KINSHIP AND STATE FORMATION: THE GILLS OF NABHA

Based on an in-depth study of a unique historical document, this study throws light on the complexities of state formation and paramount control in north India from the late Mughal to the late colonial period. It provides valuable insights into how political power was acquired and how kinship relations were used for conquest, expansion, consolidation and political relations. Diversities of feudal relations in a period of over two centuries are illumined through the critical evaluation and analysis of this document whose text and translation have been provided with detailed annotation and glossary, supported by chronology and tables and illustrated by maps and plates. The document in question was acquired from Sardar Gurpreet Singh Gill whose great grandfather got it prepared for submission to Maharaja Ripudaman Singh of Nabha (1912-23).