History Notes

Lesson 1
Contents:
Pre History (Lesson 2)
Ancient (Lesson 3-7)
Medieval (Lesson 8-10)
Modern (Lesson 11-17)
Lesson 2
The Stone Ages
Pre-history of the South Asian Subcontinent
Stone age: because people are using stone tools predominantly
Divisions on the basis of geological age, the type and technology of
stone tools, and subsistence basis
No written records (Pre-history);
People of the stone age also called hunter-gatherers - Ex: near banks
of Narmada
Reasons for movement from one place to another
1. sustainability - allow plants and animals to regenerate
themselves
2. animals move from place to place - prey, water, climate
3. plants and trees bear fruits in different seasons
4. seasonality of rivers and streams
5. Meet their friends and families*
Hints of agricultural settlements - evidence of rice grown near
Vindhyas 8000 years ago (6000 BC); Sulaiman and Kirthar Hills (wheat
and Barley) - rearing animals - sheep, goat and cattle; lived in villages;
Garo hills
Sources: archaeological sites - factory and habitation
Usually lived near water bodies
Evidence of fire (ash found) from Kurnool caves
Palaeolithic
Old Stone age
3 periods in India
Lower Palaeolithic: 2,50,000 to 1,00,000 BCE
Middle Palaeolithic: 1,00,000 to 40,000 BCE
Upper Palaeolithic 40,000 to 10,000 BCE
Several ice ages across the world
 Hunsgi (site in India); Ostriches in India (Patne in Maharashtra)
Stone age tools found in Pakistan, Kashmir, Rajasthan, Southern Uttar
Pradesh, MP and Peninsular India
Mesolithic
Middle Stone Age
Transition period between the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic Age
Had characteristics of both
Microliths; older varieties of tools continue to be in use;
Climate stabilized to how we experience it now; development of
grassland => increase in number of animals => herding and rearing
Caused growth of new plant - several grain bearing grasses, including
wheat, barley and rice grew naturally in different parts of the
subcontinent; agriculture become possible
Domestication started; plants - wheat and barley; animals - sheep and
goat
Bagor in Rajasthan had domesticated animals (Adamgarh in MP also)
Bhimbetka, Madhya Pradesh has amazing mesolithic art
Neolithic
New Stone Age
Warmer climate, new plants
Development of agriculture and domestication of animals from 10,000
BCE
Use of fire
Neolithic tools - different from earlier paleolithic tools (tools of
paleolithic type continue to be made and used) - polished to give a
fine cutting edge; mortars and pestles used for grinding grain and
plant produce
weaving of clothes
first animal to be tamed - Wild ancestor of dog then sheep, goat,
cattle and pig;
The Neolithic Revolution: debate!
Earliest evidence of agriculture: Iran, Iraq, Israel, Palestine.
Neolithic Age: India
Mehrgarh; in Baluchistan, Pakistan now
On the route from India to Kandahar in Afghanistan - Bolar river
(near Bolan pass) - occupied around 7000 BCE - 2500 BCE
mud brick houses, square and rectangular houses, domesticated
cattle, sheep, goats
 persons buried with goats (life after death?)
grew wheat, barley; pottery
Daojali Hading - route to China and Myanmar - evidence of trade;
Jadeite, tools made of fossil wood, pottery
Other sites: Mundigak (Afghanistan), Burzhom and Gufkral
(Kashmir), parts of Rajasthan, Assam (Daojali Hading), Bihar
(Chirand), UP (Koldihwa), UP (Mahagara), Meghalaya, Andhra
Pradesh (Paiyampalli, Halluru) etc. - bones and burns of grain
Tribes
usually two to three generations live together in small settlements
Most families are related to one another; groups of such families
form a tribe
some men are regarded as leaders (old/experienced/young/brave
warriors/priests).
Old women are respected for their wisdom and experience.
Rich and unique cultural traditions - language, music, stories and
painting
own gods and goddesses
land, forests, grasslands and water regarded as the wealth of the
entire tribe.
No sharp differences between the rich and the poor
After stone age:
6000 BP - Chalcolithic (first use of copper) - 4000 BCE
2600 BCE - Harappan Civilisation (Pushed back to 3300 BCE)
1500 BCE - Rigveda
1000 BCE - Iron, Megaliths
600 BCE - 400 CE - Early Historic
The Harappan Civilization
3300 - 1800 BCE
Named after the first discovered site
Divided into 3 phases - Early, Mature and Late
Spread from Afghanistan to Gujarat
An Urban civilisation
Harappan Civilisation => Mature Harappan culture (to distinguish it from
Early Harappan culture [distinctive pottery, agriculture, pastoralism, crafts,
virtually no large buildings)
Along the Indus Plains (Southern Afghanistan, Pakistan, north western and
central India)
Discovered in 1924 by John Marshall, the DG of ASI
Contemporaneous with Mesopotamia
Related trivia - Alexander Cunningham was the first DG of ASI. He came
across many Harappan artifacts during his investigations, but could not
place it in the then known time frame of the South Asian Subcontinents
history; preferred to use written word (texts and inscriptions) as a guide to
investigation.
proto-Historic (There are written sources from the Harappan Civilization,
but they have not been deciphered)
Culture - group of objects, distinctive in style, that are usually found
together within a specific geographical area and period of time;
Key features:
Subsistence Base
Ate plants, animals and fish (archaeo-botanists)
plants - wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea and sesame, linseed
and Mustard, Millet (Gujarat); Rice -rare
Animals - Cattle, sheep, goat, buffalo and pig
wild species - boar, deer and gharial
Bull and plough was known - ploughed field at Kalibangan
(Rajasthan)
 Bull representation on seals
Terracotta models of plough - Cholistan and Banawali
(Haryana)
Water reservoirs - Dholavira (Gujarat) - semi-arid lands; canals -
Shortughai (Afghanistan)
Dholavira
Khadir Beyt in the Rann of Kutch
freshwater and fertile soil
large open ares in the settlement;
large letters of the Harappan script that were carved out of
white stone and perhaps inlaid in wood (generally small
objects)
Lothal
beside a tributary of the Sabarmati, in Gujarat, close to the
Gulf of Khambat
raw materials such as semi-precious stones; imp center for
making objects out of stone, shell and metal.
storehouse, dockyard, pieces of stone, tools, finished beads
Stone tools for grinding - Saddle querns, rollers pounder
Cotton cultivated at Merhgarh - 5000 BCE - spindle whorls made
of faience (used to make bangles, earrings and tiny vessels)
Mohenjodaro City Plan
urban centre - unique feature of the Harappan Civilisation
2 sections - citadel and lower town
Citadel - usually on the west, small and high, mud brick platforms,
walled and separated from the lower town - perhaps a
warehouse/ritual significance. Great bath at Mohenjodaro with
water tights bricks using PoP/gypsum
Lower town - usually on the east, low and large, walled
Planned settlements, bricks of a standardized ratio (used
throughout Harrapan settlements), Planned drainage in a grid
pattern (loose bricks to facilitate cleaning)
Streets on top of drains, houses built alongside
Labour was mobilized on a huge scale
Variations elsewhere
 Mohenhodaro Houses - courtyard in the center, wells,
bathrooms connected to drains, no windows (concern for
privacy), staircases to second storey or roof, wells accessible
from outside
Dholavira (Rann of Kutch) - in 3 parts, each separately
fortified, entrance through gateways, large writing
Lothal - (near Gulf of Khambat) - has a dockyard, a store
house; also an important stone, metal and shell craft centre;
citadel not walled, built at a height
Craft Centres and Trade
Identifying centres of production: raw material, tools, unfinished
objects, rejects and waste material; craft persons (home? special
workshop?); probably specialists
Chanhudaro - craft centre (now in Pakistan) -bead-making, shell-
cutting, metal-working, seal-making and weight-cutting;
beads
stone - carnelian, jasper, crystal, quartz and steatite
Metals - copper, bronze and gold
shell, faience and terracotta or burnt clay.
made of alloys as well;
Nageshwar and Balakot - coastal towns - shell work - bangles,
ladles and inlay
Lapiz Lazuli obtained from shortugai, Afghanistan
Tin - Afghanistan, Iran
Carnelian from Lothal, Gujarat
Steatite from Rajasthan and Gujarat
Copper from Khetri region, Rajasthan (non-Harrapan culture also-
Ganeshwara-jodhpura Culture, pottery)
 Copper also from Oman in exchange for Harappan jars (coated
with thick layer of black clay); Omani copper and Harappan
artefacts have traces of nickel;
Gold from South India - trade with neolithic settlements there
precious stone - Gujarat, Iran and Afghanistan
Limited trade with Mesopotamia
Internal as well as external trade
red pottery painted with black;
Social Differences
Study of burials
pits lined with bricks, some contain jewelry (all Sexes), one has
a copper mirror
pottery and ornaments - indicating a belief that these could
be used in the afterlife;
jasper
 Harappans did not believe in burying precious things with the
dead
Artifact - Luxurious and utilitarion
Utilitarian - objects of daily use - querns, pottery, needles,
flesh-rubbers (body scrubbers)
luxury - Found mainly in large settlements like Harrapa and
Mohenjodaro
Faience (ground sand or silica mixed with colour, and gum
and then fired)
Gold - rare; all the gold jewellery found at Harappan sites was
recovered from hoards.
Hoard: objects kept carefully by people, often inside
containers such as pots.
Seals, Scripts and Religion
Undeciphered script written right to left + motif (generally an
animal);
 seals for trade and identifying the sender
Standardized weights of chert (a stone), no marking
Weights - lower denominations binary, higher followed decimal
system; Metal scale-pans
Dancing girl bronze sculpture - lost wax technique
Sculpture symbolizing mother goddess, proto-shiva (crossed
legged yogic figure surrounded by animals, especially a bull and a
tiger), a 'priest king'
Ritual significance to Great Bath (Mohenjodaro) and fire altars at
Lothal and Kalibangan
No confirmed understanding of religious practices
State Structure and Decline
No confirmed theories of how the state was organised or why the
civilization declines
The Standardization of script, weights, bricks, settlements etc
show some centralized authority
Absence of palaces or archaeological sources depicting centre of
power confusing for historians
Three theories - no rulers, single ruler, several rulers
Late Harappan Centers/successor cultures
 Theories of decline - changes in climate and flooding, 'Aryan
invasion', deforestation, shifting/drying up of rivers, overuse of
landscape, collapse of Harrapan site
appears that a strong unifying element, perhaps the
Harappan State, came to an end => disappearance of
uniformity in materials;
Between IVC and Early States
Agro-pastoral communities
Iron Age
Rigveda composed by People (Aryas) along Indus and its tributaries
Important gods - Agni (fire), Indra (warrior) and Soma (a diety, plant, and
drink)
Battles - land, water, capture people; wealth obtained - kept by leaders,
given to priests, distributed among people, sacrifice
People who didn't perform sacrifices - Dasas/Dasyas
no regular army; assemblies - met, discussed and chose leaders (often
brave and skillful warriors)
People - types
in terms of work: priests (brahmins); rajas
those who composed hymns - Aryas; opponents - Dasyus/Dasas - did
not perform sacrifices
jana/vish - community
Painted Grey Ware in Gangetic Plains and Ghaghar-Hakra velley, largest
site Mathura
Megaliths
Vedic Literature
Old and Later Vedic Literature
Old Vedic - 1500 BCE - 1000 BCE
Rig Veda Samhita - Book 2-7 - Pre-Classical Sanskrit
Later Vedic - 1000-500BCE
Everything else - Sanskrit deriving grammar from Panini's
Ashtadhyayi
sources of the Hindu social structure
Sources of ancient Indian past
Which one of the following four vedas contains an account of magical
charms and spells? (Prelims 2004)
Rig-veda
Yajur-veda
 Sama-veda
Atharva-veda
Shruthi - that which is heard - Vedas
Smriti - that which is remembered - Vedanga, Puranas, epics,
Dharmashastra and Nitishastra
The Vedas
Root "Vid" - means "to know"
4 - Rig, Sama, Yajur, Atharva
Rig - oldest, 1028 hymns (suktas), 10 books (Mandalas)
hymns (composed by sages) => sukta (well-said) => praise of
various gods and goddesses;
Women - composed few hymns;
old or vedic Sanskrit;
recited and heard
Agni, Indra (warrior god), Soma (plant)
vishwamitra; Beas and Sutluj; horses, cows, Chariots, carts, Indus
and its tributaries; Ganga and yamuna - Named only once.
Sama - hymns borrowed from Rig, arranged according to musical
notation
Yajur - performance of rituals
Atharva - latest, contain hymns, spells, charms
4 Parts of Vedas
Samhita - main parts, the hymns
Brahamana - prose explanations of Samhita
Aranyaka - philosophical interpretation of rituals
Upanishads - Philosophical - esp. idea of atman (individual soul) and
brahman (Universal soul) - ultimately both were one;
contain conversations between teachers and students; simple
dialogues
occasional mention of women thinkers
meaning of life; possibility of life after death;
Vedanga Literature
600-200 BCE
supplementary to vedas
for recitation, use and understanding of the Vedas
Puranas
Literally - 'old'
By Vyasa (traditionally)
 18 Mahapuranas, rest Upapuranas
From Vedic age till 5th century CE (roughly)
mythical and historical (eg. Royal dynasties of Chandravamshi and
Suryavamshi Kings)
contain stories about gods and goddesses, such as Vishnu, Shiva,
Durga or Parvati; details on how they were to be worshiped; creation
of the world
simple Sanskrit; meant to be heard by everybody;
Conception of time - yugas, mahayuga, kalpa, manavantaras
Epics: Ramayan and Mahabharat
Smriti and itihasa (traditional history)
Mahabharat - by Vyasa (attribute traditionally - but he couldn't have
lived for 800 years!)
Critical edition - 1919 V.S. Sukthankar
400 BCE - 400 CE
War between cousins Pandavas and Kauravas
Contains Bhagavad Gita - discourse of Krishna to Arjuna
Strong women characters - suggests freer position of women as
compared to Ramayan
Ramayan - by Valmiki
500 BCE - 300 CE
Story of Ram; Kosala prince
Many retellings
Jain - Paumachariu of Vimalasuri (Prakrit)
Buddhist - Dhasharata Jataka (Pali)
Tamil - Kamban by Iramvaratam
Ramacharitmanas by Tulasidas (16th Century)
Dharmashastras
3 parts
Dharmasutras (also part of Vedanga literature) (c. 600-300 BCE) in
2 parts
complex vedic sacrifices (at least 3 fires)
simple domestic sacrifices (1 fire only)
Smritis (c. 200 BCE - 900 CE) commentaries and conclusions from
different texts
Dharmashatras talk about the caste system and ashrama system
(brahmacharya, grihasta, vanaprastha and sannyasa)
 study vedas, get sacrifices performed, make gifts - both Kshatriyas and
Vaishyas; Sudras - only one occupation - serving three 'higher' varnas.
Personal, civil and criminal law
Describe ideal society (eg - Manusmriti 200 BCE - 200 CE)
duties of the chandalas - ornaments of iron;
woman could not claim a share of paternal resources. Social
differences between men and women were sharpened because of
the differences in access to resources.
Stridhana - could be inherited by their children, without the
husband having any claim on it.
Gotra system - c. 1000 BCE
Stories by ordinary people
Jatakas (often shown on the railings of stupas and in painting in places
such as Ajanta) (written in Pali) and Panchatantra
Gandatindu Jataka - plight of the subjects of a wicked king;
Monkey king sculpture - stupa at Bharhut, MP -
Languages
1. Indo-European
Indian - Assamese, Gujarati, Hindi, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Sanskrit
European - English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Spanish
2. Tibeto-Burman
3. Dravidian
Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam
4. Austro-Asiatic
languages spoken in Jharkhand and parts of Central India
Writing
1500 BCE - first evidence of writing in China; writing were on Animal
bones (oracle bones); kings lived in cities, accumulated wealth; did not
know the use of Iron.
The Later Vedic Period
1000 - 600 BCE, Ganges plains
Parts of the Rig Veda, and the Sama, Yajur and Atharva Veda composed
Many other Vedic texts also composed
Mahabharat and Ramayan composed
Beginning of state structures, caste system
Development of Hindusim
Agriculture mainstay; sugar cane
 performance of sacrifices, men became rajas by performing very big
sacrifices (ex: Ashvameda) (Shudras excluded from many rituals)

Development of weapons
widespread use of copper
Ochre Colour Pottery between Ganga and Yamuna

Painted Grey Ware in north western India - fine to touch, nice, smooth
surface - designs (simple lines and geometric patterns)
Black and Red Ware in UP and Bihar
Ancient Philosophers
1st millennium BCE - Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, Kong zi, Zarathustra,
Mahavir, Buddha
Zoroaster, Iranian prophet, teaching in Avesta, similar to Vedas, gave
maxim "Good thoughts, Good words and Good deeds" - followers of
Zoroastrians, ancestors of today's Parsis
Many philosophers in South Asia questioned the authority of the Vedas
and Brahmanism, emphasized individual agency
kutagarashala - huts where intellectual debates took place
Women and poor thinkers
Gargi - participated in debates at courts
 Saryakama Jabala, son on slave woman Jabali was accepted as a student
by Gautama (a brahmin) - his ideas developed by Shankaracharya
Both their ideas used in Upanishads
Megalithic Cultures
No written records of life in Southern India corresponding to the Vedic age
in North India
Burials the most important source
1000 BCE; surface and underground; cist - type of megalith; some cists
have port-holes;
Found in central and south India, north east and Kashmir
Megalith means bid stone boulder - elaborate stone structures to cover
burials
sometimes burials in house;
Burials often contained iron tools, pottery (Black and Red Ware), bones
in urns, skeletons of horses, ornaments of stone and gold;
Site: Inamgaon, on river Ghod, tributary of river Bhima (tributary of Krihsna
river); Brahmagiri
Lesson 3
The Mahajanpadas
C. 600 BCE
Emergence of states; North India
Kings of oligarchies
Coins (punch marked - silver/copper), Cities, iron (iron ploughshare) ,
Technology (paddy transplantation - slaves and landless agri labourers ),
irrigation, weapons, taxes (sometimes; bhaga - tax of crops, usually 1/6th
of produce of craft producers, traders, sales, herders, hunter-gatherers),
armies
Raids on neighbouring states were recognised as a legitimate means of
acquiring wealth.
Food => iron ploughshare (dig deep) + paddy transplantation (improved
survival rates) + irrigation (some form of cushion from uncertain monsoon)
=> additional produce (used pottery to store it) => need to protect
additional produce => fortified cities (showcase of power, easy to control)
ex: Kaushambi (UP) + armies (regular salaries) => resources from fortified
city and armies (taxes - 1/6th of produce); ease economic activity => coins
Mahajanpadas: great states (approx. 16) -(Jana - community, Janapad -
land where people settle) - Ruled by kings (like Magadha) or oligarchies
called gana/sangha (like Vajji)
Vajji - Capital (Vaishali), form of government (gana/sangha), many rulers
(known as rajas) - performed rituals together, met in assemblies, decision -
discussion, voting; women, dasas and Kammakaras - not allowed in
assemblies;
Had capital cities, often fortified; remains of palaces and markets, homes
of ordinary man - not survives, probably not yet discovered.
sanitation: ring wells => toilets, drains and garbage dumps; usually found
in individual villages;
Period of development of diverse thought systems like Buddhism and
Jainism; charaka Samhita on medicine and ayurved written;
Dharmasutras - laid down norms for rulers - kshatriyas
Towns and Trade
Capitals of Mahajanapadas important trading, religious, political and
cultural centre

Puhar on sea port, Ujjain on land route

textiles - Varanasi, Madurai
Northern Black Polish Ware - shiny finish, used by well off people;
overland trade with Central Asia, overseas to West Africa, West Asia, SE
Asia and China
Spices to Roman Empire, and Arretine Ware form there through
Arikemedu port in Pondicherry.

Bharuch (Greek name - Barygaza) - unknown Greek sailor

imports - wine, copper, tin, led, coral, topaz, cloth, gold and silver
coins
exports - plants from the Himalayas, ivory, agate, carnelian,
cotton, silk and perfumes.
special gifts brought by merchants to King: vessels of silver,
singing boys, beautiful women, fine wines and fine cloth
Rise of Magadha
Area: Bihar, Bengal, Jharkhand, eastern UP, Nepal
Lots of resources: rivers (Ganga and Son) - transport, water supplies,
communication and making land fertile, forests (wood and elephants
procured), copper and iron (Jharkhand today) -tools and weapons, fertile
soils, in the midst of important trade routes
6 dynasties ruled it (Barhadratha dynasty - first to rule; Haranyaka dynasty
- Rise to political supremacy)
Capitals (fortified) - Rajagaha/Rajgir, then Patliputra (4th Century BCE)
Bimbisara of Haryanka dynasty the first important ruler (546-494 BCE) -
follower of Mahavira and Buddha - met both
Married a Licchavi princess (Licchavis from Nepal)
Expanded the kingdom through diplomatic and marital alliances (had 500
wives) and battles
Dynastic changes:
Ajatashatru: son of Bimbisara (met Mahavir and Buddha too)
Reign 494 - 460 BCE
Then the Shaishunga dynasty
Nanda dynasty began with Mahapadma Nanda (Shudra mother)
around 360 BC - expanded the empire
Ended with Dhannanda in 321 BC
Alexander the Great came to India during the reign of the Nandas
Mauryan dynasty (c. 321 BCE - 185 BCE)
Shunga dynasty (c. 187 - 78 BCE)
Gupta dynasty (c. 320 to 550 CE)
 Throughout the tumultuous political journey of Magadha, the empire
kept expanding
Alexander

King of Macedonia in 336 BCE

conquered Persia by 331 BCE, came to conquer India through the Khyber
pass (NW of Pakistan; border with Afghanistan, Kabul valley; Hindu Kush
Range)
Nandas controlling portions of northern India, rest ruled by independent
kingdoms.
King Ambhi of Taxila helped Alexander
King Porus of a kingdom along river Jhelum fought Alexander
Alexanders army got scared of Porus's elephants, and Alexander returned.
He build cities along his warpath; for ex Boukephala on Jhelum

Other Greeks came in close contact with India after him.

The Mauryas
The Mauryas: c. 321 - 180 BCE
 Chandragupta Maurya defeated Dhanananda; Chandra Gupta =>
Bindusara => Ashoka
Important minister Chanaka/Kautilya wrote Arthashtra
Shreni - merchants' association; organised the trade; served as banks;
invested, interest and donations offered;
Indica by Megasthenes of Seleukos Nikators court (Greek)
elephants decorated with gold and silver; trained parrots; armed
women; two and three storeys buildings=> wood and mud brick
committee with six subcommittees for coordinating military activity.
Buddhist, Jaina, Sanskrit and Puranic literature, sculpture, pillars and
inscriptions are other sources
Large empire - 5 capitals - all mentioned in ashokan inscriptions
Pataliputra
Taxila - on an important trade route
Ujjayani - on an important trade route
Tosali - port town
Suvarnagiri - to tap the gold mines of Karnataka
Chandragupta became a Jain monk
Bindusara: son of Chandragupta
Reign: 297 - 272 BCE
Believed in Ajivika philosophy
Probably invaded South India
Ashoka
Son of Bindusara
Important ruler; his symbols (Ashoka Chakra - Wheel of Dharma; Lion
Capital - originally at Sarnath) used till date
Reign 269 - 232 BCE
James Prinsep - 1830s - deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi; piyadassi -
"pleasant to behold"
Inscribed messages to people on stone surfaces and pillars
Kandahar inscription (present day Afghanistan) - 250 BCE - two
different scripts and languages => Greek and Aramic
Administration:
officials to collect taxes from areas which are under direct control of
the emperor; spies; messengers
provinces - royal princes sent as governors - local customs and rules
followed;
vast areas in between - tried to control roads and rivers - transport,
trade - collected tribute
forest areas - people, more or less independent - tribute
problems in his kingdom
religious conflicts
animal sacrifices
ill treating slaves and servants
Employed dhammamahatmas to spread the message of dhamma - Syria,
Egypt, Greece, Sri Lanka
Ideas were simple - like respect towards elders, kindness towards
slaves and servants, tolerance towards others' religions and traditions
did not involve worship of god, performance of a sacrifice
no - sacrifices, praising of his own religion; yes - gift to Brahmanas,
Powerful, industrious and humble ruler
Massive expansion of his empire till the conquest of Kalinga;
Perhaps the only ruler in history who gave up war after winning one
(kalinga war); stopped expansion, embraced Buddhism,
Important for his religious views, spreading Buddhism
Spoke of tolerance, kindness, respect, Dhamma
Deevanam Priya Priyadarshini; beloved of the Gods
Rampurwa bull - finely polished stone sculpture - Mauryan pillar, Bihar

Ashokan pillar at Lumbini, marking Buddha's birthplace

Inspired 20th century nationalists

Buddhism
c. 600 BCE - 400 BCE
Gautam Buddha (Siddharata) 563 B.C. born in the Shakya gana, in Lumbini,
Nepal; Buddha - enlightened one;
Renunciation - Mahavinishkram at 29;
Enlightenment - Nirvana; ( represented via an empty seat) under peepal
tree near the banks of River Niranjana (Phalgu) at Bodh Gaya (Mahabodhi
temple - 2nd Century BCE)
Taught at Sarnath, near Varanasi for the first time (stupa here) -
represented via a wheel (the Dharmachakra also represents the Eightfold
path - right view, resolve, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness
and samadhi) (Dharma-Chakra-Pravartana - Turning the Wheel of the law)

Passed away/attained Moksha/nirvana at Kusinara (mahaparinibbana) -

483 B.C
Buddha contemporaries: Bimbisara and Ajatashatru
Other Terms:
Tathagata and Sakyamuni - Buddha's other name;
Kassapa Buddha - predecessor of Buddha
Maitreya - Successor of Buddha
Sects of Buddhism:
Mahayan
idol worship; bodhisattvas
Theravad
Vajrayana
Buddhist Literature
Taught orally in vernacular; None of the Buddha's speeches were
written down during his lifetime.
Buddhist councils
First Buddhist council
Rajgrih
President: Buddhist Scholar - Mahakashyap
Patronised by: Ajatshatru
What happened: two books were compiled
Sutta Pitaka
Vinaya Pitaka
Second Buddhist Council: 383 B.C (100 years after first one)
Place:
President: Sabakami
Patronised by: Kalasok
What happened: Informal division of Buddhist followers into
two sects 383 BC-250BC
Sthavar Vadins - orthodox followers
Mahasangavikas - Liberal followers of Buddhism
Third Buddhist Council: 250 BC
Place: Pataliputra
President: Mogali Putta Tissa
Patronised by: Ashoka
What Happened:
Abhidhamma Pitaka compiled
lead to the spread of Buddhism outside India.
 Ashoka sent his own son and daughter Mahendra and
Sangamitra to Sri Lanka and other East Indian nations to
spread Buddhism. Sent missionaries to Greece, Arab
nations and Central Asia => inscriptions of Ashoka is also
found in Aramic, Greek scripts.
Original Bodhi tree in the Anuradhapuram in Sri lanka
brought to Bodha.
Fourth Buddhist Council: 78CE
Place: Kashmir
President: Vasugupta
Patronised by: Kanishka
What happened: formal split among the followers
Hinayana
Mahayana
Teachings compiled at Vaishali (c. 4th-5th BCE) - Tipitaka - classified
according to length as well as subject matter.- Pali

Vinaya Pitika - rules and regulations for the sangha (monastic

order)
Sutta Pitaka - Buddha's teachings
Abhidhamma Pitaka - study and systemization of Sutta Pitaka
From Sri Lanka - Dipvamsa and Mahvamsa
Buddha's teachings
life is full of suffering and unhappiness <= carvings and desires
(Thrist/tanha) => this constant craving could be removed by following
moderation in everything;
 suffering - Samsar (rebirth)
Karma affects us both in this life and the next;
Tried to convince people through reason and persuasion rather than
displays of supernatural power (some stories about miraculous
powers); taught in Prakrit
Anicca - world is transient and constantly changing
Anatta - world is soulless
Dukkha - sorrow is intrinsic to human existence
Follow path between severe penance and self-indulgence to rise
above worldly troubles
Buddhism and Jainism - emphasised individual agency - men and
woman could strive to attain liberation from the trials and tribulations
of worldly existence. (Brahmanical - birth determined an individual's
existence); rejected the idea of claims to status on the basis of birth;
In early forms, existence of God was irrelevant - Theravada Buddhism
- (Early Buddhism didn't speak about God);
Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, SE Asia including Indonesia
Buddha advised kings and gahapatis to be humane and kind
Emphasised human agency, kindness, rationality, and righteousness to
escape reincarnation and attain nibbana - extinguishing of the ego
and desire
Although gradually idea of savior developed (Mahayana Buddhism -
called the older form Hinayana) - boddhisattvas became important
(people who attained enlightenment and taught others instead of
retreating from worldly life)
Central Asia, china, Korea and Japan
Buddha's followers
Sangha - organization of monks who taught also Dhamma
Lived simply on alms, minimal possessions
Bhikkus and Bhikkunis come from all social backgrounds, considered
equal once in the sangh, where consensus was arrived through
discussion and vote; emphasis on metta (fellow feeling) and Karuna
(compassion)
Theris and Theras - respected women and men who taught and had
attained liberation - Elders in Theravada Buddhism
Initially only men, later women also allowed through the mediation of
Ananda (a disciple of Buddha)
Mahapajapati Gotami first bhikkuni
 Viharas: monastries (Buddhist and Jain)
empty seat - meditation of the Buddha; stupa - Mahaparinibbana;
wheel - first sermon of the Buddha

The importance attached to conduct and values rather than claims of

superiority based on birth, the emphasis places on metta (fellow feeling)
and Karuna (compassion), especially for those who were younger and
weaker than oneself, were ideas that drew men and women to Buddhist
teachings.
Reforms/changes in Hinduism
Ashrama system: stage of life (Brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya)
brahmacharya
grihastha
vanaprastha - live in forest and meditate
samnyasa - had to give up everything and become Samnyasi
women were not allowed to study the vedas, and they had to follow
the ashramas chosen by their husbands.
Architectural importance: Stupas
stupa - mound; tradition of erecting stupas may have been pre-
Buddhist, but they came to be associated with Buddhism.
First stupas - c. Third Century BCE
sacred sites with small shrines, places associated with Buddhas life -
chaityas; mahachaitya: hall of worship; relic casket

Mahachaitya Stupa - Amaravati 3rd Century BCE

Ashoka erected a pillar at Lumbini to mark the place of Buddha's birth
Relics of Buddha buries in many places - Ashoka undertook this task -
mounds known as stupas - venerated as an emblem of Buddha and
Buddhism (Ashokavadana - Buddhist text)
Guilds, rulers, Bhikkus and bhikkunis contributed to build Stupas
Sanchi , Bharut - plain except for the stone railings
Sanchi at Bhopal, discovered by Alexander Cunnimgham, in 1818
preserved in situ - has depiction of the shalabhanjika, a non-
Bhuddhist icon. Highlights the cultural exchange of symbols and ideas
Amaravati (not preserved); Shahji-ki-Dheri at Peshawar, Pakistan
(Kanishka stupa - 2nd Century CE - near Peshawar) - elaborately carves
with niches and sculptures
Amaravati stupa - Mahachaitya
 colin Machenzie - unpublished papers
1854 - Walter Elliot - commissioner of Guntur - collected and took
sculpural panels away to Madras.
Cole - made pitch for conservation
Worshippers enter from eastern gate, walk around clockwise, imitating
the suns course - Pradakshina path
Structure

Anda - mound, which has the relic casket

Pradakshina patha surrounded with railings; railing and gateways
- decorated with sculpture.
Harmika - balcony - like structure above the anda, represents
abode of gods
Yashti -mast rising from the Harmika
Chattri - Umbrella surmounting the yashti
Sculptures at Sanchi
 Shalabanjika - an auspicious woman who causes trees to bear
fruits and flowers (suggested - many people who turned to
Buddhism enriched it with their own pre-Buddhist and even non-
Buddhist beliefs, practices and ideas)

Elephants depict strength and wisdom

Maya (the mother of Buddha) or Gajalakshmi identified as a
women surrounded by lotuses and elephants performing and
abhisheka

fig: Maya's dream of an elephant when conceiving the Buddha in

kapilvastu
Paintings at Ajanta
depict stories from the Jatakas - depictions of courtly life,
processions, men and women at work, and festivals.
technique of shading to give 3D quality. extremly naturalistic.
Changes in Buddhism:
 Earlier - great importance to self-effort in achieving nibbana; Buddha -
human being who attained enlightenment and nibbana through his own
efforts;
Now - idea of saviour; Buddha - who could ensure salvation; =>
Bodhisattas
worship of Buddha and Bodhisattas
Jainism
Mahavir born into the Licchavi gana, of the Vajji sangha between 599 - 540
BCE
left home, lived in a forest for 12 years, attained enlightenment
23 tirthankaras( those who guide men and women across the river of
existence) preceded Mahavir (Mahavir the 24th and last, first Rishabanath)

Followers known as Jains; Jaina => Jina => conqueror

Men and women who wished to know the truth must leave their homes;
All being - long to live; To all things life is dear;
supported mainly by traders;
 Believed that the entire world is animated; ahimsa (Central to Jain
philosophy); reincarnation and karma; cycle of birth and rebirth is shaped
through karma. Ascetiscism and penance are required to free oneself from
the cycle of karma. renouncing the world; monastic existence is a
necessary condition of salvation.
Gave principle of Anekantavada - plurality of viewpoints; nyayavad - partial
viewpoints; satyavada - conditioned viewpoints (roughly, non asbolutism)
Emphasis on non-violence, kindness, truth
Jain monks and nuns took five vows:
to abstain from killing (ahimsa)
to abstain from lying (asatya)
to abstain from Stealing (asteya - non stealing)
to observe celibacy (brahmcharya), and
to abstain from possessing property (aprigraha - non-attachment)
Literature in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Tamil
Chief diciple Gautam Swami compiled teachings as Jain Agamas
Uttaradhyayana Sutta (in Prakrit) - recording of final set of Mahaviras
teaching by his disciples in the form of stories
Records of teaching in Valabhi, Gujarat => 500 BCE
supported mainly by traders (farmers had to kill, so found it difficult to
follow)
followers split in 2 groups:
Digambaras, in the south - didn't wear clothes, and
Shetambaras in the north (wrote white clothes)
Disciple Goshala Maskariputra started Ajivika sect, said everything was
predetermined, so do whatever you want to; monks practiced severe
penance by choice.
Ajivikas
Sect led by Goshala Maskariputra, a disciple of Vardhama
Believed that everything is predetermined
Destiny cannot be altered
Essentially, followers could do whatever they wanted to
But Ajivika monks practics severe penance
Lokayatas
materialists; human beings made up of the four elements. When he dies
the earthy in him returns to the earth, the fluid to water, the heat to fire,
the windy to air and his senses pass into space.
Vaishnavism and Shaivism
 Vaishnavism - vishnu is principle deity, cults around the ten avatars who
saved the world
Shaivism - Shiva principle deity, linga symbol
Ayudhas - weapons or auspicious objects that deities hold in their hands
Temple architecture
Garbagriha - a small square room at the entrance with a single doorway to
the deity's image
Shikara - a tall structure over the shrine
Mandapa - hall for assemblies
Kailashnath - carved from one stone, at Ellora, Maharashtra
Monolithic temples also at Mahabalipuram and Aihole
Lesson 4
Magadha after the Mauryas
Last Mauryan King: Brihadratha
killed by Pushyamitra Shunga, his army commander
Next dynasty: the Shungas (189-75 BCE) - Brahmans
Ruled Magadha, Gangetic valley
Checked the advance of the Indo Greeks
Next dynasty: the Kanvas (75-30 BCE) - Brahmanas
Much later, Magadha ruled by the Guptas - 300CE
Administration
Village
South
vellalar - large landowners
uzhavar - ordinary ploughmen
Kadaisiyar and adimai - landless labourers, including slaves
North
village headman - grama bhojaka - hereditary; had slaves and
hired workers to cultivate the land; king used him to collect taxes
from village; functioned as a judge and policeman;
Independent farmers - grihapatis - smaller landowners;
Gahapati - owner, master or head of a household, who exercised
control over the women, children, slaves and workers who shared
a common residence.
dasa karmakara - men and women who don't own land; earn a
living working on the fields owned by other;
social positions were often shaped by their access to economic
resources.
 landgrants
part of a strategy adopted by ruling lineages to extend agriculture
to new areas.
indicative of weakening political power:
to project themselves as supermen
to present at least a facade of power
Empires of the North West
Background: 200 BCE shih-Huang-Ti, a Chinese king built the Great wall of
Chine to keep out the Central Asians
Some C. Asians tribes not began looking at India
The Indo Greeks
The Scythians of C. Asia began attacking Indo-Greeks in Bacteria after the
Wall was built;
These Indo-Greeks began moving towards India and conquered large
parts, even upto UP
Issued coins; Issued first coins to bear the names and images of rulers;

Menander a famous rules; his capital Silaka (Silakot in Pakistan)

Source: Milindapanha, a Buddhist text recording the dialogue between
Menander and Nagasena
The Scythians
Scythians in Bactria attacked by the Yueh-Chih tribe
Moved to India, came to be known as the Shakas - mlechchhas
Established a kingdom with Taxila as the capital
As the Kingdom expanded, Mathura also became a very important city
 A branch of Shakas ruled western India
Most famous king Rudhradaman, rebuilt the Sudarshan Lake, and artificial
reservoir at Girnar and recorded the achievement in Sanskrit on a rock
inscription
Technology for irrigation was spreading
The Parthians
From Iran
Moved into North-West India in the first Century AD
Famous ruler Gondophernes
Under his rule, St. Thomas, an apostle of Christ is said to have come to
India.
Landed in Kerala (St. Thomas Christians)
Parthians overthrown by the Kushanas
Orissa
Kalinga empire
Asserted independence from Magadha in c. 1st century AD
Most famour ruler: Kharavela
Inscription in the Hathigumpha cave, Udaygiri hill
Follower of Jainism
Kushans
Ruled between c. 1st century BCE and 1st century CE
Displaced the Shakas, overthrew the Parthians (preceded by Indo-Greeks
and Shakas - Central Asians, mlechchas)
Central Asian empire that extended till Varanasi
Kanishka (78-120 CE) most famous king - organized a Buddhist council
Ashvaghosha wrote Buddhacharitra - lived in Kanishkas court
 Ashvaghosha and other Buddhist scholars now began writing in
Sanskrit
Mahayana Buddhism
Statues of the Buddha (Mathura, Taxila)
Belief in Bodhisattvas
Caves - Viharas - near passes through the WG - roads conncecting
prosperous ports on the coast with cities
2 capitals; Peshawar and Mathura; Taxila

Left: Mathura; Right - Taxila (sitting)

Mathura
trade, sculpture, religious center (Buddhism, Jainism, Krishna)
controlled the silk route; During their rule, a branch a Silk route extended
from Central Asia down to the sea ports at the mouth of the river Indus =>
shipped to Roman empire;
Mat, near Mathura has huge statues of Kushana kings at a shrine
Kings claimed divine status - "devputra"
statues of kushana rulers found installed in a shrine at Mat near
Mathura.
claiming high status - identify with a variety of deities.
Overthrown by Sassanians in the Northwest, Guptas in the north.
Gandhara Art developed under them (Greco-Roman)
Issued first gold coins in India. identical in weight with those issued by
contemporary Roman emperors and the Parthian rulers of Iran.

Yaudheyas, tribal republic of Punjab and Haryana also issued copper coins

Made elaborate sculptures of red sand stone, patronised Mahayana

Buddhism, built Stupas

Natya Shastra by Bharata written during this period

Astrology, astronomy and medicine developed (Charaka and important
scientist-writer: Charaka samahita)
Satvahanas
c. 2nd century BCE to 2nd century CE
Also known as the Andhras
Empire of the Deccan (Western and Central India)
Lords of dakshinapatha
Obscure social origins
Founder Simuka
Most famous Gautamiputa Satakarni (80-104 CE) claimed to be a brahmin
(source - inscription from his mother Gotami Balashri) - Nasik and
Nanaghad inscription gives more information
Brahmans, Rulers identified through metronymics (derived from the
mother), but succession patriarchal
Some of these women belonged to the same gotra - counter to the ideal
of exogamy;
Issued coins stamped with images of their rulers

Fought many battles with the Shakas of central Asia (who extended their
rule till western and north-western India). Defeated the Shakas of western
India.
Prakrit literature used for books and inscriptions

A Satavahana ruler and his wife: one of the rare sculptural depictions of a
ruler from the wall of a cave donated to Buddhist monks. c. Second
century BCE
 Buddhism also flourished: Chaityas (prayer halls) and viharas (monastries)
built (sometimes carved out of rocks)
Karle, Maharashtra a famous vihara
At the end Vakatakas became powerful in central and western India.

silk Route:
techniques of making silk - first invented in China around 5000 BCE; Silk
Route
About 2000 years ago, wearing silk => fashion, status symbol;
Literary sources
Periplus of the Erythrean Sea (Red sea) - anonymous Greek Sailor (c. first
century CE) - Kodumanal (TN)
pepper, malabathrum (cinnamon), pearls, ivory, silk cloth, transparent
stones, diamonds, sapphires and tortoise shell- export
coin, topaz, antimony (colouring mineral), coral, crude glass, copper,
tin, lead - imports
Lesson 5
Sangam Literature
c. 300 BCE to 300 CE
 3 literary meetings (sangams) at Madurai
In Tamil
Epics
Manimekalai by Sattanar
Silpaddikaram by Ilango
people brought gifts to the chief when he visited them
Described life in Southern India; important source of cultural, political and
social history
evidence of trade in the sangam poems:
Puhar (Kaveripattanam) - imp port on the east coast - horses, black
pepper, Gems and gold, Sandalwood, pearls, corals, crops, foodstuff,
pottery
Chera Chola Pandyas
The 3 chiefs together called muvendar - meaning "three chiefs"
Rulers of Tamilakam (ancient Tamil country, includes present day Andhra
Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu)
Each had 2 centers - one inland and one coastal
Arikamedu
massive brick structure (warehouse?); Greek, Italy, Roman (pepper -
black gold)
Source: Sangam Literature (3rd Century BCE - 3rd Century CE)
Chiefs collected tributes and gifts, not taxes; military expeditions -
collected tribute => distributed among supporters (family, soldiers, poets)
- generally no regular armies and officials in chiefdoms;
Pandyas
600 BCE to 1600 CE
capital Madurai (Inland) and Korai (Coastal)
Traded with Rome
The Cholas
3rd century BCE to 13th century CE
Between Pennar and Velar rivers
North east of the pandyas
Capitals Uraiyur (inland) then Puhar (Kaveripattanam; coastal,
important port)
very fertile land between the pennar and the Velar rivers
Brihadeshwara temple, Gangaikondacholapuram, built in 1035 CE by
Rajaraja I
 Chinese traveller Chau-Ju-Kua came to the Chola court in the 13th
century
The Cheras
present day Kerala
Between river Bharatappuza and Periyar
3rd century BCE to 10th century CE
Capital Muchiri (Coastal) and Karur (Inland)
Bhakti
Sanskrit term - bhaj - to divide or share; two-way relationship between the
deity and devotee;
Bhakti - directed towards the Bhagavat; Bhagavath - who possesses and
shares Bhaga, literally good fortune or bliss; devotee - bhakta, bhagavata -
shares his/her chosen deity's bhaga
Shiva, vishnu, goddesses such as Durga; worshiped through Bhakti (a
person's devotion to his or her chosen deity)
anybody (socio-economic) could follow the path of Bhakti.
Idea of Bhakti present in the Bhagavad Gita
emphasised devotion and individual worship of god or goddess, rather
than performance of elaborate sacrifices.
if a devotee worships the chosen deity with a pure heart, the deity will
appear in the form in which he or she may desire => beautiful images of
these deities
inspired - sculpture, poetry and architecture
The Guptas
First ruler: Sri Gupta
First important ruler: Chandragupta 1 (c. 320-335 CE) "maharaj-adhiraja"
ruled over Magadh, Prayag (Allahabad) and Saketa (east UP and Bihar)
Samudragupta: c. 335-380 CE
Allahabad pillar inscription aka Prayaga Prashasti is the most
important source
Inscription on an Ashokan pillar by court poet Harishena: says
Samudragupta fought many battles, performed Ashvameda sacrifice,
played the veena and wrote poetry - Kubera, Varuna, Indra and Yama
four different kind of rulers and Samudragupta's policies:
 1. Rulers of Aryavarta - uprooted and kingdoms were made part of
Samudragupta's empire
2. Rulers of Dakshinapatha - red dots - surrendered to
samudragupta - allowed them to rule again
3. neighbouring states - purple - brought tribute, followed his
orders, attended his court.
4. blue - outlying areas- submitted to him and offered daughters in
marriage.
Chandragupta II aka vikramaditya: c. 380-412 CE - overcame last of the
Shakas
Chandragupta II's daughter Prabhavati Gupta married to Rudrasena II of
the Vakataka kingdom. When Rudrasena II dies, she rules over the
Vakatakas in the name of her young son.
Exceptional situation - she also commanded resources (against the
legality of that time) and made land grants. - inscription engraved by
chakradasa.
Iron Pillar in Qutb Minar describes Chandragupta II say he conquered
Bengal and Bactria
Fa-xian visited India during his reign.
untouchables had to sound a clapper in the streets
Xuan Zang and I-Qing came 50 years after
executioners and scavengers - forced to live outside the city;
Kumargupta: (412-445 CE) - fought against Hunas
Skandagupta: (445-467 CE) defeated the Hunas of Central Asia
After him, there were many Gupta rulers but the empire began to decline
Hunas occupied parts of the Gupta Empire, rest got scattered into many
states.
The economy, art and culture flourished under the Guptas.
Bhagvad Gita, Mahabharata, Ramayan attained its final form;
Kalidasa best known writer of his reign; According to popular theory, he
was a poet in Chandragupta II court; He wrote Meghduta, Abhijnana
Shakuntalam, Ritusamhara, Raghuvamsa, etc.
Other writers Bhasa and Shudraka
Aryabhatta also from the Gupta Age; Aryabhattiyam in Sanskrit.
Buddhist sculpture abundant
Temples of Deogarh, Bhitargaon and Bhitari built (all in UP)
Nalanda University founded
Many cities and ports were built
Crafts diversified and artisans traders benefited
Foreign trade boomed
Gold coins were plentiful. (finds declined after 6th Century - suggests
economic troubles, possibly related to the decline of the Roman empire)

Perhaps the "Golden Age" of Indian history - by nationalist historians

looking for sources of pride in India's ancient culture. Art, literature,
science and wealth flourished under the Gupta's. Contemporary historians
question this theory.
 The Gupta History gave pride and confidence to the national movement
under the colonial rule;
Lesson 6:
The Vakatakas
Maharashtra and MP
c. 3rd century CE to 6th century CE
Purika in Berar capital
Vindhyashakti founder
Ruderasena king, his wife Prabhavati Gupta Queen after his death
Brahmans
Gave land grants to brahmans, recorded on copper plates
The Ikshvakus
Ruled the Krishna-Godavari deltas of eastern India
Region called Vengi
3rd century CE
Vedic and Buddhist religions patronised
Capital was Nagarjunakonda, where they built a large stupa
Still an important Buddhist site in Andhra Pradesh
The Kabambas
South Wast Maharashtra and north Karnataka
4th to 6th century CE
King Mayurasharman (founder) studies Vedas at Kanchipuram, performed
18 ashvamedhas
Kadambas overthrown by Chalukyas
The Western Gangas
Ruler area of Karnataka between areas of the Pallavas in the east and the
Kadambas in the West
4th to 6th Century CE
Didn't rule anywhere near Ganga river
Capital kolar (famous for gold mines)
King Rajamalla 4 ordered the construction of the Jain temple at Shravana
Belgola, which has the image of Bahubali (Gommateshwara)
The Eastern Gangas
ruled over Kalinga (11th to 14th Century CE)
built many temples
Lingaraja temple and Mukteshwara temple
Sun Temple at Konark
The Pallavas
 3rd to 9th century CE (3th to 6th: the early pallavas);
Kanchipuram capital (under the HRIDAY scheme currently); ruled the Kaveri
delta - defeated by Cholas
Followed vedic hinduism
Made rock cut temples: esp. Mahabalipuram Temple, Shore Temple
has the rock sculpture of decent of Ganga
Pallavas and Chalukyas often raided each others lands; both gave way to
new rulers belonging to the Rashtrakuta and Chola dynasties.
Chalukyas
Ruled Raichur doab between Tungabhadra and Krisha, capital Aihole -
trading and religious centre
Ruled between the Vindhyan mountains and Krishna river
Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh
Established by Pulakesin I in the 6th century CE at Vatapi (Badami)
Pulakeshin II best known king (Badami dynasty) ,expanded the kingdom
(souce: inscription at Aihole) - prashasti by court poet Ravikirti;
Chinese traveler Huan Zang went through his kingdom
The Rashtrakutas
Defeated and succeeded the Chalukyas
mid-8th century - Dantidurga overthrew Chalukya overlord - performed
Hiranya Garba
Same territory (Maharashtra, Andhra)
Ajanta and Ellora caves built during the reign of the Rashtrakutas
Ajanta, Ellora and Elephanta
Near Aurangabad in Maharashtra
Rock cut caves and fresco paintings
Ajanta Caves:
30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating between 2nd century
BCE to 7th Century CE
Under the Satvahanas and Vatakas
Has ancient monasteries and worship halls
Paintings depicting Buddha
Ellora caves:
Rock-cut monastery temple cave complex
Monuments and artwork from Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism
Constructed 600-1000 CE
wall relief Cave 15 - Vishnu as Narsimha;
 Has the monolithic Kailashnath temple; construction attributed to the
Rashtrakuta king Krishna I
Elephanta Caves
A network of caves off the Mumbai coast
Shaiva and Buddhist caves
Elephanta islands, Arabian sea
5th to 8th century construction
Harshvardhana
Of the pushyabhuti dynasty, which succeeded the Gupta Empire in North
India
One of the many successor dynasties
Harshavardhana most famous rules, enthroned at the age of 16
Capital Kanauj, described by Chinese traveller Xuan Zang (Buddha statute
- gold, silver, sandalwood)
Ruled over punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and even Bihar and
Orissa (importantly Thanesar and kanauj) subsequently
Tried to capture Deccan but defeated by Pulakeshin II, the Chalukyan ruler
on the banks of Narmada.
First Shaivite, then Buddhist
Court poet Banabhatta wrote Harshaharitra, in Sanskrit
life at the ourskirts of a forest in the Vindhyas; parcels of rice-land,
threshing ground and arable land - spade culture;
Succeeded by Yashovarman (Source: Gaudavaho by court poet Vakapati)
Scripts and Languages
Brahmi - widespread script, used in Ashokan inscriptions
Deciphered by James Princep in 1838
Most Modern Indian scripts derive from Brahmi
Kharosti - script used in the northwest by Indo-Greeks - Princep identified
the language as Prakrit
limitations of inscriptional evidence:
technical limitations
letters are very faintly engraved,
damaged or missing letters
exact meaning of the words used in inscriptions - not always easy to
be sure.
not everything that we may consider politically or economically
significant was necessarily recorded in inscriptions.
 content of inscriptions almost invariably projects the prespective of
the person(s) who commissioned them.
Administration
village remained the basic unit of administration.
Kings adopted a number of steps to win the support of men who were
powerful
hereditary posts; Harishena - Maha-danda-nayaka like his father
one person held many offices - Harishena - kumar-amatrya (imp
minister), Sandhi-vigrahika (minister of war and peace), Maha-danda-
nayaka
imp men had a say in local administration: nagara-Shreshthi (cheif
banker or merchant of the city); Sarthavaha (leader of the merchant
caravans), Prathama-kulika (Chief craftsman), kayasthas (scribes)
Social Organization
Patriarchy and Patriliny (men had access to resources)
Exogamy desirable
Gotra system (lineage from a Vedic seer)
Caste and Jati system
Jati's sometimes organized into shrenis (guilds)
Beyond the four varna's: untouchables (eg Chandala), nishad, mlechchas
Buddhism, Jainism contested these norms. Later, bhakti sufi movements
Sources: Mahabharat (narrative and didatic sections), Dharmasutra,
Dharmashatras, Manusmiriti)
Critical edition of Mahabharat by VS Sukhthankar
Life of Ordinary people
plays
Fa Xian - plight of those who were treated as untouchables by the
high and mighty.
Banabhatta - picture of king's army on the move - leaving trail of
destruction behind.
Important read: Social contract; Sutta Pitaka - mahasammata (the great
elect) - institution of kingship was based on human choice, with taxes as a
form of payment for services rendered by the king. It reveals recognition
of human agency in creating and institutionalising economic and social
relations.
Social terms
Samantas - like feudal lords (given land by kings to collect revenue form,
had to provide army whenever king wanted) - not paid regular salaries
 Grama bhojaka - village headman
Sabha - village assembly of brahmin land owners
Ur - Village assembly of where non-brahmins were land owners
Nagaram - organization of merchants
Maha-danda-nayaka - Chief judicial officer
Vellalar (Tamil) - large landowners
Gahapati (Pali) - agricultural labourer or small peasant
Kammakaras/dasa Karmakara - landless agricultural labourers
Uzhavar (Tamil) - ploughmen
Adimai/kadaisiyar (Tamil) - slaves
Lesson 7:
Rajputs
Origins: a subject of debate
Mythically born out of fire from Mount. Abu
Political Prominence after the decline of the Guptas
Integrated into the Kshtriya varna
Many different clans and tribes
Rajput term also include - soldiers and commanders;
Chivalric code of conduct - extreme valour and great sense of loyalty
Important obstacle to the Arab-Muslim invaders like Muhammad of
Ghazni and Muhammed of Ghor
The Gujara-Pratiharas
Ruled from Jodhpur over Rajasthan, Gujarat and Ujjain
6th century CE to 11th century CE
Nagabhata - Prathihara king - Gwalior - Sanskrit Prashasti
King Bhoja even occupied Kanuaj
Last important king, Rajyapala driven out of Kanauj in 1018 CE by
Mahmud of Ghazni
The Tomars
Rajputs
Dynasty founded by Anangapala
Founded Dhillika (Delhi) in 736 CE
Chauhans
aka chahamanas
Ruled Jaipur in the 7th century CE
Later conquered Punjab, Delhi and Bundelkhand
Last ruler was Prithviraj III - defeated Ghori and last to him next year;
1191
 Fictional love story between him and Sanyogita daughter of a
Gahadavala king
Prithviraj not invited to her swayamvar, so he came suddenly, took her
away and married her
Chandellas
Originally feudatories of the pratiharas, later became independent
Ruled Bundelkhand (UP) and MP
Constructed the Khajurao temples in the 10th and 11th century (Hindu
and Jain temples)
Imp temple: Kandariya Mahadev temple, built around 1000 CE,
dedicated to Lord Shiva
Solankis
aka the Chaulukyas
ruled over Gujarat between 940-1244 CE
do not confuse with the southern Chalukya dynasty go vatapi
Under king Bhima I, Mahmud of Ghazni destroyed the Somnath temple
Built Jain temples at Mount Abu, called the Dilwara temple
Palas and Senas
Palas:
Buddhists
Ruled from Bengal over Nepal, Assam and Orissa
750-1150 CE
Senas:
Succeeded the Palas
Ruled over Bengal
Court poet Jayadeva wrote Gita Govinda about Krishna and divine love
Rajatarangini by Kalhana
12th century text
by Kalhana
informs about Kashmir
Talks about the Nagarkota Dynasty, that extended to Punjab and Kanauj
under King Lalitaditya Muktapida
Utpala dynasty of Kashmir was ruled by Queen Didda for sometime
Kamarupa
Kingdom from Assam
350-1140 CE
on an important trade route between Tibet and China to eastern and
Central India
 Assam also ruled by the Ahoms of Burma from 1253
Society and Culture
c. 500 to 1200 CE Northern India
Practice of sati and Jauhar
Tantricism emerged in east India, spread widely; open to all castes and
women
Cult of Shakti developed
Miniature painting and illustrated manuscripts
Indian version of feudalism developed
Vajrayana Buddhism emerged (recognised female dieties; Tara an
important deity)
c. 500 to 1200 CE Southern India
Religion:
The Bhakti cults of Nayanars (Shaivites) and Alvars (Vaishnavites)
emerged -6th Century
Lingayat movement in Karnataka, started by Basava: Shaivites against
idol worship, caste, vedas, etc
Shankaracharya of Kerala (8th/9th century CE) who preached
Advaita and traveled throughout India
Philosophers Ramanuja and Madhava
Popularization of Tamil, Kannada and Telugu literature
Chola - 1030 CE
Vijayalaya (cholas) from Uraiyur defeated Muttaraiyar (subordinate to
pallava kings of kanchipuram) in Kaveri Delta
Built town on Thanjavur and temple for the goddess Nishumbhasudini.
Rajaraja I - 985; His son - Rajendra I - raided Ganga valley, Sri Lanka and
countires of SE Asia; navy
built Tanjavur and Gangaikonda Cholapuram;
Chola bronze images - images of deities; sometimes devotees
Lesson 8:
Afghan Invasions
Mahmud ruled over Ghazni (Afg.) between 997 and 1030
A Turk who adopted Persian language and culture
Invaded India at least 17 times
Plundered Somnath temple
Muizuddin Mohammad Ghori (1173-1206) also Invaded India
Captured Sind and Punjab, then fought 2 wars against Pritviraj chauhan to
capture Delhi
 won the 2nd battle "Battle of Tarain"
This marked the beginning of Turkish rule in India

The Slave Dynasty

Ghori died in 1206 CE
Succeeded by His slave Qutb-ud-Din Aibak
Slave Dynasty of the Ilbari Turks, Mamluk Dynasty
Bakhtiyar Khalji took over Ghori's possessions in Bihar and Bengal
Aibak died in 1210, succeeded by Iltutmish (1211-1236) general and son-
in-law of Aibak
Iltutmish finished construction of the Qutub Minar (started by Aibak)
Attained control over many Rajput Kingdoms
Mongols under Genghis Khan invaded Transoxiana in north-east Iran in
1219.
Raziya Sultan (1237-1240)
First women ruler of the Sultanate, and of Delhi
Iltutmish's daughter (he had sons too, but they were unpopular)
Some nobles plotted against her, and she was killed
Ghiyas-ud-din Balban (1265-1287)
Balban was a powerful noble who wrested power
Had been a slave of Iltutmish
Strong, hard working and intelligent ruler
Organised an efficient administration and army
The Khalji Dynasty
Jalal-ud-din Khalji, an Afghan noble, took over from the 3 year old sultan
Kayamar in 1290
Established the Khalji dynasty (from Khalj in Afg)
Ruled till 1296
Killed by his son-in-law and nephew, Alauddin Khalji (1296-1316)
Alauddin Khalji (1296-1316), very competent ruler
Military expeditions into southern India started during his reign
Suppressed revolts and other powerful nobles
The rights of local chieftains to levy taxes were cancelled and they
were also forced to pay taxes;
measured land and kept accounts
Kharaj - tax on cultivation;
Expanded the empire immensely, largest since Ashokan times
Defeated the Hoysalas of Karnataka
 Built the Siri Fort to keep out the Mongols
very important changes in the administration, army and tax system
Died of fever, succeeded by Ghazi Malik
iqta and muqtis;
Muqtis - to lead military campaigns and maintain law and order
in return - collected the revenues of their assignments as salary;
to control muqtis - not inheritable and short term posting
accountants appointed; to check whether they are collecting only
taxes prescribed; required number of soldiers;
Measures against Genghis khan invasion
long standing army (tughluq also) but defensive; siri port (tughluq -
shifted capital to Daulatabad); tax - 50% on produce (tughluq -
additional tax); Pay his soldiers in money (tugluq - token currency)
The Tughlaq Dyansty
Ghazi Malik, a Turkish slave of Balban, took the title of Ghiyas-ud-Din
Tughlaq
Ruled between 1320-1325 CE
Annexed Telangana, Madurai and Bengal
Died when his son prepared a wooden platform to welcome him to Bengal
Accident of Deliberate?
Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1325-1351)
Son of Ghiyas-ud-din
Undertook many expansionary projects, many didn't work (like of
Khurasan, Iraq, China)
Defeated the Mongols
Finished the Tughlaqabad fort (Stated by Ghiyas-ud-din)
Tried to change the capital to Devagiri (Daulatabad) in the Deccan (earlier
the capital of the Yadavs of Deccan)
Barani, a historian wrote very critically of this policy in his Tarikh-i-Firuz
Shahi (1398)
Ibn Battuta - Moroccan traveller - qazi of Delhi; envoy to the Mongol
ruler;
Muhammad introduced a new currency in bronze when there was a
shortage of silver; disastrous policy as everyone began forging the coins
Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1351-1388)
Basically chilled out, let everyone do whatever they wanted
Built canals, hospitals, rest houses, towns
Improved agriculture and trade
 Banned painting
Largely peaceful reign
After his death, Timur of Smarkand, a Mongol, invaded India terribly in
1398
The Sultanate Shrank
The Sayyids
Khizr Khan (1413-1421) established the Sayyid dynasty
was made the governor of Multan by Timur
3 more sayyid rulers followed, but the Lodhis soon take over
The Lodi Dynasty
Buhlul Lodi (1451-1489) established the Lodi dynasty
Extended the empire over Gwalior, Jaunpur, and upper Up
Sikandar Lodi (1489-1517) succeeded Buhlul, and extended the empire
more
Ibrahim Lodi (1517 - 1526); not popular, last ruler of the Delhi Sultanate
Daulat Khan Lodi, governor of Punjab invited Babur to invade India
Ibrahim Lodi killed at the First Battle of Panipat by Babur's Army
Society and Culture
Women: widow remarriage banned, Islamic practice of hijab influenced the
upper caste Hindu women into adopting the Purdah
The word "Hindu" came to be used in the religious sense
spinning on Charkha and the Kakhana system behan
Traveller-writers Ibn Batutta (wrote Rihla) and Al-Biruni (wrote Tarikh-al-
Hind) came
Barani wrote Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi (political history) and Fatwa-i-Jahndiri
(caste among Muslims)
Architecture drastically changed.
Qawwali and Khayal style of music developed
Geometric designs in painting began
Prithviraj Raso by Chand Bardai and Laila Majnu by Amir Khusrao Written
Khusrao wrote in Hindi, Urdu, Persian and Arabic. He wrote romances and
poetry.
Lesson 9:
Bahamani kingdom
formed out of a revolt against Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq in Daulatabad
Alaudddin Bahman Shah emerged as ruler (1347-1358)
Gulbarga capital, conquered Goa, Dabhol, Kolhapur and Telangana
 Conflict began with Vijayanagar under Muhammad Shah 1 (1358-1375)
(son of Alauddin)
Conflicts dotted the empire till it broke up at the turn of the Century
5 small kingdoms formed: Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Berar, Golkonda and Bidar
Vijayanagar Kingdom
Founded by Harihara and Bukka of the Sangama dynasty in 1336;
Colin Mackenzie - first Surveyor General of India;
Vijayanagar ruled by 4 dynasties: Sangama (till 1485), Saluva (1503), Tuluva
(1542) and Aravidu( ruled from Penukonda and later from Chandragiri)
Horse trade - imp - local communities of merchants (kudirai chettis);
portuguese - use of muskets and superior technology;
River Tungabhadra, granite hills, embankments to create reservoirs;
Kamalapuram tank (15th Century)
Hiriya canal - dam across Tungabhadra; built by Sangama dynastry;
Krishnadeva Raya (1509-1529) of the Taluva dynasty most famous king;
wrote Amuktamalyada in Telugu - statecraft
Raichur doab(1512); rulers of Orissa (1514) and Sultan of Bijapur (1520)
Ashtadiggajas: the 8 court poets of KD's empire (Tenali Raman)
Founded a suburban township near vijayanagara called Nagalapuram
after his mother.
Establisher of the Yavana kingdom -
statue of krishnadeva Raya placed on the gopuram of the temple at
Chidambaram, TN
Nayakas
military chiefs controlled forts and had armed supporters; moved from
one area to another; spoke Telugu or Kannada
Amara-Nayaka system
many features of iqta system; military commanders - given terriotories
to govern by the raya.
collected taxes and other dues from peasants and crafts persons and
traders; retained a part and maintained horses and elephants;
sent tribute to the king annually and personally appeared in the royal
court; kings occasionally transferred them;
Abdur Razzaq Samarqandi - diplomat visiting from Herat - descriptions of
the empire; fortification
Architecture of Vijayanagar important: Hampi, gopurams, Gol Gumbaz,
temples, Daulatabad Fort, Charminar etc
Indo-Islamic style - Arch on the gateway and dome over it;
 royal gateways/gopurams often dwarfed the towers on the Central
shrines;
Virupaksha temple (9th-10thC)- enlarged by vijayanagara rulers;
Krishnadevarya - hall in front of main shrine (mark of his accession
to throne); eastern gopuram
Swing pavilion from Gingee
Vittala temple -
characteristic feature of the temple complexes - chariot streets that
extended from the temple gopuram in a strain line
Nayakas continued traditions of fortification and temple building
Urban life: Chinese porcelain; Muslim residential quarter, tombs and
mosques with in fortification - resembles mandapas;
Religion
virupaksha; Pampadevi; Vali and Sugriva
Royal order: 'Shri Virupaksha' in Kannada script;
title - Hindu Suratrana
Royal portrait sculpture displayed in temples; king's visit to temples
treated as imp state occasions;
Duarte Barbosa - Portuguese write - trade and society in South India -
Vijayanagara empire - houses of ordinary people
Domingo Paes - Portuguese traveller - Hampi - 16th century
Water reservoirs;
House of Victory (King's palace) = audience hall + Mahanavami dibba
largest of the enclosures; no definitive evidence of being a royal
residence;
prosperous streets - rubies, diamonds, emeralds, pearls - 'best
provided city in the world'
John M Fritz, George Michell and MS Nagaraja Rao - reconstructed the
history of Vijayanagara
Lotus mahal
Hazara rama temple - meant for King and his family; sculpture- Ramayana
themes on the inner walls;

Miniature painting
The Mughals
Mother side - descendants of Genghis Khan (died 1227); Father side -
successors of Timur (died 1404)
did not believe in the rule of primogeniture (eldest son inherited his
father's estate); followed Mughal and Timurid custom of Coparcenary
inheritance (division amongst all the sons)
common trends:
Afghans were an immediate threat to Mughal authority;
Relationship between Mughals and Ahoms
Relationship between Mughals and Sikhs
Relationship between Mughals and Mewar and Marwar
Chronicles
purpose
project a vision of enlightened kingdom
convey to those who resisted the rule of the Mughals that all
resistance was destined to fail
account of their rule for posterity
Humayun Nama - Gulbadan Begum; daughter of Babur
described in detail the conflicts and tensions among the princes
and kings and the important mediating role elderly women of the
family played in resolving some of these conflicts.
Akbar Nama - diachronic sense (recording politically significant events
across time)
translated into English by Henry Beveridge.
Badshah Nama - Shah Jahan
by Abu'l Fazl son Abdul Hamid Lahori
Divine Light (farr-i izadi); Shihabuddin Suhrawardi - Iranian sufi;
emperors wearing the halo - seventeenth century;
ideal of sulh-i kul - absolute peace;
capital cities:
Lodhi Capital of Agra; Babur - several places
Akbar - 1560s - Agra fort - red Sandstone; 1570s - Fatepur Sikri
(en-route to Ajmer); 1585 - Lahore
white marble tomb for Shaikh Salim Chisti next to the friday
mosque at Sikri
Shah Jahan - 1648 - Shahjahanabad
Babur (1526-1530)
Born 1494, Farghana
came to India in 1525, won the Battle of Panipat agaist Ibrahim Lodi
(Babur used Cannons effectively)
 Fought many more battles and expanded his control over India (Agra
and Delhi)
Died in 1530
Left behind a dairy of memories (important source) - in Turkish
language (wrote poetry)
Used the term Hindustan - describe geography, fauna and culture of
the inhabitants of the subcontinent; (but not like modern political and
nationalist term)
Amir Kushru (14th century) - used the word Hind in same sense
Humayun
Ruled the Mughal empire between 1530-1540, and in 1555
son of Babur
Fought many battles to retain the area conquered by Babur; Mirza
Kamran's (his brother) ambitions weakened Humayan's cause against
Afghan competitiors
Defeated by Sher Shah Sur in 1540 at Chausa and Kanauj; flew to Iran,
received help from Safavid Shah
brought Painters Mir Sayyid Ali and Abdus Samad to Delhi; (painter
Bihaz - well know painter at Safavid court)
Sher Shah Sur died in 1545, and Humayun regained Delhi in 1555, but
dies that very year
Humayun's tomb commissioned by his wife Bega Begum
Sher Shah Sur
Originally Sher Khan, adopted title Sher Shah Sur after defeating
Humayun
Ruled from Bengal to Indus
Reorganised the revenue, judicial and administration system -
taken best practices from Alauddin Khalji;
Built roads and rest houses (Grand Truck Road from Chittagong to
Kabul) (NH 1 and NH2)
His Changes formed the basis of the future Mughal rule
His Successors were weak, therefore Humayun could take over
Akbar
1556-1605
13 When he assumed the throne
His adviser was Bairam Khan (won the 2nd Battle of Panipat against
Hemu, minister of Adil Shah from Bengal)
 Many interesting Conquests (Malwa, Gondwana, Chittor,
Ahmadnagar); faced the revolts of his half-brother Mirza Hakim
Qandahar was seized from the Safavids, Kabul and Kashmir annexed.
Campaigns in the Deccan started.
Also read about: Todar Mal (land revenue), Birbal, Din-i-Ilahi, Ibadat
Khana, his jizya policy, Suhi-i-kul, his Rajput policy, Abul Fazl's Ain-i-
Akbari and Akbarnama, Basawan
tax fixed on each crop in cash;
zabt revenue system -province - circles - each circle own schedule of
revenue rates for individual crops;
Administration
subas (subadar - political and military) - for peace and order -
subadar help from bakhshi, sadr, faujdars and kotwal
diwan - financial officer for each suba;
Architecture: Fatehpur sikri, Buland Darwaza, Agra Fort
Ibadat Khana - religious meetings;
sulh-i kul - universal peace;
persian became the language of administration at all levels;
Muhammad Husayn of Kashmir - calligrapher at Akbar's court (Zarrin
qalam)
abolished tax on pilgrimage in 1563 and jizya in 1564; Rajputs and
Indian Muslims (Shaikhzadas) - entered the imperial service.
Jharoka darshan - introduced - objective of broadening the
acceptance of the imperial authority as part of popular faith.
contemporary
Sultan Suleyman - ruler of Turkey - al qanuni
Shah Abbas - safavid ruler of Iran
Czar Ivan IV - Russian ruler;
Queen Elizabeth I
William shakespeare;
Jahangir
1605-1627
Earlier called Salim (Salim and Anarkali story)
Made peace with Mewar (after almost a century of rivalry between the
Mughals and Mewar)
 Married Nur Jahan, the Wife of Sher Afghan, the governor of Bengal -
Jahangir struck silver coins bearing his own titles on one side and on
the other the inscription "struck in the name of the Queen Begum, Nur
Jahan".
Shalimar Bagh (Kashmir)
Chain of justice; Abu'l Hasan - painter
Shah Jahan
1628-1658
Earlier called prince Khurram
Known for the love of his wife Mumtaz Mahal
Qandahar was lost to the Safavids;
Taj Mahal, Jama Masjid, Red Fort, Shalimar Bagh (Lahore)
Aurangzeb
1659-1707
Defeated and killed Dara Shikoh, the son favoured by Shah Jahan to
take the Mughal throne
Fought many wars, especially against Shivaji in the Deccan
Prince Akbar rebelled against Aurangzeb and recieved support from
the Marathas and Deccan Sultanate. Fled to Safavid Iran. After Akbar's
rebellion Aurangzeb sent armies against the Deccan Sultanates;
Bijapur annexed 1685; Golcunda 1687.
Stayed in Deccan for 25 years, died in Ahmednagar in 1707
Reimposed jizya and destroyed many temples
Removed jizya in Mewar, gave grants to Hindu maths and temples
Too much money spend by Shah Jahan and Aurangazed, empire
became weak
Later Mughal Period
Considered weak due to
Auranzeb's misguided policies (religious, Deccan)
Jagirdari crisis
Strong independent states
External pressures of Europeans and Arabs (Nadir Shah, Ahmad Ali
Abdali)
Weak rulers and vast empire
1709 - Bahadur Shah
1712 - Jahandar Shah
1713 - Farruksiyar (Farman to British)
Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah
 1739: Nadir Shah of Persia invaded India
Took away the Kohinoor diamond and the peacock throne
Ahmad Shah Abdali also made many invasions.
Delhi, Agra and the surrounding areas began to declien
As the Mughals declined, the British gained power
Revenue policy
bulk of its income from agricultural production; 85% in villages;
cultivation based on individual land ownership
Sources: Ain-i-akbari; regional accounts; records of the East India
company;
Babar Nama - agriculture; settlements - can disappear in a night;
Irrigation using a wheel
Mansabdars and Jagirdars
mansab - rank/position; mansabdar - who hold a mansab
mansab decides rank, salary and military responsibility;
Rank and salary by Zat number
military responsibility - to maintain specified number of sawar;
(register and branded them to receive salary)
Mansabdar salary - revenue assignments (jagirs);
Mansabdars did not reside in or administer Jagirs (but muqtis
under iqta's used to do); had the rights to the revenue of their
assignment, servants used to collect them; mansabdars used to be
somewhere else at that time;
Agriculture
Basic unit of agricultural society - village; varied topography; forest
areas made up a substantial proportion of territory;
factors for the constant expansion of agriculture: abundance of land,
labour and mobility of peasants
Basic staple - rice, wheat and millets
jins-i-kamil - perfect crops - cotton and sugercane; oilseeds and lentils
Tobacco - arrived first in Deccan spread to northern India; Ain - does
not mention it in the list of crops in northern India. (Jahangir - banned
it - ineffective; by the end of 17th century - major article of
consumption)
17th Century new crops - Maize (via Africa and Spain); tomatoes,
potatoes and chillies; pineapple and papaya
Village community
 direct correlation between caste, poverty and social status; correlation
not so marked at intermediate levels - some form of mobility present;
Village panchayats - people of the village with hereditary rights over
the property; heterogeneous body with all caste; decisions binding on
all members; Head - muqaddam/mandal - held office till they enjoy
confidence of village elders; function of headman - supervise the
preparation of village accounts, assisted by the patwari (accountant) of
the panchayat
funds - contributions made by individuals; to entertain revenue
official and community welfare activities
ensure caste boundaries;
authority to levy fines and punish (ex: expulsion)
Jati panchayats - Rajasthan - similar functions at Jati level
begar - unpaid labour
status of woman - important resource - bride price and remarriages
(Child bearers, high mortality rates); had to work on fields
right to inherit property; Zamindaris as well
Men - head of hoursehold; woman - commodity of men
Forests and Tribes
Scrubland (kharbandi); Forest dwellers (jangli) - those livelihood came
from the gathering of forest produce, hunting and shifting agriculture;
season specific;
Peshkash - form of tribute collected by the Mughal State - often
demanded Elephants
commercial agriculture; gum lac - major items of overseas export from
india 17th Century;
Lohanis, Punjab - overland trade India-Afghanistan
Many tribal chieis - become zamindars; Ahom kings - Paiks (obliged
military services provider)
16th Century - war was a common occurrence;
Zamindars - all intermediaries;
lived off agriculture, not participate directly in agriculture
enjoyed social and economic privileges by virtue of
their superior status in rural society
performed Khidmat (services) for the state
held extensive personal lands - milkiyat (property) - private use;
can sell;
 collect revenue on behalf of the state (compensated financially by
state)
control over military resources; qilachas (fortresses); armed
contingent
expanded Zamindaris by conquest; slow process - colonisation of new
lands, transfer of rights, order of the state and purchase
buying and selling of Zamindaris accelerated the process of
monetisation of the countryside. Zamindars sold the produce from
their milkiyat lands; established markets
element of reciprocity, paternalism and patronage!
Bhakti saints - did not portray Zamindards, the moneylenders as
exploiters
peasants supported them in rebellion
Land Revenue System
daftar of the diwan - responsible for supervising the fiscal system of
the empire;
specific info: extent of agri land and produce from these lands;
assessment - jama; collected amount- hasil; both cultivated and
cultivable lands were measured;
amil-guzar (revenue collector); payment in cash and kind;
amin - official responsible for ensuring that imperial regulations were
carried out in the provinces;
akbar: Polaj (cultivated annually), Parauti (left out for some time),
Chachar (fallow 3-4 years); Banjar (fallow >5 years); one third of
produce - Royal dues
Mansabdari System - military cum bureacratic apparatus - responsible
for looking after the civil and military affairs
paid in cash (naqdi); revenue assignments (jagirs)
kankut (grain estimates); batai/bhaoli; khet-batai (divide the fields
after they are sown); lang batai (heaps divided) pg 104;
Ain-i Akbari: completed in 1598
Five books (daftars)
First three books - administrations
manzil-abdali - imperial household and its maintenance
sipah-abadi - military and civil administration and
establishment of servants
 includes notices and short biographical sketches of
imperial officials (mansabdars), learned men, poets and
artists
mulk-abadi - fiscal side of the empire and rich quantitative
information on revenue rates; geographic, topographic and
economic profile of all subas and their administrative and
fiscal divisions (sarkars, paraganas and mahals)
sarkars below the suba: parganat/mahal, qila, arazi, naqdi,
suyurghal, zamindars Pg: 107
fourth and fifth book - religious, literacy and cultural traditions
Translated Vol 1 - Henry Blochmann - 1873; Two volumes - H.S. Jarrett
(1894)
Ain completely departed from the tradition of writing only about
political events as it recorded information about the empire and the
people of India.
Society and Culture
Mansabdari system (Zat and Sawa rank, jagir)
Khalisa land: owned directly by the emperor
Architecture
Paintings: Mughal paintings were Persian miniatures, especially used to
illustrate manuscripts; Rajput art had many schools in in
Hindustani classical music flourished (Tansen)
Ramacharitmanas by Tulsidas
Important Sanskrit works like Upanishads and the epic translated into
Persian
Important historical accounts produced.
Lesson 10
The Marathas
Kingdom arose after the breakup of the Bahamani empire
Hindu kingdom of the Deccan (Maharashtra and Karnataka)
Shivaji rose to prominence in 1647
Aurangzeb sent Raja Jai Singh to defeat him
Raja Jai and Shivaji made an agreement; shivaji agreed to visit Aurangzeb's
court
Felt ignores, refused to become a mansabdar, was imprisoned; Escaped
1674: crowned himself king
Shivaji's son Shambhaji wasn't as efficient
killed by the Mughals
His brother Rajaram succeeded him, who died in 1700
His widow Tara Bai and grandson Shahu succeeded
Peshwa's became powerful
Most powerful succession state; Achilles heel: the families lack unit;
Established an all-time empire, but didn't administer well; Important
reason for downfall of Mughal
The control of the Peshwas (Chief ministers) began with Balaji Vishvanath
in 1713 - obtained rights to chauth and sardeshmukhi of the Deccan; His
son, Peshwa Baji Rao I stated the confederacy of the Maratha chiefs.
Peshwa Baji Rao (1702 - 1740) plundered upto Delhi, extended the empire,
obtained Chauth and Sardeshmukhi of the Deccan
The Five Families - united on occasion (1775-82), quarreled more often
among themselves
1. Peshwas of Pune
2. Bhonsle of Nagpur
3. Holkars of Indore
4. Gaikwad of Baroda
5. Sindhia of Gwalior
Marathas fought the 3rd Battle of Panipat with Agmad Shah Abdali in
1761; lost, weakened; Death of Madhavrao I
First Anglo-Maratha War 1775-1782
Succession trouble within the Marathas: Nana Phadnavis vs Raghunath
Rao
Treaty of Surat 1775 - Raghunath gets English soldiers in exchange for
territory
Treaty of Purandhar 1776 - English discard older promise, give
Raghunath only pension.
1769 - English lost, signed Treaty of Wadgaon; Hastings rejected
treaty, sent force again.
1782 - Treaty of Salbai
peace for 20 years; Exchange of territories
Second Anglo-Maratha War 1803-1805
1800: Nana Phadnavis died, war of succession began
1802: Peshwa Baji Rao II accepted subsidiary alliance under Treaty of
Bassien
Other Maratha families offended, launched war => English won,
imposed subsidiary alliance over Sindhia's and Bhonsles.
Third Anglo-Maratha War 1817-1819
 1813: Charter Act ended EIC monopoly in China (except tea)
Maratha's impoverished mercenary army (pindaris) began plundering
EIC areas.
English overcame Scindhia's ,Peshwa's and Holkar's
1818: Peshwaship abolished.

The Sikhs and Sikhism

Originally a religious group, but established an empire that challenged
that of the Mughals
1469; Guru Nanak born in Talwandi, near Lahore
Started Sikhism
Said God is unchanging and without form, eternal and cannot be known
combined Bhakti and Sufi ideas
9 Gurus after him
Last was Guru Gobind Singh, who died in 1708
Designated the Guru Granth Sahib as the next and last Guru
The first four gurus lived simply, but the 5th Guru, Guru Arjan Das lived as
a religious as well as a political leader
Came into conflict with Jahangir, who imprisoned and killed him
Guru Arjans son Hargobind gathered a small army and defeated the
Mughals in 1628
Guru Teg Bahadur was executed by Aurangzeb in 1678
After Guru Gobind Singh's death, Banda became the leader and began a
formal organisation of the Sikhs as a political and military power.
Sikhs revolted against Mughals under Banda Bahadur; in 1715 defeated by
Farrukhsiyar and put to death in 1716.
1784 - Kapur Singh Faizullapuria organized Dal Khalsa to unite Sikhs
Budha Dal - army of veterans
Turana Dal - army of the young
Misl: Democratic, military sikh brotherhood
Ranjit singh of Sukarchakiya Misl strong ruler
1809: Treaty of Amritsar with Metcalfe (Minto's delegate)
Ranjit Shah accepted Sutlej as boundary

1838: Tripatrite Treaty

Refused to give passage to British
British to mediate between Punjab and Sindh
Shah Shuja gave up rights on Sindh
 1839: Ranjit singh dies
First Anglo-Sikh war 1845-46
After Ranjit Singh, many divisions in Punjab; British captured Lahore
1846: Treaty of Lahore
Humiliating for Sikhs; Had to sell J&K to pay indemnity, so Sikhs
rebelled
1846: Treaty of Bhairowal
British resident at Punjab
Second Anglo-Sikh war 1848-1849
Lord Dalhousie was the governor general; British annexed Punjab in
1849
Mutual respect between Sikhs and British; Sikhs fought for British in
1857
Awadh
Covered UP, capital Lucknow; originally a province of the Mughals; Became
independent under Saadat khan and Safdar Jung
Annexed into the British empire under Dalhousie in 1856 on the charges of
maladministration by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah under the Doctrine of Lapse
1784 - Bada Imam Bada was built at Lucknow by Asaf ud Daula;
Jats
Agriculturalists who rebelled against the Mughals; Delhi, Mathura and Agra
Chuman and Badan Singh founded the small independent state of
Bharatpur (southwest of Delhi)
Sural Mal Most famous Jat ruler
State declined after 1763
Sindh
1783 - Mir Fatah Ali Khan of Talpura tribe of Baloch usurped power, he
died in 1800, then kingdom divided among his Char Yar.
Sindh strategically important for English; believed the Russia and
Napolean would invade India via land route; Sindh buffer state, boundary.
Many envoys send and treaties signed to secure Sikh friendship;
1839 - Sindh accepts subsidiary alliance.
1842 - Sindh part of British empire.
Rohilkhand and Farukkabad
Afghan kingdoms
Rohilkhand: between Ganga and Kumaon
Founded by Ali Muhammad Khan after Nadir Shah's invasion
Farukhabad: small state in UP
 Founded by Mohammad Khan Bangash
Bengal And Assam
Bengal was a Mughal Subah that asserted independence under Murshid
Quli Khan (Others - Sujah Ud Din, Alivardi Khan 1740, Siraj Ud Daula 1756,
Mir Jafar 1757)
Bengal consisted of Bihar and Orissa as well
Very rich province, 60% of British imports from Asia consisted of goods
from Bengal; overtaken by the British with the Battles of Plassey and Buxar
and the Diwani of Bengal
1757 - Battle of Plassey - Robert Clive and Mir Jafar defeated Siraj ud
Daula; Real power to the British
Mir Jafar allies with Dutch; Dutch defeated at Battle of Bidara (1759); Mir
Jafar resigns and Mir Kasim is a new Nawab
dastak - Trade permit - which exempted the goods specified from
payment of duties;
1764 - Battle of Buxar - Mir Kasim had abolished trade privileges of EIC;
Major Munro defeated Mir Kasim + Nawab of Awadh + Shah Alam II
1765 - Treaty of Allahabad; EIC obtains diwani of Bengal and Orissa;
Shah Alam II to reside in Allahabad
Dual government in Bengal 1765-72
Began under Robert Clive 1765
Company administered diwani (revenue collection) and nizamat
(police and judiciary)
Nawab maintained peace, but depended on company for funds
Abolished by Warren Hastings 1772
Assam continued to be ruled by the Ahoms
Rajputs
Rajputs states that had been greatly subdued under Akbar became almost
independent again
Lacked unity, kept fighting against each other
Maharaja Jai Singh of Amber built Jaipur and the Jantar Mantar upon
scientific principles
social reformer and astronomer
Rajputana art flourished
Hyderabad
Also a Mughal province, that asserted independence under Nizam-ul-Mulk
in 1724; Took the title Asaf Jha, established the Asaf Jahi dynasty
First princely state to accept subsidiary alliance.
 Helped British in the second and third Maratha wars; 1857 rebellion - on
British side;
Lost control over Carnatic subah; Nawab of Carnatic asserted his
independence.
Subah - province; Sarkars - district; pargana - cluster of villages;
Large and wealthy state
The dynasty ruled over Hyderabad till 1948
Mysore
The Wodeyar dynasty rose after the decline of the Vijayanagar Empire;
Overthrown by Haider Ali in 1761; Suceeded by Tipu Sultan; Built a fort on
the island of Seringapatnam
First Anglo Mysore war 1767-1769
EIC+Hyderabad+Marathas vs Mysore
But Haider Ali won Hyderabad and Marathas over with diplomatic skill
War inconclusive.
1769 - Treaty of Madras
Exchange of prisoners
Restitution of conquest
English of help Mysore in case of attack
Second Anglo Mysore War 1780-1784
Marathas attacked Mysore but English didn't help;
War inconclusive, Haider Ali died, Tipu Sultan took over
1784 - Treaty of Mangalore
Return of territories
Third Anglo Mysore War 1791 -1792
Mysore and Travancore warring; English led by Lord Cornwallis sided
with Travancore; Tipu Sultan lost
1792 - Treaty of Serinapatnam
Mysore cede half its territories to the victors
Tipu had to pay war indemnity; His sons taken as collateral
Fourth Anglo Mysore War 1799
Tipu paid and got sons back, but wanted revenge;
English+Marathas+Hyderabad vs Mysore; Tipu died
Mysore handed back to Wodeyars and put under the Subsidiary
alliance.
Nayakas
Military chiefs of the Vijayanagar empire who formed many separate states
Madurai, Ikkeri, Thanjavur, etc
 Meenakshi temple at Madurain built by a Nayaka ruler, dedicated to shiv
and Parvati
It has 11 gopurams
Kerala
Many small states covering the South-western coast of India
Including Kerala, Cochin, Travancore, Calicut
King Martanda verma of Travancore expanded his army from Kanya kumari
to Cochin and became powerful
Modernized military
18th Century: revival of Malayali literautre; Kanchan Nambiar important
poet;
Bhakti Sufi Tradition
Islam: means submission to the will of God
Founded by Propher Mohammad in Mecca, Arabia around 570 AD
Equality of all, only one god
Many sects
Sufis: Believed in love and devotion to attain God; interpret quran on the
basis of their personal experience;
Qalandars, Madaris, Malangs, Haidaris - extreme forms of asceticism - be-
shari'a
Many sects within the sufis too
The Chisti silsila popular in India - adapted successfully to the local
environment and adopted several features of Indian devotional traditions.
sama' - integral to the chisthis;
Amir Khusrau - introduced qaul (Saying) (a hymn sung at the opening or
closing of qawwali)
Dargah of Muiniddin Chishti at Ajmer, or Nizamuddin Auliya at Delhi
Baba Farid - composed verses in local language; incorporated in the Guru
Granth Sahib;
Prem-akhyan (love story) Padmavat - Malik Muhammad Jayasi - romance
of padmini and Ratansen the king of Chittor;
Sufism in South India (Bijapur)
short poems in Dakhani (variant of Urdu) - 17th and 18th centuries;
sung by women while performing household chores
other compositions: lurinama or lullabies and Shadinama or Wedding
songs
Bhakti saints didn't believe in caste or gender inequality
Saguna (with attributes) - focused on the worship of specific deities such
as Shiva, Vishnu etc - anthropomorphic form
Nirguna (without attributes) - worship of an abstract form of God.
Believed that love, devotion and meditation was the way to God
Everyone finds God for herself
striking feature: increasing visibility of a wide range of gods and goddesses
Tantric tradition
different forms of goddess; open to women and men; ignored
differences of caster and class within the ritual context;
influences Shaivism and Buddhism
Ramananda in North India, chitanya of Bengal, Mira Bai of Rajasthan,
Tukaram of Maharashtra, Kabir and Dadu, Akka Mahadevi, Lal Ded and
Andal
1. Alvars and Nayanars - 6th Century
travelled from place to place; singing hymns - part of temple ritual
(worship of saints' images as well)
attempted to reform the caste system! - people from diverse
backgrounds
opposition to Buddism and Jainsim;
Chola rulers (9th-13th Centuries) - Chidrambaram, Thanjavur and
Gangaikondacholapuram;
Nalayira Divyaprabandham - Tamil Veda - Composition of Alvars -
10th Century
Tevaram - Tenth Century - composition of Nayanars
Tondaradippodi - Alvar - Chaturvedin and outcaste - critic on
caste system
Appar - Nayanar saint - extremely critical about caste
Manikkavachakar - 12th Century (bronze sculpture) - shiva -
devotional songs in Tamil
Women devotees - renounced their social obligations but did not
become nun;
Andal - alvar - saw herself as beloved of Vishnu
Karaikkal Ammaiyar - Nayanar - adopted extreme asceticism -
12th Century bronze image;
2. Virashaiva Tradition in Karnataka (12th Century) - Basavanna (1106-68)
- Brahmana
worship shiva in his manifestation as a linga; jangama, wandering
monks
 on death the devotee will be united with Shiva and will not return
to this world; do not practice funerary rites (they bury their dead)
Challenged the idea of caste and the pollution attributed
questioned the theory of rebirth
encouraged post-puberty marriage and the remarriage of widows
(disapproved in Dharmashastras)
Vachanas composed in Kannada by women and med
3. Kabir (14th-15th Centuries)
bijak preserved by the Kabirpanth in Varanasi
Kabir Granthavali - Dadupanth in Rajasthan
Adi Granth Sahib
sant bhasha; language of nirguna poets; ulatbansi
diverse and sometimes conflicting ideas are expressed in these
poems;
4. Baba Guru Nanak (1469-1539)
Nankana Sahib village, Ravi River;
nirguna Bhakti; rejected sacrifices, ritual baths, image worship,
austerities and the scriptures of both Hindus and Muslims;
absolute or rab has no gender or form
simple way to connect to the Divine - remembering and
repeating the Divine name, expressing his ideas through hymns
(shabad) in punjabi.
He sung these compositions in various ragas; Rabab
set up rules for congregational worship (sangat) involving
collective recitation
angad - to succeed him
After guru Nanak's death his followers consolidated their own
practices and distinguished themselves;
Fifth preceptor - Guru Arjan - compiled Baba Guru Nank's hymns
+ four successors + other (Baba Farid, Ravidas, Kabir) = Adi
Granth Sahib
hymns - gurbani; composed in various languages
17th Century - Tenth preceptor - Guru Gobind Singh - Guru
Granth Sahib - foundation for the Khalsa Panth (army of the pure);
5. Mirabai (15th -16th centuries)
reconised Krishna as her lover;
did not attract a sect or group of followers
6. Shankaradeva (late fifteenth Century)
 leading proponent of Vaishnavism in Assam
Bhagavati dharma; based on the Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavata purana -
absolute surrender to the supreme deity;
empasised naam kirtan, sat sanga (congregations of pious devotees);
encourages establishment of satras
major compositions: kirtana-ghosha
Lesson 11
The Europeans In India
15th Century Europe
Expansion of the Ottoman empire into western Asia and Arab/Muslim
domination of the Mediterranean cut off land routes for Western
Europeans to trade with Asia
Zeal to find sea routes - boosted with renaissance and advances in
ship-building; expanding land under cultivation, scientific crop
management, Increased supply of meat (need for spices)
Prince Henry of Portugal especially obsesses with finding a sea route
to India.
Improvement in economy - demand for luxury goods.
In 1497 under the Treaty of Todesillas (1494) - Spain (West of Atlantic)
and Portugal (East of Atlantic) - divided the non-Christian world
between them
The Portuguese
1498; Vasco de Gama to India (Kohzikode, Kerala)
Wanted to monopolize the trade - exclude other foreign traders
from the Malabar coast
Factories - Calicut, Cannanore and Cochin.
Franciso de Almeida (1505) appointed as governor of India (by King of
Portugal) to expel Muslim trade and fortify settlements. Ambition to
control, to monopolize. Blue Water policy (cartaze system)
Alfonso De Albuquerque
secured Portuguese control over Indian ocean => established
bases overlooking all the entrances to the sea.
Introduced a permit control for ships
Acquired Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur 1510
Abolished Sati
Persecuted muslmis
 Encouraged Portuguese men settled in India to marry Indians =>
to secure a permanent Portuguese population in India, established
them as village landlords etc.
Introduced new crops - tobacco and cashew nut; better plantation
varieties of coconut (coir rigging and cordage)
Nino De Cunha (1529)
Shifted Portuguese capital to Goa from Cochin in 1530
Got Island of Bassein and Diu from Bahadur Shah of Gujarat.
Created a Portuguese base in Bengal
Portuguese State in India (Estado de India)
influence all along the Malabar Coast; from Surat and Diu to
Cochin; some bases in the east coast
Admin - Viceroy, secretary, a council, Vedor da Fazenda (in charge
of revenue, cargo and fleets)
Fav conditions for Portuguese
Except Gujarat, there is no single power;
None of the powers had a navy worth its name;
In the Far East, the imperial decree of the Chinese emperor limited
the navigational reach of the Chinese ships
Religious policy
zeal to promote Christianity, persecute Muslims, Tolerant towards
Hindus generally (persecuted them in Goa)
Good rapport with Akbar - Jesuits attended Ibadat Khana
meetings (Rodolfo Aquaviva and Antonio Monserrate); wanted to
convert Akbar and Jahangir to Christianity
Fathers Jerome Xavier and Emanuel Pinheiro settled in Akbar's
court, began to influence politics as well
Important settlements: Goa
Decline:
1608 - Captain William Hawkins of England reaches Surat. Fav
reception by Jahangir, trading facilities => Portuguese offended,
blocked English Ships at Surat
1612 English fleet defeated the Portuguese fleet - impressed
Jahangir; where as Portuguese enraged Jahangir by their acts of
piracy, capture of Mughal ships and imprisonment of Muslims.
 Imperial farman 1579 - Portuguese allowed to settle in Satgaon in
Bengal; Created port at Hoogly; Monopolized Manufacture of salt;
started enforcing strictly the levy of duty on tobacco; Started
trading in slaves; Shah Jahan ordered Qasim khan (Bengal
governor) to siege and the Portuguese had to flee.
Maratha dynasty hindered their growth (invaded Goa in 1683)
Rise of powerful dynasties in Persia and Egypt interfered with their
maritime routes; Discovery of Brazil diverted their interest to the
West (superseded the importance of Goa)
Dutch and the English had greater resources and more
compulsions to expand overseas;
Goa lots its importance as a port after the fall of the vijayanagara
empire;
Religious policy created resentment among people of India;
Dishonest trade practices and piracy
Overthrown by the British and the Dutch
Significance:
Trade: Assertive in obtaining trade monopoly
Military contributions: Use of ships carrying canyons; use of body
armour, matchlock men, and guns landed from the ships.
Technological Contributions: heavily constructed multi-decked
ships ; use of castled prow and stern
Art and Architecture: silversmith and goldsmith flourished at Goa;
Goa - center of elaborate filigree work fretted foliage work and
metal embedding jewels; Churches - woodwork and sculpture,
sometimes pained ceilings - simple in architecture
Others:
Left India in 1961
The Dutch
United East India Company of Netherlands (1602); Autonomous
company; empowered - war, treaties, possess territories, erect
fortresses
Masulipatnam was their first factory (1605); captured Nagapatnam
from Portuguese; Pulicat (1609), surat 1616, Patna 1658, Cochin 1663
Came in the 17th century to expand trade; textiles, silk - Bengal, Gujrat
and the Coromandel; Opium and rice -ganga valley; Indigo - Yamuna
valley and Central India; Rice - Ganga valley
Anglo-Dutch Rivalry
 Both powers trying to establish their commercial base in the east
at the same time.
1667 - British withdrew claims on Indonesia, Dutch withdrew claim
from India
1759; The Battle of Bidara; English won, Dutch left
Dutch more interested in their profitable trade in Indonesia than
in empire building in India; They were not much interested in
empire buildings in India;
The British
English East India Company formed in 1600
1600 - queens charter it gave exclusive trading rights for the East
1609 - Captain Hawkins arrived at Jahangir's court.
1611 - English started trading at Masulipatnam; 1616 - factory at
Masulipatnam
1612 - Defeated Portuguese at sea at Surat; 1613 - established a
factory there.
1632 - Golden Farman from Sultan of Golconda gave free trading right
at the ports of Golconda.
1639 - Fort St. George at Madras and replaced Masulipatnam as the
HQ of the English Settlements in South India.
1651 - Begin trading at Bengal in lieu of an annual payment, under
Shah Shuja (the Subahadar of Bengal)
1662 - King Charles II gets bombay from the Portuguese as dowry.
1668 - EIC get stranding rights of Bombay
1687 - Shifted HQ from Surat to Bombay
1700 - Fort St. William at Kolkata - seat of eastern presidency - sir
Charles Eyre first president.
1717 - Got the Golden Farman from Mughal ruler Farruksiyar -
privileges in Bengal, Gujarat and Hyderabad - Magna Carta of the EIC
Won the Battle of Plassey and Battle of Buxar (Clive)
Bengal become the prime British province
Obtained the Diwani of Bengal in 1765
Warren Hastings became the first Governor General of Bengal in 1773
The Danes
company established 1616; Factory at Tranquebar near Tanjore in 1620
Principle settlement at Serampore, near Calcutta
Danes factories sold to the British in 1845.
Better known for missionary activities.
The French
First Factory by the French East India Company in 1667 at Surat
1669 - Factory at Masulipatnam (Patent from Sultan of Golconda)
1674 - Francois Caron replaced by Francois Martin, who founded
Pondicherry
1742: French leader Dupliex was appointed as Governor of Pondicherry
Imp trading centers: Mahe, Karaikal, Balasore and Qasim Bazar
French the main rivals of British in India
Rivalry began with the outbreak of the Austrian war or Succession and
ended with the conclusion of the Seven Years War.
1740s - Nizam Asaf Jah of Hyderabad (fully engaged in battling the
Marathas; becoming old); Coromandel coast - without any strong ruler
(remnant of the Vijayanagara empire)
Fought 3 Carnatic wars; Carnatic - Coromondel Coast and its hinterland
The First Carnatic War: 1740-48
French vs Nawab of Carnatic Anwar-ud-din (On English request
for help)
Extension of Anglo-French Struggles in Europe => caused by the
Austrian war of Succession
Ended with Treaty of Aix-La Chapelle (Which ended the Austrian
war of Succession)
French got their territories in North America; British got Madras
back
significance: small disciplined army can defeat a much larger
Indian army; importance of naval force in the in Deccan
The Second Carnatic War - 1749-54
Nizam-ul-Mulk - died in 1748
Due to rivalry in India, ambitions of French Governor Joseph
Francis Dupleix;
Ended with French authorities recalling Dupliex because of heavy
losses during the war. End inconclusive.
New French governor Godeheu adopted a policy of negotiation
with British: not to interfere in the quarrels of native princes.
Showed that European powers did not need countenance of
Indian authority; Indian rulers becoming dependent of European
powers.
The Third Carnatic War 1757-63
Due to wars in Europe;
 1760 - Battle of Wandiwash (Tamil Nadu) - English won
natives served as sepoys under both European powers in the
war;
French confied to their enclaves; No Europeans rivals for the
English in India.
The Causes for English success:
structure of the English East India Company (private ownership)
=> instant decisions
Military discipline and naval superiority
British: Calcutta, Bombay and Madras; French - Pondicherry
French subordinated their commercial interest to territorial
ambition => short of funds
Non-interference with native religions.
Industrial revolution; Stable situation in England
Innovative credit policy.
Expansion of the British
Regulating Act of 1773: sharing of power between the Crown and the
Company
Pitts India Act of 1784: laying the foundations of the British Empire in India
till 1857
Conquest of the Maratha Empire and Mysore through wars
Many other states through Wellesley's subsidiary alliance.
Lord Cornwallis (1786-1793) stabilised the British administration, judiciary,
civil services and the army and police with the Cornwallis Code of 1793
Conquest of Sindh and Punjab through wars
Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856) introduced the Doctrine of Lapse
Overtook 8 kingdoms, most infamously Awadh
Many battles also fought with the foreign kingdoms of Nepal, Burma,
Afghanistan, Sikkim and Bhutan
Burma was annexed
Afghanistan was annexed for sometime
The company had come as a trading organisation, but established itself as
a political and administrative power
The wealth of India was looted
The Industrial Revolution made India an exporter of raw material and
importer of finished goods for the British
 Many different revenue policies were tired: the Permanent settlement, the
Ryotwari settlement, the Mahalwari settlement. All caused misery to the
peasant.
Improvement in transport and communication, Urbanization, judicial ideas,
ideas of education, humanism, equality, nationalism
The army, the police and the civil services were reformed to act as the
pillars of the British empire in India
Lesson 12
Social Changes
The British were supposedly on a 'civilising mission', this was the 'White
Man's Burden'.
They tried to strike a balance between appearing to reform and modernise
society, and between maintaining their acceptability in Indian Society by
appealing to the upper classes of India
Slowly, call for reform began coming from Western Educated Indians
themselves
Indian Reformers
Many reforms for women ensued
The Bengal Sati Regulation 1829
The Widow Remarriage Act 1851
Age of Consent Act 1891
Ban over Female infanticide
Education for women
Many voices also rose against the Brahmanical caste structure of India and
other social issues
The Brahmo Samaj by Raja Ram Mohan Roy
Ramakrishna Mission by Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Swami
Vivekananda
Arya Samaj by Swami Dayanand Saraswati
Young Bengal Movement by Henry Derozio
Christians and Muslims societies also witnesses changes
The Aligarh Movement by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
The Theosophical society (popular under Annie Besant)
The role of Christian missionaries in institutionalising education in India
Important reformers and reforms occurred in South and Western India
as well
Art and Culture
The European influence over Indian art and culture was deeply pervasive
 It can still be felt today
Literature expanded in all Indian languages and in English
Boosted by the spread of education
Women writers came to occupy a substantial space
Rashshundari Debi, Pandita Ramabai, Begum Rokeya, Sarojini Naidu
Translations of vedic and other texts into English
Persian declined and Urdu grew: poets like Ghalib, Mir Hasan, Mir Dard
wrote about the decline of Delhi, the changing times and love and God
Regional languages boomed
All this translated into a vibrating print culture and dissemination of ideas
that nurtured the national movement
Modern theater and cinema began
English began construction of movie theaters
The two forms of Indian classical music took final shape
Hindustani music in north India, characterised by Ghazals and Taranas
The system of Gharana developed
Carnatic music flourished in South
3 jewels of music: Thyagaraja, Syama Sastri and Muthuswami Dikshitar
Western music also spread
Classical and folk dances continued to be popular; many classical dances
had taken their formal shape by now
Mughal miniature art was declining, especially after 1800
Rajasthani and Pahari paintings continued to develop
Kangra style of Rajasthani painting delicately portrays Radha and Krishna
Miniatures also developed in Mysore, Hyderabad and Travencore
Western art also made its presence felt.
The Bengal school of artists develop, led by Abanindranath Tagore, EB
Havell, and Ananda kentish Comaraswamy
nationalism inspired art was produced by Nandalal bose and Raja Ravi
Verma
Architecture developed haphazardly, with many contrasting influences
Indo-Islamic, Maratha, Sikh, British Colonial, French, Portuguese and Dutch
buildings and monuments can be witnesses in different parts of India.
Lesson 13
Revolt of 1857
Sepoy mutiny, revolt, first war of Independence
 Many classes unhappy: the soldiers, the princes who's states had been
annexed, the merchants and traders, the peasants and arttisans, the forest
dewlling peoples, the artists
The Indian's in the army treated with discrimination, their feelings and
sentiments not respected
The Enfield rifle rumour
Originated in Meerut in May 1857, spread mainly across northern India
Forced Bahadur Shah Zafar to declare himself the leader
But the revolt was suppressed by September 1857
Became a turning point in the British rule in India
The British power shifted from Company rule to Crown rule
Queen Victoria's proclamation of 1858
The post of Governor General was replaced by the post of Viceroy, who
was a representative of the Crown
Canning became the last Governor General, and the first Viceroy
An Indian Council and Secretary of State was set up
Growth of Nationalism
Indian consciousness and awareness of the problems of colonialism
developed
Drain of wealth, discrimination
The idea of 'India' and being 'Indian' grew with the establishment of press,
education, railways, roads, postal services etc.
The British were clearly foreigners: skin, Language, manners, food habits,
religion
Economically, politically, judicially 'India' was united
The withering away of Indian Industry, handicrafts
Flood of British produced goods
Indians not allowed in high posts
Unemployment and high land revenues; agrarian distress
Modern ideas of equality, liberty, fraternity, humanism, rationalism, rule of
law
Policies of Lord Lytton: economic distress after the 2nd Afghan war, the
Vernacualr press Act, the Arms Act, reduction of import duties on British
goods, reduction of the maximum age for appearing for the CSE
lord Ripon: tried to bring positive change, but failed
Ilbert Bill 1883
Indian political organisations and pressure groups began forming
Indian National Congress
 1885: formed by AO Hume, Dadabhai Nauroji and DE Wacha
First meeting at Bombay (scheduled initially for Pune)
First president: Womesh Chandra Bannerjee
Viceroy: Lord Dufferin
72 delegates in all
1885-1905: Moderate phase
Moderate aims: didn't want to overthrow the government, didn't want to
start revolts, didn't want to break laws
Wanted gradual change
Petitions, prayer and protest
Dadabhai Nauroji, Pherozshah Mehta, Surendranath Banerjee, GK Gokhale,
MG Ranade
Indian Councils act of 1892
More Indians in the legislative councils, but without much power
Moderates demanded inclusion of Indians, equality before law, control
over the budget, civil rights, administrative reforms
Most Important contribution: economic critique of the British
1905 onwards: The Extremists
Distrust of the British
Magnified by the partition of Bengal (1907, Lord Curzon)
Main force behind the Swadeshi and Boycott movement
Lal, Bal, Pal
Aurobindo Ghosh
Surat Split
Extremists wanted to spread the movement all over the country, but
Moderates wanted it contained in Bengal
1907: Surat split
Morley-Minto Reforms
Before the split, the British were hostile to the Congress. After the split,
they began to favour the moderates.
1909: Morley-Minto reforms increased the number of elected Indians in
the legislative councils. Power with Indians still did not increase.
Lesson 14:
The Muslim League
Party formed by the followers of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan in 1906 in Lucknow
Loyal to the British with the view of raising the standard of the Muslim
community in India
 Demanded and obtained separate electorates from the Morley Minto
reforms
[Hindu Mahasabha formed in 1915]
Art and Culture after the Revolt
Literature
Bhartendu Harishchandra: the father or modern Hindi literature;
Premchand
Muhammad Iqbal wrote Saare Jahan Se Accha
Bankim Chandra Chatterji (Anand Math, Vande Mataram)
Rabindranath Tagore (Gitanjali, Nobel)
RK Narayan, Raja Rao, Milk Raj Anand, Nehru, Gandhi, Sri Aurobindo
Govardhan Tripathi wrote Sarasvati Chandra in Gujarati
Kandukuri Viresalingam wrote in Telugu
Subramania Bharati in Tamil
Films
Raja Harishchandra: first Indian made film (1913) by Dadasahib Phalke
Alam Ara (1931): first Indian talking film
Architecture:
British constructed New Delhi after the transfer of the capital from
Calcutta (Sir Edward Lutyens, Sir Herbet Baker)
Gateway of India in Bombay in 1911
Victoria Memorial Hall in Calcutta (1920)
Painters:
Abanindranath Tagore, Raja Ravi Varma, Nandala Bose
Jamini Roy, Amrita Shergil: Unique
Ram Kinkar, Paritosh Sen: influenced by French styles
Social Changes
The middle class was formed
Women began venturing in the public spaces
Western clothing for men
English by upper class Indians
New food items like break, biscuit etc
Christmas and New Year celebrations
Sports like Hockey, cricket, badminton
Limited caste reforms
Woman began to vie for political right (British right to vote in 1918, USA in
1920)
1930 Sarda Act: Minimum marriages age 14 (girls) and 18 (boys)
 1937: Vijayalakshmi Pandit became a cabinet minister in the United
Provinces government
Despite these changes, continuity of the traditional ways of life was
maintained
Lesson 15:
The First World War
1914-1918
Indians helped the British win the war
Hoped for self-government and more freedom at the end of the war
Didn't get it
Home Rule League
1915-1916
A cross party alliance to demand self governance
A response to the First World War
New trend of aggressive politics
Led by Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Gandhi and The 3 Satyagrahas
Returned to India in 1915
1917: Champaran satyagraha for Indigo workers
1918: Khed satyagraha for tax relaxation of peasants
1918: Ahmedabad satyagraha for mill workers bonus (first hunger strike)
Lucknow Session of INC
1916: Congress reunited
President: AC Mazumdar
Lucknow Pact: congress and Muslim League to be united to oppose the
British
Revolutionary Movements
Anushilan Samiti: Satyendra bose, Alipur bomb case
The Ghadar Party: by Indian immigrants into Canada and USA; Hindus,
Muslims and Sikhs
Led by Lala Has Dayal, Baba Gurmukh Singh, Bhai Parmanand,
Mohammad Barkatullah
Didn't play an important political role, but were inspirational figures
1925: communist party of India
1928: Bhagat singh, Chandrashekhar Azad and Rajguru shot Suanders, a
policeman who a part of the lathi-charge on Lala Lajpat Rai
Singh, Azad and Rajguru of the Hindustan Republican Association
Mont-Ford Reforms
 Government of India Act 1919
Proposed Dyarchy in the Provinces
Transferred subjects for the ministers to control (education, health)
Reserved subjects for the governor to control (law, finance)
More political representation of directly elected Indians
separate electorates exterded
Rowlatt Act
March 1919: Rowlatt Act passes
Any Indian could be imprisoned on suspicion, without trial
Hoses searched without warrant
Mahatma Gandhi emerged as a national leader
Non cooperation Movement
Arrest of Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satya Paul
Jallianwala Bagh incidence: General Dyer ordered an open fire on unarmed
protesters on the day of Baishakhi
Non Cooperation launched in 1920, with the coming together of the
Indian National Congress and the Khilafat Committee under Gandhi
Boycott and Swadeshi
Return of titles
1922: Chauri Chaura incident
NCM called off (didn't entirely stop, but slowed down)
Gandhi arrested for 6 years
Lesson 16
Swaraj Party
Motilal Nehru and CR Das for the party to fight elections
stayed within the congress
called 'pro-changers'
The Ashram workers were called 'no-changers'
These belonged to the hundreds of Ashrams that had sprung up after
the release of Gandhi (1924)
worked for Hindu-Muslim unity, Khadi production etc.
Simon Commission
1927: To look into further reforms for India
The commission had no Indians
1928: The Simon Commission arrived in Bombay, greeted with the slogan
'Simon Go Back'
Lala Lajpat Rai died in a lathi charge in the demonstration
Nehru Report
 Indian leaders came together under Motilal Nehru and prepared the
Nehru report
The Nehru report was a plan of the constitution and government of India
Not all Indians accepted this: the Muslim League wanted reservations for
Muslims
The Report asked for Dominion status, but some Indians wanted complete
independence
Lahore Session, 1929
Jawaharlal Nehru President
Congress Annual meeting in which the demand for Purna Swaraj was put
forward
The tricolour was chosen as the flag of freedom
Fixed 26th Jan 1930 as Independence Day
Swaraj Party resigned from the legislatures
Congress under Gandhi decided to launch the CDM
Civil Disobedience
Began in March 1930 with the Dandi March
Tamil Nadu: C. Rajagopalachari organised a salt march from Trichinopoly to
Vedranniyam
C. Rajagopalachari was the General secretary of INC in 1921-22, member
of the Congress working committee
Khan Abdul Ghaffar khan led the movement in NWFP
aka Frontier Gandhi
Started the non-violent revolutionary society Khudai Khidmatgars
(Servants of God)
Sarojini Naidu led the raid on the Dharasana Salt works
The people were beaten by the Guards, but remained completely non-
violent
Many leaders including Gandhi were soon arrested
in all 90000 people arrested
Foreign cloth, liquor boycotted. Chaukidari tax not paid. Forest laws
broken, peasants stopped paying rent.
Gandhi Irwin Pact
British tried to offer a compromise
1930-31: First Round Table conference in London
Congress boycotted
In 1931, Gandhi-Irwin Pact was made
British to release the non-violent prisoners
 Gandhi to stop the CDM
Congress to participate in the 2nd RTC
Did not agree to release Bhagat Singh and other revolutionaries: many
congress leaders against Gandhi signing this pact.
1931: Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru hanged.
Second Round Table Conference
1931: Gandhi attended the Second Round Table Conference in England
Talks no successful
New Viceroy Wellington crushed the movement
Arrested 1 lakh Satyagrahis
The movement died out
Gandhi became involved with combating untouchability
in 1930, Surya Sen organised the Chittagong armoury raid.
Lesson 17
Government of India Act 1935
Passed on the basis of discussion under the 3rd Round Table conference
(1932, London, not attended by the Congress)
New government
All India Federation in the centre
This included the Princely States and the British Provinces
Some self government in the provinces, elected ministers in charge of
administration
Governor have overall control
The federation at the Centre never happened
Congress contested the elections in the provinces
Sufferage was very limited
Congress won in 7/11 provinces, but not enough power to change
anything
Socialist ideas spread widely
The Muslim League
Wanted to safeguard the rights of Muslims
Demanded and obtained separate electorates
1935: Mohammad Ali Jinnah returned to India and became the leader of
the League
till 1937, there was friendship and cooperation with the Congress
In the 1937 elections, the League did not do well. They had also expected
to be included in the provincial governments of the Congress as
representatives of the Muslims, but that didn't happen.
 Muslims felt insecure and alienated
The Second Worldwar
1939-1945
Indians offered help in exchange for freedom, but our offer wasn't taken
Congress told its ministries to resign in 1939
The League began to advocate the two nation theory
The August Offer
1940: Viceroy Lord Linlithgow offered to expand the Viceroys Executive
Council to include more Indians
Advisory war council
After the war, Indian's would frame the constitution
The congress rejected this: they wanted immediate changes
Individual Satyagrahas began in 2940 at the behest of Gandhi
One by one, Congress leaders would hold meetings and speak against
the British
Many leaders jailed under this
The Cripps Mission
1942: sir Stafford Cripps led the mission
Offered to reorganise the representative assembly
New Constitution after the war
Indians not satisfied with the promises that could only fructify in the future
Quit India Movement
1942: Congress session at Bombay
Gandhi gave the slogan of Do or Die
Non-violent mass struggle to start on 9th August
But in the morning, Gandhi and other leaders arrested
Hartals started everywhere, and the British repressed them brutally
Indian National Army
1943: Subhash Chandra Bose organised a army to fight against the British
with Japanese help
It had Indian prisoners of the Japanese, volunteers and women too
Aka Azad Hind Fauj
Reached Imphal, but was unable to continue
Bose appealed to Gandhi as the 'Father of the Nation', and asked for his
blessing
In 1945, British tried to try three of the generals, but gave up in the face of
massive protests at the Red Fort
Cabinet Mission
 Britain realised that they could not hold over India any longer
Tired after the war, with the sympathetic labour Government in power
Elections held again in 1945-46, congress and the Muslim League major
winner
Cabinet Mission sent in 1946 to plan for transfer of power
1946: Muslim League announced Direct Action Day and demanded
Pakistan
Mass violence ensued
Independence and Partition
Lord Mountbatten Worked out the Partition plan
The Princely states could choose to be independent, with India, or with
Pakistan
India and Pakistan came into begin
Jawaharlal Nehru became the PM of India
Jinnah his counter part in Pakistan