Between trust and mistrust: master-servant relationships in Urdu writings of the 1860s–early 1900s

ABSTRACT Based on texts dealing with life in North Indian Muslim households of the second half of the nineteenth century, covering genres such as didactic tales, letters, guidebooks, and an autobiographical narrative, this essay looks at the representation of master-servant relationships as presented in these texts from the perspective of the master/mistress. As this was a period of transformation when traditional aristocratic households were gradually replaced by the new middle class, this essay, through a close textual analysis, underscores the gap between the normative and actual behaviour of the employing class, underlining the changes that came about with respect to the service classes while it attempted to maintain or acquire respectability on reduced incomes.