciously called a ‘vagabond’. One will immediately be arrested as a ‘vagabond’ if found walking on the highways or camping on ‘undesignated’ sites while both Marcopolo and Megasthenes had obtained state sponsorships. In order to understand why and how ‘vagabond’ yields different meanings in different times and places, this project looks into linguistic apparatuses that shape the trajectory of the concept in context of India.

Faculty Supervisor:

Ihor Junyk

Student:

Partner:

Indian Statistical Institute Kolkata

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

University:

Trent University

Program:

Globalink Research Award