mathematics HEALTH ENGINEERING DESIGN MEDIA management GEOGRAPHY EDUCA E MUSIC C PHYSICS law O ART L agriculture O BIOTECHNOLOGY G Y LANGU CHEMISTRY TION history AGE M E C H A N I C S psychology Political Structures In India Subject: POLITICAL STRUCTURE IN INDIA Credits: 4 SYLLABUS Early State Formation Pre-State to State, Territorial States to Empire, Polities from 2nd Century B.C. to 3rd Century A.D., Polities from 3rd Century A.D. to 6th Century A.D State in Early Medieval India Early Medieval Polities in North India, 7th to 12th Centuries A.D., Early Medieval Polities in Peninsular India 6th to 8th Centuries A.D., Early Medieval Polities In Peninsular India 8th To 12 Centuries A.D. Administrative and Institutional Structures Administrative and Institutional Structures in Peninsular India, Administrative and Institutional Systems in North India, Law and Judicial Systems, State Under the Delhi Sultanate, Vijayanagar, Bahmani and other Kingdoms, The Mughal State, 18th Century Successor States Colonization-Part I The Eighteenth Century Polities, Colonial Powers Portuguese, Dutch and French, The British Colonial State, Princely States Colonization Part II Ideologies of the Raj, Activities, Resources, Extent of Colonial Intervention Education and Society, End of the Colonial State-establishment of Democratic Polity. Suggested Reading: 1. Social Change and Political Discourse in India: Structures of Power, Movements of Resistance Volume 4: Class Formation and Political Transformation in Post-Colonial India by T. V. Sathymurthy, T. V. Sathymurthy 2. Political parties and Collusion : Atanu Dey 3. The Indian Political System : Mahendra Prasad Singh, Subhendu Ranjan Raj CHAPTER 1 Early State Formation STRUCTURE Learning objectives Pre-state to state Territorial states to empire Polities from 2nd century BC. To 3rd century AD Polities from 3rd century AD. To 6th century AD Review questions LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading this chapter, you will be able to: Understand the transition to the state in early India has developed and been refined over decades through painstaking investigation by scholars. Describe the Age of Buddha. Understand the Kushan state. Discuss the nature and social origins of polities in south India between 3rd to 6th centuries A.D. PRE-STATE TO STATE Our Sources: Pre-State to State in Early North India There are several sources for the revise of the transition from pre-state to state in early North- India. Few of these contain the Harappan Proof, the Vedic Texts, Archaeological Proofs, etc. How Significant is the Harappan Proof One of the troubles we side is in figuring out whether and how the Harappan proof can be brought to bear on the issue. It is now usually conceded that there was state — like organizations in the Harappan context. Though, in the absence of textual customs, reconstruction of the specific nature of the Harappan state tend to range from reasonable, imaginative possibilities, to more speculative ventures. What is more, it is well-nigh impossible to trace continuities in political procedures from the Harappan to post-Harappan civilizations. Vedic Texts Alternative trajectories have been worked out, primarily by an analysis of early and later Vedic literature. The former contains the Rig-Veda, while the latter contains the Yajur, Sama, and Atharvaveda, since well since the Brahmanas, and the earliest Sutra literature. These were almost certainly collected and compiled in excess of a millennium. The four principal Vedas consist of prayer or chants, while the Brahmanas and the Sutras are in the nature of commentaries on rituals. Since such, they do not give us with a direct explanation of political measures/procedures. Scholars have sifted by explanations of myths, rituals, and legends to trace the growth of political organizations. Archaeology There have also been efforts to correlate these texts with archaeological proof. Possibly the mainly familiar of such efforts is the correlation flanked by later Vedic literature and the Painted Grey Ware Civilization. These are based on correspondences in conditions of chronology since well since geographical spread: both the later Vedic texts and the Painted Grey Ware Civilization relate to the mid-Ganga valley. In contrast, the Rgveda pertains primarily to the Indus and its tributaries, regularly mentioned since the sapta sindhu. Many hundred locations of the Pained Grey Ware Civilization have been established. Mainly of these settlements lasted for centuries, and in few instances, these urbanized into significant municipalities subsequently. The Painted Grey Ware stages at these and other locations indicate a fairly easy material civilization. There is proof of agriculture, pastoralism, little wattle-and-daub huts, and the exploit of few amount of iron. Separately from the Painted Grey Ware, which provides the civilization its name, we discover plentiful proof for other types of pottery since well. In information, the PGW was almost certainly meant only for elite exploit. Few Troubles to Stay in Mind You may have noticed that we have delineated a rather extensive chronological span, since well since a huge geographical expanse, by which we effort to trace the procedure of state formation. Obviously, we cannot be too precise and specific. What is more, we require keeping in mind that there were other growths taking lay within the legroom and time frames we have in accessible. There is, for example, proof of settled agricultural population in Bihar, which was marginal from the perspective of Vedic customs. If we keep in mind that south Bihar was the nucleus of one of the mainly powerful states in early north India, that culminated in the establishment of the Mauryan Empire, as suggested, realize that Vedic literature does not help us in understanding what led to such spectacular political growths in this area. There is another, more technological problem. Sometimes, the texts continue to exploit the similar term, even while adding on new meaning to it. For example, the term Bali often has the meaning of an offering to the gods, especially in the early Vedic context. In later situations, the term acquires meanings of gifts that are more or less voluntarily offered to the chief, and still later, in the post-Vedic context, it acquires the meaning of a regular tax. This also happens with the term raja, whose meaning slowly shifts from chief to king. The Early Vedic Context Historians have analyzed the prayers contained in the Rgveda to suggest that the dominant social categories were dependent on pastoralism, especially cattle rearing. Separately from this, the horse was regarded since a prestigious animal, and the horse drawn chariot was a symbol of domination. Occasionally, the term gopati, meaning lord and/or protector of cattle, was used to refer to deities. Several of the conditions used to define deities were drawn from the human context, by analogies with the human situation, and it is likely that defense/possession of cattle was regarded since a trait typical of powerful men. We also have prayers for victories in cattle raids, which were presumably led through chiefs, who may have distributed the booty therefore acquired in gatherings in assemblies such since the vidatha. We are not certain how these possessions were shared, but it is likely that the chief, his secure supporters, and the priests who offered prayers and sacrifice for their success, may have claimed mainly of what was won. There are other conditions used to address powerful gods such since Agni, the fire god. These contain conditions such since vispati, literally the lord of the Vis. The term vis is the one possibly used mainly commonly to indicate the society, or the vital social element. There is a sense of shared subsistence; this may contain the distribution of possessions, of responsibility for military behaviors with the vis functioning since militia, and of general rituals; that can be reconstructed from the hymns. The vispati may have coordinated such behaviors. References to the vispati die down in the later Vedic context, possibly because the vis itself became increasingly differentiated, leading to a transform in the nature of socio-political dealings within the society. Interestingly, few goddesses are addressed since vispatni. Would this suggest that women could act since leaders of the society on few occasions? Like the vispat, the vispatni discovers no mention in the later custom. Several of the deities are addressed since raja. These contain the principal deities, Agni, Indra, but especially Soma, and, typically, Varuna. Some goddesses are addressed since rajini, but this is somewhat exceptional. A typical attribute of the divine rajas is the excellence of ksatra, with connotations of universal domination. We also have occasional mention of human rajas, whose uses are recorded through the priests. Such explanations become more general in the later custom, where the attainments that are celebrated or commemorated contain victories in battle, and generous gifts made to the priests. The Later Vedic Scenario Later Vedic texts permit us to catch a glimpse of increasingly intricate social and political dealings, and the efforts made through the priests and their patrons to regulate these by an array of complicated rituals including the well-known rajasuya, vajapeya, and asvamedha. The Brahmana and the Raja The virtual absence of references to varna categories in the Rgveda has been regularly remarked upon. Through contrast, later Vedic texts are replete with discussions on the ideal connection amongst varnas, especially the first three varnas. The connection flanked by the brahmana and the raja/ksatriya looks to have been marked through competition, tension, since well since through a sense that each needed the other. One of the regions of clash was related to ritual status. While brahmanas claimed the highest location in the ritual domain through virtue of being ritual specialists, with knowledge of the sacred word and lore, since well since by birth in what were proclaimed to be prestigious lineages, ksatriyas, who were the chief patrons of the elaborate rituals, may have viewed the situation differently.