Slave Identities in 18Th Century India

Slave Identities in 18th Century India

Today’s reading of “A Slave’s Quest for Selfhood in Eighteenth-Century Hindustan,” Chatterjee takes the role of educator and critic. She critiques historians like Sarkar, Gupta, and Singh for their overemphasis on the “facts” of eyewitness accounts instead of what these accounts demonstrate about Indian personal identity and consciousness. Chatterjee differs from these previous historians by analyzing slave authors and the psychological, ethical and religious narratives within their accounts instead of just factual data. Her article dissects the poetry and prose of eighteenth-century slave-authors Tahmas Miskin and Din Muhammed in order to find what factors influenced Indian constructive identities. Using Miskin as the primary subject for her analysis, Chatterjee examines the multiple social factors and cultural lineages that constitute Miskin’s slave—and later free—identity.

Tahmas Miskin lived in Punjab India, the northern area of the subcontinent. During the eighteenth-century the Punjab was a battleground for various small kingdoms seeking to fill the political void left by a declining Mughal empire. The different cultures and peoples that sought to conquer the Punjab are important for their multiplicity, creating a site where kaleidoscopic identities such as Miskin’s are possible. With the power of the East India Company growing throughout the latter half of the eighteenth-century, the Punjab remained an important site for confrontation and cultural exchange.

About the Author:

Dr. Indrani Chatterjee currently is an Associate Professor of History at RutgersUniversity in New Brunswick, NJ. Dr. Chatterjee’s research focus on slavery in early modern and modern South Asia, the histories of women, sexuality, and law.

Vocabulary:

Kitsab-I-Qissa-I Tahmas Miskin—the title of Miskin’s memoirs—translates as “The book of episodes from the life of Tahmas Miskin

Takhallus—pseudonym for an author

Subrahmanyam—a well known historian of pre-modern S. Asian history now at UCLA

Za’if—literally, “weak”

Qur’anic Prohibition—literally “haram” or forbidden by law

Adab—polite behavior

Ghatika—a unit of time, see footnote 45

Begam—polite title for the wife of nobleman

Questions for Reading:

1.How does Chatterjee portray life as an Indian slave? How does she relate African-American slave narratives to Indian slave narratives? How is Miskin’s personal slave experience different from other Indian slaves?

2.What kinds of factors contribute to Miskin’s sense of his own identity? What role does “diaspora” play in the construction of his identity?

3.How much of a role do social influences like friendship, kinship, and community play in Miskin’s life and identity? Characterize Miskin’s relationship with his master.

4.How is Chatterjee’s article different from previous historians and why is Miskin’s case important?

Bibliography:

Rutgers: School of Arts and Sciences, History- Chatterjee, Idrani, 2008, < 140> (19 May 2008)

Seema Alavi, The Eighteenth Century in India, Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press, (2002).