This study offers the first instalment of a general history of land acquisition in British India, c. 1894–1927. It advances eight principal theses: (i) that the first law of land acquisition was enacted in 1668, as part of a political settlement by the East India Company with the Portuguese landlords of Bombay island; (ii) that, to a remarkable degree, land acquisition law was shaped in the interest of the sterling railway companies; (iii) that the state habitually used land acquisition not so much to effect non- consensual transfers but to ‘launder’ titles free of encumbrances and other claims; (iv) that the primary beneficiaries of land acquisition were public bodies, the sterling railway companies, and elite private interests; (v) that the executive was hostile to legislative and judicial oversight of land acquisition, and successfully resisted or co-opted attempts to impose such oversight; (vi) that the courts were in any event content with the role they were assigned under the 1894 Act, and generally deferred to the executive in land acquisition cases; (vii) that the land-acquiring executive, although hostile to and unencumbered by meaningful legislative and judicial oversight, as a general rule displayed a legal fastidiousness; (viii) that, despite an appearance of impartiality, land acquisition bore the stain of imperialism. These theses are advanced in the course of explaining the failure of the forgotten Kelkar Bill (1927), an attempt by the Maharashtrian nationalist N. C. Kelkar (1872–1947) to enact far-reaching amendments to the Land Acquisition Act 1894. Kelkar’s fellow nationalists withheld their open support from the measure and thereby guaranteed its failure: a counterintuitive choice that, it is argued, exemplifies the tactical compromises of nationalism.

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This thesis examines a series of episodes in the history of indirect rule that resulted in rulers being deposed or otherwise removed from power. It does so from the conviction that such episodes provide a valuable opportunity to explore the conceptions of princely character held and articulated by British officials, and to assess to what extent such conceptions informed British expectations of the princes, and thus shaped the daily and local practice of indirect rule in colonial India. The study is intended to contribute to the growing body of work on the history of the princely states, a subject that until recently was considered marginal to understanding colonial South Asia, but whose importance is increasingly being recognised. Its geographical focus – the states of the Central India Agency – attempts to redress the comparative neglect of this region to date; it also seeks to achieve a balance between the relative merits and shortcomings of single-state and 'all-India' studies, by allowing for intensive analysis of an interconnected group of rulers and officials, whilst maintaining a sufficiently diverse sample of situations and individuals to enable broader conclusions to be suggested. Moreover, the approach adopted firmly locates this thesis within the emerging study of the cultural history of empire: the rulers of the princely states occupied a position within the colonial hierarchies of class, race and gender that was uniquely liminal within India and rare elsewhere. They failed to fit neatly any of the pre-ordained categories of colonial society – and consequently had the potential to disrupt the conventions of deference, distance and difference on which such a society was based. Analysis of how the British attempted to characterise the princes, therefore, should complement existing analyses of the operation of such important concepts as race, masculinity, sexuality, sanity, class and tradition in colonial India. This study argues that British ideas and ideals of princely character were neither fixed nor hegemonic: conflict over the meaning and significance of a ruler's conduct regularly arose between the many levels of the imperial bureaucracy. There was not a single, consistent and explicitly defined normative discourse of princely conduct: officials' expectations of rulers shifted over time in response to the changing outlook and interests of the British in India, as well as varying across the significant differences of faith, race, region and status that they perceived to divide the princely order. Furthermore, rulers themselves – whether through negotiation, evasion or contestation – played a significant role in the constant redefinition of such ideas. However, British officials' conceptions and representations of princely character were not wholly constitutive of their power over the princes and their states. Although assessments of a ruler's character as inadequate, even incurably deviant, could be advanced as justification for intervening in a state, the impact of such ideas upon the actual practice of indirect rule was substantially qualified by an array of other considerations. Orientalist conceptions of princely character may have been highly influential in shaping the conduct of 'political relations', but they were often ignored or abandoned by officials when the dividends of a more pragmatic approach to the princes were thought to be higher.

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Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii, 1964. / Bibliography: leaves [361]-381. / viii, 381 l

This thesis investigates the relation of the Sikhs to the Indian rebellion of 1857. References to the Sikhs have invariably been made in the histories of the sepoy mutiny, but none of them, not even the celebrated Sepoy War of Sir John Kaye, tackles this problem in detail. As a result, the student of the mutiny at best gets from these histories disjointed, and often inadequately explained, impressions about the role of the Sikhs during the great upheaval. This thesis accordingly sets out to analyze the effects of the sepoy mutiny on the history of the Sikhs. I have examined four main aspects of the problem: (1) the annexation of the Sikh kingdom by the British in 1849 and conditions in the Punjab between annexation and the outbreak of the rebellion of 1857; (2) the actual help given by the Sikhs to the British during the rebellion; (3) the motives of the Sikhs for giving their help; and (4) the rewards of the Sikhs for supporting the British during the crisis of 1857. The Sikhs established their political ascendancy in the Punjab on the ruins of the Mughal empire. During the first two decades of the 19th century most of the twelve misls or confederacies of the Sikhs were conquered and united into one kingdom by Ranjit Singh. However, the timely protection given by the British in 1809 to the Sikh chiefs of the Cis-Sutlej checked Ranjit Singh's expansionist designs beyond the Sutlej River. During his lifetime Ranjit Singh wisely remained on friendly terms with the British, but after his death the factious intrigues of his successors and the Sikh army plunged the Sikh kingdom into hostilities with the British. The defeat of the Sikhs in the wars of 1845-46 and 1848-49 resulted in the annexation of their kingdom by the British. After annexation the British showed moderation in dealing with the Sikhs and did not degrade them to the position of a landless class. Meanwhile the Sikhs, resigned to their fate, quickly adapted themselves to the new institutions which were established in the Punjab between 1849 and 1857. But the indifference of the British toward the interests of the Sikhs, and the Government's policy of extending patronage to Hindustanis, hurt both their feelings and their interests. The rebellion of 1857 provided the Sikhs with a unique opportunity to secure a change of attitudes by the British. They seized that opportunity and gave every help to the British, whose military power they believed was unchallengeable. After the suppression of the mutiny the Sikhs received generous rewards from their rulers. They were also given the one reward that would satisfy them most--British indifference gave way to British interest in their welfare. My investigation of the problem leads me to the conclusion that the outbreak of the sepoy mutiny unexpectedly ushered in brighter days for the Sikhs and laid the foundation for their future growth and strength in the Punjab. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

Since the early 1980's, the Punjab state of India has been in turmoil as a result of a separatist movement that developed among elements of the Sikh community. Political tensions not only characterized the relationship between the Punjab and New Delhi/ but also between Sikhs and Hindus and among different segments within the Sikh community itself. The most important attempt to end the conflict in the state has been the Rajiv Gandhi-Sant Longowal Accord signed on July 24, 1985. However, the Accord failed and by mid-1987 the Punjab was once again racked by political violence. This thesis focuses on the events that led to the signing of the Accord and the forces that caused its demise. Bargaining theory provides the general theoretical framework against which the data are analyzed. This thesis highlights the fact that political bargains in Third World weakly-institutionalized states are often the result of particular configurations of political power which are short lived. The corollary of this is that once the configuration of political forces changes, the chances of success for the previously reached political bargain are weakened. In the particular case of the Punjab Accord, there was a change, beginning in late 1985, in the relative political power of the participants in the bargain. Also, the terms of the bargained Accord unleashed forces on both sides which undermined its implementation. Third World leaders should draw two major lessons from this. First, they should be careful not to have exaggerated perceptions of their power since this may be counterproductive in the future if they cannot deliver what they have promised. Second, these leaders should attempt to consult all interests with a stake in the bargained settlement as a way to prevent opposition to it. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate