Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Kultur-, Sozial- und Bildungswissenschaftliche Fakultät - Institut für Asien- und Afrikawissenschaften

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin | Kultur-, Sozial- und Bildungswissenschaftliche Fakultät | Institut für Asien- und Afrikawissenschaften | Regionale Fachbereiche | Seminar für Südasienstudien | 16.01. 15th HIP Lecture: Submissive Subjects or Master Manipulators? – Rajput Historiography on the West Himalayan Borderland

16.01. 15th HIP Lecture: Submissive Subjects or Master Manipulators? – Rajput Historiography on the West Himalayan Borderland

Historiography, Geschichtsschreibung, Rajputen, India, Indien, Rajasthan
  • Wann 16.01.2020 von 10:00 bis 12:00
  • Wo IAAW, Seminar für Südasienstudien, Raum 217
  • iCal

15th HIP Lecture 16–01–2020.jpgEINLADUNG zur / INVITATION to the 

15th Humboldt India Project LECTURE

 

 

Submissive Subjects or Master Manipulators? –
Rajput Historiography on the West Himalayan Borderland

 

Histories of Himachal Pradesh invariably depict the premodern past as the idyllic preserve of pristine Hindu kingdoms. However, archival records dating to the early colonial encounter (c. 1815-45) indicate that this 'traditionalist' view was born from the markedly prosaic attempts of recently conquered ruling families to retain political relevance in an era of rapid political transformations. As the mores and practices of local elites collided with imperial agendas, ad hoc responses to discrete situations became interpreted as 'traditions' that were to define the 'Rajput State' with the consolidation of colonial knowledge in the Age of Empire (c. 1870-1920). The talk shall explore the reflection of these processes in male-centred historical narratives from the hills, their contrast with the factual dominance of Rajput women (Rajputnis) in politics, and the long-term effects these readings have had on the theorization of Indian history to date. 

 

Arik Moran received his doctorate from the University of Oxford in 2010, and is a member of the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Haifa since 2011. He studies the oral and written histories and ritual cultures of the Indian Western Himalaya.