ASSI

GNMENT:
No:
01

HSM-
1021:TheDel
hiSul
tanat
e(1206-
1290)

Topi
c:I
nter
pret
ati
onofI
ndi
anf
eudal
ism

Submi
tt
edBy

MDFIROZALAM
M.
A( Hi
stor
y)fi
rstsemester
En:No:GI-6608
Facul
tyNo:20- HSM-31

Submi
tt
edTo

Pr
of.
AliAt
har

Cent
reofAdv
ancedSt
udy
,Depar
tmentofHi
stor
y

Al
igar
hMusl
im Uni
ver
sit
y

ALI
GARH-
202002(
INDI
A)

2020-
2021
I
ntr
oduct
ion/
meani
ngoff
eudal
i
sm
Thedebat esinhist or
yalway senthusedacademi csandst udentsof
histor
y .
Alargenumberofsuchdebat escr eatedandsust ainedint
erestin
thehistori
calstudies.Oneoft hesuchdebat esi sonI ndianf eudali
sm.The
histor
ianshav ebeendebat ingthenatureoft hesoci ety,polit
yandeconomy
ofearlymedi evalIndi
a.Thisper i
odwasl abel ledasoneofcr isi
s,decli
ne,
decayanddecadence.Hi st
oriansconsideredi tasaper iodoff eudali
sm,
describeditasanagemar kedbypol i
ti
cal fr
agment ation,the
transf
or mati
onofpeasant sintoserf
sandt hedecl ineofur bancentresand
moneyeconomy .Thef eudali
sm concepthasbeenappl iedt obothnorth
andSout hIndia.Itisoneoft hemostser iousdebat esi nIndian
histor
iography.

Theconceptoffeudali
sm wasborrowedfrom Eur
opeanhist
oriogr
aphy.
Themul t
ipl
ici
tyofr
egionalpower
sandt heabsenceofaparamountpower
ofpan-I
ndianstr
uctur
ehasbeenexpl ai
nedbyMar xi
sthi
stor
iansbythe
conceptofIndi
anfeudali
sm.

Feudali
sm wasadomi nantsocial
system inthemedi eval
times.Inthis
syst
em thenobili
tyhel
dlandsfrom theCrowni nexchangeformilit
ary
serv
ice,andvassalswerei
nturntenantsofthenobl es,
whilethepeasants
wereobligedt
oliveontheirl
ord'
slandandgi vehim homage,labour,anda
shareoftheproduce,i
nexchangeformi l
i
taryprotecti
on.

Theexi
sti
nghistor
iogr
aphyoftheearl
ymedi
aev
alper
iodhasbeen
cl
assi
fi
edint
ot wosetsofproposi
ti
ons

(
A)changel
essand

(
B)change

Thefir
stproposi
ti
ontr
iestoexpl
ainthattradi
ti
onalpol
i
tyisessent
ial
l
y
changel
ess.Hist
ori
ansrel
yi
ngont hi
shy pothesi
shavedescri
bedpoli
tyi
n
ear
lymedi
aev
alI
ndi
aast
radi
ti
onal
orasOr
ient
aldespot
ic

Inot
herwordst
he'
changeles'model l
ookedattheear
lymediaev
al soci
ety
andeconomyasst
ati
c.buttherecentresear
chshowsthatt
heperiod
wit
nessedmanydy
nami csofchange

theearl
ymedi aevalst
ateandsocietyi
nNorthIndi
ahasbeenexpl
ainedi
n
thecontextofIndi
anfeudali
sm byhist
ori
ansli
keD.DKaushambiR.
S
SharmaB. N.SYadavandv ar
iousother
s

Or
igi
noff
eudal
i
sm i
nthepost
-Maur
yanper
iod
1-Fr
om t
hePostMaur
yanper
iodandespeci
all
yfr
om Gupt
ati
mes,
cer
tai
n
pol
iti
calandadmi
nist
rat
ivedev
elopment
stendedt
ofeudal
i
set
hest
ate
apparat
us.

2-Themoststr
iki
ngdev el
opmentwasthepract
iceofmakinglandgrants
toBr
ahmanasandBuddhi stmonksandl
atertooff
ici
alsf
orthei
rmili
tary
andadmi
nist
rat
iveser
vices.

3-Thesegrant
smeantthetr
ansf
erofal
lsour
cesofrev
enueandsur
render
ofpol
iceandadmi
nist
rat
ivef
unct
ionst
husgiv
ingr
isetofeudal
i
sm.
 DEBATEONI
NDI
ANFEUDALI
SM
1-D.
Dkosambi
wast
hef
ir
sthi
stor
ianwhogav
etheconcept
ual
def
inat
ion
ofIndi
anf
eudal
i
sm whenhetal
kedaboutwhathedescr
ibedasf
eudal
i
sm
fr
om abov
eandfeudal
i
sm f
rom bel
ow

(
a)Feudal
i
sm f
rom abov
e:-
Accor
dingt
oD.
DKaushambi
feudal
i
sm f
rom
abovemeansast atewherei
naKinglevi
edtri
but
efrom subordi
nat
ewhois
sti
llr
uledi
nthei
rownr i
ghtaslongastheypai
dtotheking.theydi
dwhat
theywantedi
ntheirownterr
it
ory

(
b)f
eudal
i
sm f
rom bel
ow:
-meansast
agewher
eacl
assofl
andowner
s
developedbetweenthestat
eandthepeasantrywithi
nthevi
l
laget
owi el
d
armedpowerov erthelocal
popul
ati
on.accor
dingtoD.DKosambithi
skind
offeudali
sm beganaft
ertheemergenceofDelhisult
anat
e

(
c)-D.
DKosambi
say
sthati
nfeudal
i
sm f
rom abov
ethet
axeswer
e
coll
ect
eddirect
lybyt
heroyalof
fi
cial
s.I
nfeudal
i
sm f
rom belowthet
axes
werecoll
ectedbysmall
int
ermediari
eswhopassedonaf r
acti
ontothe
feudal
hier
archy

2-R.
SSher
maar
guedt
hatt
heper
iodbet
ween750t
o1200ADwasa
peri
odwhenanumberofchanget ookplaceinI ndiansociet
y.R.SSherma
Saysthatanev erincreasingnumberofl andgr antshav ebeenmadet o
brahmins,
rel
igiousinstit
utions,andmuchl at
eront ogov ernmentoff
ici
alsin
thepostGuptaper iod,thi
ssy stem ofl
andgr antingledtotheexploi
tat
ionof
thepeasantr
y .Theher edi
tar ylandholdersGraredul l
yassumedmanyoft he
funct
ionofthegov ernment .Theynotonl ygotthepowert ocoll
ectr
evenue,
butalsohadadmi nistrati
vepower sli
kerightofawar di
ngpunishmentsand
exact
ingfi
ne.Theyal soassumedt heri
ghtstosubl etthei
rlands.

Accor
dingtoR.SSherma,
thissi
tuat
ionwasfurt
heraggr
avatedbyadecli
ne
i
nurbanism andt
radepar
ticul
arl
yinfor
eignt
radeandotherfact
orswasthe
pauci
tyofcoins.
Thuseconomi
cal
l
y,Accor
dingt
oR.
SShar
mat
hisper
iod
wasoneoft hedecayanddecl
i
ne

R.SShermaSaysthatfeudalpol
it
yemergedf
rom t
hegr
adual
breakdownof
cent
ral
isedst
atesystem,thebestexampl
eofwhi
chwastheMauryanst
ate.

3-B.
N.SYadav
,anot
herpr
oponentoft
heI
ndi
anf
eudal
i
sm model
,whoi
s
i
nfl
uencedbyt hewr i
ti
ngofMar cBlochandMaxWeber ,heemphasizedthe
pol
it
icalaspectsoffeudal
ism.accordi
ngtohi
mt hemosti mport
antfeat
ure
ofI
ndianfeudalism wasthe"Samanta"ort
heindependentnei
ghbouri
ng
chi
ef,whor oseprominenceinabout600A.Dorso

4-I
rf
anHabi
bhasquest
ionedt
hev
ali
dit
yoft
heconcept
soff
eudal
i
sm f
or
Indi
anhistoryandsuggestedaneut ralt
erm,‘
theIndi
anmedieval
economy
’
orthe‘medievalI
ndi
ansy stem’.Habib’
sideasaremainl
ydeali
ngwith
medievalsociet
yandeconomy .Ir
fanHabibsuggestedt
hefoll
owing
charact
eri
sticsofI
ndianmedi evaleconomy.

a)Thepr
edomi
nanceofpeasantpr
oduct
ioni
nthecont
extofast
rat
if
ied
agr
ari
aneconomy
.

b)Si
ncet
heest
abl
i
shmentofDel
hiSul
tanat
e,i
ncr
easi
ngpr
essur
ewas
exer
tedbyt
hestat
etocol
l
ectt
hebul
kofpeasant
s’sur
plusandr
evenue
wascoll
ect
edi
ncash.

c)Thegr
owi
ngi
mpov
eri
shmentoft
hepeasant
rywasowi
ngt
othe
i
ncreaseddemandoftherul
i
ngclassforr
evenue.I
tpr
event
edt
he
technol
ogi
caladv
ancementensur
inganabundanceofar
ti
sanl
abour
supplyatl
owcost.

5-Landl
ordi
sm andTenancy

Thefeudalf
ormulat
ionwasbasedonlandgrantsal
oneandanysuch
for
mulati
onisopentoquesti
on.Thus,
ithasbeeneff
ecti
vel
yquest
ioned
whethert
hetransf
erofrev
enuetothegrant
eeresul
tsint
hedegenerat
ion
oftheeconomicr i
ghtsofther ul
er.D.C.Sir
carhasusedt heconceptof
l
andlordi
sm todescribethesituati
onofear l
ymedievalI
ndia.Hehas
cri
ti
cizedtheMarxisthist
oriansforthei
rinabil
i
tyt
odi st
ingui
shlandlor
dism
andtenancyinIndiafrom feudal
ism.

6-Kal
i
yugaandSoci
alTr
ansi
ti
on

TheconceptofKal
iAgewasl i
nkedwit
ht hemedi ev
alsocialt
ransi
ti
onby
B.N.S.Yadav
a.Hesayst
hattheearl
ysour cesref
ertoKaliageasanageof
al
l-r
ounddegener
ati
onduetothefol
lowingev ent
sandt endenci
es.

a)For
eigni
nvasi
ons

b)Theemergenceoft
her
uli
ngar
ist
ocr
acyoff
orei
gner
ssuchasYav
anas,
Sakas,
Hunas,etc.

c)Nat
ural
cal
ami
ti
esl
i
kef
ami
nesanddr
ought
s

d)Economicdecl
i
neincl
udingt
hedecayofci
ti
es,
decl
i
neoft
rade,
commer ceandmoneyeconomy.

e)Thedi
stur
bancesi
nthesy
stem oft
hef
ourv
arnas.

f
)Thei
ncr
easedsoci
alconf
li
ct

g)Theexpl
oit
ati
onofpeasant
sbythenewr
uli
ngcl
assasev
idencedby
exor
bit
antt
axesandforcedl
abour
.

h)Thei
mpactoft
heher
eti
cal
rel
i
gionsand

i
)Thegener
aldecl
i
neoft
radi
ti
onal
mor
alandr
eli
giousv
alues.

B.N.
S.Yadava,aneminentproponentoft
heIndi
anfeudal
i
sm t
hesis,
drew
att
enti
ontotheHunainvasionsofIndi
awhichshat
teredt
heGuptaempir
e
andresul
tedinther
iseoffeudali
sm.
TheSal
i
entf
eat
uresofI
ndi
anFeudal
i
sm
1-Accor dingt oR.SShar mat hedisi
nt egrat i
onofpol it
ywasoneoft hefir
st
charact eristicsoft heper iod.Duringthi sper iodtheessent ial
charact eristicsoft hest ateincluded:v erti
cal gradation,divi
sionof
sover eignt y,
andt heemer genceofsepar atecat egoryofsemi independent
rul
ersal sor eferr
edt oast heSamant asort heMahasamant as.Theper i
od
sawt heemer genceofl andedi nt
ermedi aries.Of fi
cersoft hest ateand
othersecul arassi gnees, alsocalledSamant ashaddi versemi l
itar
obli
gat ion. t
her ewasapr evalenceofl andgr antsmai nlyuponbr ahminsor
rel
igiousi nstit
utionsi nthei nit
ialper
ioddat ingf r
om t heearlycent ur
iesof
ChristianEr atolat erTimes. inthepostGupt aphasel andgrantswer emade
toindi vi
dual sf orot hersomewhatmor esecul arpurpose

R.
SShermaSaysthatI
ndi
anfeudal
i
sm wasconsist
edofanext
remel
y
i
nequat
abl
edi
stri
buti
onofl
andanditspr
oduct
ion

R.S.Shar maalsot al
ksaboutt hepr eval
enceofforcedl abour(Vi
shti),f
or ced
l
abourwasor i
ginall
yaspeci alrightsofthekingort hestate.
butlateri twas
transferredtothegr ant
ees,pettyof f
ici
al,
vil
l
ageaut hor i
ti
esandv ari
ous
others,asar esul
taki ndofser f
dom emer gedinwhi chagr i
cul
tural
l
abour er swerereducedt ot
heposi ti
onofsemi serf
s. howeveraccor dingt o
Har bansMukhi a,suchsit
uati
onofbegaorVi sht
iwasexcept i
onalrather
thanar ule

R.SShar masay st
hatoneuni quefeat
ur esofthepostGuptaperi
odwast he
emer genceofsocial
str
atif
icati
on.Casteswer espli
tupint
othousandsof
othercastesandsubcastes.duetothisphenomenonmanynewcat egori
es
orCast eli
kethoseofKayasthasandt heunt ouchabl
escameintoexistence.
Accor di
ngtoR.SSharmat hebasisoft heideologyandcul
tur
eofthis
peri
odwasBhakt i
.

2-Vassal
age:
Vassal
ageex
pressedt
her
elat
ionofper
sonal
dependence
andl
oyal
tybet
weent
hel
ordandhi
svassal
s.
3-Hi
erar
chyoff
eudal
lor
ds:
Dif
fer
entt
it
lessi
gni
fi
edt
heposi
ti
onand
power
swi
thi
nther
ankoff
eudal
lor
ds.

4-Her
edi
tar
yadmi
nist
rat
iveposi
ti
ons:
Weakenf
orcementofpowerl
edt
o
theresumpt
ionofi
ndependenceandsomehi
ghadmi
nist
rat
iveposi
ti
ons
becameheredi
tar
y.

5-Decent
ral
i
sat
ionofPower
:Samant
aswer
egr
ant
edl
andsi
nst
eadof
sal
aryandproceededt
oseizeownershi
pofthear
eawhi
l
econt
inui
ngt
o
ref
ertothemselv
esasvassal
softheirr
uler
s.

6-Oppr
essi
vet
axsy
stem:
Imposi
ti
onofpr
operandi
mpr
opert
axes,
fixed
andunf
ixedt
axesal
ongwi
thr
entexpl
oit
edt
hel
abourcl
ass.

7-Pr
osper
it
ywasnotshar
edequal
l
y:I
twasbel
i
evedt
hatsomepeopl
e
weremeantf
orcult
ivat
ionoflandandsomef orenj
oyingthef
rui
tsof
pr
oduct
ionandhence,prosper
itywasnotsharedequall
y.

8-Fr
agment
ati
onofsoci
alf
ormat
ion:
Cast
eswer
espl
i
tupi
ntot
housands
ofot
hercast
esandsubcast
es.

9-Manor
ial
syst
em:
Undert
hemanor
ial
syst
em,
thel
andl
ordgr
ant
ed
l
andstopersonswhowoul
drenderdi
ff
erentser
vicesi
ncl
udi
ngl
abouron
t
helandsofthelor
dsi
nexchangeofl
and.

Cr
it
ici
sm ofR.
SShar
ma'
stheor
yofFeudal
i
sm
(
a)-D.
CSi
rcarsay
sthatal
argenumberofLandgr
ant
swer
emadet
o
Brahminsandotherr
eli
giousi
nsti
tut
ionther
ewaslackofev
idenceoft
he
exist
enceofLandofasecularki
ndwi t
hservi
ceTenur
es

(
b)-D.
N.Jha,
alt
houghsuppor
ttheI
ndi
anf
eudal
i
sm t
heor
y,hadcr
it
ici
zed
R.
S.Shar
maf
orr
ely
ingt
ooheav
il
yont
heabsenceofl
ong-
dist
anceext
ernal
tr
adeast hecauseoft heri
seoff eudalism inI ndi
a.D. N.Jha,inanedi ted
volume, TheFeudal Or der
,hasi ncludedpaper sexpl ori
ngt hecultur aland
i
deol ogicaldi
mensi onsofwhathecal l
sthef eudal order.Oneoft hemaj or
dimensi onssoexpl oredist hatofreligi
on, especiall
ypopul arreligionor
Bhakt i
,bothint henor thandSout hIndiaandt hegrowt hofIndia’sr egional
culturesandl anguages.Ev enasmostschol ar shav eseent heriseoft he
Bhakt icult
sasapopul arprotestagai nstthedomi nationofBr ahmani cal
orthodox y,t
hepr oponentsoff eudalism seet heseasbut t
ressesof
Brahmani caldomi nati
onbyt heideologyoft otalsurrender,subjectionand
l
oy alt
yt oadei t
y .Thissurrenderandl oyalt
ycoul deasilybet r
ansf erredon
tothef eudallordandmast er.

c)-B.
( DChat
topadhy
ayhasquest
ionedR.
SShar
ma'
stheor
yofur
ban
decayanddecl
ineoftr
adeinpostGupt
aper
iod,
aver
yessent
ial
premi
seof
theFeudal
i
sm argument.

(
d)-Har
bansMukhi
a,say
sthati
ntheEur
opeancont
ext
,feudal
i
sm
emer gedduet ochangesi nsoci ety,
whereasi nIndiatheest abl
ishmentof
feudalism hasbeenat t
ri
but edt othestat
epr acticeofmaki ngland
grants.andhesay sthattheFeudal i
sm i
sav erycompl exsocio-pol i
ti
cal
structureanditcouldnotbeast at
eimposition.HarbansMukhi abel i
eved
thatthef eudal
ism gai
nedmor egroundandl aterbecamemor efirmly
entrenchedonI ndiansoilthroughadmi nist
rativeandl egal
procedur es.
HarbansMukhi aalsoexpresseddi sbeli
efint heexistenceof
serfdom.Hear guedt hattheI ndianpeasantryhasal way sbeen
predomi nantl
yf r
ee.

HarbansMukhi acompar et
hehi st
oryofmedi aevalWest ernEuropewi t
h
thatofwhatwashappeni nginmedi aevalI
ndia.Hechoset ofocushisstudy
onthreemaj orconcerns-theecologicalconditi
ons,andt hesocial
organi
sationofformsofl abourusedi ntheagricult
ureoft hetworegions
concerned.Hesay sthattheIndianecologywasmor econduci veto
agri
cultur
alprocessthanEur opeanecology,l
andpr oduct i
vit
ywasal so
muchhi gherinmediaev alI
ndia.
besidesmostI ndianlandsy ei
ldedtwo
cropsay earsomethingunheardofinEuropeunt i
lthe19th
century.
HarbansMukhi asaysthatthefundamental di
ff
erenceincondi
ti
ons
i
nI ndiacomparedtot hosei
nEur ope,
madei ti
mper ati
vetofoll
owthe
diff
erentfor
m oflabourusedinagr i
cul
ture.
Begarort i
edlabour,
paidor
unpaidwassel dom partoft
hepr ocessofproducti
onher e.
itwasusedfor
nonpr oduct
ivepurposes.

e)-B.
( D..
Chat
topadhy
ayaagr
eest
hatt
heexi
stenceofl
andgr
ant
scannot
bedenied,heacceptthatthesy
stem ofassignment s,
whereveritexist
ed,
didbri
nginimportantchangesi
nagrari
anr elat
ions.However
,hepoi ntsout
thatal
lthesedoesnothelptoexplai
ntheor i
ginoffeudalpol
i
t y
.

Chattopadhy ayt ri
est ogi veaf reshl ookatthef ormationofpol i
tyinearl
y
mediaev alIndiaandi tisthisthathasl edhistori
antor einter
pret
developmentf rom amacr otomi cr
ol evel
.Thisnewgr oupofHi stori
ans,
led
byhim hasdi splayedpol iti
calchangest hrought heintegrati
onofand
i
nterrel
ationshipbet weensoci o-economi candpol it
icalprocess.According
tothesehi stori
anst hepr ocessofchangeshasbeenar esul
tofthe
emergenceandgr adual developmentofast atesociety( f
ormati
onofr uli
ng
l
ineages) .
Thuspr e-St at
epol i
tiesgr aduall
yev olvedintoast atePoli
ti
esand
i
twast hi
st hatr esultintheAssi milati
onofl ocalpoli
tiesintolar
gest at
e
str
uctures.B.D.Chat topadhy ayaexpl ai
nsthatt heestablishmentoflarge
poli
ti
est ookpl acei nnucl earar eas.

Themodel ,t
hatisdevelopedbyB.DChat topadhyayai
sknownas
i
nt egr
ati
v epoli
ty.Thi
smodel l
i
nkedt hetheprocessofthefor
mat i
onof
statepolit
ieswitheconomi candsocialprocess.
hehassuccessful
lybeen
abletolinktheexpansionofagr ar
iansocietythr
oughthepeasanti
sati
onof
tr
ibalgroups.

(
f)-R.
S.Shar
ma,
whowascr
it
ici
sedbyschol
arsf
orhi
sconceptofI
ndi
a
f
eudal
i
sm,
reconsi
der
edsomeofhi
sear
li
erposi
ti
onsandgr
eat
lyr
efi
ned
histhesisofI ndianfeudali
sm anddef endedi tinapaper ,‘
HowFeudal was
Indi
anFeudal i
sm? ’.Hesuggest edthatfeudalism hast obeseenasamode
ofthedi str
ibuti
onoft hemeansofpr oduct i
onandt heappropri
ationofthe
surplus.Hesay sthatfeudali
sm appearsi napr edomi nantl
yagrari
an
economywhi chi scharacteri
sedbyacl assofl andl
ordsandacl assof
servil
epeasant ry.Inthissystem,thelandlordsext r
actsurplusthrough
extra-economi cmet hodslikesocial
,rel
igiousorpol it
icalmethods.

(
g)-R.
S.Shar
mawascr
it
ici
sedbyschol
arsf
orl
ooki
ngatt
her
iseof
feudalism inI ndi
aent ir
elyasaconsequenceofst ateact i
onintransferri
ng
l
andt othei ntermediaries.Hemodi f
ieditandexpandedi t
sscopet ol ookat
feudalism asaneconomi cformat ionwhi chev olv
edoutofeconomi cand
social cri
sesi nsociety,signifyi
ngi nthemi ndsoft hepeopl ethebeginning
oftheKal i
yuga, rat
hert hanent ir
elyast heconsequenceofst ateacti
on.
Thisenr ichedhi sargumentconsi derabl
y .R.S.Sharmai nawor kpublished
i
n2001t urnedhi sattenti
ont ot heideological andcul t
uralaspectsoft he
feudal societyandi ncludedsomenewt hemessuchas‘ Tantr
ism’,and‘ t
he
Feudal Mind’,whereheexpl oressuchpr oblemsast her efl
ect
ionoff eudal
hier
ar chiesi nartandar chitecture,theideasofgr at i
tudeandl oyal
tyas
i
deol ogical propsoffeudal soci ety,etc.

St
atei
nEar
lyMedi
eval
Sout
hIndi
a
ThehistoryofSout hIndianpolit
yi ntheear l
ymedi eval peri
odprovi
de
mainlythef ourmodel sofanalysis:Centrali
sedEmpi r
e, Segmentar
ySt at
e,
Earl
yStateandFeudal St
ate.Thesef ourmodel sdepicttheearl
ymedi eval
SouthIndianki ngdomsei t
herasast rongandcent rali
zedst at
eorasoneof
decentr
alizationanddi si
ntegr
ationorasast atewhi chhasnoty etreached
thepositi
onofast rongandcent rali
zedst at
et houghi tdidhavesomeofi ts
charact
eristicsinit
scor earoundt hecapital.
Cent
ral
i
sedEmpi
re
K.A.Nilakant aSast r
i presentedapi ctureofahi ghl
ycent rali
sedempi re
undert heChol as.Hepoi ntedoutt hestructureoft hestat ewi thanef f
ici
ent
bureaucr acy,compr ehensi ver
ev enuesy stem, andast rongar myandnav y.
Wi t
hint hispolity,NilakantaSastrialsoident if
iedal ar
genumberof
autonomousv ill
ages.Ni l
akantaSastri’
sconcept i
onoft hest ateinmedi eval
Sout hIndi ar
emai nedunquest ionedf oratl eastfourdecades.Thi s
histori
ogr aphical t
raditionwasser iouslychal l
engedbyBur t
onSt ei
n.Stein
haspoi nt edoutt hecont r
adict
ioni nthev i
ewofK. A.Nilakant aSast r
iwith
theChol amonar chyasanext remel ypower f
ul monarchyatt heapexl evel
andt heov er
whel mi ngpr esenceofl ocalsel f
-bodiesatt hev i
llages.

Segment
arySt
ate
Themodel ofSegment aryst at ewasf i
rstconst ruct edbyAi danSout hallt
o
explaintheAlursocietyi nEastAf ri
ca.Thi santhr opol ogical model i
sbased
onthei deaofpy ramidal segment ation.Bur t
onSt einadapt edthismodel to
theSout hIndianstatesf rom t hePal lavat otheVi j
ay anagar aper iod.The
segment arystatewascomposedofmanysi milarsegment ssur roundinga
coreandwasr ul
edbyt heki ng.Hedi videdsov er eigntytopol it
ical
sovereigntyand‘ r
it
ualhegemony ’
.Ot herf eaturesar eamul tipl
icityof
centres,speciali
sedadmi nistrativest af fandpy rami dalor ganisation.
HermannKul kehasquest ionedSt ei n’sconceptofr itualsov ereignty.
Accor di
ngt oKulkeinat r
adi tional soci ety,parti
cul arlyinIndi a,ri
tual
sovereigntyseemst obeani ntegral par t.Akeyel ementoft hesegment ary
stat
et heorywasal sot heso- calledBr ahman- peasantal lianceatt henadu.
Thepeasantwasal way sexpl oi
tedbyt heBr ahmanandKshat r
iya
combi nati
on.Themodel wasor igi
nal lypr oposedt oexpl aint het r
ibal
sit
uationandnotsui t
edt oast rati
fiedsoci et
y .
Ear
lySt
ate
Thi smodelwasor iginal
l
ypr oposedbyHenr yClaessenandPet erSkalnik.
Thi smodelisusedbyY.Subbar ay al
uandlaterJamesHeitzmant oexpl ai
n
theCholastateandKesav anVeluthattoexplai
ntheCherastate.Theear ly
stateisacentral
isedsoci o-
poli
ticalorgani
sati
onforther
egulationofsoci al
relati
onsi
nacompl exstr
ati
fiedsocietydiv
idedintot
wobasi cemer gent
classesoftherulersandt heruled.Themodel tri
estogeneral
iseonav ast
variet
yofsystems.

Feudal
Stat
e
Thef eudal ism model orSout hI ndianf eudalism dur ingt heearlymedi eval
periodwassuggest edbyKesav anVel uthat.Kesav anVel ut
hatar guest hat
thebasi cdi rectpr oducer sinaf eudal system ownt hemeansofpr oduction
themsel vesi nav eryt echni cal sense.Thepossessi onofsuper iorrightsby
l
ocal magnat esov erl andaswel last heext ra-economi ccoercionbywhi ch
thosemagnat esextr actsur pl usf rom t hepr i
mar ypr oducerar eamongt he
foremostchar acteri
st icsoft hef eudal modeofpr oduct ioninmedi eval
Sout hIndi a.Thepol i
tical structur eofear lymedi ev al SouthIndiawasl ike
thet ypi
cal f
eudal py rami dwi ththeki ngatt het op, wi ththefeudat ory
chieftainsi mmedi atelybel owhi m, witht helocal groupsofnadus,
brahmadey asandnagar amsbel owt hem, thet enant sandcul t
ivatorsbel ow
thesegr oupsandf i
nal l
yt hel andl essl abour ersatt hebot t
om.Thi s
pyrami dal hierarchyi sf oundi nmi l
itaryor ganisationandj udici
al
admi nistrationaswel l.

Overthelasttwodecades,Feudal stat
emodel ,
hasat tract
edtheat tenti
on
ofhist
ori
answor kingonearl
ymedi aevalSouthIndi a,earl
i
erthehy pothesis
offeudal
ism hadnotbeensy stemat i
call
ysituatedi nthecontextoft he
hi
stori
calsit
uati
onofear l
ymedi aevalSouthI ndia.Howev er,
Nilakant h
Sastri
andMahi l
ingam hadgivencausal suggest ion,andlooseappl icati
on
ofthefeudalJar
goni nthecontextoft hi
spar toft hecountry.
Gov i
ndaswamyandV.Bal
ambalhav
ewrit
tentheroleofFeudatori
esi
nthe
ti
meoft hepal
lav
asandchol
ainSouthI
ndia.Butnowhereinthesewor
ks
feudal
ism i
smenti
onedasobser
vedint
hewr i
ti
ngofR.S.SharmaandD.N
Jha.

Concl
usi
on
TheDev el
opment ,
ofpoli
ti
cali
nstit
uti
onsi nNor thandSout hI ndiamustbe
seenandunder stooddi f
fer
entl
y.I
nNor t
hI ndianregionsl ocal r
ulers
emer gedasr egionalkingsandwer eablet ointegratelocal andt r
ibalf
orces,
theSout hIndiankingdomsemer gedast ypicalearlystate.butt hese
i
mper ialkingdomsbot hint
henor thandint hesout hwer enoti napositi
on
toinstallacentrali
sedadmi ni
str
ationbey ondt heconfinesoft heextended
corear ea.
Howev er,
withi
nthisareatheysomet imesachi ev edahi ghdegree
ofdirectCent r
alcont r
olasrecentresearchont hecholai nt he11thcentury
hasshown

Ref
erence:
-
(1)R.SSharma,Indi
a'
sAncientPast,Oxf
ordUniv
ersi
ty
Press2/11GroundFloor
,AnsariRoad,Dar
yaganj
,New
Del
hi-
110002,
Indi
a
(2)R.S.Shar
ma,'
howfeudalwasIndi
an
feudali
sm?InHermannkul
ke(ed)thest
atei
n
I
ndia,1000-
1700,
Oxfor
dUniver
sit
ypressDel
hi
1995
(3)D.N.Jha,ed.
,Thefeudalorder:stat
e,soci
ety
andideologyinear
lymediaevalIndia2000
(
4)Har bansMukhia'
wastherefeudal
i
sm i
n
I
ndianhist
oryt
hejour
nalofpeasantst
udi
es
v
olume81981
(5)I
nternat
ional
JournalofScienceand
Research(I
JSR)ISSN:2319-7064

et
c