IGNOU HISTORY NOTES : India History From 8th to 15th Century - Western and Central India

IGNOU HISTORY Study Notes for IAS, UPSC Exams

History India From 8th to 15th Century

Western and Central India

Structure

10.0 Objectives
10.1 Introduction
10.2 The Rise of Rajput Dynasties
10.3 Origin Legends: Their Political Implications
10.4 Distribution of Political Authority
10.4.1 Prolifuat:mn of Rajput Clans
10.4.2 Formation of Lineage Power
10.4.3 Process of Rising in Social Status
10.5 Consolidation of Lineage Power
10.6 Nature and Structure of Polity
10.6.1 Political Instability
10.6.2 Bureaucratic Structure I
10.6.3 Lineage State and Feudal Polity
10.7 Let Us Sum up
10.8 Key Words
10.9 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

10.0OBJECTIVES

After studying this Unit you will:
know about how various political power configurations emerged in Western and
Central India,
understand the nature of the distribution of political authority as well as the.
structure of polity, and
be able to analyse the patternsof the formation of political powers rnd their
consolidation.

10.1 INTRODUCTION

In conventional studies on Indian polity there is greater stress on the genealogy of
the ruling dynasties and chronology of their rules. Changes in polity are mostly
conceived as chadges represented by dynastic shifts. In view of the inadequacy of this
framework, recent studies on the polity have attempted to view the ancient and
medieval polity from the perspective of possible processes which were in operation.
There is a marked emphasis now on themes such as state formation, structure of
polity, nature of power and political control, etc. However generalization at subcontinental level need to be,probed further from a microscopic point of view. In this
Unit we shall know about the emergence and evolution of regional polity in Western
and Central india. This region comprises modern states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and
most of Madhya Pradesh.
Owing to the fact that regional political formations in various pans of India have
not been studied fully, the generalizations at sub-continental level require further'
precision. The study of regional political formations should, however, assume
importance in view of the fact that:
I) there were frequent shifts in the centres of powers, and
2) the formation of new polities was a continuous process.
Western and Central India provide us with examples of fresh spun in the emergence
of local states. For example, the Rajput clans such as the Gurjara Pratihara. Guhila.
Paramara, C!,ahamana as Well as the Kalachuris and Chandella exploited, political
uncertainties of post-Gupta and post tenth centuries in Western and Central India.
They dominated tfie pqlitical scene for centuries, especially during the period