ABSTRACT
The chapter engages with the intersection of race, gender, and colonialism to disclose the transphobia, classism, racism, and misogyny in the orientalist tone of the colonial writings. Providing written and visual evidence, it comments on inconsistencies, biases, and uncorroborated claims. It demonstrates that the colonial archives were partly constructed—rather fabricated—with the intent of providing material that would substantiate the BEIC’s claim of the political inefficacy of the nawabs. Johann Zofanny’s painting Colonel Mordaunt Cock Match is examined to describe how the painting becomes an opportunity for the colonizers to ridicule the nawabs under the pretense of documenting a sporting event. The chapter compiles instances of colonial texts that comment on the nawabs’ cultural and political positions to highlight the perceived effeminacy, revealing that the colonial gaze persistently relied on genderization and stereotypical notions of gender for asserting and authorizing its dominion over the nawabs.
