Naukar, Rajput, and Sepoy: The Ethnohistory of the Military Labour Market of Hindustan, 1450-1850This is a study of an aspect of the ethnohistory of North Indian peasant society: the importance of its military labor market for state and sect formation, for social change and for the energetic survival strategies of the village of Hindustan. It traces the history of the British Indian sepoy back to the fifteenth century, firmly rooting him in India's medieval past. It also shows that, from the anthropological point of view, it was not the hierarchically arranged castes, but rather the multiple alliances and fluid identities of the peasantry that were the central phenomena of North Indian politics and decision making. |
Other editions - View all
Naukar, Rajput and Sepoy: The Ethnohistory of the Military Labour Market in ... Dirk H.A. Kolff No preview available - 1990 |
Naukar, Rajput, and Sepoy: The Ethnohistory of the Military Labour Market of ... Dirk H. A. Kolff No preview available - 1990 |
Common terms and phrases
Abbas Abu-l Fazl Abul Afghan Agra agrarian Akbar's Akbarnāma alliance amirs amongst ascetic Aurangzeb Awadh Babur Bahadur Shah Baheliyas Bahlul Baksar Baksariyas became Bengal Army Bhojpur Bihar Bondili Brahmans brother Bundela Bundelkhand camp caste census century Chanderi Cheros chiefs clan commanders Datiya Dekkan Delhi district emperor empire Farid Gajpat Geleynssen genealogical Gujarat Gwalior Hardaul hindu Hindustan honour horse horsemen Ibid identity imperial Indian history infantry Jahangir jauhar Jaunpur jemadars Jujhar Singh Khan's king lakhs large number Lodi Madras Mahmud Malwa Maratha marriage medieval Medini Rai Mewar military labour market Mughal empire muslim naukari Nizamuddin North Indian Nuhani Orchha Orchha Gazetteer parganas peasant peasantry perhaps political Puran Purbiya Raisen raja Rajasthan Rajput recruitment region reign role Sasaram seems sepoys Shah's Shahjahan Sher Khan Sher Shah Sher Shah Sur Silhadi Singh Deo soldiers song sultan Tabaqāt Tārikh tradition treasure troops Ujjainiya village warlords yuva rāja zamindārs