Some Were Larger Than Their Communities

Abstract

Focussing on a ritually low caste but materially affluent potter’s family of eighteenth century Rajasthan that got embroiled in a petty family dispute, this article traces how a domestic squabble spilt out and played itself out in the public sphere. Dispelling the notion of harmonious joint families characterizing pre-colonial India, this article demonstrates the tensions and often antagonistic interests and agendas of different members in Kumhar Paima’s household and examines the negotiations attempted by competing interests with the dispute-processing fora. These help highlight the overlapping yet intersecting networks of discipline and control. The locally influential position of this kumhar family points towards considerable differentiation within castes and communities, and complicates ideas about the homogeneity of caste groups. More importantly, its dispute with the community of potters points towards instances of dilution in caste bonds, while its protection by the Jodhpur rulers suggests vertical bonds that often superseded horizontal kin and community affiliations. Through a close reading of this court case, this article argues that power and authority were culturally constructed, not merely in terms of royal gift-giving and material support to retainers as often argued, but also in terms of extending patronage that included intangible non-material support, especially intercession on behalf of a client in the process of judicial dispensation