Talk by Yashaswini Chandra, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), New Delhi on   ‘The Tale of the Horse: Caravans from Central Asia and Horse Traders from Afghanistan’

Cambridge Central Asia Forum in collaboration with the Centre of Development Studies, University of Cambridge invites you to a talk by

Yashaswini Chandra, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), New Delhi

on  

‘The Tale of the Horse: Caravans from Central Asia and Horse Traders from Afghanistan’

Date: 6 May 2022

Time: 11am-1pm

Venue: Room S2 (Alison Richard Building)

Online: Zoom Registration https://cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwtce6sqzopG9xqTCDqCgdTdPz9n6P6g-Rp

Abstract: In her book The Tale of the Horse: A History of India on Horseback, Yashaswini Chandra follows the trail of the animal into and within India until the decline of ‘the age of the horse’ with the onset of colonial rule and mechanisation. It maps both the history of horses in India and their role in shaping Indian history. Informed by a range of sources and spanning a vast swathe of the subcontinent and greater Asia, this monograph presents an account of how horses influenced identities, migration, economies, warfare, literature, art and culture in these parts. In this talk, she focuses on the historical links enabled by the overland trade in horses from Central Asia, through Afghanistan, into India, from the medieval period to the colonial. She discusses the networks and logistics of the commerce that once extended all the way from the Eurasian steppes, the changing nature of the patronage provided by different Indian polities, the impact of Central Asian warfare on the subcontinent and the Mughal penchant for Central Asian horses. Finally, she emphasises the role played by Afghan horse traders in the history of India. She traces their rise to political power and their fall with the coming of the British, the colonial surveillance and crackdown of Afghan migrants. 

Biography: Yashaswini Chandra has a PhD from SOAS University of London, and her research bridges history and art history. Her recent book, titled The Tale of the Horse: A History of India on Horseback (New Delhi: Pan Macmillan India [Picador India imprint, 2021]), is based on her interest in animal history. She is an affiliated fellow of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), New Delhi. 

Everyone is welcome.