Princely Archaeologies and Plural Sovereignties in Modern South Asia

This volume highlights the overlooked role of princely states in South Asia’s archaeology. It compiles studies on exploration, conservation, and sovereignty, revealing how local royal houses shaped heritage. It challenges colonial biases and opens new paths for historical inquiry.

Archaeological explorations and research in colonial South Asia were done within the native and British political and administrative dispensations. So far, the disciplinary histories in this regard have almost entirely focused on colonial institutions, legalities and individuals. Given this, a vital local element in the entire process of archaeological work has remained unattended. A few studies, making an exception, however, deal with princely states which have been reproduced in this volume.

There were more than 500 local royal houses in India which formed two-fifth of the entire subcontinent. Some of them crucially mattered in terms of geography, resources and population. They also housed some remarkable antiquities and monuments. In this sense, though politically and administratively divided, India was crisscrossed by explorers and antiquarians and officials of the Archaeological Survey of India. Princely Archaeologies and Plural Sovereignties in Modern South Asia collects the already published few, but vitally valuable, studies with an aim to streamline princely past through princely archaeologies to wider South Asian historiographical considerations. The first narrative of princely archaeologies appeared in 1939 whereas the postcolonial investigations at the beginning of this century. The studies deals with themes of exploration, conservation, legality and sovereignty. The crucial role played by princely durbars has been highlighted. However, what matters more is the fact of colonial bias being exposed. This volume clearly marks a point of departure vis-a-vis historical investigations regarding colonial South Asia’s archaeologies.

The book consists of 13 chapters which appeared from time to time since 1939. The last chapter is an unpublished addition by the Editor which explores further venues for historical investigation in the field of princely archaeologies. 

Acknowledgements
Foreword – Upinder Singh
Introduction – Rafiullah Khan

Part I: Early Twentieth Century Accounts of Archaeology and Conservation in Princely States
Chapter 1: Hyderabad – Ghulam Yazdani
Chapter 2: Mysore – M.H. Krishna
Chapter 3: Baroda – Hirananda Sastri
Chapter 4: Jammu and Kashmir – Ram Chandra Kak
Chapter 5: Gwalior – M.B. Garde
Chapter 6: Travancore – R.V. Poduval
Chapter 7: Jaipur – Daya Ram Sahni
Chapter 8: Bhopal, Nagod, Mayurbhanj – Ramaprasad Chanda

Part II: Postcolonial Perspectives on Princely Initiatives and Interventions
Chapter 9: Sanchi: Colonial Archaeology and the Bhopal Durbar – Nayanjot Lahiri
Chapter 10: Negotiations of Heritage between Princely and Colonial Authorities – Upinder Singh
Chapter 11: Mayurbhanj State: An Account of Archaeological Research (1905–49) – Rajasri Mukhopadhyay
Chapter 12: Swat and Beyond: Giuseppe Tucci, IsMEO in Pakistan and the Gilgit Manuscripts – Luca M. Olivieri

Part III: What Next?
Chapter 13: The Loss of Innocence: Princely Archaeologies vis-à-vis South Asian Historiography – Rafiullah Khan

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Acknowledgements
Foreword – Upinder Singh
Introduction – Rafiullah Khan

Part I: Early Twentieth Century Accounts of Archaeology and Conservation in Princely States
Chapter 1: Hyderabad – Ghulam Yazdani
Chapter 2: Mysore – M.H. Krishna
Chapter 3: Baroda – Hirananda Sastri
Chapter 4: Jammu and Kashmir – Ram Chandra Kak
Chapter 5: Gwalior – M.B. Garde
Chapter 6: Travancore – R.V. Poduval
Chapter 7: Jaipur – Daya Ram Sahni
Chapter 8: Bhopal, Nagod, Mayurbhanj – Ramaprasad Chanda

Part II: Postcolonial Perspectives on Princely Initiatives and Interventions
Chapter 9: Sanchi: Colonial Archaeology and the Bhopal Durbar – Nayanjot Lahiri
Chapter 10: Negotiations of Heritage between Princely and Colonial Authorities – Upinder Singh
Chapter 11: Mayurbhanj State: An Account of Archaeological Research (1905–49) – Rajasri Mukhopadhyay
Chapter 12: Swat and Beyond: Giuseppe Tucci, IsMEO in Pakistan and the Gilgit Manuscripts – Luca M. Olivieri

Part III: What Next?
Chapter 13: The Loss of Innocence: Princely Archaeologies vis-à-vis South Asian Historiography – Rafiullah Khan

Rafiullah Khan is Associate Professor at Taxila Institute of Archaeology and Civilizations, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. He holds PhD in Asian  Studies with a focus on South Asian archaeological historiography. He investigated colonial archaeological explorations in Malakand Agency, particularly the area of the ex-princely state of Swat. In his postdoctoral work at the University of Oxford, 2022 and 2023, the same topic was further explored and analyzed in various archives at England. He has presented his research at various forums and published the results of his work in reputable journals such as Modern Asian Studies, Annali Sezione Orientale, East and West, South Asian Studies, The Antiquaries Journal. His research analyses colonial knowledge production, legalities, princely and local contributions and the wider socio-political milieu in which archaeological work was carried out.

• Edited by Rafiullah Khan

‘The volume would be valuable not only for scholars and students but also for heritage professionals and policymakers engaged in conservation and cultural governance.’ – Fazal Khaliq (2025): Dawn

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