The Architecture of Dissent: Subaltern Social Groups and the Construction of Qasba Life in Medieval Uttar Pradesh (1450–1750)

Author(s)	Vishesh Kumar
Country	India
Abstract	This paper challenges the "top-down" obsession of medieval Indian historiography by shifting the lens from the Mughal court to the provincial qasba (small town). Focusing on the laboring classes of Uttar Pradesh—specifically the Julahas (weavers) and Kasibs (artisans)—it argues that the qasba served as a unique "middle space" where marginalized groups negotiated social status. By synthesizing fiscal data from the Ain-i-Akbari with the radical vernacular poetry of Kabir and Sufi hagiographies, this study reconstructs a narrative of subaltern agency. It posits that through professional guilds and spatial control of the Chauk, these groups developed a "vernacular modernity" that resisted imperial homogenization.
Field	Sociology > Archaeology / History
Published In	Volume 7, Issue 2, March-April 2026
Published On	2026-03-03

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