Focus on new sources of medieval history
State, Society, and Culture in Indian History
By Satish Chandra, Oxford University Press.
Pages 191. Rs 650
Sunita Pathania

THE book State, Society, and Culture in Indian History by Satish Chandra is a collection of essays or addresses primarily written or delivered by the author in the last decade. As such the book reflects and synthesises issues and concerns in the medieval Indian historiography, weaving into the fabric recent researches on those concerns. The collection in its totality highlights the relationship between the state and society in medieval India keeping in mind the changes within their structure and functioning. Three distinct issues viz. social change, Mughals, and cultural traditions constitute the main themes of this collection.

The first part of the book has social change as its central core. In the first essay entitled Social and Attitudinal Change in Medieval India focuses on changes within the structure and functioning of the village society, its relationship with the towns and the significant growth of the role of merchants in relationship both with the state and villages, Satish Chandra concludes that the Mughal state was "moving in the direction of the mercantilist State". This aspect is also analysed in his essay, The Agrarian System of the Mughals and the Eighteenth Century. The growing power of the moneyed interests, especially commercial ones in Mughal India, has been emphasised by other scholars such as Burton Stein, Sanjay Subrahmanyam and Chris Bayly as well. Satish Chandra stresses that given the “elements of growth, mainly in the trade and manufacturing fields” it would no longer be appropriate to characterise the entire economy in the early eighteenth century India as stagnant.

State, Society, and Culture in Indian History By Satish Chandra, Oxford University Press. Pages 191. `650

The next three essays deal with the medieval state and nature of social and cultural interaction between the ruling class and the peoples of India as well as interaction at the grassroots level. State and society in Medieval India: Seen from Above and Below is an exploration in how the state was seen by different sections of society and how interaction among the Hindus and Muslims, from the fourteenth century onwards, led to a different understanding of relations between the two communities. State and Composite Culture in a Pluralistic Society is devoted to analysing the process of the emergence and growth of cultural harmony between the Hindus and Muslims during the medieval times. He argues that despite Aurangzeb's narrow vision, the cultural rapprochement between the two communities continued through the eighteenth century and lasted up to the nineteenth century, only to be ripped by competitive politics.

Part two of the book has the Mughals as its focus. Akbar and the Modern Indian Historiography analyses how Akbar has been perceived by Europeans as well as nationalist historians. Rana Pratap and Akbar exposes Akbar's attitude towards Pratap as “uncharacteristically” rigid and narrow. Hukumat-ri-Bahi and the Rathor War and Jagirdari Crisis: A Fresh Look discuss two significant issues of Aurangzeb's time, his Rajput policy and the Jagirdari crisis. In Reassessing Aurangzeb, the author emphasises that unlike earlier historiography, the recent researches portray Aurangzeb not as an orthodox fundamentalist whose narrow vision became one of the reasons for the downfall of the Empire. Rather he is viewed as representative of an old order which was “unable or unwilling to recognise much less face the stirrings and incipient growth of a new socio-economic system”.

The last section of the book takes up for discussion the cultural traditions in India. Rajasthan Varta Sahitya:A Historical Appraisal and Niti-Shatakas as a source of study for mentalities together draw our attention to literature as a source of study of social life and mentalities. Varta Sahitya of Rajasthan is used by the author as a source to explore the Rajput concepts of family honour and value system. For experts familiar with Satish Chandra's ideas and writings, the present collection of essays, to use the cliché, may be like an old wine in a new bottle. But for budding scholars having an interest in medieval Indian history, the book is a must read. It provides an insight into some of the most contentious issues and concerns in medieval Indian historiography. 

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