Agrarian History of South East Asia

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Bibliographic Essay1

Ideas About Agrarian History

Understandings of the agrarian past have been most heavily imprinted with ideas that

developed in policy debates and in the disciplines of political economy, whose histories have been

well studied. For the Company period, the most useful monographs are S.Ambirajan, Classical

Political Economy and British Policy in India Cambridge! 1"#$%, &anajit 'uha, A Rule of

Property for Bengal (aris! 1"#)%, *urton Stein, Thomas Munro: The Origins of the Colonial

State and is !ision of Empire +elhi! 1"$"%, and ric Sto-es, The English "tilitarians and

India /ford! 1"0"%. n the later &aj, see .C. *hutani, The Apotheosis of Imperialism: Indian

#and Economy "nder Cur$on 2ew +elhi! 1"3#%, Sunil 4umar Sen, Studies in economic policy

and de%elopment of India& '()(*'+,+ Calcutta! 1"35%, and especially *.&.6omlinson, The

Political Economy of the Ra-& '+')*'+).: The Economics of /ecoloni$ation 2ew 7or-! 1"3"%.

n nationalist thought, the foundational wor- is *ipan Chandra, The Rise and 0ro1th of

Economic 2ationalism in India: Economic Policies of the Indian 2ational #eadership& '((3*

'+34 2ew +elhi! 1"##%, now supplemented *ipan Chandra8s editing of 9.'.&anade, Ranade5s

economic 1ritings 2ew +elhi! 1"":%. For the evolution of post;1"0:s official thought, see A.9.


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ideas! good insights into agrarian issues appear in Boseph Spengler, Indian economic thought& a

preface to its history +urham! 1"31% and Ajit 4. +asgupta, A istory of Indian Economic

Thought ondon! 1"")%. 6he intellectual history of political economy in South Asia also includes

social and cultural thought that is not covered in histories of economics. &adha-amal 9u-erjee,

for e/ample, is typically assigned to sociology though his degree was in economics and he served

as (rofessor and ead of the +epartment of conomics and Sociology at uc-now Unviversity

for thirty;one years. See &.9.oomba and '.&.9adan, Society and Culture 9In honour of #ate

/rRadha;amal Mu;er-ee Ahmedabad! 1"$3%. is cultural approach has many variants and

offshoots. 4usum 2air is perhaps the most consistently cultural theorist of agrarian political

economy in the age of the green revolution! see Blossoms in the /ust ondon! 1"#1%, The

#onely 6urro1 +elhi! 1"#"%, In /efense of the Irrational Peasant: Indian Agriculture After the

0reen Re%olution Chicago 1"3"%, and Transforming Traditionally: #and and #a


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entitled O>ford in India Readings: Themes in Indian istory, from /ford University (ress,

+elhi! see especially the volumes edited by Sugata *ose, Credit mar;ets and the agrarian

economy of colonial India +elhi! 1""%, Sumit 'uha & 0ro1th& stagnation& or decline?

agricultural producti%ity in British India +elhi! 1""5%, +avid ardiman & Peasant resistance in

India& '(4(*'+') +elhi! 1""5%, +avid udden, Agricultural Production and Indian istory

+elhi! 1""%, 'yan (ra-ash, The 7orld of the rural la


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transitions! Material Culture and Social 6ormations in Ancient India +elhi! 1"$)%, Perspecti%es

in Social and Economic istory of Early India 2ew +elhi! 1"$)%, Indian 6eudalism +elhi!

1"$:%, and Origin of the State in India *ombay! 1"$"%. ?rfan abib, his students, and his

colleagues at Aligarh 9uslim University are the central intellectual force in 9ughal history. is

scholarship covers the second millennium and he is the central figure in debates about agrarian

political economy during the early modern period. See The Agrarian System of Mughal India

9'44@*'.3. *ombay! 1"#) & An Atlas of Mughal Empire: Political and Economic Maps 1ith

2otes& Bi +elhi! 1"$5%, Interpreting Indian istory Shillong! 1"$$%, and

Essays in Indian istory: To1ards a Mar>ist Perception +elhi! 1""0%.

Southern regions of medieval history have a distinctive literature, which is more centred

on the social networ-s and on centres of power and authority that form agrarian territory.

&.A... 'unawardana, Ro


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carries ?rfan abib8s mode of class analysis into the twentieth century. See his Modern India

2ew +elhi! 1"31, 1"3#%, 2ationalism and colonialism in modern India 2ew +elhi! 1"3"%,

India5s struggle for independence& '(4.*'+). 2ew +elhi! 1"$$%, Essays on contemporary India

2ew +elhi! 1"")%, and Essays on Indian nationalism 2ew +elhi! 1"")%. *inay *hushan

Chaudhuri is a historian of *engal (residency who e/emplifies scholarly wor- on linguistic

regions that combines economic, social and political history, and describes systems and trends of

commercial production. See The 0ro1th of Commercial Agriculture in Bengal Calcutta! 1"#%,

GAgricultural (roduction in *engal, 1$0:;1"::! Coe/istence of +ecline and 'rowth,G Bengal

Past and Present $$, 1"#"! 105;5:#%, G6he Story of a (easant &evolt in a *engal +istrict,G

Bengal Past and Present "5, 5, 1"3)! 55:;3$%, G6he (rocess of +epeasanti=ation in *engal and

*ihar, 1$$0;1"3,G Indian istorical Re%ie1 51, 1, 1"30! 1:0;#0%, G6he and 9ar-et in astern

?ndia, 13");1":, part ?! 6he 9ovement of and (rices, and part ??! the Changing Composition

of anded Society,G Indian Economic and Social istory Re%ie1 15, 1 H 5, 1"3#! 1;5, 1));

#3%, G9ovement of &ent in astern ?ndia, 13");1"):.G Indian istorical Re%ie1 ), 5, 1"33!

):$;":%, G6ribal Society in 6ransition! astern ?ndia 1303;1"5:G in 9ushirul asan and 2arayani

'upta editors% India5s colonial encounter: essays in memory of Eric Sto;es 2ew +elhi, 1"")!

#0;15:% and G6he (rocess of Agricultural Commercialisation in astern ?ndia +uring *ritish &ule!

A &econsideration of the 2ations of IForced CommercialisationI and I+ependent (easantryI,G in

(eter &obb editor%, Meanings in Agriculture: Essays in South Asian istory and Economics

2ew +elhi, 1""#! 31;"1%. A.&.+esai is a sociologist who has pioneered studies of changing

social structure and attendant agrarian conflict and peasant struggles, from the nineteenth century

to the present! see The Social Bac;ground of Indian 2ationalism *ombay! 1"$% and his edited

volumes, Rural Sociology in India *ombay! 1"#1%, Peasant Struggles in India +elhi! 1"3",

1"$1, 1"$0% and Agrarian Struggles in India After Independence +elhi! 1"$#%. &anajit 'uha

0#


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has led the movement of Subaltern Studies into the realm of power and resistance in everyday life!

see Elementary Aspect of Peasant Insurgency in Colonial India +elhi! 1"$)%, the si/ volumes of

Su


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1"3"%E Alice Clar-, 0ender and Political Economy: E>plorations of South Asian Systems +elhi!

1"")%E +esai, &udolph, and &udra, Agrarian Po1er and Agricultural Producti%ity in South AsiaE

Clive +ewey and A.'.op-ins, The Imperial Impact: Studies in the Economic istory of Africa

and India ondon! 1"3$%E 6im +yson, India5s istorical /emography: Studies in 6amine&

/isease& and Society, Destwood! 1"$"%E Francine &.Fran-el and 9.S.A. &ao, /ominance and

State Po1er in Modern India: /ecline of a Social Order , 5 volumes +elhi! 1"$", 1"")%E &..

Fry-enberg, #and Control and Social Structure in Indian istory 9adison! 1"#"% and #and

Tenure and Peasant in South Asia 2ew +elhi! 1"33%E 4athleen 'ough and ari (. Sharma,

Imperialism and Re%olution in South Asia 2ew 7or-! 1"3)%E 9ushirul asan and 2arayani

'upta editors% India5s colonial encounter: essays in memory of Eric Sto;es 2ew +elhi! 1"")%E

+ouglas aynes and 'yan (ra-ash, Contesting Po1er: Resistance and E%eryday Social

Relations in South Asia 9 +elhi! 1""1%E 4apil 4umar, Congress and Classes: 2ationalism&

7or;ers and Peasants 2ew +elhi! 1"$$%E 9orris +. 9orris and others, Indian Economy in the

2ineteenth Century& a Symposium 2ew +elhi! 1"#"%E Utsa (atnai- and 9anjari +ingwaney,

Chains of Ser%itude: Bondage and Sla%ery in India +elhi! 1"$0%E 6apan &aychaudhuri and ?rfan

abib, The Cam


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authors in the volumes of Su


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6hree boo-s present the basic data! Boseph . Schwart=berg, istorical Atlas of South

Asia Chicago! 1"3$%, ..4. Spate and A. 6. A.earmonth. India and Pa;istan: A 0eneral and

Regional 0eography ondon! 1"#3%, and +aniel 6horner, Ecological and Agrarian Regions of

South Asia Circa '+,3 4arachi! 1""#%. ther useful volumes that cover South Asia and a range

of interconnected agrarian themes are &oland B;.*reton, Atlas of the #anguages and Ethnic

Communities of South Asia 2ew +elhi! 1""3%, Asho- 4. +utt and 9. 9argaret 'eib, Atlas of

South Asia& 6ully Annotated *oulder! 1"$3%, &.u-e and . u-e, Rice*7heat Atlas of South

Asia os *anos! 1""5%, and 'ordon Bohnson, Cultural atlas of India& Pa;istan& 2epal& Bhutan&

Bangladesh D Sri #an;a 2ew 7or-! 1""#%.

9ore speciali=ed volumes cover regions. For *angladesh, see 2afis Ahmad, A 2e1

Economic 0eography of Bangladesh 2ew +elhi! 1"3#% and aroun &ashid, 0eography of

Bangladesh +ha-a! 1"33%. S.(.Chatterjee, Bengal in Maps: A 0eographical Analysis of

Resource /istri


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of Agriculture, Agricultural Atlas of India +elhi! 1"31%E (.C.(atil, The Crops of the Bomt *oston!1"$%.

Approaches to Agriculture

9ost literature on farming is technically narrowed by disciplines and policy debates. lder

literature is more descriptive and also evo-es the intricate history of agrarian discourse. See

especially arold . 9ann, #and and #a


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Pro%inces& Re%ised "p to '+'' Allahabad! 1"1)%E and C.D.*.


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+evelopment is the most broadly integrative theme. Studies always treat technology and

productivity and usually attend to Juestions about the rise and evolution of capitalism. A small

portion of wor- describes farming in its local environment, primarily to argue against paradigms

that promote aggregate generali=ations. /plorations of the particularity of agriculture and of

particular agrarian environments generate the best agrarian history. ?n this vein, Susan 9ann,

Agrarian Capitalism in Theory and Practice Chapel ill! 1"":% argues that farming is

fundamentally different from industry as a capitalist enterprise. A..Chayanov argued that peasant

family farms thrive in a mar-et economies without being torn into classes, as 9ar/ and enin

described, or being turned into family businesses, as neo;classical theorists assume! see Ale-sandr

asilevich Chayanov, The theory of peasant economy, edited by +aniel 6horner, *asile 4erblay

and &..F. Smith omewood! 1"##% and also .+urrenberger, editor, Chayano%& peasants& and

economic anthropology 2ew 7or- ! Academic (ress, 1"$%. (utting 9ar/8s ideas into specific

agrarian settings enables scholars to theori=e a diversity of modern agrarian transformations. See

particularly Asho- &udra, Political economy of Indian agriculture Calcutta! 1""5%E G(re;

Capitalist 9odes of (roduction in 2on;uropean Societies.G The =ournal of Peasant Studies 10,

), 1"$$! )3);"E Gocal (ower and Farm;evel +ecision 9a-ing,G in +esai, &udolph, and &udra,

Agrarian Po1er and Agricultural Producti%ity, pp. 501;$:E Agrarian relations in 7est Bengal:

results of t1o sur%eys *ombay! 1"$)%E Indian agricultural economics: myths and realities 2ew

+elhi! 1"$5%E Studies in the de%elopment of capitalism in India ahore! 1"3$%E and with (ranab

*ardhan%, On the interlin;age of land& la


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intelligentsia has emerged as a member of the ruling class coalition in ?ndia, the other two classes

being the big industrial capitalists and big land owners.@

6he state is always lur-ing in development studies. A useful approach locates the state in

comple/ entanglements with society. See Boel 9igdal, Atul 4ohli, and ivienne Shue, editors,

State po1er and social forces: /omination and transformation in the Third 7orld Cambridge!

1""%. ? have also been influenced by the model of dispersed state institutions and powers

presented by 6im 9itchell in his article, >6he imits of the State! *eyond Statist Approaches and

6heir Critics,> American Political Science Re%ie1 $0, 1, 1""1!33;"#. Amartya 4. Sen8s

entitlement approach in Po%erty and 6amine: An Essay in Entitlement and /epri%ation 2ew

7or-! 1"$1% provides a good way to connect mar-ets, states, and social power in agriculture.

cological approaches to agriculture and development regimes are critical. ?n

development studies, wheat;rice farming =ones have attracted attention to environments within

which state;farmer interactions occur. See &amesh Chand and 6. aJue. GSustainability of &ice;

Dheat Crop System in ?ndo;'angetic &egion,G Economic and Political 7ee;ly )5, 1), 1""3!

A5#;):E and &.S.(aroda, &. S. 6erence Doodhead and &. *. Singh. Sustaina


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of South Asia 9 +ehli! 1""0%. For technical -nowledge on ecologies of farming, ? recommend the

publications of the ?nternational Crop &esearch ?nstitute for the Semi;Arid 6ropics ?C&?SA6%,

?nternational &ice &esearch ?nstitute ?&&?%, and Centre for Science and nvironment +elhi%.

Dorld *an- 6echnical (apers are often good, such as 2o.551, Conser%ing Soil Moisture and

6ertility in the 7arm Seasonally /ry Tropics, by Bitendra (. Srivastava et al. 1"")%. iterature

on sustainability is essential, and see especially 4arti- C. &oy, &aj 4umar Sen, Clement A. 6isdell,

editors, En%ironment and sustaina in Beanne.L.4asperson, &oger .

4asperson, and *..6urner ??., editors, Regions at Ris;: Comparisons of threatened

en%ironments 6o-yo 1""0! 1:;1$0%.

6here is some research on cultural aspects of farming but we need much more. Sita-ant

9ahapatra, Moderni$ation and Ritual: Identity and Change in Santal Society Calcutta! 1"$#% is

an ethnographic account of ritual in farm life. Amita *avis-ar e/tends this model brilliantly into

the realm of politics! In the Belly of the Ri%er: Tri


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land use, ecology, and cultureE and the ?nstitut Francais de (ondichery has sponsored a number of

projects! see 9.A.4alam, Sacred 0ro%es in odagu /istrict of arnata;a 9South India: A

Socio*historical Study (ondichery! 1""#%.

&econstructing past agrarian environments is not a major activity among historians of

South Asia. De have no 9arc *loch, 'eorge +uby, or eroy adurieE and local history is not a

professional speciality in South Asia, as it is in *ritain. 7et in the same way that southern France

and the southern US have inspired agrarian literature that reflects their own cultural heritage, so

has *engal. 6amil 2adu, (unjab, and 9aharashtra are well served by agrarian historians, but not

nearly so well as the old *engal (residency, whose intelligentsia has demonstrated a pronounced

rural orientation going bac- to the days of &omesh Chrandra.+utt, &abindranath 6agore, and

&adha-amal 9u-erjee. Agrarian *engal has its own e/cellent volume in the 2e1 Cam


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editor% Meanings of Agriculture, pp. "5;1)1. A new cluster of research is also emerging at the

intersecting histories of tribal societies, forest environments, and state development policy! see

9ar- (offenberger, >6he &esurgence of Community Forest 9anagement in the Bungle 9ahals of

Dest *engal,@ in Arnold, +avid and &amachandra 'uha, editors, 2ature& Culture& Imperialism

+elhi, 1""0! ))#;#"% E 4.Sivarama-rishnan, >A imited Forest Conservancy in Southwest

*engal, 1$#;1"15,@ =ournal of Asian Studies, 0#, 1, 1""3! 30;115, and >Forests, (olitics, and

'overnance in *engal, 13";1"",@ (h+ +issertation, 7ale University, 1""3 forthcoming from

/ford Unversity (ress, +elhi%. 6he only compilation of local studies within a region of South

Asia is Shapan Adnan, Annotation of !illage Studies in Bangladesh and 7est Bengal: A Re%ie1

of Socio*Economic Trends o%er '+)*(( 4otbari Comilla, 1"":%.

Long-term Perspectives

Among short surveys, now the best is *urton Stein, A istory of India /ford! 1""$%,

which also has e/cellent maps. &omila 6hapar, A istory of India 2ew 7or-! 1"3$% is still

valuable, and so is ermann 4ul-e and +ietmar &othermund, A istory of India 2ew +elhi!

1"$3%. For prehistoric ecology, see Ecological


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'opal, editors, Tradition& /issent& and Ideology: Essays in onour of Romila Thapar +elhi!

1""#%E 6apan &aychaudhuri and ?rfan abib, editors, The Cam


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possibilities! see Bean Francois &evel, Culture and cuisine: a -ourney through the history of food ,

translated from the French by elen &. ane 2ew 7or-! 1"$% and Amy *. 6rube-, >6he empire

of the senses ! French haute cuisine and the rise of the modern culinary profession, 1$3:;1"1:@

University of (ennsylvania dissertation! 1""0%. For South Asia, the most useful study is

4.6.Achaya, Indian food: a historical companion +elhi! 1""%. See also Ceturamalin-am

2amacivayam, Tamilar una%u Chennai! 1"$1%, for 6amil 2adu, and also m (ra-ash & 6ood and

drin;s in ancient India& from earliest times to c '33 A/. +elhi! 1"#1%. 9.S.&andawa,

istory of Agriculture has lots of information on the introduction of new crops. 6he most

important monograph that we have now e/plores the broader meanings of food in agrarian

cultures! Francis pansion: The 6orming of a 0lo6he Silent Frontier of South Asia, c.A.+. 11;1$::,@ =ournal of

7orld istory, ", 1, 1""$! 1;5), and >6he urasian Frontier After the First 9illennium A.+.!

&eflections along the Fringe of 6ime and Space,@ The Medie%al istory =ournal , 1, 1, 1""$! 150;

0EAndre Din-, Al*ind: The Ma;ing of the Indo*Islamic 7orld eiden! 1"":%E iu Linru,

Ancient India and Ancient China: Trade and Religious E>changes& A/ '*@33. +elhi! 1"$$E and

#"


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4i-oichi 7ajima, G9aritime Activities of Arab 'ulf (eople and the ?ndian cean Dorld in the 11th

and 15th Centuries,G =ournal of Asian and African Studies 1 1"33%! 1"0;5:$.

n pastoralism, the most important reading is in the special issue of Studies in istory 3,

5, 1""1% edited by Shereen &atnagar. awrence eshni- and 'Nnther;+iet= Sontheimer, editors,

Pastoralists and nomads in South Asia Deissbaden! 1"30% is still valuableE and the most

insightful monograph is surely 'unther;+iet= Sontheimer, Pastoral /eities in 7estern India

+elhi! 1"$"%, which covers much more than religion. 'ood wor- to consult includes 9ichael

B.Casimir, 6loc;s and food: a


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9..4apur, A istory of Medie%al ashmir& ',3*'4(@ A/ Bammu! 1"31%, 4rishna 9ohan,

Early medie%al history of ashmir: 1ith special reference to the #oharas& A/ '33,*''.' 2ew

+elhi! 1"$1%, and 4.S. Sa/ena, Political istory of ashimir& BC,33 * A/'33 Upper ?ndia!

1"3%. n 2epal, ? -now only +.&.&egmi, Medie%al 2epal Calcutta! 1"#0;1"##% and Ancient

2epal Calcutta! 1"#"%. n rissa, we have more! see *.S.+as, Studies in the Economic

istory of Orissa 6rom Ancient Times to '(,, Calcutta! 1"3$%, 4ailash Chandra +ash, #egend&

history& and culture of India: pansion of Aryan Culture in Eastern India ?mphal!

1"#$%, *arrie 9orrison, Political Centers and Cultural Regions in Early Bengal 6ucson! 1"3:%,

9.A. &ahim, Social and Cultural istory of Bengal& '3'*'4.@ 4arachi! 1"#)%, 9.6arafdar,

usain Shahi Bengal& ')+)*'4,( A/: a Socio*Political Study +acca! 1"#0% and Trade&

Technology& and Society in Medie%al Bengal +ha-a! 1""0%. 6he e/pansive borderlands of

*engal and its mountain surroundings are not adeJuately covered in the above;cited literature,

however. A place to begin their e/ploration is with Surajit Sinha, editor, Tri


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Systems in Precolonial Eastern and 2orth Eastern India, Calcutta, 1"$3%, which is a real gold

mine.

n &ajasthan, &ajputs, and &ajputisation, see 9.S.Ahluwalia, Muslim E>pansion in

Ra-asthan: The Relations of /elhi Sultanate 7ith Ra-asthan& '3@*'4@ +elhi! 1"3$%,

B.2.Asopa, Origin of the Ra-puts +elhi! 1"3#%E *.+.Chattopadhyaya, >rigin of the &ajputs! 6he

(olitical, conomic and Social (rocesses in arly 9edieval &ajasthan,@ Indian istorical Re%ie1,

), 1, Buly 1"3#!0";$5, and >?rrigation in early medieval &ajasthan, =ournal of the Economic and

Social istory of the Orient 1#, 5;), 1"3)! 5"$;)1#%E &ichard Fo/, in& Clan& Ra-a and Rule

*er-eley! 1"31%E Satya (ra-ash 'upta, The agrarian system of eastern Ra-asthan& c '@43*c

'.43 +elhi! 1"$#% and Mughal documents: taHsim c '@)+*c '(33 Baipur! 1""#%E +.Sharma,

Early Chauhan /ynasties: a Study of Chauhan Political istory& Chauhan Political Institutions&

and #ife in the Chauhan /ominions& 6rom (33 to ','@ A/ +elhi! 1"30% and #ectures on

Ra-put istory and Culture +elhi! 1"3:%E '.C.Sharma, Administrati%e System of the Ra-puts

2ew +elhi! 1"3"%E '.+.Sharma, Ra-put Polity: A Study of Politics and Administration of the

State of Mar1ar& '@,(*'.)+ 2ew +elhi! 1"33%E '.2.Sharma, Social #ife in Medie%al

Ra-asthan& '433*'(33 A/& 7ith Special Reference to the Impact of Mughal Influence Agra!

1"#$%E +ilbagh Singh, The State& landlords& and peasants: Ra-asthan in the eighteenth century

2ew +elhi! 1"":%E &.*.Singh, Origin of the Ra-puts 'ora-hpur! 1"30%E Surajit Sinha, GState

Formation and &ajput 9yth in 6ribal Central ?ndiaG in 4ul-e, The State in India& '33*'.33,

pp.):;5E and 2.


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study, but 9aratha records have sustained many good boo-s. See especially &.A.Alavi, Studies

in istory of the Medie%al /eccan 2ew +elhi! 1"33%, +.4.+he-ane, Agrarian system under

Marathas *ombay! 1""#%, iroshi Fu-a=awa, The Medie%al /eccan: Peasants& Social Systems

and States 9'433*'.33 2ew +elhi! 1""1%, Stewart 'ordon, The Marathas '@33*'('( 2ew

+elhi! 1"")% and Marathas& marauders& and state formation in eighteenth*century India /ford!

1""%E A.&. 4ul-arni, Maharashtra in the Age of Shi%a-i (oona! 1"#"%, A.&.4ul-arni, 9. A.

2ayeem and 6. &. de Sou=a, editors, Mediae%al /eccan istory: Commemoration !olume in

onour of Purshottam Mahadeo =oshi *ombay! 1""#%E 6.6. 9ahajan, Aspects of agrarian and

ur


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northern India from the se%enth to the t1elfth century *ombay! 1"":%, 2arendra 2ath 4her,

Agrarian and fiscal economy in the Mauryan and post Mauryan age 9circa ,) BC*,3 A/

+elhi! 1"3)%, A.&.4han, Chieftains in the Mughal Empire /uring the Reign of A;


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For the peninsula, the most important studies are .*. Alayev, Socio*Economic Structure

of Southern India in the '4th and '@th Centuries 9oscow! 1"#)%, A.Appadorai, Economic

Conditions in South India 9'333*'433 A/ 2ew 7or-! 1"$1%, *.2.Chaturvedi, G6he rigin and

+evelopment of 6an- ?rrigation in (eninsular ?ndia.G /eccan 0eographer #, 5, 1"#$! 03;$#E

2icholas *. +ir-s, The ollo1 Cro1n:Ethnohistory of an Indian ingdom Ann Arbor! 1"")%,

4enneth &. all, Trade and Statecraft in the Age of the Cholas 2ew +elhi! 1"$:%,

*.S..anumantha &ao, Socio*Cultural istory of Ancient and Medie%al Andhra yderabad!

1""0%, 4. Bayasree, Agrarian economy in Andhra under !i-ayanagar 2ew +elhi! 1""1%,

A.(.?brahim 4unju, Studies in Medie%al erala istory 6rivandrum! 1"30%, 2oboru 4arashima,

To1ards a 2e1 6ormation: South Indian Society "nder !i-ayanagar Rule +elhi! 1""5%,

A.4rishnaswami, The Tamil Country "nder !i-ayanagar Annamalainagar! 1"#%, +avid udden,

Peasant istory in South India (rinceton! 1"$0%, 6..9ahalingam, South Indian Polity

9adras! 1"00%E 9.'.S. 2arayanan, Reinterpretations of South Indian istory 6rivandrum!

1"3#%, 4.A.2ila-anta Sastri, The Cholas 9adras! 1"00%, 4.S.Shivanna, The Agrarian System of

arnata;a 9',,@*'.@' 9ysore! 1""5% and A CritiHue of oysala Polity 9ysore! 1"$$%E

4.Sundaram, Studies in Economic and Social Conditions of Medie%al Andhra 9'333*'@33

9adras! 1"#$%, 4.'. asantha 9adhava, 4. '. 7estern arnata;a& its agrarian relations& '433*

'(33 A/.2ew +elhi! 1""1%, 4esavan eluthat, Brahman Settlements in erala: istorical

Studies Calicut! 1"3$% and The Political Structure of Early Medie%al South India 2ew +elhi!

1"")%E A..en-ata &atnam, #ocal 0o%ernment in the !i-ayanagar Empire 9ysore! 1"35%, and

&.6irumalai, #and grants and agrarian reactions in Chola and Pandya times 9adras! 1"$3%.

6emples have their own literature, mostly for the peninsula, with the notable e/ception of

itesranjan Sanyal, >Social Aspects of 6emple *uilding in *engal! 1#:: to 1":: A.+.,@ Man in

India, $, 1"#$! 5:5;55. For a general model of temple operations, see Carol A. *rec-enridge

30


25/48

and Arjun Appadurai. G6he South ?ndian 6emple! &edistribution, onor and Authority,G

Contri


26/48

+elhi! 1"$3%, and editor and translator% GAurang=ebIs Farman to &asidas on (roblems of

&evenue Administration, 1##0,G in abib, editor, Medie%al India 1""5% pp 1"$;5:$E 6apan

&aychaudhuri, G6he 9ughal mpire,G in The Cam


27/48

Current approaches to early modernity in South Asia have emerged from the connected

histories of overseas trade, inland economies, agrarian societies, and regional polities, as studies

of the eighteenth century have forced a reconsideration of transitions between 9ughal and *ritish

periods. For trends in historiography, see Athar Ali, G6he ighteenth Century ;; An

?nterpretation.G Indian istorical Re%ie1 0, 1, 1"3$! 130;$#, and G&ecent 6heories of ighteenth

Century ?ndia,G Indian istorical Re%ie1 1), 1;5, 1"$#;1"$3! 1:5;$E ?rfan abib, Interpreting

Indian istory Shillong! 1"$$%E and Sugata *ose, South Asia And 7orld Capitalism 9. Athar

Ali gives a good account of the inland geography of early modern South Asia in his G(olitical

Structures of the ?slamic rient in the Si/teenth and Seventeenth Centuries,G in abib, Medie%al

India, pp.15";:E and for a wider view, see +avid udden, Gistory utside Civilisation and the

9obility of Southern Asia,G South Asia 13, 1, Bune 1"", 1;5). For an Asian perspective, see

Emporia& commodities& and entrepreneurs in Asian maritime trade& C ')33*'.43, edited by

&oderich (ta- and +ietmar &othermund Stuttgart! 1""1%. For a global view, see Alan Smith,

Creating a 7orld Economy: Merchant Capital& Colonialism and 7orld Trade& ')33*'(4

*oulder! 1""1%

9ost wor- on early modernity concerns connections between world trade and the agrarian

interior. 6he lin-ages between overseas traders and port city hinterlands are best documented,

which imparts a distinctive historical identity to the coastal regions. See Sinnappah Arasaratnam,

Indians in Malaysia and Singapore 4uala umpur! 1"3"%, Merchants& companies and

commerce on the Coromandel coast& '@43*'.)3 +elhi! 1"$#%, Ceylon and the /utch& '@33*

'(33: e>ternal influences and internal change in early modern Sri #an;a *roo-field! 1""#%,

Maritime India in the se%enteenth century +elhi! 1""%, Maritime trade& society and European

influence in South Asia& '@33*'(33 *roo-field! 1""0%, and Masulipatnam and Cam


28/48

and the decline of Surat: c '.33*'.43 Diesbaden! 1"33% and Merchants of maritime India&

'433*'(33 *roo-field! 1""%E Ashin +as 'upta and 9.2. (earson, editors, India and the

Indian Ocean: '433*'(33 Calcutta! 1"$3%E ?ndu *anga, editor, Ports and their hinterlands in

India& '.33*'+43 2ew +elhi! 1""5%E and Sanjay Subrahmanyam, The Political Economy of

Commerce: Southern India '433*'@43 Cambridge! 1"":%, and G&ural ?ndustry and Commercial

Agriculture in ate 13th Century South astern ?ndia,G Past and Present 15#, 1"":! 3#;11. n

the overland trade, Stephen F. +ale, Indian Merchants and Eurasian Trade& '@33*'.43

Cambridge! 1""%.

2etwor-s connecting agrarian regions with the world economy over centuries before 1$::

are e/plored in *as-arjyoti *asu, G6he 6rading Dorld of the Southern Coromandel and the Crisis

of the 13):s,@ in Proceedings of the Indian istorical Congress& '+(', ))5;)"E Stephen (. *la-e,

G6he Urban conomy in (remodern 9uslim ?ndia! Shahjahanabad, 1#)";13)".G Modern Asian

Studies 51, ), 1"$3! 3;35E &.Champa-ala-shmi, Trade& ideology& and ur


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*ac-wardness in the ighteenth Century! Dages and Competitiveness in *ritain and South ?ndia

*efore the ?ndustrial &evolution, Past and Present , 1""3E Bohn &. &ichards, editor, Precious

Metals in the #ater Medie%al and Early Modern 7orlds +urham! 1"$)%E Sanjay Subrahmanyam,

editor, Merchants& Mar;ets& and the State in Early Modern India +elhi! 1"":%E Sanjay

Subrahmanyam and C. A. *ayly. G(ortfolio Capitalists and the (olitical conomy of arly 9odern

?ndia,G The Indian Economic and Social istory Re%ie1 50, , 1"$$! :1;5E and ?mmanuel

Dallerstein, The Modern 7orld*System IIIF The Second Era of 0reat E>pansion of the Capitalist

7orld *Economy& '.,3*'()3s San +iego! 1"$"%.

&egional histories tend to focus on political territory, but some also indicate the

comple/ity of lin-ages between the agrarian interior and the world economy. *ernard S. Cohn

provides a good framewor- for regional history in three essays that are reprinted in An

Anthropologist among the istorians and Other Essays +elhi! 1"":%! >2ewor-s and Centres in

the ?ntegration of ?ndian Civili=ation@ pp.3$;$3%, >&egions Subjective and bjective! 6heir

&elation to the Study of 9odern ?ndian istory and Society@ pp.1::;1)#%, and >(olitical

Systems in ighteenth;Century ?ndia! 6he *enares &egion pp.$);0::%.

?mportant regional histories, which substantiate early modern conditions, include the

studies of &ajasthan, cited aboveE ?ndu *anga, Agrarian System of the Si;hs: #ate '(th and Early

'+th Century 2ew +elhi! 1"3$%E asant 4umar *awa. The 2i$am Bet1een Mughals and British:

ydera


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(athan-ot! 1"31%E Sushil Chaudhuri, Trade and Commercial Organi$ation in Bengal& '@43*'.3

Calcutta! 1"30%E A.?. Chicherov, Indian Economic /e%elopment in the '@th*'(th Centuries: An

Outline istory of Crafts and Trade 9oscow! 1"31%E 9.. 'opal, Tipu Sultan5s Mysore: an

Economic Study *ombay! 1"31%E S. 'opal, Commerce and Crafts in 0u-arat& '@th and '.th

CenturiesF A Study in the Impact of European E>pansion of Precapitalist Economy 2ew +elhi!

1"30%E 4enneth &. all, G(easant State and Society in Chola 6imes! A iew From the

6iruvidaimarudur Urban Comple/.G The Indian Economic and Social istory Re%ie1 1$, no. );

1"$1%! ));1:, and G(rice;9a-ing and 9ar-et ierarchy in arly 9edieval South ?ndia

P1"33Q,G in Subrahmanyam, Money and the Mar;et in India, pp.03;$%E A.(. ?brahim 4unju, Rise

of Tra%ancore: a Study of the #ife and Times of Martanda !arma 6rivandrum! 1"3#%E 4aren

eonard, G6he I'reat;FirmI 6heory of the +ecline of the 9ughal mpire,G in Comparati%e

Studies in Society and istory 51, 5, 1"3"! 101;#3, and G6he yderabad (olitical System and ?ts

(articipants.G =ournal of Asian Studies ):, ), 1"31! 0#";$5E &. 9ishra, istory of Purnea& '.*

'.+, Calcutta! 1"3$%, S.'. 9ishra, istory of Bihar& '.)3*'.. 2ew +elhi! 1"3:%E

9.2.(earson, Merchant and Rulers in 0u-arat: The Response to the Portugese in the '@th C

*er-eley! 1"3#%, A.B. Maisar, The Indian Response to European Technology and Culture& 9A/

')+(*'.3. +elhi! 1"$5%E and eena Sachdeva, Polity and Economy of the Pun-a< /uring the

#ate Eighteenth Century 2ew +elhi! 1"")%.

(re;modern urbanism has its own literature. 6o begin, ? recommend *rajadulal

Chattopadhyaya, GUrban Centers in arly 9edieval ?ndia! An verview,G in *hattacharya and

6hapar, Situating Indian istory, pp.$;)). For case studies, see 4enneth *allhatchet and Bohn

arrison, editors, The City in South Asia: Premodern and Modern ondon! 1"$:%E ?ndu *anga,

editor, The City in Indian history: ur


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Fry-enberg, editor, /elhi through the ages: essays in ur


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/periments,G Calcutta istorical =ournal , 13, 5, 1""0, 1;1$E Grientalist mpiricism and

6ransformations of Colonial 4nowledge, in *rec-enridge and van der eer, Orientalism and The

Post*Colonial Predicament , pp.50:;3$E G?ndiaIs +evelopment &egime,G in +ir-s, Colonialism

and Culture, pp.53;$3E GDorld conomy and illage ?ndia, 1#::;1"::! /ploring the Agrarian

istory of Capitalism,G in Sugata *ose, South Asia and 7orld Capitalism, pp.10";33E GCraft

(roduction in an Agrarian conomy, ?ndia, 130:;1"::,G in 9ichael 9eister, editor, Ma;ing

Things in South Asia, (hiladelphia, 1"$", pp.1:);1)E GAsiatic States and Agrarian conomies!

Agrarian Commercialism in South ?ndia, 13::;1$0:,G Calcutta istorical =ournal , 1), 1;5, 1"$"!

115;1)3E and GAgrarian Commercialism in ighteenth Century South ?ndia! vidence from the

1$5) 6irunelveli Census,G Indian Economic and Social istory Re%ie1, 50, , 1"$$! ");01",

reprinted in Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Merchants& Mar;ets and the State, pp.510;51. ? have also

used >6he conomy of the Ceded +istricts, 1$::;1$5$,@ an unpublished manuscript by

Sourindranath &oy.

Modern Issues

For a broad view of economic history, see +harma 4umar, editor, The 2e1 Cam


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and economic gro1th since '+@3 *altimore! 1""5%. 6here is no boo- that compares long term

regional trends even within *ritish ?ndia% despite the brilliant pioneering wor- by Amiya 4umar

*agchi and ric Sto-es, published in Bengal Past and Present , "0, 1, 1"3# ;; >&eflections on

(atterns of &egional 'rowth in ?ndia +uring the (eriod of *ritish &ule,@pp.53;$"% and

>+ynamism and nervation in 2orth ?ndian Agriculture! 6he istorical +imension@ pp.553;5)"E

reprinted in udden, Agricultural Production and Indians istory pp.)#;0)% ;; although studies

of economic development are pushing in this direction! see Ambica 'hosh, Emerging capitalism

in Indian agriculture: the historical roots of its une%en de%elopment 2ew +elhi! 1"$$%, 9anjit

Singh, "ne%en /e%elopment in Agriculture and #a


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Modern Asian Studies 1", ), 1"$0! 03);"5. For Bhar-hand, the +hanbad &esearch (roject is

e/emplary ;; see +ietmar &othermund, +ietmar rhard 4nopp and 'unther +ienemann, "r


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Company period. n nineteenth century rissa, first see B.4.Samal, Agrarian history of Orissa

under the British rule +elhi, 1"")% and 2abin 4umar Bit, The agrarian life and economy of

Orissa: a sur%ey& '(,,*'(+. Calcutta, 1"$%, but 4.C. Bena, Socio*Economic Conditions in

Orissa /uring the 2ineteenth Century +elhi! 1"3$% remains useful. 6he *ombay +eccan is very

well covered by Sumit 'uha, The Agrarian Economy of the Bom


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+elhi! 1""%E (rajnanda *anerjee, Calcutta and Its interland: A Study in Economic istory of

India '(,,*'+33 Calcutta! 1"30%E Sailendra 4umar *ag, The changing fortunes of the Bengal

sil; industry& '.4.*'(,, owrah! 1"$"%E *alai *arui, The salt industry of Bengal& '.4.*'(33: a

study in the interaction of British monopoly control and indigenous enterprise Calcutta! 1"$0%E

2irban *asu, The 1or;ing class mo%ement: a study of -ute mills of Bengal& '+,.*). Calcutta!

1""%E +ipesh Cha-rabarty, Rethin;ing 1or;ing*class history: Bengal& '(+3*'+)3 (rinceton!

1"$"%E Ambica (rasad 'hosh. /e%elopment of Capitalist Relations in Agriculture: A Case Study

of 7est Bengal& '.+,*'+.' +elhi! 1"$:%E ameeda ossain, The Company 1ea%ers of Bengal:

the East India Company and the organi$ation of te>tile production in Bengal& '.43*'(', +elhi!

1"$$%E m-ar 'oswami, Industry& trade& and peasant society: the -ute economy of eastern

India& '+33*'+). +elhi! 1""1%E 9u-ul 9u-herjee, >Some Aspects of conomic Change in

*engal 1$3:;1"):@ (h+ +issertation +elhi School of conomics! 1"$1%E *ishwa 9ohan (rasad,

Second 7orld 7ar and Indian industry& '+,+*)4: a case study of the coal industry in Bengal and

Bihar +elhi! 1""5%E and Amiya &ao, The


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Study of 2ellore /istrict& '(43*'++3 +elhi, 1""#%, Arvind 2. +as, Changel: the


38/48

nvironments of rebellion and resistance are obvious candidates for comparison, because

they have attracted so much scholarly and popular attention. *ut many historians have been

drawn to approaches that favor general theory over conte/tuality. 6heories of peasant nationalism

and revolt have provo-ed debates for decades, and in 1"$), &anajit 'uha8s Elementary Aspects

of Peasant Insurgency launched Subaltern theory, which remains influentialE but we still have no

systematically comparative study of rebellion in its diverse agrarian settings ;; flourishing in some

regions but not others, being but one feature of each environment, and flaring at some points in

time but not others. 6elengana is an e/ample of an agrarian environment whose regional

character demands appreciation. For its administration, see S. *hanumathi &anga &ao, #and

re%enue administration in the 2i$ams5 /ominions, '(4,*'+)( yderabad! 1""5%. For the first

phase of its revolutionary history ;; which began as the first radical phase of peasant history came

to end in most of *ritish ?ndia ;; see Carolyn 9. lliott, G+ecline of a (atrimonial &egime! the

6elengana &ebellion in ?ndia, 1"#;01,G =ournal of Asian Studies ), 1, 1"3! 53;3E *arry

(avier, The Telengana Mo%ement '+))*'+4' +elhi! 1"$1%E and ?.6hirumalai, G(easant Class

Assertions in 2algonda and Darangal +istricts of 6elengana, 1"):;1"#,G Indian Economic and

Social istory Re%ie1 )1, 5, 1""! 513;)$. 6he discourse and e/perience of revolution became

uniJuely embedded in this agrarian culture! see +evulapalli en-ateswara &ao, Telangana armed

struggle and the path of Indian re%olution: a critiHue of KTelangana people5s struggle and its

lessonsK 1ritten


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even as they see- to address general theory! good e/amples are Conrad Dood, The Moplah

Repeasant@ covers a spectrum from very rich commercial farmers with Congress connections at the

highest level, to agrarian cooperative entrepreneurs, to the poorest family farmers, near;landless

wor-ers, and tribal communities. 6he discourse and activity of insurgency can never provide a

full sense of the agrarian environments in which they ma-e sense. n the bac-ground of

":


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'andhian politics in this region, see Crispin *ates, G6he 2ature of Social Change in &ural

'ujarat! 6he 4heda +istrict, 1$1$;1"1$.G Modern Asian Studies 10, , 1"$1! 10;0, and 'ita

*ajpai, Agrarian "rploitation: Changing Agrarian Relations in South

0u-arat +elhi! 1"")%, and +avid (ococ-, an


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struggles. 6here is no generic subaltern situation. Among the countless local settings of agrarian

struggle, differences are significant. ?n this boo-, ? have focused on general patterns among

regionsE on the contrast between intensive agriculture and tribal cultivationE and on the institutions

that defined a distinctively modern subalternity, specifically in =amindari and ryotwari areas. 6he

meaning of >revolt@ was conditioned by these various conte/ts. 6he legal institutions of

landlordism made tenant struggles very different from tribal revolesE and they also help to e/plain

the differences between >resistance@ in 6elengana and 'ujarat or (unjab and *ihar%. 6he

institutions of landlordism were actually much more particularistic, culturally comple/, and

changeable than ? have been able to indicate. See C.B.*a-er, >6amil 2adu states in the

6wentieth Century,@ Indian Economic and Social istory Re%ie1, $, 1, 1"3#! 1;E 2icholas *.

+ir-s, The ollo1 Cro1nE Stephen enningham,. A 0reat Estate and Its #andlords in Colonial

India : /ar


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interest among competing uropean governments in the world sugar trade. Sugar production

involves global mar-ets, a wide range of tropical sites, and tight cordination between local

farming and industry. All sugar sites show a strict subordination of farming to capital and labour

to managementE and the international cost of sugar labour was pushed to very low levels by the

African slave trade. *ut subaltern conditions are very different in the various regions of sugar

production, even within *ritish ?ndia. ?n 9aharashtra, farmers owned land and e/panded their

control of investment. ?n eastern U(, they could not. ere again, we legal institutions of

=amindari and ryotwari are definitive! see +onald D. Attwood, Raising Cane: The Political

Economy of Sugar in 7estern India *oulder! 1""5% and Shahid Amin, Sugarcane and Sugar in

0ora;hpur: An InHuiry into Peasant Production for Capitalist Enterprise in Colonial India

+elhi! 1"$%. As shown by *.S.*avis-ar, The Politics of /e%elopment: Sugar Co*Operati%es in

Rural Maharashtra +elhi! 1"$:% and reiterated recently during ?ndian elections, the sugar sector

has become as much a dominant feature of the agro;politics of 9aharashtra as caste war is in

*ihar and revolution is in 6elengana. Sugar imparts to its localities in 9aharashtra a specific -ind

of regimentationE whereas in 'ora-hpur, the sugar sector is swallowed up by other elements in the

agrarian political economy, above all, the power of the old =amindari elites.

6he e/tent to which commercial production generates a logic of power of its own which

can overwhelm and transform other social institutions remains a critical Juestion for comparative

study. *roadly spea-ing, it seems that in the American tropics, *ritish investors could manipulate

imperial power to rema-e local societies in the interest of world capitalism, both during and after

the African slave trade ;; see 9adhavi 4ale, 6ragments of Empire: Capital& Sla%ery& and Indian

Indentured #a


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the social power within agrarian capitalism was substantially Asian! see '.&.4night, G6he Bava

Sugar ?ndustry As a Capitalist (lantation! A &eappraisal,G The =ournal of Peasant Studies 1", )K,

1""5! #$;$#E Alfred D. 9cCoy, GSugar *arons! Formation of a 2ative (lanter Class in the

Colonial (hilippines,G The =ournal of Peasant Studies 1", )K, 1""5! 1:#;1E and &obert dward

lson, =a%anese peasants and the colonial sugar industry : impact and change in an East =a%a

residency& '(,3*'+)3 Singapore! 1"$%.

Capitalism and colonialism, li-e modernity and nationality, diversified their meaning and

form as they crossed agrarian environmentsE by sorting out their historical patterns we can better

appreciate their local substance and global reach. 6he distinctive historical character of the hills,

forests, and tribal environments is now receiving more attention. See 6arasan-ar *anerjee, editor,

Changing land systems and tri


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A.*.Chaudhuri, State formation among tri


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/i%ided: indu Communalism and Partition& '+,*). Cambridge! 1""0%E &anajit +as 'upta,

Economy& Society and Politics in Bengal: =alpaiguri '(@+*'+). +elhi! 1""5%E 9. 9ufa-harul

?slam, Agricultural /e%elopment in Bengal& '+3*'+).: A Luantitati%e Study Cambridge!

1"3$%E Sirajul ?slam, Rent and RaiyatF Society and Economy of Eastern BengalF '(4+*'+(

+ha-a! 1"$"% and The Permanent Settlement in Bengal: A Study of Its Operation& '.+3*'('+

+ha-a! 1"3"%E 9uin;ud;din Ahmad 4han, istory of the 6ara5Idi Mo%ement in Bengal 9'('(*

'+3@ 4arachi! 1"#0%E A-os stor, Culture and Po1er: #egend& Ritual& Ba$aar& and Re


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India: Agrarian Relations in Colonial 2orth Bihar +elhi! 1""$%E (eter &obb, E%olution of

British Policy To1ards Indian Politics '((3*'+3: Essays on Colonial Attitudes& Imperial

Strategies& and Bihar +elhi! 1""5%E 2irmal Sengupta, G6he ?ndigenous ?rrigation rgani=ation of

South *ihar.G Indian Economic and Social istory Re%ie1 5, no. 1"$: 13%! 103;$"E 'yan

(ra-ash Sharma, GAspects of (easant +ifferentiation in *ihar in the ate 2inteenth and arly

6wentieth Centuries,G in 'upta and asan, India5s Colonial Encounter pp.):";5E and &am

2arayan Sinha, Bihar Tenantry& '.(,*'(,, *ombay! 1"#$%.

n 'ujarat, 9aharashtra, and the *ombay +eccan, see ?.B.Catanach, Rural Credit in

7estern India& '(.4*'+,3 *er-eley! 1"3:%E 2eil Charlesworth, Peasants and Imperial Rule:

Agriculture and Agrarian Society in the Bom


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n (unjab, see imadri *anerjee, Agrarian Society of the Pun-a


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2adu and Sri #an;a ondon! 1"33%E Bohn arriss, Capitalism and Peasant 6arming: Agrarian

Structure and Ideology in 2orthern Tamil 2adu +elhi! 1"$5%E *arbara arriss;Dhite, A political

economy of agricultural mar;ets in South India: masters of the countryside 2ew +elhi! 1""#%E

ugene F. ?rschic-, Politics and social conflict in South India: the non*Brahman mo%ement and

Tamil separatism& '+'@*'++ *er-eley! 1"#"% and /ialogue and history: constructing South

India& '.+4*'(+4 *er-eley! 1""%E &obin Beffery, The /ecline of 2ayar /ominance: Society

and Politics in Tra%ancore '().*'+,3 ondon! 1"3#%E Susan ewandows-i, Migration and

Ethnicity in "r

Agrarian History of South East Asia

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