SOCIAL SCIENCE (VIII) LESSON -2 RESHAPING INDIA’S POLITICAL MAP (LESSON NOTES)

       SOCIAL SCIENCE (VIII) LESSON -2  
RESHAPING INDIA’S POLITICAL MAP
(LESSON NOTES)

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v Introduction:

  Ø The term ‘medieval’ means between two ages or periods. It was originally applied to European history from 5^th CE to 14^th Centuries also mark as Dark age. In Indian reference ‘medieval’ means the period from the 11th to the 17th centuries.

  Ø In this lesson we come to know about India’s history in references of Political, social, and administrative.

  Ø How the new dynasties emerged and ruins in the medieval period in north and southern region?

v Content in this chapter

  Ø Rise and Fall of the Delhi Sultanate

  Ø Resistance to the Delhi Sultanate

§  Ganga kingdom Orissa

§  Hoysalas in Karanatka

§  Bahmani Sultans

§  Vijayanagar Empire

  Ø The Mughals

  Ø Resistance to the Mughals

§  Jat Movement

§  Rise of Sikh

§  Ahoms   

§  Surge of the Rajputs

  Ø Administering India

§  Administration under the Delhi Sultanate

§  Administration under Mughals

§  Peoples Lives

v RISE AND FALL OF THE DELHI SULTANATE

  Ø From 11^th century onward many Central Asian invaders i.e. Turkic or Afghan invaded India from Hindukush Mountain areas not only for territorial ambition or richness of India but by force of violence their own versions of their religion.

  Ø Delhi Sultanate, formed after the defeat in 1192 of King Prithviraj Chauhan, who ruled over parts of northwestern India. This Sultanate saw the rule of five successive foreign dynasties of Turkic-Afghan origin —

§  The Mamluks (or ‘Slave dynasty’)

§  The Khiljis (or Khaljis)

§  The Tughlaqs,

§  The Sayyids,

§  The Lodis (or Lodhis)

  Ø The Sultanate period was marked by political instability, territorial expansion which resulted in military campaigns that raided villages and cities, and plundered and destroyed temples and seats of learning.

  Ø Successions were often violent so a sultan’s average reign was hardly more than nine years.

v Ala-ud-din Khilji

  Ø He was very powerful rulers of Khilji dynasty in 14^th century. He called himself ‘the second Alexander’ and minted coins ‘Sikander Sani’ or ‘the second Alexander’ in Persian.

  Ø Ala-ud-din Khilji conducted many military campaigns over large areas of north and central India, sacking and plundering many cities.

              He also repelled several invasions by Mongol forces, who were trying to add India to the vast Mongol.

  Ø His slave-general Malik Kafur expanded the Sultanate’s reach southward, conquering several kingdoms on the way; their plundered wealth helped finance the Sultanate’s enormous military apparatus.

  Ø He also attacked a number of Hindu centres such as Srirangam, Madurai,  chidambaram and Rameswaram.

v Muhammad bin Tughlaq

  Ø He was very powerful ruler and most of the Subcontinent was now under his rule After Mauryan Empire.

  Ø Muhammad bin Tughlaq had ambitious schemes, but they were often poorly executed.

§  He moved his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad (then called ‘Devagiri’, near present-day Sambhaji Nagar); perhaps he thought its more central location would offer better control of the empire. The people were forced to travel over 1,000 km, and a few years later, as his plan misfired, he shifted the capital back to Delhi; both transfers resulted in great loss of life according to some sources.

§  Another instance was the introduction of ‘token currency’, where cheap copper coins were declared to be tokens and have the value of silver or gold coins although this was a progressive idea at the time this created confusion in the trade and encourage people to counterfeit copper coins, all of which caused the economy to decline.

§  Sultan lived in luxurious palaces, and enjoy jewelled ornaments. This wealth was largely derived from plunder from their military campaigns, taxes levied on common people (Jiziya - a tax on non-Muslim subjects to grant them protection and exemption from military service )and conquered regions, and engagement in slave trade (as enslaved people provided free labour or were sent away to distant Central Asia to be sold.

§  But this plunder affected trade networks and agricultural production.

v Timur Attack:

  Ø At the end of the 14th century, Timur, a brutal Turkic-Mongol conqueror from central Asia, invaded northwest India and launched a devastating attack on Delhi, then a thriving city.

  Ø  As he wrote in his memoirs, his two-fold objective was to wage “war with the infidels and to gain something by plundering the wealth of the infidels.” Large numbers were killed or enslaved, and the city was left in ruins. Timur soon withdrew from India with huge plunder, leaving chaos behind.

  Ø In the aftermath, the Lodis emerged and established the last dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate.

v Resistance to the Delhi Sultanate

  Ø Eastern Ganga kingdom

§  This dynasty rules in 13^th century present-day Odisha and parts of Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.

§  Narasimhadeva was one of the famous ruler who was known for its military strength and cultural brilliance he brought to the kingdom.

§  He defeated the Delhi Sultanate’s governor of Bengal and also  built the

§  famed Sūrya temple at Konark (present-day Odisha).

  Ø Hoysalas of Karnataka Belur and Halebidu.

§  Kannada folklore recounts the story of Sala, a young man who fought a lion to save his guru, giving the dynasty its name — ‘Hoy (strike)! Sala’.

§  During the south invasion of Allauddin Khilji many kingdoms were included in Delhi sultanate.

§  Though the kingdom weakened by the attack even though Hoysalas of Karnataka remain independent kingdom in south.

§  Later on due to internal conflicts, the Hoysala kingdom declined was absorbed into the Vijayanagara Empire in 14^th century.

  Ø Bahmani Sultanate

§  The Bahmani Sultanate rose in the mid-14th century and controlled much of the Deccan. They called themselves as the ‘Ashwapati’

§  They were large rivalry with Vijayanagar rulers , later on this fragmented into five independent states called the ‘Deccan Sultanates. Each ruled by former governors or tarafdars.

·       Bijapur,

·       Golconda

·       Berar

·       Ahmednagar

·       Bidar —

§  Powerful Sultanates also emerged in Gujarat, Bengal and other regions, leading to a complex interplay of alliances — and frequent wars.

  Ø Mewar kingdom

§  In 15th century, Delhi Sultanate stiff resistance from Rana Kumbha, the ruler of the Mewar kingdom, who also successfully repelled invasions from these later sultanates.

§  Kumbhalgarh Fort was built by Rana Kumbha in the 15th century in the Aravalli hills in Udaipur. It was famous for its massive 36-kilometre-long wall, one of the longest continuous walls in the world

v The Vijayanagara Empire

  Ø In 1336 Harihara and Bukka, who had initially served as governors under Muhammad bin Tughlaq rejected Delhi’s authority, and established an independent kingdom known as Vijayanagara Empire.

  Ø According to popular folklore, Harihara and Bukka established a remarkable sight at Hampi by the blessing of their guru, Vidyaranya.

  Ø The Vijayanagara rulers battled with the Bahmani sultans and Gajapati rulers of Odisha in the east.

  Ø These rulers were called themselves as Narpati. One of the famous ruler of Vijaynagar was Krishnadevaraya(1509-27)

§  Under his rule, the empire achieved both military power and cultural renaissance.

§  He patronised poets and scholars in Sanskrit, Telugu and Kannada; he himself composed an epic poem in Telugu, Āmuktamālyada, on the story of the Tamil poet-saint Aṇḍal.

§  Krishnadevaraya provided grants to many temples asTirupati in Andhra Pradesh and the Vitthala temple in his own capital Vijayanagara.

§  The mahamandapa (great hall) of the Vitthala temple; popular for architecture, in particular the finely sculpted monolithic pillars known as musical pillar.

§  Many travellers also visited this empire and paraise their palace and fors and temples as Doming Paes, Barabosa.

§  In 1565, the Deccan Sultanates formed a coalition and defeated the Vijayanagara forces led by Ramaraya, Krishnadevaraya’s son-in-law, at the Battle of Talikota.

§  The city was sacked over several months; houses, shops, buildings, palaces and most of its temples were destroyed and left in ruins.

v The Mughals

  Ø Last dynasty of Delhi Sulatanate was Lodi Dynasty whose ruler Ibhrim Lodi was Defeated by Babur in First battel of Panipat in 1526 and established new kingdom known as Mughal Kingdoms.

  Ø Babur (1526-30)

§  Babur, (descendant of Timur) a Turkic- Mongol ruler who, having been thrown out of Samarkand (modern-day Uzbekistan),

§  In this first battle of Panipat first time heavily on gunpowder, field artillery, and matchlock guns, introduced in warfare in India.

§  That defeat put a final end to the Delhi Sultanate and laid the foundation of the Mughal Empire, as Babur assumed control of the Delhi throne.

§  He wrote his autobiography Bababnama.

  Ø Humayun(1530-40,155-56)

§  After Babur’s death in 1530, his son Humayun struggled to hold the empire together.

§  So in 1540, Sher Shah Suri, a powerful Afghan leader, established the Sur Empire over large parts of north India and introduced many lasting reforms as Making GT Road.

§  Humayun soon reconquered the lost ground in 1555 but fate with accidental death.

§  Before this happened, Himu (or Hemu), a skilled military commander and chief minister (‘wazir’) under one of the last Suri rulers, captured Delhi and ruled it briefly under the royal name of Hemchandra Vikramaditya.

§  Though enjoying some military successes, he was injured on the battlefield (the Second Battle of Panipat) when confronted by Babur’s grandson, Akbar.

  Ø Akbar

§  Akbar became emperor at the age of 13 upon his father Humayun’s accidental death, Akbar brought the entire Subcontinent under Mughal control by war and strategy. His long reign lasted almost 50 years (1556 to his death in 1605); while its middle period was relatively peaceful, the final 15 years involved fresh military campaigns in Kashmir, Sindh, the Deccan, and Afghanistan

§  By War (Conquests of Chittor)

·       In early years he showed no mercy at the fort Chittor (or Chittorgarh, in Rajasthan), which he besieged for more than five months.

·       Mughals inflicted heavy losses but, the fort finally breached, Rajput soldiers died fighting in large numbers, while hundreds of women committed jauhar .

·       Akbar ordered the massacre of some 30,000 civilians, and the surviving women and children were enslaved.

·       Akbar  sent a message of victory which read, “We have succeeded in occupying a number of forts and towns belonging to the infidels and have established Islam there.

§  By Political strategies

·       As the empire grew Akbar increasingly used political strategies to stabilise it. He entered into marriage alliances with princesses of neighbouring kingdoms, welcomed Rajput and regional leaders into his court.

·       He also abolished the jizya, and promoted the doctrine of sulh-ikul — literally, ‘peace with all’ or tolerance of all faiths.

·       Through interfaith dialogues, appointment of Hindu officials in high positions and other bold reforms, Akbar expanded and stabilised his empire, even gaining the support of many Rajput rulers.

·       His court historian and biographer Abul Fazl recorded him as stating, “Formerly I persecuted men into conformity with my faith and deemed it Islam.

·       He established a ‘house of translation’ at Fatehpur Sikri where he had major Sanskrit texts translated into Persian, including the Mahābhārata (Razmnama in Persian, or the ‘Book of War’), the Rāmāyaṇa (with 176 beautiful miniature paintings), the Bhagavad Gītā, and the Pañchatantra.

   

  ØJahangir

§  Akbar’s son Jahangir shared with his father a love for art and architecture and tried to expand the empire into the Deccan.

Ø ØShah Jahan

§  His son Shah Jahan fought several rebellions and is best remembered as the builder of the Taj Mahal at Agra , one of the great architectural marvels of the world.

§  This period formed the peak of an immense flowering of art, works of calligraphy and miniature painting and architecture, which included the building of Humayun’s tomb in Delhi and the Red Forts in Delhi and Agra.

  Ø Aurangzeb

§  Shah Jahan wished the throne to go to Dara Shikoh, his eldest son, but Dara’s younger brother

§  Aurangzeb defeated him in a series of battles and eventually executed him, presenting his severed head to their father.

§  Aurangzeb also removed his two other brothers — he had one arrested and executed, and drove the second into exile.

§  To prevent further challenge to his rule, Aurangzeb imprisoned his father Shah Jahan in the Agra Fort, where he remained until his death. Aurangzeb crowned himself emperor in 1658 and named himself ‘Alamgir’ or ‘conqueror of the world’; he ruled for almost 49 years.

§  Military campaigns

·       Aurangzeb conducted many military campaigns, conquering parts of the South in particular.

·        Under his reign the Mughal empire reached its greatest expansion though constantly faced with significant rebellions,

·       Aurangzeb had to spend the last 25 years of his life fighting war after war in the Deccan.

·       Maintaining large armies for those campaigns depleted the empire’s treasury and put a great strain on the administration; indeed, this is often considered one of key factors in the rapid decline of Mughal power after Aurangzeb’s death in 1707.

§  Religious Policies

·       Aurangzeb belonged to Islam’s Sunni sect. He led an austere life, and, unlike Akbar, observed all religious rituals and occasions.

·       He gradually banned practices such as music and dance in his court, and re-imposed the jizya tax on non-Muslims as well as a pilgrimage tax on Hindus travelling to their sacred places (both of which had been abolished by Akbar).

·       In 1669, for instance, he ordered governors of all provinces “to demolish schools and temples of the infidels and put down their teachings and religious practices.” Temples at Banaras Mathura, Somnath, among many others, were destroyed, as well as Jain temples and Sikh gurudwaras.

·       This aspect of Aurangzeb was also visible in his persecution of Muslims of other sects, including Sufis, and of Zoroastrians (the religion of Parsis in India, originally from Persia).

v Resistance to the Mughals

  Ø Jat peasantry

§  In the 17th century Jat peasantry (in present-day western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and eastern Rajasthan) started to kill an oppressive officer of the Mughal administration.

§  In a subsequent battle, 20,000 men confronted the Mughal army and fought valiantly, but their Jat leader (Churaman) was killed and the rebellion suppressed.

  Ø Tribal groups

§  Many tribal groups — the Bhils, the Gonds, the Santhals, the Kochs, for instance — also fought back against attempts to annex their territory or impose taxes on them.

§  Delhi Sultanate or the Mughal Empire, others — especially those inhabiting forested, hilly, or remote regions — managed to maintain some degree of independence.

  Ø Surge of the Rajputs

§  Earlier dynasty Pratiharas, who had resisted the Arab invasions of Sindh in 9^th century , the Rajputs were often battling the invading forces from beyond the Subcontinent.

§  After Khiljis’ conquest, two major clans emerged in Mewar and Marwar regions. Inspirational stories of their heroic deeds are still told today, through popular ballads.

§  After Rana Kumbha,  Rana Sanga in 16^th  century  unified several Rajput clans, won many battles against sultans, ultimately meeting defeat against Babur at the Battle of Khanwa.

§  Mewar’s ruler Maharana Pratap refused to accept Mughal suzerainty and became the face of Rajput resistance. A confrontation took place at the Haldighati pass in the Aravallis in 1576 .

§  Although the Mughal army had the upper hand, Maharana Pratap escaped and pursued for years guerrilla warfare against the Mughals from the Aravalli hills, living in harsh conditions but firm on his independence.

§  Maharana Pratap received strong support from the Bhils, and earned respected place in Mewar’s military tradition, as the Mewar emblem shows.

§  During Aurangzeb’s reign, several Rajput nobles rebelled, including Durga Das Rathore of Marwar, who fought to protect the independence of Jodhpur. Mughal authority thus remained limited in Rajasthan.

  Ø The Ahoms

§  Ahom ethnic group migrated from present-day Myanmar to the Brahmaputra Valley and formed the Ahom kingdom in 13^th century.

§  Ahom rulers face stiff resistance to expansion into the Northeast.

§  Their unique paik system called on every able-bodied man to provide service to the state through labour or military duty in exchange for land rights.

§  This allowed the rulers to create public infrastructure and maintain a large standing force without a permanent army.

§  Over time, the Ahoms assimilated the local culture, promoted agriculture, encouraged diverse faiths, and contributed to the rich traditions of Assam.

§  They persistent guerrilla tactics to repulse the attack of Aurangzeb in 17^th century

§  In the Battle of Saraighat (1671), fought on the Brahmaputra River near present-day Guwahati, the Ahom military commander Lachit Borphukan and his 10,000 men defeated a Mughal force of 30,000 soldiers. Ultimately, the Ahom were able to preserve their independence.

  Ø The Rise of the Sikhs

§  In 15th century Punjab, Guru Nanak spread the message of equality, compassion, and the oneness of God (Ik Onkār); his followers came to be known as Sikhs.

§  Although Sikhism began purely as a spiritual movement, the later Sikh Gurus had to respond to the growing intolerance and persecution under some Mughal rulers.

§  When Emperor Jahangir found out that Guru Arjan had supported his rebellious son, he had Guru Arjan tortured to death.

§  This prompted Guru Arjan’s son and successor, Guru Hargobind, to introduce martial training and form a Sikh army, which fought several battles against the Mughal forces.

§  In 1675, Guru Tegh Bahadur protected the kashmiri pandits from religious persecution but he was arrested by Aurangzeb ordered him to convert to Islam.

§  Dispite the torture the Guru refused so he was publicly beheaded in Chandni Chowk, Delhi (Gurudwara Sis Gunj Sahib) in 1675.

§  In response, his son Guru Gobind Singh — the 10th and last Guru — established the Khalsa — a martial brotherhood committed to justice, equality and defence of the faith, which frequently clashed with the Mughal forces, at great cost of life.

§  After that Sikh confederacies emerged in the Punjab region and ultimately unified by  Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 19^th century and built a Sikh Empire.

v Administering India

  Ø Administration under the Delhi Sultanate

§  The Delhi Sultanate introduced a centrelised administration system in which Sultan possessed absolute authority as the political and military head.

§  Sultan was assisted by a council of ministers who were in charge of the various departments of the Sultanate.

§  One instrument of the administration was the iqta system, in which territories were assigned to nobles (iqtadars) to collect taxes to maintain the army.

§  Iqta system created a network of local administrators loyal to the central authority, but their posts were not hereditary.

§  Taxes were levied on trade, peasants, and on the land.

  Ø The Mughal administrative framework

§  Abul Fazl recorded in his Ain-i-Akbari, which describes Akbar’s administration,

§  Akbar appointed many officials with responsibilities as

·        Diwan- took care of the finances,

·       Mir Bakhshi looked after military matters

·       Khan-i-Saman was in charge of public works, trade, industry and agriculture,

·       Sadr was responsible for justice, religious and educational matters.

§  Such ministers were assigned to each of the empire’s twelve provinces (subahs), which were further subdivided, At the village level, traditional structures of self-governance continued undisturbed.

§  Akbar also instituted the mansabdari system. All officers appointed in the Mughal service wer calles as mansabdars. They were expected to maintain a precise number of elephants, horses, camels as well as troops for the state as per their mansab or rank.

§  This made it possible to assemble an army at a short notice without having to maintain a permanent centralised army.

§  Regular inspections were carried out to ensure compliance.

§  Mansabdars were generally paid by being assigned land (jagirs) and were therefore also known as jagirdars.

§  Todar Mal, Akbar’s finance minister, introduced an efficient revenue system. He made detailed surveys for crop yields and prices, and determined prices for each crop on the basis of that information. He also initiated a systematic survey of the land in the entire empire which boosted revenue collection and strengthened the state apparatus.

v People’s Lives

  Ø India witnessed vibrant economic activity, due to its agrarian foundations, thriving artisanal industries, community-based and temple-based economies, and extensive trade networks.

  Ø Building on decentralised economic and social systems — such as shreṇis (guilds), jātis (professionally defined communities), and systems for credit — the Subcontinent remained one of the wealthiest regions in the world.

  Ø Many infrastructural works, as roads in north India, bridges, a few canals and other irrigation works as persian wheel etc.

  Ø Many new cities expanded during the Mughal period.

  Ø Coins in several metals and denominations were introduced as currency. The

Ø Mughals use a different system, with a rupaya of silver and a dam of copper.

  Ø Agriculture

§  Agriculture was the mainstay of the Indian economy as the rulers relied on agrarian revenue to maintain their administration and military,

§  The land revenue was at one-fifth of the produce, though some of the

§  The expansion of irrigation systems increased agricultural of multiple crops, including both food (rice, wheat, barley, pulses, sugarcane, spices, etc.) and non-food items (cotton, which fed a thriving textile production, silk, wool, dyes, timber, jute, etc.)

§  Though agriculture output varied from region to region and period to period; the peasantry suffered several severe famines in this period, with relief depending upon the ruler’s benevolence.

  Ø Craftwork-

§  Apart from textiles, craftspeople made a wide range of products, from weapons to utensils to ornaments and jewellery items. Ship-building, essential to river and overseas trade, developed considerably in those centuries.

§  Indian goods were exported through coastal and riverside towns such as Calicut, Mangalore, Surat, Masulipatnam or Hooghly.

§  India imported much less than it exported; import products included silk, horses, metals, and all kinds of luxury goods. Merchants from Arabia, Persia (now Iran), and Central Asia settled in Indian ports, contributing to the bustling trade activity.

§  Indian hundi was used for distant trade. It was a written instruction to make payment to an individual.

v Sum up the lesson

Ø