Urban Histories of Rajasthan, C. 1500 – 1800
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Intersected Communities: Urban Histories of Rajasthan, c. 1500 – 1800 By Elizabeth M. Thelen A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Munis D. Faruqui, Co-chair Professor Jonathan Sheehan, Co-chair Professor Abhishek Kaicker Professor Lawrence Cohen Summer 2018 © 2018 Elizabeth M. Thelen All rights reserved. Abstract Intersected Communities: Urban Histories of Rajasthan, c. 1500 – 1800 by Elizabeth M. Thelen Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Berkeley Professor Munis D. Faruqui, Co-chair Professor Jonathan Sheehan, Co-chair “Intersected Communities” argues that religious institutions, particularly Sufi shrines and Hindu temples, formed crucial links between local residents and state administration in urban centers in Rajasthan between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. Because of these links and the significant patronage they received, religious institutions contributed to the resilience of cities and towns in the face of rapid political change and instability while simultaneously rearranging the stakes of local social conflict. However, despite their importance to urban society, religious institutions did little to either promote or prevent conflict between Hindus and Muslims. Rather, regular minor conflicts between neighboring caste or clan-based communities and practices of residential segregation diffused tensions. The dissertation traces these developments through a study of three urban centers in Rajasthan, namely Ajmer, Pushkar, and Nagaur. Patronage built strong ties between urban religious institutions and regional and imperial political formations. Through these ties, transregional political changes reshaped sections of local society. Mughal, Rajput, and Maratha rulers all offered patronage to both Hindu and Muslim sacred sites in Rajasthan. This patronage reshaped the political and social worlds of Ajmer and Pushkar. Significant Mughal patronage of Ajmer and the dargah of Mu‘in al-Din Chishti between the mid-sixteenth century and the end of the seventeenth century promulgated the idea of Ajmer as a center of Mughal power in Rajasthan. The identification of Ajmer with the Mughals meant that as Mughal authority over Rajasthan waned in the eighteenth century, both Rajput and Maratha leaders were intent on gaining control over Ajmer and supplanting the Mughals as patrons. Patronage often became a proxy for political conflicts and etched divisions in the communities of religious specialists in Ajmer and Pushkar that reflected the political conflicts occurring across Rajasthan. At the same time, hereditary communities of shrine attendants and religious specialists known as Pirzadas pursued multiple strategies to attract and retain patronage across successive political regimes. One set of strategies focused on the control of lineage and community narratives, while a second set of strategies sought access to political information. Through these strategies, the Pirzadas constituted themselves as a community of Muslim elites with deep political ties, religious authority, and extensive economic resources. In eighteenth-century Nagaur, inter-community conflicts occurred relatively rarely because of pervasive community segregation, but when they did occur, they broke out over public spaces and shared resources. An analysis of intercommunity conflicts reveals that inter-community conflict occurred between closely associated communities who competed with each other for resources and 1 social prestige. Artisan castes fought over the use of water tanks, while Holi conflicts broke out between merchant communities. Although these fights and disputes sometimes used religious rhetoric or forms, this was uncommon and mostly occurred between Hindu and Jain merchant groups. Hindu-Muslim conflicts were rare because these communities were not usually socially or physically proximate groups. Property transactions and the logic of neighborhoods supported caste and religious segregation that minimized intercommunity conflict. Communities attempted to enforce uniformity in the construction of neighborhoods to signal shared status and made efforts to create social uniformity in neighborhoods by excluding certain groups. They invoked moral bounds on economic transactions that limited who could hold mortgages, rent, or live in a given property. However, it took constant effort to create and maintain social segregation. This was especially the case in the face of mobile populations who fled due to famine and war, such as the 1754-55 siege of Nagaur, and who might be replaced by the in-migration of ascending social groups. Together, these chapters demonstrate the complex and sometimes contradictory ways that religion intersected with the political, economic, and social realms of premodern South Asia. This dissertation extends the insights of recent scholarship that carefully reads elite religious identities and the practices of religious and community boundaries beyond the elites to show that inter-religious conflict was far less common between non-elites. Second, in examining the role of networks in promoting urban stability and the impact of regional and transregional events on local society, it highlights the critical role of religious institutions in both processes. Lastly, it proposes that claims to custom and tradition could be effective drivers of change and draws attention to the nature of custom as a contested and flexible category in Rajasthan in the precolonial period. 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements iii Note on Transliteration and Dates vi Abbreviations vii Introduction 1 Towns and Cities 2 Political Economy 5 Religious Institutions 8 Caste, Religion, and Social Identities 10 Communal Interactions and Conflict 11 Law and Everyday Practices 13 Sources and Methodology 14 The Setting 16 Plan of the Dissertation 18 1. All the Kings’ Grants: Ajmer and Pushkar, 1560-1800 21 Introduction 21 Shared Ethics of Patronage and Politics 22 The Setting 24 Methodology and Sources 25 Making Ajmer Mughal, c. 1560-1707 26 The Rise of Rajput States and the Ajmer Shrine, c. 1707-1743 35 The Creation of Bari Basti and Choti Basti, c. 1700-1800 43 Maratha Administration in Ajmer and Pushkar, c. 1749-1818 48 Conclusion 55 2. Pirzadas and the Art of Securing Patronage, 1560-1800 57 Introduction 57 Medieval Nagaur’s Religious Institutions 60 Challenges and Opportunities: Changing Politics and Patronage in Nagaur 62 Proximate and Remote Relations: Lineage and the Borders of Community 68 Political Ties: Access to Grants, Justice and Information 77 Conclusion 81 3. Conflict and the Limits of Shared Space 83 Introduction 83 Section I 85 Shared Water Resources in Nagaur 85 An Urban Commons 86 Conflict at Durlaya Pond 88 Sovereignty, Religion, and Water 89 Related Conflicts over Resources 91 Conflicts, Caste, and Community Relations 93 Section II 95 Social Divisions and Conflict in Holi Processions 95 i The Absence of Hindu-Muslim Conflict 99 Conclusion 102 4. Property, Community and Neighborhood Segregation 104 Introduction 104 Defining Neighborhood 105 Segregation and Urban Upheaval in the Eighteenth Century 108 Constructing Community 112 The Nature of Property Transactions 116 Mortgages and Moneylenders 118 Ancestral Homes 121 The Siege of Nagaur and the Remaking of Khatripura 124 Conclusion 127 Conclusion 128 Glossary 135 Bibliography 140 Appendix 149 ii Acknowledgements At every step of the way, mentors, scholars, friends and family have supported me in the completion of this dissertation. I owe a debt of gratitude to more people than can be named in these pages. My committee engaged my scholarship at every turn. Munis Faruqui guided me from my first semester at UC Berkeley to the final stages, raising key questions, offering cogent insights and detailed feedback along the way, and supporting my progress as a student and scholar with warmth and generosity. He has taught me what it is to be a historian of Mughal and eighteenth-century South Asia. Jonathan Sheehan graciously stepped up to co-chair my committee. I appreciate his careful reading of these chapters and his consistent encouragement to write clearly for a broad audience and to think comparatively. Abhishek Kaicker brought a shared enthusiasm for eighteenth- century South Asian urban society to bear on the project and always pushed me to examine my assumptions and clarify my concepts. Lawrence Cohen shared his intellectual curiosity and creativity alongside the insights of Anthropology and helped me find key theoretical underpinnings to my work. Several other faculty also contributed greatly to my graduate education. Farhat Hasan and Sangeeta Sharma provided excellent guidance in India during my research years. As I prepared to attend UC Berkeley, Gene Irschick directed me to several books that have remained deeply influential and sharpened my thinking on agency and power relations. Prachi Deshpande taught me much of what I know of modern South Asian history and drew my attention to key questions about identity and language. I am grateful to Tom and Barbara Metcalf, who have supported me over the years in many ways small and large. I am also grateful to the late Lloyd and Suzanne Rudolph, who advised me on my research and shared their wealth of experience in the field of Rajasthan Studies. My graduate studies were anchored by the excellent training and mentorship I received as an undergraduate