The Mughals and the North-East

There is a perception that the region of north-east India maintained its 'splendid isolation' and remained outside the reach of the Mughals and did not have a pre-colonial past. The present book is an attempt to decenter and demolish the said perceptions and asserts that north-east India had a 'medieval' past through linkage with the dominant central power in India - the Mughals. The eastern frontier of this Mughal Empire was constituted by a number of states like Bengal, Koch Bihar, Assam, Manipur, Dimasa, Jaintia, Cachar, Tripura, Khasi confederation, Chittagong, Lushai and the Nagas. Of these, some areas like Bengal were an integral part of the Mughal Empire, while others like Koch Bihar and Assam were in and out of the empire. Tripura, Manipur, Jaintia and Cachar were frequently overrun by the Mughals whenever the State was short of revenue and withdrew soon without incorporating them in the state.
Despite not being a formal part of the Mughal Empire, the society, economy, polity and culture of the north-east India, however, had been majorly impacted by the Mughal presence. The brief, but effective advent of the Mughals had supplanted certain political and revenue institutions in various states. It generated trade and commerce, which linked it to the rest of India. A number of wondering Sufi saints, Islamic missionaries, imprisoned Mughal soldiers and officers were settled in various states, which resulted in a substantial Muslim population growth in the region. Besides the population, there are numerous Islamic and syncretic institutions, cultures, and shrines which dot the entire region.

Sajal Nag is Senior Professor and Head, Department of History and Dean, School of Social Sciences, Assam University, Silchar. He is the author of The Beleaguered Nation: Making and Unmaking of the Assamese Nationality (Manohar: 2016); and Contesting Marginality: Ethnicity, Insurgency and Sub Nationalism in North East-India (Manohar: 2002); among others.

List of Illustrations Preface Introduction SAJAL NAG 1. External Sources for the History of North-East in Mughal Times IRFAN HABIB 2. Extent and Economic Aspects of Forests in Mughal India SHIREEN MOOSVI 3. Assam in the Mughal Times: A Dutch View in 1660s ISHRAT ALAM 4. Beyond the Chronicles: The Agrarian Legacy in Cooch Behar and Assam (An Analysis of Mughal Archival Records, AD 1614-1754) SAIYID ZAHEER HUSAIN JAFRI 5. Mughal Influence on Chittagong and Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) ASHFAQUE HOSSAIN& ANANDA BIKASH CHAKMA 6. Naval Warfare in Mughal North-East India KAUSHIK ROY 7. Kamrupa State and the Mughal Empire TAHIR H. ANSARI 8. Ahom Princess of Mughal Court BIMAL PHUKAN 9. Ahom-Mughal Matrimonial Alliance MEMCHATON SINGHA 10. Frontier Tribes and the Mughals in the Eighteenth Century TEJIMALA GURUNG 11. The Mughals and the Khasi and Jaintia States of North-Eastern India: Interactions and Impacts LASOBORKI PYRNGAP 12. Mughals and the Koch-Ahom Relations During the Sixteenth Century I.S.MUMTAZA 13. Mughal and Ahom States: Impact, Adaptation and Consequences M. PARWEZ 14. Encounters in the East: Mughal-Tripura Relations ANINDITA GHOSHAL 15. Tribes of North-East India as Depicted in Persian Tazkeras MAZHAR ASIF 16. Sufi Saints and their Impact in Barak Valley SHERIN SULTANA TALUKDAR 17. Manipur and the Mughals: King Khagemba and the Mughal Interface (AD 1597-1652) NG. MEETA DEVI 18. Agrarian Conquest in Mughal Goalpara SATARUPA SAHA 19. The Mughals and the Advent of Portugese in North-East DEEPALI BHATTACHARJEE 20. Mughal Wars in North-East India: Analysis of the Ahom Victory over the Mughals GEETASHRI SINGH 21. The Curious Community of Asomiya Sikhs: The Mughal Connection? SAJAL NAG 22. Arrival of Various Sufi Saints and their Silsilah (Order) in Different Parts of Assam and Establishment of Khankahs ASSADUZZAMAN 23. Advent of Islam in Surma-Barak Valley MAHBUBUR RAHMAN LASKAR Contributors