DefinePK

Abstract

This study explores Orientalist discourse presented in colonial sources on Bahawalpur State documented during first half of nineteenth century. More specifically, here focus is on image of Nawabs presented in British travelogues and intelligence reports. The representation of ‘Nawab’ in documents modify with the changing aims and interests of British government. So long as the Nawab served the British interests, the European writers valuated him with praise. Contrary to this, if Nawab was guilty of any leniency or weakness to yield the wishes of British, his image dwarfed by underlying textual criticism. For better understanding of mechanism of such shrewd manipulation of literary as well as political power, some abstracts from different historical records are amalgamated in this treatise which followed textual analysis. These abstracts are exhausted into three categories: travelers of pre-First Afghan War era, Army men of First Afghan War, and Post-First Afghan war traveler