Contents Indian History, Society and Culture (Bttm 104) S
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INDIAN HISTORY, SOCIETY AND CULTURE BTTM 104 CONTENTS INDIAN HISTORY, SOCIETY AND CULTURE (BTTM 104) S. No. Unit Details Page No. Block 1 Historical Perspective Unit 1 The process of Continuity and Change Through Pre, 1 to 16 Proto and Ancient Times Unit 2 Medieval History with Special Reference to the Influence 17 to 34 of Akbar Unit 3 Modern History and Impact of Colonial Raj 35 to 55 Unit 4 Key Archaeological Findings 56 to 83 Block 2 Religion and Philosophy Unit 5 The Great Vedic Heritage of India: Vedas, Brhmanas, 84 to 105 Epics, Puranas, Smirtis and Upnishadas Unit 6 Preaching of Srimad Bhagwad Gita 106 to 125 Unit 7 The Glorious Institution of Hinduism 126 to 147 Unit 8 Essence of Jainism and Buddhism 148 to 167 Unit 9 Traditions of Islam and Christianity 168 to 183 Unit 10 Sikhism and Other Religions 184 to 198 Block 3 Heritage of Art and Craft Unit 11 Architectural Heritage of India 199 to 228 Unit 12 Salient Features of Indian Sculpture and Paintings 229 to 254 Unit 13 Classical and Folk Dances 255 to 278 Unit 14 Indian Music and Musical instruments 279 to 302 Unit 15 Handicraft 303 to 325 Block 4 Folk Traditions and Societal Perspectives Unit 16 Age-old Legacy of Pilgrimages 326 to 352 Unit 17 Colours of Indian Fairs and Festivals 353 to 398 Unit 18 Societal Perspective and Social Institutions 399 to 415 Unit 19 Modernization and Change 416 to 432 Unit 20 Unity in Diversity - An Inherent Strength of India 433 to 461 Uttarakhand Open University 1 INDIAN HISTORY, SOCIETY AND CULTURE BTTM 104 UNIT 1: THE PROCESS OF CONTINUITY AND CHANGE THROUGH PRE, PROTO AND ANCIENT TIMES STRUCTURE: 1.1 INTRODUCTION 1.2 OBJECTIVES 1.3 MEANING AND CONCEPT OF THE PRE, PROTO AND HISTORIC HISTORY 1.4 PRE - HISTORIC AGES IN INDIA 1.4.1 PALEOLITHIC AGE (OLD STONE AGE) 1.4.2 MESOLITHIC AGE (INTERMEDIATE STONE AGE). 1.4.3 NEOLITHIC AGE (NEW STONE AGE) 1.5 DISCOVERY OF METALS 1.5.1 CHALCOLITHIC AGE 1.6 CLASSES OF PEOPLE 1.7 SUMMARY 1.8 GLOSSARY 1.9 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS 1.10 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1.11 TERMINAL AND MODEL QUESTIONS 1.1 INTRODUCTION Can you ever imagine what happened thousands and thousands of years ago? In fact it is very difficult for you to even think of such times. It is for this reason the study of history is necessary. History tells us the life - story of man from the earliest times to the present day .It tells us when the first man appeared on earth, how he lived through the ages and from an uncivilized creature become a civilsed man. Its study tells us of people, their lives, their thoughts, about what they did to earn their livelihood etc. In fact without the study of history it would be very difficult for us to know about our ancestors. Man has evolved over millions of years from a stooping, ape-like creature. Many physical changes appeared during this time. An important change was the ability of the first man-like creature to balance on his feet, and stand walk erect. This freed his hands. So, he Uttarakhand Open University 2 INDIAN HISTORY, SOCIETY AND CULTURE BTTM 104 could pick up and throw things. His thumb evolved. It could move in a direction apposite to his other fingers and close in on them. This helped him handle objects better than other animals. His brain size increased as well. He learnt to understand and adapt himself to his surroundings. Archaeologists have discovered remains from the early years of man’s evolution in different parts of the world, including India. They are mainly in the form of rock shelters, stone and bone tools, skeletal remains of human beings, and bones and horns of animals. In those times, the material most widely used for making tools was stone, which was easily available. This is why that period is called the Stone Age. Apart from stone, man used bone, wood and antler (deer horn) to make tools. 1.2 OBJECTIVES After reading this unit, you should be able to learn:- 1. What is history? 2. Introduce history as a very interesting and fascinating subject. 3. Learn to handle history, a potent weapon in the hands of public man like you 4. Recall the past which includes the evolution of man from an uncivilized creature to his present civilized way of living. 5. Explain the time sense and divide history into three periods-Pre- history, proto- history and historic. 1.3 MEANING AND CONCEPT OF THE PRE, PROTO AND HISTORIC HISTORY Pre-history - History for which no written record is available. Proto-history - History for which we have written record but can't read. Historic-history - History for which we have written record and we can read. Uttarakhand Open University 3 INDIAN HISTORY, SOCIETY AND CULTURE BTTM 104 "Therefore history is a carefully written record of the past events. It is the story of man's progress from the distant past to the present" History is a record of man and his various accomplishments. Certain portion of this record is available in written shape in the form of various documents and literary works and is known as history. This represents only a partial record of the achievements of mankind and provides us information only about the last five thousand years. In addition to this there are certain unwritten sources like the physical remains of the people, tools and implements, and other artifacts, monuments, paintings etc. which provide us information about the man during the long period which preceded the written history. This period extended over several hundred thousand years and is termed as pre-history. The pre-history period is important because of the physical evolution of man. It may be noted that certain features of the physical evolution of man. It may be noted that certain features of the pre- historic life such as hunting and food gathering are present even today amongst certain natives of Australia and Bushmen of Africa. The history of India, like the annals of every other country, should therefore begin with an account of the times when men first settled in this land. But history proper only deals with facts and facts can only be known from records of some kind or other. We cannot know the history of any people who have left no record of their existence. There may have been people or peoples who lived in India in primitive times, but the evidence of whose existence has not yet been discovered. For the present, at any rate, they must be left out of account altogether. We shall only deal with those inhabitants of India whose existence is known to us from some records they have left behind. To begin with, these records consist almost solely of the rude implements which the people used in their daily lives. Uttarakhand Open University 4 INDIAN HISTORY, SOCIETY AND CULTURE BTTM 104 1.4 PRE - HISTORIC AGES IN INDIA It is now generally accepted that India was one of the earliest abodes of man, although the scholars have not been able to agree on the exact locality where man first lived in India. According to certain scholars that the last stage in the development of mammal into man took place in the Sewalikhills, while the others hold that South India, the heart of ancient Gondwana was the original place of man. Certain other scholars hold that Dandakaranaya, which appears in Ramayana as the abode of man-like monkeys was the area of man’s evolution in India. But as the oldest implements of man have been found in Dekhan it has been assumed that if man was evolved at all in India, he must have done so in the pleateau immediately to the south of the Dandak forest. T.P. Sirinyas Aiyangar also says that “man could not have originated in the Himalayan cold or the dense forests or low river valleys as they lacked all those roots and nuts on which early men subsisted.” Though the scholars have not been able to reach any agreement regarding the locality where the man first appeared in India, even an eminent authority like Sir Harry Johnston has admitted that India was “most probably the land where the evolution of man took place.” This period of human history has been described as the Eolithic age. During the Eolithic age the man had to compete with the wild beasts with which he lived. He designed stone weapons which are techniquelly known as Rostro-carinate (ridged like a beak), an implement with a broad posterior region narrowing interiorly into a quasi-vertical cutting edge. Most probably the weapons did exist even during the pre- human period because the baboons fought with sticks and stone. However, no human remains of the Eolithic Age have been found any where in the world. But certain implements have been found in different parts of the world which testify that the Eolithic culture was quite widespread. Uttarakhand Open University 5 INDIAN HISTORY, SOCIETY AND CULTURE BTTM 104 In India the scholars have assigned three finds to the Eolithic Age, viz. a set of fints discovered in a ravine in the slope of the Irawadi in Burma discovered in 1893; bouclier or Vindhyan sandstone discovered in the Narbada valley; and the Godavari chip or flake discovered in Hyderabad. The early history of man’s development has been divided into six ages, on the basis of the nature of the materials widely used and the methods of their production.