Part of the prestigious Debates in Indian History and Society series, this volume presents the key argument of the debates, along with a selection of writings that made pioneering interventions in the study of the 18th century in Indian history.

This Book Will Make A Useful Companion For Historians Of Late Medieval And Modern India, Economists, Sociologists, And The Informed General Reader.

Robert Travers' analysis of British conquests in late eighteenth-century India shows how new ideas were formulated about the construction of empire. After the British East India Company conquered the vast province of Bengal, Britons confronted the apparent anomaly of a European trading company acting as an Indian ruler. Responding to a prolonged crisis of imperial legitimacy, British officials in Bengal tried to build their authority on the basis of an 'ancient constitution', supposedly discovered among the remnants of the declining Mughal Empire. In the search for an indigenous constitution, British political concepts were redeployed and redefined on the Indian frontier of empire, while stereotypes about 'oriental despotism' were challenged by the encounter with sophisticated Indian state forms. This highly original book uncovers a forgotten style of imperial state-building based on constitutional restoration, and in the process opens up new points of connection between British, imperial and South Asian history.

This book presents, in a single volume, a selection of the most important interpretations in current times, exploring and reassessing the nature and pace of change in India in the eighteenth century. A distinguished roster of contributors and a comprehensive collection of essays makes this book a must-read for historians, political analysts, students and non-specialist readers interested in the period.

With special reference to the social and economic conditions in Patna District.

The phenomenon of caste has probably aroused more controversy than any other aspect of Indian life and thought. Susan Bayly's cogent and sophisticated analysis explores the emergence of the ideas, experiences and practices which gave rise to the so-called 'caste society' from the pre-colonial period to the end of the twentieth century. Using an historical and anthropological approach, she frames her analysis within the context of India's dynamic economic and social order, interpreting caste not as an essence of Indian culture and civilization, but rather as a contingent and variable response to the changes that occurred in the subcontinent's political landscape through the colonial conquest. The idea of caste in relation to Western and Indian 'orientalist' thought is also explored.