The Mughals and the North-East

Encounter and Assimilation in Medieval India

Sajal Nag, Sajal Nag

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2023
• ISBN:
  9781000905250
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Histoire
• Subtopic: Histoire de l'Inde et de l'Asie du Sud

There is a perception that the region of north-east India maintained its 'splendid isolation' and remained outside the reach of the Mughals and did not have a pre-colonial past. The present book is an attempt to decenter and demolish the said perceptions and asserts that north-east India had a 'medieval' past through linkage with the dominant central power in India – the Mughals. The eastern frontier of this Mughal Empire was constituted by a number of states like Bengal, Koch Bihar, Assam, Manipur, Dimasa, Jaintia, Cachar, Tripura, Khasi confederation, Chittagong, Lushai and the Nagas. Of these, some areas like Bengal were an integral part of the Mughal Empire, while others like Koch Bihar and Assam were in and out of the empire. Tripura, Manipur, Jaintia and Cachar were frequently overrun by the Mughals whenever the State was short of revenue and withdrew soon without incorporating them in the state.

Despite not being a formal part of the Mughal Empire, the society, economy, polity and culture of the north-east India, however, had been majorly impacted by the Mughal presence. The brief, but effective advent of the Mughals had supplanted certain political and revenue institutions in various states. It generated trade and commerce, which linked it to the rest of India. A number of wondering Sufi saints, Islamic missionaries, imprisoned Mughal soldiers and officers were settled in various states, which resulted in a substantial Muslim population growth in the region. Besides the population, there are numerous Islamic and syncretic institutions, cultures, and shrines which dot the entire region.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of illustrations
• Preface
• Introduction
• 1 External Sources for the History of North-East in Mughal Times
• 2 Extent and Economic Aspects of Forests in Mughal India
• 3 Assam in the Mughal Times: A Dutch View in 1660s
• 4 Beyond the Chronicles: The Agrarian Legacy in Cooch Behar and Assam (An Analysis of Mughal Archival Records, ad 1614–1754)
• 5 Mughal Influence on Chittagong and Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT)
• 6 Naval Warfare in Mughal North-East India
• 7 Kamrupa State and the Mughal Empire
• 8 Ahom Princes of Mughal Court
• 9 Ahom-Mughal Matrimonial Alliance
• 10 Frontier Tribes and the Mughals in the Eighteenth Century
• 11 The Mughals and the Khasi and Jaintia States of North-Eastern India: Interactions and Impacts
• 12 Mughals and the Koch-Ahom Relations During the Sixteenth Century
• 13 Mughal and Ahom States: Impact, Adaptation and Consequences
• 14 Encounters in the East: Mughal-Tripura Relations
• 15 Tribes of North-East India as Depicted in Persian Tazkeras
• 16 Sufi Saints and their Impact in Barak Valley
• 17 Manipur and the Mughals: King Khagemba and the Mughal Interface (ad 1597–1652)
• 18 Agrarian Conquest in Mughal Goalpara
• 19 The Mughals and the Advent of Portuguese in the North-East
• 20 Mughal Wars in North-East India: Analysis of the Ahom Victory over the Mughals
• 21 The Curious Community of Asomiya Sikhs: The Mughal Connection?
• 22 Arrival of Various Sufi Saints and their Silsilah (Order) in Different Parts of Assam and Establishment of Khankahs
• 23 Advent of Islam in Surma-Barak Valley
• Contributors