1 1 DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIETY IN INDIA: AN OVERVIEW Early Contribution to the study of Indian society Content 1.0 Objectives 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Earliest Studies on Indian Society 1.3 Arab Accounts on Indian society 1.4 Early European Traders, Travellers writings on Indian society by the British 1.5 Summary 1.6 Check your Progress 1.7 References 1.8 Questions 1.0 Objectives :– 1. To introduce the nature of writings on early Indian society by traders travelers etc. 2. To discuss the British administrators views on Indian Society. 3. To introduce Orientalists and Indological view on Indian society and to highlight the main drawback of these views. 1.2 Introduction Indian civilization is an ancient one with a very long history but the recorded history of the earliest times is very limited. There are recorded observations on Indian society since the third century BC. These records are by traders, travelers and scholars who came to India in these early times. They were Greeks, Romans, Byzantine Greeks, Jews and Chinese. And from 1000 AD onwards Arabs, Turks, Afghans and Persians came to India from time to time. They observed the life of the people and wrote on what they had seen and heard. The early writings on Indian society were based on these observations. 2 These writings cannot be dismissed as tales of travelers and traders. The writings of Indian Society were based on their first hand contact with the people. They wrote on the social institutions and customs of the people. Therefore, they are a source of information on Indian society in the early times. 1.2 Earliest Studies on Indian Society There have been recorded observations on Indian society since the third century B.C. These early writing on Indian society are useful in our understanding of the past. Since they were based on the observations of the people and by talking to the people, these writing have value as recorded writings on India. The early writings on Indian society are discussed under the following sub heads:- Early studies on Indian society by the Greek ambassador. Early studies on Indian society by travelers, traders and scholars. Early studies on Indian society by the British. 1. Early writing on Indian society by the Greek Ambassador : The Greek ambassador Megasthenes came to India in third century B.C. He spent many years in the court of Chandragupta Mourya from 324 - 300 B.C. Megasthenes was an acute observer, but he was handicapped by his ignorance of the local languages of the people. Megasthenes described Indian society as being divided into seven classes: 1) philosophers, who offer sacrifices and perform other sacred rites; 2) husbandmen, who form the bulk of the population: 3) shepherds and hunters: 4) those who work at traders and vend wares and are employed in bodily (manual) labour: 5) fighting men: 6) inspectors and 7) counselors and assessors of the king. Megasthenes also noted that each of these seven “classes” were endogamous. No one could change his occupation or profession. However, Megasthenes does not make any mention of the varna theory. Megasthenes wrote on what he had observed during his stay at the court of Chandragupta Maurya. Megasthenes writings do provide us some information on early Indian society, but it provides little information to our understanding stratification systems. 2. Early writings on Indian society by travelers, traders and scholars: There was extensive trade contact between Rome and India much before India was colonized by the British. Travellers and traders came to India and wrote on the life of the people. These early writings are by: Chinese travellers’ writings on Indian society. 3 Arab accounts on Indian society. Early European traders and travellers writings on Indian society. Chinese travellers writings on Indian Society: Chinese came to India between 400 – 411 A.D., Yuan Chwang came between 629 – 644 AD and I.Tsing came between 671 – 695 AD. They observed the people and wrote in detail about the life of the people. 1.3 Arab Accounts on Indian society The earliest Arabic accounts of Indian society describe the division of society into seven classes. Al- Biruni (973 – ca. 1030) appears to have been having some knowledge of Sanskrit sources and write on the four-varna theory of the caste system. In the seventeenth century many translations were made from Sanskrit literature into Persian by Indo-Muslim scholars. Abul Fazl Allami in late sixteenth century provides a description of Akbar’s court, revenue and administrative system. He also wrote the view that the four varnas were produced from the body of Brahma at the creation of the world. He also wrote about the internal division within the four varnas. Abul Fazl Allami made a list of military and revenue obligations of the different social groups. From this it seems that there was awareness that the Hindu social system was operational at the level of the kin based social categories and not at the level of the Varna. Ibn Batnta, an Arab traveller came to India from Morocco in 1333 AD and lived in India till 1347 AD. His narrations contain information on geography and on the daily social and cultural life of the people. These narratives are not based on any historical records, but on what they saw and heard, and observed in the daily lives of the people. 1.4 Early European Traders, Travellers writings on Indian society by the British Among the Europeans who came to India the earliest were the Portuguese travellers, adventurers, merchants, administrators. They landed on the Malabar coast in South India. At that time the population in Malabar consisted of the local Hindu castes, Moplan Muslims, Jews, Syrian Christians and other foreign people. The hierarchical principle of the caste system functioned in its extreme form. The matrilineal system of the Nayars and the practice of polyandry interested the European who began to study the social and cultural life of the people. Portuguese observer Barbasa wrote on the major cultural features of the caste system. He wrote that the Brahmins held a high position at the top of the hierarchy and the untouchables were at the bottom. He described the ideas of pollution and the practice of untouchability. He 4 also described other aspects of the caste system in detail like caste based occupations, caste endogamy, restrictions on commensality, caste norms followed by each caste and the relationship between caste and political organizations. Barbasa’s narration of the caste system is based on what he saw and what he was told. Barbasa knew the local language and was able to converse with the local people. His observations can be regarded as objective in nature. He did not make any remarks on the evils or benefits of the caste system. Jean Tavernier, a French merchant and traveller made six voyages to India and the Middle East between 1631 and 1667. he wrote detailed accounts of his travels and the people he met. He described the different routes he took. He also wrote historical and commercial accounts of his travel in India. Tavernier wrote a history of the reign of Aurangzeb based on his talk with the people. He described the commercial activities. Finally he also wrote on the Hindu beliefs, rituals and customs by conversing with the Brahmins and through observation. Tavernier says that his writings are based on the views of “the most accomplished of their priests”. He writes that they believe there are 72 castes, but these may be reduced to four principal (castes), from which all others derive their origin”. When Europeans came to India, they approached the Brahmins and discussed Hinduism and the caste system with them. Abraham Roger, a Chaplain at the Dutch factory at Pulicat in Madras studied Hinduism from Dutch speaking Brahmin, Padmanubha in the 1630’s Rogers account of Hinduism contains Padmanubha’s Dutch translation of Bhartrihari’s Satakas. Other Europeans traders and travellers have also described Indian caste system. These writings were based on their understanding of Indian society by discussion with the Brahmins. To conclude, we see that the early visitors to Indian society observed the daily life of the people spoke to the local people and wrote what they had observed. These accounts are sketchy, but are useful as they provide an insight into the early Indian society. Early studies on Indian society by the British: With the establishment of the British rule in India in the later eighteenth century, the British officials felt a need for knowledge of the Indian society and customs and practices for administrative purposes. Some British officials also began to study classical languages of India. By 1760 a systematic body of knowledge on Indian society gradually 5 developed. Three dominant view on Indian society was seen emerging by the end of the eighteenth century. These are: British Administrators views on Indian society. Orientalists views on Indian society. Indological views on Indian society. British Administrators views on Indian society: The period 1757 onwards witnessed the beginnings of the administrators studying Indian society. The British officials were required to learn about India and Indian society for administrative purposes. Assessment of land became necessary for revenue collection. The British official who had no knowledge of land ownership patterns and cultivation practices began to study the structure of Indian society. When the East Indian company became established in northern and southern India, knowledge of Indian political history and the internal political structure of Indian states became necessary. Nature of land tenure, documents on revenue collection and records of previous rulers were studied to determine the rights and duties of persons connected with cultivation.