Studies in the Anatomy of a Transformation : Awadh : From Mughal to Colonial Rule

Contents: Preface. Introduction. 1. The geographical setting. I. Mughal Awadh: 2. Administration of the Jagirs in Awadh during the 17th century. 3. Madad-i-Ma-ash : Farmans of Aurangzeb from Awadh. 4. Tension and conflict in the agrarian society of Awadh: a study of the revenue grantees. II. Under Nawab-Wazirs: 5. Origin and growth of Ta\'alluqadari tenures in Awadh. 6. Landed properties of Sufi establishment--a study of documents from Salon in Awadh. 7. Armed Zamindar: the power play in Awadh (1595-1858). 8. Inheritance: succession and the customary law in a Sufi establishment of Awadh. 9. A Sufi institution of Awadh. III. Changes Under British Rule: 10. British intervention and agrarian instability in the Kingdom of Awadh (1801-56). 11. The land controlling classes in Awadh--a study of changes in their composition, 1600-1900. IV. Resistance: 12. The profile of a saintly rebel--Maulavi Ahmadullah Shah. Bibliography. Index.

"This volume contains wide ranging surveys of various aspects of the history of Awadh from its position as a province of the Mughal Empire to a successor state, a semi-colony under the Nawabi regime, the British annexation and the resistance in 1857. The manner of Mughal administration, the emergence of the class of t\'aluqadars, the Company\'s constant pressure on the Nawabi regime, the cultural and agrarian melieu of a religious establishment, the biography of a scholarly rebel of 1857 all bring home to the reader different facets of the historical personality of Awadh. The studies form an important complement (and corrective) to much of current historical writing of Awadh." (jacket)

[Saiyid Zaheer Husain Jafri is a Reader in History at the Delhi University.]