Knowledge in Architectural History
B.arch Sem-4
All about history of Greek architecture.
Jeel Jhaveri
B.arch Sem-2
Find the notesof History of Architecture.
The Subtle internal meanings
In terms of my interests that was an important piece for me to write, because it was really trying to engage with those questions of loss and also drawing on psychoanalytic tools of enquiry. I suppose now my own method or way of thinking doesn't abandon those types of questions, but I'm more interested in how the artwork itself does that. That the artwork itself is a kind of theoretical proposition, and you can think those sorts of questions without necessarily drawing on that kind of apparatus any more than in a socio-historical or formalist way. In this show what's been important for me is that I've been working on Hesse for a long time, and these objects have always been there, have always been incredibly intriguing, but you don't actually know what they are. In most art history you think you know what the object of your enquiry is, but what are these things? A lot of them are between preparatory stuff, and finished work - very much in limbo. Some of it might be debris of the studio or spare parts. To me they throw down the gauntlet, and say, 'let's get back to first principles', how do you even describe these things? So in a way the impulse behind the exhibition is to lay out these works to say - these are precarious works. This is because of the materials that they use and that's very important - part of their visceral effect - that-s why they-re bodily, why they-re precarious. But their conceptual status is as precarious. What we make of them and how small things like this can have a big visceral effect, to me, says a lot about what art is and what art does to us. Why is it that these small things have that kind of effect? That's why I wanted to do this exhibition, and it's my way of writing a book about Hesse - through these really raw experimental works, not simply to fetishise them or say 'here are a whole lot of new Hesses', but on the contrary, to think about what the object of art is. Here we have an artist taking real risks with the object of art. They've always been called 'Test Pieces' and I find that problematic. This is much more the language of industry. It's much more minimalist - test pieces, prototypes, all that kind of language - when they are so organic and textural and so on. But in the end maybe if they test anything out, they test our capacity to see them as art objects. That is a big shift in my own way of thinking, not just about Hesse's work but a range of contemporary artist's work. I've written a lot recently about Gabriel Orozco's working tables, for example. I see this work through the lens of contemporary artists, and the reason that I really wanted this show at the Fruitmarket, is that it is a public space that shows contemporary art. Rather than have it in a big museum, where it is going to look like we are adding to oeuvre of the canonical artist - we wanted that confrontation with the contemporary.
VIVEK PANT
Great Pyramid
It is one of the seven wonders of the world, but the precious objects the was built of to shelter for all eternity - the mummified remains of King Cheops or Khufu - have never been found, and are presumed to have been stolen by tomb robbers. Now, 4,500 years after it was completed, this semi-mythical structure may be about to reveal its greatest secret: the true resting place of the pharaoh. Using architectural analysis and ground-penetrating radar, two amateur French Egyptologists claim to have discovered a previously unknown corridor inside the pyramid. They believe it leads directly to Khufu's burial chamber, a room which - if it exists - is unlikely ever to have been violated, and probably still contains the king's remains. But Gilles Dormion, an architect, and Jean-Yves Verd,hurt, a retired property agent, have so far been refused permission by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities to follow up their findings and, they hope, prove the room's existence. "To do so, one would simply have to pass a fibre optic cable down through existing holes in the stone, to see if there are portcullis blocks in the corridor below," said Mr. Verd,hurt. "Then it will be necessary to enter the front part of the corridor and penetrate the room, taking all precautions to ensure that it is not contaminated." The portcullis blocks were large granite slabs that the ancient Egyptians lowered into the corridor leading to the king's funeral chamber, via a system of cords descending from above, to seal it after his burial. Until these procedures have been carried out, the two are at pains to stress that the room has not been discovered. However, they have been working in the pyramids for 20 years, and their radar analyses in another pyramid, at Meidum, led in 2000 to the discovery of two previously undetected rooms. One respected Egyptologist, Jean-Pierre Corteggiani, of the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology in Cairo, was impressed by their work from the start. What first struck him, he said, was that the georadar images were collected and interpreted by a non-Egyptologist, Jean-Pierre Baron, of Safege, a French company that specialises in georadar. "This specialist works for a company, one of whose main projects is to lay out the future TGV [express train] route from Paris to Strasbourg," said Mr. Corteggiani. "If he says it is safe to lay the rails here, because there is no cavity under the ground here, he'd better be right. If not, the death toll will be very high."
Suporno chau
Historic Monuments
10 Most Famous Historical Monuments of India India is rich in culture,traditions,heritage buildings, temples, forts and palaces. Famous Indian Monuments includes Old Churches of Goa ,The Taj Mahal, Qutab Minar of Delhi, Charminar, Red fort and Jantar mantar, these are also few most visited Heritage Sites in India. These Historical Monuments are the only wealth of Indian tourism along with other World Heritage Sites and Nature tourism places like wild parks and ancient temples of south India. हिन्दी मे जानिए- भारत के 25 ऐतिहासिक स्मारक 1. Taj Mahal, Agra The Taj Mahal, a beautiful white marble Monument located in the city of Agra on the banks of the holy river Yamuna in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Taj Mahal is the finest example of combines elements of Mughal,Persian, Ottoman Turkish and Indian architectural styles. It is one of the eight wonders of the world and the jewel of Muslim art in India. Fatehpur Sikri is another historic site in the state, the first planned city of the Mughals. 2. Mysore Palace, Mysore The Palace of Mysore is the most famous historical monument, located in the city of Mysore in Karnataka and one of the most visited monuments in India. Mysore Palace is one of the most famous tourist attractions in the city along with Chamundi Hills. 3. Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar The Golden Temple is known as Harmandir Sahib is a Sikh Gurdwara located in the Amritsar, Punjab. Shri Darbar Shaib is the holiest shrine and most famous pilgrimage place for Sikhs. Harmandir Sahib is one of the most sacred places in India, a Holy Granth Sahib is always present inside the temple. 4. Brihadishwara Temple, Thanjavur Brihadishwara Temple also called Periya Koyil or Big Temple is one of the India’s largest temple located in the Thanjavur at the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Rajarajeswaram temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and the best temple build by Cholas along with Airavatesvara Temple. Brihadishwara Temple and Airavatesvara Temple are two World Heritage in Tamil Nadu India. 5. Bahai Temple, Delhi The Lotus Temple of Delhi is called Bahai Temples, situated near kalka Ji.Lotus Temple is a house of Worship for every religion and best place for meditation and peace. Bahai Faith is spiritual unity of all humankind, there are eight continental Houses of Worship have been built around the world. Lotus Temple is one of them and the prominent attraction in Delhi. 6. Hawa Mahal, Jaipur The great monuments of the royal Rajputs of Rajasthan, Hawa Mahal also Palace of Winds is situated in the heart of pink city and the capital of Rajasthan,Jaipur. The pyramid shape five-story palace is constructed by red and pink sandstone by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh for women’s of royal families. Hawa Mahal is one of the major tourist attraction of Jaipur as well as in the royal state Rajasthan. 7. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus or Victoria Terminus is a historic railway station situated in the dream city of India Mumbai, Maharashtra. Victoria Terminus is one of the most busiest railway station in India and headquarters of the Central Railways. There are top 25 Historical Monuments located in Maharashtra. 8. Victoria Memorial, Kolkata The Victoria Memorial Hall is located in the capital of West Bengal, Kolkata and dedicated to Queen Victoria. Victoria Memorial is one of the major tourist attraction of Kolkata and serves as a museum with great collection of manuscripts,paintings and sculptures of the British period. 9. Qutub Minar, Delhi Qutab Minar of Delhi is one of the tallest and famous towers in the world and second tallest Minar in India. Complex of Qutb Minar is home to several historically monuments such as Tomb of Iltutmish, Iron pillar of Delhi and Alai Minar. 10. Sanchi Stupa, Sanchi The Buddhist vihara at Sanchi is also known as Great Stupa is one of the most famous Buddhist monument in India, located at Sanchi Town in Raisen District. Sanchi Stupa is one of the best preserved ancient Stupas in India, surrounded by four carved gateways. Follow the link for other Heritage temples and group of monuments of India, leave us a comments or suggestion to improve the details and information, This article has been modified with latest search result of Indian monuments. – More 20 Most Famous Historical Monuments of India Here is the list of more famous Indian monuments along with Terracotta Temples of Bishnupur,Nalanda University,Champaner-Pavagarh Archaeological Park,Rani ki Vav in Gujarat,Unakoti Rock Cut, Bhimbetka caves,Lothal and Agar Fort. Gateway of India, Mumbai Gateway of India monument is a basalt arch structure and referred as the Taj Mahal of Mumbai. The structure is the city’s top tourist attraction and popular gathering spot for locals. Humayun’s Tomb, Delhi Humayun’s Tomb of Delhi is managed by Archaeological survey of India and is an excellent example of Persian architecture. The tomb was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent. Charminar, Hyderabad Charminar is the most popular monument and mosque in Hyderabad and listed among the most recognized structures of India also Charminar this landmark became a global icon of Hyderabad city. Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Fatehpur Sikri is a ruin city situated on the bank of a large natural lake in the Agra district. Fatehpur Sikri is one of the best preserved collections of Indian Mughal architecture in India. Ajanta Ellora Caves, Aurangabad Mahabalipuram Monuments Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram along the Coromandel coast is famous for giant open-air rock reliefs such as the famous Descent of the Ganges and the Shore Temple with thousands of sculptures. Khajuraho Monuments Khajuraho Group of Monuments temples are famous for their architecture and style along with symbolism and their erotic sculptures. the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple is one of the most famous temple in Khajuraho. Monuments at Hampi The extant monuments of Vijayanagara empire or Hampi was one of the richest and largest cities in the world during its prime time. Virupaksha Temple and several other monument are the part of Hampi world heritage site, listed as the Group of Monuments at Hampi. Jaisalmer Fort, Jaisalmer Great Living Chola Temples Gangaikonda Cholapuram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram along with Brihadisvara Temple are the part of Great Living Chola Temples, built during the Chola rule in the south India. Konark Sun Temple, Konark Konark Sun Temple is a UNESCO world heritage site in the shape of a gigantic chariot, having elaborately carved stone wheels, pillars and walls, located at Konark in Odisha. Aihole-Badami-Pattadakal Pattadakal is a world heritage site and Aihoḷe is a village having a historic temple complex in Karnataka, Badami-Aihole-Pattadakal-Banasankari-Mahakuta are the group of monuments tourism in the state. Champaner Pavagadh, Gujarat Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park is located around the historical city of Champaner and the park includes archaeological, historic and living cultural heritage monuments such as chalcolithic sites. India Gate, Delhi India Gate war memorial at Rajpath is a distinctive landmarks of Delhi and a must visit place in India. The memorial is India’s most stunning historical monuments, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Kumbhalgarh Fort, Rajasthan Kumbhalgarh Fort at Rajsamand is the second most important hill fort of Royal Rajasthan after Chittorgarh fort in Chittorgarh town. The fort is part of World Heritage Site as Hill Forts of Rajasthan and has second largest wall in the world and known as Great Wall of India. Meenakshi Temple, Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple of Madurai is one of the most prominent landmark in India and also listed as top 30 nominees for the New Seven Wonders of the World. The temple is also the most popular and most visited tourist attraction in the state of Tamil Nadu. Basilica of Bom Jesus, Goa Basilica of Bom Jesus at old Goa is a World Heritage Site and oldest churches in India. The Basilica is more than 408 years old and one of the most popular Basilica church in India. Bara Imambara, Lucknow Bara Imambara complex is the grandest buildings of Lucknow and includes a step,gateways, minar, a mosque and bhul-bhulaiya. Bara Imambara and Chota Imambara with Husainabad Clock Tower are the major tourist attractions in Lucknow. Mahabat Maqbara, Junagadh Mahabat Maqbara at Junagadh is a lesser known tourist attractions in India and a beautiful mausoleum in Gujarat. This stunning mausoleum also called as Mausoleum of Bahaduddinbhai Hasainbhai built by the nawabs. Golconda Fort, Hyderabad Golconda Fort at Hyderabad is famous for its list of Monuments and the region is known for the diamond at Kollur Mine. The Ancient Monuments in Golconda includes gateways, drawbridges, temples, mosques and semicircular bastions. The list does not contains all the world heritage Cultural and Natural sites from India, these are the best monuments of India to experience Indian ancient and modern architect.
ashwini kumar
Rationality in Planning
CoEP SY Btech Planning
Pratiksha Gavit
Urban Planning Theory
CoEP SY Btech Planning
Force Response
Force Response
Raparthy Rahul
Analyzing the nature of the military labor market during the Mughal empire and its significance with special reference to the mercenary composition in the labor market.
The Mughal empire was one of the greatest and one of the most influential empires that ever existed. The Mughal empire lasted for more than 300 years and covered much of the Indian subcontinent. Acquiring and maintaining such an empire for so long is often credited towards the administration prevalent during the Mughal period. In this essay, however, I will bring into focus the active military labor market that was present during the Mughal period and how that played an important role for not only the Mughals themselves but also their enemies in acquiring territories. The role of mercenaries in the military labor market and their ethnic composition will also be discussed in this paper. In this essay, we will see what kind of military labor market existed during the Delhi Sultanate, the changes that occurred in it with the oncoming of the Mughals, and its significance in determining the relationship between the nobles and the peasants. The Mughals being referred to in this essay are only the first six of the Mughal rulers from Babur to Aurangzeb. The main objective of this essay is to analyze the ethnic composition of the military labor market. There is no original data collected for this essay and I will be analyzing the texts of different historians. Before the emergence of the Mughal empire in the 16th century, the Delhi Sultanate was the dominant empire in the Indian subcontinent. They had their own military labor market. We know this as Kaushik Roy informs us that, “Until the fourteenth century, the dominant mode of military recruitment in India was the Mamluk system.” ( page 1, from mamluks etc) The soldiers comprising the mamluk system were mainly slave soldiers that were brought from the Muslim countries in the Middle-east such as Turkestan, Persia, and Transoxiana. Due to the political fluctuations caused by Mongol invasions, the Delhi Sultanate had to resort to hiring free-flowing mercenaries from Hindustan itself. Also, “One way to maintain and expand the size of the army was to hire indigenous mercenaries as well as to utilize the forces of the defeated chiefs. The free-floating mercenaries had their own horses, armor, and equipment. They were paid in cash and they also had a right to the loot taken from the defeated enemies.”( page 89, Mamluks) Thus we can see how the military labor market shifted from accquiring slave soldiers from the Middle East to hiring mercenaries from the Indian subcontinent itself. Due to the invasion from Timur during the 14th and the 15th century, the Delhi Sultanate weakened, which provided the perfect opportunity for other Central Asian rulers such as Babur to invade India. Babur is credited to be the founder of the Mughal Empire. We can see some similarities and some differences in the military labor that was adopted by Babur when compared to the Delhi Sultanate. Unlike the Delhi Sultanate, Babur preferred to have a household standing army, which comprised of soldiers that joined Babur’s army due to family and clan connections. Unlike the mercenaries, these soldiers did not break on the battlefield and were used by Babur to perform daredevil manoeuvrers of the battlefield. But just like the Delhi Sultanate, even Babur had decided to include mercenaries into his army. According to Kaushik Roy, many mercenaries that joined Babur were from Mongol descent, as he says “Babur mentions that the Mongol settlers in Central Asia were organized in various tribes. Many Mongol tribes who had no blood relation to Babur joined him. Each Mongol tribe at that time comprised 3,000-4,000 families.” ( page 90, Mamluks) It is important to know that Babur himself is from Mongol descent. Thus from this, we can see that the Mongol mercenaries joining Babur could be categorized as an ethnic mercenary sort of military employment in which mercenaries join a ruler because they have the same ethnic background. Babur’s ancestors were Timur and Chengiz Khan, who were famous rulers of the Timurid and the Mongol dynasties, which occupied much of Central Asia. When Babur came to India, he decided to adopt the military tactics used in Central Asia and he used them to defeat the rulers of the Delhi Sultanate. At the battle of Panipat, “ He protected his right by resting it on the city of Panipat, and on the left, dug a ditch with branches of felled trees so that the cavalry could not cross it. In front, he put together 700 carts, some from his baggage train, and some procured locally. These carts were joined together by ropes of rawhide, and between every two carts, short breastworks were put up behind which matchlockmen could stand and fire. Babur called this method of stringing carts the Ottoman ( Rumi) devise because along with cannons it had been used by the Ottoman Sultan in the famous battle with Shah Ismail of Iran at Chaldiran in 1514. But Babur added a new feature. At a bow shot apart, gaps were left, wide enough for fifty or hundred horses to charge abreast” ( page 29, Satish Chandra) Babur is also credited with introducing guns and gunpowder to India. Thus he had also incorporated two Ottoman mercenaries, Ustad Ali and Mustafa, who were master gunners. Babur also claimed that these two mercenaries were invaluable on the battlefield and also went as far as appointing Ustad Ali as the master of the ordinance. Thus we can see that Babur kept hiring mercenaries from mostly Central Asia as he was using the tactics that were being used in that area and thus the mercenaries would already be accustomed to such military tactics and thus would prove most effective. The Mughals were not the only ones who were hiring mercenaries. The military labor market was open to all those who could afford mercenaries, which included the rivals of the Mughals. In fact, “Babur’s opponent at the First Battle of Panipat, Sultan Ibrahim Lodi (r. 1517-1526) depended on the indigenous mercenaries. Ibrahim Lodi, being an Afghan, preferred Afghan soldiers.” ( page 91, Mamluk) Many times the defeated chieftains were forced to join the rival army if they were defeated in battle. The previous claim is supported by the following quote which is- “After being victorious at First Panipat, many Afghan chieftains in India (who were either semi-autonomous or in Lodi service) joined Babur as tributaries with their retainers (some of the bands numbering up to 3,000- 4,000 men each).54 In many cases, they were forced to join Babur after being defeated in battle.” ( page 91 Mamluk) Even after Humayun came into power, mercenaries were still being used to oppose the Mughal rule. For example, Bahadur Shah of Gujrat hired African mercenaries commonly known as Abbysinians and also hired tribal mercenaries. In fact, “ Bahadur Shah provided 20 crores of Gujarati coins to one of his nobles, Tatar Khan, who with this money hired 40,000 Afghan mercenary cavalries. Some Muslims of Gujarat also joined his artillery branch as mercenaries.” ( page 92). After Humayun defeated Bahadur Shah and some other Afghan chieftains, they were forced to join Humayun’s army with their retainers. However, similar to the mercenaries, they proved disloyal towards Humayun and deserted him and instead joined his enemy Sher Shah, who was an afghan. Another example of mercenary disloyalty and desertion is the case of Rumi Khan, who was initially under the employment of Bahadur Shah of Gujrat. Rumi, Khan, “, the commandant of the Gujarat Sultanate’s artillery department, deserted Sultan Bahadur Shah and joined Humayun in 1533. Rumi Khan was a military engineer and was considered an expert in siege warfare. In 1537, he advised Humayun in conducting the siege of Chunar Fort held by Sher Shah.” ( page 99, mollusks) From this, we can conclude that there were some stark similarities between mercenaries and the chieftains and their retainers who were defeated in battle. Even though the former was voluntary and the latter was involuntary, desertion was common and they also did not have any loyalty towards their employees or captives and thus abandoned them if any political fluctuations occurred in that demographic area. Many mercenaries from Central Asia became attracted by the wealth that India had to offer and the prospect of looting it made them join Humayun’s cause on a mostly seasonal contract. Mercenaries hired on a seasonal contract were less likely to desert as compared to those who were hired for a longer contract. There were also cases where the children of mercenaries would follow in their parent's footsteps and serve the ruler of the same dynasty. such was the case with the son of Ustad Ali Quli Khan’s son, M.K Rumi, who fought beside Humayun and was in charge Mogul guns and carriages at the battle of Kanauj. Just like Babur, Sher Shah also utilized the military labor market and incorporated soldiers from his ethnic background. We know this as “ Sher recruited Afghans from Bihar, and many Rajput chieftains with their clansmen also joined his banner. While the Rajputs in his army were mercenaries, the Afghans were mobilized through tribal/clan networks. Sher called the Afghan qaum (community) to mobilize against the alien Moguls.” ( page 92-93) Thus we can say that it was an instance of ethnic conscription for the Afghans in Sher Shah’s army. Things took a drastic turn when Akbar came into power. After his victory in the second battle of Panipat, he established a stronghold in Northern India. Thus the base for Mughal operations was no longer Afghanistan, as it was with Babur and Humayun, but instead, it was now northern India. This was a setback in terms of military recruitment. This is because now Akbar would not be able to tap up the Turkish and the other central Asian tribes and include them in his army as he was now established in India. Due to this, he had to come up with a new military recruitment system. The system which he introduced was the mansabdari system, which changed the military labor market for the Mughals for the coming decades. The mansabdari system comprised of nobles who held ranks called mansabs and they were called mansabdars and each of them held jagirs. The way in which it transformed the military labor market was that “The mansabdari system was also partly a case of the tributary form of military employment. After being defeated, the chieftains belonging to different principalities were encouraged and at times coerced to serve in the Mogul army and in return were rewarded with jagirs. When Akbar established himself at Agra, a large number of principalities were under the control of autonomous and semi-autonomous hereditary chieftains. The latter was known as rajas, ranas, rawats, or rais. They were also known as Rajputs, and the Mogul chroniclers called them zamindars.” ( page 96) They were different from traditional mercenaries as mansabars were usually given lifelong employment, unlike the mercenaries who were usually given a season-long contract. Also, the commitment of the mansabdars to the emperor was absolute and thus they were not given much freedom in leaving the service. As previously mentioned, foreign mercenaries played a very important role in determining battles. One of the main reasons for this was their knowledge of guns and gunpowder. As the use of cannons and the muskets were widespread throughout the West, European mercenaries always had a special place in the military labor market and their services were used by both the Mughals and their rivals alike. In fact, European mercenaries were so in demand that “from the second half of the seventeenth century, the Mogul artillery was manned by Portuguese, British, Dutch, German, and French mercenaries. These foreigners were deserters from European ships and entered Mogul dominion through Goa for higher pay” ( page 100). Even mercenaries from Africa found employment in India. One of the most common of these were the Abbysinians. We are informed that “. In the Ahmadnagar Sultanate in western Deccan, Abyssinian military slaves and Abyssinian mercenaries played an important role. The Abyssinians (also known as Habshis in India) were African Muslims from Ethiopia who either came to India as free-born adventurers or were imported as slaves.” ( page 101). As we have seen, the military labor market in Mughal India comprised of a vast number of soldiers from different ethnic backgrounds. While they may have their advantages, there are a few historians who claim that the dependency of the rulers on the military labor market had led them to not maintain a proper standing army. We get to know that “since supply exceeded demand, there was no point in maintaining a big standing army year after year. Rather, during emergencies, infantry and cavalry were raised at short notice and sent to the trouble spots.” ( page 103) . Thus the Mughals lacked a disciplined and properly drilled standing army that could be used to win battles decisively. Instead “treachery, diplomacy, bribery, and a show of force resulted in the absorption and assimilation of enemies” ( page 84). This claim can be used to justify the disintegration of the Mughal empire, as, after Aurangzeb, the entire administration and the military structure had begun to fall apart. This was due to mainly both internal and external conflicts, which with the use of a proper standing army, could have been controlled. As we have seen throughout this essay, the military labor market throughout the Mughal empire always comprised of soldiers-cum- mercenaries of different ethnic backgrounds. As the Mughals mostly depended on them for military recruitment, we can sense that there was some heterogeneity in the army in terms of religion, culture, and nationality. This is one of the ways in which we get to know about the liberal nature of the Mughals when concerned with the army. It is important to know that all of the emperors from Babur to Aurangzeb deemed it necessary to employ foreign mercenaries into their armies, especially European mercenaries. The reason behind this could be due to the advancement of cannons and muskets in Europe during the 16th and the 17th century and thus hiring mercenaries with the knowledge of these advancements would certainly be beneficial to the Mughals. Thus we say that their expansion in the Indian subcontinent was due to the ethnic diversities of the soldiers that comprised the Mughal armies and the different skills and the ability that they brought with them. During the 18th century, the power of the Mughal empire lowly diminished, mainly due to the emergence of the East India company. The British established their rule in India after the battle of Plassey in 1757. This led to the extinction of the existent mansabdari system. Since then, the entire military labor market was operated by the British Raj. The main breeding grounds of military recruitment for the British were Bengal, Madras, and Bombay. The ethnic composition of the British army mainly comprised of Indian soldiers called as ‘sepoys’ and only a minority were white British soldiers. In his book The Garrison State: Military, Government and Society in Colonial Punjab, 1849-1947, Tan Tai Yong analyzes the dynamics of the military labour market in Punjab from the revolt of 1857 to 1947 and talks about how after the revolt of 1857, Punjab became a militarized bureaucracy and became a supply ground of men and weapons for the British. Thus we can see through this paper on how with the emergence of a new political power in India, it led to the extinction of a pre-existent military labor market. To put this into context, the Mamluk system during the time of the Delhi Sultanate became extinct with the emergence of the Mughals. Similarly, the mansabdari system vanished after the establishment of the imperial raj. Through all this, we can safely conclude that the military labor market in India was never rigid or constrained, but was instead not bound by anything and extremely free-flowing. BIBLIOGRAPHY- Roy. Kaushik. 2013. “From the mamluks to the mansabdars:A social history of military service in South Asia, c. 1500 to c. 1650”. Fighting for a Living Book Subtitle: A Comparative Study of Military Labour 1500-2000. 81-114 Chandra. Satish. 2005. Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part 2. New Delhi. Publications Pvt. Ltd.
Kartik Mathur
Discuss the social and political context of the Bhakti movement with special reference to Kabir.
The Bhakti movement was a religious movement that started a theistic devotional trend that emerged in the 8th century in the southern part of India. It was started by the Alvars and the Nayanars, who were the followers of Vishnu and Shiva respectively, so it developed around Vaishnavism and Shaivism. This movement can be considered as an influential reformation against orthodox Hinduism as it worked with the recontextualisation of ancient Vedic traditions. Thus, it gave the people an alternative path to devotion which was not caste specific and did not require any sort of rituals and it preferred doing praying through songs and poems. It is because of this that it was an invocation of the public and it was this movement that brought mass identities into the frame. Also, this movement should not be considered to be a monolithic or a homogeneous movement. The Bhakti movement had an important part to play in the social context at the time. According to Rekha Pande, “ The Bhakti movement of the medival period was an idealistic manifestation of the socio-economic realities of the time.” ( The social context of the Bhakti movement- A study in Kabir, Rekha Pande 1985. p. 230) The social front at the time was characterized by brahminical oppression. With orthodox Hinduism being prevalent at the time, it was the caste system that affected the poor people. According to the Brahmins, those who did not fit into their rigid caste system, should be excluded from the society. Thus, those who did not fit into the traditional Varna system, were termed as chandals and outcastes. As previously mentioned, the Bhakti movement was against orthodox Hinduism and the rituals that were done by the Brahmans and thus “ in doing away with rituals it was fighting the brahminical domination and the injustices of the caste system”.( The social context of the Bhakti movement- A study in Kabir, Rekha Pande 1985. p. 232). This way it was trying to establish a direct relation between the devotee and God. The majority of the bhakti saints were from the lowest strata of the society, who were despised and downgraded by the upper castes. As these saints had done away with rituals, the common people found another way of praying as “the bhakti movement was a sublimation of terrible worldly suffering, pain and misery that found natural outlet in spontaneous, sweet-sad and poignant devotional songs.”( Gohain 1987, p.1970) Many followers of this movement also decided to abandon Sanskrit altogether, as it was considered to be the language of the Vedas and thus had a sense of purity about it, and instead preffered to sing in the local language that was spoken by the common people. More and more people from the lower castes and professions such as village artisans were also accommodated within the Bhakti movement. Due to this, the artisans found their place in the existing social structure and began to cater a wider clientele. Money transactions also replaced the existing barter system. The increase in productivity and the flow of commodities also led to the expansion and the creation of new cities and towns. The Bhakti movement also had a major impact in the political sphere at that time. The movement was widespread during the rule of the Mughal empire and thus was in many ways influenced by Islam. The heterodox bhaktas “owed a lot to Muslim sufis, who mixed with the down-trodden, illiterate masses without pretence and presumption, and practised the fellow-feeling for the creatures of god that they preached” ( Gohain 1987, p.1971). Even the Mughal rulers were influenced by the Bhakti movement. As previously mentioned, there were significant changes that had taken place in the economic section due to the Bhakti movement which had led to an increase in circulation of commodities. According to some reports made by Abdul Fazl, “Akbar the Great took special care to fix the prices of essential commodities throughout his realm on the basis of periodic studies of the market, and taxes on the people including the artisans had also been similarly fixed” ( Gohain 1987, p. 1971). Thus we can say that Akbar’s concern showed a relatively progressive role of the state in his time. The emergence of Sufism, which had also influenced the bhakti movement, also influenced Akbar to abandon Muslim orthodoxy through its new spiritual and intellectual currents. Akbar’s great grandson, Aurangzeb, on the other hand, had the opposite view. Due to the huge demands of the state on their earnings, the working class people were barely left with anything to live upon. Also, “ The alienation of the court and the feudal ruling orders from the people from his time onwards is thus suggested by such trend” ( Gohain 1987, p.1971-72) He also persecuted some of the new sects and the sufi saints. Aurangzeb’s views also influenced others as Hindu princes at the time also persecuted such new liberal trends in favour of the more rigid caste system. The Bhakti movement has also been compared to the Protestant movement of the west as even in that movement, the common people were against orthodox Christianity. One of the most famous Bhakti saints was Kabir. Even though he grew up in a family of Muslim weavers, he renounced both orthodox brahminism and orthodox Islam. According to him, aestheticism, fasting and giving alms to the poor were useless unless they were accompanied by worship. He was also unbiased towards both Hindus and Muslims and imparted his beliefs to both of them. Also, “ By criticizing the practices and rituals of both the hindus and the muslims, he showed that their differences were only at a very superficial level.” ( The social context of the Bhakti movement- A study in Kabir, Rekha Pande 1985. pp. 233-234) he also refused to acknowledge the caste system and also refused to recognize the six major schools of philosophy. Thus he was going against the domination of the Brahmins and thus we can say that for him, it was a revolt lower caste against another upper caste. Through this he rallied the masses that were the most oppressed under the brahminical dominion. In conclusion, the Bhakti movement included both Hindus and Muslims especially from the lower strata of the society and with the help of Sufism, influenced people to express their devotion to God through songs and poem and not through rituals. REFERENCES 1. Gohain, Hiren. 1987. The Labyrinth of Bhakti: On Some Questions of Medieval Indian History. ‘Economic and Political Weekly’. 22: pp. 1970-1972 2. Pande, Rekha. 1985. The Social Context of the Bhakti Movement : a study of Kabir. University of Hyderabad: pp. 230-235.
Discuss the impact of communal politics on Mughal historiography.
The Mughal period is a very important part of the rich history of India. Looking at such a period objectively is the only way we can truly learn about the Mughal empire. This is not always the case as there are times when an individual has pre-conceived notions due to their religious beliefs and that affects their judgment as they are no longer unbiased. My argument is supported the by Nurul Hassan who says that “ Only too often there is a tendency to look at the history this period through the colored glasses of communalism” ( p.25, Religion, State, and Society in Medieval India, Nurul Hassan). An example of this instance is how numerous western historians have tried to study Mughal Historiography. Due to the fact that Indian history has been riddled with conflicts between Hindus and Muslims, including the partition of 1947, many westerners may use that as a foundation when going through Muslim historiography. The previous is supported once again by Nurul Hassan as he so rightly mentions that “ It was hoped that with the end of British rule in India, the imperialist attempt to present medieval Indian history as a story of an unending struggle between different communities would also end ( p.27, Religion, State, and Society in Medieval India, Nurul Hassan). Thus, we can say that a communal outlook mixed with pre-conceived notions is a very dangerous combination. The Mughal Empire was one of the grandest empires in its day and thus it was common for foreign travelers to visit the country. The written works of these travelers are also very important for us to learn more about the Mughal Empire. But what happens when even these travelers are biased in their opinion? This was also a very real problem as “ it is not always easy to judge how far their statements have been colored by their political, religious or social prejudices, or their sources of reliable information (p.34, Religion, State, and Society in Medieval India, Nurul Hassan). It is also very hard to distinguish whether what the statements that the travelers wrote were of their own personal opinion or that they were facts. Thus a lot of material has been lost due to the beliefs of individuals. All of the above claims can also be supported by the fact that some of the Mughal rulers actually strived towards making a multi-cultured environment in their courts. An example of this is Akbar’s relationship with the nobility and how “ Akbar had succeeded in removing the dependence of the sovereign on the Muslim nobility alone” ( p. 64, Mughal India, M. Athar Ali). Also, Akbar’s marriage to the Rajput princess Jodha was a religious and a political move as it would have helped in the unification of the two religions and it also would have reduced communal violence. Through the written record of the time, we have also come to have known of the Mughal policy of ‘ Sulal Kul’, which meant for the peaceful coexistence of communities and it has often been credited for being a key factor of the vitality of the Mughal empire.
Is the writing of history necessarily political?
In the words of Sir John Seeley, a 19th century British historian: 'History is past politics; and politics, present history'. History, at its barest essential, is a compilation of facts – a record of important people, decisions, wars and events which have moulded and influenced society over time. Any historian worth his salt cannot just enumerate such facts blandly. As E.H. Carr says -“History means interpretation”. A historian looks back in time and examines past events in light of his knowledge of the present. He shifts through archaeological evidence, written and oral records and then selects material he considers relevant and weaves them into a narrative that his readers can appreciate. During this process, he cannot but be influenced by the present environment and the social milieu he is a part of. Again, in the words of Carr, “we can view the past, and achieve our understanding of the past, only through the eyes of the present…..the very words he uses – words like democracy, empire, war, revolution – have current connotations…..” (Carr 1961, p.13). Politics is one factor that is an intrinsic part of every social environment. The influence of politics is prevalent throughout different time periods and nations. The views of the leaders of the State, the policies they formulate, the agitations they initiate, the institutions they create for governance – all shape and influence the character and course of a nation. However much a historian may try, he cannot but be a conduit through which these major influences of the past are conveyed to the present reader. It is not possible for a historian to write about past events in a vacuum; he must necessarily build the backdrop against which such events occur, as well as provide a character study of the chief players of the plot. Unless this is done, he will lose grip on the narrative flow of his tale as well as the attention of his reader. Since political leaders and their influence dominate the making of historically relevant events, historical writing per force has to give due importance to politics in its narrative. At the most, different historians from different schools of historiography may present a particular point of view but their narrative has to have its basis in the political events of the period they are writing about. For instance, different historians have diametrically differing views while writing on India’s history, especially the National Movement for Freedom. While the major milestones of the freedom struggle as they unfolded are common knowledge, but they have been given dramatically different interpretations depending on the political affiliations of the historians concerned. When we look at older historical writing in India, treatises like Rajtarangani and Akbarnama, for instance, extolled the virtues and magnanimity of the emperors concerned, primarily because their writers enjoyed royal patronage and were obligated to present a positive and laudatory picture of the time. During modern times as well, we have historians with loyalties towards the British, justifying colonialism and the British rule in India. MrityunjayaVidyalankar, a Brahman scholar in the employment of the East India Company in Calcutta in the early 19th century, wrote of history as that of gods and kings where dynasties were founded by divine grace and kingdoms retained so long as the ruler was true to dharma. His position was that of the 'praja', the ordinary subject. His 'Rajabali' was written in 1808 in Bengali for the instruction of company officials in the history of India. Utilitarians like James Mill believed in enlightened despotism to uplift backward Indian society. His 'History of British India' published in 1828 divided ancient and medieval periods of Indian history into Hindu and Muslim and modern as British. The same periodization was followed by other British historians as well. The idea of centuries of despotic rule of maharajas and sultans with absolute power and an autocratic bureaucracy ruling over ignorant and stagnant masses was propagated. Historians of the Imperialistic school of historiography justified colonialism. "The outline of the present situation in India is that we have been disseminating ideas of abstract political right, and the germs of representative institutions, among a people that had for centuries been governed autocratically, and in a country where local liberties and habits of self-government had been long obliterated or had never existed"(Chirol 1910, p.viii). Cambridge historians like Anil Seal, John Broomfield and Gordon Johnson gave new interpretations to colonial rule. According to them, political organisation was based along caste and religious lines. The national movement was an elitist movement where one group fought against another to find favour with the British. They felt the national leaders were power hungry and motivated by their own selfish interests. Like the Imperialists, they tried to justify colonial rule. There were also 'administrative historians' like V.A. Smith and Macaulay who based their writing mainly on official reports and documents and so presented a one-sided view of history. "Nationalist sentiments grew easily among the people because India was unified and welded into a nation during the 19th and 20th centuries. "(Bipan Chandra, 'History of Modern India', p. 202). Nationalist writing in India started as a reaction to the above grossly distorted depiction by British historians. "It is, needless to say, a primary sign of the nationalist consciousness that it will not find its own voice in histories written by foreign rulers and that it will set out to write for itself the account of its own past."(Partha Chatterjee, page 77). Only after Western education during British rule, did such historical writing start when newly educated Indians studied colonial writings and countered with their own version of events. "It was, in fact, in the course of writing the history of British rule in India that English educated Bengalis abandoned the criteria of divine intervention, religious value, and the norms of right conduct in judging the rise and fall of kingdoms."( Partha Chatterjee, page 90). Recent history of Bengal, especially after the revolt of 1857 and the atrocities committed, demonstrated that acts of immorality could also win kingdoms. "History was no longer the play of divine will or the fight of right against wrong; it had become merely the struggle for power."(Partha Chatterjee, page 96 ) Many text book authors in Bengal, like Mrityunjay earlier mentioned, considered themselves as ordinary subjects. But later educated middle class Bengali writers learnt to play the role of mediator between the elite rulers and their subjects. As Partha Chatterjee puts it, they "had acquired a consciousness in which they were already exercising the art of politics and stagecraft."(Partha Chatterjee, page 92) Nationalist writers like J.N.Sarkar, Lala Lajpath Rai, C.F.Andrews and H.C. Roychoudhary tried to promote political integration and arouse patriotism. This kind of writing inspired national pride and became part of and strengthened the national movement. During the Swadeshi movement, patriotic journalism, prose and poetry reached a high. Patriotic songs written by Rabindra Nath Tagore and Rajani Kant Sen have become historical icons and are sung even today. These writings have also influenced historians while writing about that period. Bipan Chandra points out that on the one hand, "British officials and writers of the time constantly advanced the thesis that Indians had never been able to rule themselves in the past, that Hindus and Muslims had always fought one another, that Indians were destined to be ruled by foreigners, that their religion and social life were degraded and uncivilised making them unfit for democracy or even self-government. Many of the nationalist leaders tried to arouse the self-confidence and self-respect of the people by countering this propaganda" ( Bipan Chandra, page 204-205) Thus they pointed to the cultural heritage of India with pride and referred to the political achievements of rulers like Ashoka, Chandragupta Vikramaditya and Akbar. Some, on the other hand, went the other extreme and by glorifying ancient India and ignoring the achievements of the medieval period, encouraged communal disharmony between Hindus and Muslims- "The struggle between Pratap and Akbar, or Shivaji and Aurangzeb had to be viewed as a political struggle in its particular historical setting. To declare Akbar or Aurangzeb a 'foreigner' and Pratap or Shivaji a 'national' hero was to project into past history the communal outlook of 20th century India. This was not only bad history; it was also a blow to national unity."(Bipan Chandra, page 265) It is also important to note that historians made use of press publications, records of meetings of provincial and local associations, Indian National Congress conferences and nationalist newspapers as source material. One such example would be of ‘Kesari' newspaper which Tilak started to edit from 1839 and preached nationalism in its columns. Use of all this source material also caused a political slant to enter the historians' writing. Marxist writers like M.N.Roy in 'India in Transition'(published 1922) and R. Palme Dutt in 'India Today' (published 1940) focused more on the economic exploitation by the British and put more emphasis on social and economic organisations and their effect on historical events. Some like Jyotibhai Phule postulated that Sanskrit speaking Brahmans descended from the alien Aryans while the indigenous people were considered lower caste. He demarcated between the dominant upper caste and oppressed lower caste and used caste confrontation to justify political movements. In the 1960s, historians like Sumit Sarkar, E.P.Thompson and Partha Chatterjee wrote history from the point of view of the subjugated, the poor, workers and women. Ranajit Guha, in 'Subaltern Studies 1' states, "The historiography of Indian nationalism has for a long time been dominated by elitism-colonial elitism and bourgeois-nationalist elitism."(Guha, page 1)"What is clearly left out of this unhistorical (elitist) historiography is the politics of the people."(Guha, page 4) Even though these historians focussed their attention on the problems of the masses, the downtrodden and on class inequalities, they could not separate this from the politics of the day as it is that which determines all other aspects of society. Even today, the major political parties of the country use the press and social media for tom-toming their achievements and denigrating the opposition. Whether Gandhi or Sardar Patel, all past political luminaries are fair game in this race. The public records of these bombastic claims and counterclaims are going to be the source material for future historians when they research and write about this period of Indian history- "every journalist knows today that the most effective way to influence opinion is by the selection and arrangement of the appropriate facts...The facts speak only when the historian calls on them, it is he who decides to which facts to give the door, and in what order or context."( Carr 1961, p.5) Depending on which ideology the historian favours, whether Hindutva or Communist or Dalit etc, his writing is bound to be biased. Politics is so firmly entrenched in our society that it is impossible to be totally objective. No matter which branch of history he may be a scholar of- social, economic, anthropological or cultural- no historian can avoid the overreaching dominance of politics from influencing his work. Lastly, another important point to be considered is the financial aspect of being a historian. A historian needs financial support for carrying out his research and study. He depends on scholarship grants, stipends and royalties from published works, and unpalatable it may be, but the truth is that politics sells. The twists and turns of political battles, the rise and fall from power of political parties, the rise in favour or fall from grace of party leaders. All these are of immense interest for the common man as they affect his life in myriad ways. Such dramatic political ups and downs also dominate media headlines and television debates. All this provides plenty of grist for the historian's mill. He knows that an informed account and in-depth analysis of all such developments will be of value for present and future students of history and politics. So, it makes sound economic sense to focus on such political matters in his historical writings. Thus, after considering the points discussed in this paper, I think it is right to say that the writing of history is necessarily political. BIBLIOGRAPHY- Chirol, Valentine. 1910. Indian Unrest. London: Macmillan and co., Limited. Carr, E.H. 1961. What is History? Cambridge University Press Bipan Chandra. 2001. History of Modern India. ( Chapter 10 and 11) Chaterjee, Partha. 1993. “ The Nation and Its Fragments”. USA: Princeton University Press Guha, Ranajit.2009. The Small Voice of History. India: Permanent Black