Social Studies LONG ANS. QUESTIONS(5 Mark)

Years of imperial, pan-regional rule altered the character of the regions. Across most of the subcontinent, the regions were left with the legacies of big and small states that had ruled over them. This was visible in emergence of many distinct and shared traditions in the realms of governance, the management of the economy, and emergence of elite cultures and languages.

In the middle of nineteenth centaury Bitish historians Divided Indian history into three periods: "Hindu", "Muslim" and "British". This division was based on the idea that the religion of the rulers was the only important historically change, and that there were no other significant developments - in the economy, society or culture, such a division also ignored the rich diversity of the subcontinent. Few historian follow this periodisation today. Most look to economic and social factors to characterise the major elements of different moments of the past.

'Rajputs' word has been derived from 'Rajaputra' the son of a ruler. Between the eighth and the fourteenth centuries the term was applied more generally to a body of warriors who claimed Kshatriya caste status. The term included not just rulers and chieftains but also soldiers and commanders.
They served in the armies of different monarchs all over the subcontinent. A chivalric code of conduct, including extreme valour and a great sense of loyalty were the qualities attributed to Rajputs by their poets and bards.

Affairs of jatis were regulated in the following ways:

1. As society became more differentiated, people were grouped into jatis or sub-castes and ranked on the basis of their backgrounds and their occupations.
2. Ranks were not fixed permanently, and varied according to the power, influence and resources controlled by members of the jati. The status of the same jati could vary from area to area.
3. Jatis framed their own rules and regulations to manage the conduct of their members. These regulations were enforced by an assembly of elders, described in some areas as the jati panchayat. But jatis were also required to follow the rules of their villages.
4. Several villages were governed by a chieftain. Together they were only one small unit of a state.

The study of the thousand years between 700 and 1750 is a huge challenge to historians because of:

• Scale and variety of developments that occurred during this period.
• At various moments in this period new technologies made their appearance.
• All the innovations, new technologies and crops came along with people. They brought other ideas with them as well.
• In this way, this was a period of economic, political, social and cultural changes.

Coins are important for study as:

• It tells us about the reigning periods of kings and gives us dates of important political events.
• It tells us about the economy of the kingdom and trade with other regions.

Inscriptions are useful source of history because:

• They record royal proclamations, religious instruction and gifts given by rulers to temples and villages.
• It tells us about the important events in the king’s life, about the people of particular time and even narrates the achievement of king.

According to historians time reflects changes in social and economic organisation, in transformation of ideas and beliefs. They do not see it as clock or calender.
The study of time is made somewhat easier by dividing the past into large segments. They are called periods. The periods possess shared characteristics.
In the middle of the nineteenth century British historians divided the history of India into three periods.

• They are 'Hindu', 'Muslim' and 'British'.
• This division was based on the idea that the religion of rulers was the only important historical change, and that there were no other significant developments in result of the economy, society or culture.
• Such a division also ignored the rich diversity of the subcontinent. Few historians follow this periodisation today. Most look to economic and social factors to characterise the major elements of different moments of the past.

Some of the major religious developments during this period were:

1. It was during this period that important changes occurred in Hinduism. These included the worship of new deities, the construction of temples by royalty and the growing importance of Brahmanas, the priests, as dominant groups in society.
2. There was emergence of the idea of bhakti among the people.
3. This was also the period when new religions appeared in the subcontinent. Merchants and migrants first brought the teachings of the holy Quran to India in the seventh century.
4. Many rulers were patrons of Islam and the ulama-learned theologians and jurists.

The number and variety of textual records increased dramatically during this period. They slowly displaced other types of available information. Through this period, paper gradually became cheaper and more widely available. People used it to write holy texts, chronicles of rulers, letters and teachings of saints, petitions and judicial records, and for registers of accounts and taxes. Manuscripts were collected by wealthy people, rulers, monasteries and temples. They were placed in libraries and archives.

The meaning of the term 'Hindustan' has changed over the centuries in the following manner:

• In the thirteenth century Minhaj-i-Siraj used the term 'Hindustan'. He meant areas of Punjab, Haryana and the lands between Ganga and Yamuna. He used this term in a political sense that were a part of the dominions of the Delhi Sultanate. The term never included South India.
• In the sixteenth century poet Babur used the term 'Hindustan' to describe the geography, the fauna and the culture of the inhabitants of the subcontinent.
• In fourteenth century poet Amir Khusrau used the term 'Hind' in the same sense as Babur did in the sixteenth century.
• 'Hindustan' did not carry the political and national meanings as the term 'India' does today.

Map 1 and Map 2 given in the NCERT Textbook represent two different times. Map 1 was made in 1154 CE by al-Idrisi, an Arab geographer. This section is a detail of the Indian subcontinent from his larger map of the world. Map 2 was made by a French cartographer in 1720. Both maps are quite different from each other, even though they represent the same area. In Map 1 we find south India at the place where we would expect to find north India and Sri Lanka is the island at the top. The place names are in Arabic. Some familiar places like Kanauj in Uttar Pradesh have been spelt as Qanauj. In comparison to this Map 2 was made nearly 600 later after Map 1. By that time information about the subcontinent had changed a lot. This map appears to be more familiar to us. The coastal areas, particularly, are more detailed.

Literary Sources of History of Medieval India are:

1. Biography: It is an account of someone's life written by someone else. Some important biographies of medieval period are Prithviraj Raso by Chandbardai, Akbarnama by Abu Fazal.
2. Autobiography: It is a self-written account of the life of oneself.Important autobiography of medieval period are Futuhat-I-Firoz by Firozshah Tughlaq, Baburnama by Babur and Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri by Jahangir.
3. Travelogue: It is written account about the places visited by or experiences of a traveller. Example: Al-beruni wrote Tahqiq-i-hind, Ibn Batuta wrote Rihla.
4. Chronicle: It is a factual written account of important or historical events in the order of their occurrence. Example: Rajtarangini by Kalhan, Tughluqnama by Amir Khusrau.

Merchants and migrants first brought the teachings of the holy Quran to India in the 7th century. Many rulers were patrons of Islam and the ulama learned theologians and jurists. Islam was interpreted in a number of ways by its followers. There were the Shia Muslims, who believed that the Prophet Muhammad’s son-in-law, Ali, was the leader of the Muslim community and the Sunni Muslims accepted the authority of the Khalifas.

Meaning of the term ‘Hindustan’ changed over the centuries.

1. In the thirteenth century by Minhaj-i-Siraj, a chronicler who wrote in Persian, he meant the areas of Punjab, Haryana and the lands between the Ganga and Yamuna. He used the term in a political sense for lands that were a part of the dominions of the Delhi Sultan. The areas included in this term shifted with the extent of the Sultanate but the term never included south India.
2. In fourteenth-century poet Amir Khusrau used the word “Hind”.
3. In the early sixteenth century while using this term meant the geography, the fauna and the culture of the inhabitants of the subcontinent.
4. While the idea of a geographical and cultural entity like “India” did exist, the term “Hindustan” did not carry the political and national meanings which we associate with it today.

Historians are to be careful about the terms they use because their meanings go on changing with change in time.Example:
We take a simple term 'Foreigner'.

• It is used today to mean a person who is not an Indian.
• In the medieval period a 'foreigner' was any stranger who was not a part of that society or culture.
• In Hindi the term pardesi is used to describe such a person and in persian, ajnabi.
• A city- dweller regarded a forest- dweller as a 'foreigner' but two peasants living in the same village were not foreigners to each other, though they belonged to different religions or caste backgrounds.

• Throughout the period between 700 and 1750 there was a gradual clearing of forests and the extension of agriculture. This was a change faster and more complete in some areas than in others.
• Changes in their habitat forced many forest- dwellers to migrate.
• Others started tilling the land and became peasants.

Regional markets, chieftains, priests, monasteries and temples began to influence them.

• They became part of large complex societies.
• They were required to’ pay taxes and offer goods and services to local lords.

As a result, significant economic and social differences emerged among the peasants.

• Some possessed more productive land.
• Others kept cattle,
• Yet others combined artisanal work with agricultural activity during the lean season.

• The thousand years of history between 700 and 1750 A.D. witnessed major developments in religious traditions.
• It was during this period that important changes occurred in Hinduism.
• The worship of new deities.
• The construction of temples by royalty.
• Their knowledge of Sanskrit texts earned the Brahmanas a lot of respect in society and support of new rulers or patrons searching for prestige.
• One of the major developments was the emergence of the idea of Bhakti.
• It was of a loving, personal deity that devotees could reach without the aid of priests or elaborate rituals.

There is a serious problem because we rarely find the original manuscripts of the authors today.

• We are totally dependent upon the copies made by later scribes.
• The result is that historians have to read different manuscript versions of the same text to guess what the author had originally written.
• On several occasions authors revised their chronicles at different times.
• The fourteenth century chronicler Ziyauddin Barani wrote his chronicle first in 1356 and another version came two years later.
• The two versions differ from each other.
• Historians did not know about the existence of the first version until 1960s.
• It remained lost in large library collections.

Map made by Al-Idris (Map 1):

1. Map 1 was made by the Arab geographer Al-Idrisi.
2. It was made in 1154 CE (Christian era).
3. In this map south India is where we would expect to find north India and Sri Lanka is the island at the top.
4. The names of places are marked in Arabic and there are some popular places of Uttar Pradesh like Kanauj (spelt as Qanauj).

Map made by French cartographer (Map 2)

1. Map 2 was made by a French cartographer.
2. It was made in the 1720s, i.e. 600 years after Map 1.
3. This map seems more familiar to us and the coastal areas in particular are surprisingly detailed.
4. It was used by the European sailors and merchants on their voyages.

People in India were grouped into Jatis or sub-castes and ranked on the basis of their backgrounds and different occupations. Jatis framed their own rules and regulations. These were enforced by an assembly of elders called jati panchayat. But jatis were also required to follow the rules of their villages. Several villages were governed by a chieftain.

The affairs of jatis were regulated in the following way:

• Jatis formed their own rules and regulations.
• There was an assembly of elders called jati panchayat.
• It enforced the rules and regulations.
• Jatis were also directed to follow the rules of the village.
• Several villages were governed by a chieftain.

Al-Idrisi an Arab cartographer made a map in 1154 CE. French cartographer made the map of same area in 1720's.The two had certain differences:

• Al-Idrisi's map had south India in place of north India. Sri Lanka was at the top.
• Place names are marked in Arabic. Kanauj is spelt as Qanauj and is shown in Uttar Pradesh.
• French cartographer's map was made about 600 years later. There were many changes by the time.
• This map is more familiar. Coastal areas are more detailed.
• This map was used by the European sailors and merchants on their voyages.

1. The earlier invaders like the Greeks who came to India, followed Indian religions - Hinduism and Buddhism.
2. The new invaders - Turks, Afghans and Mughals - brought a new religion, Islam with them.
3. Islam spread in India. Later on, Sikhism was born and the advent of Europeans saw the spread of Christianity.
4. Hinduism also underwent major changes but remained the main religion of India.
5. Two new religious cults - Bhakti Movement and Sufi Movement brought a new way of understanding between Islam and Hinduism.

• By 700 A.D. regions already possessed distinct geographical dimensions.
• They had their own language and cultural characteristics.
• They were also associated with specific ruling dynasties.
• Thfere was considerable conflict between these states.
• Occasionally dynasties like the Cholas, Khiljis, Tughluqs and Mughals were able to build an empire that was pan-regional, covering various regions. These empires were not equally stable or successful.

The period between 700 and 1750 A.D. was the period when new religions appeared in the subcontinent.
Merchants and migrants first brought the teachings of the holy Quran to India in the seventh century. Many rulers were patrons of Islam, Jurists and theologians.

• Muslims regard the Quran as their holy book.
• They accept the sovereignty of the one God or Allah.
• Islam was interpreted in a variety of ways by its followers.
• Shia Muslims believed that the prophet's son-in-law, Ali, was the legitimate leader of the Muslim community.
• Sunni Muslims accepted the authority of the early leaders (Khalifas) of the community, and the succeeding Khalifas.
• There were other important differences between the various schools of law and in theology and mystic traditions.
• The schools of law are Hanafi and Shafi'i, mainly in India.

Gram panchayath who is in the Panchayat Office is the elected head in India who handles all the matters in the village so the records handled by him but they are written down by the Gram Sevak who is an elected supervisor and is a government employee, he keeps a track of all the ongoing activities and later in order to protect them from being modified or stolen they are handed to Gram Panchayath.
There is no archive and Sarpanch manages it.
These records are used by the head of the village in order to make the decisions and be fair to people when there is a need for giving a loan or there is some sort of distribution going on.
The records of land owned by people, their date of births and number of deaths in a year, properties, data of health insurance.
These records are used by villagers when they need them and when they use these records the certificates are issued to them.

• People used paper to write holy texts, chronicles of rulers, letters and teachings of saints, petitions and judicial records and in preparing accounts and taxes.
• Manuscripts were collected by wealthy people, rulers, monasteries and temples.
• They were placed in libraries and archives.
• They provided a lot of detailed information to historians.
• Manuscripts were difficult to use.

• When the Mughal Empire declined in the eighteenth century, it led to the re-emergence of regional states.
• Years of imperial, pan- regional rule had altered the character of the regions.
• Across most of the subcontinent the regions were left with the legacies of the big and small states that ruled over them.
• This was clear in the emergence of many distinct and shared traditions: in the way of governance, the management of the economy, elite cultures, and language.
• Through the thousand years between 700 and 1750 A.D. the character of the different regions did not grow in isolation.
• They felt the impact of larger pan-regional forces of integration without losing their own character.

Historians faced a lot of difficulties while using manuscripts because:

• There was no printing press in the 13th and 14th centuries. Scribes in those days made manuscripts by hand.
• To copy was not an easy exercise. Scribes could not read the handwriting of the other writers.
• They were forced to guess. So there were small but significant differences in the copy of the scribed.
• These small words or sentences here and there grew over centuries of copying.
• The manuscripts of the same text became a great extent different from the original.