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 A Long and Winding Tail: Hanuman in History and Historiography Philip Lutgendorf

in Hanuman's Tale: The Messages of a Divine Monkey Published in print: 2007 Published Online: May Publisher: Oxford University Press 2007 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780195309225 eISBN: 9780199785391 acprof:oso/9780195309225.003.0002 Item type: chapter

While surveying textual sources, iconography, and other historical evidence for the development of Hanuman's popular cult, this chapter also interrogates the explanatory narratives that have been constructed around this evidence by earlier scholars. After examining attempts to locate Hanuman's origins in pre-Vedic religion or in the Rig Veda, and in the cult of yakshas or earth-spirits, it examines the role of the wind (Hanuman's legendary father) in Ayurveda, and Hanuman's additional kinship with Shiva and Shaivism. It then traces the development of Hanuman's persona over roughly two millennia from the Valmiki Ramayana to the Rama tales in the Puranas, in the literature of Jainism, and in vernacular language epics. Interrogating a recent and influential theory that Hanuman's cult reflects a Hindu response to the excesses of Muslim hegemony, the chapter reexamines three historical periods that often figure in this argument: the late Vijayanagara empire, the early Maratha kingdom, and the “warrior ascetics” of the Ramanandi sadhu order in the late Mughal Empire and early colonial periods. It is argued that the apparent efflorescence of devotion to Hanuman in each of these contexts reflects a more complex range of historical and social factors than has generally been recognized.

Mughal Empire and Warfare in Afghanistan: 1500–1810 Kaushik Roy

in War and Society in Afghanistan: From the Mughals to the Americans, 1500– 2013 Published in print: 2015 Published Online: March 2015 Page 1 of 7

Publisher: Oxford University Press

ISBN: 9780198099109 eISBN: 9780199085286 DOI: 10.1093/ Item type: chapter acprof:oso/9780198099109.003.0001

The Mughal intervention in Afghanistan started with the Chaghtai Turkish warlord named Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur. Babur mainly faced rural insurgencies. Afghanistan even today is a land of small villages. Approximately 80 per cent of the population lives in the countryside. Military recruitment for the Afghans was important because only 12 per cent of Afghanistan’s land is arable even now. The Mughals, Safavids, and the Uzbeks, despite being Muslim themselves, faced tough opposition from the Afghans. This does not imply that Islam has played no role in Afghan insurgency. Rather, the chapter underscores that Islam in general and jihad in particular are not crucial components of Afghan opposition to external invaders in their homelands. From the medieval era, the control for Afghanistan represented a sort of ‘Great Game’ for controlling the heart of Eurasia. The Mughals were more successful than the British in maintaining a permanent presence in Afghanistan.

The Obligations of Power William Bain

in Between Anarchy and Society: Trusteeship and the Obligations of Power Published in print: 2003 Published Online: April Publisher: Oxford University Press 2004 DOI: 10.1093/0199260265.003.0002 ISBN: 9780199260263 eISBN: 9780191600975 Item type: chapter

The idea of trusteeship in international society originates in late 18th century British India. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the emergence of trusteeship as a justification of political power in territories administered by the East India Company. The chapter has five sections: From Merchant to Sovereign in British India; The Claim to Rule; The Relations of Ruler and Subject; The Purpose of the Office of Government; and Providing Protection, Directing Improvement.

Introduction

Muzahpar Alam in The Crisis of Empire in Mughal North India: Awadh and Punjab, 1707-48 Published in print: 2013 Published Online: May Publisher: Oxford University Press 2013 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780198077411 eISBN: 9780199082384 acprof:oso/9780198077411.003.0001 Item type: chapter

This introductory chapter begins by taking into account the historiographical trends in the study of the Mughal empire during the Page 2 of 7

late seventeenth and eighteenth century period. The question is posed here as to the imperial decline being a wholesale breakdown of economic and social apparatus along with Mughal political authority or that of degradation of imperial authority leading to new changes in the political economy of the provinces of the Mughal empire.It discusses the factors that contributed to the decline of the Mughal empire in the eighteenth century. Events such as the repeated challenges to Mughal authority posed by the Jat zamindars and the peasants in the Mathura-Agra region; the Sikh movements in Punjab; and weakening support from the Rajput chiefs who had previously made crucial contributions to the consolidation of Mughal rule helped corrode the bases of imperial power, which culminated with the collapse of the imperial edifice within forty years after the death of Aurangzeb. The chapter also sets out the book’s focus, namely the interplay of the forces of the centre and the region in two north Indian provinces — Awadh and the Punjab — both of which were extremely important to Mughal India.

War and its Transformations: India 1754–1765 P. J. MARSHALL

in The Making and Unmaking of Empires: Britain, India, and America c.1750-1783 Published in print: 2007 Published Online: Publisher: Oxford University Press January 2010 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780199226665 eISBN: 9780191706813 acprof:oso/9780199226665.003.0005 Item type: chapter

Anglo-French worldwide rivalry extended to India, where both nations traded through their East India companies. This rivalry, which had led to almost continuous warfare since the 1740s, merged into the rivalry of the Indian powers that were emerging as independent successor states from the breakdown of the Mughal Empire. The Europeans formed alliances with Indian princes. These alliances gave the British and French a potentially commanding influence over some of the Indian states. This influence led to total British control over Bengal in the events that followed the overthrow of the local ruler at the battle of Plassey in 1757. In the south, the British were able to defeat the French, but their position was weaker. Even so, by the end of the war the British East India Company had become a major territorial power in India, closely allied to the British state.

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Introduction

Kumkum Chatterjee in The Cultures of History in Early Modern India: Persianization and Mughal Culture in Bengal Published in print: 2009 Published Online: Publisher: Oxford University Press October 2012 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780195698800 eISBN: 9780199080243 acprof:oso/9780195698800.003.0001 Item type: chapter

This introductory chapter outlines the core theme of the book, which involves an exploration of the cultures of history writing in early modern Bengal. The seventeenth, eighteenth, and the first decade or so of the nineteenth centuries provide the temporal framework for this study — a period which witnessed the consolidation of the Mughal political and cultural order, its subsequent political decline and the transition to early colonial rule. A related theme which runs through the book is the connection between culture and the production of history and specifically, between a Persianized Mughal political culture and history writing. The chapter then presents a critique of pre-modern Indian historiography, followed by discussions of the Mughal Empire and Persianization, and interactions between Islamicate and Indic cultures. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.

Breakdown of Imperial Organization Muzahpar Alam

in The Crisis of Empire in Mughal North India: Awadh and Punjab, 1707-48 Published in print: 2013 Published Online: May Publisher: Oxford University Press 2013 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780198077411 eISBN: 9780199082384 acprof:oso/9780198077411.003.0002 Item type: chapter

This chapter outlines developments in and around the centre in the post-Aurangzeb period to set the scene for discussing the problems of imperial power, political formations in the regions and the changing economic scenario. By examining these developments, analysing the links with the factional politics, and the administrative relapse at the centre in four phases, the chapter highlights the gradual but steady alienation of the nobles, the smaller government officials, and the local magnates from the Mughal state, both at the centre and in the provinces. The chronological order of these events reflects the problems and the shifts of social and political alignments in the provinces, leading to their virtual breakaway from the imperial centre. Simultaneously, the chapter delves on the interlinkages of the political breakdown and the Page 4 of 7

economic collapse of the imperial centre, the paucity of jagir(s) and the consequent breakdown of the jagirdari system, and the emergence of ijaradars. It deals with the financial effects of continuous wars, uprisings of zamindar(s), as well as the impact of droughts and famines. The result is a composite picture of the breakdown of the politico-economic order of the Mughal imperial organization.

“Great Warrs Leave Behind them Long Tales”: Crisis and Response in Asia after 1688 Philip J. Stern

in The Company-State: Corporate Sovereignty and the Early Modern Foundations of the British Empire in India Published in print: 2011 Published Online: Publisher: Oxford University Press September 2011 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780195393736 eISBN: 9780199896837 acprof:oso/9780195393736.003.0006 Item type: chapter

This chapter traces the development of East India Company’s colonial system in the 1690s. It argues that, despite serious setbacks, including the invasion and occupation of Bombay by Mughal-allied forces in 1689, there was continuity between the Company’s earlier efforts, as described particularly in chapters 1 and 3, and those in the last decade of the seventeenth century to preserve and enhance its establishment abroad. In the aftermath of the invasion of Bombay, Company leaders became ever more convinced of the need for a strong and vibrant political system in Asia. It continued to emphasize the growth and prosperity of its settlements, sought new ones, such as Fort St. David and Anjengo, and continued to seek a firm grant from the Mughal Empire that could secure its rights in India. It also confronted new challenges to its authority, particularly Anglo-American pirates in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea, which both created a political crisis for the Company with Mughal authorities but also presented opportunities to expand its maritime jurisdiction and power.

The Zamindars, the Madad-i Ma‘ash Holders and Mughal Administration in Awadh c. 1707–1722 Muzahpar Alam

in The Crisis of Empire in Mughal North India: Awadh and Punjab, 1707-48 Published in print: 2013 Published Online: May Publisher: Oxford University Press 2013 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780198077411 eISBN: 9780199082384 acprof:oso/9780198077411.003.0004 Item type: chapter

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This chapter focuses on the inability of the Mughal empire to resolve and coordinate with local interests—the factors which had made the empire significant in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The clashes among the nobility were symptomatic of this rather than its cause. By now, for the zamindars the Mughal centre was of not much utility due to better ties within neighbouring regions. They defied the Mughals in frequent uprisings which hastened the decline of Mughal power. Another sign of the assertion of local elements was the defiance of imperial regulations by the madad-i ma‘ash holders, who had been the ideologues and traditional supporters of the Mughal state and had occupied some local offices; and the conflict between the zamindars and the madad-i ma‘ash holders. It considers the policy of strengthening the loyalist zamindars and the appointment of the new ones to replace the rebellious ones. It details how the zamindar uprisings, as well as the developments in the wake of the newly acquired position of the madadi ma‘ash holders resulted in the dislocation of jagir administration in the province. In response the Mughal centre tried to strengthen the jagirdars and therefore the revenue administration against the local potentates. However, this resulted in new problems. In absence of a strong centre the jagirdars started defying the centre and formed alliances with the local potentates further eroding Mughal power.

Mughal Power, the Sikhs and Other Local Groups in the Punjab Muzahpar Alam

in The Crisis of Empire in Mughal North India: Awadh and Punjab, 1707-48 Published in print: 2013 Published Online: May Publisher: Oxford University Press 2013 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780198077411 eISBN: 9780199082384 acprof:oso/9780198077411.003.0005 Item type: chapter

This chapter focuses on the regional administration problems encountered by the Mughals in Punjab during 1707-15. A major failure of the Mughals in the region was their inability to deal with the Sikh problem. The period saw the resurgence of the Sikh uprisings directed against the Mughal state. The Sikhs viewed the Mughal state as the source of all tyranny, since it not only had the largest share in the social surplus but also legitimized and sustained the existing power-structure in the locality. The Sikh movement challenged the Mughal authority and significantly eroded it during the four phases of struggle under the leadership of Banda Bahadur. The Sikhs posed challenges by posing alternative concepts of rule and rulers, by integrating several Jat and Jat Sikh zamindars and gaining strength from the overt and covert resistance of hill chiefs against Mughal power. However, the support base of the Sikhs withered away over a period of time. The khatris and Page 6 of 7

the non-Jat zamindars aligned with the Mughals due to their political and economic interests. The local magnates too gravitated towards the more distant power of the Mughals. Some of the hill chiefs too sided with the Mughals. While the Mughal power had regained some ground and although Banda Bahadur, the formidable Sikh leader of the earlyeighteenth century was captured and slain in 1715 along with 700 other Sikhs, Sikh hostility continued to erode the foundations of Mughal power until the province was in total disarray in the middle of the eighteenth century.

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