Life Stories in Mughal India - Indo-Persian Biographies, 16th-18th Centuries

Situated at the intersections between history and literature, the book explores the life-stories written in the Mughal period to recover socio-cultural developments in the period. It focuses on the genre of life-stories and looks at the complex interactions between agency and the ruling structure in shaping historical formations.

List of contents

Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction 2. 'Domesticity' as a Political Space in the tazkiras: Constructing the Mughal Household through Emotions, Gastronomy and Politics 3. Structuring the Body and Selfhood: Gender, Civility and Norms of Masculinity in the Mughal tazkiras 4. Representation of the Politics of Fosterage and Fealty in the tazkiras 5. An Alternative Gaze: Constructing the Agency of Women through the tazkiras 6. The Liminals in the Lives of the Ruling Elites: Marginal Social groups in the Mughal tazkiras 7. Conclusion. Bibliography. Index.

About the author

Shivangini Tandon is working as an Assistant Professor of History in Women's College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. Her research interests include early modern South Asian history, feminist theory and questions of culture and language.

Product details

• Authors: Shivangini Tandon
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 27.06.2025
• EAN: 9781032991320
• ISBN: 978-1-0-3299132-0
• No. of pages: 160
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Geosciences > Geography; Social sciences, law, business > Social sciences (general); SOCIAL SCIENCE / General, HISTORY / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Regional Studies, Social & cultural history, Regional Studies, Literature: history & criticism, Social and cultural history, Regional / International studies, Indian sub-continent, Literature: history and criticism, HISTORY / Asia / South / General