Khedas in South-Eastern Bengal: Colonialism and Wildlife 1765–1810

This article examines the colonial impact on wildlife in the region of Bengal in the late eighteenth century. Taking the English East India Company's engagement with the Indian elephant as a point of entry into colonial environmental practices, the article focuses on the kheda or elephant-catching operations in the three districts of Sylhet, Chittagong and Tipperah. Unlike the tiger, which was classified as dangerous and decimated during the colonial era, the elephant was less liable to be killed on account of its military utility, but was caught and domesticated in large numbers. The article argues that the EIC, following pre-colonial traditions and Mughal practices, attempted to control the channels of supply of the animal in the three above-mentioned areas, but in doing so they were perennially dependent on local agency and native expertise. Depending on the native tracksmen, elephant-keepers and traders, the EIC officials acquired their knowledge on the elephant and the Indian environment largely through indigenous collaboration and initiated global transfers of knowledge between the coloniser and colonised environments.

The Historical, Cultural, and Religious Significance of the Elephant in Thai Society

In this paper the author considers the cultural and historical phenomenon of the elephant in the life of the Thais as a manifestation of coexistence of nature and man. The role of the State policy in preserving the Indian elephant population in Thailand and in educating the people to respect the elephant and its cults is emphasized. The researcher focuses on the Hindu origin of the mystical cult of the elephant. The phenomenon of worship of the deity Eravana, Ganesha, and the white elephant is considered.

On a Pachyderm’s Voyage from Tabriz to Aleppo: A Light Moment in Persianate “Elephant Diplomacy”

Modern scholars tend to view Ottoman-Safavid relations from a sectarian angle as well as through a military lens. Such a narrow focus often comes at the expense of broader strategic and political considerations. The subject of this paper, the capture of an Indian elephant by Ottoman troops, its handover to the French embassy, and the ensuing diplomatic developments, may not be central to the campaign that the Ottomans launched against Iran in 1548-49, yet it offers unique insight into the relations between these powers. What is more, it sheds light on Safavid-Mughal and Ottoman-Mughal relations as well as on wider rivalries between European powers that were tangentially involved in this struggle, the Habsburgs, France, and Venice.