The Raj and the Princely States of North-East India: An Account of Monetary Diplomacy

Presenter:

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Abstract

Investigations on monetary history have been the subject of research both by Indian and foreign scholars almost since the beginning of Indological research. Money as one of the pillars of civilization in any country has been an indispensable theme for study. The theme further offers scope for in-depth studies in various aspects of history and also be studied from the point of view of the contemporary economy, political vicissitudes and aesthetic sensibilities of any region and its people. Pre-modern North East Indian princely states namely Ahom, Tripura, Koch Kingdom and some other minor densities were not devoid of the practice of minting coins, as issuing coinage was considered an integral part of the state formation process and legitimization of political authority. As coinage was massively used to serve the political, economic and religio-cultual spheres in those days, so after the consolidation of power the British authority tried to curve the status of these indigenous currencies and the process of demonetization of princely coinage started and it can be considered as a remarkable field of investigation.

Thus the present article focuses on the monetary history of pre-modern North East India and tries to understand its demonetization process after the arrival of British rule in this part of the country. By scrutinizing archival data the paper will investigate the British monetary policy to abolish the age-long princely currencies of North East India namely the currencies of the Ahom, Tripura and the Koch kingdom and it also seeks to explore the impact of the demonization of princely coinages over the common people as well as on the ruling elite of the region.