Manohar Publishers and Distributors

21 August, 2012

Kinship and State Formation: The Gills of Nabha

By- J.S. Grewal and Veena Sachdeva

Based on an in-depth study of a unique historical document, this study throws light on the complexities of state formation and paramount control in north India from the late Mughal to the late colonial period. It provides valuable insights into how political power was acquired and how kinship relations were used for conquest, expansion, consolidation and political relations. Diversities of feudal relaitons in a period of over two centuries are illumined through the critical evaluation and analysis of this document whose text and translation have been provided with detailed annotation and glossary, supported by chronology and tables and illustrated by maps and plates.

The document in question was acquired from Sardar Gurpreet Singh Gill whose great grandfather got it prepared for submission to Maharaja Ripudaman Singh of Nabha (1912-23). His short but eventful reign bridges the pre-modern and modern tendencies, and also registers a change in the fortunes of the Gill family in a political context affected variously by the working of British paramountcy.

The document is supplemented by the memoirs of Dr Baldev Singh Gill (1890-1975), who used the oral tradition of the family and his own experience and observation to provide a candid account of the activities of different branches of the Gill family over several generations. He also brings out the process of how the feudal class was trying to reorient itself in the circumstances of the late colonial and post-Independence times. There are useful insights also into the processes of emergence of the professional middle class and the changing position of its women in the twentieth century.

This short but insightful book would be of interest as much to the general reader and the people of Nabha as to the scholars in the disciplines of History, Sociology, Anthropology and Punjabi Literature.

J.S. Grewal, formerly Professor of History and Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar and then Director, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, has published extensively on medieval and modern Indian history and the Punjab.

Veena Sachdeva, is Reader in the Department of History, Punjab Univesity, Chandigarh.

ISBN 81-7304-718-9 2007 140p. Rs.395/ pounds 35

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Jagirdars in the Mughal Empire During the Reign of Akbar

By- Balkrishan Shivram

Jagirdars in the Mughal Empire during the Reign of Akbar knits together several things—the process of the Mughal Empire’s expansion, Akbar’s political and administrative initiatives, and the rituals of the court—that can be reconstituted for a new and differnt understanding of the Mughal state at the end of the sixteenth century.

The author uses a multidimensional approach to the subject and offers a radically new way of looking at the organization of the Mughal Empire at the time of its early evolution under Akbar. The study interrogates the assumed links between jagirs and mansabdars, the nature and location of their grants, the periodicity of their transfers, and the degree of control and discipline that ‘transfers’ of jagirs and mansabdars was supposed to have introduced in the functioning of the Mughal administration. In this way the author implies that there was logic to goverance that emanated from the ruler’s relationship with his highest nobles and this was evident in the nature of the assignment system and the delegation of power. Changes in relationships, consequently, would alter the structures of the governance as well. This thorough study explores a coherent paradigm of court rituals that lie behind the kingship.

This book would be indispensable to scholars working on the Mughal period as well as those interested to know the milieu of the Mughal jagirdari.

Balkrishan Shivram has taught at colleges in Himachal Pradesh for the past thirteen years. He is currently a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla. He was awarded the Professor J.S. Grewal Prize on the Indian History Congress (2006).

ISBN 81-7304-766-9 2008 324p. Rs.850/ pounds 50

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Intervention in Sri Lanka: The IPKF Experience

Intervention in Sri Lanka: The Ipkf Experience

By- Maj. Gen. Harkirat Singh (Retd)

In this volume the author then GOC, Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) gives a first hand account of the initial induction and operations of the IPKF in Sri Lanka. He describes the trials and tribulations of the IPKF as it grappled with an operational situation inexorably tangled with politics.

The book gives an insight into how inadequately prepared the IPKF was for the task set out
for it and explains how difficult it was to fight the LTTE guerrilla, especially when the
Indian government itself was not clear about its political and military aims. It highlights the operations of the IPKF in Sri Lanka and attempts to set the record straight on a number of key issues, including the surrender of arms by the LTTE, and the famous ‘boat tragedy’.

The IPKF went in as peacekeepers, with the responsibility to disarm the LTTE, if necessary by force, and maintain law and order. But clear-cut orders regarding possible IPKF action against the LTTE was never issued. Therefore, when the time came to fight the LTTE the IPKF found itself at a disadvantage. This compelling narrative is an important addition to the extensive literature on the IPKF in Sri Lanka.

Harkirat Singh was born in Lahore and commissioned in the Brigade of the Guards, Indian Army in June 1956. He saw active service during the Indo-Chinese conflict of 1962 in the Eastern Sector and later in the Indo-Pakistan conflicts of 1965 and 1971. He was appointed GOC, IPKF in Sri Lanka in July 1987. He graduated from the Defence Services Staff
College, Wellington, later he attended the Joint Services Staff College in the UK.

During his 35 years in the IA he held various Command and Staff appointments. He was
also the Indian Military Adviser in Yugoslavia, Romania and Italy from 1977 to 1981. He commanded the first Anti Tank Missile Battalion during the Indo-Pakistan conflict of 1971 which for its pivotal role was awarded the Battle Honour of Chhamb in the NW Sector and other gallantry awards.

ISBN 81-7304-705-7 2007 200p. Rs.545/ pounds 35

MANOHAR PUBLISHERS & DISTRIBUTORS
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20 August, 2012

Indian Moneylenders at Work: Case Studies of the Traditional Rural Credit Market in Dhanbad District, Bihar

By- Hans-Dieter Roth

In spite of the relatively extenstive network of government supported credit institutions private moneylenders continue to dominate the agriculture credit market scene. In 1951-52 nearly 70 per cent of all agriculture loans were given by traditional moneylenders. In 1961-62 though the share of cooperative agricultural credit had increased from 7.3 to 13.8 per cent private moneylenders still enjoyed the lion’s share of the agricultural credit with a substantial 46.6 per cent of all farming loans which meant continuance of the traditional dependence on the private moneylenders with his unscrupulous business practices.

The book based on a detailed study of selected villages in Dhanbad district in Bihar enquires into traditional moneylenders and the resulting debt relations between them and the debtor-farmers. The debt relations may be either pure loan obligations or even personal dependency relationships as well as a combination of both forms.

The author finds that the traditional credit market is dominated by large scale farmers-cum-moneylenders who also occupy high positions in rural administrative bodies. The exorbitant interest rates usually charged by them not only create debt obligations but also help establish dependency relations of a long-term nature. A description of actual form of debt relations is presented with samples of interest siphoning mechanism practised by moneylenders. The final part discusses the various traditional forms of transfer of property rights, which frequently are the inevitable outcome of previous debt commitments, and their detrimental socio-economic effects on small farmers.

Part of the author’s doctoral thesis, the book should be of great interest to scholars in the field of agricultural credit and other related areas.

Hans- Dieter Roth was member of the Dhanbad Research Project of the South Asia Interdisciplinary Regional Research Programme. He did his doctorate in agricultural economics from the South Asia Institute of Heidelberg University. As Commissioner for Industrial Locations of Baden-Württemberg International, Dr. Roth is taking care of the promotion of the State of Baden-Württemberg as ideal location for investors from Asian countries, including India.

ISBN 81-7304-730-8 2007 128p. Rs.200/ pounds 18.99

Indian Judiciary and Politics: The Changing Landscape

By- B.D. Dua, M.P. Singh and Rekha Saxena (eds)

Few will deny that the post-emergency higher judiciary in India has earned widespread public acclaim for its innovative and creative jurisprudence notwithstanding the argument advanced by some critics that it has exercised excessive jurisdiction, transgressing at times the executive and legislative domains, contrary to the original ‘checks and balances’ design of the Constitution. While the issue of judicial restraint in the context of constitutional separation of powers deserves serious attention, the fact of the matter is that juristocracy invariably triumphs when the elected representatives in a democracy cannot be trusted to provide good and lawful governance. From this perspective, the unprecedented judicialization of politics and the growth of judicial activism in India seems to be an organic response to pressures within the political system itself.

The contributors to the volume are well-known scholars, lawyers, and academics. They reflect on the itinerary of higher judiciary and its contributions to constitutional law and public good contextualized for the developmental path of the political system since the commencement of the Republic in 1950. The papers cover a variety of topics—judicial activism, judiciary and ecology, secularism, parliamentary institutions, central executive, new economy, and judicial reforms—that focus primarily, though not exclusively, on the ramifications of judicial activism for Indian politics.

B.D. Dua is Dean (Emeritus), Faculty of Arts and Science, and Professor (Emeritus), Department of Political Science, University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, Currently, he holds Adjunct Professorship at the University of Lethbridge.

M.P. Singh is Professor of Political Science at the University of Delhi and specializes in Indian and Canadian politics, and the philosophy of science.

Rekha Saxena is Reader at the Centre for Federal Studies, Hamdard Universty, New Delhi.

ISBN 81-7304-723-5 2008 490p. Rs.1195/ pounds 55

Indian Diaspora in West Asia: A Reader

By- Prakash C. Jain

Modern Indian Diaspora in West Asia has a long and checkered history dating back to at least the sixteenth century. A number of small communities of Indian traders called baniyans
existed in present-day Iraq, Iran, Oman, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. When the region came under British influence in the nineteenth
century. Indian merchant communities flourished in a number of towns of the Gulf
countries. The Indians served as bankers, importers and exporters, customs farmers, agents for local merchants, government contractors, pearl-financiers, etc. and as such their contribution to the overall development of the Gulf countries has been significant.

The emergence of Gulf countries as oil-producing and exporting economies and the consequent demand for labour changed the size and complexion of the Indian and other expatriate communiteis in the region.

The significance of the Gulf-based Indian Diaspora is better understood by the quantum of remittances sent by the workers to their relations and dependents in India which is currently estimated at about ten billion US dollars.

Outside the Gulf region Israel is the only country in West Asia that hosts a sizeable Indian community. The Jewish community of Indian origin is estimated at around 60,000—all
Israeli citizens.

The book is perhaps the first ever attempt of its kind on the subject and will certainly fill a major gap in our understanding of the Indian Diaspora in West Asia in general and that of the Gulf region in particular.

ISBN 81-7304-727-8 2007 340p. Rs.850/ pounds 50

India’s North-Eastern Region: Insurgency, Economic Development and Linkages with South-East Asia

By- Nishchal N. Pandey

The seven north-eastern states of India during the last six decades of isolation have braved enormous difficulties. Beginning with the impact of partition, liberation of Bangladesh, influx of people from outside and continuing conflicts based on caste, tribe, language, race and religion, there is also a flip-side to the bad governanace and economic woes of the people of this region. Their geographical and cultural promixity with the South-East Asian countries make the area to be of enormous economic importance in the future.

This book argues how the region’s trade with various neighbouring countries if facilitated and encouraged, and if efforts are made for greater convenience in international trade through the simplification of economic activities such as movement of goods, people and services across borders, the region can blossom to its full potential. But for this, the Centre has first to realize the urgent need to ‘open-up’ than to ‘lock up’ the area in order to provide ‘security’ to the people. One of the first studies of its kind, this volume highlights in detail the north-east’s central position vis-à-vis Bangladesh, Myanmar, and the rest of South-East Asia.

Nishchal N. Pandey is a well-known academic and strategic analyst of Nepal. He was previously Executive Director of the Institute of Foregin Affairs (IFA), Kathmandu. After 8 years at the IFA, he was Visiting Reserach Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) at the National University of Singapore. Currently he is a Consultant and an Honorary Fellow at the ISAS where he completed the present volume. Author of several books, he contributes regularly to news magazines and journals. He can be contracted at nina@ntc.net.np.

ISBN 81-7304-777-4 2008 118p. Rs.225/ pounds 18.99

MANOHAR PUBLISHERS & DISTRIBUTORS
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