Department of History

Urdu was introduced in the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir as an official language in 1889 replacing many centuries of Persian in official patronage. The language grew steadily in use with the general populace of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. With distinct political regions in the state, where people speak different mother tongues, Urdu began to act as a cohesive and assimilating language that helped in merging the three regions of Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmir together. Urdu was introduced in schools and colleges even before the regional languages of Kashmiri and Dogri. Early poets and literary figures of Kashmir enthusiastically took up Urdu to compete with their peers and icons outside Kashmir, but most of them could not register success in these efforts. Many poets had to resort to their mother tongues, like Kashmiri and Dogri, to be recognized and adored by masses. Prose writings continued in Urdu as it was recognized mostly in the literary and academic circles. In Kashmir, there is a growing crisis of identity in the masses to either identify with Kashmiri or with Urdu as their language of preference in their day to day activities. My contention in this paper is that those who took up education early in Kashmir, like in the city of Srinagar, find it very easy to accept Urdu as their chosen language of preference –both inside and outside the realm of their private spheres. Those from the rural areas unequivocally consider Kashmiri as their primary language. But there are many between the two exclusively urban and ruler groups in Kashmir who remain torn in their devotion to either their primarily local language or the official one that is Urdu. The government efforts to promote regional languages –especially Dogri and Kashmiri- in the last two decades has only deepened the sense of regionalism and identity crisis among the people, with Urdu facing backlash many a time in Jammu and Ladakh provinces.

Keeping Kashmir’s history at the centre of debate, this article makes a brief survey of some of the popular history textbooks of modern India. Arguing that modern Indian historiography has been replete with various “silences” when it comes to writing Kashmir history, it tries to look for the reasons for such “silences.” From distortions/silencing of facts to management of archives and sources of history writings, it then shows the way in which history writing is controlled in modern India. Looking for the reasons of such distortion/silences, the article argues that Indian historiography of the 19th and 20th centuries has remained confined to the twin pillars of Indian nationalism/national movement and anti-colonial struggle, and, thus, all other struggles that remain outside this dual framework are, more often than not, ignored. The article further states that the problem of history writing increases manifold when one is thinking and talking of writing history of various conflicts zones, like Kashmir, where nationalism slips into jingoism and history becomes the most important site for playing “national politics.”

The Mughal Dynasty (1526-1857) has left a large and visible
mark on India and among the Mughal heritage are the many
beautiful buildings that were constructed in the Mughal style, the
Taj Mahal, the Red Fort in Delhi, the Fort of Agra, Humayun’s
Tomb and a number of other beautiful monuments. During their
period, the mingling of Persian and Indian styles created some of
the world’s best-known monuments. This combination of influences
can also be seen in the arts, cuisine, gardens and even in the Urdu
language. Through the Mughals, Indo-Persian culture reached an
apogee of refinement and beauty. The Mughals were self-sufficient,
self-explanatory and even they had never faced the problem of
being foreigners ruling over an alien land.1Most of the attention
for the Mughal period has been rendered on its administration,
socio-economic, military and architectural success and there is
hardly any focus on gastronomy of the Mughals.Historical writings
have never given any importance to food in the historical writing
and the focus is more on wars, diplomacy, administration, art
and architecture. Gastronomy also played a very important role
in the Mughal period. Through an attempt on food studies, one
can examine how food has been connected to human being’s life
and analyze how food consumption established an identity in the
society. The present paper attempts to look at Mughal food as a
marker of cultural identity.Introduction:

The Mughal period is a very significant period of history in India and marks an important place in our culture and identity formation. There are ample studies that  emphasise on many aspects of cultural heritage like, socio-economic, military, art and architecture of this period, but hardly any focus  is there on food, and  the study of  the  daily need of food and cuisine were not given importance in the creation of Mughal cultural heritage. Food and cuisine as an integral part of our social identity and cultural heritage. This paper examines the Indian food and cuisine as a cultural heritage from historical and gastronomical perspective.  The present paper becomes more relevant, as Food consumption incorporates many aspects of the culture, and with the elaboration in the cuisine, it also shapes identities. By the seventeenth century, Mughals had introduced many dishes that enhance food availability and also create class divisions among society. There were different varieties of food such as royal food, commoners food, festive foods and ritualistic food etc. In the eighteenth century, there was a different phase of food culture began, which impacted on the gastronomy in society. Indeed, with the coming of the Europeans, different cultures got amalgamated in India with Food and cuisine. Interestingly for the first time, the regional cuisine also gets importance in society with the emerging of several new regional powers in India. This paper uses a large number of primary sources of the 17th and 18th century corroborating with secondary sources. It examines the food culture of this period from a historical perspective, analyses the transformation and redefinition of gastronomy and its role and contributions to the formation of cultural heritage.

Key words: Cultural heritage, gastronomy, identity, cuisine, Food, Mughals, Europeans, society,

The Mughal period is a very significant period of history in India and marks an important place in our culture and identity formation. There are ample studies that  emphasise on many aspects of cultural heritage like, socio-economic, military, art and architecture of this period, but hardly any focus  is there on food, and  the study of  the  daily need of food and cuisine were not given importance in the creation of Mughal cultural heritage. Food and cuisine as an integral part of our social identity and cultural heritage. This paper examines the Indian food and cuisine as a cultural heritage from historical and gastronomical perspective.  The present paper becomes more relevant, as Food consumption incorporates many aspects of the culture, and with the elaboration in the cuisine, it also shapes identities. By the seventeenth century, Mughals had introduced many dishes that enhance food availability and also create class divisions among society. There were different varieties of food such as royal food, commoners food, festive foods and ritualistic food etc. In the eighteenth century, there was a different phase of food culture began, which impacted on the gastronomy in society. Indeed, with the coming of the Europeans, different cultures got amalgamated in India with Food and cuisine. Interestingly for the first time, the regional cuisine also gets importance in society with the emerging of several new regional powers in India. This paper uses a large number of primary sources of the 17th and 18th century corroborating with secondary sources. It examines the food culture of this period from a historical perspective, analyses the transformation and redefinition of gastronomy and its role and contributions to the formation of cultural heritage.

Key words: Cultural heritage, gastronomy, identity, cuisine, Food, Mughals, Europeans, society, economic, tradition