Of Music and the Maharaja

Gender, affect, and power in Ranjit Singh's Lahore

Bibliographic Data

ID3637702
AuthorsRadha Kapuria (0000-0001-9381-7586, University of Sheffield, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume54
Issue2
Pages654-690
Publication date2020-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueModern Asian Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0026-749X • E-ISSN: 1469-8099
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0026749x18000446
OpenAlexW2966247460
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited24

This article focuses on performing artists at the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (r. 1801-39), the last fully sovereign ruler of the Punjab and leader of what is termed the Sikh empire. After Ranjit's death, his successors ruled for a mere decade before British annexation in 1849. Ranjit Singh's kingdom has been studied for the extraordinary authority it exercised over warring Sikh factions and for the strong challenge it posed to political rivals like the British. Scholarly exploration of cultural efflorescence at the Lahore court has ignored the role of performing artistes, despite a preponderance of references to them in both Persian chronicles of the Lahore court and in European travelogues of the time. I demonstrate how Ranjit Singh was partial to musicians and dancers as a class, even marrying two Muslim courtesans in the face of stiff Sikh orthodoxy. A particular focus is on Ranjit's corps of 'Amazons'-female dancers performing martial feats dressed as men-the cynosure of all eyes, especially male European, and their significance in representing the martial glory of the Sikh state. Finally, I evaluate the curious cultural misunderstandings that arose when English 'dancing' encountered Indian 'nautching', revealing how gender was the primary axis around which Indian and European male statesmen alike expressed their power. Ubiquitous in the daily routine of Ranjit and the lavish entertainments set up for visitors, musicians and female performers lay at the interstices of the Indo-European encounter, and Anglo-Sikh interactions in particular

Ancient history · Archaeology · Empire · Glory · Orthodoxy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Ruler · History · Law · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · South Asian Studies and Conflicts · South Asian Studies and Diaspora

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