A subaltern history of the Nilgiri hills before British imperialism

What is it about?

This article looks at the deep history of the Nilgiris region, and evidence for past attempts by indigenous states and empires to conquer, control, and extract taxes from the region. It makes the point that the indigenous communities of the hills were not unfamiliar with conquest and imperialism when the British took over control and administration.

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Why is it important?

This article is significant for how we consider the impact of British imperialism in South India, especially among the 'tribal' and indigenous communities, who have been argued to have been naive in their view of the British arrival in the early 19th century. This article argues instead for their isolationism, as a strategy for dealing with prior attempts at conquest by others. In other words the 'natives' were neither naive nor without mechanisms for coping with imperialism, when the British arrived to take over control and administration of the Nilgiri Hills.