The Medieval Deccan: Peasants, Social Systems and States Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries

by Hiroshi Fukazawa

This volume of eight essays deals with local administration in the medieval Deccan, and caste, slavery, village structure and community in the Maratha kingdom of the eighteenth century.

The late Hiroshi Fukazawa, an eminent Japanese scholar of medieval India, published several important articles on economy, society and politics in the Deccan. These appeared first in Japanese, and have been collected here in English translation. Together they provide a rich source of information on their subject.

Professor Fukazawa based several of his studies on documents in old Marathi and Persian; and his facility with local languages makes these pieces more solidly grounded in empirical research and local writings than is common. His arguments about the various stages of social development in the medieval Deccan will be of interest to all students of feudalism and pre-modern Indian history.

253 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Hiroshi Fukazawa, who died in 1986 at the age of 54, was an eminent Japanese scholar of South Asian history, and professor at the Hitotsubashi University of Tokyo.

Reviews

[Tejas Harad]

This is a great book if one wants to understand Maharashtrian society in the 18th century. Fukazawa's work especially on vatandari system and twelve balutedars is really insightful.