Institutionalizing Rajadharma: strategies of sovereignty in the eighteenth century Jaipur By Fatima Ahmad Imam A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of History, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO © Copyright by Fatima A Imam 2008 Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-44741-3 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-44741-3 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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Canada Abstract INSTITUTIONALIZING RAJADHARMA: STRATEGIES OF SOVEREIGNTY IN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY JAIPUR (RAJASTHAN) By Fatima Imam PhD dissertation, Department of History University of Toronto 2008 My study deals with a neglected aspect of South Asian historiography, that is, the ways used by the rulers of indigenous states to legitimize and to institutionalize Rajadharma: duties of the king This dissertation demonstrates that the Kachchwaha rulers of Jaipur reconfigured ritualistic and symbolic notions of kingship, modified political ideology, bolstered bureaucracy, and used urban space to assert their authority. This in-depth analysis of a regional kingdom focuses on the political agency of its rulers to demonstrate how they articulated complex ideological frameworks of governance by engaging their societies in the institutionalization of sovereignty. The rulers and their subjects were not passive actors in the processes through which political authority was consolidated and systemized. These states strengthened their rule by incorporating urban and rural social groups in the realm of politics through a variety of ii mechanisms. Furthermore, the most successful manifestation of the sovereignty of the Indian rulers was their propagation of moralizing rhetoric articulated through the interpretation of law and the control of the judicial process. These were conscious and deliberate attempts by the Kachchwahas to delve more intrusively into their subject's lives at the level of everyday practice. This is especially evident in the realm of the family in order to reproduce gendered patriarchies. This analysis of a regional kingdom adds to the existing critiques of models that have been hitherto used to study Indian political structures. Use of such models has led to study of the states as static, stagnant, and distant powers active only at the level of extraction and coercion. I have examined mostly un-catalogued archival material for the Jaipur state that has been preserved in the Rajasthan state archives. The archives contain official correspondence, letters of direction, and statistical data on revenue, income, expenditure, fines, market rates, and taxes. The data contributes to present a multifaceted view of the political structure in Jaipur, where the practice of politics involved the management of the day-to-day lives of subjects through new forms of surveillance and control, including an efficient bureaucracy. in Acknowledgments I would like to express my utmost thanks and appreciation to Professor Ritu Birla for agreeing to take me as her graduate student and for her persevering guidance as my supervisor. Her unflagging support and encouragement made it possible for me to write my dissertation. I would like her to thank her especially for helping me to cultivate my academic voice. She inculcated the capacity for critical thinking with much patience and kindness. My sincere appreciation and gratitude for her time that she spent to revise, modify, and refine my arguments. I would also like to acknowledgement her generosity for recommending me for various teaching positions and scholarships. I am very grateful to Professor Malavika Kasturi for her insightful comments and for her encouragement to clarify my thoughts as logical arguments. She was gracious enough to give me time whenever possible to discuss various aspects of my research and also to read my final draft. Professor Katherine Rankin, who has been a pillar of support during these years, introduced me to Foucauldian studies and thus helped me to analyze archival materials more critically. She generously offered her expertise on urban planning and helped me to write my chapter on the urban history of Jaipur. I would also like to thank Professor Narendra Wagle, under whose guidance I started this project. Professors Julian Dent and Milton Israel were also very supportive during the early stages of my work. iv The department of history, which has been very been generous in its financial support, gave me grants from 2002 to 2005. My research trips to India were made possible by grants from the Indo-Shastri Institute, the South Asian Program, and the Asian Institute graduate program. Many thanks also to the Indo-Canadian Advisory group and Eiproc for their generous grants. I thank the archivists and the staff members of the Rajasthan State Archives, Bikaner in India, for their assistance and patience during my stay. The librarians and support staff at the Sawai Man Singh II Museum Library in Jaipur, the department of history, Aligarh university, was also very supportive. I am also very thankful to the members of history department at the University of Toronto, especially Professor Allan Greer, Jennifer, Louise, Vicky, Marion and Davina. My sincere thanks are also due to Virginia Smith for editing my dissertation and for working with my deadlines patiently. To Rashmi Swamp, my dear friend and mentor, I want to say a particular thank you for being there whenever I needed her, and sincere thanks to Poonam. I want to thank all my family members, especially my uncle Ilyas Safavi, and my brother Fazal Imam, for giving me much needed moral support. Finally, I would like to dedicate this thesis to my mother, Khursheed Zia Begum, and my children, Mohammad and Zehra Hasnain. Thank you for being there for me. You have made my life so wonderful and meaningful, and I did this for you. v Table of contents Introduction: 1 Pre-colonial states: Orientalist writing and uni-dimensional critiques 3 Debates about Eighteenth century in India 8 Lacunae in historiography on Pre-colonial states 11 Methodology and Sources 14 Jaipur state: geographical background and political history 16 Chapter summaries 20 One: Political transformation of Amber from a small patrimony to a Sovereign state Introduction/Historiography 23 Legitimization of rule through religious and social reform 30 The Mughal-Kachchwaha alliance: pre-eminence in the sixteenth and 39 seventeenth centuries Processes of State formation in the Jaipur state 45 Concluding remarks 64 Appendixes 66 Two: The State and its fiscal partners: the ruling elites as bureaucratic co-sharers of power and resources Introduction/Historiography 72 Bureaucratic functions of the state 74 Methods of assessment, agrarian changes, and re-distribution of income 82 among the ruling elites Merchants, Markets and State surveillance 102 Concluding remarks 116 Appendixes 118 Three: The city of Jaipur: exemplification of the use of urban space Introduction/Historiography 141 Hindu Muslim models for Pre-colonial Indian cities 146 Selection of the site and planning of the city 153 Use of urban space 167 Concluding remarks 171 Appendixes 173 Four: Law, administrative practices, and the institutionalization of power VI Introduction/Historiography Organization of judicial system 185 Violent crimes, theft, and moral vices 192 Everyday acts of disorderly behaviour 213 Concluding remarks 220 Five: Moralizing rhetoric or an interventionist state? Gender relations, social institutions and the imposition of caste (jati) norms Introduction/Historiography 223 Social institutions and Gender relations 228 Domestic violence and the state 246 Crimes against women: cham-chori or sexual misdemeanours 251 Concluding remarks 261 Appendixes 263 Conclusion 275 Glossary 280 Bibliography 282 vn