Negotiating Kingship and Colonial Authority: A Case Study of Halar in Kathiawar, 15th-20th Centuries

Abstract

This thesis examines evolving nature of kingship and Identity making of the Jadeja rulers of Halar, a region in Kathiawar from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries. Moving beyond static and teleological understandings of monarchy, it argues that kingship in Halar was not fixed or submissive but an entity which continuously negotiated, adapted and was shaped by interactions between local rulers, kinship networks, overlords and colonial rule. The study examines the rulers of Halar as active negotiators of power: they constantly embedded and created new identities to solidify their legitimacy. It traces how early forms of authority were embedded within clan based and regional systems of power where legitimacy was articulated through genealogy, mythic origins, alliances and rituals. Using a micro historical approach, it traces the migration of the Samma rulers from to its Jadeja rule in Halar. Further examines how they crafted their identities through territorial consolidation, bardic narratives, and under different shifting structures of Overlordships i.e., Sultanate, Mughal, Maratha and British. It also aims to move beyond triumphalist narratives and producing a balanced narrative of the region. It demonstrates that kingship functioned as a dynamic site of negotiation through archival sources, Geneological records and colonial records.