Author :- Prof. Rattan Lal Hangloo
Publishers:- Francis & Taylor in London / Manohar Publishers in India
Price:- 146 USD
The book "The state in Medieval Kashmir" is an honest effort by Mr Hangloo into the The state in medieval Kashmir is a book that is an honest attempt by Mr Hangloo into the thin veneer of state in medieval Kashmir and it is a threadbare effort of the author to lay open all the factors, processes, and interplay of forces, rituals, traditions and religious implications related, if at all, to the process of state formation in Medieval Kashmir. In the field of Indian historiography, which is expanding rapidly, regional studies are finally getting grasp the emphasis they long desired. One of the real contributions to this new fold is the latest presentation of Professor Rattan Lal Hangloo, an eminent historian of medieval India. His book on the political processes and power structures of medieval Kashmir is notable for being a sincere, theoretically expansive, decidedly approachable political of a region viewed regularly through narrow, contemporary political frameworks. As a prolific writer on medieval Indian history and especially, medieval state in Kashmir and more particularly, the social and religiosity of medieval Kashmir, the author brings considerable experience in research and a way of interpreting knowledge to to this subject of Kashmir's if it is possible to extend the meaning, discursive map.
This publication is not simply an extension of the history of Kashmir. It is an intervention in the ways that we think about power, religion and society in pre-modern India. Unlike many conventional political historians who seem content to tell a story with kings, event by event, the author has based his narrative upon a thorough analysis of the structural and ideological modes of authority in medieval Kashmir. He situates Kashmir within larger shared political currents in India and Asia, while simultaneously accounting for the locally-specific confluence of religion and culture that rendered Kashmir a distinctive historical formation. One of the most attractive aspects of the book, for me, is its methodology; Hangloo draws on an amazing variety of sources –Sanskrit texts, Persian histories, religious commentaries, and local oral histories – and interprets them through a carefully controlled theoretical lens. Rather than simply treating these texts as statements of fact, he treats them as a record of sites of ideological contestation and cultural production. This not only revitalizes familiar material, but also raises new possibilities for studying the past of Kashmir. The text carefully attends to the mutually constitutive relationship between politics and religion.
In medieval Kashmir, power never was exercised in a vacuum. It was always tied to some form of religious legitimacy, of which both Shaiva and Sufi forms were significant. The author deconstructs the ways rulers exercised forms of religious patronage to consolidate their power patronizing temples, madrasas and shrines while dealing with important spiritual figures who sometimes contested royal power. The treatment of this dialectic is neither reductive nor idealist, it clearly shows us how religion was used both both as a form of governance, resistance, and social connection. For me, what makes this study significant is it is not only is it about the kashmir state under medieval conditions and the challenges it faced not just from internal factions or external local invaders, its about the internal tensions of the political order in the first place. The author describes how it is was and continues to be challenging to build ideological consensus, manage religious difference and somehow ensure stability through administrative structures. While similar issues were to be found in other parts of medieval India, the book demonstrates how Kashmir addressed them in a distinct and at times innovative manner. The book also illustrates the ways notions of kingship, and justice were produced, reproduced and intervened upon as the temporal became spatial in attitudes towards notions such as dharma, sharia, rajdharma and sob-i-kul-peace with all.
The ideas we have touched upon saw usage by kings, theologians, and common people alike in justifying claims, resisting oppression, and becoming inspired to create policy. One of the strengths of Hangloo's work is his ability to trace the ideological shifts very clearly and in depth. Critically, the author frames medieval Kashmir not at the edge of the world as an isolated valley, but as a connecting point of travel (trade and pilgrimage) and intellectual movement connecting then, Central Asia, North India, and even the Middle East. This insight complicates the dichotomy between Kashmir as it paradise for hindus versus Kashmir as an Islamic bastion. Instead, he demonstrates a multivocal and pluralistic society in which different religions and cultural traditions co-existed, conflicted, and ultimately crafted each other. The pose of the book is elegant and rigorous and demonstrates the considerable teaching and research experience of the author. Each of the chapters are logically laid out contributing to the overall narrative and taking a deep dive into other themes; land revenue, sectarian conflict, temple politics, Sufi orders, and local elites. The text is written in a manner that is accessible to students while remaining complex enough for an academic audience.
There are times when the reader, who may not be conversant with theoretical paradigms in historical sociology, may feel overwhelmed with conveyance in the process of reading. It is important to regard the author's engagement with concepts inherent to legitimacy, state formation, and cultural hegemony as important ideas but require thoughtful reading. Furthermore, though the book does an excellent job of textual analysis, it would benefit from a more sustained analysis of material culture or visual sources, such as architecture, iconography, and studies of the landscape. In spite of these minute criticisms, this book is a monumental achievement, replacing a significant place in Indian historiography with a theoretically overshadowed account of political history, rooted in the region.
In a time when conversations about Kashmir are usually politicised and ahistorical, authors provides a historical corrective – one based on scholarly honesty, empirical depth, and interpretive nuance. This book is required reading not only for historians of South Asia, but also for political scientists, scholars of religion, anthropologists, and just readers wanting to know the longue duree of \(Kashmir's history. It will also serve as a model of how regional historians provide depth to, and transform, historical paradigms.
In summary, this book is a masterpiece of regional historiography, marrying deep archival knowledge with theoretical sophistication. By focusing on political processes in medieval Kashmir and the socio-religious foundations of those processes, Hangloo not only reclaims an important Indian historiographical space, but sets a high bar for the future research of the matter. Certainly, this is a book that deserves to be read, debated, and discussed widely. Yet, while this book represents an important academic contribution, it has some limitations. It is heavily theoretical and often textual in nature - limitations that may not excite the average reader who has a limited acquaintance with political theory. In the end, its limitations are inconsequential, and the book remains a significant contribution in this field of research.
About the author:-
Rattan Lal Hangloo, currently Honorary Chancellor of Noble International University, Toronto, is a distinguished academician who previously served as professor of History at University of Hyderabad and held Vice-chancellorship of Kalyani University (West Bengal) and the University of Allahabad.
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