The government the jāti and the individual: Rights,discipline and control in the Pune Kotwal Papers,1766-94

Abstract

This article is based on the Pune Kotwal's papers from 1766 to 1794. The cases cited here indicate the interaction of the level of authority in local and urban Indian society, and the fluid response of authority to the needs and requirements of the society. The individual, the jāti and the government formed a dialogue on the working of social norms and sensibility within Indian society. Their response to one another at any given time reflected the inter play between rights, duties, obligations and authority that had evolved within the indige nous society in Maharashtra by the early 19th century, prior to the intervention of the British. The article also suggests the all-pervasive nature of the government in controlling the affairs of the jātis and individuals, notwithstanding their social status.

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