Writing Self, Writing Empire: Chandar Bhan Brahman and the Cultural World of the Indo-Persian State Secretary (South Asia Across the Disciplines)

395 Pages·2016·6.7 MB·English

by  Rajeev Kinra

Luminos is the open access monograph publishing program from
UC Press. Luminos provides a framework for preserving and rein-
vigorating monograph publishing for the future and increases the
reach and visibility of important scholarly work. Titles published
in the UC Press Luminos model are published with the same high
standards for selection, peer review, production, and marketing as
those in our traditional program. www.luminosoa.org

Writing Self,
Writing Empire
SOUTH ASIA ACROSS THE DISCIPLINES
Edited by Muzaffar Alam, Robert Goldman, and Gauri Viswanathan
Dipesh Chakrabarty, Sheldon Pollock, and Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Founding Editors
Funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and jointly published
by the University of California Press, the University of Chicago Press, and Columbia
University Press
For a list of books in the series, see page 353.
Writing Self,
Writing Empire
Chandar Bhan Brahman and the Cultural World of the
Indo-Persian State Secretary
Rajeev Kinra
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university
presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advanc-
ing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its
activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic
contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information,
visit www.ucpress.edu.
University of California Press
Oakland, California
© 2015 by The Regents of the University of California
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND license.
To view a copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses.
Suggested citation: Kinra, Rajeev. Writing Self, Writing Empire: Chandar
Bhan Brahman and the Cultural World of the Indo-Persian State S ecretary.
Oakland: University of California Press, 2015. doi: http://dx.doi.org/
10.1525/luminos.3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kinra, Rajeev, author.
Writing self, writing empire : Chandar Bhan Brahman and the
cultural world of the Indo-Persian state secretary / Rajeev Kinra.
p. cm.—(South Asia across the disciplines)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-520-28646-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-520-96168-5 (ebook)
1. Brahman, Candar Bhan, 1614-1663—Criticism and interpretation.
2. Authors, Indic—Mogul Empire—Biography. 3. Secretaries—
Mogul Empire—Biography. 4. Persian literature—India—
History and criticism. 5. Mogul Empire—History—17th century.
I. Title. II. Series: South Asia across the disciplines.
PK6451.B73Z75 2015
891'.5512—dc23 2015002789
Manufactured in the United States of America
24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
ansi/niso z39.48–1992 (r 2002) (Permanence of Paper).
For Muzaffar Alam,
a different kind of world conqueror

Before him stretch
the unsolved algorithms of arcades
drained of people. . . .
—Ranjit Hoskoté