IGNOU HISTORY NOTES : India History From 8th to 15th Century - Social Organisation

IGNOU HISTORY Study Notes for IAS, UPSC Exams

History India From 8th to 15th Century

Social Organisation

Structure

5.0 Objectives
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Sources for the Reconstruction of Society
5.3 Brahmanical Perspective: Growing Rigidity
5.4 Voice of Dissent
5.5 Changing Material Base and The New Social Order
5.6 The New Social Ethos
5.6.1 Emergence of Shndrm as Cultivators
5.6.2 Aknce of Intermediary VUMS in Bengal and South India
5.6.3 . Rise of a New Literate Class
5.6.4 . Phenomenal Increase in the Rise of New Mixed Castes
i) Amongst BrPhma~@
ii) Amongst KhPtrj.os
iii) Amongst Vaishym and Shudrrrs
5.7 Land Distribution, Feudal Ranks and Varna Distinctions
5.8 Increasing Social Tensions'
5.9 Let Us Sum Up
5.10 Key Words
5.11 Answers To Check Your Progress Exercises

5.0 OBJECTIVES

After reading this Unit you will be able to familiarise yourself with the:

myth of an unchangifig and the so-called static Indian sqciety,
copious agd varied literary and epigraphic sources useful for reconstructing the nature of social change, . f
varying perspectives on the social set-up ranging between a call for making it more rigid and an all-out cry to question its fundamental bases, b
role of the chan$ng material base in social transformation,
leading feat& of the new social ethos, such as the changing position of vaishyas and shudras, rise of a new literate class, multiplication of castes, weakening of vama order and emergence of feudal ranks, and
increasing evidence for social tensions.

5.1 INTRODUCTION

For almost a century, we have been fed with the falacious colonialist and imprialist
notion about the Indian society being static through the millennia. This Unit seeks to
show that the Indian social organisation during five hundred years under survey
(8th-13th century) was extremely vibrant and responsive to changes taking place in
the realms of economy, polity and ideas. The Unit focusses on the essentials of the
new social ethos, whose tone was being set by the nature of new land rights and
power bases.

5.2 SOLTRCES FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION OF SOCIETY

There is an extremely wide ranging source material for the reconstruction qf social
organi~tion during hdf a millenium (circa eighth to the thirteenth centuries). These
sources comprise both literary and epigraphic notices. Practically all major powers of
Ihdia are known to us through copioys inscriptional data. Though no quantscation