Embodying Empire: Wrestling, Masculinity, and the Military Labour Market in Mughal India
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https://doi.org/10.66871/trf-j.v1i2.031##semicolon##
Mughal Empire##common.commaListSeparator## Martial Sports##common.commaListSeparator## Wrestling##common.commaListSeparator## Masculinity##common.commaListSeparator## Military Labour Marketसार
Military conflict was a structural feature of the Mughal Empire, requiring a constant supply of trained fighting men. While historians have examined the mansabdari system and the circulation of military labour in early modern North India, little attention has been given to the bodily practices that sustained this order. This paper argues that martial sports, particularly wrestling (pahelwani), played a crucial role in linking physical discipline, masculine identity, and imperial patronage. Through akhara training, daily drills (kasarat), and staged competitions at court, the Mughal state cultivated disciplined bodies that embodied imperial authority. Wrestling arenas functioned as theatres where strength, honour, and hierarchy were publicly displayed and rewarded. By situating wrestling within the broader military labour market, the paper demonstrates how martial training served both as preparation for warfare and as a pathway to social mobility and imperial service.
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