There is a perception that the region of north east India maintained its ‘splendid isolation’ and remained outside the reach of the Mughals and did not have a precolonial past. The present book is an attempt to decenter and demolish the said perceptions and asserts that north east India did have a ‘medieval’ past through linkage with the dominant central power in India – the Mughals. The eastern frontier of this Mughal Empire was constituted by a number of states like Bengal Koch Bihar Assam Manipur Dimasa Jaintia Cachar Tripura Khasi confederation Chittagong Lushai and the Nagas. Of these some areas like Bengal were an integral part of the Mughal Empire while others like Koch Bihar and Assam were in and out of the empire. Tripura Manipur Jaintia and Cachar were frequently overrun by the Mughals whenever the State was short of revenue and withdrew soon without incorporating them in the state. Despite not being a formal part of the Mughal Empire the society economy polity and culture of the north east India however had been majorly impacted by the Mughal presence. The brief but effective advent of the Mughals had supplanted certain political and revenue institutions in various states. It generated trade and commerce which linked it to rest of India. A number of wondering Sufi saints Islamic missionaries imprisoned Mughal soldiers and officers were settled in various states which resulted in a substantial Muslim population growth in the region. Besides the population there are numerous Islamic and syncretic institutions cultures and shrines which dot the entire region. About the Author Sajal Nag is currently a Senior Professor and Head Department of History and Dean School of Social Sciences Assam University Silchar. He is the author of The Beleaguered Nation: Making and Unmaking of the Assamese Nationality (Manohar: L12016); and Contesting Marginality: Ethnicity Insurgency and Sub Nationalism in NorthEast India (Manohar: 2002); among others.
