Kingship and Colonialism in ’s Deccan This page intentionally left blank Kingship and Colonialism in India’s Deccan 1850–1948

Benjamin B. Cohen KINGSHIP AND COLONIALISM IN INDIA’S DECCAN © Benjamin B. Cohen, 2007. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2007 978-1-4039-7447-1 The cover photograph is used with permission from the United States Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-122781. Photographs of the Gadwal family, , are used with permission. A revised version of chapter 4 appears in Modern Asian Studies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2007 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-53510-1 ISBN 978-0-230-60344-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230603448 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cohen, Benjamin B. Kingship and colonialism in India’s Deccan : 1850–1948 / Benjamin B. Cohen. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Hyderabad (India : State)—Politics and government— 19th century. 2. Hyderabad (India : State)—Politics and government— 20th century. 3. Local government—India—Hyderabad (State)— History—19th century. 4. Local government—India—Hyderabad (State)—History—20th century. 5. Hyderabad (India : State)— Ethnic relations—Political aspects. I. Title. DS485.H9C55 2007 954’.84035—dc22 2006046398 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: January 2007 10987654321 For my parents, Roberta and Stephen This page intentionally left blank Contents

List of Illustrations, Maps, and Tables ix Acknowledgments xi Notes on Text xiii Abbreviations xv

Introduction 1 1 At the Edge of Empire 29 2 Soldiers, Mercenaries, and Moneylenders 53 3 Turbans, Titles, and Tigers: Symbols of Rulership 73 4 The Court of Wards in Hyderabad 101 5 The Death of Kings, the Birth of a Nation 123 Conclusion 157

Appendices 169 Glossary 175 Notes 179 Bibliography 215 Index 227 This page intentionally left blank List of Illustrations, Maps, and Tables

Illustrations 5.1 Maharaja Sita Rambhupal 134 5.2 Princesses Varalakshmi and Lakshmi 143

Maps 1 Cities, Samasthans, and Towns of 4 2 Hyderabad and Other Princely State Areas C. 1900 14 3 The Raichur Doab and Major Routes 17

Tables 1 Area, Villages, Population, Income, and Tribute of Some of the Samasthans 5 2 Estates of Hyderabad State 23 4.1 Samasthans in the Hyderabad Court of Wards 109 4.2 Contributions by the Samasthans to the Nizam’s Delhi Palace 120 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments

his book has benefited from the help of many individuals and institutions. Of the latter, the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Tand the University of Utah’s Departments of History have provided supportive academic homes over the past decade. On several occasions, the American Institute of Indian Studies has assisted with visa and other logistical needs I encountered when doing research in India. I am particularly grateful to Pradeep Mehendiratta and Purnima Mehta for their patience and assistance. The Center for South Asia at the University of Wisconsin, and in particular Sharon Dickson, have been a continuous source of support. Libraries and archives in the United States, United Kingdom, and in India deserve special thanks as these are the repositories of material most historians cannot do without. The uni- versity libraries at Wisconsin and Utah, and in particular the staff of the interlibrary loan offices, have been invaluable in procuring printed material not available on site. The Oriental and India Office at the British Library has on many occasions been a welcome layover and desti- nation on trips between the United States and India. I am deeply grateful for their assistance. In India, the staff at the Andhra Pradesh State Archive provided exceeding warmth and patience with me; I remain humbly grateful for this. At the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat, I was invaluably helped by Dr. P. Krishna Murthy. I thank the staff at the National Archive, New Delhi, and the Tamil Nadu State Archive, Chennai, and the Nehru Memorial Library, New Delhi for their assis- tance. Somewhat hidden in Hyderabad are the Court of Wards papers, and I am extremely grateful to K. Mangapathi Rao and the staff of the Court of Wards for their assistance. While at the University of Utah, several colleagues have provided invaluable support—intellectual and otherwise—while this book was being completed. Mary Ann Villarreal, Tracy McDonald, and Erika Bsumek (visiting from the University of Texas, Austin) all read early xii ● Acknowledgments versions of early chapters, and I am grateful for their comments. Wes Sasaki-Uemura and Janet Theiss have both been a constant source of friendship, support, and intellectual interaction. Friends in the academy and elsewhere have patiently cajoled me toward completion of this project. Special thanks to: Scott Levi, Chandra Mallampalli, Kevin Downey, James Hoover, Ashok Rajput, Bob Simpkins, Chris Chekuri, Ian Wendt, Venkat Dhulipala, Rajagopal Vakulabharanam, John Roosa, Dana Lightstone, and Brendan LaRocque. To all of them, thank you. Also thanks to: Sanjit Sethi, David Joiner, Kristen Laise, and Rebecca and Dyon Stefanon. A special thanks to Vimala Katikaneni and the entire Katikaneni family. In Hyderabad I benefited from the time and generosity of many of the city’s scholars: Dr. Vasant Bawa, Dr. A. Murali, Dr. P. Ramulu, Professor Y. Vaikunthum, Professor M. Radhakrishna Sarma, and Narendra Luther. Also in Hyderabad I wish to deeply thank members of some of the samasthans who shared their time, enthusiasm, and support: Adithya Rao, Shanta Rameshwar Rao, Nandini Rao, Sreelatha Bhupal, and Keshav Bhupal. Back in the United States, I owe a debt of gratitude to David Morgan, Joesph Elder, Richard Eaton, and Phil Wagoner. A very special thanks to: V. Narayana Rao, André Wink, and most of all, Robert Frykenberg. Nadja Durbach gingerly waded into the world of Hyderabad, and in doing so, has been a constant source of intellectual support as this project reached fruition. She has also forged a permanent and personal partnership with this scholar, and for that, no amount of gratitude would suffice. My siblings have always carried me, near or far, with them in an enveloping cloud of affection and support. I am deeply proud to be part of our own “great generation,” and a participant in the next. To Edward, Jeffrey, Kimberly (Loudon and Posey), Peter, Andrea (Sebastian), Tamara, Matthew (Lucas and Nora) and Susan, again, thank you. Of course, any errors are solely my own. Salt Lake City, March 2006. Notes on Text

n addition to the (CE) system, documents from the Deccan frequently used two other systems. The first is the IHijri (H) calendar, which begins with the flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina. The calendar is lunar and begins from 16 July 622 CE. The second calendar system is the Fasli (F) (“harvest”) calendar. This was devised by Mughal Emperor . The Hijri calendar did not correspond to the agricultural year, nor the fiscal administration, so farmers were pressed to pay taxes out of sync with the administrative calendar. The Fasli calendar was designed to correspond with the agri- cultural seasons—one crop (rabi) in the spring, and the second (kharif) in the fall. The Fasli calendar is solar, and thus has slowly diverged from the lunar Hijri calendar. Whenever possible I have converted dates to their CE equivalent, or when necessary, provided the equivalent along with the original Hijri or Fasli date. Scholars of South Asia will be familiar with Indian vocabulary used, thus I have omitted diacritical marks. Terms are given in italics, and can be found in the glossary for clarification. Indian terms that have become part of the English lexicon are not italicized, such as raja or durbar. The exception to this is the term “samasthan” because of its frequent use. I have used common spellings for places, thus Hyderabad and not Haiderabad, and used the English “s” to signify plurals, rather than the Telugu or equivalents, thus, “samasthans” rather than “samasthanlu.” All maps and translations are by the author. This page intentionally left blank Abbreviations

APSA Andhra Pradesh State Archive, Hyderabad B.G. British Government (currency) CW Court of Wards, Hyderabad F Fasli date GOI Government of India H Hijri date OIOC Oriental and India Office Collections, British Library, London. NAI National Archive of India, New Delhi NML Nehru Memorial Library, New Delhi Rs. Rupee TNSA Tamil Nadu State Archive, Chennai WFP Wanaparthi Family Papers, Hyderabad