Princely Archaeologies and Plural Sovereignties in Modern South Asia

Archaeological explorations and research in colonial South Asia were carried out within the native and British political and administrative dispensations, and so far, the disciplinary histories have almost entirely focused on colonial institutions, legalities and individuals.As a result, a vital local element in the entire process of archaeological work has been neglected.The studies that are collected in this volume, with their focus on the princely states, provide an important alternative perspective. There were more than 500 local royal houses in India, which together governed two-fifths of the entire subcontinent.Some were of considerable significance in terms of geography, resources and population.They also housed some remarkable antiquities and monuments.However, although politically and administratively divided, India was crisscrossed by the explorers, antiquarians and officials of the Archaeological Survey of India.Princely Archaeologies and Plural Sovereignties in Modern South