Synopses & Reviews
The period following the death of Aurangzeb has usually been viewed from the perspective of the decline and subsequent decay of the Mughal empire. This study emphasizes that the period 1707-1748 saw the emergence of a new order with local and regional idioms, even though echoes from the
imperial period continued to be heard.
Synopsis
This book offers a much-needed alternative perspective (coming from Persian sources) on European constructions of India. It throws significant light on Indo-Persian culture and on the complex interaction between Europeans and Indians in the eighteenth century.
About the Author
Muzaffar Alam is Professor, Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago
Seema Alavi is Professor, Department of History and Culture, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Notes on Transliteration
List of Mpas and Illustrations
Introduction--Polier and his Works
Eighteenth-Century India's Encounter with the West
Shopping in the Oriental Bazaar
The Eighteenth-Century Library of Social Categories
Casting the Mughal: The English and the European Way
A Note on Translation
Polier's Letters
Glossary
Bibliography
Index