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The Dark Legend of the 18th C:
Origins and Sources
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Origins:
• Mughal sources from the perspective of the imperial court in New Delhi
• English Histories authored by Employees of the East India Company such as Alexander Dow, William Bolts, Franklin during late 18th C
• Modern Historians like Sir Jadunath Sirkar writing at the beginning of the 20th Century
• Marxist historiography from Aligarh Muslim University in India during the 1950s-1960s
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Characteristics of these theories:
• All are based on the political collapse of the Mughal Empire (1526-1720s)
• However, the authors in different time periods had different motivations for emphasizing decline
• To understand their outlook, we will read their histories as primary texts—our job is to historicize the historians
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S. Asia, 1708Mughal territoriesIn Green
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Questions these works leave unanswered
• What impact did the political collapse of the empire have on the vast majority of S. Asians who were not nobles?
• What was life like in the new successor states?
• How were peasant groups such as the Marathas, Sikhs, Jats able to create kingdoms in such a short time?
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Dow’s perspective c.1770s(review)
• The English East India Company had conquered Bengal in 1757and was considering expansion into the hinterland of India.
• News of the Company’s shady dealings in Bengal, corporate malfeasance, and corruption reach Britain
• Shareholders, the public, and some members of parliament want an investigation of the affairs in Bengal
• Huge public interest in Indian affairs leads to a demand for new works on Indian history and politics.
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State of Colonial society in 18th C.
• Early 18th C. very few colonial officers, most there for only a short time to make forutnes
• many others adapt to local custom and stay longer
• Have Indian wives, partners, business connections
• Their “going Native” is seen in an ambivalent way by other Europeans
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Late 18th C changes in colonial society
• Growing disapproval of cultural adaptation after Bengal conquest
• Attempts made to retain a British identity in India—in marriages w/ european women, raising of children, social segregation by race
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Discuss Dow’s text and motivation
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Why do Orientalist histories persist into the modern period?
• The British colonial government in India created the educational networks in which India’s new historians were trained, Dow’s history continues to be influential
• Most, like Sir Jadunath Sarkar were from very wealthy elite families—their perspective is shaped by educations that emphasize European concepts of “modern” history
• From the late 19th c. growing polarization of Hindus and Muslims leads to a re-conceptualization of the late Mughal period as one in which religious tensions cause imperial decline
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Why did religious polarizaiton occur?
• Colonial government creates different legal codes for each religious community—for census and other official processes everyone has to register their religious/caste affiliation
• Sense of competition b/w communities for government jobs, limited employment opportunities for the educated elite
• New reform movements begin within Hinduism and Islam—both stress literacy, a return to the textual practices of the “original texts”
• The shared culture fostered between communities during the Mughal period collapses
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Influence of this on Sarkar
• Sir Jadunath Sarkar (1870-1958) was born in a progressive Hindu Brahmin family in Bengal.
• Educated in the English colonial school system, however, he became more conservative than his family.
• Greatly influenced by “Whig” view of history—i.e. the idea that human civilization is constantly progressing, and that modern European countries were the acme of this model.
• Believed that colonialism would save India from the dark chaos that was created by Mughal collapse.
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Sarkar’s work
• Fascinated by the most famous Mughal Emperors-Akbar and Aurangzeb
• Later in life, influenced by right-leaning Hindu groups such as the Hindu Mahasabha and works on the history of Shivaji, the first important Maratha ruler
• Attributes Mughal decline to a civlizational collapse
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Mughal Rulers
• Babur (r. 1526-30) est. Mughal empire
• Humayun( 1530-1540, exiled, comes back in 1555)
• Akbar “The Great” 1556-1605*
• Jahangir, 1605-1627
• Shah Jahan, 1628-1658
• Aurangzeb, 1658-1707*
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Akbar and Aurangzeb
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Sarkar’s approach:
• Sees Akbar as the creator of Mughal tradition—energetic, broadminded, secular, multi-talented
• Sees Aurangzeb as the last great Mughal—his intolerance and discrimination against non-Muslims, for Sarkar, creates the conditions for a collapse
• Why?
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Sarkar’s sources
• Looks primarily at Persian court records and European sources from the 18th c.
• Aurangzeb did create policies that were discriminatory—increased taxes for non-Muslims (jizya), created a policy of constant expansion into the south
• Many of his political foes (primarily former peasant groups) were Hindu
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Problems:
• Mughal administration, even under Aurangzeb, was hybrid. Official were ethnically and religiously diverse—More Hindus worked for Aurangzeb than for any other Emperor, many in very important posts.
• Aurangzeb’s largest military campaigns in the south (the Deccan) were against Muslim rulers
• Not all Muslims shared Aurangzeb’s views—many in the nobility openly criticized his policies
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For next class:
• Download Sarkar and Srivastava readings
• Download question sheet for “week1-tues”
• Take lots of notes as you read