A decades long attempt by the central government to control dissent in Punjab culminated in a military operation codenamed Bluestar (June 1984). Overtly aimed at flushing militants from the Golden Temple, it led to the desecration of the sacred place by the army and an unwarranted bloodshed, soon to be followed by the assassination of Indira Gandhi (31 October 1984), anti-Sikh riots, an unprecedented growth of militancy in Punjab and division of Punjabi society along religious lines. Punjabi literature addressed the matter, trying to make sense of the traumatic event and its aftermath. Dalip Kaur Tiwana (1935–2020), too, provided, by way of her novel, Jimī ̃ puchai āsmān / The Earth Asks the Sky (1986), a fictionalised witness account informed by her experience as university teacher whose students find themselves drawn into the vortex of political exigencies. A study of her reflections on dissent and violence in this context will constitute the subject matter of this paper.
This paper looks at the performativity of Rajput kingship, taking up the case study of the Rathor house of Kishangarh. Studying historical cases of legitimation and illegitimation from the first half of the 18th century, it argues that affect and emotions played an important role in the process. Specifically, different players challenged and asserted power positions through multi-medial mobilization of “myth” integrated with evocation of different moods against the background of sacred time and space. In this process, gender played an important role, as female divinities and palace women were involved both as objects in the males’ royal displays, but also with room for an agency of their own.
This article explores Shivaji’s use of Braj Bhasha poetry to construct and assert his identity in the furtherance of his royal consecration and realisation of his geopolitical ambitions. Departing from the cultural environment of Deccani sultanates with their established patronage of Dakani and Persian, Shivaji employed Braj to appeal to Hindu aristocracy, most notably Rajput chiefs, linking himself genealogically to the Sisodia Rajputs. Śivrājbhūṣaṇ, poetical treatise commissioned by him, blends indigenous Hindu themes with Persianate royal imagery, reflecting complex political and cultural strategy to claim legitimacy and imperial status. Drawing on Dirk Kolff’s hypothesis on warrior identities (1990), the article attempts to consider Shivaji’s Rajput affiliation as both pragmatic and indicative of flexible social identities shaped by military alliances. The study situates one of Shivaji’s literary and political endeavours within a broader tradition of Braj Bhasha literary cultivation in the Deccan, tracing its origins to Shivaji’s father, Shahaji, and poets such as Cintāmaṇi Tripāṭhī. This transregional literary engagement reinforced Shivaji’s royal authority and positioned him within the competing cultural landscapes of early modern India.
This article explores the cultural and literary significance of Calligonum polygonoides, locally known as phog, an endemic shrub of Rajasthan’s Thar Desert. The subject of analysis is the poem, Phog ikīsī, by a contemporary Rajasthani poet Girdhardān Ratnū (b. 1970), which serves as a lens to examine the broader cultural landscapes of Rajasthan. The poem bridges tradition and modernity, employing the literary form of Marwari known as Dingal. Through a close reading of this work, the article reveals the enduring connection between people and their environment, highlighting the ecological and cultural consciousness embedded in local literary traditions. Ultimately, the analysis argues that Phog ikīsī expresses a profound sense of Rajasthani identity (Rajasthani-ness) and affirms the value of locality.
This essay examines the tales (kathās) of the Kyāmkhānī poet, Jān Kavi (fl. 1614–1664) in order to explore the historical process through which a Rajput great tradition took shape in Mughal times. Firmly situated within the genre conventions of earlier Sufi love tales that emerged from the Avadh region, the Mughal-era Braj Bhasha kathās present an archetype of the emperor-minister ideal in imaginary narratives, juxtaposing it with historical accounts rooted in Islamicate and Mughal-Rajput models. The tales illustrate how, during the centralization of power under the Mughal emperor and the allied Rajput kings, the fraught Rajput world is idealized, and infused with a heightened sense of self and honour. By situating the Kyāmkhānīs within the Mughal state and the kathās within their genre conventions, Jān Kavi articulates the ethics of loyalty, service, and kinship in an upwardly mobile ruling family.
