BOOK REVIEW

A Mental Programme of the Medieval Indian

Tanuja Kothiyal

n recent years studies in medieval history of India have begun to raise important questions beyond the political and economistic approaches that appear to have dominated history writing of this period. Works by eminent historians in India and elsewhere have underlined the necessity of bringing the social and the cultural into the mainstream history writing by pointing towards the manner in which cultural practices were deeply enmeshed in the premodern political domain. Using a wide variety of epigraphic, textual and archival sources these works point towards the enormous social and cultural ux generated in medieval India with the emergence of Indo-Islamic states and society. Eugenia Vaninas book Medieval Indian Mindscapes adds to this growing body of work. The book attempts to map a mental programme of the medieval Indian man by creating a rich cultural landscape through the analysis of a wide variety of texts written in medieval India. In the process Vanina attempts to raise some important questions about historical consciousness in and about medieval India. Four Dimensions How does one read a book that claims to map a mental programme of medieval Indian man? Eugenia Vaninas book Medieval Indian Mindscapes attempts to do just that, but without problematising either medieval or mindscape. For Vanina, medieval is a long millennium, from the early medieval to the early modern. As for the mindscape, it is the mental programme that prompted the medieval man to think in particular ways about the space around him, his sense of time and history, his location in society and his sense of individuality. Vanina analyses an impressive range of texts originally in Sanskrit, Old Rajasthani, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Telugu, Persian
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Medieval Indian Mindscapes: Space, Time, Society, Man by Eugenia Vanina (New Delhi: Primus Books), 2012; pp 346, Rs 995.

and Urdu to recreate the mental world of the medieval Indian man. She attempts to do so in four chapters, titled Space, Time, Society and Man that appear to represent four important dimensions of medieval world for her. The chapter on Space explores the spatial world of medieval man to understand how Indians of that period viewed their own country and the world around it. For Vanina, spaces become important in locating man in society as spaces are associated with meanings that are hierarchical (head and feet), directional (left and right, north and south) and cultural (forests or habitations). The chapter on Time, which is the most engaging chapter of this book, explores varying notions of time, as mythical and historical, represented through linear and cyclical contexts. In Vaninas understanding, referents to mythical and historical times are present in the texts themselves, though often enmeshed in each other and difcult to extricate, lending historical texts to use and abuse of history. Referring to simultaneity of multiple temporalities that often has been viewed as lack of historical consciousness in premodern India, Vanina takes us through a discussion on the relationship between the idea of time and historical consciousness in the medieval Indian texts. Here Vanina, critically engages with the arguments proffered by Rao, Shulman and Subrahmanyam, in Textures of Time, questioning the idea of texture itself in evaluating the existence of historicity in a text, as the texture itself could well be a construction. Analysing a range of genres from epics to genealogies, Vanina goes on to demonstrate how these texts constantly reect and contemplate upon historical
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events, which in her view is the primary marker of historicity in texts and evidence for a well dened sense of history in premodern India. While advent of modernity caused the rupture between past and present for Europe, the absence of forces of modernity prevented Indians from viewing their past as antiquity, something that they were dissociated from. This in Vaninas view is the reason why premodern texts in India display multiple temporalities simultaneously, leading to them being considered ahistorical. The chapter on Society deals with the existence of multiple unstable hierarchies in society. Rather than the diffused category of caste, Vanina prefers to use the category of estate, which she denes as a bigger supra-caste community (p 140). She describes the existence of four estates, roughly resembling the four varnas, as the people of the sword (ahl-i-saif ), the people of the pen (ahl-i-qalam), the people of the market (ahl-i-bazaar) and the mute majority of the peasants (ahl-i-raiyyat). People in each estate were bound together by status, corporate interests and common socio-ethical and moral values. Various aspects of these dening values can be seen represented in the different texts of the period depending upon the authorship and patronage of the text. Thus, while texts like Prithiviraj Rasau, Bisaldev Rasau, Kanhadde Prabandh represent the values associated with the warriors, the values and mores of the trading communities are underlined in the 18th century autobiographical text Ardhakathanaka. On the other hand, peasants who formed the mute majority went unrepresented in the texts as it was the people of the qalam, or the people with control over the word that formed a kind of premodern intelligentsia and thus chose only to represent certain aspects of the medieval world. Though these four idealised moral archetypes (p 200) were in constant interaction with each other, movements between the estates were difcult to achieve, and resulted over a period of time in distinct identities. So where was man (to whom this mindscape would belong), placed in this matrix of space, time and society? Here Vanina faces an insurmountable task as man is hardly ever discussed in
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an individual capacity in the literature she has chosen to survey. The dominant identity that men possessed was in form of a member of certain caste, estate, corporation or community. For Vanina, even where individual attributes like physical features, age or behaviour were discussed in reference to men, they were circumscribed by social codes, specic to origins and to the estates men belonged to. It was rare for men to be able to break free from the expectations of their locations. It was only in the realm of bhakti that men could act independent of their original locations. While on the one hand bhakti insisted on the loss of I, its insistence on a direct communication with god paradoxically also allowed the bhaktas to break free from their locations and act as individuals. In the realm of kingship, kings could only legitimise themselves by comparing themselves with mythical and historical ideals, thus could not really break away from the norms set by their location. For Vanina, human individuality is something that is discovered only in late medieval and early modern epoch. These are all impressive formulations, though not new, and it is difcult to disagree with Vaninas primary objective that she lays down in the introduction itself, that is to move beyond the political and economic and set a cultural context. The problem lies in the manner that she chooses to approach her objective. Vanina brings together a myriad range of texts written between 8th and 18th centuries CE, as well as their readings and interpretations by modern historians, in order to create a cultural landscape of medieval India. Inadequate Explanation In trying to trace medieval Indian mindscapes, she attempts to evolve conceptual categories through which she can approach the mentality of the medieval common man. However, the four elements of the mental programme of the medieval Indian man, that is space, time, society and man, remain largely unexplained. To elaborate upon these categories, Vanina deals with a wide array of themes, but often fails to connect them with each other, virtually leaving
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the reader in a labyrinth. She takes the reader through multiple perceptions of space, time and social hierarchies, but the interrelationships between the three remain unclear. So the reader is left grappling with a range of examples, from functioning of medieval clocks to bhakti literature, without understanding how these relate to the mindscape of the medieval Indian man. Besides, Vanina uses the concept of a mental programme without adequately explaining what she means by it. Does she mean that men/societies were mentally programmed to act in certain ways? According to her, Indians were still rooted in a medieval mental programme, while the British came to India with almost fully modern mental programme. So mental programmes could be temporally, spatially and ideologically specic, and thus could be oriental and occidental. However, Vanina paradoxically appears to reiterate throughout the work that the mental world of the medieval Indian man was not very different from that of the western man. So, if the mental worlds were so similar, then how did historical processes, particularly modernity have such different impacts on societies? In fact, the major commonality that she discovers between India and the west, is the presence of characteristics in both societies, which are completely corresponding with major features of feudal society (p 283). Thus, in some ways Vaninas idea of medieval remains caught in the medieval

as feudal dimension that historiography of medieval India has far transcended. In recent years, comparisons between European and Indian societies have undertaken to explore the specicities of these societies as well as their connectedness, rather than looking for the existence of overarching historical processes like feudalism. Also, Medieval is a long period that Vanina explores and to attempt to make a coherent argument about the mindscape of a whole millennium is a difcult task. The period from early medieval to early modern witnessed wide-ranging political transformations from the rise of regional polities to the rise of the Mughal Empire. Besides, regional diversity in the Indian subcontinent led to these transformations being manifested diversely in different regions. The interactions between indigenous polities and immigrants generated tremendous social ux at multiple levels which is evident in several facets of medieval society ranging from textual productions to architectural styles. In a way, both textual and architectural productions were statements of both conicts as well as assimilations and thus were very political. Vanina appears to gloss over the complexities represented by these texts in her attempt to piece together a medieval world. Multiple Recordings In her project of recreating the mindscape of the medieval man, Vanina depends on a range of texts, production of

Survey
August 27, 2011

Experimental Economics: A Survey

by

Sujoy Chakravarty, Daniel Friedman, Gautam Gupta, Neeraj Hatekar, Santanu Mitra, Shyam Sunder Over the past few decades, experimental methods have given economists access to new sources of data and enlarged the set of economic propositions that can be validated. This field has grown exponentially in the past few decades, but is still relatively new to the average Indian academic. The objective of this survey is to familiarise the Indian audience with some aspects of experimental economics. For copies write to: Circulation Manager, Economic and Political Weekly, 320-321, A to Z Industrial Estate, Ganpatrao Kadam Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai 400 013. email: circulation@epw.in
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BOOK REVIEW

which was largely an enterprise patronised by the political class. In the French historical tradition, the project of history of mentality based itself on a wide range of quantitative data like estate inventories, church records, judicial archives, wills and library catalogues among others. Vaninas attempt to discover a particular way of thinking common to people inhabiting a wide region over a thousand years bases itself on an uneven reading of a range of texts that certainly were not produced by the common man. Vaninas predominant focus on non-Persian texts certainly helps in moving away from the dominance of Persian texts in historiography of medieval India. However, while the existence of non-Persian texts in medieval India demonstrates the

existence of strong vernacular traditions, it should not be forgotten that these traditions also developed under patronage of regional polities. In recent years along with textual productions, historians have begun to explore oral traditions as a way of evolving a historical understanding of popular culture. A history of medieval Indian mindscape could well have focused on a rich body of oral traditions already being uncovered through the works of historians, litterateurs and anthropologists. Nevertheless, Medieval Indian Mindscapes is an important contribution to the growing tradition in historiography of medieval India which rather than depending only upon Persian court literature makes use of extensive non-Persian

literature produced in this period. Vaninas use of vernacular historiographical traditions like the carita, kavya, prabandha, rasau, khyat, vigat, vacanika, bakhars, etc, to reconstruct a cultural landscape of this period makes an important point about multiple ways in which histories were recorded, without adhering to a singular notion of linearity of time, narrative or form. Countering the overwhelming perceptions about insularity and ahistoricity in medieval India, her analysis of texts reveals in fascinating detail the existence of powerful historical awareness in pre-modern India.
Tanuja Kothiyal (tanuja@aud.ac.in) is with the history department, Ambedkar University, Delhi.

Books Received
Agarwala, Rina (2013); Informal Labor, Formal Politics, and Dignied Discontent in India (Cambridge, New York, Delhi: Cambridge University Press); pp xx + 250, price not indicated. Amar, Paul and Vijay Prashad, ed. (2013); Dispatches From the Arab Spring: Understanding the New Middle East (New Delhi: LeftWord Books); pp 415, Rs 550. Amjad, Rashid and Shahid Javed Burki, ed. (2013); Pakistan: Moving the Economy Forward (Lahore: Lahore School of Economics); pp vi + 608, Rs 495. Balachandran, P P (2013); A View from the Raisina Hill (New Delhi: Har-Anand Publications); pp 168, Rs 395. Bano, Masooda (2013); Breakdown in Pakistan: How Aid Is Eroding Institutions for Collective Action (New Delhi: Cambridge University Press/ Foundation Books); pp xiv + 220, Rs 795. Behera, Navnita Chadha, ed. (2013); Political Science (Vol 4: India Engages the World) (New Delhi: Oxford University Press); pp xlii + 570, price not indicated (General Editor: Achin Vanaik). Channa, Subhadra Mitra (2013); Gender in South Asia: Social Imagination and Constructed Realities (New Delhi: Cambridge University Press); pp x + 228, Rs 795. Chatterji, Rakhahari (2013); Gandhi and the Ali Brothers: Biography of a Friendship (New Delhi: Sage Publications); pp xi + 229, Rs 695. Das, Samir Kumar, ed. (2013); Political Science (Vol 1: The Indian State) (New Delhi: Oxford University Press); pp xxxviii + 175, price not indicated (General Editor: Achin Vanaik). Datta, Pradip Kumar and Sanjay Palshikar, ed. (2013); Political Science (Vol 3: Indian Political Thought) (New Delhi: Oxford University Press); pp xxxv + 276, price not indicated (General Editor: Achin Vanaik). Ghosh, Atig, ed. (2013); Branding the Migrant: Arguments of Rights, Welfare and Security (London and Kolkata: Frontpage Publications); pp viii + 272, price not indicated. Howes, Stephen and M Govinda Rao, ed. (2013); Federal Reform Strategies: Lessons from Asia and Australia (New Delhi: Oxford University Press); pp x + 314, Rs 850. Naujoks, Daniel (2013); Migration, Citizenship, and Development: Diasporic Membership Policies and Overseas Indians in the United States (New Delhi: Oxford University Press); pp xviii + 452, Rs 1,195. Pai, Sudha, ed. (2013); Handbook of Politics in Indian States: Regions, Parties, and Economic Reforms (New Delhi: Oxford University Press); pp xx + 443, Rs 1,495. Pandey, Gyanendra (2013); A History of Prejudice: Race, Caste, and Difference in India and the United States (New Delhi: Cambridge University Press); pp xv + 243, Rs 595. Panikkar, K N (2013); History as a Site of Struggle: Essays on History, Culture and Politics (Gurgaon: Three Essays Collective); pp xv + 652, Rs 1,200. Pokharel, Bhojraj and Shrishti Rana (2013); Nepal: Votes for Peace (New Delhi: Cambridge University Press/Foundation Books); pp xiii + 266, Rs 450. Puniyani, Ram and Sharad Sharma (2013); A Graphic Account: Terrorism Explained (Mumbai: Arth Prakashan); pp 107, Rs 200. Rajadhyaksha, Ashish, ed. (2013); In the Wake of Aadhaar: The Digital Ecosystem of Governance in India (Bangalore: Centre for the Study of Culture and Society); pp xlix + 562, price not indicated. Rasgotra, Maharajakrishna, ed. (2013); America in the Asian Century (New Delhi: Amaryllis); pp xv + 188, Rs 495. (2013); Science and Technology in China: Implications and Lessons for India (New Delhi: Sage Publications); ppxxv + 256, Rs 795. Robinson, Rowena (2013); Boundaries of Religion: Essays on Christianity, Ethnic Conict, and Violence (New Delhi: Oxford University Press); pp xx + 299, Rs 850.
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Sarkar, Swatahsiddha (2013); Gorkhaland Movement: Ethnic Conict and State Response (New Delhi: Concept Publishing); pp x + 226, Rs 700. Shankar, Shylashri and Raghav Gaiha (2013); Battling Corruption: Has NREGA Reached Indias Rural Poor? (New Delhi: Oxford University Press); pp xiv + 272, Rs 825. Sundaram, Ravi, ed. (2013); No Limits: Media Studies from India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press); pp xv + 422, Rs 995. Suri, K C, ed. (2013); Political Science (Vol 2: Indian Democracy) (New Delhi: Oxford University Press); pp xxxix + 287, price not indicated (General Editor: Achin Vanaik). Thapar, Romila (2013); Readings in Early Indian History (New Delhi: Oxford University Press); pp x + 492, Rs 650. Toppo, Herkan Neadan, ed. (2013); Contemporary Security Concerns of India (New Delhi: Concept Publishing); pp xxiv + 248, Rs 800. Vasudevan, Ramaa (2013); Things Fall Apart: From the Crash of 2008 to the Great Slump (New Delhi: Sage Publications), pp xv + 223, Rs 695. Weiss, Thomas G (2013); Global Governance: Why? What? Whither? (Cambridge and Malden: Polity Press); pp xvi + 225, 16.99. Wijesinha, Rajiva (2013); Twentieth Century Classics: Reections on Writers and their Times (New Delhi: Cambridge University Press/Foundation Books); pp ix + 217, Rs 325. Wilkof, Neil and Shamnad Basheer, ed. (2013); Overlapping Intellectual Property Rights (New Delhi: Oxford University Press); pp lxxxvii + 536, Rs 1,995. Wolff, Richard D and Stephen A Resnick (2012); Contending Economic Theories: Neoclassical, Keynesian, and Marxian (Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: The MIT Press); pp xvii + 406, price not indicated. Yueh, Linda (2013); Chinas Growth: The Making of an Economic Superpower (Oxford: Oxford University Press); pp xviii + 349, price not indicated.
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