11.24 Economy and Society

Economy and Society

2020-04-27 12:07:12

Society in Early Medieval India

Rural Society in North India during the Early Medieval Period

Krishi Parashara Composed in Bengal

  • Declares knowledge of rainfall is root of agriculture, does not mention about irrigation
  • Importance of manure, kind of plough and draught animals to be used, how seeds should be preserved
  • Agricultural rituals and festivals
  • Seeds should not come into contact with menstruating, barren, pregnant women or has just borne a child
  • Works like Dak Tantra or Dakar Bachan is a Buddhist tantric work contains wise sayings, other works like Khanar Bachan also talks about agricultural matters
  • Various inscriptions have mentioned occupations like cultivators (Kshetrakarah), Irda plate of Nyaypala mentions tradesmen, clerks, residents etc
  • Ramganj plate of Ishvaraghosa mentions Karmakara (wage labourers)
  • Puroga : village elder or chief, Mahattara/Mahattama was village elder too
  • Assam had agri settlements in lower valleys in Guwahati and Tezpur do not have any inscriptions
  • Rice major crop grown in eastern India, Irrigation played a major role.
  • Tanks, wells etc were main source of artificial irrigation it facilitated double cropping
  • Persian wheel/Arghatta was used in Rajasthan. Rice, wheat, barley, Jowar, millet and moong were grown. Sesame and sugarcane were cash crops #important #OptionalPYQ

Urban Society in Early Medieval India

  • $ RS Sharma put forward the 2 stage urban decay one from 3-4th century and other from 6th century. #important
    • Admits literary evidence is not strong, cites archaeological evidence
    • Led by decline in long distance trade, artisans migrated to rural areas, traders were not able to pay taxes
    • But there was agrarian expansion
    • Merchants, traders etc transferred their rights to temples → feudalisation of trade and commerce.
    • Revival started from 11th century and was prominent by 14th
      • Increase in cultivation of cash crops
      • Better irrigation techniques
      • Increasing demands for commodities
      • Imp in ship building and expansion of internal trade

Criticism of the Decline of Urban Society

  • Xuanxang mentions Kaushambi, Shravasti, Vaishali and Kapilavastu were in decline but Thaneswar, Varanasi and Kanyakubja flourished
  • Various Arabic texts mentions long journeys made to India for trade

**BD Chattopadhyay** : only certain urban centres declined other flourished.
- Mentions epigraphic evidences from upper Ganga basin, Malwa plateau etc.
- Sites like Prithudaka Tattan dapura, Siyadoni were urban/semi urban centres.


**John Deyell** : shows that money was not scarce, there was no decline in the volume of coins in circulation, debasement of coins was due to inc in volume and shortage of silver


**KN Chaudhari** : Indian ocean trade was divided into smaller segments

**Ranabir Chakravarti** : importance of Mandapikas in the trade acting as centres of exchange, collection of tolls and duties. Mentions about royal merchants increased during this period

**VK Jain** : traders did business in luxury goods which were confined to coastal and internal trade

Revival Post Decline

  • From 11th century onwards there was an inc in range items exported viz sugar, cotton, flax cloth, buckram, tanner leather, leather goods, weapons etc
  • Traders used Hundikas
  • Merchants played imp role in administrative org of Chalukyas, many of them were Jainas. Gujarat was an imp center
  • Trade with SE Asia and China grew : Buddhists started to dominate trade exchanges.
    • Xunaxang mentions silk as most popular in India, silk items and garments were imp gift items brought from China
    • Chinese porcelain overtook silk as the most imp item in 11th century
    • Imports for IN were : hides, fruits, camphor, mercury
    • Exports : horses, wood, frankincense, sandalwood, spices, sulphur, ivory etc.

Rural Society in South India :

  • Burton Stein has described it as Peasant Society, per him
    • Lived in settled agrarian villages
    • Asymmetrical power relations
    • Developed corporate organisation
    • Peasant household was multidimensional despite caste based division of labour and occupation
    • BrahmanaPeasant alliance was more intense in rural areas due to popularity of Buddhism and Jainism in urban, based on self-interest.
  • Basic unit was Ur - were villages or village assemblies
    • Non-brahmadeya villages, dealth with land sale, gift, tax exemptions
    • Had agricultural fields, habitation areas, sources of drinking water, irrigation works, pasture and cremation grounds.
    • Ur-nattam and ur-irukkai were residential quarters of landowners
    • Kammanacheri was where artisans lived and Paraicheri where agricultural labourers
  • Sabha was Brahmana assembly in Brahmadeya villages
    • Managed landed property, including ones associated with temples.
    • Initially size was small later increased to even 12000 members
    • Close relation with Chola courts
  • Hierarch :
    • Paraiyar were socially segregated groups/ ritually impure
    • Vellalar were cultivating groups further divided into landowning and tenant - were Shudras but economically powerful not like Northern counterparts
  • Inscriptions in Karnataka mentions villages headed by women
  • Landholding pattern in Brahmadeya village was based on Individuals and in non-Brah was communal holdings
  • When land was granted so were the right with it. 2 types of landgrants
    • Karanmai - right to cultivate
    • Mitatchi - possessive right
  • Several inscriptions from Karnataka shows that conflict in villages were due to water

Economy

Rural Economy/ Agriculture and Irrigation in South India

  • Land reclamation, spread of irrigation, expansion of range of crops etc extended agricultural prod
  • Irrigation has been analysed by James Heitzman in
    • Canals consisted of majority irrigation followed by tanks
  • Use of Arghatta/ Persian wheel spread during this time, use of Sluice weir devices
  • Chola inscriptions mentions various types of irrigation works
  • Betel nuts were an important commodity traded in west India
  • Land use pattern changed. Use of ragi, jowar, bajra along with rice increased

Urban Economy in South India

  • Market/ Commercial centres were known as Nagarams
  • Had corporate body to manage affairs its members were called the Nagarattar, taniyur status means they were free from interference
  • A Nadu has many such Nagarams
  • Nagarakkani was land from which it collected revenue
  • Made lavish gifts to religious establishments
  • Improvements in craft techniques
    • Hand press mills replaced by bullock driven ones
    • Textile weaving featured the use of looms
  • Kanchipuram - weaving industry
    • Weavers had their own residential sectors in all towns
    • Muslins, Chintz were types that were made
    • Vegetable dies, indigo, madder was used
    • Block printing was in vogue
    • Vertical and horizontal looms, patterned looms
    • Industry was well organised
    • Social mobility happened mostly during Vijayanagara period
    • Taxes were taken on looms, yarn, cotton, thread etc
    • Made large donations to temples, given managerial roles in them
  • Shift of giving gifts to Brahmanas to Temples as the construction of new and renovation of old temples took pace
  • Thanjavur became a major centre due to temples made so did Gongaikondacholapuram
  • Temples became a major urban centres
  • Kudammukku was a sacred centre and Palace complex of Cholas was located in Palaiyarai
  • Supra caste dichotomy emerged called the left hand - artisans and traders and right hand castes - agricultural groups

Trade and Traders

  • Mamallapura developed during Pallavas and Nagapattinam under Cholas
  • Corporate organisation of merchants played imp role in fixing custom duties
  • Rice, pulses, sesame, salt, pepper, oil, cloth, betel leaf, areca nut and metals were used
  • Shikarpur inscriptions mentions sandalwood, camphor, musk, horses, precious stones, semi-precious stones as being exported
  • Imports are mentions in an inscription at Piramalai mentions silk from China, rose water from West Asia, Elephants from Mayanmars and Horse from Arabia
  • Chola kings estd Erivirapattana - protected mercantile towns, emerged as centre of trade
  • Expedition were undertaken to control routes
  • South, SE Asia and East Asia were imp trading partners
    • SE Asian kings patronised building of monastery of Nagapattinam
    • Khmer king sent gift to Rajendra I
    • Rajaraja Chola sent trade mission to China