Agrarian expansion: land grants, changing production relations; graded land rights and

peasantry
Urban civilization relapsed to subsistence farming in the post-Gupta period. According to B.D
Chattopadhyay, the early medieval involves the expansion of agriculture and state formation. There
was an acceleration of processes than began before the early medieval.

Land grant charters often specify the boundaries (sima) of the granted land. These could be natural
land marks or boundaries where villages began. Increasing of settlements led to the intense use of
land and now the boundaries became more detailed and complex. Temples and cremation grounds
used to mark the boundaries of the settlements. Not all villages had cremation grounds or temples as
boundaries and they were probably shared between villages. In other words, the early medieval
period instead of looking at the stagnation, should be seen as a period of developments in rural life.

Agrahara settlements- Brahmanas were granted lands and made to settle there. The workers who
toiled on the granted land settled on the periphery of the Agrahara settlement. On the ground existed
the Brahmana groups and Samanta and the working group and servile classes.

From the 5th century onwards there was a growth of regional landed aristocracy. As the varna-jati
settlement spread to new areas, there is a reconstitution of the rural society which used to be
relatively undifferentiated tribal societies. When rural society is reshaped it gives rise to more servile
groups and leads to the increase in the number of peasantry.

(Indian Feudalism) Increased subjection of the peasantry because of the land grants and land grants
to intermediaries, the rights of the peasantry curtailed in areas where they previously possessed
some rights. Harbans Mukhia says that peasants in early medieval possessed some amount of
autonomy and also means of production. He says that Indian feudalism was different from Western
feudalism. R.S. Sharma responds to the views put by Harbans Mukhia. He says that what is the use of
owning the means of production when all the surplus is siphoned off by the land owners. And in early
medieval India land was the most important means of production.

Exploitation of peasants by the landlords continued and slavery existed in the houses of large
landlords. Sharma argues that the nature of grants changed over time. For instance, provisions in the
grants state that the landlord is allowed to collect all types and kinds of dues and exploit them
whichever way they wanted. After 7th century, resources such as fertile lands and water resources
which were commonly used by village communities were granted to the beneficiaries. More and more
privileges were given to the beneficiaries. Vishti therefore amounted to the control over the labour
of a person to the beneficiary himself. Also, a produced rent (kodamai) was charged from a peasant.
So, rise in agrarian productivity and stratified society leads to more taxes and dues getting extracted
from the peasants.

The ideology of this period was instituted by Brahmanas and executed by the rulers. From the 8th
century onwards there is an extension of temples into the rural world. Local cults were marked by
small shrines on roadsides within the village or at road-crossings. There was a growth of structural
temples into domineering edifices. Gradually temples also became landlords.
Land grants are a devise to provide payments to keep producing classes under control and to
maintain to exploitative machinery. A grant of lands to Brahmanas is regarded by some as the
weakening of the royal state and the fragmentation of power. On the contrary, Chattopadhyay and H.
Kulke see it as an expansion the rural economy and agriculture. Rather than a period of stagnation
the early medieval was a period of expansion.

B.D.Chattopadhyay talks of Political decentralization. The state structure during this period is
characterized by decentralization and hierarchy, features suggested by the presence of a wide range
of semi-autonomous rulers,samantas,mahasamantas and similar categories and the hierarchized
positioning of numerous rajapurusas employed by the royal court. He talks of the emergence of
landed intermediaries which is considered the hallmark of Indian feudal social formation and is seen
to be linked both to the disintegration and decentralization of state authority and to major changes
in the structure of agrarian relations.The emergence of landed intermediaries-a dominant
landholding social group presumed absent in the early historical period-is casually linked to the
practice of land grants. The recipients of which were almost invariably brahamanas or religious
establishments. A change over from the market or money economy to self-sufficient villages as units
of production led to the practice of remuneration in land as a substitute for cash, to the migration of
different social groups to rural areas to an agrarian expansion and to the crystallization in rural
society of jajmani relationships(relationships of interdependence between patrons and clients).

Chattopadhyay talks of subjection of peasantry, likened sometimes to serfdom. Characteristics of the

subjection of the peasantry such as immobility, forced labour and the payment of revenue at
exorbitantly high rates all point to the nature of stratification in post-gupta society. The condition of
the peasantry in this pattern of rural stratification was in sharp contrast to what the agrarian
structure in early historical india represented since that structure was dominated by free Vaisya
peasants and labour services provided by the Shudras.

Urban decay- R.S Sharma, U Singh

When the signs of urbanism I.e. monumental buildings, large settlements with dense population,
craft, trade etc, are found in a diminishing form, we visualize urban decline. Inscriptional evidence
shows the decline of trade and urbanism. Toshio Yamazaki who has examined 15 copper plate
inscriptions notices certain changes in the history of towns and trade like, the exclusion of artisans
and merchants from the administration of the city in the 6 th century. Land grants by kings and chiefs
were common for religious purposes and the merchants and artisans were not generally consulted.
The non-mention of the merchants, traders and artisans in subsequent land charters demonstrates
the sharp decline of urbanism and trade. Several archaeologists refer to the decline of the ancient
towns and give their different views on the decline. Y.D Sharma suggests that towns declined in
Gupta and post-Gupta times. C.Margabandhu, on the other hand points out that the towns lose their
importance in Gujarat, Rajasthan and M.P at the end of the Satvahana rule broadly in c.200-400A.D.
Upinder Singh on the other hand, questions the hypothesis that there was sub continental urban
decay during 300-600 A.D ,on several grounds. Texts of the time abound in lengthy, poetic
descriptions of cities that need not be taken literally and the very production of a sophisticated range
of literature of various genres, as well as architectural and sculptural products of this period point to
an urban milieu and an urban source of patronage. The archaeological data on cities of this period is
extremely meager. Archaeological evidence indicates the decline of certain Buddhist establishments
such as those at Pauni in western India. On the other hand, several other monastic centers grew. The
monastic community of Ajanta flourished in western India. The ports of south India played a pivotal
role in the trade with south East Asia and China. Spices such as pepper and cardamom continued to
be produced and exported from the Kerela region. The epics also describe the lavish lifestyle of the
merchants. Excavations at Kaveripattinam revealed remains stretching from 3-12 centuries A.D.

The growth of the decay of towns is linked with the history of trade. After the 3 rd and particularly
after the 6th centuries, long distance trade suffered as a result of which towns suffered. The decline
of long distance trade which involved Romans, Chinese, Parthians, Kushanas and Satvahanas was an
important cause of urban decay in the 4th century. The end of the Kushana, Satvahana, Han and
Parthian kingdoms alongwith the internal dissensions in the Roman Empire dimished the trade. We
find that there is a sudden drop in Roman coins and goods. Poverty of structures and antiquities in
the north and south in the post-third centuries speak of commercial decline. There was also no
significant technological advance immediately after this. With the decline of the Kushanas the central
Asian ties broke. All contact with central Asia by the Guptas was completely destroyed by the Huna
invasions.

The urban decline had also been attributed to political factors- towns fall because kingdoms fall. It
was held that political chaos led to economic depression and towns such as Nasik, Nevasa, Kolhapur
lost their privileged positions. T. Blech suggest that the collapse of the imperial line of Gupta kings
caused the ruin and desertion of Vaishali. K.C Jain considers the foreign invasions, particularly that
of the muslims to be a very important cause of decay of cities and towns particularly in Rajasthan.
But we don’t have clear evidence as to whether this is true. According to R.N Mehta and S.N Mehta
the struggle for supremacy between the kingdoms was the cause. Excavations show that both in the
north and in the Deccan , most towns were deserted in the 3 rd century but no invasion had taken
place at this time. Another explanation for the decline is natural calamities. Fire, flood and famine
may apply in some cases but the archaeological evidence does not show evidence of any these
occurrences that might have affected several towns at the same time. It is also argued that towns
were set up, maintained and protected by powerful polities and the moment such polities were
destroyed, towns were ruined.

The urban decline can be divided into 2 phases. Urban centers in Punjab, Haryana and western U.P
generally suffered sharp decline after the 3rd century. In the middle gangetic plains the trend towards
sharp decline or desertion is noticed at many sites including sravasti, kausambi,rajgir,etc. In M.P,
Rajasthan and Gujarat also, there is decline after the 3rd century in places like noh, Ujjain and nagar.
Vadgaon-Madhavapur and other sites in Karnataka and arikamedu in tamil nadu. So it appears that
the kushana and satvahana urban centers suddenly declined during the second half of 3 rd century or
during the 4th. This marked the first stage of urban decay which overtook the majority of early historic
towns. It coincided with the fall of two great kingdoms and the end of the indo-roman trade. There
was also the rise of the Gupta power in north India. The Gupta Empire was larger than each of the 2
kingdoms and yet its cities and towns show a general trend of decline. The difference in the
habitational deposit of the 4-6 centuries can be seen from the sections prepared by the excavators
which show that mostly this deposit is thinner than that of the 1st three centuries.

The second phase of urban decay appears after the 6 th century and its beginning coincides with the
fall of the Gupta Empire. In the centuries following the Gupta period the role of those who exchanged
goods between different areas reduced. Though Indian literary evidence for Gupta and post-Gupta
times is not so strong, yet they give us an idea of the decline. The archaeological evidence backed by
foreign accounts demonstrates de-urbanisation in the Gupta and post-Gupta times. We find that less
importance importance is given to towns and far more importance is given to villages. The
impression left by Hsuan Tsang’s account is one of decline particularly of towns. The archaeological
decline of Buddhist towns after the 6th century is generally attested by his account. It is also
confirmed by decreasing attention given to traders and craftsmen in literature. According to him
Sravasti, Kapilavastu, Kusinagara and Gaya were declining. His account shows that towns in north
India in the 9th century were declining. Urban decline in the Gupta times canalso be inferred from the
forecasts made in the Brihat Samhita by Varahamihira, an astrologer. He stated that the cities of
Taxila, Mathura, Ujjayini, Kasi etc. would be either destroyed or fall on evil days. He also refers to bad
days befalling artisans , artists and merchants. His prophecies suggest the destruction of the
townspeople. Prophecies were made in the Brihat Samhita about industrial products and other items,
which suffered and declined. Varahamihira also mentions occurrence of natural calamities.

The Gupta Empire covered several important towns in the middle gangentic plains. Champa, Vaishali,
Pataliputra, Varanasi etc. which ceased to be towns after the 6th century. The second phase of urban
decay is also linked with the decline of trade. Until the 5 th century the Byzantium carried on trade
with urban centers in India and also in Sri Lanka. Byzantium coins have been found in south India.
But once the knowledge of feeding silkworms on mulberry leaves was acquired by the Byzantium in
the middle of the 6th century, silk trade suffered. Similarly evidence for trade between India and south
East Asia from the 4-10 centuries is found wanting. Increasing decline in long-distance trade
accelerated the disappearance of urban centers.

The decay and disappearance of urbanism can be better explained in the context of the social
upheaval; reflected in the descriptions of the Kali age in the Puranas. Descriptions of widespread
unrest are also found in the Brihat Samhita Thus there was internal revolt in towns. The crisis, which
amounted to an upheaval in the countryside, was bound to hit tax collection from the peasants and
reduce purchasing power of the affluent. This would mean that merchants lost both local and long-
distance markets. The kali crisis seems to have largely affected the western, central Deccan and
portions of North India where many towns were deserted by A.D 300. The social unrest led to
widespread conversion of towns into fiefs. Now the state shed away its responsibility of policing
many villages by granting them to brahmanas, temples and monasteries. There is mention of grant
of towns for administrative purposes. There are also references showing that towns were given away
to temples and monasteries for meeting their needs. The decline of towns forced the brahmanas to
migrate to the countryside in search of new sources of livelihood. Along with them artisans probably
migrated where they were attached to their patrons and paid in kind.

A new type of economy marked by urban contraction agrarian expansion now emerges. Urban
decline and stagnation resulted in agrarian expansion which was promoted by the land grants made
by chiefs and princes. The emergence of new states in the early middle ages is a pointer to this. Each
of these new states was evidently dependant on a large agrarian base. Agrarian base was boosted by
migration of brahmanas and craftsmen who disseminated advanced of agriculture and technology.
Artisans and others were now firmly attached to the soil and their patrons. De-urbanization was
therefore a feature of the first or classical phase of feudalism. The shrinkage of the urban sector was
closely connected with the conversion of the tax area into the rent area.