Kings, Spirits and Memory in Central India

Enchanting the State

Aditya Pratap Deo (University of Delhi, India.)

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English

Routledge India
25 September 2023

Asian history; Colonialism & imperialism; Hinduism; Social & cultural anthropology; Politics & government

Part anthropological history and part memoir, this book is a unique study of the polity of the colonial-princely state of Kanker in central India. The author, a scion of the erstwhile ruling family of Kanker, delves into the oral accounts given in the ancestral deity practices of the mixed tribe-caste communities of the region to highlight popular narratives of its historical polity. As he struggles with his own dilemmas as ethnographer-king, what comes into view is a polity where the princely state is drawn out amidst a terrain of gods and spirits as much as that of law courts and magistrates, and political power is divided, contested and shared between the raja/state and the people. This study constitutes not only an intervention in the larger debate on the relationship between state formations and tribal peoples, but also on the very nature of history as a knowledge practice, especially the understandings of power, authority and sovereignty in it.

Combining intensive ethnography, complementary archival work and crucial theoretical questions engaging social scientists worldwide, the author charts an unusual explanatory path that can allow us to obtain a meaningful understanding of societies/peoples that have historically been marginalized and seen as different. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of history, anthropology, politics, religion, tribal society and Modern South Asia.

By: Aditya Pratap Deo (University of Delhi India.)
Imprint: Routledge India
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 453g
ISBN: 9781032112855
ISBN 10: 1032112859
Pages: 198
Publication Date: 25 September 2023
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

1. The King as “I” 2. The Realm of the State 3. Liminal Crossings 4. The World of the Anga Deo 5. Enchanted Realms

Aditya Pratap Deo teaches History at St Stephen’s College, Delhi, India. He has his early degrees in History from the University of Delhi, and a PhD in History from Emory University, Atlanta, USA. His areas of academic interest and research are Modern South Asian history with special focus on tribal worlds, state formations and Chhattisgarh/Central India and philosophies of/critical theory in history and anthropological history, on all of which themes he has published.