Mimesis and Assemblage : The Imperial Durbars at Delhi
(2017) In STANCE Working Papers Series 2017(4). p.5-25- Abstract
- With a specific emphasis on the imperial durbar as symbolic form and ritual content, the paper explores how the British, until 1857 in the guise of the East India Company, drew on and gradually adjusted local customs and notions of rightful authority as part of their annexation and subjection of South Asian polities. The paper suggests that the the imperial durbars of 1877, 1903 and 1911, as well as the 'non-durbar' of 1936-38, make manifest how the projection and assertion of imperial paramountcy was bound up with efforts to anchor it in symbols and rituals associated with the sovereign expressions of 'native rulers' in particular, and in 'tradition' and the 'traditional' more generally. At the heart of the paper is, hence, not solely the... (More)
- With a specific emphasis on the imperial durbar as symbolic form and ritual content, the paper explores how the British, until 1857 in the guise of the East India Company, drew on and gradually adjusted local customs and notions of rightful authority as part of their annexation and subjection of South Asian polities. The paper suggests that the the imperial durbars of 1877, 1903 and 1911, as well as the 'non-durbar' of 1936-38, make manifest how the projection and assertion of imperial paramountcy was bound up with efforts to anchor it in symbols and rituals associated with the sovereign expressions of 'native rulers' in particular, and in 'tradition' and the 'traditional' more generally. At the heart of the paper is, hence, not solely the ritualisation that the imperial durbars signified, enacted and made possible. It, in addition, attends to what Douglas E. Haynes has referred to as the co-constitution of 'ritual order' and 'political order' in a South Asian context and its impact on British attempts to concurrently preserve existing hierarchies and to, in vain, present themselves as distant and objective civil servants. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/5330aea7-a4f2-4edc-9a4e-3378572d1432
- author
- Svensson, Ted LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2017-10
- type
- Working paper/Preprint
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- British Empire, state making, ritual, durbar, India, symbolic form, imperialism, paramountcy
- in
- STANCE Working Papers Series
- volume
- 2017
- issue
- 4
- pages
- 25 pages
- project
- State-Making and the Origins of Global Order in the Long Nineteenth Century and Beyond
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 5330aea7-a4f2-4edc-9a4e-3378572d1432
- date added to LUP
- 2017-10-18 14:59:31
- date last changed
- 2019-01-24 11:40:38
@misc{5330aea7-a4f2-4edc-9a4e-3378572d1432,
abstract = {{With a specific emphasis on the imperial durbar as symbolic form and ritual content, the paper explores how the British, until 1857 in the guise of the East India Company, drew on and gradually adjusted local customs and notions of rightful authority as part of their annexation and subjection of South Asian polities. The paper suggests that the the imperial durbars of 1877, 1903 and 1911, as well as the 'non-durbar' of 1936-38, make manifest how the projection and assertion of imperial paramountcy was bound up with efforts to anchor it in symbols and rituals associated with the sovereign expressions of 'native rulers' in particular, and in 'tradition' and the 'traditional' more generally. At the heart of the paper is, hence, not solely the ritualisation that the imperial durbars signified, enacted and made possible. It, in addition, attends to what Douglas E. Haynes has referred to as the co-constitution of 'ritual order' and 'political order' in a South Asian context and its impact on British attempts to concurrently preserve existing hierarchies and to, in vain, present themselves as distant and objective civil servants.}},
author = {{Svensson, Ted}},
keywords = {{British Empire; state making; ritual; durbar; India; symbolic form; imperialism; paramountcy}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Working Paper}},
number = {{4}},
pages = {{5--25}},
series = {{STANCE Working Papers Series}},
title = {{Mimesis and Assemblage : The Imperial Durbars at Delhi}},
volume = {{2017}},
year = {{2017}},
}