Understanding the ‘mofussil’ and the ‘ditch’ in early colonial India

DOI

Access Status

Thumbnail Image

Type

Article

Date

2018-03

Journal Title

Karatoya : North Bengal University journal of History

Journal Editor

Bhattacharya, Dahlia
Mondal, Amrita

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

University of North Bengal

Statistics

Total views and downloads
Views
103
Downloads
496

Citation

Roy, V. K. (2018). Understanding the ‘mofussil’ and the ‘ditch’ in early colonial India. Karatoya : North Bengal University Journal of History, 11, 48–56. https://ir.nbu.ac.in/handle/123456789/3936

Advisor

Editor

Abstract

At the beginning of the 19th century, the term Mofussil meant 'outside the limits of Calcutta' since the limit was for a while the Maratha Ditch dug around Fort William in the 1740s. Europeans (missionaries, merchants and planters) who lived in Calcutta they were called ditchers and those who lived outside the Maratha Ditch were known as Mofussilites. However with the passage of time the meaning of the term got changed and it could be studied in juxtaposition to rural-urban dichotomy. In this research article, the origin of the term Mofussil is investigated and how the original connotation has changed with the passage of time in the early 19th century. Mofussil always stood in contrast to bigger cities like Calcutta but it was always linked to the cities through the Zilla Sadar towns.

Description

Citation

Accession No

Call No

Book Title

Edition

Volume

ISBN No

Volume Number

11

Issue Number

ISSN No

2229-4880

eISSN No

Pages

Pages

48 - 56

Endorsement

Review

Supplemented By

Referenced By