Author: Hermann Kulke
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 388
Book Description
Since the 1940s, revaluations of the nature of the State have been a major preoccupation among historians worldwide. There has been a debate on the extent to which the State is independent of the interests of the ruling class. Pre-colonial India provides a unique testing ground for such debates, for it provides examples of State forms which vary enormously. Yet serious consideration of the nature of State forms in India was often overwhelmed by a focus on 'caste' and 'brahminism'. Now, however, as Professor Kulke demonstrates in his Introduction to this book - which consists of all the major essays on this important theme - several basic forms of the State can be isolated. Although the notion of 'centralized empire' still dominates the historiography, alternative models such as 'the segmentary state' and 'the patrimonial state' have given rise to productive debates.
The State in India, 1000-1700
Author: Hermann Kulke
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 388
Book Description
Since the 1940s, revaluations of the nature of the State have been a major preoccupation among historians worldwide. There has been a debate on the extent to which the State is independent of the interests of the ruling class. Pre-colonial India provides a unique testing ground for such debates, for it provides examples of State forms which vary enormously. Yet serious consideration of the nature of State forms in India was often overwhelmed by a focus on 'caste' and 'brahminism'. Now, however, as Professor Kulke demonstrates in his Introduction to this book - which consists of all the major essays on this important theme - several basic forms of the State can be isolated. Although the notion of 'centralized empire' still dominates the historiography, alternative models such as 'the segmentary state' and 'the patrimonial state' have given rise to productive debates.
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 388
Book Description
Since the 1940s, revaluations of the nature of the State have been a major preoccupation among historians worldwide. There has been a debate on the extent to which the State is independent of the interests of the ruling class. Pre-colonial India provides a unique testing ground for such debates, for it provides examples of State forms which vary enormously. Yet serious consideration of the nature of State forms in India was often overwhelmed by a focus on 'caste' and 'brahminism'. Now, however, as Professor Kulke demonstrates in his Introduction to this book - which consists of all the major essays on this important theme - several basic forms of the State can be isolated. Although the notion of 'centralized empire' still dominates the historiography, alternative models such as 'the segmentary state' and 'the patrimonial state' have given rise to productive debates.
The Routledge Handbook of the State in Premodern India
Author: Hermann Kulke
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000485145
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 594
Book Description
This handbook presents a multilayered and multidimensional history of state formation in premodern India. It explores dense and rich local and subregional historiography from the mid-first millennium BC to the eighteenth century in South Asia. Shifting the focus away from economic and political factors, this handbook revises the conventional understanding of states and empires and locates them in their quotidian conduct and activity on socio-cultural and concomitant factors. Comprehensive in scope, this handbook addresses a range of themes connected with the idea of state formation in the subcontinent. It includes discussions and debates on ritual practices and the Brahmanical order in early India; the Delhi Sultanate and role of Sultans among the Hindu kings; the cosmopolitan ‘Islamicate’ cultural influences on Puranic Hinduism; cultural background of the Mughal state. The handbook examines new questions and ideologies of state formation, such as: · facets of violence and resistance; · the significance of the autonomous spaces and forests; · regional elites, including ‘Little kings’; tribal background of some famous cults; · trade and maritime commerce; · royal patronage, courtly manners, lineage formation; · imperial architecture, monuments, and temple, among others. Featuring case studies from different part of the India subcontinent, and with contributions by renowned historians, this authoritative handbook will be an indispensable reading for teachers, scholars, and students of early India, medieval India, premodern India, South Asian history, Asian history, historiography, economic history, historical sociology, and South Asia studies.
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000485145
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 594
Book Description
This handbook presents a multilayered and multidimensional history of state formation in premodern India. It explores dense and rich local and subregional historiography from the mid-first millennium BC to the eighteenth century in South Asia. Shifting the focus away from economic and political factors, this handbook revises the conventional understanding of states and empires and locates them in their quotidian conduct and activity on socio-cultural and concomitant factors. Comprehensive in scope, this handbook addresses a range of themes connected with the idea of state formation in the subcontinent. It includes discussions and debates on ritual practices and the Brahmanical order in early India; the Delhi Sultanate and role of Sultans among the Hindu kings; the cosmopolitan ‘Islamicate’ cultural influences on Puranic Hinduism; cultural background of the Mughal state. The handbook examines new questions and ideologies of state formation, such as: · facets of violence and resistance; · the significance of the autonomous spaces and forests; · regional elites, including ‘Little kings’; tribal background of some famous cults; · trade and maritime commerce; · royal patronage, courtly manners, lineage formation; · imperial architecture, monuments, and temple, among others. Featuring case studies from different part of the India subcontinent, and with contributions by renowned historians, this authoritative handbook will be an indispensable reading for teachers, scholars, and students of early India, medieval India, premodern India, South Asian history, Asian history, historiography, economic history, historical sociology, and South Asia studies.
The Penguin History of Early India
Author: Romila Thapar
Publisher: Penguin Books India
ISBN: 9780143029892
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 592
Book Description
A Largely Rewritten Version Of A Classic History Of Early India Concerned Not Only With The Past But Also With The Interaction Of The Past And The Present. Romila Thapar S Penguin History Of Early India Brings To Life Many Centuries Of The Indian Past. Dynastic History Provides A Chronological Frame But The Essential Thrust Of The Book Is The Explanation Of The Changes In Society And Economy. The Mutation Of Religious Beliefs And Practices, The Exploration Of Areas Of Knowledge In Which India Excelled, Its Creative Literature, Are All Woven Into A Historical Context. In This Version, The Opening Chapters Explain How The Interpretations Of Early Indian History Have Changed. Further, Although The Diversity Of Sources And Their Readings Are Well Known, Nevertheless, This Narrative Provides Fresh Readings And Raises New Questions. Romila Thapar Gives A Vivid And Nuanced Picture Of The Rich Mosaic Of Varied Landscapes, Languages, Kingdoms And Beliefs, And The Interaction Between These That Went Into The Making Of A Remarkable Civilization.
Publisher: Penguin Books India
ISBN: 9780143029892
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 592
Book Description
A Largely Rewritten Version Of A Classic History Of Early India Concerned Not Only With The Past But Also With The Interaction Of The Past And The Present. Romila Thapar S Penguin History Of Early India Brings To Life Many Centuries Of The Indian Past. Dynastic History Provides A Chronological Frame But The Essential Thrust Of The Book Is The Explanation Of The Changes In Society And Economy. The Mutation Of Religious Beliefs And Practices, The Exploration Of Areas Of Knowledge In Which India Excelled, Its Creative Literature, Are All Woven Into A Historical Context. In This Version, The Opening Chapters Explain How The Interpretations Of Early Indian History Have Changed. Further, Although The Diversity Of Sources And Their Readings Are Well Known, Nevertheless, This Narrative Provides Fresh Readings And Raises New Questions. Romila Thapar Gives A Vivid And Nuanced Picture Of The Rich Mosaic Of Varied Landscapes, Languages, Kingdoms And Beliefs, And The Interaction Between These That Went Into The Making Of A Remarkable Civilization.
A History of India
Author: Hermann Kulke
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317242122
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 556
Book Description
Presenting the grand sweep of Indian history from antiquity to the present, A History of India is a detailed and authoritative account of the major political, economic, social and cultural forces that have shaped the history of the Indian subcontinent. Hermann Kulke and Dietmar Rothermund provide a comprehensive overview of the structural pattern of Indian history, covering each historical period in equal depth. Fully revised throughout, the sixth edition of this highly accessible book has been brought up to date with analysis of recent events such as the 2014 election and its consequences, and includes more discussion of subjects such as caste and gender, Islam, foreign relations, partition, and the press and television. This new edition contains an updated chronology of key events and a useful glossary of Indian terms, and is highly illustrated with maps and photographs. Supplemented by a companion website (www.routledge.com/cw/kulke), it is a valuable resource for students of Indian history.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317242122
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 556
Book Description
Presenting the grand sweep of Indian history from antiquity to the present, A History of India is a detailed and authoritative account of the major political, economic, social and cultural forces that have shaped the history of the Indian subcontinent. Hermann Kulke and Dietmar Rothermund provide a comprehensive overview of the structural pattern of Indian history, covering each historical period in equal depth. Fully revised throughout, the sixth edition of this highly accessible book has been brought up to date with analysis of recent events such as the 2014 election and its consequences, and includes more discussion of subjects such as caste and gender, Islam, foreign relations, partition, and the press and television. This new edition contains an updated chronology of key events and a useful glossary of Indian terms, and is highly illustrated with maps and photographs. Supplemented by a companion website (www.routledge.com/cw/kulke), it is a valuable resource for students of Indian history.
Kings, Spirits and Memory in Central India
Author: Aditya Pratap Deo
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000460940
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 247
Book Description
Part anthropological history and part memoir, this book is a unique study of the polity of the colonial-princely state of Kanker in central India. The author, a scion of the erstwhile ruling family of Kanker, delves into the oral accounts given in the ancestral deity practices of the mixed tribe-caste communities of the region to highlight popular narratives of its historical polity. As he struggles with his own dilemmas as ethnographer-king, what comes into view is a polity where the princely state is drawn out amidst a terrain of gods and spirits as much as that of law courts and magistrates, and political power is divided, contested and shared between the raja/state and the people. This study constitutes not only an intervention in the larger debate on the relationship between state formations and tribal peoples, but also on the very nature of history as a knowledge practice, especially the understandings of power, authority and sovereignty in it. Combining intensive ethnography, complementary archival work and crucial theoretical questions engaging social scientists worldwide, the author charts an unusual explanatory path that can allow us to obtain a meaningful understanding of societies/peoples that have historically been marginalized and seen as different. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of history, anthropology, politics, religion, tribal society and Modern South Asia.
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000460940
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 247
Book Description
Part anthropological history and part memoir, this book is a unique study of the polity of the colonial-princely state of Kanker in central India. The author, a scion of the erstwhile ruling family of Kanker, delves into the oral accounts given in the ancestral deity practices of the mixed tribe-caste communities of the region to highlight popular narratives of its historical polity. As he struggles with his own dilemmas as ethnographer-king, what comes into view is a polity where the princely state is drawn out amidst a terrain of gods and spirits as much as that of law courts and magistrates, and political power is divided, contested and shared between the raja/state and the people. This study constitutes not only an intervention in the larger debate on the relationship between state formations and tribal peoples, but also on the very nature of history as a knowledge practice, especially the understandings of power, authority and sovereignty in it. Combining intensive ethnography, complementary archival work and crucial theoretical questions engaging social scientists worldwide, the author charts an unusual explanatory path that can allow us to obtain a meaningful understanding of societies/peoples that have historically been marginalized and seen as different. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of history, anthropology, politics, religion, tribal society and Modern South Asia.
The Origins of Political Order
Author: Francis Fukuyama
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 1429958936
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 606
Book Description
A landmark history of the origins of modern democratic societies by one of our most important political thinkers. A New York Times Notable Book for 2011 A Globe and Mail Best Books of the Year 2011 Title A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction of 2011 title Virtually all human societies were once organized tribally, yet over time most developed new political institutions which included a central state that could keep the peace and uniform laws that applied to all citizens. Some went on to create governments that were accountable to their constituents. We take these institutions for granted, but they are absent or are unable to perform in many of today's developing countries—with often disastrous consequences for the rest of the world. Francis Fukuyama, author of the bestselling The End of History and the Last Man and one of our most important political thinkers, provides a sweeping account of how today's basic political institutions developed. The first of a major two-volume work, The Origins of Political Order begins with politics among our primate ancestors and follows the story through the emergence of tribal societies, the growth of the first modern state in China, the beginning of the rule of law in India and the Middle East, and the development of political accountability in Europe up until the eve of the French Revolution. Drawing on a vast body of knowledge—history, evolutionary biology, archaeology, and economics—Fukuyama has produced a brilliant, provocative work that offers fresh insights on the origins of democratic societies and raises essential questions about the nature of politics and its discontents.
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 1429958936
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 606
Book Description
A landmark history of the origins of modern democratic societies by one of our most important political thinkers. A New York Times Notable Book for 2011 A Globe and Mail Best Books of the Year 2011 Title A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction of 2011 title Virtually all human societies were once organized tribally, yet over time most developed new political institutions which included a central state that could keep the peace and uniform laws that applied to all citizens. Some went on to create governments that were accountable to their constituents. We take these institutions for granted, but they are absent or are unable to perform in many of today's developing countries—with often disastrous consequences for the rest of the world. Francis Fukuyama, author of the bestselling The End of History and the Last Man and one of our most important political thinkers, provides a sweeping account of how today's basic political institutions developed. The first of a major two-volume work, The Origins of Political Order begins with politics among our primate ancestors and follows the story through the emergence of tribal societies, the growth of the first modern state in China, the beginning of the rule of law in India and the Middle East, and the development of political accountability in Europe up until the eve of the French Revolution. Drawing on a vast body of knowledge—history, evolutionary biology, archaeology, and economics—Fukuyama has produced a brilliant, provocative work that offers fresh insights on the origins of democratic societies and raises essential questions about the nature of politics and its discontents.
Statemaking and Territory in South Asia
Author: Bernardo A. Michael
Publisher: Anthem Press
ISBN: 0857285327
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 250
Book Description
“Statemaking and Territory in South Asia: Lessons from the Anglo–Gorkha War (1814–1816)” seeks to understand how European colonization transformed the organization of territory in South Asia through an examination of the territorial disputes that underlay the Anglo–Gorkha War of 1814–1816 and subsequent efforts of the colonial state to reorder its territories. The volume argues that these disputes arose out of older tribute, taxation and property relationships that left their territories perpetually intermixed and with ill-defined boundaries. It also seeks to describe the long-drawn-out process of territorial reordering undertaken by the British in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that set the stage for the creation of a clearly defined geographical template for the modern state in South Asia.
Publisher: Anthem Press
ISBN: 0857285327
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 250
Book Description
“Statemaking and Territory in South Asia: Lessons from the Anglo–Gorkha War (1814–1816)” seeks to understand how European colonization transformed the organization of territory in South Asia through an examination of the territorial disputes that underlay the Anglo–Gorkha War of 1814–1816 and subsequent efforts of the colonial state to reorder its territories. The volume argues that these disputes arose out of older tribute, taxation and property relationships that left their territories perpetually intermixed and with ill-defined boundaries. It also seeks to describe the long-drawn-out process of territorial reordering undertaken by the British in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that set the stage for the creation of a clearly defined geographical template for the modern state in South Asia.
Muslim Rule in Medieval India
Author: Fouzia Farooq Ahmed
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1786720825
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 403
Book Description
The Delhi Sultanate ruled northern India for over three centuries. The era, marked by the desecration of temples and construction of mosques from temple-rubble, is for many South Asians a lightning rod for debates on communalism, religious identity and inter-faith conflict. Using Persian and Arabic manuscripts, epigraphs and inscriptions, Fouzia Farooq Ahmad demystifies key aspects of governance and religion in this complex and controversial period. Why were small sets of foreign invaders and administrators able to dominate despite the cultural, linguistic and religious divides separating them from the ruled? And to what extent did people comply with the authority of sultans they knew very little about? By focusing for the first time on the relationship between the sultans, the bureaucracy and the ruled Muslim Rule in Medieval India outlines the practical dynamics of medieval Muslim political culture and its reception. This approach shows categorically that sultans did not possess meaningful political authority among the masses, and that their symbols of legitimacy were merely post hoc socio-cultural embellishments.Ahmad's thoroughly researched revisionist account is essential reading for all students and researchers working on the history of South Asia from the medieval period to the present day.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1786720825
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 403
Book Description
The Delhi Sultanate ruled northern India for over three centuries. The era, marked by the desecration of temples and construction of mosques from temple-rubble, is for many South Asians a lightning rod for debates on communalism, religious identity and inter-faith conflict. Using Persian and Arabic manuscripts, epigraphs and inscriptions, Fouzia Farooq Ahmad demystifies key aspects of governance and religion in this complex and controversial period. Why were small sets of foreign invaders and administrators able to dominate despite the cultural, linguistic and religious divides separating them from the ruled? And to what extent did people comply with the authority of sultans they knew very little about? By focusing for the first time on the relationship between the sultans, the bureaucracy and the ruled Muslim Rule in Medieval India outlines the practical dynamics of medieval Muslim political culture and its reception. This approach shows categorically that sultans did not possess meaningful political authority among the masses, and that their symbols of legitimacy were merely post hoc socio-cultural embellishments.Ahmad's thoroughly researched revisionist account is essential reading for all students and researchers working on the history of South Asia from the medieval period to the present day.
Warfare in Pre-British India – 1500BCE to 1740CE
Author: Kaushik Roy
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317586921
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 279
Book Description
This book presents a comprehensive survey of warfare in India up to the point where the British began to dominate the sub-continent. It discusses issues such as how far was the relatively bloodless nature of pre-British Indian warfare the product of stateless Indian society? How far did technology determine the dynamics of warfare in India? Did warfare in this period have a particular Indian nature and was it ritualistic? The book considers land warfare including sieges, naval warfare, the impact of horses, elephants and gunpowder, and the differences made by the arrival of Muslim rulers and by the influx of other foreign influences and techniques. The book concludes by arguing that the presence of standing professional armies supported by centralised bureaucratic states have been underemphasised in the history of India.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317586921
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 279
Book Description
This book presents a comprehensive survey of warfare in India up to the point where the British began to dominate the sub-continent. It discusses issues such as how far was the relatively bloodless nature of pre-British Indian warfare the product of stateless Indian society? How far did technology determine the dynamics of warfare in India? Did warfare in this period have a particular Indian nature and was it ritualistic? The book considers land warfare including sieges, naval warfare, the impact of horses, elephants and gunpowder, and the differences made by the arrival of Muslim rulers and by the influx of other foreign influences and techniques. The book concludes by arguing that the presence of standing professional armies supported by centralised bureaucratic states have been underemphasised in the history of India.
Precolonial India in Practice
Author: Cynthia Talbot
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198031238
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 326
Book Description
The society of traditional India is frequently characterized as static and dominated by caste. This study challenges older interpretations, arguing that medieval India was actually a time of dynamic change and fluid social identities. Using records of religious endowments from Andhra Pradesh, author Cynthia Talbot reconstructs a regional society of the precolonial past as it existed in practice.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198031238
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 326
Book Description
The society of traditional India is frequently characterized as static and dominated by caste. This study challenges older interpretations, arguing that medieval India was actually a time of dynamic change and fluid social identities. Using records of religious endowments from Andhra Pradesh, author Cynthia Talbot reconstructs a regional society of the precolonial past as it existed in practice.