Abstract
This paper makes a synoptic view of the oriental representation of India between 13th to 19th centuries. This period under review witnessed the advent of various travelers belonging to Spain, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, France, Germany, United States and England. These travelers in their accounts discussed at length about India’s polity, state, society, food, eating habits, religious conditions and ethnic configuraton etc. The recurrent theme of this paper is the difference of perspectives in the travel accounts of the travelers before the 19th century and construction of the 19th century Punjab by the travelogues, as this period was also synchronized with the beginning of colonial project in India. Another theme of this paper as the title suggests sheds light on the socio-economic dispensation of the Punjab in the early 19th century as gleaned from the travel writings. The information about the early travelers in India can be obtained from travelogues, writings of the contemporary historians, logs books, journals and other documents of Europeans travelers in India. After the advent of European trading companies in India, the letters of the employees of these companies also served as an important source of information. The earliest travelers to set foot on Indian soil was Marco Polo (1254-1324), 15th century witnessed the arrival of Vasco Da Gama, then the arrival of Barbossa, Father Monserrate, Ralf Fitch, Francis Barnier etc. During the 17th century the prominent travelers who wrote their travel accounts about the Indian society included William Hawkins, William Finch, Nicholas Downtown, Jain Jourdain, Thomas Coryet, Nocholas Worthington and Thomas Roe. The 18th century was the arrival of Daniel Mognie, A. L. Polier, George Forester and James Brown. The major travelers of the early 19th century included Baron Charles Hugel, Henry Steinbach, V. Jacquemont, Soltykoff, Capt. V. Orlich, Moor Craft and Treback, H. T. princip, and John Wood. The major themes highlighted by these travelers included monarchical dispensation, social milieu in India especially the cast system, the practice of Sati, Oriental despotism, Asiatic mode of production Among the early sources of Indian history not only works on religion, drama and literature are to be counted but also accounts of some foreign travelers. They have preserved a graphic account of India during their period of travel. In the middle ages they were followed by Al-Beruni, Abdur Razzaq, Niketin and Barbossa
Farzana Arshad. (2015) The Orient, Socio-Economic Dispensation and the Orientalist View about the Punjab, Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society, Volume 28, Issue 2.
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