Baburnama: Negotiating Autobiography and Historicity

Abstract

This article explores the Baburnamaas an exceptional autobiography written by the first of the Mughalemperors. Babur’s account sketches his career, which began with multiple political upsets that nevertheless had no effect on his indomitable spirit. Despite early losses Babur who was driven out of his homeland, sought and received validation in the Indian subcontinent. The Baburnamais a life writing, which exhibits an extraordinary lack of self-regard and valorization with a concomitant historicity whose fidelity to truth which is hard to question. It also reveals the poetic accomplishments of a ruler who, despite being embroiled in many military campaigns, was prolific in poetic outpourings. This paper presents the multi-faceted character of the text, whose historical and literary significance exceeds generic expectations.