Book Reviews
| Author | Rajni Kumari |
| DOI | 10.1177/0019556120140120 |
| Published date | 01 January 2014 |
| Date | 01 January 2014 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
188
I
INDIAN
JOURNAL
OF
PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION
VOL.
LX,
NO.
I. JANUARY-MARCH 2014
theocratic nature
of
the regimes was not
as
rigid as elsewhere in the world.
The detailed discussion (chapters 10 & 16) on the various aspects ofMadari
Silsila and the Bhakti movements, and the royal patronage they received
variously were a testimony to the fact that medieval theocracy was in fact
moderated. The above two institutions and movements were examples of
syncretic religious traditions but then were not discouraged the rulers
of
medieval India. The discussion in chapter
12
by Subhendu Majumdar on
the comparative significance
of
kingship in Muslim and Hindu traditions
on basis
of
a specific study
of
Koch (also spelt
as
'Cooch') Behar Hindu
kingdom
in
Eastern India throws some useful and fresh light.
He
argues
that while the transfer
of
power in the case
of
Muslim rulers
of
Delhi was
mostly a violent matter, it was a peaceful process in the case
of
the Hindu
ruler
of
Koch Behar. But the statement on the fate
of
Koch Behar after
India's Independence smacks
of
careless thinking: 'Koch Behar had to be
merged with the Indian Union'. (p. 130)
Part Ill of the book (chapters 19-22) is novel in that it contains personal
profiles
of
some famous medieval rulers such as Razia Sultana, Bin-Tughluq
and
Jahangir-though
all based on secondary sources. But nonetheless
the materials will be handy to students
of
history, and medieval Indian
history in particular.
The kind
of
high debate with which this review began is missing in the
collection. The editor could have taken up the issues
of
both continuities
and discontinuities between pre-Muslim India, Muslim Indian and post-
Muslim India, and reflected thematically on state formation, kingship/
legitimacy and subjecthood in the introductory chapter so as to make the
materials presented
in
the book more useful.
Nonetheless,
the
editor
and
the
college
authorities
are
to
be
congratulated on having undertaken such a difficult task. The quality
of
publication
is
good
although
many
authors
have
been
careless
in
maintaining consistency in references. However, the editor has been
successful
in
bringing out good scholarship on an otherwise unknown field
of
historical interest for those not specialized in the area.
-HARIHAR
BHATIACHARYYA
Oxford India Short Introductions Panchayati Raj
KULDIP
MATHUR,
Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2013, Rs.195.00.
Under
its seven chapters the
book
has attempted to review the
functioning
of
the Panchayat institutions and an examination of its future
prospect. The book begins with the global context
of
good governance and
new public management with the specific need
of
Panchayats. Later it
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