Forging A Region: Sultans, Traders, and Pilgrims in Gujarat, 1200-1500 (SOAS Studies on South Asia)

"This volume explores the emergence of Gujarat over three centuries in terms of its political, economic and religious landscape. It also analyses the linguistic and cultural foundations of the formation of the region and its history. It examines how the political scenario was differentiated by a variety of religious and sectarian groups competing for resources and legitimization. The book maps immigration and settlement, struggles over territory, and the evolving networks of trade in response to the strictures imposed by the environment, the climate, and natural resources. Sheikh argues that itinerancy and mobility were crucial to the polity under study and that the patterns of political formation were related to the tension between mobility and sedentarization. She engages with the current debates and conceptions regarding the study of regional histories."-- Publisher description. Gujarat is a recently created modern state in India. In 1960, Bombay state was divided into Gujarat and Maharashtra based on linguistic and cultural differences. The campaign for the establishment of a separate state of Gujarat was driven in large part by the writings and personal efforts of K.M. Munshi (1887-1971), an ardent Gujarati nationalist who called for statehood because of his desire to restore the ancient asmitā or glory of Gujarat. This book traces the history of Gujarat, focusing on the late twelfth to the end of the fifteenth century. During the twelfth century, a ‘vernacular polity’ was created under the Caulukyas, who succeeded in extending a contested form of political control over most of the territory of modern Gujarat including Kachchh and Saurashtra. This book examines settlement and authority in eastern Gujarat, along with pastoralism, trade, settlement, religion, politics, and patronage This volume explores the emergence of Gujarat by examining its political, economic and religious landscape. It also analyses the linguistic and cultural foundations of the region and its history