Abstract
In the imperial aura of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century,
archaeologists were not indifferent to socio-political developments in
India. It is obvious, amongst others, from Sir Aurel Stein’s works. This
study particularly focuses on his Detailed Report of an Archaeological
Tour with the Buner Field Force (1898). Stein, on the invitation of Major
H. A. Deane, the first Political Agent of Malakand Agency, constituted in
1895, joined the punitive expedition of the Buner Field Force for an
archaeological reconnaissance of the valley. The expedition aimed at
punishing the tribes for participating in the 1897 uprisings at Malakand.
Primarily concerned with archaeological survey, Stein also made
observations on war and resistance. This study extracts these nonarchaeological data from Stein’s report with a special focus on routes
and movements of the force and responses of the locals. All this has,
finally, been assessed in the light of recent scholarly debates.
