Aniket Chettry | Siliguri College (original) (raw)
Papers by Aniket Chettry
Society and Culture in South Asia, 2015
This article aims to explore the changing historiographical trend which began with the upsurge of... more This article aims to explore the changing historiographical trend which began with the upsurge of the postmodernist school where history was no longer confined to a specialised genre, rather history could be constructed from a diverse range of sources, which were ignored earlier such as oral traditions, living rituals, memory collections and as I would try to show in the course of this article, even from autobiographical accounts. I would focus on Banarasidas'—a sixteenth-century gem merchant from Jaunpur and his autobiography—‘Ardhakathanak' to try and analyse how this work articulated the various processes by which in the sixteenth-century Mughal India, the identity of a person (who did not belong to the court and was rather a part of what has been termed as subject population) was shaped up. In this instance, identity was shaped and dictated by the narrator's membership to the mercantile community, which constantly manifested itself through his strategies of resistance to forms of exploitation and resulted in the establishment of informal networks cutting across territorial and filial considerations. However, identity is never uniform, rather there are multiple elements operating at different levels which constitute one's identity. In the case of my protagonist, a determining element of his identity was influenced by the framework of ethical and unethical behaviour advocated by the imperial court and this played a crucial role in his own evaluation of his ‘self' revealing in the process complex manners in which the imperial court influenced social norms. My article also tries and investigates the liminal spaces which merchants occupied in the pre-modern world, where they occupied a dual position of being both predator and predated upon and how these notions were often closely linked to issues of territoriality.
MEDIEVAL HISTORY OF JOURNAL, 2022
One of the most popular Mangalkavyas of Bengal was the Chandimangal of Mukunda Chakraborty. This ... more One of the most popular Mangalkavyas of Bengal was the Chandimangal of Mukunda Chakraborty. This article examines the ideas of kingship that were articulated in this text. Mukunda's fictitious protagonist Kalketu came to represent an ideal king within his narrative. Mukunda's conception of this ideal king was largely influenced by his personal experiences and aspirations, some of which have been outlined in the first part of this article. The remaining part of this article goes onto claim that the ideal kingship constructed around the figure of Kalketu involved a reorientation of some of the more conventional norms of kingship; the product being what has been termed by the current author as a 'pacified kingship'. This pacified kingship ensured that the heroic qualities of valour and martial prowess, so desired as essential in every conception of an ideal king came to be tempered with some of the more ordinary and 'un-heroic' qualities within the person of the fictitious Kalketu. This alternative notion of kingship, espoused by Mukunda is also instrumental in exploring some of the varied interactions that went on to constitute the Bengal frontier.
Society and culture in South Asia, 2015
This article aims to explore the changing historiographical trend which began with the upsurge of... more This article aims to explore the changing historiographical trend which began with the upsurge of the postmodernist school where history was no longer confined to a specialised genre, rather history could be constructed from a diverse range of sources, which were ignored earlier such as oral traditions, living rituals, memory collections and as I would try to show in the course of this article, even from autobiographical accounts. I would focus on Banarasidas'-a sixteenth-century gem merchant from Jaunpur and his autobiography-'Ardhakathanak' to try and analyse how this work articulated the various processes by which in the sixteenth-century Mughal India, the identity of a person (who did not belong to the court and was rather a part of what has been termed as subject population) was shaped up. In this instance, identity was shaped and dictated by the narrator's membership to the mercantile community, which constantly manifested itself through his strategies of resistance to forms of exploitation and resulted in the establishment of informal
Journal of History, Art and Architecture, 2023
The paper explores the expansion of Mughal political authority across the Himalayan region. The p... more The paper explores the expansion of Mughal political authority across the Himalayan region. The paper takes up two polities-the Parmars situated in the Central Himalayan region and the Kochs who were the rulers of Koch kingdom located in sub-Himalayan Bengal. Using these two regional case studies, this paper attempts to throw light on some of the strategies adopted by the Mughals to consolidate their imperial hold over smaller ruling elites of the Himalayan belt. The strategies examined in this paper are diverseranging from policies of collaboration to use of coercion. Internal dissensions within these regional ruling houses and the constant pressure exerted by the superior economic and military resources of the Mughals also contributed in convincing some Parmar and Koch rulers to acknowledge Mughal supremacy. Thus, the aim of this paper is to investigate the gamut of complex negotiations that shaped the trajectory of Mughal relations with local rulers of Garhwal and Koch Behar. An understanding of these relations would help in giving a coherent idea of the interactions between the Mughals and local ruling houses (both within and outside the Himalayan region), vital to any discussion on the nature of Mughal state formation. The final part of the paper argues that Mughal ambitions of consolidating their political authority over the Himalayan region was also dependent on their ability to reach out and win the support of the varied local social groups existing below the ruling elite. This paper contends that the failure of winning the support of such groups made it all the more difficult for the Mughals to exercise complete political authority over various localities in the Himalayan region. The concluding portion of the paper makes it evident that Mughal state formation in the Himalayan region and beyond needs to be evaluated in terms of the relations of the Mughals with the various local ruling houses as well as with numerous local social groups comprising of peasants, artisans, merchants, religious preachers, to name a few, all of whom existed as co-sharers of imperial sovereignty.
The Medieval History Journal
One of the most popular Mangalkavyas of Bengal was the Chandimangal of Mukunda Chakraborty. This ... more One of the most popular Mangalkavyas of Bengal was the Chandimangal of Mukunda Chakraborty. This article examines the ideas of kingship that were articulated in this text. Mukunda’s fictitious protagonist Kalketu came to represent an ideal king within his narrative. Mukunda’s conception of this ideal king was largely influenced by his personal experiences and aspirations, some of which have been outlined in the first part of this article. The remaining part of this article goes onto claim that the ideal kingship constructed around the figure of Kalketu involved a re-orientation of some of the more conventional norms of kingship; the product being what has been termed by the current author as a ‘pacified kingship’. This pacified kingship ensured that the heroic qualities of valour and martial prowess, so desired as essential in every conception of an ideal king came to be tempered with some of the more ordinary and ‘un-heroic’ qualities within the person of the fictitious Kalketu. Th...
Global Journal of Archaeology & Anthropology
Traditional historiography often identifies Aurangzeb as 'communal' or as a 'religious bigot' who... more Traditional historiography often identifies Aurangzeb as 'communal' or as a 'religious bigot' whose orthodox policies alienated large sections of Hindu community away from Mughal rule weakening the base of the Mughal empire in the subcontinent. This article emphasizes on the need to contextualize most of Aurangzeb's actions before he be labelled as communal or a bigot. This paper attempts to explore the politics behind many of Aurangzeb's most controversial actions like the levying of jizyah or the destruction of temples to show that most of Aurangzeb's policies were a response to the political exigencies encountered by him rather than being fueled by any quest for imposing a rigid Islamic order throughout the Mughal empire [1-3]. This article also focuses on several other aspects of Aurangzeb's reign, often ignored by the traditional historiography which clearly indicates Aurangzeb's willingness to conform to the model of rule laid down by Akbar which was based on a broad idea of tolerance and patronage to all religions.
Society and Culture in South Asia, 2015
This article aims to explore the changing historiographical trend which began with the upsurge of... more This article aims to explore the changing historiographical trend which began with the upsurge of the postmodernist school where history was no longer confined to a specialised genre, rather history could be constructed from a diverse range of sources, which were ignored earlier such as oral traditions, living rituals, memory collections and as I would try to show in the course of this article, even from autobiographical accounts. I would focus on Banarasidas'—a sixteenth-century gem merchant from Jaunpur and his autobiography—‘Ardhakathanak' to try and analyse how this work articulated the various processes by which in the sixteenth-century Mughal India, the identity of a person (who did not belong to the court and was rather a part of what has been termed as subject population) was shaped up. In this instance, identity was shaped and dictated by the narrator's membership to the mercantile community, which constantly manifested itself through his strategies of resistance to forms of exploitation and resulted in the establishment of informal networks cutting across territorial and filial considerations. However, identity is never uniform, rather there are multiple elements operating at different levels which constitute one's identity. In the case of my protagonist, a determining element of his identity was influenced by the framework of ethical and unethical behaviour advocated by the imperial court and this played a crucial role in his own evaluation of his ‘self' revealing in the process complex manners in which the imperial court influenced social norms. My article also tries and investigates the liminal spaces which merchants occupied in the pre-modern world, where they occupied a dual position of being both predator and predated upon and how these notions were often closely linked to issues of territoriality.
MEDIEVAL HISTORY OF JOURNAL, 2022
One of the most popular Mangalkavyas of Bengal was the Chandimangal of Mukunda Chakraborty. This ... more One of the most popular Mangalkavyas of Bengal was the Chandimangal of Mukunda Chakraborty. This article examines the ideas of kingship that were articulated in this text. Mukunda's fictitious protagonist Kalketu came to represent an ideal king within his narrative. Mukunda's conception of this ideal king was largely influenced by his personal experiences and aspirations, some of which have been outlined in the first part of this article. The remaining part of this article goes onto claim that the ideal kingship constructed around the figure of Kalketu involved a reorientation of some of the more conventional norms of kingship; the product being what has been termed by the current author as a 'pacified kingship'. This pacified kingship ensured that the heroic qualities of valour and martial prowess, so desired as essential in every conception of an ideal king came to be tempered with some of the more ordinary and 'un-heroic' qualities within the person of the fictitious Kalketu. This alternative notion of kingship, espoused by Mukunda is also instrumental in exploring some of the varied interactions that went on to constitute the Bengal frontier.
Society and culture in South Asia, 2015
This article aims to explore the changing historiographical trend which began with the upsurge of... more This article aims to explore the changing historiographical trend which began with the upsurge of the postmodernist school where history was no longer confined to a specialised genre, rather history could be constructed from a diverse range of sources, which were ignored earlier such as oral traditions, living rituals, memory collections and as I would try to show in the course of this article, even from autobiographical accounts. I would focus on Banarasidas'-a sixteenth-century gem merchant from Jaunpur and his autobiography-'Ardhakathanak' to try and analyse how this work articulated the various processes by which in the sixteenth-century Mughal India, the identity of a person (who did not belong to the court and was rather a part of what has been termed as subject population) was shaped up. In this instance, identity was shaped and dictated by the narrator's membership to the mercantile community, which constantly manifested itself through his strategies of resistance to forms of exploitation and resulted in the establishment of informal
Journal of History, Art and Architecture, 2023
The paper explores the expansion of Mughal political authority across the Himalayan region. The p... more The paper explores the expansion of Mughal political authority across the Himalayan region. The paper takes up two polities-the Parmars situated in the Central Himalayan region and the Kochs who were the rulers of Koch kingdom located in sub-Himalayan Bengal. Using these two regional case studies, this paper attempts to throw light on some of the strategies adopted by the Mughals to consolidate their imperial hold over smaller ruling elites of the Himalayan belt. The strategies examined in this paper are diverseranging from policies of collaboration to use of coercion. Internal dissensions within these regional ruling houses and the constant pressure exerted by the superior economic and military resources of the Mughals also contributed in convincing some Parmar and Koch rulers to acknowledge Mughal supremacy. Thus, the aim of this paper is to investigate the gamut of complex negotiations that shaped the trajectory of Mughal relations with local rulers of Garhwal and Koch Behar. An understanding of these relations would help in giving a coherent idea of the interactions between the Mughals and local ruling houses (both within and outside the Himalayan region), vital to any discussion on the nature of Mughal state formation. The final part of the paper argues that Mughal ambitions of consolidating their political authority over the Himalayan region was also dependent on their ability to reach out and win the support of the varied local social groups existing below the ruling elite. This paper contends that the failure of winning the support of such groups made it all the more difficult for the Mughals to exercise complete political authority over various localities in the Himalayan region. The concluding portion of the paper makes it evident that Mughal state formation in the Himalayan region and beyond needs to be evaluated in terms of the relations of the Mughals with the various local ruling houses as well as with numerous local social groups comprising of peasants, artisans, merchants, religious preachers, to name a few, all of whom existed as co-sharers of imperial sovereignty.
The Medieval History Journal
One of the most popular Mangalkavyas of Bengal was the Chandimangal of Mukunda Chakraborty. This ... more One of the most popular Mangalkavyas of Bengal was the Chandimangal of Mukunda Chakraborty. This article examines the ideas of kingship that were articulated in this text. Mukunda’s fictitious protagonist Kalketu came to represent an ideal king within his narrative. Mukunda’s conception of this ideal king was largely influenced by his personal experiences and aspirations, some of which have been outlined in the first part of this article. The remaining part of this article goes onto claim that the ideal kingship constructed around the figure of Kalketu involved a re-orientation of some of the more conventional norms of kingship; the product being what has been termed by the current author as a ‘pacified kingship’. This pacified kingship ensured that the heroic qualities of valour and martial prowess, so desired as essential in every conception of an ideal king came to be tempered with some of the more ordinary and ‘un-heroic’ qualities within the person of the fictitious Kalketu. Th...
Global Journal of Archaeology & Anthropology
Traditional historiography often identifies Aurangzeb as 'communal' or as a 'religious bigot' who... more Traditional historiography often identifies Aurangzeb as 'communal' or as a 'religious bigot' whose orthodox policies alienated large sections of Hindu community away from Mughal rule weakening the base of the Mughal empire in the subcontinent. This article emphasizes on the need to contextualize most of Aurangzeb's actions before he be labelled as communal or a bigot. This paper attempts to explore the politics behind many of Aurangzeb's most controversial actions like the levying of jizyah or the destruction of temples to show that most of Aurangzeb's policies were a response to the political exigencies encountered by him rather than being fueled by any quest for imposing a rigid Islamic order throughout the Mughal empire [1-3]. This article also focuses on several other aspects of Aurangzeb's reign, often ignored by the traditional historiography which clearly indicates Aurangzeb's willingness to conform to the model of rule laid down by Akbar which was based on a broad idea of tolerance and patronage to all religions.