Environment and the Heterogeneous Conquest of North India

2019 ◽  
pp. 3-53
Author(s):  
Pratyay Nath
Keyword(s):  
Natural Environment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Environmental Heterogeneity ◽  
Central India ◽  
Free Movement ◽  
North India ◽  
The Political ◽  
Mughal Empire

This chapter studies the Mughal conquest of the heart of North India. It argues that the heterogeneous geography of this landmass shaped the course and nature of military engagements. The vast open plains of the Punjab and the Gangetic Basin allowed large-scale cavalry manoeuvres. Hence, the Mughals were able to engage their adversaries in a number of battles and skirmishes here. In contrast, the broken terrain of the forested highlands of central India restricted free movement of troops and encouraged fortress warfare. For this reason, Mughal expansion entailed a greater number of sieges here. This environmental heterogeneity also made it impossible for either cavalry or firearms to spearhead Mughal military conquests uniformly or single-handedly. Thus, even within the fairly contiguous region that was to eventually comprise the political heartland of the Mughal empire, the natural environment left a deep imprint on the conduct of warfare and the course of empire-formation.

Climate of Conquest

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pratyay Nath
Keyword(s):  
Vantage Point ◽  
North India ◽  
Mughal Empire ◽  
Military Logistics ◽  
Empire Building ◽  
Efficient Management ◽  
Military Tactics ◽  
Cultural Climate ◽  
Military Campaigns ◽  
The Military

What can war tell us about empire? Climate of Conquest is built around this question. Pratyay Nath eschews the conventional way of writing about warfare primarily in terms of battles and technologies. Instead, he unravels the deep connections that Mughal war-making shared with the broader dynamics of society, culture, and politics. In the process, he offers a new analysis of the Mughal empire from the vantage point of war. Climate of Conquest closely studies the dynamics of the military campaigns that helped the Mughals conquer North India and project their power beyond it. In the first part, Nath argues that these campaigns unfolded in constant negotiation with the diverse natural environment of South Asia. The empire sought to discipline the environment and harness its resources to satisfy its own military needs. At the same time, environmental factors like climate, terrain, and ecology profoundly influenced Mughal military tactics, strategy, and deployment of technology. In the second part, Nath makes three main points. Firstly, he argues that Mughal military success owed a lot to the efficient management of military logistics and the labour of an enormous non-elite, non-combatant workforce. Secondly, he explores the making of imperial frontiers and highlights the roles of forts, routes, and local alliances in the process. Finally, he maps the cultural climate of war at the Mughal court and discusses how the empire legitimized war and conquest. In the process, what emerges is a fresh interpretation of Mughal empire-building as a highly adaptive, flexible, and accommodative process.

scholarly journals Indigenous Banking Firms in Mughal India: A Reply

1981 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Financial Services ◽  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
The Political ◽  
Working Capital ◽  
Mughal Empire ◽  
Present Issue ◽  
Military Campaigns

In the April 1979 issue of CSSH I proposed a theory: The financial services of leading indigenous banking firms were indispensable to the Mughal state, and the diversion by these firms of resources, both credit and trade, from the Mughals to other political powers in the Indian subcontinent contributed to the downfall of the Mughal empire (p. 152). John F. Richards's article in the present issue takes exception to that theory, challenging the evidentiary basis for my assertions. While stating that further research was admittedly necessary to test and fully substantiate the theory, I certainly offered evidence that these banking firms supplied working capital to the empire and its officials for military campaigns, trade, construction, karkhanah (workshop) production, and personal loans. I also discussed the bankers' regulation of the valuation, exchange, and circulation of currency, and particularly the hundi system of bills of exchange. The political potential of these financial services – of their performance or nonperformance, and on what terms – is obvious. Indeed, I cited instances of political interactions between bankers and officials.

Environmental Development Strategies for an Industrial Area (Kochi Industrial Belt)

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Annu Reetha Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Natural Environment ◽  
Industrial Pollution ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Industrial Area ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Economic Progress ◽  
Planning Approach ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Technical Solutions

Discharging of wastes and toxic pollutants produced by the industrial activities into the natural environment which consist of air, water and land implies the term Industrial Pollution. It has serious consequences on human life and its health along with several ways of negative impacts on the environment and nature. As far as our nation is concerned most of the major cities are filled with these large-scale industries which place a crucial role financial development of a country. Strictly hindering the development of industries cannot be done as it is vital for the Socio-Economic progress of a country. Yet it is our duty to protect our natural environment by limiting the pollution due to industries. This Study consist of the issues occurred in Eloor- Kadungalloor region as result of the industrial pollution followed by policies for a development plan to enhance the natural and environmental conditions with a planning approach at micro study level. As far as the Kerala context is considered, the major spot which is mostly affected by the industrial pollution is the ‘Edayar Industrial belt’ which is the largest industrial belt in Kerala. This became one of most noted spot because of the continuous dumping of dangerous chemical pollutants from adjacent industries (pesticide and fertilizer manufacturing). It has also resulted in health issues for the inhabitants of the site. Though many complaints have been filed against the companies, there has no proper laws or schemes for taking measures for reduction of pollution have come up so far. Hence this paper deals with the application of technical solutions and strategies for an Environment Improvement plan development for an industrial as well as studying on the issues of sire and its inhabitants.

scholarly journals Redefining the political moment

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Arvanitakis
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Political Action ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
John Howard ◽  
Conservative Media ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
War Protest

On 16 February 2003, more than half a million people gathered in Sydney, Australia, as part of a global anti-war protest aimed at stopping the impending invasion of Iraq by the then US Administration. It is difficult to estimate how many millions marched on the coordinated protest, but it was by far the largest mobilization of a generation. Walking and chanting on the streets of Sydney that day, it seemed that a political moment was upon us. In a culture that rarely embraces large scale activism, millions around Australian demanded to be heard. The message was clear: if you do not hear us, we would be willing to bring down a government. The invasion went ahead, however, with the then Australian government, under the leadership of John Howard, being one of the loudest and staunchest supporters of the Bush Administrations drive to war. Within 18 months, anti-war activists struggled to have a few hundred participants take part in anti-Iraq war rallies, and the Howard Government was comfortably re-elected for another term. The political moment had come and gone, with both social commentators and many members of the public looking for a reason. While the conservative media was often the focus of analysis, this paper argues that in a time of late capitalism, the political moment is hollowed out by ‘Politics’ itself. That is to say, that formal political processes (or ‘Politics’) undermine the political practices that people participate in everyday (or ‘politics’). Drawing on an ongoing research project focusing on democracy and young people, I discuss how the concept of ’politics‘ has been destabilised and subsequently, the political moment has been displaced. This displacement has led to a re-definition of ‘political action’ and, I argue, the emergence of a different type of everyday politics.

scholarly journals Resilience in Practice: Responding to the Refugee Crisis in Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 294-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosanne Anholt
Keyword(s):  
Crisis Management ◽  
Vulnerable Populations ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
The Political ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
Economic Context ◽  
Self Reliance

Little is known about how the idea of ‘resilience’ translates into practice. It has nonetheless emerged as a dominant theme in the governance of crises, such as political instability, armed conflict, terrorism, and large-scale refugee movements. This study draws on interviews with humanitarian and development practitioners in Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon working under the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan to explore how resilience is interpreted and translated on the ground. Results suggest that resilience is translated as the economic self-reliance of refugees, and the capacity for crisis management of refugee-hosting states, enacted through ‘localization’ and strengthening the ‘humanitarian-development nexus.’ The prominence of the political and economic context and the power relations between crisis response actors that it generates reveals the limits of what a buzzword like resilience can achieve on the ground. The findings highlight the need for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to engage in continuous critical reflection on whether the ways in which resilience policies and programmes are implemented actually improve the ability of systems and vulnerable populations to recover from crisis, as well as on the validity of the assumptions and interpretations on which such policies and programmes are built.

scholarly journals Projected Changes in South Asian Monsoon Low Pressure Systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (17) ◽  
pp. 7275-7287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenhao Dong ◽  
Yi Ming ◽  
V. Ramaswamy
Keyword(s):  
South Asian ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Asian Summer Monsoon ◽  
Central India ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory ◽  
South Asian Summer Monsoon ◽  
Projected Changes ◽  
Low Pressure Systems

AbstractMonsoon low pressure systems (MLPSs) are among the most important synoptic-scale disturbances of the South Asian summer monsoon. Potential changes in their characteristics in a warmer climate would have broad societal impacts. Yet, the findings from a few existing studies are inconclusive. We use the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) coupled climate model CM4.0 to examine the projected changes in the simulated MLPS activity under a future emission scenario. It is shown that CM4.0 can skillfully simulate the number, genesis location, intensity, and lifetime of MLPSs. Global warming gives rise to a significant decrease in MLPS activity. An analysis of several large-scale environmental variables, both dynamic and thermodynamic, suggests that the decrease in MLPS activity can be attributed mainly to a reduction in low-level relative vorticity over the core genesis region. The decreased vorticity is consistent with weaker large-scale ascent, which leads to less vorticity production through the stretching term in the vorticity equation. Assuming a fixed radius of influence, the projected reduction in MLPSs would significantly lower the associated precipitation over north-central India, despite an overall increase in mean precipitation.

scholarly journals Premises for the Politological Exploration of Sociobiology

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 23-35
Author(s):  
Jarosław Nocoń
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Science Research ◽  
The Political ◽  
Biological Factors ◽  
Political Sphere ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions ◽  
Mutual Relations ◽  
Effective Use

The article discusses the factors that encourage the use of the achievements of the broadly understood current of sociobiology in political science research. The guiding thesis here is the assumption that the effective use of the achievements of sociobiology for political science research may be an important factor inspiring new interpretations, explanations and forms of viewing the political sphere of social life. At the same time, it stimulates a broad view of the complexity of mutual relations between the sphere of culture and politics and biological factors. The condition for such a perspective is a departure from the reduced, genetically determinist perception of sociobiology and the understanding of culture and politics both in terms of products and determinants of the natural environment. The structure of the argument is subordinated to attempts to answer the following questions: Why is it worth being interested in using neo-evolutionist concepts to explain and describe the political sphere of social life? What is sociobiology and what theoretical assumptions can be a useful instrument of explanation in political science research?

scholarly journals Geographical Change of the Japanese National Land in the 200 Years Using INŌ’s Map with GIS

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Yuji Murayama ◽  
Yuki Iwai
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Geographic Information ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Political ◽  
Spatial Transformation ◽  
Survey Line ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The 19Th Century

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> This presentation discusses the regional changes quantitatively in the 200 years through the overlay analysis of the present map and the INŌ’s map made by Tadataka INO in 1821 (Figure 1). INO surveyed the coastline and major roads on foot. He investigated not only survey lines, but also various geographic information such as rivers, lakes, mountains, village names, castles, temples, administrative boundaries, etc. Visualizing all of the 214 sheets of the INŌ’s large-scale map with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), we can analyse the national land condition seamlessly at the end of the Edo era.</p><p>Methodological point of view, we have serious problems including the scale, projection, identification of geographic features and so on, when we compare the old map with the present. In this connection, digitalizing the INŌ’s map as the GIS data is very useful to examine the spatial transformation scientifically during the 200 years. The digital INŌ’s map was constructed by employing the geo-reference function of GIS with the triangulation method. The survey line was converted into the line feature of vector data, and the place names were converted into the point feature of raster data. The distance of the survey line was measured by GIS-based geometric operation.</p><p>We obtained the following findings. The distributions of villages, ports, and facilities in western Japan were denser than those in eastern Japan in the 19th century. This was caused not only by the difference in natural environment and landform but also by socioeconomic factors including the locations of the castle towns and industrial activities. The regional structure has been dramatically transformed by the modernization of the political system, transportation system, and industrial development in reclaimed areas (Figure 2). It is concluded that most parts of changes in regional characteristics have been attained by overcoming the natural constraints. However, the difference in the political system has also been influential to the formation of the present regional system.</p>

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