A review of the book 'Badshah, Bandar, Bazaar: Commerce and Everyday Life in the Mughal World' written by Jagjeet Lally.
Breathing new life and a fresh perspective into the history of the Mughal Empire, Jagjeet Lally’s Badshah, Bandar, Bazaar takes us on a fabulous journey from the empire’s rich and fertile countryside, to the hustle and bustle of its great cities and ports; and from religious debates in Delhi’s fairgrounds and public squares and legal battles over property in Surat, to princely wars of succession and the dynasty’s tumultuous yet protracted overthrow.
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Coming up: A review of the book 'Badshah, Bandar, Bazaar: Commerce and Everyday Life in the Mughal World' written by Jagjeet Lally.
Namaste Friends. My name is 'Shinil Subramanian Payamal' and you are listening to the Historylogy podcast.
Before I proceed, a full disclosure: This book was bought with my own money and not been provided to me by the author or publisher.
Little bit about the author:
Jagjeet Lally is Associate Professor of the History of Early Modern and Colonial India at University College London, where he is also Director of the UCL Centre for Transnational and Global History and Co-Director of the UCL Centre for the Study of South Asia and the Indian Ocean World. He studied the social sciences at Oxford before training as a historian, first at the London School of Economics and then at Cambridge. A historian of South Asian economic and material life, and the author of two other books, among them the prize-winning India and the Silk Roads: The History of a Trading World (2021), Jagjeet is now embarking on the study of late Mughal bazaars and the kinds of people and pleasures to be found within them.
Let me read a brief description of the book:
QUOTE
The impact of Mughal rule on India remains a hotly contested topic of debate. Some see the regime as a benign entity, others as one harmful to India’s long-term development. But by fixating on the king's actions rather than those of his subjects, have we been looking at the issue the wrong way round?
Badshah, Bandar, Bazaar turns conventional wisdom on its head to examine what has long been taken for granted. Through the eyes of numerous real-life characters, it demonstrates the power of bankers, moneylenders, merchants, middlemen, artisans and all manner of ordinary folk in making - and eventually breaking - the might of the Mughal Empire.
Globalization and the spread of market relations was intensifying meanwhile, transforming everyday life in ways that were often subtle, and sometimes dramatic. With exotic and enticing goods for purchase, and ever more artful ways to make money, came a new ethos - and a new set of anxieties - towards business which was so potent that it shaped preaching by Sikh gurus and Sufi sayyids alike.
Breathing new life and a fresh perspective into the history of the Mughal Empire, Jagjeet Lally’s Badshah, Bandar, Bazaar takes us on a fabulous journey from the empire’s rich and fertile countryside, to the hustle and bustle of its great cities and ports; and from religious debates in Delhi’s fairgrounds and public squares and legal battles over property in Surat, to princely wars of succession and the dynasty’s tumultuous yet protracted overthrow.
UNQUOTE
The book's clever title — Badshah (emperor), Bandar (port), Bazaar (market) — neatly captures its core argument: Mughal power wasn't sustained primarily through military might or royal edicts, but through the everyday rhythms of commerce, contracts, credit, coins, and legal predictability.
Lally draws on a rich array of sources, from the writings of Jain merchant Banarasidas and English envoy Sir Thomas Roe to Sikh traditions and qazi court records, to bring this world to life.
The book is particularly engaging due to its vivid storytelling. We are treated to immersive vignettes: coin testers plying their trade, Bania bankers extending credit, caravans snaking across the countryside, and heated disputes resolved in neighborhood courts.
Through such vivid vignettes and real historical characters, the author demonstrates how commerce was fundamental to both the rise and gradual transformation of Mughal authority.
One of the book’s most original contributions is showing how expanding market networks influenced spirituality. Lally explores how the "shimmer of silver" and the anxieties of wealth shaped the sermons of Sikh gurus and the teachings of Sufi saints.
At roughly 200 pages, including a very detailed 20 pages of ‘Sources and Further Reading’ the book is designed for a lay audience without sacrificing scholarly depth. It is structured as a series of thematic vignettes—covering law, violence, urbanism, and belief—making it highly scannable and engaging.
And there is no denying that Lally is an Aurangzeb fanboy, calling him ‘much maligned and greatly misunderstood.’ After what Aurangzeb did to his own father and brothers, who obviously learnt the meaning of the term ‘Bhai Chara’ in a very hard way, I don’t think it's very difficult to see why Aurangzeb carries the perception that he does.
Final verdict:
If you're tired of top-down histories of the Mughals and want to understand how the empire really worked (and why it lasted so long), Badshah, Bandar, Bazaar is an essential and enjoyable read.
I give this book 4/5 and highly recommend it to anyone interested in how commerce, rather than just the sword, creates and sustains a civilization.
The book is currently available only in Paperback and Kindle formats. The book is yet to be made available in Audible format. I have given the respective buy link in the show notes. Please check it out for the latest price.
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