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Early Indian History and the Legacy of D D Kosambi Author(s): Romila Thapar Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 43, No. 30 (Jul. 26 - Aug. 1, 2008), pp. 43-51 Published by: Economic and Political Weekly Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40277767 Accessed: 10-05-2020 13:38 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms Economic and Political Weekly is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Economic and Political Weekly This content downloaded from 190.236.176.118 on Sun, 10 May 2020 13:38:15 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Early Indian History and the Legacy of D D Kosambi ROMILA THAPAR This first met Kosambi 50 years ago. In 1956 1 articlewas a PhD student at discusses three of the many themes in the School of Oriental and African Studies of London Univer- D D Kosambi's writings which have been seminal to the sity, working on a thesis on Ashoka Maurya. My supervisor study of early Indian history: the relationship between A L Basham announced one day that he had invited Kosambi to tribe give some lectures on Hinduism. We had read a couple of andhis caste, the link between Buddhism and trade, and papers, but his book, An Introductionthe to the Study of Indian nature of feudalism in India. Many of the methods History, was to be published only later that year. His first lecture, of Kosambi's analyses are substantially valid we assumed, would be about the Rigveda, since scholars generally even 50 years later. Some need reconsideration either began with that. But no. He showed some slides of a domestic because of new evidence or because of new theories of ritual associated with the name-giving ceremony of a child. It explanation involved dressing the pestle of the household in baby clothes and or because the overall perspectives of the past placing it in the child's cradle. Kosambi providedare an explanation today differently nuanced. Kosambi's that touched on many facets: the bestowing of blessings and intellectual perspectives and sensibilities were inevitably imbuing the child with strength, belief systems in prehistoric of societies,his theories of mother-right, and fertility rituals. He argued own times. Up to a point they carry traces of both the that the beginnings of Hinduismidealism lay in these ideas and practices. and the dismissals of those times. He insistently Religion was and is not just a matter of belief but also involves, asserted his autonomy from the clutches of and perhaps even more so, the meaning of the ritual occasion as contemporary social articulation. orthodoxies, both of the Left and of the Right. In the course of that year I was visiting Mauryan period sites in The past was not to be used as a mechanism of political connection with my thesis. Coming to Bombay, I mentioned to mobilisation as it has increasingly come to be my brother Romesh Thapar that I would like to discuss my work among some in our time. The sources that inform us with Kosambi. My brother and others such as Sham Lai were part about the past have to be meticulously analysed and of a small but lively study group that had been discussing with subjected Kosambi his manuscript of what was to be published as An Intro- to a rigorous methodology irrespective of their duction to the Study of Indian History. On my contacting Kosambistatus or the authority they command. Kosambi would he explained that he was rather busy that week, but on hearing undoubtedly have agreed that the advance of that I was going to Pune, suggested we travel together by the knowledge was dependent on a constant critiquing of Deccan Queen on which he commuted between Pune and Bombay. existing It was a memorable journey. He had walked the entire route and explanations. knew every hill-top, stone and tree of consequence in terms of ethnographic and historical connections. His familiarity with the landscape was phenomenal. Those of us who were backing up our library research with field work had to think again about the meaning of field work and the co-relation of literary and This tangible sources. is a slightly expanded version of a lecture given at Pune on July 31, 2007 to mark the inauguration of the birth centenary year of I called on him in Bombay at the Tata Institute of Fundamental D D Kosambi. I would like to thank Meera Kosambi and others who Research on a few other occasions and our conversations were took on the responsibility of organising the series of lectures. largely clarifications that I was seeking on what he had written. It was an immense honour for me to have been asked to give a lecture Prior to the publication of the Introduction, his papers on history inaugurating the year-long remembrance of D D Kosambi during his birth had been published in various journalscentenary. such as the Bombay For me personally, it was remembering someone whose Branch of the Asiatic Society, and The Annals of workthe Bhandarkar provoked me into thinking beyond the obvious in my interpretation Research Institute. These were scattered papers and not always of early Indian history and who allowed me the privilege of some easily accessible. It was helpful therefore to have his ideas on his- valuable discussion. I mean this quite literally as he was not easily accessible and discussion with him was therefore a privilege. tory distilled into three books: An Introduction to the Study of Romila Indian History (1956), Myth and Reality: Studies in the FormationThapar is professor emeritus, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. of Indian Culture (1962) and The Culture and Civilisation of Economic & Political weekly 13321 july 26, 2008 43 This content downloaded from 190.236.176.118 on Sun, 10 May 2020 13:38:15 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms D D KOSAMBI: THE MAN AND HIS WORK = Ancient India in Historical I have chosen Outline here (1965). only Hisa few important themes out papers of the many from his pertaining to history writing have beenand whichrepublished I think now have in been a collection.1 seminal to the study of early Kosambi's major writings Indian history.date to theGiven 1950s the versatilityand 1960s althoughof his historical interests it is he had begun to publish difficult articles to make on Indology a selection and but Indian I have history selected three. I shall be earlier. These years speakingwere a turning on his pointdiscussion in the of studythe relationship of ancient between tribe and history2 and his writing caste, on was the in link many between ways Buddhisma crossing and of thetrade and on the nature threshold. His studies of moved feudalism out ofin India.the confines His discussions of colonial reflect and not only his formida- nationalist historical ble writing grasp andon Indianmade visible data butnew alsodimensions demonstrate of his readings in the past. What had earlierGreco-Roman come under and Medievalthe rubric European of Indology studies, was readings that vali- now being inducted dateinto thethe importancesocial sciences of comparativewhich were history.a differ- In referring to these ent kind of study. Thisthree was themes largely I wouldbecause also the likeearlier to mentioninterest inthe questions they dynastic history and raise chronology and the ways was beingin which expanded these haveto include come into discussion in social and economic historysubsequent and studies.the interface of this with cultural articulation. Culture for him was not a separate entity, but an intrinsic part of the 1 Tribe and making Caste of a historical context. This may sound trite today but The relationship 50 ofyears tribe to caste wasago for him the a basic historical inter-weaving of society, economy and culture process inwas India.5 His familiaritya departure with this process drew onfrom his the standard histo- ries of ancient India.3 readings ofHis texts and discussionhis observations in the course ofof fieldwork. what he called combined methods in Indology Additionally, was it wasa importantreflection to his understanding of of class this change.4 These new dimensions gradually confrontations. superseded His focus was on the two ends of thethe social previous ones in terms of the primary interest spectrum: of the organisationhistorians. of the brahmana Varna' In and thepart this followed from the theoretical problems creation of theof 'shudra varna'.social, The former was thateconomic of the highest and cultural change becoming the concerns ritual status and inof later periods Indians included the substantial in number the post-colonial period. There was an interest of recipients ofnow grants of land.6 in It was heterogeneousascertaining in origin what had continued and what had changed although eventually from it took a seemingly pre-colonial homogeneous form. times. But it was also because the discipline The shudra of varna, withinhistory which he included thewas 'dasas', provided expanding its investigations into the past. Equal the labour emphasis force and was essential to the definitionwas of class.now He being given to under- standing and explaining compared this category the as we shallpast see, not to asGreco-Roman was earlier given to gather- ing information on slavery the but to thepast.

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