ABSTRACT
An attempt has been made here to analyse the social impact of Aurangzeb’s edict of 1669 relating to demolition of temples and how successfully the merchant community resisted the implementation of the imperial order in Surat in 1669.1 This paper also aims at an analysis of the socio-economic organization of the Surat merchants as can be gleaned from the events of 1669 as also the position of the Mughal merchant vis-à-vis the State. However, it should be made explicitly clear that no conclusive generalization can be expected to be reached at from the analysis of a single case study made here. Nevertheless, certain deductions can perhaps be made on the basis of the evidence – meagre though they are – we come across in connection with this study. These deductions are bound to be highly uncertain but they must not be altogether disdained. Although they cannot offer any very firm answers, they can at least help to eliminate most infirm of answers and to limit the range of likelihood.
