Week 10-Tuesday: Reading by Seema Alavi
Seema Alavi is the author of a well-known study of the Indian soldiers hired by
the East India Company. Her work helped to give scholars a better understanding of how
these soldiers were recruited and trained. It demonstrated the ways in which participation
in the EIC armies helped soldiers acquire a more prestigious role in society. Much of her
work was done before the early studies about the Military Labor market by Kolff, Pinch,
and others were widely circulated. In an way it re-enforces the conclusions of these
scholars that employment in the army continued to be a means of upward social mobility
and caste reification into the modern and colonial period.
As you read this work pay particular attention to the footnotes. There is a wealth
of information there that might help you to understand the type of sources that Alavi is
using and how she structures her argument. Alavi’s training was in Cambridge under C.
A. Bayly. She would be familiar with the larger debates between the older and
revisionist schools of historiography about the 18th century as well as the emerging
scholarship on military labor markets and changing notions of caste. Very few direct
sources from the sepoys themselves have survived—what we do have is a vast amount of
material about recruitment, court cases involving inheritance and pensions, military
documents about retirees and pensions, and also correspondence among officials. This is
the primary pool of sources used by Alavi.
Vocabulary:
Jahangir--The Emperor Akbar's son and successor. Ruled from 1605-1627
Madad-i-mash--tax free grants of either cash or revenue given to religious and other
scholars. While this in a Islamic term, the Mughals provided such support to scholars
and leaders from all faith groups.
Gurkha--a warrior group from the Nepal region of the Himmalays. The British classified
them as a "martial race" and in fact Gurkha regiments still serve in the British armies.
zamindars--Local revenue holders and/or heads of caste lineages
Vakil--representatives of important men served roles that combined diplomacy, legal
respresentation, and business help.
Chakladar--the officer in charge of a sub-regional revenue district
qasbahs--small provincial towns
sanads--official letters granting rights or a state of office in Mughal terms
harkarah--messengers who frequently also served the dual role of intelligence suppliers
Ramlila—a play that enacts the exploits of the Hindu god Ram and his battle against the
demon king Ravana
sipahis--soldiers, mispronounced in British sources as "sepoy"
Jungle Terai/Ceded and Conquered Territories—areas in the northwestern part of Awadh,
which had been recently acquired by the East India Co. in the period Alavi discusses.
Rohilkhand—the territories of the Rohila Afghans, between Awadh and Nepal
Shinde—the area ruled by the Marathas (this general’s name is also spelt Sindhia)
Bigha—a unit of land measurement which varied by region, in this context 1/3rd of an
acre
Bhaichara—a system of land ownership in which all adult male members of a community
had an equal share of the land
Maulavi—respectful title given to an Islamic scholar
Pandit—a Brahmin priest
Questions
1. What was the recruitment policy of the EIC during the late 18th century? Which
groups did they prefer and why?
2. How was the distinctive identity and status of the EIC recruits created and
preserved?
3. What was the invalid Thana? What needs was it designed to serve?
4. How did the creation of the Invalid thana enhance the status of the soldiers as well
as the company? What tensions did it create in the territories in which it was
situated?
5. How did the relationship between the EIC officers and soldiers change during the
period of reforms during the early 19th century that Alavi discusses?