(Online Course) History for IAS Mains: Society, Culture & Economy in 13th & 14th Centuries - Society
Society, Culture and Economy in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries
Topic: Society - Composition of rural society, ruling classes, town dwellers, women, religious classes, caste and slavery under the Sultanate
IMPACT OF THE FOUNDATION OF DELHI SULTANATE ON INDIA SOCIETY
Answer: The conquest of Turks led to very vital changes in the political, economic and social life of the country. In the political field the multi-state system of the day was gradually liquidated. From the very beginning the Turkish sultans struggled to centralize political power under an absolute monarch. The Turkish sultan took effective steps to neutrlalise localism in administration and legal immunity of the feudal lords. In this attempt the institution of the Iqta was used as an instrument for breaking the feudal traditions of various areas and for linking up far flung parts of the empire to one centre.
The foundation of Delhi Sultanate provided for the country a skeleton of an all-Indian administration by bringing the chief cities and routes under the control of Delhi.
As the political outlook became wider the areas of isolation began to shake. Sir Jadunath Sarkar remarks that the intimate contacts between Indian and the outer Asiatic world which had been established in the early Buddhist age had been lost around 8th century A.D. due to the rigidity like a concrete structure in Hindu society. With the result Indian again became self-centred and isolated. According to Sarkar this touch with the rest of Asia and the nearest parts of Africa was restored by the Muslim conquest at the end of the 12th century.
The second important consequence of the Turkish conquest of India, according to Prof. Habib, was the urban revolution. The old caste cities of the Rajput period were thrown open to all. According to Habib, the main strength of the early Turkish Sultans lay in the foundation of the new cities which placed the entire surplus of their working classes at the disposal of the government.
Militarily speaking, establishment of the Delhi sultanate changed the character and compositions of Indian armies. Fighting was no longer a monopoly of any one caste or group. Recruitment was open to all irrespective of caste, trade or colour. In the sphere of tactics also, India was brought on par with Central Asian powers. Stress came to be laid on mobility and striking force rather than on heaviness and crushing strength.
One other consequence was the revival of trade. Uniformity of legal system, tariff regulations and currency widened the merchant’s world.
The last important impact of the Turkish conquest was on the language of administration. With the introduction of Persian at the higher level of administration, there emerged uniformity in the language of administration.
However the response of average Indian was casual. For them it was of no significance. Rule of feudatory chiefs continued uninterrupted. New rulers and neo aristocracy was the backbone of sultanate.
Ordinary lives of people continued unchanged. Localism was more than nationalism fervor. Brahmanism further strengthened the ritualistic aspect of the religion and it become more rigid and unopenetrable.
However, the changes became perceivable only towards the end of the sultanate when the increased interaction between the two segments of society under the impact of new and more dynamic forces brought about a composite cultural and economic internal integration.
