MULTIPLE MODERNISMS Author: Jasbir Jain

Multiple Modernisms explores the diversity of the modernist movement and its resurgence across different times and cultures. The term modernism, elusive in its precise definition, represents two key themes that appear throughout history:

• The attempt to reconcile faith with doubt, belief with non-belief.

• A resistance to authority and institutional power.

The book delves into the works and ideas of figures such as Luther, Nanak, Descartes, Kierkegaard, and Sartre, who have raised fundamental questions about these themes. Several chapters focus on the relationship between India and Europe, examining the confrontation of ideologies, movements, and revolutions, particularly during the colonial and imperial periods, where structures of power differ greatly.

This exploration reveals how rebellions, protests, and new ideas are deeply rooted in cultural histories, particularly in the context of nineteenth- and twentieth-century revolutions. The book travels from the Enlightenment to Existentialism, touching on philosophy, politics, wars, and revolutions. One of the central themes is the refugee—a figure who destabilizes conventional ideas about family and nation in the modern world.

As the question "What is Modernism?" is asked repeatedly throughout the text, a different answer emerges each time, but at its core, it leads to a confrontation with the lonely human figure in the face of the modern world.

This book is a search for a more comprehensive definition of modernism and its relevance to a broader human society.