European University Institute Library

Writing self, writing empire, Chandar Bhan Brahman and the cultural world of the Indo-Persian state secretary, Rajeev Kinra

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

individual biography

index present

non fiction

Writing self, writing empire

electronic resource

dictionariesbibliography

923818582

Rajeev Kinra

Open Access e-BooksSouth Asia across the disciplines

Chandar Bhan Brahman and the cultural world of the Indo-Persian state secretary

"Writing Self, Writing Empire examines the life, career, and writings of the Mughal state secretary, or Munshi, Chandar Bhan 'Brahman' (d. c.1670), one of the great Indo-Persian poets and prose stylists of early modern South Asia. Chandar Bhan's life spanned the reigns of four different emperors, Akbar (1556-1605), Jahangir (1605-1627), Shah Jahan (1628-1658), and Aurangzeb 'Alamgir (1658-1707), the last of the 'Great Mughals' whose courts dominated the culture and politics of the subcontinent at the height of the empire's power, territorial reach, and global influence"--Provided by publisher

Introduction : a Hindu secretary at King Shah Jahan's court -- Chandar Bhan's intellectual world : a revisionist perspective -- A mirror for Munsh's : secretarial arts and Mughal governance -- King of Delhi, king of the world : Chandar Bhan's perspective on Shah Jahan, the Mughal court, and the realm -- Writing the Mughal self : Chandar Bhan's life and letters -- Making Indo-Persian literature fresh : Chandar Bhan's poetic world -- The persistence of gossip : Chandar Bhan and the cultural memory of Mughal decline -- Conclusion : ending at just the beginning : towards a postcolonial Mughal historiography