Only & Only NCERT

The Best Way to Read NCERT...

NCERT
NOTES
Indian History
Class 6-12 (Old+New)
 Only & Only NCERT
The Best Way to Read NCERT...

NCERT
NOTES
Indian History
Class 6-12 (Old+New)

Authors
Janmejay Sahani
Sujeet Yadav

ARIHANT PUBLICATIONS (INDIA) LIMITED

 ARIHANT PUBLICATIONS (INDIA) LIMITED
All Rights Reserved

© Publisher
No part of this publication may be re-produced, stored in a retrieval system or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, web or
otherwise without the written permission of the publisher. Arihant has obtained
all the information in this book from the sources believed to be reliable and true.
However, Arihant or its editors or authors or illustrators don’t take any
responsibility for the absolute accuracy of any information published and the
damage or loss suffered thereupon.
All disputes subject to Meerut (UP) jurisdiction only

Administrative & Production Offices

Regd. Office
‘Ramchhaya’ 4577/15, Agarwal Road, Darya Ganj, New Delhi -110002
Tele: 011- 47630600, 43518550
Head Office
Kalindi, TP Nagar, Meerut (UP) - 250002,
Tel: 0121-7156203, 7156204

Sales & Support Offices

Agra, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bareilly, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati,
Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jhansi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Nagpur & Pune.

PO No : TXT-XX-XXXXXXX-X-XX
Published by Arihant Publications (India) Ltd.
For further information about the books published by Arihant, log on to
www.arihantbooks.com or e-mail at info@arihantbooks.com
Follow us on
 Your Achievement
Our Commitment
BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE, PREPARATION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS.

Civil Services Examinations are the most prestigious and coveted examinations in India.
Due to the power, authority, reputation, this career attracts every aspirant to hold the post
and become IAS/IPS officer. Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and State Public
Service Commission (SPSC) conduct this examination every year and lakhs of aspirants
across the country toil for years together to crack this distinguished exam in the country.
Being the toughest exam, it automatically consists of a vast and a detailed syllabus.
Aspirants often find it difficult to cover the entire syllabus and lack a right direction for a
proper and a systematic study for the exam.
The most important aspect of this preparation journey are the NCERT books. Every year
approximately 35-40 questions directly come from NCERT books.
NCERT books also play a key role in understanding the Basic Concepts; so that aspirants
can easily form the basic foundation of the entire syllabus. But due to the demand for
many NCERT books which are required for study, it becomes exhausting to cover each and
every NCERT book.
NCERT NOTES SERIES presented by Arihant Publications covers complete text from Class
6th to 12th NCERT books ( both Old & New) in a comprehensive manner. The series is
extremely useful for UPSC and State PSC examinations. The chapter-wise presentation of
NCERT text is given in the heading cum-pointer format for quick grasping. The theory in
each chapter is facilited with charts, tables, etc. to make the preparation easy and
convenient. Exam focused last minute revision topics are also covered in the appendix.
The book is adorned with questions prepared by a team of experts along with a vital role
played by the Project Management team with members: Mona Yadav (Project Manager),
Divya Gusain (Project Coordinator), Shivani Dixit, Ayush Rajput (Proof readers), Vinay
Sharma, Kamal Kishor, Sonu Kumar (DTP coordinators), Shanu and Mazher Chaudhary
(Cover and Inner designer).
We hope this book will help the aspirants to achieve their goals of clearing UPSC as well as
State PCS exams. Your valuable suggestions have always inspired us to strive for useful,
authentic and more trustworthy publications. So your inputs and suggestions are
welcomed for subsequent editions.
We wish you all the very best for your preparation and journey!!

Authors
 CONTENTS

ANCIENT HISTORY
Chapter 1. Sources of Ancient Indian History 1-6
l Archaeological Sources 1
l Literary Sources 4
l Foreign Accounts 5
l Modern Historians of Ancient India 6

Chapter 2. Pre-Historic Cultures 7-13

l Division of Ancient Indian History 7
l The Neolithic Age: Food Producers 9
l Chalcolithic Age 11
l Megalithic Culture or Iron Age 13
l Historical Age 13

Chapter 3. Indus Valley Civilisation 14-23

l Origin and Geographical Extent 14
l Phases of Indus Valley Civilisation 14
l Cities of Indus Valley Civilisation 15
l Important Sites of Indus Valley Civilisation 17
l Economic Conditions in Indus Valley Civilisation 18
l Social Conditions in Indus Valley Civilisation 19
l Art and Craft of Indus Valley Civilisation 20
l Religious Practices of Indus Valley Civilisation 21
l Decline of Indus Valley Civilisation 22
l Contribution of Indus Valley Civilisation 23

Chapter 4. The Vedic Age 24-31

l Advent of the Aryans in India 24
l Vedic Literature 24
l Vedic Age (1500-1000 BC) 26
l Later Vedic Age (1000-600 BC) 29
Chapter 5. Religious Movements 32-39
l Rise of New Religious Sects 32
l Jainism 33
l Buddhism 35
l Other Heterodox Religious Movements 37
l Bhagwatism 38
l New Dynamic Force : Islam 39

Chapter 6. Mahajanapadas 40-43

l Emergence of Mahajanapadas 40
l Sixteen Mahajanapadas 40
l Republics in the Sixth Century AD 42
l Foreign Invasion 43

Chapter 7. Mauryan Empire 44-49

l Sources of Mauryan Dynasty 44
l Rulers of Mauryan Dynasty 44
l Chandragupta Maurya 44
l Bindusara 45
l Ashoka 45
l Mauryan Administration System 47
l Mauryan Art and Architecture 48
l Decline of Mauryan Empire 49

Chapter 8. Post-Mauryan Period 50-55

l Indigenous Kingdoms in Post-Mauryan Period 50
l Shunga Dynasty (185-75 BC) 50
l Kanvas Dynasty (75-30 BC) 50
l Satavahana Dynasty (230 BC- 220 AD) 51
l Foreign Kingdoms in Post-Mauryan Period 53
l Post-Mauryan Administration 54

Chapter 9. The Age of the Guptas 56-60

l Gupta Empire 56
l Rulers of Gupta Empire 56
l Society and Administration in Gupta Empire 58
l Decline of the Gupta Empire 60
Chapter 10. Post-Gupta Era 61-67
l Harshavardhana (606-647 AD) 61
l Spread of Civilisation in Eastern India : Kamarupa Kingdom 63
l Other Dynasties in Post-Gupta Era 64
l Pala Dynasty 64
l Gurjara Pratihara Dynasty 65
l Rashtrakuta Dynasty 65
l Economic Life in Post-Gupta Era 66
l Art and Architecture in Post-Gupta Era 67

Chapter 11. History of South India 68-74

l Sangam Age 68
l Megalith Culture in South India 69
l Three Early Kingdoms 69
l Organisation of New Kingdoms in Deccan 71
l Imperial Cholas 72

MEDIEVAL HISTORY
Chapter 12. Arab and Turk Conquest in India 75-78
l Arabs in India 75
l Turkish Conquest in India 76
l Effects of Turkish Invasion 78

Chapter 13. Delhi Sultanate 79-86

l Establishment of Delhi Sultanate 79
1. Mamluk Dynasty (1206-1290 AD) 79
2. Khilji Dynasty (1290-1320 AD) 81
3. Tughlaq Dynasty (1320-1414 AD) 83
4. Sayyid Dynasty (1414-1451 AD) 85
5. Lodi Dynasty (1451-1526 AD) 86
l Mongol Invasion in Delhi Sultanate 86
Chapter 14. Delhi Sultanate : Administration, Economy, Society and Arts 87-91
l Administration in Sultanate Period 87
l Economy in the Sultanate Period 89
l Social Life of Sultanate Period 90
l Literary Works in Sultanate Period 90
l Architecture of Sultanate Period 91

Chapter 15. Vijayanagara and Bahmani Empire 92-97

l Vijayanagara Empire 92
l Sangama Dynasty (1336-1485 AD) 92
l Tuluva Dynasty (1505-1570 AD) 93
l Aravidu Dynasty (1570-1652 AD) 94
l Vijayanagara Administration 94
l Bahmani Kingdom 96
l Decline of Bahmani Empire 97

Chapter 16. Rise of Provincial Kingdoms 98-100

l Reasons for the Rise of Provincial Kingdoms 98
l Provincial Kingdoms of Eastern India 98
l Provincial Kingdoms of Western India 99
l Provincial Kingdoms of North-West and North India 100

Chapter 17. Bhakti and Sufi Movements 101-108

l Bhakti Movement 101
l Bhakti Saints 102
l Saguna Saints 104
l The Vaishnavite Movement 105
l Bhakti Movement in Maharashtra 105
l Sufi Movement 106
l Important Sufi Saints 107
Chapter 18. The Mughal Empire and Its Decline 109-116
l Rulers of Mughal Empire 109
l Babur 109
l Humayun (1530-1540 AD), (1555-1556) 110
l Sur Empire (1540-55 AD) 110
l Sher Shah 110
l Akbar (1556-1605 AD) 112
l Jahangir (1605-1627 AD) 113
l Shah Jahan (1628-1658) 114
l Aurangzeb (1658-1707) 115
l Decline of Mughal Empire 116

Chapter 19. Mughal Administration, Society, Economy and Arts 117-122

l Mughal Administration 117
l Society During Mughal Period 120
l Economy During Mughal Period 120
l Mughal Paintings 121
l Literature During Mughal Period 121
l Music in Mughal Period 121
l Mughal Art and Architecture 122

Chapter 20. Emergence of Maratha Empire 123-127

l Rise of Marathas 123
l Maratha Rulers 123
l Rise of the Peshwas 126
l Maratha Confederacy 127
l Decline of Maratha Empire 127
MODERN HISTORY
Chapter 21. Later Mughals (18th Century) 128-131
l Disintegration of Mughal Empire 128
l Bahadur Shah I (1707-1712) 128
l Jahandar Shah I (1712-13) 129
l Muhammad Shah (1719-48) 129
l Bahadur Shah II (1837-58) 130
l Causes for the Decline of the Mughal Empire 131

Chapter 22. Arrival of European Powers in India 132-137

l Advent of Europeans in India 132
l Portuguese 132
l The Dutch 133
l The English 134
l The Danes (Danish) 135
l The French 136

Chapter 23. Rise of New and Autonomous States 138-146

l Successor States 138
l Independent Kingdoms 141
l New States 143
l Socio-Economic Conditions During 18th Century 145
l Development of Art and Architecture During 18th Century 146

Chapter 24. Administrative & Economic Policies Under British Rule 147-155
l Acts and Amendments Under British Rule 147
l Phase I Company Rule (1773-1857) 147
l Phase II Crown Rule (1858-1947) 148
l Provincial Administration 150
l Economic Policies of British 150
l Banking System Under British Rule 151
l Evolution and Reforms in Civil Services 152
l Police System Under British Rule 153
l Transport and Communication System Under British Rule 154
l Impact of Economic Policies of British in India 155
Chapter 25. Civil Uprisings, Peasant, Tribal & Labour Movements 156-162
l Civil and Peasant Uprisings in India 156
l Tribal Movements in British India 160
l Movement of Working Class (1899) 162

Chapter 26. Socio-Religious Reform Movements in India 163-169

l Social Reform Movements 163
l Religious Reform Movements 167

Chapter 27. Development of Education and Press During the British Rule 170-175
l Development of Education Under East India Company 170
l Development of Education Under Crown Rule 171
l Development of Press in India 174

Chapter 28. The Revolt of 1857 176-179

l Causes of the Revolt 176
l Beginning and Course of Revolt 177
l Weakness of Revolt and Failure 178
l Impact of Revolt of 1857 179

Chapter 29. Indian National Movement : First Phase (1885-1915) 180-189

l Emergence of Nationalism in India 180
l Moderate and Extremists Phase of Congress 183
l First Phase of Revolutionary Activities (1907-17) 187
l World War I and Nationalist’s Response 189

Chapter 30. Indian National Movement : Second Phase (1915-1935) 190-201

l Lucknow Pact (1916) 190
l Home Rule League Movement 191
l Gandhian Era of Indian National Movement 192
l Khilafat Movement, 1919 193
l Non-Cooperation Movement (NCM) 193
l Simon Commission (1927-28) 195
l Nehru Report, 1928 196
l Civil Disobedience Movement : Second Phase 198
Chapter 31. Indian National Movement : Third Phase (1935-47) 202-211
l Government of India Act, 1935 202
l Provincial Elections 203
l Cripps Mission, 1942 204
l Quit India Movement, 1942 205
l Subhas Chandra Bose and Indian National Army 206
l Course of Events for Independence 207
l Partition of India 211
l Integration of Princely States After Independence 211

Chapter 32. Governors, Governor-Generals and Viceroys 212-219

l Governors of Bengal (1757-1774) 212
l Governor-Generals of Bengal (1773-1833) 213
l Governor-Generals and Viceroys of India (1828-1950) 215

Chapter 33. India After Independence 220-224

l Challenges for Newly Independent India 220
l Making of the Constitution 220
l Integration of Princely States 222
l Development and Planning 223
l An Evaluation of the Ideals of Our Country 224

ART AND CULTURE

Chapter 34. Indian Paintings 225-235
l Origin of Indian Paintings 225
l Development of Indian Paintings 225
l Paintings of Historic Age 226
l Painting in Colonial Age 232
l Modern Indian Art 233
l Living Art Traditions of India 234
Chapter 35. Sculpture Art of India 236-239
l Art Forms of Harappan Civilisation 236
l Mathura, Sarnath and Gandhara Schools of Art 238
l Indian Bronze Sculpture 239

Chapter 36. Indian Architecture : Styles & Development 240-252

l Harappan Architecture 240
l Mauryan Architecture 240
l Post-Mauryan Architecture 242
l Temple Architecture 243
l Buddhist and Jain Architectural Developments 248
l Indo-Islamic Architecture 249
l Regional Architectural Style 250
l Colonial Architecture 252

Chapter 37. Music, Dance and Theatre Craft 253-257

l Indian Classical Music 253
l Dance Forms of India 255
l Theatre Crafts 257
l Puppetry 257

Chapter 38. Indian Languages, Literature and Philosophy 258-261

l Classical Literature in India 258
l Literature in the Medieval Period 260
l Other Regional Literature 260
l Development of Indian Philosophy 261

l APPENDIX 262-272
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY Ancient History 01
CHAPTER 01

Sources of Ancient
Indian History

Sources Class VI New NCERT Chap 1 (What Books and Burials Tell Us), Class-XI Old NCERT (1) Chap 2 (The Importance of
Ancient Indian History), Class-XI Old NCERT (II) Chap 2 (Modern Historians of Ancient India), Class-XI Old NCERT
Chap 3 (Types of Sources and Historical Construction), Class-XII New NCERT Chap 1 (Bricks, Beads and Bones),
Chap 2 (Kings, Farmers and Towns)

The study of ancient Indian history is important as it Material Remains

tells us how, when and where people developed the
Archaeological excavations show the layout plan of
earliest cultures in our country.
the settlements in which people lived, the type of
It indicates how they started their agriculture which pottery they used, the form of houses in which
made life secure and settled. It shows how the ancient they dwelt, the kind of cereals they used as food
Indians discovered and utilised natural resources and and the type of tools and implements they
how they created the means for their livelihood. handled.
Sources that are responsible for providing information Vertical digging of sites provides us a good
about history are known as Historic Sources. chronological sequence of material culture. It also
tells us about the material culture of the ancient
Sources of Ancient Indian History period.
Buildings made of stone and bricks tell us of great
The sources responsible for the information about ancient
building activities in the past.
history can be broadly categorised as archaeological and
literary sources. Ring wells are rows of pots or ceramics rings
arranged one on top of other. They have been found
Sources in many cities and seem to have been used as toilets
as drains and garbage dumps. These were usually
Archaeological Sources Literary Sources found in individual houses.
In South India, megaliths provide us information
about the life of people of post iron age. Some of the
Material Pottery Religious Foreign largest collection of iron tools and weapons were
Coins Inscriptions Secular
Remains Accounts
found in the megalithic burials.
Archaeological Sources The use of iron began in the Indian sub-continent
around 3000 years ago. Around 2500 years ago,
These sources include material remains, pottery, there are evidences of ample use of iron tools, which
inscriptions and coins. The one who studies archaeological include iron axes for clearing forests and the iron
sources is known as archaeologist. ploughshare.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
02

Major Archaeological Sites and their Findings The coins were not inscribed, but were stamped
with symbols using dies or punches. Hence, they are
Site Findings
called punch-marked coins. These coins are found
Narmada Valley Early hunting and gathering communities. over most parts of the sub-continent and remained
North of Vindhyas In India, rice was first grown here. in circulation till the early centuries AD.
Magadha The first kingdom of India established here. The largest numbers of coins were found in
post-Mauryan times. These were made of lead,
Sulaiman and First crops such as wheat and barley about
Kirthar hills to the 8000 years ago began to grow here.
potin, copper, bronze, silver and gold.
North-West
Importance of Coins
Garo hills Early agriculture in India. The following points highlight importance of coins :
Indus and its The first cities in Indian sub-continent. The areas of their findings indicate the region of
tributaries
coinage circulation. This enables to reconstruct the
Ganga Valley Cities developed about 2500 years ago. history of several ruling dynasties, especially of the
Indo-Greeks.
Dating in Archaeology Coins also throw significant light on the economic
The dates of material remains are fixed according to the history. The coins issued by the guilds of merchants
radio-carbon method (Carbon-14 dating). The history of and goldsmiths show that craft and commerce had
climate and vegetation is known through an become important.
examination of plant residue and especially through The Guptas issued the largest number of gold coins.
pollen-analysis. It indicates that trade and commerce flourished,
Carbon dating has suggested that agriculture was especially in the post-Mauryan and Gupta times.
practiced in Rajasthan and Kashmir as far back as Only a few coins belonging to post-Gupta period
6000 BC. have been found. It indicates the decline of trade and
An examination of the animal bones enables us to find commerce at that time.
out whether the animals were domesticated and for Coins also contain religious symbols and legends,
finding out their use. which throw light on the art and religion of the time.
Beginning of Eras They also give information about natural resources
Vikram Samvat 58 BC available in various regions. Satavahanas, who
ruled in Andhra and Maharashtra in the first two
Saka Samvat 78 AD
centuries AD, issued a large number of lead coins
Gupta Era 319 AD since, the Andhra region possessed rich sources of
lead.
Pottery
Various kinds of pottery have been discovered during
Inscriptions
excavations. The study of inscriptions is called Epigraphy.
Red and Black pottery was used by the people of Indus The study of old writings used in inscriptions and
Valley Civilisation. While the Painted Grey Ware (PGW) old record is called Palaeography.
pottery was in use during Vedic Age. Inscriptions were carved out on seals, stone pillars,
rocks, copper plates, temple walls and bricks or
Coins images.
The study of coins is called Numismatics. In early centuries of the Christian era, copper plate
Ancient coins were made of various metals like copper, began to be used along with stone inscriptions.
silver, gold or lead. The earliest inscriptions are found on the seals of
Coin moulds, made of burnt clay have been discovered Harappa belonging to about 2500 BC, but they have
in large numbers belong to Kushana period. Such not been deciphered so far.
moulds disappeared in the Post-Gupta period. The oldest inscription deciphered so far is Brahmi
The earliest coins, called the Punch-Marked Coins, script that was issued by Ashoka in the third
were largely made up of silver. They contain a few century BC.
symbols but the later coins mention the names of kings, The Ashokan epigraphs were first deciphered in 1837
gods or dates of issuance. They were generally by James Princep, a civil servant in the employment
rectangular or sometimes square or round in shape. of the East India Company.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
03

Two Ashokan pillars were found by Firoz Shah (iii) The third types of inscriptions throw light on attributes
Tughlaq and re-established by him at Firoz Shah and achievements of kings and conquerors. Allahabad
Kotla Fort and in ridge area in Delhi. pillar inscription of Samudragupta belongs to this
category.
Language Used in Inscriptions
(iv) Finally, there are donation records which refer
The earliest inscriptions were written in the
specially to gifts of money, cattle, land etc, mainly for
Prakrit language in the third century BC. Sanskrit
religious purposes, made not only by kings and princes
was adopted as an epigraphic medium in the
but also by artisans and merchants.
second century AD. In the ninth and tenth
centuries AD, the inscriptions began to be Inscriptions recording land grants, made mainly by
composed in regional languages. chiefs and princes, are very important for the study of the
land system and administration in ancient India. These
Ashokan inscriptions were engraved in the Brahmi
were mostly engraved on copper plates. They contain the
script, which was written from left to right. Some
grants of lands revenues and villages made to monks,
inscriptions were written in Kharosthi script
priests, temples, monasteries, vassals and officials.
which was written from right to left.
Brahmi script was prevailed in the whole country, Important Ancient Inscriptions
except for the North-Western part. It continued to Inscriptions Location Significance
be the main script till the end of Gupta era.
Uttaramerur Chengalpattu l
It is noted for its temple
Greek and Aramaic scripts were used in writing Inscription (now inscriptions that describe a
Ashokan inscriptions in Afghanistan. Kanchipuram) self-governance system existing
district South of around seventh to ninth century
The Boghaz-Koi inscription found in Asia Minor Chennai AD.
mentions Vedic Gods Mitra, Varuna, Indra and
Eran Sagar district, l
It is an earliest evidence of Sati
Nasatya. Inscription Madhya Pradesh found in India here.
on the bank of
Bina river
Besnagar/ Vidisha in l
This pillar inscription was
Vidisha present Madhya constructed by Heliodorus, a
Inscription Pradesh Greek ambassador and belongs
to Sunga period (second century
BC).
l
It is written in Prakrit language
(with a few Sanskritic spellings)
and Brahmi script.
l
This pillar inscription is devoted
to Lord Vasudeva.
Junagarh Junagarh l
It is first pure Sanskrit
Inscription district, Gujarat inscription, by king Rudraman of
Saka dynasty in around 150 AD.
Ancient Inscription l
It says that Pushyagupta, the
Governor of Chandragupta
Maurya, built a dam on
Types of Inscriptions Sudarshan lake.
The following four types of inscriptions help us in Mehrauli Originally at l
It is probably erected by
understanding history of ancient India : Inscription/ Vishnupada Chandragupta Vikramaditya.
Garuda pillar (Udayagiri), l
It mentions Chandragupta II
(i) Some inscriptions convey royal orders and Madhya Pradesh conquest over Vanga countries
decisions regarding social, religious and but was and Vatakas. The pillar bears a
administrative matters to officials and public in transported to Sanskrit inscription in Brahmi
Delhi later script.
general. Ashokan inscriptions are of this
category. Aihole Bagalkot, l
It is a eulogy of Chalukya king
Inscription Karnataka Pulakeshin II and mentions his
(ii) Other inscriptions are votive records of the victory over Harshavardhan.
followers of Buddhism, Jainism, Vaishnavism, l
It is written in Sanskrit,
etc, who put up pillars, tablets, temples or images composed by Ravikirti, the court
as marks of devotion. poet of Pulakeshin II.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
04

Inscriptions Location Significance Mahabharata and Ramayana

Allahabad Allahabad , l
It is issued by Samudragupta and
The two epics Mahabharata and Ramayana seem
Pillar Uttar Pradesh composed by Harisena.
Inscription to have been finally compiled by 400 AD. Of this,
l
It is written in refined Sanskrit
(Prayag language in Champu Kavya style. the Mahabharata is older and possibly reflects the
Prasasti) l
It mentions the conquest of state of affairs from the 10th century BC, to the
Samudragupta both in North and fourth century AD.
South and described the Originally, it consisted of 8800 verses and was
boundaries of Gupta Empire and
his diplomatic relations.
called Jaya Samhita or the collection dealing with
victory. These were raised to 24000 and came to
Hathigumpha Udayagiri, near l
It was erected by Kharavela, the
Inscription Bhubaneshwar, ruler of Kalinga during second be known as Bharata, named after one of the
Odisha century BC. oldest Vedic tribes.
l
It mentions the military The final compilation brought the verses to
expeditions carried by Kharavela. 100,000 which came to be known as the
Lumbini Located in Nepal l
It is a royal commemorative Mahabharata or the Satasahasri Samhita. It
Pillar inscription recording Ashoka’s contains narrative, descriptive and didactic
Inscription visit to Buddha’s birth place.
material.
Mandasor Mandsor district, l
It mentioned about the
Inscription Madhya Pradesh construction of Sun temple. Ramayana originally consisted of 12000 verses,
l
It is composed by Vattasbhatta. which were later raised to 24000. It seems to have
been composed later than the Mahabharata.

Literary Sources Jaina and Buddhist Literature

The religious books of Jainas and Buddhists refer
Literary sources are the most authentic sources for the to historical personalities and incidents.
reconstruction of history.
The earliest Buddhist texts were written in Pali
The most ancient manuscripts, hand written material, in
language, which was common man’s language in
India are not older than the fourth century AD and have
Magadha or South Bihar.
been found in Central Asia.
They were finally compiled in the second century
In India, they were written on birch bark and palm BC in Sri Lanka, but the canonical portions reflect
leaves, but in Central Asia manuscripts were written on the state of affairs in the age of Buddha in India.
sheep leather and wooden tablets.
They tell us not only about the life of Buddha but
The literature can be classified into religious and secular some of the Buddhist kings who ruled over
literature. Magadha, Northern Bihar and Eastern Uttar
Pradesh.
Religious Literature Jatakas are the birth stories of Buddha’s previous
The Vedic, Buddhist, Jain and other contemporary years. These were probably composed by ordinary
literature are the religious literary sources of Ancient people and then written down and preserved by
Indian History. Buddhist monks. They throw light on social and
They throw light on the social and cultural conditions of economic conditions between fifth to second
ancient times but it is difficult to make use of them in the century BC. They also make incidental references
context of time and place. to political events in the age of Buddha.
Vedic Literature The Jaina texts were written in Prakrit and were
finally compiled in sixth century AD at Vallabhi in
The Vedic literature gives us a clear picture of the
Gujarat. They contain many passages which help
political, social and economic life of the Aryans and of the
us to reconstruct political history of Eastern Uttar
conflict between the Aryans and the non-Aryans.
Pradesh and Bihar in the age of Mahavira. The
Puranas Jaina texts refer repeatedly about trade and
traders.
The Puranas contain mythological information.
There exists total 18 Puranas. They give the genealogical Secular Literature
records (Vanshavali) of the ancient rulers of Kali Yuga.
Secular class of literature refers to the law-books
They are very much useful for studying history. Important called the dharamsutras, smritis, biographies,
Puranas are Vayu Purana, Skanda Purana, Matsya plays, dramas and the literature of South India
Purana, Vishnu Purana, etc. called Sangam literature.
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
05

The Dharamsutras were compiled in 500-200 BC, Foreign Accounts

and the principal Smritis were codified in the
first six centuries of Christian era. They laid The Greek, Roman, Chinese and Arab visitors came to
down the duties or different varnas as well about India, either as sailors, travellers or religious missionaries.
the kings and their officials. They left behind accounts of details that they saw in India.
They prescribed the rules according to which Greek and Roman Sources
property is to be held, sold and inherited. They The accounts of Greek and Roman authors, such as
also prescribe punishments for person guilty of Megasthenes, Arrian, Curtius, Plutarch, Diodorus,
theft, assault, murder, adultery etc. Dionysius, etc, gave valuable information of India’s
An important law book is the Arthashastra of contemporary situation.
Kautilya. It is divided into 15 books, of which The Greek writer, Herodotus, had never been to India and
Book II and III may be regarded of an earliest yet his book has reference to the conquests of
date. The book was put in its final form in the North-Western India by the Persian emperors. It constituted
beginning of Christian era. Its earliest portions the twentieth province of the empire of Darius, the Persian
reflect the state of society and economy in the age emperor.
of Mauryas. It provides rich material for the study
The Greek visitors mention Sandrokottas, who is
of ancient Indian polity and economy.
identified with Chandragupta Maurya, whose date of
The secular literature also includes the work of accession is fixed at 322 BC.
Bhasa, Kalidasa and Banabhatta. They throw
The Indica of Megasthenes, who came to the court of
light on the conditions of the time to which these
Chandragupta Maurya, has been lost and preserved only in
writings belonged. They also throw light on the
fragments quoted by subsequent classical writers. Indica
social and cultural life of Northern and Central
furnishes valuable information not only about Mauryan
India in the age of Guptas.
administration but also about social classes and economic
The works of Kalidasa comprise kavyas activities in that period.
and dramas, the most famous of which is
Greek and Roman accounts of the first and second
Abhijyana Shakuntalam.
centuries AD mentioned many Indian ports and various
Harshacharita, by Banabhatta in the seventh items of trade between India and Roman Empire.
century AD, is a semi-biographical work written
The ‘Periplus of The Erythrean Sea’ by unknown author
in Sanskrit language and in fancy style.
and Ptolemy’s Geography (150 AD), both written in Greek,
It describes the early career of Harshavardhana.
provide valuable data for the study of ancient geography
It gives excellent idea of the court life under
and commerce.
Harsha and the social and religious life in his age.
An account of a Greek sailor provides detailed account of
Sandhyakara Nandi’s Ramcharita narrates the
port of Barygaza (the Greek name of Bharuch).
story of conflict between the Kaivarta peasants
and the Pala prince Rampala. Chinese Sources
Bilhana’s Vikramankadevacharita recounts the Fa-Hien (fifth century AD) and Hiuen Tsang (seventh
achievements of his patron, Vikramaditya VI century AD), were Buddhist travellers from China, who
(1076-1127), the Chalukyan king of Kalyan. came to visit the Buddhist shrines and to study Buddhism.
The Rajatarangini or The Stream of Kings written Fa-Hien describes the social, religious and economic
by Kalhana in 12th century AD is a string of conditions of India in the age of Guptas and Hiuen Tsang
biographies of the kings of Kashmir. presents a similar account of India in the age of Harsha.
I-Tsing visited India in seventh century after the death of
Sangam Literature Harsha.
n It comprises the earliest Tamil texts, composed
around 2300 years ago in assemblies (known as Arab Sources
Sangama) of poets that were held in city of Some earlier Arab writers were Sulaiman
Madurai. (Silsilat-ut-Tawarikh) and Al Masudi (Muruj-ul-Zahab).
n It is a major source of information regarding Al-Biruni gave important information about India in his
social, economic and political life of the people
books ‘Tahqiq-i-Hind’ and Kitab-ul-Hind. He was Arab
living in the Delta.
scholar and contemporary of Mahmud of Ghazni.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
06

Al-Biruni studied Sanskrit and acquired knowledge British historian and noted Indologist AL Basham had
of Indian literature. He did not give any political written the book The Wonder that Was India in 1951,
information of his times but gave details insights of where he attempted to correct the negative stereotypes
contemporary society and culture. of India.
DD Koshambi in his book ‘An Introduction to the
Modern Historians of Ancient India Study of Indian History’ published in 1956
The first book, which was translated by the East India revolutionised Indian Historiography with his realistic
Company in India was Manusmriti, that was and scientific approach.
published as ‘A Code of Gentoo Laws’ in English by
Nathaniel Brassey Halhed in 1776 AD. Important Books and Their Authors
The Asiatic Society of Bengal was established in 1784 Books Authors
AD by Sir William Jones in Calcutta. He later
Mudrarakshasa Vishakdatta
translated Abhijyana Shakuntalam into English in
1789 AD. Rajtarangini Kalhana

William Jones was the first scholar to propogate the Kathasaritsagar Somdeva
deep relationship between the Indo-European Kamasutra Vatsayana
languages with Sanskrit as well as Persian.
Prashnottarmalika Amoghavarsha
In the year 1785, Sir Charles Wilkins translated the
Bhagavad Gita into English as Bhagavad Swapanvasdattam Bhasa
Gita-Dialogues of Krishna. Buddha Charita Asvaghosa
German scholar, Max Muller contributed immensely Natyashastra Bharata
on Indology. He translated Vedas, Upanishads,
Hitopadesha etc and published as Sacred Books of the Abhigyan Shakuntalam, Vikramorvashi and Kalidasa
Raghuvansam
East in total 50 part series.
The Early History of India, written by Vincent Arthur Amarkosha Amarsimha
Smith (1843-1920) in 1904, is considered as the first Panchasidhantika and Brihat Samhita Varharmihara
systematic work in Ancient Indian History.
Surya Sidhanta Aryabhatta
An eminent scholar RG Bhandarkar, reconstructed
Panchtantra Vishnu Sharma
Satavahana dynasty in Deccan as well Vaishnavism
and other religious sects. Nitisara Kamandaka
Social Activist Pandurang Vaman Kane (1880-1972) Aihole Prasasti Ravi Kriti
wrote the History of Dharmashastras, which is
Indica Megasthenes
considered as Encyclopedia of social code and Ethics.
Arthasastra Kautilya
Raja Rajendralal Mitra was among the first Indian
cultural researcher and historian who published Charaka Samhita Charaka
various manuscripts of Vedic literature. He also Lilawati Bhaskaracharya
wrote the Sanskrit Buddhist Literature of Nepal
in 1882. Harshacharita, Kadambari Nagananda Harshavardhana
and Ratnavali
Eminent historian RC Majumdar (1888-1980) had
presented History and Culture of Indian people, Gathasaptashati Hala
where he propounded Indian Renaissance in Astadhyayi Panini
descriptive manner.
Mahabhasya Patanjali
Another scholar Nilakantha Shastri has vividly
Naishadhacharitra Sri Harsha
described about the history of South India in his
work History of South India. Mrichhakatika Shudraka
Historian KP Jayaswal in his work ‘Hindu Polity’ in Gitagovinda Jayadev
1924 had proved the existence of Mahajanapadas and
Navratna Virsena
other republic states in Ancient period.
 INDIAN HISTORY
NCERT Notes
CHAPTER 02 7

Pre-Historic Cultures

Sources Class-VI New NCERT Chap 2 (From Hunting-Gathering to Growing Food), Class-VI Old NCERT Chap 1 (Early Man),
Class-IX Old NCERT Chap 1 (Life in Pre-historic Times), Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 1 (The Stone Age : The Early Man),
Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 6 (Chalcolithic Farming Cultures)

Earliest human remains associated with stone tools 3. Historical Period It is the period whose
found in Africa have been dated as old as 3.5 million information is available in written records.
years ago. Humans of this period were civilised and
In India, the evidence of first occupation are not earlier historical activities after 600 BC included in this
than the Middle Pleistocene, which began about period.
5,00,000 years ago. Initially, men were nomads. They History
wandered in groups from place to place in search of food
and shelter. There was no cultivation. So, they consumed
Pre-Historic Period Proto-Historic Period Historical Period
all they could find in a certain place and had to move
(Stone age)
place to place in search of food. They also hunted
animals and they had to go elsewhere in their search.
People either lived in caves or built small shelters on the Palaeolithic Age Mesolithic Age Neolithic Age
leafy branches of large trees. Sohan Valley Son Valley Belan Valley
Belan Valley Belan Valley Chhota Nagpur Plateau
In the later part of stone age (Neolithic), man stopped
Narmada Valley Karnataka
being a nomad and began to settle down in one place as Tungabhadra Valley Andhra Pradesh
an agriculturist.
Central India
It took almost 3,00,000 years for men to change from a
‘food-gatherer’ to a ‘food producer’.
Palaeolithic Age:
Division of Ancient Indian History Hunters and Food Gatherers
History of ancient India has been divided by the historian The earliest period is called the Palaeolithic. The
into three heads as follows: term is derived from two Greek words, ‘palaeo’,
meaning old and ‘lithos’, meaning stone. This
1. Pre-Historic Period It is the period of human culture
period developed in the Pleistocene period or the
for which no written records are available. The
Ice Age.
humans of this period were not civilised. The history of
this period is studied by archaeological evidences The Palaeolithic period extends from 2 million
only.  This period is divided into three parts viz. years ago to about 12,000 years ago. This long span
Palaeolithic Age, Mesolithic Age and Neolithic Age. of time covers 99% of human history.
2. Proto-history Period It is the period between As per the evidences found in form of tools in
pre-history and history during which a culture or South India and in the Sohan Valley in Pakistan,
civilisation has not yet developed writing, but other humans have been living in India roughly from
cultures have already noted its existence in their own 5,00,000 BC. Such sites have also been discovered
writings. Duration of this period is 2500 BC to 600 BC. in Kashmir.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
08

The early man used stone tools for hunting, cutting and other This helped people to start thinking about
purposes. The tools were made of stone, wood and bone. herding and rearing these animals. Fishing also
Some of these stone tools, were used to cut meat and bone, became an important occupation.
scrape bark (from trees) and hides (animal skins), chop This was also the period when several grain
fruit and roots. bearing grasses, including wheat, barley and rice
Some may have been attached to handles of bone or wood, grew naturally in different parts of the
to make spears and arrows for hunting. Other tools were sub-continent.
used to chop wood, which was used as firewood. Men, women and children probably collected
these grains as food, learnt where they grew and
when they ripened. This may have led them to
think about growing plants on their own.

Phases in the Palaeolithic Age

The Palaeolithic Age in India is divided into three
phases according to the nature of the stone tools
used by the people and also according to the
nature of change in the climate.
1. Early or Lower Palaeolithic
(5,00,000 BC and 50,000 BC)
The Lower Palaeolithic age covers the greater
part of the Ice Age. Its characteristic feature is the
use of hand-axes, cleavers and choppers.
Its sites are found in the valley of river Soan or
Tools of Palaeolithic Age Sohan in Punjab, (now in Pakistan). Other sites
were found at Hunsgi, Karnataka.
The Palaeolithic men discovered fire, which is evidenced
The Early Palaeolithic tools have found in the
by the traces of ash found in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh.
Belan valley. The Belan sites contain caves and
In winters, earlier man wrapped animal skins or leaves of rock shelters, which could have served as
trees around to keep themself warm. seasonal camps for human beings.
In this period, man barely managed to gather his food and The sites found in the desert area of Didwana in
lived on hunting. He had no knowledge of cultivation and Rajasthan, in the valleys of the Belan and the
house-building. Animal remains found on Belan Valley in Narmada (Madhya Pradesh) and in the caves and
Mirzapur district in Uttar Pradesh show that goats, sheep rock shelters of Bhimbetka near Bhopal in
and cattle were domesticated around 25,000 BC. They Madhya Pradesh roughly belong to 1,00,000 BC.
hunted wild animals, caught fish and birds, gathered At some sites, a large number of tools, were found
fruits, roots, nuts etc. that were used for all sorts of activities. These
The life was not settled yet, the hunter-gatherers of this were probably habitation-cum factory sites.
age moved from place to place :
— in search of food
Habitation and Factory Sites
— to follow the movements of animals they hunted
Habitation sites These are the places where people
— in search of different kind of plants lived. These include caves and rock shelters. They
— to meet their friends and relatives provided shelter from the rain, heat and wind.
Around 12,000 years ago, there were major changes in the Factory sites These are the places where stone was
climate of the world, with a shift to relatively warm found and where people made tools.
conditions. In many areas, this led to the development of Habitation-cum-factory sites These are the sites
grasslands. This in turn led to an increase in the number of where people lived for longer time. Here large
deer, antelope, goat, sheep and cattle, i.e., animals that number of tools are found.
survived on grass.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
09

2. Middle Palaeolithic Pre-historic Art

(50,000 BC and 40,000 BC) The people of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic ages
The Middle Palaeolithic industries are mainly based practised painting.
upon flakes, which are found in different parts of Pre-historic art appears at several places, but
India and show regional variations.
Bhimbetka is a striking site which has more than 500
The principal tools are varieties of blades, points, painted rock shelters, distributed in an area of 10 sq km.
borers and scrapers made of flakes.
The rock paintings extend from the Palaeolithic to the
Middle Palaeolithic sites are found in Soan Valley, Mesolithic period, but a majority of rock shelters are
Narmada River valley and at places South of associated with the Mesolithic occupation.
Tungabhadra river.
Many birds, animals and human beings are painted.
3. Upper Palaeolithic (40,000 BC and 10,000 BC) Most probably, most of the birds and animals that
The Upper Palaeolithic phase was less humid. It appear in paintings were hunted for the sake of
coincided with the last phase of the Ice Age, when livelihood. Perching birds, which live upon grain, are
climate became comparatively warm. absent in the earliest group of painting.
In the world context, it marks the appearance of new
flint industries and modern men (Homo sapiens).
Caves and rock shelters used by human beings in the
Upper Palaeolithic phase have been discovered at
Bhimbetka, 45 km South of Bhopal. This phase was
characterised by massive flakes, blades, burins and
scrappers, which have been found in upper level of
Gujarat dunes.

The Mesolithic Age: Hunters and Herders

The Upper Palaeolithic Age came to an end with the
end of Ice Age around 9000 BC and the climate
became warm and dry.
From 9000 BC, an intermediate stage emerged in
Stone Age culture, which is called the Mesolithic Age. Tools of Mesolithic Age
It intervened as a transitional phase between the
Palaeolithic Age and the Neolithic or new Stone Age. The Neolithic Age: Food Producers
It is also called the Later Stone Age.
In the context of the world, the New Stone Age began
In case of India, it started about 8000 BC and in 9000 BC. However, the Neolithic settlements in the
continued up to 4000 BC. Indian sub-continent are not older than 7000 BC.
The characteristic tools of the Mesolithic Age are Whereas Neolithic settlements found in South India
microliths. are not older than 2500 BC. The people of this age
The Mesolithic people lived on hunting, fishing and used tools and implements of polished stone. They
food gathering. At a later stage, they also domesticated particularly used stone axes.
animals. The Neolithic settlers were the earliest farming
Adamgarh  in Madhya Pradesh and Bagor in communities. They also started to tame animals.
Rajasthan provide the earliest evidence for the The first animal to be domesticated was dog. Other
domestication of animals. animals like sheep, goat, cattle and pig were
Mesolithic sites are found in Chhota Nagpur plateau, domesticated by them and they became herders.
Central India and South of River Krishna. With various discoveries and developments, the
The Mesolithic site Bagor in Rajasthan is very well Neolithic man settled in one place, forming a village.
preserved. It had a distinctive microlithic industry, These were the earliest village. They were to be found
and its inhabitants depended on hunting and all over India but more often in river valleys and on
pastoralism. the flat plains, where the soil was more fertile and it
was easier to grow crops.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
10

The Neolithic villages were small and the houses It is one of the earliest villages, that we know about and
were made of mud and reed and situated close to dates back to 7000 BC. Archaeologists have found
each other. The area of huts was probably evidence of many kinds of animal bones from the
surrounded by a mud wall or fence. The field lay earliest levels. These included bones of wild animals
outside the fence. such as the deer and pig.
The village itself was usually built on slightly higher The Neolithic people of Mehrgarh were more
ground than the fields. The huts were thatched and advanced. They produced wheat, cotton and lived in
ordinarily consisted of just one room. A fire was lit in mud-brick houses. Other finds at Mehrgarh include
the hut on, which the cooking was done. They remains of square or rectangular houses. Each house
cultivated crops like rice, wheat, barley, ragi and had four or more compartments, some of which may
horsegram (Kulathi). have been used for storage.
Since, in the Neolithic phase several settlements First Area
came to be acquainted with the cultivation of cereals
and the domestication of animals, they needed pots Burzahom, situated near Srinagar (Jammu and
in which they could store their food grains. Kashmir), dated back to 2400 BC. The Neolithic people
Hence,  pottery first appears in this phase. In many of Burzahom lived there on a lake-side in pits and
areas, they began making large clay pots or wove probably had hunting and fishing economy. They were
baskets or dug pits into the ground. Hand-made not acquainted with agriculture or domestication of
potter is found in the early stage. animals. They used tools and weapons made of
Later, they used wheel made pottery. polished stone and bone. They used coarse grey
pottery. Domestic dogs were found to be buried with
A very important discovery was that of the wheel. Its their masters in their graves.
discovery led to a big advance in the pattern of living.
It helped men to travel easily from one place to Gufkral  (literally the ‘cave of the potter’) is another
another. The use of wheel also improved the making Neolithic site located 41 km South-West of Srinagar.
of pottery. The people of  Gufkral practised both agriculture and
domestication of animals.
Neolithic Society Chirand, near Patna, dates back to 1600 BC. It is the
When men became settled, it became necessary to only site in India where bone implements have been
make rules of conduct. The first thing was to decide found in large number.
what each person’s job was to be. There used to be In addition, sites in Mirzapur and Allahabad have
division of labour and men and women had to been found. The site in Allahabad district is noted for
perform different functions/ tasks. the cultivation of the rice in the 6th millennium BC.
Generally, the oldest man in the village had to be
Second Area
leader who could give commands. But sometimes, it
was the strongest and the bravest man. The second group of Neolithic people lived in South
India to the South of river Godavari. The Neolithic
Religion in Neolithic Age phase in South India seems to have covered the period
Sky-God and Earth-goddess were worshipped. The from 2500 BC to 1000 BC.
dead were buried in a grave. Several burial sites have Here, the people settled on the tops of granite hills or
been found at Mehrgarh. In one instance, the dead on the plateau near the river banks. They possessed
person was buried with goats. cattle, sheep and goats.
They used stone axes and stone blades. The rubbing
Neolithic Areas
stone shows that, they were acquainted with art of
The sites are found all over the sub-continent. Some producing grains.
of the most important ones are in the North-West, in
Important sites in South are Maski, Brahmagiri,
present-day Kashmir and in East and South India.
Hallur, Kodekal, Sangankallu, Tirumakudal Narsipur,
Mehrgarh was the earliest Neolithic settlement Takkalakota in Karnataka, Paiyampalli in Tamil Nadu
found in Indian sub-continent, which is located in a and Utnur and Piklihal in Andhra Pradesh.
fertile plain near the Bolan Pass, at Baluchistan
The Neolithic settlers in Piklihal were cattle herders.
(Pakistan). It was probably one of the places where
They domesticated cattle, sheep and goats etc. It is
people learnt to grow barley and wheat, and rear
evidenced by the ash mounds and habitation sites
sheep and goats for the first time in this area.
discovered in Piklihal.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
11

Third Area The settlements at Kayatha and Eran in Madhya

The third area from which Neolithic tools have been Pradesh and at Inamgaon in Western Maharashtra
recovered is in the hills of Assam. Neolithic tools were fortified. On the other hand, the remains of
have been found in the Garo Hills in the Meghalaya structures in Chirand and Pandu Rajar Dhibi in
as well. Eastern India were poor in nature, giving indications
of sinkholes.
Daojali Hading is a site on the hills near the
Brahmaputra Valley, close to routes leading into Tools and Weapons
China and Myanmar. Here stone tools, including The people of Chalcolithic cultures used small tools
mortars and pestles, have been found. These indicate and weapons made of stone. In certain settlements,
that people were probably growing grain and copper implements are found in good numbers. At
preparing food from it. Ahar, stone tools are completely absent. In Gilund,
copper blade industry has been found.
Chalcolithic Age The Chalcolithic people used different types of pottery,
The use of metal began towards the end of the one of which is called Black and Red. It was wheel
Neolithic age and thus the Chalcolithic age. The first made and occasionally painted with white linear
metal to be used was copper. Later, it was mixed with designs. However, people of different cultures used
metals such as tin, zinc and lead to make new metal different types of pottery and implements.
of alloy called bronze. Known Animals
The Chalcolithic man was fond of ornaments and The people living in South-Eastern Rajasthan, Western
decoration. The women wore ornaments of shell and Madhya Pradesh and Western Maharashtra
bone. Man had invented the technique of spinning domesticated animals and cultivated foodgrains. They
and weaving cloth. domesticated cow, sheep, goat, pig, buffalo and hunted
There were several cultures that were using stone deer.
implements along with the copper implements. Such Remains of camel have also been found. It is not clear
cultures are called Chalcolithic cultures. whether, they were acquainted with the horse. Some
As per scientific analysis, Chalcolithic cultures were animal remains are identified either to the horse or
not older than 1800 BC. They seem to have continued donkey or wild ass.
in some areas till 1000 BC and in other areas till Food
800 BC.
They used to cultivate wheat, rice, bajra, lentil, green
The Early Settlers gram, black gram and grass pea. All these foodgrains
The Chalcolithic communities founded the first have been found at Navadatoli in Maharashtra. In
villages in India (not in Indian sub-continent) and addition, ber, linseed, ragi and cotton were also grown.
cultivated barley, wheat, lentil in Western India and They also ate non-vegetarian food. In Eastern India,
rice in Southern and Eastern India. fish hooks and remains of rice have been found, which
suggests that the people in Eastern region lived on fish
Except for the alluvial plains, Chalcolithic cultures
and rice.
have been discovered almost all over the country.
Their earliest settlements appear in Malwa and Houses
Central India such as those in Kayatha and Eran. The Chalcolithic people were not acquainted with
Settlements in Western Maharashtra appeared later burnt bricks. Occasionally, their houses were made up
and settlements in West Bengal were the last to of mud bricks, but mostly these were constructed with
emerge. wattle and daub and seem to have been thatched
In Western Madhya Pradesh sites at Eran, Kayatha houses.
and Navdatoli on Narmada have been discovered. In Inamgaon, in earlier phase, large mud houses with
The sites in Western Maharashtra are at Jorwe, ovens and circular pit houses have been discovered. In
Nevasa and Daimabad in Ahmednagar district; the later phase, discovery of house with five rooms
Chandoli, Inamgaon and Songaon in Pune district and suggest that families were large.
at Nasik. Settlements became stable and widespread in this
In Eastern India, Chirand, Pandu Rajar Dhibi in phase. This is termed as Jorwe culture because of its
Burdwan district and Mahisdal in Midnapore district type-site is provided by Jorwe, a village situated near
in West Bengal are important Chalcolithic sites. Some Pravara River. Every Jorwe village was a nucleated
Chalcolithic sites have also been found in Allahabad settlement with houses of different size, circular or
rectangular in shape.
region.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
12

Social Inequalities Chalcolithic Sites of Feature

Culture Chalcolithic
In this phase, we also find the beginning of social Culture
inequalities. It is evidenced from the material/ Svalda Dhulia l
Known for its non-Harappan
remains found in the graves. In the graves at Chandoli Culture district of culture.
and Nevasa in Western Maharashtra some children (2300-2000 Maharashtra.
were buried along with copper-bead necklaces around BC)
their neck while other children had grave goods Prabhas and Prabhas and l
Both of them are derived from
Rangpur Rangpur, the Harappa culture. The
consisting only of pots. Culture Gujarat polished red ware is the hall
The Chalcolithic economy was a village economy. (1700-1400 mark of this culture.
These people had no urban civilisation. BC)

Some settlements such as Inamgaon, Eran, Kayatha

Importance of Chalcolithic Cultures
were fortified and surrounded by a moat.
Except for alluvial plains and the thickly forested
Art and Crafts areas, traces of Chalcolithic cultures have been found
A little is known about their art and crafts. They knew almost all over the country.
the art of copper smelting. They were expert They used microliths and other stone tools
coppersmiths and also good workers in stone as a supplemented by a little use of copper tools. It seems
large number of microliths have been found. They that most of them knew, the art of copper smelting.
knew the art of spinning and weaving. Spindle Almost all Chalcolithic communities used black and
whorls have been discovered in Malwa and cotton red wheel-turned pots. They were, the first to use
and silk have been found in Maharashtra. painted pottery. Their pots were meant for cooking,
Burial Practices eating and storing. They used the lota, but there is no
trace of the thali.
Unlike Harappans, they did not use separate
cemeteries. They had different burial practices. In In South India, the Neolithic phase imperceptibly
Maharashtra, people used to bury their dead in urns faded into the stone-copper phase and so, these
under the floor of their house in the North-to-South cultures are called Neolithic-Chalcolithic.
position, but in the South India in the East-West In other parts, especially in Western Maharashtra and
position. Rajasthan, the Chalcolithic people seems to have been
Almost complete or extended burial obtained in colonisers.
Maharashtra, but post-extraction or fractional burial The Chalcolithic communities founded the first
prevailed in West Bengal. villages in India and cultivated far more cereals than
is known in case of the Neolithic communities.
Religion
The burial practices were different in Maharashtra the
Terracotta figures of women found in Inamgaon dead body was placed in the North-South position, but
suggest that the Chalcolithic people prayed the in South India, towards East-West position. Almost
Mother Goddess. In Malwa and Rajasthan stylised bull complete or extended burial obtained in Maharashtra,
terracotta show that, the bull served as a religious cult. but post-extraction or fractional burial prevailed in
Important Chalcolithic Cultures in India West Bengal.
Chalcolithic Sites of Feature
Culture Chalcolithic
Limitations in Chalcolithic Cultures
Culture In spite of a food-producing economy, the rate of
Ahara Ahara l
The distinctive feature is black Infant Mortality was very high. It is evident from the
Culture (Rajasthan), and red ware, decorated with the large number of children graves in Western
Balathal, white designs. Maharashtra.
Gilund etc.
Kayatha Near river in l
The sturdy red slipped ware Though the copper metal was known but the
Culture Chambal and with chocolate, colour designs is Chalcolithic culture was a rural culture since, as a
(2000-1800 its tributaries. main feature. metal copper has its limitations and its supply was
BC) also limited.
Malwa Narmada and l
One of the largest Chalcolithic
Culture its tributaries settlements. Further, people did not know the art of mixing copper
(1700-1200 in Gujarat. l
The  Malwa  ware is slightly with Tin and thus, forging much stronger and useful
BC) coarse in fabric, but has a thick metal called Bronze. It was the bronze tools, which
buff surface over which designs facilitated the rise of earliest civilisations.
were made either in red or black.
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
13

They also did not know the art of writing nor did they The megalithic people did not practice advance type
live in cities. of agriculture. It is evidenced from the fact that
Although, the Chalcolithic cultures came much later compared to the number of agricultural tools those
than the Indus Valley Civilisation, they did not derive meant for fighting and hunting have been found in
any substantial benefit from the advance technological the megaliths.
knowledge of the Indus people. The megaliths are found in all upland areas of
peninsular India, but their concentration seems to be
Copper Age in India in Eastern Andhra and in Tamil Nadu.
n Hoards of copper objects have been found in a wide area The Chera, Chola and Pandyas mentioned in the
ranging from the Chhota Nagpur plateau to the upper Ashokan inscriptions were probably in the
Gangetic basin but, they are concentrated in megalithic phase of material culture.
Ganga-Yamuna doab. The megalithic people in the Southern districts of
n The artefacts found indicate good technological skill and Tamil Nadu had certain peculiar characteristics.
knowledge on the part of the copper smiths and cannot They buried the skeleton of the dead in urns made of
be the handwork of nomadic people or hunters.
red pottery in pits.
n At several places artefacts have been discovered in
association with ochre-coloured pots and some mud The practice of urn-burial was different from that of
structures, which shows that the people who used the pit-burial surrounded by stone circles, which
copper hoards led a settled life and were one of the practice prevailed in Krishna-Godavari Valley.
earliest primitive agriculturists and artisans to settle in The megalith is contain not only skeletons of people
doab. but also pottery and iron objects. It indicates their
n The period covered by the ochre-coloured pottery belief in the next world. These goods also give good
culture is roughly placed between 2000 BC and 1800 BC. idea about source of their livelihood.
The end of these settlements is not clear, but the sanctity
and religious purity attached to copper vessels, utensils, The megalithic people produced ragi and paddy but
etc, in Hindu religion may have started in the copper their area of cultivable land used by them was very
age. limited and generally, they did not settle on the
n The people of Copper Hoard Culture were plains or the low lands.
contemporaries of Harappans and the ochre-coloured By the beginning of the Christian era, megalithic
pottery area in which they lived was not far removed people moved from uplands into fertile river basins
from that of Harappans. Therefore, some kind of barter and reclaimed marshy deltaic areas.
system between these copper-using people and the
bronze using Harappans can be expected. Under the stimulus of contact with the elements of
material culture brought from the North to the South
by traders, conquerors and Jain and Buddhist
Megalithic Culture or Iron Age missionaries, they came to practice wet paddy
Till second century BC, the phenomenon of large scale cultivation. They also founded numerous villages
agricultural communities using iron implements, rise of and towns and came to have social classes. All these
social classes, use of writing are not found in peninsula. created conditions for the rise of imperial States in
the Southern India.
The Southern tip of peninsular India was inhabited by
the people called megalith builders. Megaliths usually
refer to graves, which are encircled by big pieces of
Historical Age
stone. Historical Age basically started when people started
writing. With the development of literary sources,
The beginning of megaliths can be traced to 1000 BC,
historical age also developed.
but in many cases Megalithic phase lasted from about
the fifth century to first century BC and in a few places In India, starting of historical age is considered just
this phase persisted even up to the early Christian era. after Vedic age.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
14 03

Indus Valley Civilisation

Sources Class-VI Old NCERT Chap 3 (Man Takes to City Life), Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 7 (Harappa Civilisation : Bronze
Age Civilisation), Class-XII New NCERT Chap 1 (Bricks, Beads and Bones : The Harappan Civilisation)

Major Developments in Harappan Archaeology

Origin and Geographical Extent
Year Development
The Indus Valley Civilisation or Harappan culture,
was discovered in 1921 at the modern site of Harappa 1875 Report of Alexander Cunningham on Harappan seal.
in West Punjab in Pakistan. It covered parts of Punjab, 1921 Daya Ram Sahni began excavations at Harappa.
Haryana, Sind, Baluchistan, Gujarat, Rajasthan and
some areas of Uttar Pradesh. 1925 Excavations began at Mohenjodaro.

The area formed a triangle and accounted for about 1946 REM Wheeler excavated at Harappa.
12,99,000 km 2 which was larger than ancient Egypt 1955 SR Rao began excavations at Lothal.
and Mesopotamia.
1960 BB Lal and BK Thapar began excavations at Kalibangan.
Cunningham, the first Director-General of the
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), began 1974 MR Mughal began explorations in Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
archaeological excavations of Harappan culture in the 1980 A team of German and Italian archaeologists began
mid-19th century. surface explorations at Mohenjodaro.
Seals were discovered at Harappa by archaeologists 1986 American team began excavations at Harappa .
such as Daya Ram Sahni and RD Banerjee in the
early decades of the 20th century. 1990 RS Bisht began excavations at Dholavira.

On the basis of these findings, John Marshall,

Director-General of the ASI, announced the Phases of Indus Valley Civilisation
discovery of a new civilisation in the Indus Valley to The period of Harappan culture is divided into three
the world in 1924. phases which are as follows :
Radiocarbon dating has determined the most
acceptable time period of Indus Valley Civilisation Early Harappan Phase (3300 to 2600 BC)
between 2350-1750 BC. The Early Harappan Phase is related to the Hakra
At that time, the Northern and Western parts of India Phase, identified in the Ghaggar-Hakra River Valley.
(now in Pakistan) were covered with forests. The This phase stands characterised by  centralised
climate was moist and humid. The areas of Sind and authority  and an increasingly urban quality of life.
Rajasthan were not deserts. Trade networks  had been established and there are
The origin of Harappan culture is not clear. However, also evidences of the  cultivation of crops. Peas,
it is said to be evolved out of indigenous settlements. sesame seeds, dates, cotton, etc., were grown during
There are no evidences which prove that the influence that time.
of Mesopotamia or Egypt helped the rise of Harappan Kot Diji  represents the phase leading up to Mature
culture. Harappan Phase.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
15

Mature Harappan Phase  (2600 to 1900 BC) Mohenjodaro

By 2600 BC, the Indus Valley Civilisation had entered It is the largest site of the Harappan Civilisation,
into a  mature stage. discovered by RD Banerjee in 1922. In Sindhi language,
The early Harappan communities were turning into the word ‘Mohenjodaro’ means Mound of the Dead.
large urban centers, like Harappa and Mohenjodaro The Great Bath of Mohenjodaro is the most
in Pakistan and Lothal in India. important public place, measuring 39 feet in length,
Sites of this phase were Harappa, Mohenjodaro, 23 feet wide and 8 feet deep.
Chanhudaro, Lothal, Kalibangan, Banawali, It is located at the centre of the citadel and is
Sutkagendor and Surkotda. remarkable for its beautiful brickwork. Its floor is made
of burnt bricks set in gypsum and mortars.
Extent of Indus Valley Civilisation The Great Granary is the largest building, of this
n Easternmost site Alamgirpur (Meerut, Uttar Pradesh) civilisation measuring 150 feet in length and 50 feet
n Westernmost site Sutkagan Dor (Baluchistan) width. It is located within the citadel.
n Northernmost site Manda (Jammu) Other buildings include an angular multi-pillared
n Southernmost site Daimabad (Maharashtra) assembly hall and a big rectangular building which
served administrative purpose.
Late Harappan Phase  (1900 to 1300 BC)
The signs of a  gradual decline  of the Harappan
Civilisation are believed to have started around 1800
BC and by 1700 BC, most of the cities were abandoned.
However, various elements of the ancient Harappan
Civilisation can be seen in later cultures.
Archaeological data indicates the continuation of the
Late Harappan culture till 1000-900 BC.
The late Harappan phase is found in Rangpur and
Rojdi in Kathiawar peninsula (Gujarat).

Contemporary Civilisations of Indus Valley Civilisation

Civilisation Banks of River Description
Great Bath of Mohenjodaro
Egypt Nile river This was the civilisation of
the Pharaohs who built the
pyramids at this time. Chanhudaro
Mesopotamia Euphrates and This was the Sumerian It is known as the Lancashire of India and is the only
(Modern Iraq) Tigris rivers civilisation and Harappans Indus city without a citadel. Chanhudaro was perhaps
had trading contacts with it. a great centre of bead manufacturing.
Hwang Ho, (China) Hwang Ho river —
Kalibangan
The literal meaning of Kalibangan is black bangle.
Cities of Indus Valley Civilisation Kalibangan has the largest concentration of Harappan
Some of the prominent cities of Indus Valley Civilisation settlements and yields evidence of early Harappan
are discussed below : period.
Harappa Many houses of this city had their own wells. Three
different cultural layers, (i.e.) Indus, Jhukar and
It is located on the banks of the river Ravi and was the
Jhangar can be seen here.
first Indus site to be discovered and excavated in 1921.
Charles Masson first visited Harappa near Sahiwal in Ropar
Punjab, (now in Pakistan) in 1826-1827 and gave its
It was the first site to be excavated after
earliest reference.
independence. Buildings found here were made of
In 1912, J Fleet discovered the Harappan seals, with stone and soil. It is located in Punjab and has yielded a
promoted the excavations under Sir John Marshall. sequence of six cultural periods or phases with some
It was visited by Cunningham in 1853 and 1873. break from Harappa i.e., Painted Grey Ware (PGW)
The Indus Valley Civilisation was originally called Culture, Northern Black Polished (NBP) Ware
Harappan Civilisation after the discovery of this site. Culture, Kushana, Gupta, medieval to the present day.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
16

Lothal Town Planning

The most unique feature of Lothal was its dockyard, The Harappan culture is distinguished by its system of
the world’s first tidal port. It served as a main seaport town planning.
for the Indus people. Baked bricks with lime plaster
The city was divided into two parts i.e. the citadel on
were used in the dockyards of Lothal.
West and the Lower town on the East.
It situated in Gujarat and served long distance trade
and also supplied the cities along the banks of the Citadel
Indus with raw materials such as cotton from Gujarat The citadel was built on a mud brick platform. It was
and copper from Rajasthan. smaller in size and was walled. It was occupied by the
Lothal has been perceived by the historians to be an members of the ruling class.
outpost for sea-trade with contemporary West Asian Evidences of such structure are found on the citadel
Societies, particularly Oman. that were probably used for special public purposes.
It is known as the Manchester of Harappan These include the warehouse (granary) and the Great
Civilisation for its cotton trade. Bath.
Granary is largest building in Mohenjodaro
Banawali measuring 45.7 × 115.23 m. Granaries are also found
It is the only Harappan city with oval-shaped in Kalibangan.
settlements, radial streets and lack of systematic
The Great Bath in Mohenjodaro, which served ritual
drainage pattern. Both Pre-Harappan and Harappan
bathing, is situated in the citadel mound. It was a
phases are found here.
large rectangular tank in a courtyard surrounded by a
Artefacts recovered from here include, 8-shaped jars, corridor on all four sides.
cooking vessels, ovens and painted earthen pots.
There were two flights of steps on the North and
Interestingly a wash basin type structure is also South leading into the tank, which was made
found in house at Banawali. watertight by setting bricks on edge and using a
Dholavira mortar of gypsum.
It is one of the two largest Harappan settlements in There were rooms on three sides, in one of which was
India, the other being Rakhigarhi in Haryana. a large well. Its floor was made of burnt bricks. Water
in the Great Bath was drawn from a large well in an
The most unique feature of the site is its division into
adjacent room and an outlet from the corner of the
three sections. Two of these parts were protected by
Bath led to a drain.
strong rectangular fortifications, with entrances
through gateways.
Drainage System
It is the warehousing settlement of Harappan
One of the most distinctive features of Harappan
Civilisation. Dholavira also consist of a large open area
cities was the carefully planned drainage system.
in the settlement where public ceremonies could be
Water flowed from the house to streets which had
held.
drains. These drains were covered with bricks or
A public inscription with 10 large sized signs of the
stone slabs. The street drains were equipped with
Harappan scripts are also discovered here besides
manholes.
water reservoirs.
Drainage systems were not unique to the larger
cities, but also found in smaller settlements as well.
For instance, at Lothal, houses were built of mud
bricks, while drains were made of burnt bricks.

Variations in Plan of Cities

While most Harappan settlements have uniform plan,
there are variations.
At sites such as Dholavira and Lothal (Gujarat),
the entire settlement was fortified and sections
within the town were also separated by walls.
The citadel within Lothal was not walled off, but was
Dholavira built at a height. Dholavira was divided into three parts.
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
17

Important Sites of Indus Valley Civilisation

Site Location Excavated by Year of Major findings
excavation
Harappa Montgomery, Pakistan Daya Ram 1921 Granary, workmen’s quarter, vanity case, furnaces, piece of
on the banks of Ravi Sahni Pottery with Indus script, cubical limestone weight, copper
river Bullock cart, coffin burials, cemetery, terracotta figurines,
evidence of horse at superficial level, etc.
Mohenjodaro Larkana District of Sind R D Banerjee 1925 Great Bath, granary, Unicorn seals, Bronze Dancing Girl statue,
on the bank of Indus Pashupati seal, steatite statue of Beard Priest, piece of woven
river cloth, etc.
Sutkagendor Baluchistan on Dasht Auriel Stein 1929 Trade point between, Harappa and Babylon, flint Blades, stone
river Vessels, stone Arrowheads, Shell Beads, pottery, horse remains,
etc.
Chanhudaro Mullan Sandha, Sind on NG 1931 Bangle factory, inkpot, bead-makers shop, the footprint of a dog
the Indus river Majumdar chasing a cat, cart with a seated driver, it is the only city without
a citadel, etc.
Rangpur Kathiawad (Gujarat), on MS Vats, SR 1931, 1957 Post-Harappan site, rice husk, six types of pottery, etc.
the Madar river Rao
Amri Close to Baluchistan, on NG Majumdar 1935 Antelope evidence, Rhinoceros’ evidence, etc.
the bank of Indus river
Kot-Diji Khairpur (Sindh, Fazal Ahmad, 1935 1955 Figurine of ox, steatite seal, terracotta beads, etc.
Pakistan), on the Indus Ghurrey
river
Kalibangan Hanumangarh District, Amlanand 1953 Granary, ploughed field, wooden drainage, evidence of
Rajasthan on the bank Ghose earthquake, wooden plough, camel’s bone, fire alters, earthen
of Ghaggar river bricks instead of baked one, etc.
Lothal Ahmedabad, Gujarat on R Rao 1955 Divided into six sections, bead making factory, rice husk, ivory
Bhogva river near the weight balance, dockyard, fire alters, terracotta figure of horse,
Gulf of Cambay etc.
Ropar Punjab, on the river YD Sharma 1953 Five-fold sequence of culture, stone and mud house, evidence of
Sutlej dog burial, alongwith human burial, etc.
Alamgirpur Meerut (UP), on the YD Sharma 1958 Pottery, animal bones, plant fossils, copper tools, etc.
Hindon river
Surkotada Gujarat J P Joshi 1964 Bones of horses, beads, stone covered beads, etc.
Rakhigarhi Hisar (Haryana), on the Surajbhan 1969 Largest Harappan site, fire alters, cylindrical seal, terracotta
Drishdavati river wheel, etc.
Banawali Fatehabad district of R S Bisht 1974 Remains of street and drains, beads, barley, oval shaped
Haryana settlement, the only city with radial streets, toy plough, the
largest number of barley grains, etc.
Dholavira Gujarat in Rann of R S Bisht 1990 Only site to be divided into three parts, giant water reservoir,
Kuchchh unique water harnessing system, dams, embankments, signboard
with Indus script, etc.
Balakot Arabian Sea George F 1973-1979 Early Harappan findings, bricks, bead workshop.
(Baluchistan, Pakistan) Dales
Desalpur or Nakhtrana Taluka, SR Rao, 1963 Copper and Teracotta seals, brown pottery
Gunthli Gujarat A Ghosh
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
18

Lower Town Economic Conditions

The lower town which was below the citadel was in Indus Valley Civilisation
larger in size and was inhabited by the common people.
Mainly, the Harappans were agriculturists. They were
The houses in the lower cities of all Indus settlements
also engaged in trade and various other occupations.
followed the grid system (roads cut across one
another at right angles) and the city was divided into Agriculture
blocks. The Harappan villages, mostly situated near the flood
Streets were wide; the main street being about ten plains, helped in producing sufficient foodgrains not only
metre wide. to feed themselves but also the town people.
Activities of Harappan people associated with agriculture
are discussed as follows :
Sowing
The Indus people sowed seeds in the flood plains in
the month of November, when the flood water receded
and reaped their harvests of wheat and barley in April
before the advent of the next flood.
Plough
The Harappan probably used wooden ploughshare
and stone sickles may have been used for harvesting
the crops.
Representations on seals and terracotta sculpture
indicate that the bull was known to them and used for
Lower Town
ploughing.
Terracotta models of the plough have been found at
Residential Buildings sites in Cholistan and Banawali.
Generally, houses were either one or two storeys high, Archaeologists have also found evidence of a
with rooms built around a courtyard. ploughed field at Kalibangan (Rajasthan), associated
Houses were built of bricks and had thick, strong with Early Harappan Period. The field had two sets
walls, which were plastered and coloured. of furrows at right angles to each other, suggesting
The roofs of the houses were flats. There were few that two different crops were grown together.
windows but had numbers of doors, which were
Crops
probably made of wood.
The Indus people were the earliest one’s to produce
The kitchen had a fire-place and large jars of pottery
cotton. Findings of rice cultivation are relatively rare.
for storing grain or oil. Adjacent to it was the drain.
However, remains show that the people of Lothal used
Bathrooms were built on one side of the house and
rice.
had drains which were connected with street drain.
Main crops grown here are wheat, barley, rai, peas,
The courtyard had an oven for baking bread. It was
sesame, lentil, millets, rice, etc.
probably the centre of activities such as cooking and
weaving, particularly during hot and dry weather. Barley has been discovered at Banawali. Millets are
found from sites in Gujarat.
There are no windows in the walls along the main
road which shows the Harappans had concern for Irrigation
privacy. Besides, the main entrance does not give a Most Harappan sites were located in semi-arid lands,
direct view of the interior or the courtyard. where irrigation was required for agriculture.
Some houses had their own wells, which meant water Gabarbands or nalas enclosed by dams were used for
was always available inside the house. Some houses storing water in Baluchistan but channel or canals
also have remains of staircases to reach a second seem to be absent.
storey or the roof.
Traces of canals have been found at the Harappan site
The Harappans used burnt bricks while in Egypt of Shortughai in Afghanistan, but not in Punjab or
dried bricks were used and in Mesopotamia use of Sind. It is possible that ancient canals dried up long
baked bricks was found. ago.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
19

It is also likely that water drawn from wells was used The Mesopotamian texts speak of two intermediate
for irrigation. Besides, water reservoirs found in trading stations called Dilmun and Magan, which
Dholavira (Gujarat) may have been used to store lay between Mesopotamia and Meluha. Dilmun can
water for agriculture. be identified with Bahrain on the Persian Gulf.
The merchandise was shipped from Lothal and
Storage incoming good were received here.
Foodgrains were stored in granaries the remains of Items of exports includes pottery, grains, cotton goods,
which have been found in Mohenjodaro, Harappa spices, stone beads, pearls and eye paint.
and Kalibangan.
The Harappans also carried on long distance trade for
Domestication of Animals lapis lazuli (Blue rock); lapis may have contributed to
the social prestige of the ruling class. Harappans had
In Harappan times, animals were domesticated on a
set up a trading colony in Northern Afghanistan which
large scale. Oxen, buffalo, goat, sheep, dog, cat and pig
evidently facilitated trade with Central Asia.
were domesticated.
Camels and asses were used for carriage purposes. Lists of Imports during Indus Valley Civilisation
The  humped bulls were favoured by the Harappan.
Items of Import Place
Evidence of the horse comes from a doubtful Gold Afghanistan, Karnataka
terracotta figurine from Lothal. The remains of
Silver Afghanistan
the horse are reported from Surkotada (Gujarat).
Copper Khetri (Rajasthan), Oman
But horse was not in regular use in Harappan times.
Tin Afghanistan, Iran
Elephants and rhinoceros were also known to
Carnelian Saurashtra
Harappans and people in Gujarat domesticated
elephants. Jade Central Asia

Other animals known to the Harappan people are bull, Amethyst Maharashtra
camel, donkey, etc. Turquoise Central Asia, Iran

Occupations
Harappans were engaged in a number of occupations. Social Conditions in Indus Valley
They were weavers, mason, potters, bead-makers, Civilisation
boat-maker, seal-maker. The Harappan society was egalitarian i.e., all people
Bead-making factories have been found at were treated equal socially, politically and
Chanhudaro and Lothal. economically. The caste system does not found to be
existed. However, the varying size of the houses
Trade and Commerce indicates the prevalence of a kind of class system.
The importance of trade in the life of the Indus people
is known by the presence of numerous seals, uniform Food
script and regulated weights and measures. The people of Harappan Civilisation ate a wide range
They carried on trade in stone, metal, shell, etc. They of plant and animal products including fish and meat,
did not use metal money. All exchanges were carried wheat, barley, maize, millet, pulses, rice, fruits and
on through barter. other eatables. For this, cattle, sheep, goat, buffalo and
pig were domesticated by the Harappans.
The Harappans were engaged in internal as well as
external trade. For the internal trade, carts with solid Clothes
wheel were used while the external trade was carried They knew how to weave cotton. It is evidenced by the
out through ships. They practised navigation on the finding of clay spindles. Mostly clothes were of cotton,
coast of the Arabian Sea. but some wool clothes were also used.
The Harappan had commercial links with The women wore a short skirt. The men wrapped a
Rajasthan, Afghanistan and Iran. Many seals of long piece of cloth around themselves.
Harappan civilisation have been discovered in Both men and women were fond of wearing
Mesopotamia. ornaments. The men wore amulets and the women
The Mesopotamian records from about 2350 BC refer wore bracelets and necklaces. These were made of
to trade relations with Meluha, which was ancient beads of shell for common people and of gold and
name given to Indus region. silver for the rich people.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
20

Amusements and Toys The lower denomination of the weight were binary
(1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 etc. upto 12800) while the higher
For children, there were small clay carts resembling
denominations followed the decimal system.
the modern ekkas, figures of animals, whistles made
in the form of birds and rattles of all kinds. Weights were usually made up of chert stone,
generally cubical with no markings.
Marbles were also popular among children. For girls,
there were dolls too. The Harappans also knew the art of measurement.
Sticks inscribed with measure marks have been found.
The older people spent their time in gambling,
dancing and hunting. Pottery
Burials The Harappans were expert in the use of the potter’s
Harappan used to bury their dead in pits. Some graves wheel.
contain pottery and ornaments, perhaps indicating a The Harappans produced their own characteristic
belief that these could be used in the afterlife. pottery, which was glossy and shiny.
Jewellery has been found in burials of both men and The Harappans used Red and Black Ware (RBW)
women. In some instances the dead were buried with pottery. Most of them were made on reddish clay and
copper mirrors. – lines, dots, geometrical designs, tree and leaf
designs and animal figures were painted in black on
Art and Crafts of them.
Indus Valley Civilisation
The Harappan culture belongs to the Bronze Age. The
Harappan people were well aware of various crafts like
weaving, spinning and bead-making.
Metallurgy and Bronze Craft
The Harappans used many tools made of stone, but
they were very well-acquainted with the manufacture
and use of Bronze.
Bronze was made by mixing tin with copper.
The discovery of bronze goods suggests that the
metal-workers (bronzesmiths) constituted an
important group of artisans in Harappan society.
They produced not only images and utensils but also
various tools and weapons such as axes, saws, knives
and spears. Harappan Pottery
A bronze statue of dancing girl found in
Mohenjodaro, is the best specimen of that time. Harappan Script
The Harappans invented the art of writing. Although,
Terracotta Figurines the earliest specimen of Harappan script was noticed
A number of figurines made of fire-baked earthen in 1853, but it has not been deciphered so far.
clay (Terracotta) have been found from Harappan Unlike the Egyptians and Mesopotamians, the
sites. These were either used as toys or objects of Harappans did not write long inscriptions. Most
worship. inscriptions were recorded on seals and contain only a
They represent birds, dogs, sheep, cattle, monkeys, few words.
men and women. But the terracotta pieces represent The Harappan script is not alphabetical but mainly
unsophisticated artistic works. pictographic written in alternate lines of writing, are
Weights and Measures reverse with reversed letters (Boustrophedon).
The Harappan used weights and measures for trade Around 250 to 400 pictographs are found and in the
and other transactions. form of a picture each letter stands for some sound,
idea or object.
Numerous articles used for weights have been found.
They show that in weighing mostly 16 or its multiples These pictographs are the indigenous work of the
were used; e.g., 16, 64, 160, 320 and 640. Indus region and does not show any influence of the
scripts of Western Asia.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
21

Seals Religious Practices

The greatest artistic creations of the Harappan culture of Indus Valley Civilisation
are the seals. They are made of steatite stone (soft stone)
and often carry short inscriptions with pictures of the The Harappan worshipped Gods in the form of
one-horned animal (called Unicorn), the buffalo, the nature such as trees, animals and human beings.
tiger, the rhinoceros, the goat and the elephant. But the Gods were not placed in temples.
Seals and sealing (impression of the seal) were used to In Harappa, numerous terracotta figurines of
facilitate long distance communication. The seals were women have been found. So it is evident that they
perhaps used by the merchants and traders to stamp probably worshipped mother goddess.
their goods. The sealing also conveyed the identity of In one figurine a plant is shown growing out of the
the sender. embryo of a woman. Probably, it represents the
The most famous seal is the Pashupati Seal of Harappan goddess of Earth and it was intimately connected
civilisation from Mohenjodaro. It is a seal with a figure with the origin and growth of plants.
seated cross-legged in the centre with animals around; Therefore, it is perceived that the Harappans,
an elephant and a tiger to the right of the figure and rhino looked upon the Earth as a fertility goddess and
and a buffalo to its left. At his feet appear two deer. worshipped her in the same manner as the
Egyptians worshipped the Nile Goddess Isis.
The male deity is represented on a seal. This god
has three-horned heads. The depicted god is
identified as Pashupati. But the identification is
doubtful, because horned gods also appear in other
ancient civilisations.
The picture of a deity is represented on a seal in the
midst of the branches of a sacred tree pipal.
In addition, there was the prevalence of phallus
worship, which became connected with Shiva in
later time. Numerous symbols of the phallus have
been found in Harappa which were possibly meant
for worship.
Animals were also worshipped in Harappan times.
Harappan Seals The most important of them is the humped bull.
Findings of amulets in large numbers indicate that
Bead-making the Harappans believed in ghosts and evil forces.
The Harappans were also experts in bead-making. The Atharva Veda, contains many charms and
The variety of materials used to make beads i.e., stones spells and recommends amulets are must for
like carnelian, jasper, crystal, quartz and steatite; metals warding off diseases and evil forces.
like copper, bronze and gold and shell, faience and
terracotta or burnt clay. Political Organisation in
Some beads were made of two or more stones, cemented Indus Valley Civilisation
together, some of stone with gold caps. The shapes were
numerous – disc-shaped, cylindrical, spherical, There is no clear idea about the political
barrel-shaped, segmented. organisation of the Harappans.
Some were decorated by incising or painting and some In contrast to Egypt and Mesopotamia, no temple or
had designs etched onto them. religious structure has been found at any Harappan
site. Therefore, the priests cannot said to be the
Craft Production Centres rulers of Harappa.
n Chanhudaro was almost exclusively devoted to craft Perhaps the Harappan rulers were more concerned
production, including bead-making, shell-cutting, about commerce than the conquests. Harappans
metal-working, seal-making and weight-making. were possibly ruled by a class of merchants.
n Specialised drills have been found at Chanhudaro, The Harappans were peace loving people since the
Lothal and Dholavira. Nageshwar and Balakot were findings from Harappan sites lack any type of
specialised centres for making shell objects, including weapon.
bangles, ladles and inlay.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
22

Palaces and Kings Different Opinions about the Decline of

Archaeological records provide no immediate answers for Indus Valley Civilisation
a centre of power or for depictions of people in power. Thinkers Opinion
A large building found at Mohenjodaro was labelled as a
Stuart Piggott and External Aggression (Aryan
palace by archaeologists. Gordon-Childe Invasion)
A stone statue was labelled and continues to be known as
MR Sahni Inundation
the priest-king.
Some archaeologists had an opinion that Harappan society KAR Kennedy Epidemic
had no rulers and everybody enjoyed equal status. Others Marshall and Raikes Tectonic Disturbances (e.g.
believe that there was no single ruler but several rulers. Dholavira)
The third opinion is that there was a single state due to,
Aurel Stein and AN Ghosh Climatic Change
similarity in artefacts, the evidence for planned settlements
and the standardised ratio of brick size. Walter Fairservis Deforestation, scarcity of
resources, ecological
Decline of Indus Valley Civilisation imbalances

By 1800 BC, most of the mature Harappan sites were Marshal, SR Rao, Maickey Flood (e.g. Mohenjodaro)
abandoned. Simultaneously, there was an expansion of GF Hales Drought due to change in the
population into new settlements in Gujarat, Haryana and course of river Ghaggar
Western Uttar Pradesh.
In the few Harappan sites that continued to be occupied
after 1900 BC, there was a transformation of material Post-Urban Phase of the
culture, marked by the disappearance of the distinctive Harappan Culture
artefacts i.e., weight, seals, special beads. Writing,
The post-urban phase of the Harappan culture is
long-distance trade and craft specialisation also
also known as the Sub-Indus culture.
disappeared.
This culture was earlier considered
Different theories states causes of decline may be Aryan
Post-Harappan, but now it is more popularly
invasion, climate change, deforestation, excessive floods,
known as the Late Harappan Culture. The Late
epidemic, shifting or drying up of rivers, ecological
imbalance, etc. However, some of these causes do not Harappan culture was primarily chalcolithic in
explain the decline of the entire civilisation. which tools of stone and copper are used.
Aryan invasion theory was propounded by Mortimer A number of sites of these cultures have been
Wheeler. This theory was supported by the fact that some found in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
exotic tools and pottery indicate the entry of new people. Maharashtra and Eastern India.
A few signs of violence appear in the last phase of Though most of these cultures belong to a period
Mohenjodaro. after that of the Harappan culture, they were
Traces of new people appear in a cemetery belonging to much less advanced than the Harappan culture.
late phase of Harappa. However, there is no evidence of They neither had any cities nor any system of
any mass-scale confrontation between the Harappan and writing.
the Aryans. The chalcolithic people in the later Harappan
Thus, the causes of the decline of this civilisation have not phase lived in villages and practiced agriculture,
been firmly established. Archaeologists now believe that stock raising, hunting and fishing.
the civilisation did not come to an abrupt end but gradually During the later phase of the Harappan culture,
declined. some exotic tools and pottery indicate the slow
The ecological imbalance theory of Walter Fairservis best percolation of new people in the Indus basin.
explains this belief.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
23

Contribution of Indus Valley Civilisation The planning of cities on Grid Pattern was
practiced by the Harappan people. The underground
The Harappan culture has contributed a lot to the
covered drainage system was also a unique feature
Indian culture, society, polity and economy. The
which was not available in the contemporary
Harappan culture did not end; rather its traits were
civilisation.
adopted by the subsequent cultures over the period of
time. The Harappans started the practice of
multi-cropping system. They had efficient methods
Even today, a number of factors can be analysed which
of irrigation.
traces their origin to the culture of Indus Valley
Civilisation. Their contribution in culture cannot be ignored.
The people of Harappan culture used to bury their
The Harappan civilisation developed the first accurate
dead.
system of standardised weights and measures.
Harappans created sculpture, seals, pottery and At present time, people have adopted the practice of
jewellery from materials, such as terracotta, metal and worshiping Shiva, phallus, pipal, mother goddess
stone. and bull from Harappan culture.
Evidence shows Harappans participated in a vast The worship of Shiva and the Mother Goddess and
maritime trade network extending from Central Asia the practice of religious bathing are examples of
to modern-day Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and Syria. continuing traditions of the Harappan culture.

er
riv
lum r
he ive
J
a br
en
Ch
as
Be

Rajasthan
Mohenjodaro

Sindh

Sutkagen dor
hi
Ma

Daimabad
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
24 04

The Vedic Age

Sources Class-VI New NCERT Chap 4 (What Books and Burials Tell us), Class-VI Old NCERT Chap 3 (Life in the Vedic Age),
Class-IX Old NCERT Chap 3 (Early Iron-Age Civilisation), Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 8 (The Advent of Aryans and
Age of Rig Veda), Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 9 (Transition to State and Social Formation)

The  Vedic Age refers to the period when the Vedic Later such specimens occur in Hittite inscriptions
Sanskrit texts were composed in India. in Anatolia (Turkey) from the 19th to the 17th
It is the age of the Aryans who are supposed to have centuries BC.
migrated from Central Asia into the Indian Aryan names appear in Kassite inscription of about
sub-continent in several stages during 2000 to 1600 BC from Iraq and in Mitanni inscription of the
1500 BC. 14th century BC from Syria. But so far no such
inscriptions have been found in India.
Advent of the Aryans in India The Aryans migrated to India in several stages. The
earliest stage is represented by the Rig Vedic people,
The term ‘Aryan’ literally means the ‘best’ or
who appeared in the sub-continent in about 1500 BC.
‘eminent’. It is not evident that all the earliest Aryans
belonged to one race, but their culture was of the
same type. They were distinguished by their common Vedic Literature
language. They spoke the Indo-European languages. The Vedic literature gives us a clear idea of the
Originally, the Aryans seem to have lived areas of political, social and economic life of the Aryans and
Southern Russia to Central Asia. They used horses their conflict with the non-Aryans.
and their swiftness enabled them and some allied
people to make successful advent in West-Asia from Four Vedas
about 2000 BC onwards. The Vedic literature can be classified into the four
The Rig Veda gives information about the Aryans in Vedas i.e., the Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva and their
India. The term ‘Arya’ appeared 36 times in this text Vedangas, the Brahamansa, the Aranyaksa and the
and generally indicates a cultural community. Upanishads.
The  Rig Veda  is the earliest text of the The Vedas are the large bodies of religious text that
Indo-European languages and has many things in are composed of Vedic Sanskrit and originated in
common with the Avesta, which is the oldest text in ancient India.
the Iranian language. The two texts use the same They form the oldest scriptures of Hinduism and the
names for several gods and even for social classes. oldest layer of Sanskrit literature. The Vedas are said
Also, the earliest specimen of the Indo-European to have passed on through verbal transmission from
language is found in an inscription of about 2200 BC one generation to the next. Therefore, they are also
from Iraq. known as Shruti.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
25

Rig Veda Atharva Veda

It is the oldest Veda and depicts the life of early Atharva Veda was also compiled between 1000 BC to
Vedic people in India. It was compiled between 600 BC. It concerns with  magic spells to ward off evil
1500 BC to 1000 BC.  spirits or dangers.
Its text consists of 1028 hymns (Sukta) which are It is classified into 20 khandas or books, with 711
divided into ten Mandalas or books. hymns.
— Mandala I is primarily dedicated to Indra and It contains Shaunaka and Paippalada recensions.
Agni. Varuna, Surya, Mitra, Rudra and Vishnu The Upaveda of Atharva Veda is Shilpa Veda.
have also been mentioned.
— Mandalas II – VII form the oldest part of the  Rig Brahamanas
Veda  Samhita and are called ‘family books’ as The Brahamanas are the prose texts that explain the
they are ascribed to particular families of rishis. hymns in the Vedas.
— In Mandala  VIII, the hymns are dedicated to
In addition to explaining the symbolism and meaning of
various gods and have been mostly  composed by the Samhitas, Brahmana literature also provide
the  Kanva clan. scientific knowledge of the Vedic period, including
— In Mandala IX, all the hymns are dedicated observational astronomy altar construction and geometry.
entirely to Soma. Each Veda has one or more of its own Brahmanas.
— Mandala X contains Nadi Stuti Sukta praising the
— Aitareya or Kaushitaki Brahamanas  were allotted to
rivers. It also contains Nasadiya Sukta and Purush the Rig Veda,
Sukta. It contains hymns that are traditionally
— Tandya and Jaiminiya Brahamanas to Sama veda
chanted during marriage and death rituals.
— Taittiriya and Shatpatha Brahamanas to Yajur Veda
The Upaveda of Rig Veda is the Ayurveda.
— Gopath Brahamanas  to the Atharva Veda for
Sama Veda detailing.
The Sama Veda or the Veda of Chants is the
collection of verses drawn from the Rig Veda. These Aranyakas
verses are provided with musical notations and are The Aranyakas are the philosophies written mainly for
intended as an aid to the performance of sacred the forest-dwelling hermits and their disciples. They are
songs. appendices to Brahamanas.
It was compiled between 1000 BC to 600 BC. They can be considered as the bridge between the
Recensions or Branches (Shakhas) of the Sama Veda Brahamanas that talk about ritual sacrifices and the
are Kauthuma, Ranayaniya and Jaiminiya Upanishads that talk about knowledge and spirituality.
(Talavakara).
The Upaveda of Sama Veda is the Gandharva Upanishads
Veda.  The Upanishads contain philosophical ideas about the
sacrifice, body and universe. There are 108 Upanishads.
Yajur Veda
The concepts of ‘Atman’ and ‘Brahman’ are majorly
Yajur Veda (Worship or ritual knowledge) was explained by Upanishads.
compiled between 1000 BC to 600 BC.
It deals with the procedure for the performance of Vedangas
sacrifices. It is further divided into : Vedangas are limbs of Vedas and are written for how to chant
— Shukla Yajur Veda/ Vajasaneya / White Yajur Vedas properly. There are six Vedangas, as follows :
Veda It contains only the mantras.  It contains the n Siksha Vedanga, which covers phonetics (sounds)

Madhyandina and Kanva recensions. n Nirukta Vedanga, which covers etymology (origin of

— Krishna Yajur Veda / Black Yajur Veda It words)

includes mantras as well as prose explanations/ n Chandas Vedanga, which covers Metrics

commentary. It contains Kathaka, Maitrayani, n Vyakarana Vedanga, which covers Grammar

Taittiriya and Kapishthala recensions. n Jyotisha Vedanga, which covers Astrology

n Kalpa Vedanga, which covers Rituals

The Upaveda of the Yajur Veda is the Dhanur Veda.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
26

Upavedas The whole region in which the Aryans first settled in

Indian sub-continent called the Land of the Seven
There are four Upavedas which are Ayurveda (Veda
Rivers.
about life), Gandharva Veda (Veda about music),
Shilpa Veda (Veda about architecture) and The word Samudra is mentioned in the Rig Veda but
Dhanurveda (Veda about archery and warfare). it mainly denotes a collection of water.
Some school of thoughts consider Arthashastra as Rivers and Their Ancient Names
fifth Upaveda.
Ancient Name Modern Name
Sutra Sahitya Vitasta Jhelum
The period of 600 BC to 300 BC is known as period of Askini Chenab
Sutra, when various literatures of Sutras were written. Parushim Ravi
Sutras first appear in the Vedic literature known as
Vipasa Beas
Brahamana and Aranyaka.
Sutudri Sutlej
It was a period of general upheaval of social, political
and religious thought occurred in India. Gomati Gomal
Kubha Kabul
Six Sutras
Sadanira Gandak
Sutra Description Saraswati Ghaggar
Kalpa Sutra It contains the sacrificial practice and systematic
sutras. Vedic Polity
Srautasutras It contains teaching of the performance of the It was a nomadic system of government in which the
great sacrifices. military element was strong.
Sulvasutras It is related to geometry and mathematics. The administrative machinery of the Aryans in the
Gruhasutras It contains rules of domestic life.
Early Vedic period worked with the tribal chief in the
centre, because of his successful leadership in war.
Dharmasutras It has various customs and social duties. He was called rajan. The king’s post had become
hereditary.
The rajan was a kind of chief and he did not exercise
Vedic Age (1500-1000 BC) unlimited power, as he had to reckon with the tribal
The age of the Vedic Period or Rig Vedic Period organisation.
corresponds with the date of the composition of the The king was called the protector of his tribe. He
Rigvedic hymns. This date has been fixed  between protected its cattle, fought wars and offered prayers to
1500 BC and 1000 BC. gods on its behalf.
Geographical Knowledge of Vedic Age Several tribal or the clan-based assemblies such as
the sabha, samiti, vidatha, gana, etc, are mentioned
The earliest Aryans lived in the geographical area in the Rig Veda. They exercised deliberative, military
covered by Eastern Afghanistan, North-West frontier and religious functions.
province, Punjab and parts of Western Uttar Pradesh.
The two most important assemblies were the sabha
Some rivers of Afghanistan such as the river Kubha and the samiti. The most important functionary
and the river Indus (Sindhu) and its five branches, are seems to have been the purohita.
mentioned in the Rig Veda.
The two priests who played a major part in the time
The Sindhu is the river par excellence of the Aryans of Rig Veda are  Vasishtha  and Vishvamitra.
and it is repeatedly mentioned in Rig Veda. Vishvamitra composed the  Gayatri Mantra  to widen
Another river,  the Saraswati, is called Naditama or the Aryan world.
the best of the rivers in the Rig Veda. It is identified The next important functionary seems to be the
with the Ghaggar-Hakra channel in Haryana and senani. The Rig Veda does not mention any officer for
Rajasthan. administering justice. But it was not an ideal society.
Rig Vedic description shows it to be the Avestan river There were cases of theft and burglary and especially
Harakhwati or the Helmand river in South the theft of cows.
Afghanistan from where the name Saraswati was Spies were employed to keep an eye on such
transferred to India. antisocial activities. The officer who enjoyed
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
27

authority over a large pasture ground was called Social Divisions

vrajapati. He led heads of the families called
The conquest of the indigenous inhabitants by the
kulapas, or the heads of the fighting hordes called
Aryans contributed most to the creation of social
gramanis, to battle. In the beginning, the gramani
divisions is Early Vedic age.
was just the head of a small tribal fighting unit.
The Dasas and the Dasyus conquered by the Aryans,
The king did not maintain any regular or standing
were treated as slaves and shudras.
army, but in times of war he bring together a militia
whose military functions were performed by Varna was the term used for colour. It seems that the
different tribal groups called vrata, gana, grama, Aryans were fair and the indigenous inhabitants were
sardha. dark in complexion.
Probably, the chiefs received voluntary offerings The tribal chiefs and the priests acquired a larger share
from the people called bali. of the booty and they naturally grew at the cost of their
kinsmen, which created social inequalities in the tribe.
Vedic Society Gradually, the tribal society was divided into three
Kinship was the basis of social structure in the Early groups i.e., warriors, priests and the people.
Vedic society. A man was identified by the clan to The fourth division, the  shudras  appeared towards the
which he belonged, as can be seen in the names of end of the Rig Vedic period. Slaves were given as gifts
several Rig Vedic Kings. to the priests. They were mainly women slaves.
People gave their primary loyalty to the tribe, which In the age of the Rig Veda, differentiation based on
was called  jana. The term  jana  occurs at about 275 occupations had started, but this division was not very
places in the Rig Veda and the term janapada or sharp.
territory is not used even once. Unequal distribution of the spoils of war created social
The people were attached to the tribe, since the inequalities and this helped the rise of princes and
kingdom was not yet established. priests at the cost of the common tribal people. But
Another important term which stands for the tribe in since economy was mainly pastoral and not
the Rig Veda was Vis; it is mentioned 170 times in the food-producing, the scope for collecting regular
text. It is evident that family in Early Vedic phase tributes from the people was very limited.
was indicated by the term griha. Tribal elements in society were stronger and social
The Rig Veda shows some consciousness of the divisions based on collection of taxes or accumulation
physical appearance of people.  Varna was the term of landed property was absent. The society was still
used for colour, which provided the identity mark for tribal and largely egalitarian.
the social order. Rig Veda mentions arya and dasa
varna. Findings of Bhagwanpura
n A site called  Bhagwanpura  has been excavated in
Rig Vedic society was a patriarchal society. In the
Haryana and in all these cases Painted Grey Ware have
Rig Veda, no desire is expressed for daughters,
been found.
though the desire for children and cattle is a repeated
theme in the hymns. The birth of a son was desired
n Findings of Bhagwanpura ranges from 1600 BC to 1000
BC which is also roughly the period of the Rig Veda.
and people prayed to the gods especially for the
brave sons to fight the wars.
n A thirteen-roomed mud house have been discovered at
Bhagwanpura. Cattle bones have been found in good
Position of Women quantity in all these sites and in Bhagwanpura horse
bones have also been found.
Women were given opportunities for spiritual and
intellectual development. They could attend
assemblies and also used to offer sacrifices. Vedic Economy
The institution of marriage was established, although There are so many references to the cow and the bull in
symbols of primitive practices survived. There are the Rig Veda. The Rig Vedic Aryans can be called
some instances of polygamy. predominantly a pastoral people.
The practice of levirate (Practice of marrying Most of their wars were fought for the sake of cows.
brother’s widow) and widow remarriage is in the The terms for war in the Rig Veda is  gavishthi  or
Rig Veda. search or cows.
There are no instances of child-marriage. The The cow seems to have been the most important form
marriageable age in the Rig Veda seems to have been of wealth. Gifts made to priests usually consist of cows
16 to 17; although it is not mentioned specifically. and women slaves.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
28

The Rig Vedic people possessed better knowledge of

Aryan-Dasyu Conflicts
agriculture. They knew sowing, harvesting and
n The Dasyus in the Rig Veda represent the original
threshing and also had knowledge about the different
inhabitants of the country and an Aryan chief who
seasons.                                                       overpowered them were called Trasadasyu.
The Rig Veda mentions artisans such as the carpenter, n The Aryans came into conflict with the indigenous
the chariot-maker, the weaver, the leather worker, the inhabitants called the dasas, dasyus, etc. The Rig Veda
potter, etc. mentions the defeat of Sambara by a chief called
Early Vedic age was rural in nature. Aryans did not Divodasa, who belonged to the Bharata clan.
live in cities. n The Aryan chief was soft towards the dasas, but strongly
hostile to the dasyus. The term dasyuharta, (slaughter
Vedic Religious Life of the dasyus), is repeatedly mentioned in the Rig Veda.
n According to tradition, the Aryans were divided into
The Aryans personified natural forces and looked five tribes called panchajana but there might have been
upon them as living beings for which they gave other tribes also. The Aryans fought amongst
human or animal forms. themselves also.
The dominant mode of worshipping the Gods was n The famous Battle of Ten Kings or the Dasrajan
through the recitation of prayers and offering of Yudha was fought between the tribe Bharatas, led by
sacrifices. king Sudas and the Confederacy of the other ten tribes
– Puru, Yadu, Turvasa, Anu, Druhyu, Alina, Paktha,
Offerings of vegetables, barley, etc were made to
Bhalanas, Shiva and Vishanin.
Gods, but in Rig Vedic times, the process was not n The former five are said to be Aryan tribes while the
accompanied by any ritual. latter five are said to be Non-Aryan tribes.
They did not worship gods for their spiritual uplift or n The Bharatas emerged victorious in the battle, which
for ending the miseries of existence. They asked was fought on the banks of river Parushni (present
mainly for praja (children), pashu (cattle), food, Ravi).
wealth, health etc.

Important Vedic Gods Important Ratnis and Other Important Officials

The most important divinity in the Rig Veda is Indra. Official Description
Indra was called Purandara or breaker of forts. Indra Purohita Chief priest, also sometimes referred to as the
played the role of a warlord, leading the Aryan Rastragopa
soldiers to victory against the demons. There are 250 Senani Supreme Commander of the Army
hymns devoted to him in the Rig Veda. He is
considered to be the  rain god  and thought to be Vrajapati Officer Incharge of the Pasture Land
responsible for causing rainfall. Jivagribha Police Officer
The second position is held by Agni (fire god) to Spasas/Dutas Spies, who also sometimes worked as
whom 200 hymns are devoted. In Vedic times, Agni messengers
acted as a kind of intermediary between the Gods and Gramani Head of the Village
the people.
Kulapati Head of the Family
The third important position is occupied
by  Varuna  who personified water. Varuna was Madhyamasi Mediator of Disputes
supposed to uphold the natural order and whatever Bhagadugha Revenue Collector
happened in the world was thought to be the
Sangrihitri Treasurer
reflection of his desires.
Mahishi The Chief Queen
Soma was considered to be the God of plants and an
intoxicating drink. Suta Charioteer
Maruts was considered as the God of the storm. Govinartana Keeper of Games and Forests
Some female divinities such as Aditi and Usha are Palagala Messenger
also mentioned in Rig Veda who represented the
Kshatri Chamberlain
appearance of the dawn.
Akshavapa Accountant
But they were not prominent in the time of the Rig
Veda. In the patriarchal set-up, the male Gods were far Sthapati Chief Judge
more important than the female Goddesses. Takshan Carpenter
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
29

Later Vedic Age (1000-600 BC) Later Vedic Polity

Around 1000 BC, the use of iron appeared in Eastern In Later Vedic times, Rig Vedic popular assemblies lost
Punjab, Western Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh importance and royal power increased.
and Rajasthan. Iron is referred to as Shyama or The vidatha completely disappeared. The sabha and
Krishna ayas in the later Vedic texts. samiti continued to hold the position, but their
Excavations show that iron weapons such as character changed. They came to be dominated by
arrow-heads and spear-heads came to be chiefs and rich nobles.
commonly used in Western Uttar Pradesh from In this phase, women were no longer permitted to
about 800 BC onwards. attend the sabha and it was now dominated by nobles
With iron weapons the Vedic people may have and brahmanas.
defeated the few adversaries that may have faced The formation of bigger kingdoms made the chief or the
them in the upper portion of the doab. king more powerful.
Agriculture and various crafts enabled the later In the beginning each area was named after the tribe
Vedic people to lead a settled life. which settled there first. At first, Panchala was the
Although the term nagara is used in later Vedic name of a people and then it became the name of a
texts, beginnings of towns can be traced towards the region.
end of the later Vedic period. The term Rashtra, which indicates territory, first
The later Vedic period saw certain important appears in the period. Traces of the election of the chief
changes such as the beginning of territorial or the king also appear in Later Vedic texts.
kingdoms. Wars were fought not only for the The king’s influence was strengthened by rituals. He
possession of cattle but also for the territory. performed the  Rajasuya sacrifice,  which was supposed
The predominantly pastoral society of early Vedic to confer supreme power. He performed
times had become agricultural. The tribal the  ashvamedha yajna,  which meant unquestioned
pastoralists came to be transformed into peasants control over an area in which the royal horse ran
who could maintain their chief with frequent uninterrupted.
tributes. The shudras were still a small serving He also performed the Vajapeya or the chariot race, in
order. which the royal chariot was made to win the race
The tribal society broke up into a varna-divided against his kinsmen. All these rituals impressed the
society. people with the increasing power and prestige of the
king.
Geographical Expansion During During this period collection of taxes and tributes seems
Later Vedic Age to have become common. They were probably deposited
with an officer called  Sangrihitri.
The Aryans expanded from Punjab over the whole of
Western Uttar Pradesh covered by the However, even in Later Vedic times the king did not
Ganga-Yamuna doab. In the beginning, they lived possess a standing army. Tribal units were assembled in
between the Saraswati and the Drishadvati rivers. times of war.
The Kurus occupied Delhi and the upper portion of Later Vedic Economy
the doab, the area called  Kurukshetra  or the land
Agriculture was the chief means of livelihood of the
of the Kurus.
Later Vedic people. Later Vedic texts mention about use
Gradually, they amalgamated with a people called of oxen to the plough.
the  Panchalas  who occupied the middle portion of
The Shatapatha Brahmana speaks at length about the
the doab. They set up their capital at Hastinapur
ploughing rituals. Janaka, the king of Videha and father
situated in the district of Meerut (Uttar Pradesh).
of Sita,  lent his hand of the plough. Balarama, the
The Mahabharata war of this age is supposed to brother of Krishna, is called Haladhar or ‘wielder of the
have been fought around 950 BC. plough.’
The Later Vedic people succeeded in the second The Vedic people continued to produce barley, but
phase of their expansion because they used iron during this period rice and wheat became their chief
weapons and horse drawn chariots. crops.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
30

In this age, the Vedic people came to be acquainted Certain sections of artisans such as Rathakara or
with rice in the doab for the first time. It is chariot-maker enjoyed a high status and were entitled
called  Vrihi  in the Vedic texts. to the sacred thread ceremony.
The Vedic texts also refer to the seas and sea
Position of Women
voyages. 
Women were generally given a lower position in the
This suggests some kind of commerce which may
Later Vedic societies.
have been stimulated by the rise of new arts and
crafts in Later Vedic age. Some women theologians took part in philosophic
discussions and some queens participated in
Copper was one of the first metals to be used by the
coronation rituals, but ordinarily women were thought
Vedic people. Copper objects have been found in
to be inferior and subordinate to men.
painted grey ware sites. They were used mainly for
war, hunting and ornaments.
The Later Vedic people were acquainted with four Different Types of Marriages
types of pottery - black and red ware, black-slipped Asura Marriage by purchase.
ware, painted grey ware and red ware. Gandharva Marriage by the consent of two parties ; a
special form of it was syamvara or self-choice.
The last type of pottery was most popular and its use
Brahma Marriage of a duly dowered girl to a man of the
has been found almost all over Western Uttar
same varna with Vedic rites and rituals.
Pradesh.
Daiva Father gives the daughter to the sacrificial priests as
part of fee or  dakshna.
Later Vedic Society Arsa A token bride-price of a cow and a bull is given.
The Later Vedic society came to be divided into four
Prajapati Marriage without dowry and bride-price.
varnas called the brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishyas
Paisacha It is seduction of a girl while asleep, mentally
and shudras. deranged or drunk, hence it can hardly be called a
The growing cult of sacrifices enormously added to marriage.
the power of the brahmanas, Kshatriya constituted Rakshasa Marriage by capture.
Warrior class.
The vaishyas constituted the common people and
they were assigned to do the production functions
Rise of New Social Order
such as agriculture, cattle-rearing, etc. The institution of gotra appeared in later Vedic times.
Literally, gotra means the cow-pen or the place where
Towards the end of the Vedic period, they began to
cattle belonging to the whole clan are kept. But in
engage in trade. The vaishyas appear to be the only
course of time, it signified descent from a common
tribute-payers in Later Vedic times.
ancestor.
All the three higher varnas shared one common
People began to practise gotra exogamy (Marriage
feature i.e., they were entitled to upanayana or
outside gotra).
investiture with the sacred thread according to the
Vedic mantras. Ashramas or four stages  of life were not well
established in Later Vedic times. In the post-Vedic
The fourth varna was deprived of the sacred thread
texts, four ashramas were of Brahmachari (student),
ceremony and the recitation of the Gayatri Mantra.
Grihastha (householder), Vanaprastha (retired) and
With this, discrimination began with shudras.
Sanyasa or ascetic who completely renounced the
Aitareya Brahmana,  is a text of the Later Vedic worldly life.
period. In this text, Shudra is called the servant of
Only the first three are mentioned in the Later Vedic
higher caste, to be made to work at will by another
texts; the last or the fourth stage had not been well
and to be beaten at will.
established in Later Vedic times though ascetic life
Generally, the Later Vedic texts draw a line of was not unknown.
demarcation between the three higher orders on the
Even in post-Vedic times only the stage of the
one hand and the shudras on the other.
householder was commonly practised by all the varnas.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
31

Pushan,  who was supposed to look after cattle,

The Sixteen Sanskaras
regarded as the god of the shudras.
1. Garbhadhana – Ceremony for conception.
–
People worshipped gods for the same material
2. Pumsavana To secure the birth of male
reasons in this period as they did in earlier times.
child.
– However, the mode of worship changed
3. Simantonayana Parting the hair.
considerably. Prayers continued to be recited, but
4. Jatakarma – Natal rites (Ceremony for a they ceased to be the dominant mode of pleasing the
newborn child). gods as in earlier times.
5. Namakarana – Ceremony for naming the
child.
Sacrifices  became far more important and they
– assumed both public and domestic character. Public
6. Nishkramana First outing (Exposure to Sun).
–
sacrifices involved the king and the whole of the
7. Annaprasana First feeding with boiled rice
community.
in the 6 months.
8. Chudakarana – Arrangement of the hair tuft. Sacrifices involved the killing of animals on a large
– scale. They were accompanied by formulae which
9. Karnavedha Piercing the earlobes.
had to be carefully pronounced by the sacrificer. The
10. Vidyarambha – Learning the alphabet. sacrificer was known as the yajamana, the performer
11. Upanayana – Holy thread ceremony. of yajna.
12. Vedarambha – First study of the Vedas. These formulae and sacrifices were invented,
13. Keshanta and – Cutting the hair. adopted and elaborated by the priests.
Ritusuddhi
The brahmanas claimed a monopoly of priestly
14. Samavartana – Graduation ceremony knowledge and expertise. They invented a number of
(on returning home after
rituals, some of which were adopted from the
completing studentship).
– non-Aryans.
15. Vivaha Marriage.
– Cows, gold, cloth and horses were given as sacrificial
16. Antyeshti Funeral.
gifts.
Sometimes the priests claimed portions of territory
Religious Life of Later Vedic Age as dakshina, but the grant of land as sacrificial fee
In the Later Vedic period, Aryan culture developed was not well established in the Later Vedic period.
under brahmanical influence. The Shatapatha Brahmana states that in the
The cult of sacrifice  central of this culture was ashvamedha, North, South, East and West all should
accompanied by rituals and formulae. be given to the priest.
The two prominent Rig Vedic gods, Indra and Agni, lost Kingdoms of the Later Vedic Period
their importance in Later phase.
Kingdom Location
Prajapati  the creator, come to occupy the supreme
position in the Later Vedic age. Panchal Badayun and Farrukhabad in Uttar
Pradesh
Some of the other minor Gods of the Rig Vedic period
also came to the forefront. Rudra, the god of animals, Kushinagar Northern region of Uttar Pradesh
became important in Later Vedic times. Kashi Modern Varanasi
Vishnu came to be conceived as the preserver and Koshal Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh
protector of the people who now led a settled life Uttara Madra Near Amritsar
instead of a semi-nomadic life as they did in Rig Vedic
Southern Madra Kashmir
times.
Eastern Madra Near Kangra
In addition, some objects began to be worshipped as
symbols of divinity; signs of idolatry appear in later Kekaya On the bank of Beas River East of Gandhar
Vedic times. kingdom

As society became divided into social classes, some of Gandhara Rawalpindi and Peshawar and parts of
North-East Afghanistan.
the social orders came to have their own deities.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
32 05

Religious Movements

Sources Class-VI New NCERT Chap 6 (New Questions and Ideas), Chap 9 (Traders, Kings and Pilgrims),
Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 10 (Jainism and Buddhism), Chap 13 (State and Varna at the Age of Buddha),
Class-XII New NCERT Chap 4 (Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings)

Persons with higher varna were considered as purer

Rise of New Religious Sects and accordingly their punishments were lenient. In
Sixth century BC witnessed rise of numerous other words, higher the Varna, lower the punishment
heterogeneous religions in India. They mainly and vice-versa.
originated in middle Gangetic plain. Varna based society caused tensions among Varnas
As 62 religious sects were present at that time among and Kshatriya who were the governing class opposed
which Jainism and Buddhism gained prominence and to the ritualistic domination of Brahmanas. This led to
became torchbearer of religious reforms in Ancient protest over the Varna system based on birth.
India. Another significant reason was the development of
new agricultural economy in Eastern India including
Causes of Origin Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The area received
In Post-Vedic period, Varna system became rigid and rainfall more than 100 cm and previously thickly
it was determined on the basis of birth rather than forested, the area was cleared with the use of iron axes.
profession. The society was divided in four Varnas i.e., The new agrarian economy used iron ploughs which
Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. require to be pulled by bullocks. However, Vedic
— Brahmanas were at highest position in the hierarchy practices of killing cattle in sacrifices slowly
and given many privileges, including gifts, no taxation diminished the livestock population. This also made
and no punishment as evident in post-Vedic times. agriculture more difficult. In order to make new
— Kshatriyas occupied second highest position in the economy stable, practice of animal sacrifice was
hierarchy. They governed the people and collected needed to be stopped.
taxes from them. Vaishya gained prominence economically and wanted
— Vaishyas were mainly agriculturalists, traders, upliftment in the social hierarchy. For this, Vaishyas
merchants, etc and were the principal taxpayers. looked for a new religion which would improve their
Along with Brahmanas and Kshatriyas, they position.
enjoyed the status of Dvij (Twice born), allowed to The Vaishyas and trader class made generous support
study Vedas and their sacred thread ceremony was to Vardhaman Mahavira and Gautama Buddha.
conducted. There are multiple reasons behind it, such as :
— Shudras occupied the last position in the hierarchy — Buddhism and Jainism didn’t laid importance on
and meant to serve the other three Varnas as existing Varna system.
domestic slaves, hired labourers, craftsmen. They — Both the religions preached non-violence, which
were not allowed to study Vedas. They were cruel, was very essential for the stability and promotion of
greedy and thieves in habit and some of them were agrarian economy. Further, non-violence would
also considered as untouchables. have increased greater trade and commerce.
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
33

— The Brahamana class criticised the system of money Jainism made serious attempts to counter the evils
lending and that’s why Vaishyas, were held in low existed in the Varna system and ritualistic order. Jaina
esteem. teachings talk about the cycle of Karma, which results
— Both Buddhism and Jainism suggested to live a puritan in birth and rebirth.
and ascetic life. They were supporter to live the life According to Jainism, ascetism and penance are
only with the basic necessities and not for luxury. required to free oneself from the cycle of Karma.
This simple living system attracted many people Therefore, salvation (Liberation) can be achieved only
who became followers of Jainism and Buddhism. when one renounce the world and accept monastic
way of life. Liberation can also be attained by pure
and meritorious conduct even by a person of lower
Jainism origin.
Origin of Jainism goes back to the ancient time. Three jewels of Jainism which believed to lead the
Rishabhanatha (born in Ayodhya) is believed to be path towards liberation are :
the first Tirthankara. — Right Knowledge (Samyak Gyana)
Most of the early Tirthankaras believed to be born in — Right Faith (Samyak Darshana)
Ganga basin except Parshvanatha (23rd Tirthankara)
— Right Conduct (Samyak Charitra)
who was born in Varanasi and attained Nirvana in
Bihar. Tirthankaras with their Symbols

Vardhaman Mahavira Tirthankaras Symbols Tirthankaras Symbols

Vardhaman Mahavira was 24th and the last Rishabhanatha Bull or Ox Vimalanatha Bear
(Adinath)
Tirthankara of Jainism.
He was born in 540 BC in Kundagrama, a village near Ajitnatha Elephant Anantnatha Falcon
Vaishali. His father Siddhartha was head of Jnatrika Sambhavanath Horse Dharmanatha Vajra
clan and his mother Trishala was sister of King
Abhinandananatha Monkey Shantinatha Deer
Chetaka who was a Lichchavi Prince of Vajji
Ganasangha. Sumatinatha Red Goose Kunthunatha He-Goat
He left his house at the age of 30 and attained Padmaprabha Lotus Arahnatha Fish
enlightenment 12 years later at the age of 42 years. Suparshvanatha Swastika Mallinatha Kalash
He preached for next 30 years in Kosala, Magadha,
Mithila, Champa etc. He died at the age of 72 at Chandra Prabhu Crescent Munisuvrata Tortoise
(new moon)
Pavapuri near modern Rajgir.
Through Kaivalya, Mahavira conquered misery and Pushpadanta Crocodile Naminatha Blue Water
Lily
happiness, and called as Jina (great conqueror). Later
his followers were known as Jainas. Mahavira Shitalanatha Kalpa-Vriksha Neminatha Shankh
taught simple doctrine of ‘Ahimsa’ (Non-violence), Shreyansnatha Rhinoceros Parshvanatha Snake
in Prakrit language which was a common man’s
language at that time. Vasupujya Buffalo Mahavira Lion

Doctrines of Jainism Philosophy of Jainism

Jainism taught about five great vows/doctrines : Jainism believed in the theory of Syadvada (Theory
1. Do not commit violence of Conditional), i.e., Theory of Relativity of
2. Do not speak a lie Knowledge. It is believed that there is no absolute
3. Do not steal answer to a question. Every object exists in relation
with other objects. In one way, it is not only an
4. Do not possess any property
extension of Anekanta ontology but a separate system
5. Observe Brahamacharya (celibacy) [Added by of logic.
Mahavira]
The main features of Jaina philosophy remain in its
Parsvanatha talked about covering upper and lower dualistic metaphysics, which states that there are two
portion of the body, but Mahavira asked followers to categories of living :
discard clothes altogether. Jainism recognised
1. Conscious being (Jiva)
existence of God but placed them below Jina. Jainism
also not condemned the Varna system. 2. Non-living being (Ajiva)
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
34

Jain literature has been written in Prakrit,

Sallekhana/Santhara
Ardhamagadhi, which were finally compiled in
It is a form of penance where an individual perform in
second Jain Council. This resulted in development of
order to get rid of the cycle of birth and rebirth. It is a form
of starvation in which a person consumes less food and
various regional languages such as Sauraseni, which
water; gradually, fasting into death. led to the development of Marathi language.
Jaina literature consists of epics, puranas, novels and
dramas. There are many old manuscripts even today
Spread of Jainism confined in the Jain shrines of Rajasthan and Gujarat.
Mahavira organised Jainism in a Sangha in which Initially, Jaina followers were not idol worshippers.
both men and women were allowed. He preached his Later on, they began to worship Mahavira and other
teachings in Prakrit and gave his first sermon near 23 Tirthankaras. They started sculpting images of
Rajgir. them on stone and this led to the development of art
Jainism spread to different parts in India, such as and architecture in the region especially in South,
Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. It is believed that Western and Central India.
Jainism was spreaded to Karnataka by Chandragupta
Maurya, who became a Jain monk himself. Jaina Literature
Second cause of the spread of Jainism was that North Jaina literature can be divided in two categories :
India was famine struck and Jain monks went to South
under the leadership of Bhadrabahu. When they 1. Agama Literature
came back, there were certain visible changes in the It include sacred literature, written in Ardh Magadhi
two groups of Jainism. such as :
It spreaded to Kalinga during fourth century BC and Angas – 12
given patronage by its ruler Kharavela. It is believed Upangas – 12
that from here, it spreaded to Tamil Nadu.
Prakirnas – 10
Jain Councils Chhedasutra – 6
Mulasutra – 4
Council Year Place Leader Main Point
First 322-298 Patliputra Sthulabhadra 12 Angas were 2. Non-Agama Literature
BC compiled
These are commentaries, explanation of Agama
Second 512 AD Vallabhi Devardhi 12 lost Angas literature, independent work of scholars and ascetics.
Kshemashramana were compiled
and 12 Upangas Major examples of it are :
were created Kalpa Sutra – Bhadrabahu
Theravali – Merutunga
Sects of Jainism Padma-Charita – Vimala Suri
Mahavira had eleven ardent disciples, ten of whom Antara Katha – Rajshekhara
died before Mahavira. Sudharma was the only Parisishtha Parwan – Hemachandra
disciple remained alive after his death who became
the first Theda (pontiff). Jaina Architecture
The two factions of Jainism, one who left for South Earliest evidence of Jaina architecture was found in
India and the other remained in Magadha called as caves (viharas) of Odisha, such as in Khandagiri,
Digambara and Shwetambara respectively. Udayagiri (first century BC), Hanthi Gumpha (first
Digambara or sky clads remained the ardent followers century BC) and Ellora (11th and 12th century AD) in
of the doctrines/principles given by Mahavira, Maharashtra.
whereas Shwetambara adopted various changes in Jaina temples at Dilwara in Rajasthan were built by
order to face famine in Magadha. Solanki rulers. They were dedicated to Jain
Tirthankara. These temples were completely built of
Contributions of Jainism white marble and are also famous for their unique and
Jaina followers discarded Sanskrit initially and distinct style.
preached in Prakrit (language of masses). Their Ranakpura Jaina temple was attributed to first
adoption of Prakrit, developed the popularity of the tirthankara Adinath. It was built in Chaumukh
religion and also developed various regional design of architecture. The temple was built in 15th
languages. century AD.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
35

Statue of Gomateshwara (Bahubali) at He was moved by looking the misery of the people.
Shravanabelagola in Karnataka and temples at Particularly, he saw an old man sick person, a dead body
Gwalior, Khajuraho, Deogarh, Chanderi, etc are and an ascetic.
the examples of rich heritage of Jaina He kept wandering for 6-7 years and at the age of 35, he got
architecture. enlightenment under the pipal tree at Bodh Gaya where he
84 feet high statue of Rishabhdeva has been was called Buddha (the Enlightened one).
built at Bawangaja (Badwani district of Madhya After giving his first sermon at Sarnath, Buddha wandered
Pradesh). It was created in 12th century AD. from one place to another giving sermons for next 40 years;
resting only during the rainy season.
Decline of Jainism Gautama Buddha passed away at the age of 80 years in 483
The reasons for the decline of Jainism are : BC at a place called Kushinagar (Deoria district, Uttar
Lack of Royal Patronage Later kings like Pradesh).
Harsha and Kanishka promoted Buddhism,
which resulted in decline of royal patronage of Doctrines of Buddhism
Jaina Buddha gave four noble truths (Arya Satya) :
religion. 1. Dukkha The world is full of sorrows.
Easy Living by Monks Monks did not put efforts 2. Samudaya Desire is the root cause of all the sorrows.
to spread and popularise Jainism. Traders and 3. Nirodha Nirvana can be attained by conquering desires.
merchants remained loyal but do not promoted 4. Magga/Marga There is a path for cessation of sorrows.
Jainism.
Nirvana is the path for the cessation of the sorrows.
Jaina Philosophy The philosophy of austerity According to Buddha, this can be done by following of
and penance were harsh as compared to Ashtangik Marga (Eight-Fold path).
Buddha’s middle path, which attracted common
These Eighth fold path are :
people more into Buddhism than in Jainism.
1. Right Observation 2. Right Determination
Division of Jainism In later phase, Jainism was
3. Right Speech 4. Right Action
divided in two factions namely Shvetambara and
5. Right Livelihood 6. Right Exercise
Digambars. This led to division of the followers
resulting in overall loss of relevance. 7. Right Memory 8. Right Meditation
According to Buddha, following these Madhyam marga, an
individual will lead to attainment of Nirvana.
Buddhism
According to Buddha, if a person follows eight-fold path, he
Buddhism was another prominent religious doesn’t require priest to attain Nirvana.
movement, which arose in India during sixth
Pratitya Samudpada is the continuous cycle of birth and
century BC and had an impact on the existing social
rebirth. Its root cause is ignorance.
and religious order. It was started by Gautama
Buddha after attaining enlightenment. Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha are the Triratnas (three
Jewels) of Buddhism.
Gautama Buddha Dasa Shilas (10 Percepts)
Siddhartha (Gautama Buddha) was born in 563
1. Don’t Tell Lie
BC in the Shakya Kshatriya clan at Lumbini
near Kapilvastu (Piprahwa district of Nepal). 2. Don’t Steal

His father Shuddodhana was the elected ruler 3. Observe Celibacy (Brahmacharya)
of Kapilvastu (the head of republic clan of 4. Do not acquire Gold or Silver
Shakya). His mother Maya died 7 days after the 5. Observe Non-Violence
birth of Siddhartha. After the death of his
6. Do not consume intoxicants
mother, Siddhartha was brought up by foster
mother Mahaprajapati Gautami. 7. Don’t indulge in Corrupt Practices

From early childhood, Buddha showed a 8. Don’t use Flower, Scents and Perfumes
meditative state of mind. He gave up his married 9. Don’t take food after midday
life and left his home, at the age of 29 years. 10. Avoid Comfortable Bed
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
36

Spread of Buddhism Mahasanghika They bestowed Buddha with

superpowers and consider him as super human.
Buddhism doesn’t recognise the existence of God but Importance of Bodhisattva is more than Arhats.
was silent about soul. It considered every human as They were influential in regions around Amravati,
equal irrespective of his caste and Varna. This attracted Nagarjuna Konda.
common people. Women were also included in Sangha;
Hinayana They are also called as ‘Lesser Wheels’.
this brought them at par with man.
They believed in original teachings of Buddha.
Buddhism made special appeal to the people outside Salvation can be achieved through self-discipline and
Aryavarta (a land belongs to Aryans). People in meditation. The worshipped Buddha using symbols
Magadha readily embraced Buddhism. rather than idol worship.
Personality of Buddha and his methodologies attracted Mahayana They are called as the ‘Greater Wheel’.
many as he countered hatred with love and evil by They represented Buddha as a great human.
good. Started idol worship and recognised Buddha as
Use of Pali as a language to propagate also helped incarnation of God. The ideal of Bodhisattva who
Buddhism to flourish among common man as it was are concerned with the salvation of others was also
the language of the masses. Further the rules for entry central to this.
into Sangha were very simple and it was open to all. Vajrayana This is the tantric form of Buddhism.
The only condition was to follow the rules of the Emerged in seventh century AD. This school believed
monastic order. in salvation by attaining magical powers and spells. It
Adoption of Buddhism by Ashoka was the most became popular in Bengal, Bihar and Tibet.
important event for the popularity of Buddhism as
Ashoka sent religious mission to various kingdoms of Differences between Hinayana and Mahayana
South-East Asia, West Asia, China and Sri Lanka to Theravada/
propagate Buddhism. This led to flourishment of Basis Mahayana
Hinayana
Buddhism outside India.
Location Southern (Sri Lanka, Northern (Tibet, China,
Even today, Buddhism flourish in Sri Lanka, China, Thailand, Burma, Taiwan, Japan, Korea,
South-East Asia despite its decline in the land of its Laos, Cambodia Mongolia parts of South-East
origin. parts of South-East Asia).
Asia).
Buddhist Councils
Schools and One school survived 8 major schools: four practice
Buddhist Ruler/ Sects (as many as 18 based (Zen, Pure land,
Place Year President existed at one time). Vajrayana, Vinaya); four
Council King
philosophy based (Tendai,
1st Buddhist Satapani 483 BC Mahakassapa Ajatashatru Avamtasaka, Yogacara and
Council Cave Madhyamika).
(Rajgriha)
2nd Vaishali 383 BC Sabakami Kalashoka Buddhist Pali Canon/Tripitaka Books of the Theravada
Buddhist Scriptures only. Tripitaka , in addition to
Council many other Sutras
(e.g. Lotus Sutra).
3rd Buddhist Pataliputra 250 BC Mogaliputta Ashoka
Council Tissa Buddhas Historical Buddha Gautama Buddha plus
(Gautama) and Amitabha, Medicine Buddhas
4th Buddhist Kashmir First Vasumitra Kanishka previous Buddhas and others.
Council century only.
AD
Bodhisattvas Maitreya only Maitreya plus Avalokitesvara,
Manjusri, Ksitigarbha and
Sects of Buddhism Samanthabadra.
Sthaviravada/Theravada They depicted Buddhism in
Goal of Arhat Buddhahood via Bodhisattva
the most simple way and considered Buddha as God of Training path.
Gods (Devatideva). They also preached the teachings of
Buddha in simple way and language. 3 Buddha Very limited Emphasised, including the
Bodies emphasis; mainly on samboga kaya or
Sarvastivadina They believed in Sabbam atthi (all (Trikaya) Nirmana kaya and reward/enjoyment body.
things exists). This doctrine is given in Samyutta Dharma kaya.
Nikaya. Vasubandhu was the greatest exponent.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
37

Causes of Decline of Buddhism Buddhism talked about attainment of Nirvana

however, it was for the monks and not for worshippers.
By 11th and 12th century, Buddhism almost vanished Lay followers were supposed to live in the existing
from India, due to various reasons : social order.
It became victim of the same ritualistic tendencies, Buddhist text Sutta Nipata considered cattle as the
which it opposed in the initial stage. giver of Annada, Vannada and Sampada. Hence, they
Buddhist monks cut off from common people. They need to be protected and Buddhist doctrine of
gave up Pali and adopted Sanskrit as a language. non-violence also restricted killing of animals.
Further they started receiving gifts and donations Buddhist monasteries developed great learning centres
from the kings and aristocrats. Almost 200 village’s of the time. Nalanda, Vallabhi and Vikramshila were
revenue were attached to Nalanda University. prominent ones among them.
By seventh century AD, Buddhist monastery became Buddhism laid the foundation of idol worship in India;
a place of ease living and centre of corrupt practice. the first image worship belonged to Buddha. It has
Enormous wealth received by the monasteries further depictions of various life events of Buddha at
corrupted them and women are now considered as an Bodhgaya, Sarnath and Bharhut.
object of lust.
From first century onwards, the panel images of
Various later rulers persecuted Buddhist monks. Buddha were made. Greek and Indian sculptors worked
Shunga ruler Pushyamitra Shunga and Huna ruler together and created, what is later called as Gandhara
Mihikula were prominent among them. School to Art in North-West Frontier Region of India.
Shaivite king Shashanka of Goud cut off the Bodhi
tree at Gaya. According to Hiuen Tsang, 1600 Similarities and difference between the two Religions
Buddhist stupas and monasteries were destroyed and Feature Jainism Buddhism
thousands of worshippers and monks were killed.
Existence of soul Believed in soul Didn’t believed in soul
The riches monasteries also drew Turkish invaders
Practices Extreme austerity Majjim-marg or moderate
towards them and they became easy target for loot. and penance Path
Numerous monks fled to Nepal and Tibet.
Non-violence Extreme Moderate/Practical

Significance and Impact of Buddhism Faith and karma Believed Believed

Buddhism showed a keen awareness on the existing Founder Kshatriya Kshatriya

social and economic problems and emphasised that
all people need to be treated equally. People should Other Heterodox Religious Movements
not gather wealth.
Ajivika and Unchedvadi were the prominent heterodox
Buddha talked about elimination of poverty by
religious movements in India.
providing farmers with grain, labours with wages and
traders with money. This will eliminate the cruelty, Ajivika
hatred and violence arouse out of poverty.
Makkhali Gosala was the proponent of this sect. He
The code of conduct prescribed for monks were the was the first disciple of Vardhaman Mahavira.
guidelines against the materialistic world, sexual According to him, every object of the universe is
desires, wealth and desires. It was a revolt against the coordinated with fate and destiny.
use of money by Buddha. It presented a simple way of
He believed in Karma, fatalism and extreme inactions.
life in sixth century BC.
It was very popular during the time of Bindusara of
The rules of Sangha took full account of existing and Mauryan Dynasty.
emerging material conditions as debtors and slaves
were not allowed in the sangha unless freed by the Unchedvadi
master. Further, women and shudras were provided The leader of this school of sect was Ajita
equal status to that of others. Kesakambali, who was an ancient Indian philosopher
Both Buddhism and Buddhist monks were not against in the sixth century BC.
the existing social and political order, they respected He is considered as the first known proponent of
political order and recognised social order on the Indian materialism. According to him, all is
basis of occupation. annihilated with death and there is no after life.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
38

Bhagwatism Cults of Bhagwat Vaishnavism

Vishishtadvaita, Dvaita, Shuddhadvaita and Achintya
Bhagwatism sect originated in post-Mauryan period.
Bhed Abheda were cult of Bhagwat Vaishnavism.
Bhagwat means ‘One Devoted to God’. Bhagwat sect
was highly devotional system, which revolved around a Vishishtadvaita
personal God known as Vishnu, Vasudev Krishna, Hari Vishishtadvaita (Advait with uniqueness;
or Narayan. The worshippers of Narayan/Bhagwat Qualification) is a non-dualism of the qualified
were called Bhagwatas. whole, in which brahman alone exists, but is
By the sixth century BC, Vishnu became a member of characterised by multiplicity. The school believes in
the trinity of God along with Shiva and Brahma. It was all diversity subsuming to an underlying unity.
believed that Narayan bestowed good fortune to his Ramanuja was the main proponent of the philosophy
worshippers and in return of that the worshippers of Vishishtadvaita. According to him, the Prasthan
offered their loving devotion or bhakti to him. Trayi (Upanishads, Bhagwat Gita and Braham Sutra)
It presented the doctrine of incarnation or avatar of should be interpreted in such a way that shows a
Vishnu. It believed that whenever, the social order faced unity in diversity.
crisis, Vishnu incarnated in human form to save it. Ramanuja teachings said that whatever exists, is
brahman; but brahman is not of a homogenous
Ten Avatars of Vishnu nature, but contains within itself elements of
Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise), Varaha (boar), Narasimha plurality owing to which it truly manifests itself in a
(man-lion), Vaman (dwarf), Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, diversified world.
Buddha and Kalki were ten avatars of Vishnu. Three key principles of Vishishtadvaita :
— Tattva The knowledge of three real entities namely
The sect originated from Mathura region and then
Jiva, Ajiva and Ishvara.
spread to North-West, Northern Deccan and then South
India. — Hita The means of realisation, as through devotion
and self-surrender.
After sixth century BC, several texts were written to
— Purushartha The goal is to attain moksha or
popularise the virtues of worshipping him and the most
important was the Bhagwat Purana. liberation from bondages.
Patrons of Bhagwatism/Vaishnavism were Heliodorus, Dvaita
Huvishka, Gupta rulers, Chalukyas of Badami, It is Dualism (a strict distinction between the
Lakshmana Sen of Bengal and Eastern Gangas of parmatman the God and jivatman the individual
Odisha. soul). Philosophy was given by Madhav Acharya
Popularity of Bhagwat Sect (1238-1317).
The sect was sufficiently liberal to attract foreigners. As Madhav Acharya said that individual souls of beings
the sect propagated bhakti and ahimsa (non-killing of are not created by God, but dependent on him for
animals), it attracted agricultural society and appealed their existence.
to artisans, merchants, women, Vaishya and Shudras. Shuddhadvaita
The main emphasis of this sect is to adopt Bhakti, It is pure non-dualism philosophy given by
Karma and Jnana marg to attain moksha. Vallabhacharya. He is founding philosopher of
Idol Worship Pushtimarg (The Path of Grace) focused on the
worship of Krishna.
The earliest images are found from Mathura region.
Vallabhacharya propagated that God is pure and
From Gupta periods onwards, idol worship in temples
non-dualistic.
became common feature of Hinduism.
The Bhagwat sect was remained prominent until at Achintya Bhed Abheda
least the 11th century AD, when Bhakti was reactivated Inconceivable duality and non-duality (Achintya
by the great theologian Ramanuja. means inconceivable, bheda means differences and
The devotees of Vishnu in South India, were popularly abheda means as non-difference) Philosophy was
known as Alvars. They were 12 in numbers. They given by Chaitanya.
composed songs devoted to Lord Vishnu. Among these Chaitanya Mahaprabhu founded Gaudiya tradition
Alvar saints, Sri Andal was the only female saint. of Vaishnavism. The Achintya bheda-abheda
Goudiya Vaishnav branch contributed in gaining propound that the supreme lord and his energies are
popularity of Vaishnavism internationally. one as well as different from each other.
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
39

As the individual is a part of the Supreme lord

which is infinite, the individual souls are
Important Terms Related to Jainism and Buddhism
n Avasarpini The descending order of the six periods of the
infinitesimal and dependent upon the Supreme
Jain cosmic cycle.
lord eternally.
n Ajnanavada The Jain doctrine of agnosticism or
The Supreme energy cannot be ascertained scepticism. The Jain texts mentioned 67 kinds of
through logics and speculation. Ajnanavada.
n Anuvratas These are five principles, which are less
New Dynamic Force : Islam rigorous in nature and are to be followed by a follower of
From the seventh century onwards, Asia and Jainism.
North Africa were slowly made aware of a new n Dohakosa The last Buddhist text produced in India.
and dynamic force which arose in Arabia. This n Dushama-Dushama The sixth and the last period of the
was Islam and India too experienced the rise and Jain cosmic cycle, a very wretched period.
spread of it.
n Mahavratas Five principles observed by the Jain monks.
n Posadha Fasting by the Jain members on the full Moon and
Arabia at that time was a centre of trade. The two the new Moon day.
important cities were Mecca and Medina, where n Pavarna Also known as Uposatha or Upavastha, it was the
the wealthy merchants who owned big camel ceremony when Buddhist monks met to confess their
caravans lived. offences.
Muhammad was the prophet of this new religion. n Prajnaparamita Collection of sutras, which deal with the
Muhammad believed that there was only one God. Doctrine of Sunya or Nothingness.
He began to think more and more about these n Samachari Part of the Kalpasutra, which deals with the
ideas. Jain monks.
n Susama-Susama The first cosmic cycle of Jainism.
Those who accepted his idea, were called Muslims
n Sanghathera Also known as Samgha Parinayaka,
and their religion were called Islam.
Sanghathera was the elected President of the fortnightly
Islam spread very rapidly after the death of assembly of Buddhist monks.
Muhammad in 632 AD. The caliphate was n Trisastisalaka Purushacharita The longest poem
established over the area stretched from Western composed by Jain scholar Hemachandra, dealing with the
Asia right across Northern Africa and upto Spain. deeds of 63 enlightened men, including the 24 tirthankaras.
‘Caliph’ or successor of the Prophet was the title n Shramana Monk or ascetics.
given to the ruler of this territory. n Theravali The second section of the Jain Kalpasutra
In 712 AD, the Arabs conquered Sindh and containing a list of schools (aonas) and their heads.
threatened Western India, but were hold back by n Tathagata One who has attained the truth.
the local rulers. They kept their political control n Utsarpini The ascending order of Jain cosmic cycle.
over Sind. It was in this part of India that Islam n Upasikas The followers of Buddhism.
first became an important religion.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
40 06

Mahajanapadas

Sources Class-VI New NCERT Chap 5 (Kingdoms, Kings and Early Republics), Class-VI Old NCERT Chap 4 (India from 600 BC
to 400 BC), Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 11 (Territorial States and First Magadhan Empire), Chap 12 (Iranian and
Macedonian Invasion), Class-XII New NCERT Chap 2 (Kings, Farmers and Towns), Chap 3 (Kinship caste and class)

Majority of these Mahajanapadas were located North

Emergence of Mahajanapadas of Vindhyan region and extended from North-West
By sixth century BC, widespread use of iron started. Frontier region to Bihar.
This led to the clearing of forest area over Gangetic These Mahajanapadas fought with each other
plain and ultimately large settlements came into constantly and over the period of time Magadha
existence in the region. became most powerful Mahajanapada. Ultimately, it
New iron tools and weapons increased production of became first powerful kingdom of India.
food grains as well as developed the art of warfare.
Emergence of new agrarian economy, development of
Description of Sixteen Mahajanapadas
large settlements (cities), surplus production, army Kashi It was the most powerful Mahajanapada. It was
led to creation of large area under one command famous for its cotton textiles and market for horses.
known as Janapadas. Kosala Its most popular king was Prasenjit. He was the
Panchala, Kosala, Kashi, Surasena, Videha were contemporary of Buddha.
among these Janapadas and named after the rulers who Anga It was a great centre of trade and commerce. In
ruled them. These Janapadas were either kingdoms or middle of sixth century BC, it was annexed by
republics (Ganasangha). Republic is an area governed Magadha under Bimbisara.
by a group of people under one elected head. Vajji It represented a confederacy of eight clans of
In ancient republics, it was Kshatriya clan which whom Videhas were the most well-known. The
owned and ruled the land. Some historians also called Videhas has also had their capital at Mithila.
them oligarchy as they didn’t allow non-Kshatriya to Malla Buddha died in this Mahajanapada at
govern the republic. Kushinagar. Magadha annexed it after Buddha’s death.
Over the period of time, some Janapadas emerged as Chedi The territory of Chedi corresponded to the Eastern
Mahajanapadas after gaining great territorial control parts of modern Bundelkhand. A branch of Chedis
and increasing their power. They were constantly founded a royal dynasty in the kingdom of Kalinga.
fighting with one another in order to extend their area
Vatsa It was situated around the region of Allahabad.
of dominance or control.
Its most powerful king was Udayin.
Kuru (Situated in Meerut, Delhi and Thaneshwar)
Sixteen Mahajanapadas At the Buddha’s time, Kuru country was ruled by a
In the age of Buddha, 16 Mahajanapadas are chieftain named Kauravya.
mentioned, out of which Magadha, Avanti, Kosala, Panchala It was located in Rohilkhand and parts of
Vatsa were the most powerful. Central Doab.
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
41

Matsya It was located in the region of Rajasthan. Gandhara It was famous for education and learning
Sujata ruled over both the Chedis and the traditions in ancient India. Panini and Kautilya were the
Matsyas. world renowned alumnus of the Taxila University
Surasena It had a republican form of government. situated in Gandhara.
Avantiputra, the king of Surasena, was amongst Kamboja Kautilya’s Arthashastra and Ashoka’s Edict. XIII
the first chief disciples of the Buddha. attested that the Kambojas followed a Republican
Asmaka It was located on the bank of the river Constitution.
Godavari. It was the southernmost Mahajanapada Magadha This Mahajanapada started the policy of
ruled by the Ikshvaku Kshatriyas. Imperialism. The founders of the kingdom were perceived
Avanti It was located around the region of Ujjain to be Jarasandha and Brihadratha. However, its real
district in Madhya Pradesh. Chanda Pradyota was imperial foundation was laid by Bimbisara and
the most powerful king of Avanti. Ajatashatru.

Kamboja
Mahajanapadas

Matsya
Shrivasti
Surasena

Varanshi
Kosambi
Vatsa Kasi Anga
Magadha
Ujjain
Avanti
Narmada river

Ashmaka
Arabian Sea
Bay of Bengal
Godavari river

Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India)

Lakshadweep

100 0 100 400 300 400 500

Indian Ocean Kilometer
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
42

List of Sixteen Mahajanapadas Important dynasties of Mahajanapada age are as follows :

S. No. Mahajanapada Capital Present Day
Haryanka Dynasty
1. Anga Champa Bhagalpur and Mungher
(Bihar) The Haryanka dynasty was the first to rule in the Magadha
Mahajanapada. It was founded by Bimbisara.
2. Asmaka Pratisthan/ Banks of Godavari
Paithan (Telangana) Bimbisara (544-492 BC)
3. Avanti Mahismati Malwa region of Madhya He was the first ruler of the Mahajanapada and
and Ujjaini Pradesh contemporary of Gautama Buddha. Bimbisara adopted
4. Chedi Suktamati Bundelkhand region of various mechanisms to increase the geographical area
Uttar Pradesh and and dominance of Magadha.
Madhya Pradesh
He defeated Anga capital and established matrimonial
5. Gandhara Taxila North-Western frontier relations with Kosala (Mahakoshaladevi), Lichchavi
region (Pakistan)
(Chellana) and Madra clan. This made the position of
6. Kashi Kashi Banaras in Uttar Pradesh Bimbisara strong.
7. Kamboja Rajapura Poonch and Hazra The Gandhara Ruler of Taxila Pukkusati sent an
district of Jammu and embassy to Bimbisara.
Kashmir
8. Kosala Shravasti Eastern Uttar Pradesh
Ajatashatru (492-460 BC)
He killed his father Bimbisara and became the ruler of
9. Kuru Indraprastha Delhi and Meerut region
and
Magadha kingdom. He did not believe in matrimonial
Hastinapur alliance-based relationships.
10. Magadha Rajgriha and Patna region of Bihar
He attacked and defeated Prasenjit (king of Kosala). He
Patliputra also defeated Lichchavi king after 16 years of war.
During his reign, first Buddhist Council was convened
11. Malla Kushinara Deoria region in Uttar
and Pava Pradesh at Rajgriha weeks after death of Gautam Buddha.
12. Matsya Viratnagar Jaipur region of Udayin (460-444 BC)
Rajasthan
He was son and successor of Ajatashatru. He was a
13. Panchala Ahichchatra Bareily and Farrukhabad weak ruler as compared to his predecessors.
and region of Uttar Pradesh
He built the fort at Pataliputra and shifted capital from
Kampilya
Rajgriha to Pataliputra.
14. Surasena Mathura Mathura region of Uttar
Pradesh Shishunag Dynasty
15. Vajji Vaishali Northern Uttar Pradesh Shishunag (412-394 BC) was the officer of Udayin, who
and Nepal
replaced Udayin and started a new dynasty rule under
16. Vatsa Kaushambi Banks of Yamuna in his name.
Uttar Pradesh
During his reign, the supremacy of Magadha
established over Avanti (in other words, Magadha
became the sole super Mahajanapada). He was
Republics in the Sixth Century AD succeeded by Kalashoka (Kak varna).
Among 16 Mahajanapadas were many republics states Kalashoka (394-366 BC) shifted capital from Vaishali to
and other smaller Janapadas existed in the sixth century Pataliputra and also convened Second Buddhist council.
AD. Prominent among these were :
Panchala, Kamboja, Kuru, Malla, Vajji (all were Nanda Dynasty
Mahajanapadas) Shishunags were replaced by Nandas, who are
Bhaggas (Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh) considered as first empire builders of India.
Kaliya (Ramagama, Nepal) They defeated the kingdom of Kalinga for the first time
Moriya (Pippalivana in the foothills of Himalayas) and brought image of Jina as a victory trophy.
Shakya (Kapilvastu, Indo-Nepal border) Prominent Nanda ruler was Mahapadmananda who
has a mighty army consisted of large number of
Lichchavi (Muzzaffarpur, North Bihar) soldiers, elephants, chariots. It was believed that
Kalama (Kesaputta, East Champaran, Bihar) Mahapadmananda’s army stopped Alexander to
Butis (Allakappa, Bihar) proceed further Eastwards.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
43

Dhanananda was the last ruler of Nanda dynasty and Geographical exploration of the Indus and Arabian
was replaced by Chandragupta Maurya, who Sea, lead to the opening up of a new water route.
established Mauryan Dynasty. Fusion of the Persian art forms became, quite visible
in the Mauryan art and architecture.
Causes of the Rise of Magadha
Various factors were responsible for Magadha’s rise into Greek Invasion
prominence. Some of these were : In the fourth century BC, the Greeks and the Iranians
Ambitious Rulers Magadha was ruled by numerous fought for the supremacy of the world. The Greek
ambitious rulers like, Bimbisara, Ajatashatru, Ashoka, ruler Alexander conquered not only Asia Minor and
etc. Iraq, but also Iran. From Iran, he marched towards
Location Both Rajgriha and Pataliputra were located India as he was attracted by its wealth.
strategically. As a result, Magadha can control Uttar Alexander who came through the Khyber pass,
Patha as near as Central and Eastern parts. conquered the major principalities one by one. Among
Fertile Soil Alluvial soil of Gangetic plain helped in the rulers of these territories, two well-known were,
producing surplus in Magadha Province. Ambhi, the prince of Taxila and Porus, whose
kingdom lay between the Jhelum and the Chenab.
Natural Resource Abundance of natural resources like
iron enabled Magadha to equip with better weapons Ambhi, readily submitted to the invader, augmented
and tools to develop new agrarian economy. his army and replenished his treasure. On the other
hand, another Indian ruler, Porus fought bravely, but
Rise of Towns Use of metallic money led to growth of
was defeated.
trade and commerce which resulted in increase of
prosperity of Magadha and developed many towns.
Battle of Hydaspes
Use of Elephants Using elephants in war which were
n The Battle of Hydaspes was fought between
found in Magadha region also helped in Magadha’s rise.
Alexander the Great and King Porus in 326 BC. The
Battle took place on the banks of the Jhelum river;
Foreign Invasion which was known as Hydaspes to ancient Greeks.
n In the battle, Porus surrendered and the Alexander
In fourth century BC, Greeks and Iranians fought for the emerged victorious.
supremacy in the Indian subcontinent region. Greek rulers n After the battle, the Alexander was deeply impressed
not only conquered Asia minor region but also marched by the bravery and resistance by Porus and made
towards India beyond Indus plains. Porus his satraps (Viceroy to the king).

Iranian or Persian Invasion Effects of the Greek Invasion

The Achaemenian rulers of Iran, who expanded their
It opened up the trade route between the North-West
empire at the same time as done by Magadhan kings,
India and Western Asia and Europe.
took advantages of the political disunity of the
North-Western frontier. Opening up of four distinct routes between India
and Greece by land and sea paved the way for
Herodotus, the Greek historian, also known as the
increased trade and cultural contacts between the
Father of History states that in 516 BC, Darius (552-486 two regions.
BC), the grandson of Cyrus, sent a naval expedition to
explore the valley of the Sindhu river and annexed a Not only did the Greek invasion led to the coming up
part of Punjab and Sindh. of guilds (Shreni), but also facilitated trade due to the
fact that money also got introduced post the invasion.
The Indian soldiers formed a part of the Achaemenian
army that conquered Greece in the time of the Persian The Greek Art influenced the architecture of the
ruler Xerxes (465-456 BC). period, for instance, the Ashokan pillars have been
influenced by the same.
The successor of Darius I, Darius III also enlisted
Indian soldiers and sent them to fight with Alexander. Many Greek scholars came to India and wrote on
Indian history, now of immense relevance in the
Effects of the Persian Invasion reconstruction of the then contemporary
It led to the introduction of the Aramaic form of socio-religious aspects.
writing, which later developed into the Kharosthi The Greek invasion also further helped in the
alphabets. expansion of Mauryan empire in North-West India,
It led to the promotion of Indo-Iranian trade. since, the local powers were already subsumed by
Alexander.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
44 07

Mauryan Empire

Sources Class-VI Old NCERT Chap 5 (The Mauryan Empire), Class-VI New NCERT Chap 7 (Ashoka, the Emperor Who
Gave up War), Chap 11 (Buildings, Paintings and Books), Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 14 (The Age of Mauryas),
Chap 15 (Significance of the Mauryan Rule), Class-XII New NCERT Chap 11 (Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings)

The sixth century BC witnessed series of conflicts Buddhist Jatakas describe the stories of previous
between Avanti, Kosala and Magadha Mahajanapadas births of Gautama Buddha. They tell us about the
for territorial expansion. Ultimately, it was won by prevalent social order, existence of guilds, popular
Magadha. customs which flourished till the Mauryan age.
After Nandas, a powerful Mauryan dynasty established Manjusrimulkalpa is a non-canonical Buddhist
itself on the throne of Magadha. Later on, it became one work that covers wide historical period from the
of the most important dynasties in ancient Indian seventh century BC to the eighth century AD. It also
History. contains important information about the Nandas
and Mauryas.
Sources of Mauryan Dynasty Greek Governor Strabo (64 BC-19 AD) wrote
important geographical works named ‘Geographica’.
Both Indian and classical sources suggest that He also refers to the matrimonial alliance between
Alexander’s retreat from India facilitated Chandragupta Seleucus Nicator and Chandragupta Maurya and the
to carve out a kingdom for himself. women bodyguards of Chandragupta.
Kautilya’s Arthashastra is one of the greatest treatises The Work of Diodorus (First century BC) is the
on economical, socio-political condition of the earliest available Greek account of India named
contemporary period. It gives fair idea about foreign Bibliotheca Historica. His accounts on India are
affairs, administration, military arts, war and religion of derived from Megasthenes Indica.
Mauryan Empire.
Pliny (First century AD) is the author of Natural
Mudrarakshasa a historical play in Sanskrit by History (75 AD) and gives the account of India based
Vishakhadatta of fourth century AD narrated the ascent on Greek sources and reports by Western merchants.
of the king Chandragupta Maurya to power in Northern
India with the aid of Chanakya. It gives an account of
socio-economic conditions of that era. Rulers of Mauryan Dynasty
Parisisthaparvana, a Jain work, written by Prominent rulers of Mauryan Dynasty are discussed as
Hemachandra is a biography of Chanakya. follows :
It also provides crucial information about Chandragupta
Maurya, such as his early life, his conquest of Magadha,
Chandragupta Maurya
the famine in Magadha and his conversion to Jainism. Mauryan dynasty was established by Chandragupta
Maurya. He belonged to an ordinary family.
Other sources, namely, Rajatarangini of Kalhana,
Kathasaritsagar of Somadev and Brihatkathamanjari of According to Brahmin traditions/sources,
Kshemendra also provide vital information about the Chandragupta Maurya’s belonged to a humble origin
Mauryan period. and lived in Nanda king’s palace (Ranawas).
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
45

Chandragupta, with the help of Kautilya (Chanakya) Ashoka

overthrew the Nanda ruler Dhanananda and
established Mauryan dynasty. Ashoka was the Governor of Avanti, before
ascending the throne.
According to a Greek historian Justin, in order to
establish his dominance, Chandragupta started a During his fathers’ reign, he also went Taxila to
military campaign with six lakh soldiers in whole India. supress the rebellion.
Chandragupta Maurya also fought war with Indo-Greek According to the Buddhist traditions, Ashoka was
ruler Seleucus Nicator in which the Chandragupta extremely cruel in his early life and sat on the throne
emerged victorious. Seleucus married his daughter after killing his 99 brothers, however there is no
Helena to Chandragupta Maurya. historical authenticity of this. Dipavamsa states that
in the year 273 BC, he captured the Magadha empire
Seleucus Nicator also sent his ambassador
but crowned in 269 BC with the help of his abled
Megasthenes to the Mauryan court. Megasthenes book
minister Radhagupta.
Indica is a very important source of Mauryan Empire.
Ashoka was the first Indian king, who gave Royal
During the time of Chandragupta, the Mauryan rule
public orders through his Edicts.
was spread in the whole of Indian subcontinent except
Tamil Nadu and North-East parts of India. Information about Ashoka’s reign can be obtained
from his inscriptions, which can be categorised in
In the last phase of his life, Chandragupta Maurya left
five types:
the throne, embrassed Jainism from Jain Sage
Bhadrabahu and died performing Sallekhana (Fasting 1. Major rock inscriptions
Into death) at Shravanabelagola (Mysore). 2. Minor rock inscriptions
3. Separate inscriptions
Kautilya’s Arthashastra 4. Major pillar inscriptions
n Arthashastra is considered as the greatest piece of work 5. Minor pillar inscriptions
in the history of the Mauryas. Kautilya composed the Ashoka addressed his subjects as ‘son’ and called
book in Sanskrit. It is the most significant text to know himself as ‘Devanam Piyadassi’. His name Ashoka
about contemporary Mauryan administrative system. was found only at three places in Karnataka and one
n In general, Arthashastra is an authoritative book on in Madhya Pradesh.
polity and public administration. It is divided into
15 parts, 180 chapters and 6000 shlokas.
Ashoka’s inscriptions have been found in
n It is in both prose and verse style, which is commonly
present-day India, Nepal and Afghanistan. So far
called Mahabharata style. these inscriptions have been found in 45 places in a
total of 182 recitations.
Ashoka’s inscriptions composed in Prakrit and are
Bindusara written in Brahmi script in most parts of the empire
After Chandragupta, his son Bindusara became the however, inscriptions from North-Western part are
ruler of the Mauryan Empire. written in Kharosthi and Aramaic script.
During the reign of Bindusara, the Maurya Empire
spread to the South as far as Mysore and thus included
Major Rock Edicts
almost the entire country (except Kalinga and far They were found at distant locations of Mauryan
Southern kingdoms). empire i.e.,
The Greeks called Bindusara Amitrochatas (Amitraghat Kalsi Uttarakhand
in Sanskrit). Sopara Maharashtra
During the reign of Bindusara, Antiochus, the ruler of Girnar Gujarat
Syria, sent dry figs, wine to Bindusara but refused to
Yerragudi Andhra Pradesh
send a Sophist (philosopher).
Dhauli and Jaugada Odisha
Deimachus, an ambassador of Antiochus I was at the
court of Bindusara. Manshera and Shahbazgarhi Pakistan

Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the ruler of Egypt, sent an Kandahar Afghanistan

ambassador named Dynosis to the court of Bindusara.
Fourteen Major Rock Edicts
Buddhist text Mahavamsa suggests that Bindusara was
the follower of Brahamanism, but various other 1. MRE I It prohibits animal slaughter particularly
Buddhist books mentioned that he embrassed Ajivika during festive season. Only two peacocks and one
sect under the guidance of Pingalavatsa. deer were allowed to be killed in his royal kitchen.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
46

2. MRE II It provides medical treatment for man and Ashoka’s Kalinga War
animal. The edict also talks about four kingdoms of Ashoka’s domestic and foreign policies were
South, Chola, Pandyas, Satyaputras and Kerelaputras. influenced by the Buddhist ideology. After
3. MRE III Yuktas and Pradeshikas along with Rajuka shall becoming the emperor, he fought the major
visit all areas of kingdom once in every 5 years to spread war, popularly known as Kalinga War in
Dhamma. It also talks about generosity with Brahmins. 261 BC.
4. MRE IV It gave importance to Dhamma Ghosha (Sound Ashoka successfully conquered Kalinga. It
of Dhamma) over Bheri Ghosha (sound of war). It also became the fifth province of the Magadha along
emphasised that duty is most important. with Prachaya, Avanti, Uttarpatha and
5. MRE V It talks about appointment of Dhamma Dakshinapatha.
Mahamattas to propagate Dhamma and to look after the According to the Buddhist literature, lakhs of
welfare of the people. people were killed in this war, lakhs of people
6. MRE VI It shows King’s desire to get informed about his were wounded and 1,50000 people were
subject’s well-being. prisoners of war.
7. MRE VII It talks about adoption of the policy of tolerance Ashoka was deeply moved by the large scale
for all religions. massacre in the Kalinga war. He adopted
Dhamma-Ghosha in place of Bheri-Ghosha.
8. MRE VIII It describes Ashoka’s first Dhamma yatras to
Bodhgaya and Bodhi Tree. Dhamma Policy of Ashoka
9. MRE IX It stresses on moral duties of citizens and also Ashoka became Buddhist after Kalinga war.
condemns popular ceremonies (birth, marriage etc). He provided immense donations to Buddhists and
10. MRE X It stresses on Dhamma and condemns an promoted Dhamma Yatra. According to
individual’s attempt to fame and glory. traditional Anushrutis, Ashoka organised third
11. MRE XI Ashoka explains about the policy of Dhamma Buddhist Council.
and duties towards elders and abstaining from killing Ashoka set a very high ideal for himself i.e., the
animals and liberal behaviour towards friends. king being equal to the father.
12. MRE XII It talks about religious tolerance, particularly Ashoka appointed Dhammamahamattas to
about non-Buddhist religions. propagate Dhamma among different sections of
the society including women.
13. MRE XIII It is the lengthiest of all edicts. It laid
paramount importance of Ashoka’s policy of Dhamma; Ashoka’s Dhamma Policy was not only
mentions about the Kalinga war, Dhamma Victory over religiously motivated, but he consciously tried to
kingdoms of far West and South India. use as his state policy as well.
14. MRE XIV It talks about engravings of inscriptions in Ashoka sent his missionaries to promote
other parts of the territory and purpose of the edicts. Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Central Asia. Ashoka
used to ask the tribes to follow the path of
Ashoka’s Minor Rock Edicts Dhamma.
1. Yerraguddi – Andhra Pradesh Ashoka appointed officer called Rajuka who had
2. Rupnath – Madhya Pradesh the right to reward to save Dhamma and punish
3. Brahmagiri- Karnataka the subjects if they violate Dhamma.
4. Bhabru – Rajasthan It is known from the Kandahar inscription that
5. Sidhpur – Karnataka due to the policy of Ashoka’s Dhamma, the
fowlers and fishermen also renounced the
6. Ahrora – Uttar Pradesh
violence and lived the life of the farm producers.
7. Jating Rameshwar – Karnataka
Ashoka opposed rituals and traditions specially
8. Sahsaram – Bihar
prevailed among women. He banned killings of
9. Govimath – Karnataka various birds and animals.
10. Panguradia – Madhya Pradesh
Ashoka taught people the lesson of live and let
11. Rajul Mandgiri – Andhra Pradesh live. He taught kindness towards living beings
12. Sannati – Karnataka and good behaviour towards brothers.
13. Maski – Karnataka Before Ashoka, the Egyptian king Akhnatun
14. Palki gundu – Karnataka adopted a Pacifist policy (Policy of opposing war)
15. Gurjara – Madhya Pradesh in the 14th century BC.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
47

Evaluation of Ashoka Provincial Administration

Ashoka tried to establish pan India empire through his The Mauryan Empire was divided into several
ability and spread the fame of the Mauryan Empire provinces. Each province was under the control of a
inside and outside the country. prince.
Ashoka was successful in uniting the whole country Provinces were also divided into smaller units.
under the principal of one religion, one language and There was a system of administration in both
often one script. Gramanchal and Nagaranchal.
Most of Ashoka’s inscriptions are in Brahmi script but
Provinces and Capitals during Mauryan Period
in the integration of the country, he respected all
scripts like Brahmi, Kharosthi, Aramaic and Greek. Provinces Capitals
Ashoka’s name is immortalised in history for his Uttrapath Taxila
policy of peace, non-aggression and cultural conquest.
Avantika Ujjaini
Kautilya advised the king that he should always try to
Dakshinapath Suvarnagiri
win by power, but Ashoka adopted the exact opposite
i.e., the king should try to win through the means of Magadh Pataliputra
benevolence. Kalinga Tosali
During the reign of Ashoka, the Mauryan Empire
became highly complex which could not survive after City Administration
the death of Ashoka.
Megasthenes has described the city administration of
In 232 BC, after Ashoka’s death, the neighbouring Pataliputra. Pataliputra city was administered by a
kings captured the North-Western frontier of this group of 30 members. There was a total of six
empire. committees in the city and each had five members.
Ashoka’s Successors The head officer of the city was Astronomoyi and the
head of the district was Agronomoyi.
After Ashoka, the rule of his weak successors
continued for the next 50 years. Military Administration
After Ashoka, his son Kunal became the next emperor, According to Megasthenes, there was a council of 30
he was called Dharma Vivardhan in Divyaavadan. members for military administration, which was
According to Rajatarangini, the ruler of Kashmir was divided into six sub-committees having five members
Jaluka during the rule of Kunal in Magadha. each.
The names of Samprati, Dasharatha, Shalishuka and These six sub-committees were :
Brihadratha (Last Mauryan Ruler) are known as the 1. Infantry 2. Cavalry
later Mauryan rulers. 3. Elephant 4. Chariot
5. Boat 6. Transport and provisions
Mauryan Administration System
The king was the head of the Mauryan administrative Economic Structure
system. Kautilya has called the king Dharma According to Arthashastra, 27 Adhyakshas were
Pravartak i.e., the ‘Operator of the Social System’. appointed in the entire state. They were responsible
The top officials in the Mauryan administration were mainly to regulate economic functions.
called Tirthas (18 in numbers). Most of the officers These officers used to control and regulate
were paid in cash. Ministers, priests, commanders and agriculture, trade and commerce, weight and
princes were of the highest order and were given high measurement, mines, spinning and weaving.
salaries. State also provided facilities for irrigation and water
The messenger was an important official. He moved distribution and levied tax on the same.
from place to place and kept an eye on the activities of Kautilya’s Arthashastra mentioned that, there is a
the spy officers of the king. system of forced labour in agriculture, which was an
In the Central Government, there were more than two important social development.
dozen departments for the administration, which However, Megasthenes said slavery was not present
looked after the social and economic activities in the in Mauryan Empire.
areas adjacent to the capital.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
48

In the Mauryan Empire, the state had a monopoly on 1. Philosophers 2. Farmers

the sale of mines, alcohol and the manufacturing of 3. Soldiers 4. Herdsmen
weapons. 5. Artisans 6. Magistrates
Historically slave system came to India with Turkish 7. Councillors
rulers. However, in the ancient period, it existed in
Joint family system was prevalent and family
the form of domestic servants and were generally
structure was predominantly based on patriarchy.
regarded as the members of the master’s family.
Women were allowed to accumulate streedhan
The trade routes contributed greatly to the advanced
(property in the form of bride-gift).
economic system of the Mauryan Empire. A popular
trade route of this empire was from Pataliputra to Widows were also given respected position in the
Nepal via Vaishali and Champaran. society. Any offence against women get punished
severely.
Transportation
There was also a road in the foothills of the Religion During Mauryan Period
Himalayas. There were major trade centres such as Mauryan period was religiously very active period. It
Vaishali, Champaran, Kapilvastu, Kalsi (in Dehradun witnessed rise and growth of Buddhism and Jainism
district), Hazara and Peshawar. over Brahmanism.
In the Northern Plains, the Ganges and its tributaries Chandragupta Maurya followed Jainism and went to
were part of the water transportation. Shravanabelagola after renouncing the materialistic
world.
Tax Structure
Bindusara and his successors were the followers of
Kautilya has described various taxes that were
Sarmanas and Ajivikas.
collected from farmers, craftsmen and traders.
Ashoka was the greatest patron of Buddhism and also
The Samaharta was the supreme authority of tax
convened Third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra in
assessment and the Sannidhata was the custodian of
247 BC.
the state treasury and warehouse.
There was general tolerance prevalent in the society.
The elaborated system of tax assessment was first
However, incidents were also mentioned by historians
evident in the Mauryan Empire in ancient India.
about religious persecution of Brahmins.
In rural areas, there were state warehouses, which
indicates that tax was also collected in the form of Mauryan Art and Architecture
food grains.
Stone and wood architectural work began on a
The taxes collected from farmers ranged from 1/4th to massive scale during the Mauryan period.
1/6th of their produce which can be increased at Megasthenes mentioned that the Mauryan palaces at
emergency. Pataliputra were as grand as the palaces built in the
Custom duty was also levied on goods brought for sale Persian empire.
in the city. Fragments of stone pillars and their stubs have been
Agriculture found at Kumhrar in modern Patna, which indicate
the existence of a huge building with 80 pillars.
The punch marked silver coins with peacock,
mountain and crescent moon were the valid Mauryan pillars made of a single piece of yellow
denomination of the Mauryan Empire. sandstone is also found which was brilliantly polished.
During Mauryan Empire, fallow land has been Carved top with lion and bull are evidenced of unique
brought under agriculture. Forced labour and architectural developments of that time. Mauryan
cultivators played an important role in this process. craftsmen also started the tradition of making rock-cut
This also increased the revenue of the state. caves for the Buddhist monks. The oldest example of
this is the Barabar Caves.
Mauryan Society In the Mauryan period, the baked bricks were started
Society was mainly divided into four Varnas using in North-East India. Baked brick structures
(Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra). The Varna made during this period have been found mainly in
system became very rigid and no vertical movement Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
was allowed. It is known from the excavations that logs of wood
However, Megasthenes divided Mauryan society into were used to build important water channels and
seven categories: dams to protect against floods and external attacks.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
49

Ringed wells first came into prevalence during the These were :
Mauryan period which later spread to the outer Weak and Incapable Rulers After the death of
provinces of the empire. Ashoka, Mauryan Empire was ruled by numerous
The potteries of Mauryan period was called Northern weak and incapable rulers, which resulted into
Black Polished Ware (NBPW). It is associated with decrease of area under direct control of Mauryan
the second urbanisation in India. These were made of Empire.
clay with black polish and were highly glazed in Foreign Invasion Many Greek and Achaemenian
appearance. rulers started invading India. As a result, Mauryan
In Bangladesh, inscriptions of Mahasthan in Maurya Empire was divided into various independent and
Brahmi script have been found in Bogra district and autonomous regions, particularly in North-Western
Northern Black Polished Pottery has been found at parts of India.
Bangrah in Midnapore district. Rise of New Dynasty Pushyamitra Shunga, who was
The settlement of Shishupalgarh (Odisha) is believed the Commander of last Mauryan King ‘Brahadratha’,
to be from the third century BC of the Mauryan period. killed the king and established himself on the throne
And here, along with the Northern Black Polished at Pataliputra. He was a Brahmin and tried to revive
Pottery, iron tools and punch marked coins have also Brahmanism and established his control over North
been found. Iron tools and weapons of that time have and Central India.
also been found at many places in Andhra Pradesh Economical Degradation Ashoka maintained a large
and Karnataka. army, which required huge sum of money for its
The art of iron-making spread to some parts of the maintenance. This led to the decline of royal treasury.
country through Mauryan contacts. With the spread of Further, huge donations given by Mauryan rulers to
iron, some improved methods of clearance of forest Buddhists also depleted the treasury.
and farming began. As a result, conditions for the rise Reaction of Brahmins Although Ashoka adopted
of the Chedi kingdom were created in that region. policies of non-violence and prohibition of sacrificial
rituals, but it displeased Brahmanical sacrificial order.
Decline of Mauryan Empire This resulted into increased support of Brahmins to
create displeasure and sense of insecurity against
Decline of the Mauryan Empire can be attributed to many Mauryans (like Pushyamitra Shunga). As a result,
factors. Not a single reason dominated, rather it was the many new dynasties emerged during this time, were
accumulation of all the reasons that were related by the ruled by Brahmin kings e.g., Satavahana, Shunga etc.
chain reaction.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
50 08

Post-Mauryan Period

Sources Class-VI New NCERT Chap 10 (Traders, Kings and Pilgrimages), Class-VI Old NCERT Chap 6 (India from 200 BC to AD 300),
Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 16 (Central Asian Contacts and Towns), Class-XII New NCERT Chap 17 (The Age of Satvahanas),
Class-XII New NCERT Chap 1 (King, Farmers and Towns), Chap 3 (Kinship, Caste and Class),
Chap 4 (Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings)

With the fall of Mauryan Empire, Pushyamitra Pushyamitra Shunga followed Brahminism. Some
Shunga came to the Magadha Empire. However, there accounts portrayed him as a persecutor of Buddhists
were many large and small kingdoms which also and destroyer of stupas but no authoritative evidences
came up in Indian subcontinent after 185 BC onwards, have been found so far.
settled and had deep influence. His successor Agnimitra Shunga renovated the Stupas
Indo-Greeks, Parthians, Kushanas and Shakas came at Sanchi and Barhut. He further beautified the
as invaders and in North-Western India. sculptured stone gateway at Sanchi, which was built
Indigenous kingdoms like Satavahana, Chola, Chera by king Ashoka.
and Pandya rose in the Deccan and the Southern India. He performed Vedic sacrifices such as Ashvamedha,
The Post-Mauryan period was rich in cultural Rajasuya and Vajapeya.
interaction and emergence of new centres of art and Agnimitra reign lasted from about 149 to 141 BC.
architecture. Increase in trade activities led to Agnimitra was the hero of Kalidasa’s poem,
economic prosperity in this period. Malavikagnimitram.
The important sources of information about Agnimitra was succeeded by Sujyeshtha and
Post-Mauryan period are Gargi Samhitra and Vasumitra respectively.
Mahabhasya of Patanjali, Malavikagnimitram of The Shunga period witnessed the revival of
Kalidasa, Harshacharita of Banabhatta, Brahmanism and growing importance of Bhagvat
Milindapanho of Nagasena, etc. religion.
Works of Greek historians like Pliny, Plutarch and The Shunga ruler Bhagabhadra built the Heliodorus
Ptolemy also throw light on the history of this period. pillar at Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh, which was
dedicated to Vasudeva, in Sanskrit inscription, dated
Indigenous Kingdoms in around 100 BC.

Post-Mauryan Period Kanvas Dynasty (75-30 BC)

The indigenous kingdoms in Post-Mauryan period are The last Shunga king Devabhuti was murderd by one
discussed below : of his ministers Vasudeva, who founded Kanva
dynasty in 75 BC. Puranas designate the kings of
Shunga Dynasty (185-75 BC) Kanva dynasty as ‘Sungabrithyas’ or ‘the Servants of
The founder of this dynasty was Pushyamitra Shungas’.
Shunga, who was a Commander General in the The empire was divided into parts of Eastern India
Mauryan empire. Shunga overthrew the last Mauryan and Central India. The Kanva dynasty had claimed
King Brihadratha. Vidisha was the capital of Shungas. Vidisa as their capital.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
51

The Kanva kings were Brahmins and they traced Vashishtiputra Pulumayi (130-154 AD)
their origin to Rishi Kanva. Vashishtiputra Pulumayi extended Satavahana power
The last ruler of the Kanva dynasty Susarman was upto Krishna and conquered Bellary.
killed by the Satavahana rulers. Vasishtiputra Satakarni married daughter of Saka ruler
Rudradaman I, which is testified from Kanheri
Satavahana Dynasty (230 BC-220 AD) inscription. The step contained the hostilities between
Satavahanas succeeded the Mauryas in the Deccan the two kingdoms.
region. During his reign, old stupa at Amaravati was repaired.
In the Puranas, Satavahanas are mentioned as
Andhras, Andhrabhiritiya and Andhrajatiyah. Yajna Sri Satakarni (165-194 AD)
According to the Puranas, Satavahanas ruled for He recovered Malwa and Konkan from the Saka rulers.
around 300 years. Later, with the weakening of the Saka kingdom,
Aitreya Brahmana mention them as the Satavahanas also conquered Kathiawar in the North and
descendants of sage Vishvamitra. Krishna delta in the South.
Forest areas were cleared in certain regions for
Aspects of Material Culture in Satavahana Kingdom
establishing villages. Satavahanas built roads to
facilitate better communication in the Northern The people of the Deccan were well-known with the use
Deccan, i.e., the Godavari and Krishna Delta of iron and agriculture.
regions. The Satavahanas exploited the  rich mineral resources of
the Deccan such as iron ores from Karimnagar and
Important Satavahana Kings Warangal and gold from Kolar fields. 
The description of important Satavahana kings are Coins of lead were mostly issued, which was the main
given below : resource found in the Deccan. However, coins of copper
and bronze were also issued.
Satakarni I (106 -130 BC)
There was regular use of  fire-baked bricks and use of
Satakarni I was called ‘the Lord of
roof tiles.
Dakshinapatha’.
The drains were covered and underground to lead waste
He conquered Western Malwa, Anupa (Narmada
water into soakage pits. The Andhra in the East Deccan
Valley) and Vidarbha (Berar).
included 30 walled towns, besides numerous villages.
After his demise, Sakas attacked Satavahanas and
pushed them out of Nashik towards Andhra region. Social Condition in Satavahana Kingdom
Hala (20-24 AD) There were four classes in the social hierarchy.
Gautamiputra Satakarni claimed to have re-established
The Matsya Purana mentions him as the 17th ruler this system.
of Satavahana Dynasty.
Due to increased importance of towns, merchants named
He is famous for compiling Gaha Sattasai themselves after the towns to which they belonged.
anthology in Prakrit.
Mahabhojas, Maharathis and Mahasenapati were the
His commander-in-chief Vijayananda led a higher strata of the society.
successful campaign in Ceylon.
Merchants gave generous donations to the Buddhist
Gautamiputra Satakarni (106-130 AD) monks.
Under the leadership of Gautamiputra Satakarni, Mothers enjoyed a higher status in the Satavahana
Satavahanas attacked Sakas and regained Western dynasty as the Kings were named after their mothers.
Maharashtra. The names Gautamiputra and Vashishthiputra
His kingdom was from Krishna in the South to indicates the importance given to women in the period.
Malwa and Saurashtra in the North and from Berar Satavahana ruling family was patriarchal because
in the East to the Konkan in the West. succession to the throne passed to the male member.
In a Nasik inscription of his mother Gautami
Religious Life in Satavahana Kingdom
Balashri, he is described as the destroyer of the
Sakas, Pahlavas and the Yavanas (Greeks). It The Satavahana rulers were Brahmins. Vedic customs
mentions that he donated 200 ‘nivaratanas’ of land including Ashvamedha and Vajapeya were performed by
to the ascetics. the Satavahanas.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
52

Vaishnava cults of Krishna, Vasudeva, etc were There are three viharas in Nasik and it is believed to
highly worshipped during this period. But, have been constructed in the second century AD since,
Satavahanas were equally patronised Buddhism as it has the inscriptions of Nahapana and
well. Gautamiputra.
The cult of Bodhisattvas became popular during this The rock-cut architecture is also found in the
period. According to this, any person can attain Krishna-Godavari region in Andhra Pradesh.
enlightenment like Buddha, through paths of Buddha. Some famous Buddhist stupas are in Amaravati and
Buddhism also flourished under the Satavahanas Nagarjunakonda.
through granting land and financial aid to the monks. Amaravati stupa has sculpture that depicts various
Mahayana Buddhism became popular with the artisan scenes from the life of Buddha. Its dome measured
class. 53 m across the base and 33 m in height.
Nagarjunakonda and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh Nagarjunakonda prospered under the patronage of
became important Buddhist pilgrimage centres along Ikshvakus, the successors of Satavahanas.
with Nashik and Junnar areas of Western Other than Buddhist monasteries, Nagarjunakonda
Maharashtra. has the earliest Brahmanical brick temples. There are
around 24 Buddhist monasteries in Nagarjunakonda.
Administration in Satavahana Kingdom
Terracottas and their moulds were found from
The Satavahana rulers followed Dharmashastras and
Kondapur, which is 65 kms from Hyderabad.
considered King as the custodian of Dharma. The
Terracottas were owned by the extremely rich people
kings were compared to gods and mythical heroes like
of the town.
Rama, Bhima, Arjuna and so on.
Indian ivories have been found from Rome and
Many of the administrative mechanisms during the
Afghanistan. They are linked to the ivory objects
time of Ashoka were retained by the rulers. The
excavated from Satavahana sites in the Deccan.
districts were called Ahara while their officials were
known as Mahamatras and Amatyas. Language in Satavahana Kingdom
The kingdom was divided into administrative units Prakrit was the official language of Satavahanas. All
which were ruled by civil and military governors. of their inscriptions were in Prakrit written with the
The rural administration was carried out by Gaulmika Brahmi script, just like the Ashokan inscriptions.
who was the head of a military regiment consisting of Some Satavahana kings have composed Prakrit
nine chariots, nine elephants, 25 horses and literary works. One such text Gathasattasai is
45-foot-soldiers. attributed to Satavahana king Hala. It consisted of 700
Satavahanas maintained an army of 1,00,000 infantry, verses.
2,000 cavalry and 1,000 elephants. The most celebrated Prakrit poet Gunadya had
The military character of the Satavahana kingdom can written Brihat Katha.
be traced from the words like Kataka and Skandhas
that are repeatedly used in their inscriptions.  Economic Condition
Satavahanas granted tax-free villages to Brahmanas Major economic system of Satavahana and other
and Buddhist monks. These areas were free from any contemporary dynasties were well organised and in
administrative interference and were independent systematic manner.
within the Satavahana Kingdom.  There was all round development in the field of
The kingdom had three grades of feudatories. The agriculture, industry and trade during this period.
highest grade was  Raja  (King), who had the right to Agriculture was the main occupation of a large
mint coins. The second grade was  Mahabhoja, while section of the people.
the third grade was  Senapati. The  paddy transplantation  was a well-known art of
the Satavahanas. The area between the Krishna and
Art and Architecture of Satavahana Kingdom Godavari, formed a great rice bowl.
Many Chaityas (Buddhist place of worship) and
The  gramakshetra  was protected area by fences and
Vihara (monasteries) were cut out of the solid rock in
field-watchmen against pests like birds and beasts.
the North-Western Deccan or Maharashtra.
The entire coast tract from Kaveripattinam to
Karle in Western Maharashtra is the most renowned
Tamralipti was the centre of commercial activity.
site of Buddhist architecture. It is about 40 m long,
There were silver, copper, lead and potin coins in the
15 m wide and 15 m high.
Satavahana empire.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
53

In a village settlement found in Karimnagar district Sakas (Indo-Scythians)

(Telangana), carpenters, blacksmiths, goldsmiths,
potters, etc lived in separate quarters and agricultural, In the second century BC, Central Asian nomadic
and other labourers lived at other end. tribes and tribes from the Chinese region invaded
the region of present-day Kazakhstan whose
Weapons, sickles, balance rods and other equipment
inhabitants were Scythians.
were excavated from Karimnagar and Nalgonda
districts. This promoted the Scythians to move towards
Bactria and Parthia. After defeating the Parthian
Eighteen types of ‘guilds’ were mentioned in the king, they moved towards India. Scythians who
literature. Guilds became an important institution in the
migrated to India are known as Indo-Scythians.
economy.
Sakas came to North-Western India after crossing
The guilds implemented and defined rules of work and
Hindukush. They ruled Sind and Saurashtra.
controlled the quality of the finished product and its
prices to safeguard both the artisans and the customers. Sakas were in constant confrontation with the
Satavahanas in the South and Kushanas in the
Ikshvaku Dynasty North.
Ikshvakus were the successors of Satavahanas in the Their most powerful king Rudradaman I had
Deccan region. resisted the expansion of Satavahana to the North of
Narmada. 
They ruled in the Eastern Krishna-Guntur region, from
He issued the first ever long inscription in chaste
their capital at Vijayapuri (modern Nagarjunakonda in
Andhra Pradesh) during third and fourth centuries AD. Sanskrit known as Junagarh inscription.
There are not much historical details available about Parthians
this dynasty, though Matsya Purana mentioned
Ikshvakus as Shriparvatiya Andhras. The Saka rule in North-Western part of India was
followed by the Parthians.
The Ikshvaku kings were Shaivites and performed Vedic
rites. Buddhism was also patronised during their reign. Parthians had their roots in Iran and from there,
they migrated to India.
Compared with the Sakas and Greeks, they ruled
Foreign Kingdoms over only a small portion of North-Western India in
in Post-Mauryan Period first century AD.
The foreign kingdoms in Post-Mauryan period were : The most renowned Parthian king was
Gondophernes.
Indo-Greeks Parthians were noted for the construction of the
The descendants of Greek generals of Alexander who Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi (UNESCO World
ruled Iran and Afghanistan carried out an invasion in Heritage Site) in Mardan, Pakistan.
India and conquered parts of Punjab and Kabul valley.
The kingdom started when Graeco-Bactrian King
Kushanas
Demetrius (son of Euthydemus I) invaded India around The Kushanas were originally from the Chinese
180 BC. He conquered Southern Afghanistan and parts Turkestan and came to Afghanistan in the first
of Punjab. century AD.
The most famous Indo-Greek King was Menander I Kushanas are considered to be one of the five
Soter, also known as Minedra, Minadra or Milinda branches of the Yuezhi tribe who lived in the
(in Pali). Chinese frontier or Central Asia.
He was initially a king of Bactria. His empire extended They displaced Indo-Greeks, Sakas and Parthians
from Kabul river valley in the West to the Ravi river in and established their kingdom in Taxila and
the East and from Swat valley in the North to Arachosia Peshawar.
(Helmand in Afghanistan). Kushanas expanded further and later controlled the
The Indo-Greek Kings minted coins and these coins entire Punjab plain and Western Ganga plain.
help to understand the history of their respective A large number of Roman gold coins found from this
kingdoms. Some of their kings, (e.g. Menander), became era indicate the prosperity of India at that time and
Buddhist, others worshipped Lord Vishnu as well. also the growing trade with the Romans.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
54

Kujula Kadphises Religious Condition in Post-Mauryan Period

Kujula was the successor of Hermaeus, the last In the post-Mauryan phase, people followed Vedic
Greek prince of the Kabul valley. Sanantanadharma, Buddhism and Jainism.
He minted copper coins, in place of coins. Roman Inspite of their personal affiliation to a particular religion
influence can be seen from the coins minted or deity, the rulers, they never appear to have made that
under his kingship. particular religion as the state religion.
Along with Vedic ritualism, Bhagavatism also flourished
Vima Kadphises
during this period.
Vima was the son of Kujula.
Greek ambassador Heliodorus had set up a pillar in
He further expanded the Kushana empire and honour of Vishnu near Vidisha.
annexed Taxila and Punjab to his empire.
Mahayana and Hinayana sects emerged from Buddhism.
Kanishka Like the Vedic Dharma and Buddhism, Jainism too
Kanishka was the most powerful Kushana king underwent transformation in this period. It split into
and he adopted the title Kaiser. Digambaras and Svetambaras by the first century AD.
He controlled Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kashmir, Trade in Post-Mauryan Period
North-Western Frontier Province and Bahawalpur
Massive trade expansion and related activities occurred
of Northern Sind.
during this period. The trade between India and Rome
Under his patronage, the Fourth Buddhist increased substantially which is evident from the trade
Council was organised in Kashmir in 78 AD. activities that occurred in the South of Satavahanas, i.e.,
Tamil kingdoms.
Post-Mauryan Administration Romans mainly imported spices from India, but at the
Sakas were the first to introduce the Satrapa same time, muslin, pearls, jewellery and precious stones
system of government in India. The chief feature were also exported. Some products were also brought in
of this system was a joint rule by Mahakshatrapa India from China and were later exported to the Eastern
(Raja) and Satrapa (Yuvaraja). part of the Roman Empire.
Sakas and the Parthians used to govern many of Romans exported wine and various types of pottery to
their Indian processions through Strategoi and India. Kushanas also carried out trade with the Romans.
Satraps. A large number of gold coins was exported to India by the
The district officer was known as Merider and the Romans. The total number of Roman gold coins found in
military commandant as Strategos under the India during excavations is around 6,000.
Greek rulers. Roman writer Pliny had written that Rome was drained of
The general administrative structure did not gold due to its trade relations with India.
differ from that of the earlier period. Senior Many Roman traders lived in South India during this
officials were known as Mahamatras and period and many traders from South India had also settled
Rajjukas. in Rome.

Social Condition in Post-Mauryan Period Coinage in Post-Mauryan Period

New ideas on religion, culture, art and Roman gold coins were largely used for higher
administration entered into various aspects of transactions. Indo-Greek rulers had minted few but finest
Indian life due to foreigners. gold coins, but Kushanas issued gold coins in considerable
Foreigners were also incorporated into the caste numbers.
structure. Indian sources referred Greeks as The Kushanas extracted gold from Central Asia. They
Yavanas. might have also procured gold from Karnataka and the
Sakas were absorbed to the Kshatriya caste, gold mines of Dhalbhum in Jharkhand.
which later in the 9th and 10th century emerged Kushanas issued Dinar type gold, which later became
as Rajput clan. abundant under Gupta rule.
The growth of arts, crafts and trade resulted in Day-to-day transactions were carried out using coins made
attaining changed social status by the Vaishyas from lead, potin or copper. Kushanas had also issued coins
and Shudras. made out of copper.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
55

Art and Architecture in Post-Mauryan Period Literature in Post-Mauryan Period

The cultural interaction with Western Asia enriched Kushana period witnessed development of literature
Indian art. and Sanskrit language. Major Sanskrit texts of the
Sculptures of Greek and Roman Gods were brought period were written during this time.
into the cities of Northern India. Buddhacharita by Asvaghosha, Mahabhibhasha by
The new style of sculpturing also interested the Vasumitra, Madhyamika-Sutra by Nagarjuna and
Indian artists in Gandhara, which later came to be Sushruta Sushruta Samhitha is some of the important
known as the Gandhara School of Art. works of this period.
The image of the Buddha emerged during the first ‘Milindpanho’ by Nagasena contained the dialogues
and second century AD in India. It was the first time between himself and king Menander.
any God-like creation on stone was engraved and Bhasa wrote thirteen plays including
started worshipping. Svapnavasavadatta, Ravanabadh and Urubhanga.
Another set of artists in Mathura created a new style
that was different from the Greek model. This later
Science and Technology
became Mathura School of Art. in Post-Mauryan Period
Manufacturing of luxurious handicrafts also became In the Post-Mauryan Period, much progress was made
predominant in this period. Many such craft in the field of metallurgy. The presence of Greek
materials were found in Kushana complexes. engineers in Kushana court shows an exchange in this
field. Engineering skills in the building of dams and
Pre-Mauryan text Digha Nikaya mentioned about 24
irrigation tanks are evident from their remains.
occupations, while the post-Mauryan text Mahavastu
mentioned about 36 kinds of workers living in the Geometry seems to have been well-developed and it
town of Rajgir. was applied widely. In the field of astronomy, Greek
influence was quite evident from the text Panch
‘Milindapanho’ mentions about 75 works, out of
Siddhantika.
which 60 are connected to various types of crafts.
Indian medicine made remarkable progress during this
Eight crafts were associated with gold, silver, lead,
period. Kanishka’s court physician Charaka wrote
tin, copper, brass, iron and precious stones or jewels.
Charaka Samhita which is major work on Ayurveda.
Various kinds of brass, zinc, antimony and red
arsenic were also mentioned in Milindapanho. The school at Varanasi specialised in Surgery and
Sushrita Samhita an encyclopaedia of surgery
Iron artefacts were found out in large numbers during
compiled by Sushruta. He also stayed at the court of
excavations denoting to Kushana periods.
Kanishka.
56 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER 09

The Age of the Guptas

Sources Class-VI Old NCERT Chap 7 (The Age of Guptas), Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 20 (The Rise and Growth of the Gupta Empire),
Chap 21 (Life in Gupta Age)

Devi Chandraguptam and Mudrarakshasa by

Gupta Empire Vishakhadatta give information about rise of the
The disintegration of Kushanas in the North and the Guptas.
Satavahanas in the Deccan paved way for the Kalidasa’s Abhijanasakuntalam, Meghadutam and
emergence of several minor powers. Among them, the Kumarasambhava provide reliable information about
Guptas laid the foundation of the second empire in the governance, society and religion of Gupta age.
ancient India.
Chinese traveller Fa-Hien, who visited India during
The Guptas set up their rule over Anuganga (the the reign of Chandragupta II has provided
middle Gangetic basin), Prayag (modern Allahabad), socio-economic and religious condition of the period.
Saketa (modern Ayodhya) and Magadha in 320 AD.
The Guptas were not only powerful monarchs, but Inscriptions
they were also the patrons of learning. The Gupta age These are much reliable sources of Gupta dynasty.
is called as the Classical Age or the Golden Age of Important inscriptions are Allahabad pillar
India. The Gupta period was defined as the beginning inscription of Chandragupta II and Junagarh Rock
of new creativity, flourishing arts, prominent inscription of Skandagupta.
literature and great scholars.
There is scarcity of information about the origin of Numismatic Evidence
Guptas. It is certain that the Guptas belonged to The Gupta coins, particularly Kumaradevi-type coins
wealthy family and influencial landowners, who of Chandragupta I give valuable information of
gradually gained control over the Magadha. cultural, religious and political conditions of the
Gupta period.
Srigupta (240-280 AD) was the founder of the Gupta
dynasty. He used the title of ‘Maharaja’. The Poona
copper plate inscription of Prabhavati Gupta Rulers of Gupta Empire
describes Srigupta as the ‘Adiraja of Gupta dynasty’. The rulers of Gupta Empire are discussed as follows :
Ghatokacha (280-319 AD) succeeded his father
Srigupta. He also to look the title of Maharaja. Chandragupta I (319-335 AD)
The first important king of the Gupta’s dynasty was
Sources of Gupta Empire Chandragupta I. He married a Lichchavi Princess
Literary sources, inscriptions and numismatic evidences from Nepal, which strengthened his position.
help to reconstruct the history of the Gupta Empire. He accended throne in about 320 AD. He ruled over
Saket (the region of Ayodhya), Prayag (Allahabad) and
Literary Sources Magadha.
The Puranas (Vaya, Vishnu, Matsya, Skanda and Chandragupta I was the first Gupta ruler to assume
Markandeya) give royal geneology of Gupta kings. the title Maharajadhiraja and issue gold coins.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY 57

Samudragupta (335-380 AD) Chandragupta II (380-412 AD)

Chandragupta I was succeeded by his son Devichandraguptam of Vishakhadatta tells us that
Samudragupta who expanded his empire enormously. Chandragupta II removed and killed his brother
Allahabad pillar inscription, describes his Ramagupta and ascended the throne.
achievements. This inscription was composed by The Gupta empire reached its height in terms of
Harisena, a poet at the court of Samudragupta. It was territorial expansion during the reign Chandragupta II.
originally a pillar on which emperor Ashoka had an He extended the limits of the empire by matrimonial
edict inscribed. alliances and conquests. He married his daughter
Samudragupta was known as the Napoleon of India Prabhavati with Vakataka prince Rudrasena-II.
as he was undefeated throughout his political life. He conquered Western Malwa and Gujarat, which had
Samudragupta was not merely a conqueror, he was been under the rule of the Sakas for about four
also a poet and musician. In one of his coins, he is centuries. The conquest gave Chandragupta the
shown playing a veena. Western Sea coast, famous for trade and commerce.
Chandragupta II adopted the title of Vikramaditya,
Places Conquered by Samudragupta which had been first used by an Ujjain ruler in 58 BC
The places and the countries conquered by as a mark of victory over the Sakas.
Samudragupta can be divided into five groups :
It was in Chandragupta’s reign that the Chinese
Group One It includes princes of the Ganga-Yamuna pilgrim Fa-Hien (399-414) visited India and wrote an
doab, who were defeated and whose kingdoms were elaborate account of the life of its people. He also
incorporated into the Gupta Empire. collected rare Buddhist manuscripts.
Group Two It includes the rulers of the Eastern
Himalayan states and some frontier states such as Nine Gems of Chandragupta II
princes of Nepal, Assam, Bengal etc. It also covers n The court of Chandragupta II at Ujjain was adorned by
some republics of Punjab. numerous scholars, which were known as Navratnas or
Group Three It includes the forest kingdoms situated Nine Gems.
in the Vindhya region and known as Atavika Rajyas. n These were Kalidasa, Vetala Bhatta, Varahmihira,
Group Four It includes 12 rulers of the Eastern Vararuchi, Amarsimha, Dhanvantari, Kahapanaka,
Deccan and South India who were conquered and Shanku and Harisena.
liberated. The rule of Samudragupta reached as far as
Kanchi in Tamil Nadu. Kumaragupta (415-455 AD)
Group Five It includes the Sakas and Kushans; some He performed an Ashvamedha sacrifice and also issued
of them ruling in Afghanistan. Ashvamedha type of coins. The epigraphic records show
that he organised the administration of vast empire.
Empire Outside India
He also laid the foundation of Nalanda University.
The prestige and influence of Samudragupta spread
even outside India. Bilsada edict provides information about beginning of
his reign.
According to a Chinese source, Meghavarman, the
ruler of Sri Lanka, sent a missionary to Samudragupta
for permission to build a Buddhist temple at Bodh Skandagupta (455-467 AD)
Gaya. This was granted and the temple developed He was one of the greatest rulers of Gupta dynasty. His
into a huge monastic establishment. chief claim to fame in Gupta history rests upon his
remarkable defence of the territorial integrity of the
Ramagupta (380 AD) Gupta empire, both against foreign invasion as well as
Ramagupta’s name does not appear in the official internal upheavals.
records of the Gupta dynasty, but according to He defeated the Huna Armies as indicated by the
Sanskrit play Devichandraguptam, he was emperor of Bhittari Stone inscription.
Gupta dynasty. His Girnar inscription mentions the breach at Lake
The play mentions that Ramagupta surrendered to a Sudarshana in 455 AD which had been built during
Shaka enemy as he was weak ruler. Later, his brother Chandragupta Maurya reign and its repair next year
Chandragupta II killed the Shaka enemy. within a short period of 2 months.
Some coins discovered in Central India have been With his death in 467 AD, the glory of Gupta empire
attributed to Ramagupta. faded with a rapid pace.
58 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY

Officers During Gupta Age

Society and Administration
Name Function
in Gupta Empire Mahabaladhikrita Commander-in-chief
The society and administration in Gupta period was Mahadandanayaka Chief Justice
highly centralised. All the powers were concentrated
Mahapratihara Maintenance of Royal Palace
with the king.
Mahasandhivigrahaka Post-war mediator

Provincial and Local Administration Dandapashika Police Department Head

Bhandagaradhikrita Head of Royal Treasury
The Gupta’s organised a system of provincial and
local administration. Mahapakshapatatik Head of Account Department

The empire was divided into divisions (Bhuktis) and Vinayasthitisansthapak Head of Education Department
each bhukti was placed under the charge of an Sarvadhyaksha Inspector of all Central department
Uparika. The bhuktis were divided into districts Mahashwapati Controller of Cavalry
(Visyas), which were placed under the charge of Mahamahipilapati Controller of Elephantry
Vishayapati. In Eastern India, the Vishyas were Vinayapura Official to present different fiests at the
divided into Vithis, which again were divided into kings’s court
villages. Khadyat Pakika Inspector of royal kitchen
The village headman became more important
during this period. He managed the village affairs
with the assistance of elders. Economy
No land transactions could be come into force The king collected taxes varying from one-fourth to
without the consent of town’s leading local one-sixth of the produce.
elements. Whenever, the royal army passed through the
In the urban administration, organised professional countryside, the local people had to feed it.
bodies were given considerable share. The artisans, The peasants had to supply animals, food grains,
merchants and scribes served on same corporate furniture etc., for the maintenance of royal officers on
body. duty in the rural areas.
The common organisation, artisans and bankers In Central and Western India, the villagers were also
were organised into their own separate guilds. subjected to forced labour called vishti for serving the
Numerous guilds of artisans and traders were royal army and officials.
located at Bhita and Waist. At Mandasor, silk
weavers maintained their own guilds and in the Judiciary
district of Bulandshahar in Western Uttar Pradesh, Several law-books were compiled in this period. For the
oil-pressers had their own guilds. first time civil and criminal law were clearly defined
The representative administration was prevailed and demarcated.
only in North Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and some Theft and adultery came under criminal law. Disputes
adjoining areas of Madhya Pradesh, which were regarding various types of property came under civil law.
ruled directly by the officers appointed by the Gupta The guilds of artisans, merchants and others were
kings. governed by their own laws. Seals from Vaishali and
The charters marked with the royal Garuda seal from Bhita near Allahabad indicate that these guilds
seems to have been issued to the vassals. were well flourished.
Grant of fiscal and administrative concessions to
priests and administration became a regular affair in Bureaucracy in Administration
Gupta period. During the Gupta period, first signs of bureaucracy
Religious functionaries were granted tax free land emerged in India.
and they were authorised to collect all the taxes The most important officers in the Gupta Empire
from the peasants, which could have otherwise gone were the Kumaramatyas. They were appointed by
to the emperor. The villages granted to the the king in the home provinces and possibly paid in
beneficiaries could not be entered by royal agents. cash.
Abundance of gold coins suggest that higher Recruitment was not confined to the upper varnas only.
officials were paid in cash. But many officers may Several offices were in the hands of the same person
have been paid by land grants as well. and posts became hereditary.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY 59

Social Life Religion

The account of Fa-Hien gives information about the Buddhism no longer received royal patronage and
social life of Gupta era. Hinduism became a powerful religion during the
He informed that Magadha was full of cities and its Gupta era. However, the word ‘Hindu’ was not used
rich people followed Buddhism and gave ample until a later time by the Arabs when they referred to
amount of charities. the people of Hind i.e., India.
Till 550 AD, India carried on some trade with the The Hindus were worshippers of Shiva, Shakti and
Eastern Roman Empire, to which it exported silk. Vishnu. Lord Vishnu emerged as the God of devotion
and he came to be represented as the saviour of the
The striking development of the Gupta period was the
emergence of priestly landlords at the cost of local varna system. A whole Purana called the Vishnu Purana
peasants. was compiled in honour of Lord Vishnu. A law-book
called the Vishnusmriti was also named after him.
Land grants to the Brahmanas on a large scale suggest
By the fourth century AD, there appeared the famous
that the Brahmanical supremacy reached its new
height in Gupta times. Vaishnava work Bhagavad Gita, which taught
devotion to Lord Krishna. It emphasised
The castes divided into numerous sub-castes as a the performance of the functions assigned to
result of two factors : each varna.
(i) A large number of foreigners were assimilated into It was believed that Vishnu sometimes comes to Earth
the Indian society and each group of foreigners was to help men lead good lives and this is called an
considered a new kind of Hindu caste. avatara or incarnation.
(ii) Another reason was the absorption of many tribal Many of the older books such as the Ramayana, the
people into Brahmanical society through the means Mahabharata and some of the Puranas were compiled
of land grants. at this time. Now they are treated as religious texts.
In some ways, the position of shudras and women Gupta kings performed religious sacrifices, such as
improved in this period. They were now permitted to the Ashvamedha but these religious sacrifices were
listen to the epics and the Puranas. They could also not as frequent as in Vedic times.
worship a new God called Krishna.
A few Gupta kings were the worshippers of Shiva, the
During this period, the untouchables increased in ‘God of Destruction’. He became prominent God in
number, especially the Chandalas. Fa-Hien informed later phase of Gupta era.
that the Chandalas lived outside the village and dealt
Idol worship in the temples became a common feature
in meat and fisheries.
of Hinduism from the Gupta period. The images of
Gods were placed in a small room, which was called
Trade the garbha griha.
With the increase in trade in the earlier period, towns The Gupta kings followed a policy of tolerance
grew and prospered. In the earlier part of the Gupta towards the different religious sects. There is no
period, this prosperity continued. example of the persecution of the followers of
There was not only the trade within India itself and Buddhism and Jainism.
with Western Asia, but also with South-East Asia.
As trade grew, knowledge of sea voyage and Art and Architecture
ship-building also improved. Larger ships were built Both Samudragupta and Chandragupta II were
than before and many more ships crowded into the patrons of art and literature.
ports along the Eastern and the Western coast.
For the first time, in the Gupta period images of
Tamralipti (Tamluk) port in the Ganga delta handled Vishnu, Shiva and some other Hindu Gods emerged in
a large part of the trade with countries of South-East India.
Asia, such as Suvarnabhumi (Myanmar), Yavadvipa
The leading God is generally represented large in size,
(Java) and Kamboja (Cambodia). but his subordinate gods were drawn on a smaller
Broach, Sopara and Kalyan were the main ports on the scale. This represents a clear social distinction and
West coast and they also sent ships to South-East Asia. hierarchy prevailing in that era.
Indian goods were taken to Mecca, Arabia, Iran and The early temples were very simple, consisting of one
the Mediterranean lands. Caravans of traders and room where the image of the God was kept.
missionaries of religion also travelled over land to The entrance gate to this room was decorated with
Central Asia and China. sculpture.
60 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY

Gradually, the number of rooms increased from one to In the field of medicine, three great physicians
two, three, four and many more. In Deogarh (Jhansi Charaka, Vagbhata and Susruta belonged to this
district), there is an example of one earliest Hindu period.
temple in India. The Gupta craftsmen distinguished themselves by
There are evidence of few temples made of brick in their work in iron and bronze. The iron pillar found
Uttar Pradesh and a stone temple. There are examples at Delhi near Mehrauli, which was manufactured in
of brick temple like Bhitargaon in Kanpur and Bhitari the fourth century AD, has not gathered any rust in
in Ghazipur. the subsequent 15th centuries later.
Over two metre high bronze image of the Buddha of
Gupta era is found Sultanganj near Bhagalpur. Decline of the Gupta Empire
Beautiful images of the Buddha were made at Sarnath The Gupta Empire declined due to variety of reasons as
and Mathura. But the greatest specimen of Buddhist art follows :
is provided by the Ajanta paintings. The successors of Chandragupta II had to face an
These paintings (known as murals) depict various invasion by the Hunas from Central Asia in the
events in the life of Gautama Buddha and the previous second half of the fifth century AD. By 485, Hunas
life of Buddha. These paintings are lifelike and give the occupied Eastern Malwa and a good portion of
detailed information about cultural and social life. Central India. The intermediate regions such as
Punjab and Rajasthan also came under their
Literature possession.
The Gupta period is remarkable for the production of Yasodharman of Malwa successfully challenged the
secular literature. In this period, 13 plays were written authority of the Guptas and in 532 AD, set up pillars
by Bhasa; the most famous among them was Urubhanga. of the victory commemorating his conquest of almost
Kalidasa whole Abhijnanasakuntalam, which is the whole of Northern India.
considered to be one of the best hundred literary works The governors appointed by the Gupta kings in North
in the world. He also wrote Meghadutam and Bengal and their feudatories in Samatata or
Raghuvansham. South-East Bengal tended to become independent.
The period also saw the compilation of various Smritis The Pushyamitras rose to power in Bihar and Uttar
or the law-books written in verse form. Pradesh and had their capital at Kannauj. It seems
There was considerable amout of development took that by 550 AD, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh had passed
place in Sanskrit grammar by Panini and Patanjali. out of reign of Guptas.
One of the remarkable work is Amarakosa by The Guptas also found it difficult to maintain a large
Amarsimha, who was a expert in the court of professional army on account of the growing practice
Chandragupta II. of land grants for religious and other purposes,
which was bound to reduce their revenues.
Science The migration of a guild of silk weavers from Gujarat
There was a tremendous progress in the field of to Malwa in 473 AD and their adoption of
Mathematics, astronomy, astrology and medicine. The non-productive professions show that there was not
decimal system originated in this period during fifth much demand for cloth produced by them. It shows
century AD, as testified by a Gupta inscription of 448 lack of economic prosperity.
AD from Allahabad. The Gupta kings adopted titles such as Paramesvara,
Aryabhatta, a great mathematician was first Maharajadhiraja and Paramabhattaraka. Kingship
astronomer to state more fundamental problems of was hereditary but royal power was limited by the
astronomy in his book Aryabhatiya, written in 499 AD. absence of a firm practice of primogeniture (first
Varahamihira another great Mathematician and child receives the property). Slowly, feudalism
Astronomer also lived in this age. He wrote a major developed in the empire.
work Brihatsamhita and Panchasiddhantika in the The king maintained a standing army, which was
field of Mathematics. supplemented by the forces occasionally supplied by
Brahmagupta was other Mathematician who wrote the feudatories. Horse archery became prominent in
‘Surya Siddhantika’. military tactics. They were not matched for facing
external and internal enemies.
 INDIAN HISTORY
NCERT Notes
CHAPTER 10 61

Post-Gupta Era

Sources Class-VI Old NCERT Chap 8 (The Age of Smaller Kingdoms), Class-VI New NCERT Chap 10 (New Empires and Kingdoms),
Chap 9 (Traders, Kings and Pilgrim), Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 22 (Spread of Civilisation in Eastern India),
Chap 23 (Harsha and His Times), Chap 24 (Formation of New States and Rural Expansion)

In the sixth century AD, with the disintegration of The first ruler of this dynasty was Prabhakaravardhan.
Gupta empire, the Northern India, slowly split up into He assumed the title of ‘Paramabhattaraka’ and
small kingdoms, which were continually fighting with ‘Maharajadhiraja’. In Harshacharita, he was known as
one another. Pratapshila Harshavardhana belonged to this dynasty.
Magadha and its capital Pataliputra, lost importance.
After the fall of the Guptas, five major centres of power Harshavardhana (606-647 AD)
emerged in North India. These are given below :
The early history of Harsha’s reign is reconstructed from
Maukharis They held the region of Western Uttar the study of his court poet Banabhatta, who wrote
Pradesh around Kannauj had conquered a part of Harshacharita and Kadambari.
Magadha. Isanavarman and his son Sarvavarman
Harsha moved his capital from Thanesar to Kannauj. He
were powerful rulers of this dynasty and had
set out on a long campaign and conquered many parts of
adopted the title of Maharajadhiraja.
Northern India including the Punjab, Eastern Rajasthan
Maitrakas They established a kingdom in and the Ganga valley as far as Assam.
Saurashtra with Vallabhi as capital. Under the able
His Southward march was stopped on the Narmada river
guidance of Bhatarka, Vallabhi not only became a
by the Chalukyan King Pulakeshin II, who ruled over a
seat of learning and culture, but also a centre for
great part of modern Karnataka and Maharashtra with
trade and commerce. Dhruvasena II was the most
his capital in Badami in the modern Bijapur district of
important ruler of Maitrakas.
Karnataka.
Gaudas They ruled over a territory in Bengal and
were quite lesser known as of the four kingdoms. Administration under Harshavardhana
Its most powerful ruler was Shashanka. He invaded Harsha was an efficient administrator. He personally
Makhauri’s, killed Grahavarman and imprisoned looked into the affairs of the state and constantly
Rajyasri. He even murdered her brother travelled into different parts of his empire.
Rajyavardhan, who was the ruler of Thaneshwar. He governed his empire on the same lines as the Guptas
Hunas The White raced Hunas established their did, except that his administration had become more
supremacy over Kashmir, Punjab and Western India feudal and decentralised.
from about 500 AD onwards. It was a barbarious Harsha’s administration was more or less based on the
race, which came to India from Central Asia. Gupta administration. There was a Council of Ministers
Toramana was their oldest ruler and Mihirakula, to assist Harsha. They were called Sachiv or Amatya.
the most uncultured one.
The Chief Ministers of Harsha were —
Pushyabhuti Dynasty The major dynasty that Mahasandhivigradhikrita (Minister of war and peace)
ruled at Thanesar in Haryana and extended its and Mahabaladhikrita (Officer in Supreme Command in
authority over all the other feudatories were the area).
Pushyabhutis.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
62

Watcher of Royal harem was known as yamacetis and

superintendent of soldiers barrack was called pathi. Hiuen-Tsang’s Account on Harsha
n The reign of Harsha is vividly described by the
A new post called Rajasthaniya was created, who was
Chinese pilgrim Hiuen-Tsang, who left China in 629
the Foreign Secretary. AD and travelled all the way to India.
He had a standing army with the strength of 1,00,000 n Hiuen-Tsang described India as a rich and
horses and 60,000 elephants. prosperous country. Brahmanism, Buddhism and
Land grants continued to be made to priests for special Jainism were popular religions of India.
services tendered to the state. n Prayag and Kannauj in the doab had become
important.
In addition, Harsha is credited with the grant of land to
n The Brahmanas and Kshatriyas were reported to
the officers by charters.
have led a simple life, but the nobles and priests led
These grants allowed the same concessions to priests as a luxurious life.
were allowed by the earlier grants. n He called Shudras as agriculturists, which is very
significant information. In the earlier texts, they are
Revenue System under Harsha represented as serving the three higher Varnas.
The Chinese pilgrim Hiuen-Tsang informs us that the n The Chinese pilgrim takes notice of untouchables
revenues of Harsha were divided into four parts : such as scavengers, executioners, etc. They lived
(i) One part was earmarked for the expenditure of the outside the villages and used to consume garlic and
onion.
King.
n The dress of the people varied from region to region.
(ii) Second for scholars. He described Indians as simple, humble and honest.
(iii) Third for the endowment of officials and public Indians were also particular about cleanliness.
servants.
(iv) Fourth for religious purposes.
Society Under Harsha
Ministers and high rank officers of the state were
Wealthy brahmins used to get more revenue from
endowed with land. The feudal practice of rewarding
the land. Such grants were called Agrahara or
and paying officers with grants of land seems to have
Brahmadeya grants.
begun under Harsha.
Brahmins conducted the religious ceremonies and
Law and Order under Harsha rituals for the king. Some also wrote biographies of
In the empire of Harsha, law and order was not so well the king. A number of brahmins were also
maintained. The Chinese pilgrim Hiuen-Tsang employed as officers.
described that he was robbed of his belongings several People living in the towns were still mainly artisans
times. and traders.
Although, he reports that according to the laws, severe Shudras were the poorest because most of them
punishments were given for crime and the right hand of were either cultivators or peasants.
the robber was ampuated. Apart from the Shudras, there were the
untouchables who continued to do the work that
Religious Policy of Harsha were considered low in society.
Harsha followed a tolerant religious policy. A Saivite in
his early years, he gradually became a great patron of Economy Under Harsha
Buddhism. The king did not have direct control over the
He used to organise assembly at Prayag every 5 years, revenue. The systems of paying salaries by grants of
which was attended by all the tributary princes, revenue of land increased during this period.
ministers, nobles etc. As the number of grantees increased, more and
The Buddhists were divided into 18 sects in the time of more land transferred into the hands of the
the Chinese pilgrim. The most famous centre was grantees.
Nalanda, which maintained a great Buddhist university The officers were now less dependent on the king.
meant for Buddhist monks. It is said to have had as many Those who had large grants of land often behaved
as 10,000 students, monks and scholars. like independent rulers.
The monastery at Nalanda was supported from the The revenue was being collected by the feudal
revenues of 200 villages. Nalanda became a huge officers and it was divided between the feudatories
monastic establishment in the time of Harshavardhana. and the King.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
63

Education and Learning Under Harsha Ancestors of Kamrupa Dynasty

The brahmins were responsible not only for According to the epics and the Puranas, this dynasty
performing the religious ceremonies but also for claims its descent from the Asura Naraka who was the
teaching. son of Vishnu (in his Varaha incarnation) and the
The schools were held in temples where the higher Earth. Therefore, this dynasty is also called Bhauma
caste children were taught. Most of them learnt (i.e. the son of Bhumi).
Sanskrit and Mathematics and read the religious Naraka had a son, Bhagadatta, who is said to have
books. taken part in the Mahabharata war. The inscriptions
Sanskrit was still the language of learning and of of the dynasty claim that king Bhagadatta and his
literature. Perhaps, the most popular work in Sanskrit successors ruled for about 3,000 years in Kamarupa
was the Katha-Saritasagara, a collection of stories. and then came the king Pushyavarma.
Biographies of kings were also written such as Rulers of Kamarupa Dynasty
Bilhana’s Vikramanta-deva-charita. Kalhana’s
From the sources, it is evident that thirteen kings ruled
remarkable history of Kashmir called the
Rajatarangini was written in the 12th century. Kamarupa:
The worship of Krishna had increased in Northern Pushyavarma His reign was between 350-374 AD.
India and the story of the love of Radha and Krishna He became the first king of the dynasty in about
was very popular. Many poems were written on 350 AD. The Nalanda seal calls Pushyavarma the ‘lord
this genere and Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda was one of Pragjotish ’ and gives the title of ‘Maharajadhiraja’ to
of these. him.
Samudravarma His reign was between 374-398 AD.
In addition to Sanskrit, other languages were
developing. They arose out of the Apabhramsha Balavarma His reign was between 398-422 AD.
languages spoken by the common people. Kalyanavarma His reign was between 422-446 AD.
The early forms of Marathi and Gujarati were being Ganapativarma His reign was between 446-470 AD.
spoken in Western India and Bengali in Eastern Mahendravarma His reign was between 470-494 AD.
India. Narayanavarma His reign was between 494-518 AD.
Harsha was a literary figure. He wrote three plays Narayanavarma and his predecessor performed two
namely Nagananda, Ratnavali and Priyadarsika in horse sacrifices, which shows that he may have
Sanskrit. become independent of the Gupta empire in the first
half of the sixth century.
Spread of Civilisation in Eastern Bhutivarma His reign was between 518-542 AD. He is
also known as Mahabhutivarma. Under him,
India : Kamarupa Kingdom Kamarupa became a powerful kingdom. It included the
In Eastern India, Kamarupa was the major kingdom whole of the Brahmaputra valley and Sylhet and
that flourished. The modern state of Assam was extended to the West as far as the Karatoya river which
called Kamarupa and Pragjotish in ancient times. continued to be the traditional boundary of Kamarupa
for a long time.
There was another kingdom called Davaka in this
region which has been mentioned in the Allahabad Chandramukhavarma His reign was between
inscription of Samudragupta as the border state along 542-566 AD.
with Kamarupa. Sthitavarma His reign was between 566-590 AD. He is
The kingdom of Kamarupa at one time extended up said to have performed a horse sacrifice.
to Northern and Western Bengal, some bordering Susthitavarma His reign was between 590-595 AD.
lands of China as well as Davaka. Some historians think that this ally of Mahasenagupta
The region was ruled by a single dynasty from the was Sasanka of Gauda and not a king of Maukhari
time of Mahabharata upto the middle of the seventh dynasty.
century till Bhaskaravarma. The sources of history Supratishthitavarma His reign was between 595-600
of this dynasty are the Dubi and Nidhanapur copper AD. Gauda king Sasanka defeated and imprisoned
plates of Bhaskaravarma. Supratisthitavarma and Bhaskaravarma soon after the
Some other sources include genealogical seals from death of their father Susthitavarma. However, both
Nalanda and accounts of Banabhatta and brothers managed to escape from the prison of the
Hiuen-Tsang. Gauda king and Supratishthitavarma ruled for a short
period.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
64

Bhaskaravarma His reign was between 600-650 AD. He was a Buddhist and also founded the famous
After Supratishthitavarma, Bhaskaravarma became king. Buddhist establishment (University) at
He was a contemporary of Harshvardhana in the first Vikramashila (Bhagalpur district).
half of the seventh century. He was an ally of king According to Taranatha, he founded 50 religious
Harshavardhana. He is described in Harshacharita of institutions and was patron of the great Buddhist
Banabhatta. He sent his ambassador Hamsavega with author Haribhadra. He revived the Nalanda
presents to have an alliance with Harsha. With the help University and 200 villages were set apart for
of Harsha, Bhaskaravarma succeeded in occupying a meeting its expenses.
large portion of Bengal from the kingdom of Sasanka.
Dharampala (770-810 AD)
Account of Hiuen-Tsang on Bhaskaravarma He was the son and the successor of Gopala, he
extended the kingdom and was a follower of
Bhaskaravarma’s influence over the Buddhist monastery of
Nalanda is also attested by the account of Hiuen-Tsang. He
Buddhism.
narrates that King Bhaskaravarma sent a messenger to the He founded the Vikramshila university at
head of Nalanda monastery, Silabhadra, to send the ‘great Bhagalpur, Bihar.
pilgrim of China’ to him. He had frequent wars with the pratiharas and
The story of Hiuen-Tsang shows that Bhaskaravarma had Rashtrakutas.
control over exercises North Bengal and also some influence
over Nalanda in Bihar. Devapala (810-850 AD)
He is considered as the most notable Pala king.
A great patron of Buddhism, he constructed
Decline of Kamarupa Dynasty buddhist temples and monasteries in Magadha.
The dynasty came to an end with the death of
After a short reign of three to four years, his nephew
Bhaskaravarma in the same way as it happened with the
Vigrahapala sat on the throne.
kingdom of Harsha.
It is indicated by the evidence that the kingdom was Narayanapala (850-908 AD)
occupied by a Mlechchha ruler named Salastambha. He was the son and successor of Vigrahapala.
He proved to be weak ruler. The Bhagalpur
Other Dynasties in Post-Gupta Era Inscription records that in the 17th year of his reign,
he granted Mudgagiri (Munghyr) a village in
The other dynasties of Post-Gupta Era are discussed below : Tira-Bhukti (Tirhut), to the shrine of Shiva and built
one thousand temples in the honour of the same
Pala Dynasty deity.
The province of Bengal, from 650 to 750 AD, after the Narayanpala was succeeded by weak rulers like
death of Harsha, was subjected to internal disorder, Rajyapala, Gopala II and Vigrahapala II.
anarchy and confusion referred to as Matsyanyaya (the
rule of strong devouring the weak). Mahipala I (988-1036 AD)
This gave birth to a revolution by the people, in which He was the son of Vigrahapala II. He ascended the
the local chief Gopala, the first king of Pala dynasty was throne in 988 AD. Rajendra Chola Invaded his state
elected (Grahita) by the leading men of Bengal. and defeated Mahipala I. The Tirumalai Inscription
of Rajendra Chola records the details of his
Gopala (750–770 AD) conquests in the North.
He was the son of a warrior named Vapyata and founder The invasion, however, did not lead to the
of the Pala dynasty. He consolidated his authority over establishment of the Chola suzerainty over Bengal.
almost the whole of Bengal. He was an ardent Buddhist. Revolt of Kaivartas took place during his period.
According to Tibetan Lama, Taranatha, Gopala built the After his death, the Pala power declined due to
celebrated monastery at Odantapuri (modern internal conflicts and external invasions.
Bihar/sharif Bihar).
Soon after his accession, Dharmapala got involved in a
Ramapala (1077-1130 AD)
struggle with the two main powers of the time i.e. the Ramapala carried out expeditions against the
Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas. He was one of those Kaivartas—suppressed them and captured their
involved in the Tripartite Struggle (others were chief. He is mentioned in Sandhyakara Nandi’s
Vatsaraja of Pratihara dynasty and Dhruva of book Ramcharita, which is the biography of
Rashtrakuta dynasty). Ramapala.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
65

He was succeded by Kumarpala, Gopal III and Decline of Gurjara Pratihara Dynasty
Madanpalle who were all weak rulers. Thus, by the
The beginning of the 10th century brought
middle of the 12th century, the Pala power had faded.
weakness in the Gurjara Pratiharas. In 912 AD, the
Gurjara Pratihara Dynasty Gurjara Pratihara King Bhoja II was overthrown by
a Pala king Mahipala I. The feudatories took the
The Gurjara Pratiharas ruled much parts of the Northern advantage of the temporary weakness of the
India from the 6th to 11th century AD. They find their Pratiharas and declared their independence.
origin from Ujjain or Mandsaur. Due to the military skills
The major feudatories Guhilots captured Chittor
of Gurjar Pratiharas, Arabs were confined to Sind from
and founded the Mewar Kingdom, on the other
7th to 11th century AD.
hand, Chauhans established the Chauhans
The founder of this dynasty was Harichandra in sixth Kingdom in Ajmer.
century. The successors of Harichandra established
Marwar in Rajasthan and built the Temple city of Osean, Rashtrakuta Dynasty
near Jodhpur.
Dr AS Altekar stated that ‘‘The period of
Nagabhatta I Rashtrakuta ascendancy in the Deccan from about
The first important ruler of this dynasty was Nagabhatta I 753 AD to 982 AD, constitutes perhaps the most
whose reign was from Mandore (Jodhpur) to Malwa, brilliant chapter in the history of India, till the rise
Gwalior and Bharuch. His capital was Avanti in Malwa. It of the Marathas as an imperial power in the 18th
was during his times when Junaid, another Arab century.”
commander invaded India after Mohammad Bin Qasim. Literally, the term ‘Rashtrakuta’ means designated
Nagabhatta I along with his feudatories such as officer-incharge of territorial division called
Chauhans and Guhilots defended the Western Frontiers Rashtra. The Rashtrakutas originally belonged to
but the Arabs were capable of doing a lot of damage to Lattalura, modern Latur in the Maharashtra.
their Western Frontiers. Junaid was defeated and his They were of Kannada origin and Kannada was
successor Tamin was compelled to run back to Arab. This their mother tongue. Initially, they were the
is known as Battle of Rajasthan. feudatories under the Chalukyas of Badami. The
important Rashtrakutas kings were as follows :
Vatsaraja
He captured Kannauj and came in direct conflict with the Dantidurga (735-756 AD)
Palas of Bengal. Dantidurga was the founder of the Rashtrakuta
He defeated Dharmapala of Pala dynasty. In 786 AD, the dynasty. He defeated the Gurjaras and captured
Rashtrakuta king Dhruva defeated him. He died in Malwa from them.
805 AD. Then he annexed the Chalukya kingdom by
defeating Kirtivarman II. Thus, the Rashtrakutas
Nagabhatta II became a paramount power in the Deccan.
Nagabhatta II was initially defeated by Rashtrakuta king
Govinda III but later recovered and captured Kannauj. Krishna I (756- 773 AD)
Nagabhatta II was the most important and powerful rulers His successor Krishna I was also a great conqueror.
of the Gurjara Pratiharas. He defeated the Gangas and the Eastern
He is best known for rebuilding the Somnath Temple in Chalukyas of Vengi.
815 AD, which was destroyed by Arab armies of Junayad He built the magnificent rock-cut monolithic
in 725 AD. This was a large structure of red sandstone Kailasha temple at Ellora. He was succeded by his
which was again destroyed in 1024 by Mahmud of son Dhruva who ruled till 793 AD.
Ghazni.
Govinda III (793- 814 AD)
Mihir Bhoja The next important king of this dynasty was
Next important king of this dynasty was Mihir Bhoja who Govinda III. He achieved victories over North
ruled till 885 AD was assumed the title of Adivaraha. Indian kingdoms.
Mihir Bhoja was one of the great empire builders, who He successfully obtained the submission of
after some initial defeats conquered the territories of Gurjara Pratihara Nagabhatta II, Dharmapala of
modern Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The Teli Pala Empire and other small principalities in
Mandir at the Gwalior fort built by him. Kannauj.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
66

Amoghavarsha I (814- 878 AD) The last stage of Prakrit languages is represented by the
Apabhramsha, which was considered important on
He ruled for a long period of 64 years. He had lost
account of the fact that the modern languages like Hindi,
control over Malwa and Gangavadi. Yet, his reign
Gujarati, Marathi and Bangla have all evolved from it.
was popular for the cultural development. He was
a follower of Jainism. Jinasena was his chief During this period, literature shows considerable
preceptor in his reign. development. A number of kavyas with two fold or even
more significance constitutes a special feature of this
He was also a patron of letters and he himself
period.
wrote the famous Kannada work, Kavirajamarga.
He had also built the Rashtrakuta capital, the city The Ramacharita of Sandhyakara Nandi written during
of Malkhed or Manyakheda. the reign of the Pala king, Mahipal, presents both the story
of Rama and the life of king Ramapala of Bengal.
Krishna III (936- 968 AD) A large number of treatises were written on poetics. The
Among the successors of Amoghavarsha I, most important among such works are Kavyamimamsa by
Krishna III was famous for his expeditions. He Rajashekhara, Dasharupa by Dhananjaya, Saraswati
marched against the Cholas and defeated them at Kanthabharana by Bhoja, Kavyanushasana of
Takkolam. Hemachandra, Kavikanthabharana by Kshemendra, etc.
He marched further South and captured Tanjore.
He went as far as Rameswaram and occupied it Society in Post-Gupta Era
for some time. Apart from four varnas, another important class that
He built several temples in the conquered emerged as a jati during this period was that of Kayasthas,
territories including the Krishneswara temple at the scribes of the administration, responsible for writing
Rameswaram. documents and maintaining records.
Throughout his reign, he possessed the Though, the reference of Kayasthas are available from the
Tondaimandalam region including the capital Mauryan period itself, it appears that by the seventh
Kanchi. After his death, the power of the century they came to be regarded as distinct jati.
Rashtrakutas declined. The smriti authorities of this period followed the older
marriage rules. The literature also reflects the new ideas
and practices regarding remarriages. The words like
Kannauj and the Tripartite Struggle punarbhu and didhishu meaning a remarried woman is
n The Tripartite struggle, that continued for nearly frequently mentioned in the literature.
a century, refers to the struggle among the three
important dynasties of the period i.e. the
The women’s right to inherit property was accepted by the
Gurjara-Pratiharas of Ujjain/Mandsaur, the authorities. The widow was entitled to succeed to the
Palas of Bengal and the Rashtrakutas of whole estate of her issueless, deceased husband.
Manyakheta, Karnataka.
n Kannauj was located on the significant trade Economic Life in Post-Gupta Era
route, that’s why commercially and strategically During the post Gupta period, the literary and inscriptional
very important. evidences show the advanced state of agriculture, trade
n The struggle ultimately ended in favour of the and economy.
Gurjara-Pratihara ruler Nagabhata II, who
founded the Gurjara-Pratihara kingdom at
Medhatithi included a group of seventeen articles’
Kannauj, which survived for nearly two centuries. (including rice and barley) in the category of grain (dhanya).
Abhidhanaratnamala mentions a large variety of cereals
and other food grains with their synonyms. It mentions
Language and Literature that soils were classified variously as fertile, barren,
fallow, desert, excellent as well as those green with grass
in Post-Gupta Era or abounding in needs, those which were black or yellow
Sanskrit remained the main language and and those which owed their fertility to rivers or rains.
literature of various kinds continued to be written
Irrigation by the arahata (Persian wheel) and by leather
in it. Pali and Prakrit were used for writing the
buckets are mentioned in the inscriptions.
Buddhist and Jain religious literature.
The records of this period mention a great variety and
Vakapati’s Gaudavaho, a biography of
qualities of textiles such as woolen and hempen yarns,
Yashovarman of Kannauj, was the last major
garments made of silk, deer’s hair and sheep and goat’s
work in the older tradition of Prakrit.
wool.
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
67

The professions of weavers, dyers and the tailor are Education in Post-Gupta Era
mentioned in contemporary literature.
The system of education which had developed gradually
Some centres of metal industry were famous, such
in the earlier centuries continued during this period.
as Saurashtra was famous for its bell industry while
The later smiritis introduced a new sacrament called
Vanga was known for its tin industry, etc.
vidyarambha (commencement of education) and
Lists of jewels are preserved in various texts, which aksharasvikriti or aksharabhyasa training in the
mention around 33 kinds of gems and analyse the alphabet.
good qualities of diamond, emerald, ruby, pearls,
Education was imparted in the temple like earlier
sapphire, etc.
periods. Students were either taught by the temple
The Arab, Chinese, Indian sources mention the flow priests as in the smaller village temples or else attended
of trade between East and West via India. The best the college attached to the larger temples.
breed of horses were imported from Central and
Professional education continued to be maintained
Western Asia.
through the training given to apprentices in guilds and
The prosperity of the coastal towns of Gujarat, among the groups of artisans. At a more popular level,
Malabar and Tamil attracted foreign merchants to oral instruction, much simpler than the Sanskrit
settle in India. learning of the colleges was imparted by the saints and
The ports along the West coast of India referred to elders.
by Arab geographers were Debal (in Indus delta) The numerous mathas and other centres of education in
Cambay J’hana, Sopara and Quilon. various parts of India enabled ideas to flow freely and
Medhatithi mentions both industrial and mercantile quickly from one part of the country to another.
guilds. These guilds consisted of people following Education was also available in the Jain and Buddhist
common profession such as tradesmen, artisans, monasteries at Vikramshila, Oddantapura, Vallabhi
money lenders, etc. and Nalanda, which were great centres of higher
learning.
Religion and Philosophy
in Post-Gupta Era Art and Architecture in Post-Gupta Era
Both Buddhism and Jainism developed theistic Post-Gupta Era was a fruitful age of the art and
tendencies on the analogy of shaivism and architecture as it is be apparent from the numerous
Vaishnavism. temples that are standing for the 1200 years.
During this period, Buddhism witnessed not only The famous temples of Orissa, especially those of
decadence of pure Hinayana and Mahayana Bhubaneshwar are magnificent specimens of the Nagar
Buddhism, but also the appearance of a new phase style or North Indian style. Another place, where several
of the religious philosophy. excellent nagar style temples still stand, is Khajuraho in
The Jainism gained ‘popularity among the trading Bundelkhand.
classes in North and West India and the extensive In the Deccan, the temples of Vatapi (Badami) and
royal patronage in South India. In the Deccan, it Pattadakal (Bijapur district) are stylistically different.
was honoured by the Gangas, Chalukyas and by These temples stand on an elaborately decorated base or
Rastrakuta rulers. plinth.
During this period, many Jain basadis (temples) Some good examples are the Hoysalesvara temple at
and mahastambhas (pillar) were set up in different Halebidu, which though incomplete, is unsurpassed by
parts. The colossal image at Sravanabelgola was set any Indian temple in both its structural and its
up during this time. decorative features.
Tantricism is another sect which became popular Besides free standing temples in the South, temples
during this time. It had originated in the sixth are also hewn out of solid rock. The Kailash temple at
century but became stronger from the eighth Ellora, dedicated to Shiva excavated during the reign of
century onwards. It was strongest in North-Eastern Krishna I of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, is regarded as the
India and had close ties with Tibet. architectural marvel.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
68 11

History of South India

Sources Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 18 (The Dawn of History in the Deep South), Chap 24 (Formation of New States
and Rural Expansion in the Peninsula)

Sangam Age Language of Sangam Literature

The period between the third century BC to The Sangam literature was rightly regarded the age
third century AD in South India (the areas of modern of Tamil literature. Tamil is the oldest among the
Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh) is spoken literary languages of South India.
known as Sangam Period. It deals with secular matter relating to public and
It has been named after the Sangam academies held social activity like government, war, charity, trade,
during the period of three great dynasties of Cheras, worship, agriculture, etc. Among the poets and
Cholas and Pandyas. It flourished under the royal thinkers of the Sangam age, Tolkappiyar,
patronage of the Pandya kings of Madurai. Tiruvalluvar, Illango Adigal, Sittalai Sattanar,
Nakkirar, Kapilar, Paraner, Auvaiyar and
At the Sangams, eminent scholars assembled and
Mangudi Marudanar are remarkable.
functioned as the board of censors and the literary
works were compiled in the form of anthologies. The Sangam literature can roughly be divided into
two groups narrative and didactic. The nature of
These literary works were the earliest specimens of
Sangam literature is quite unique as it is written in
Dravidian literature. According to the Tamil legends,
secular nature and its major themes are love,
there were three Sangams (Academy of Tamil poets)
revenge and poetry etc.
held in the ancient South India popularly called
Muchchangam. Earliest Tamil Works
— Mythologically the first Sangam is believed to be held
Tolkappiyam It is the oldest extant Tamil grammar
at Madurai, attended by Gods and legendary sages. No
written by Tolkappiyar (one of the 12 disciples of
literary work of this Sangam is available.
sage Agastya.). It is divided into three major parts,
— The second Sangam was held at Kapatapuram and the
each consisting of nine iyals (sub-parts) and has a
only text during this Sangam that survived was total of 1612 sutras.
Tolkappiyam.
Pattupattu (Ten poems) The poetry in the
— The third Sangam was also held at Madurai. A few of
Pattupattu was divided into two main groups i.e.,
the Tamil literary works have survived and are a Aham (deals with matters strictly limited to one
useful sources to reconstruct the history of the aspect of subjective experience viz love) and Puram
Sangam period. (deals with matters capable of externalisation of
The earliest script that the Tamils used was the Brahmi objectification).
script. It was only from the late ancient and early Murugarruppadai (by Nakkirar), Sirupanarruppadai
medieval period, that they started evolving a new (by Nattanar), Perumbanarruppadai, Maduraikkanji
angular script, called the Grantha script, from which (by Mangudi Marudam), Pattinappalai (by Kannan)
the modern Tamil is derived. The Sangam literature and other works, come in the category of Pattupattu.
was finally compiled in its present form in 300-600 AD.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
69

Ettutogai It is a collection of eight anthologies. The

eight anthologies were :
Megalith Culture in South India
1. Aingurunuru, compiled by Gudalur Kilar, consists The megaliths are the graves encircled by big pieces of
of 500 erotic poems. stone. They are found in all upland areas of the
2. Agananuru, compiled by Rudrasarman, consists of peninsula, but their concentration seems to be in
love poems. Eastern Andhra and in Tamil Nadu.
3. Narrinai comprises 400 short poems on love. The people used various types of pottery, but black and
4. Kuruntogai has 400 love poems. red ware popular with them.
5. Purananuru consists of 400 poems in praise of The practice of burying goods in the graves with the
kings. The Nandas and Mauryas are referred in one dead bodies was based on the belief that the dead
of the poems. would need all these in the next world.
6. Kalithogai comprises love poems. The Cholas, Pandyas and Cheras mentioned in
7. Paripadal has 24 poems in praise of Gods. Ashokan inscriptions were probably in the megalithic
8. Padirruppattu is a short collection of 8 poems in phase of material culture.
praise of the Chera kings. The megalithic people in the Southern districts of
Tamil Nadu had certain peculiar characteristics. They
Pathinenkilkanakku (Eighteen Minor Works) buried the skeletons of the dead inside urns made of
These works are called minor works, because the red pottery in pits.
poems in these, are shorter in form.
The practice of urn-burial was different from that
The most important among these are the Tirukkural of list- burial or pit-burial surrounded by stone
by Tiruvalluvar (known as the Bible of Tamil land), circles, which prevailed in the Krishna-Godavari
which is a compound of the Dharmashastra, valley.
the Arthashastra and the Kamasutra.
Although, the megalithic people produced paddy and
Pathinenkilkanakku was translated in English by ragi, apparently the area of cultivable land used by
Dr A Dakshinamurthy in 2010. Most of these books them was very limited, and generally they did not settle
deal with morals and ethics.
on the plains or in the low lands.
The Epics
The epics Silappadikaram (The Jewelled Anklet) and Three Early Kingdoms
Manimekalai belong to the early centuries of the The Southern end of the Indian peninsula situated
Christian era. South of the Krishna river was divided into three
Silappadikaram It was written by Ilango Adigal kingdoms i.e., Pandya, Chola and Chera or Kerala.
(grandson of Karikala, the great Chola king) in the The Pandyas were first mentioned by Megasthenes,
second century AD. It is a tragic story of a merchant, who said that their kingdom was famous for
Kovalan of Puhar who falls in love with a dancer pearls. He also mentioned that it is being ruled by a
Madhavi, neglecting his own wife Kannagi. In the woman.
end, Kannagi takes revenge for the death of her
The Cholas, the Pandyas and the Cheras territories was
husband from the Pandyan king and becomes a
probably outside the Mauryan empire.
Goddess.
It marks the beginning of Kannagi cult or Pattini cult, Pandyan Kingdom
i.e., the worship of Kannagi as the real wife. There is The Pandyan territory occupied the Southernmost and
also a reference to the Ceylonese king Gajabahu being the South-Eastern portion of the Indian peninsula.
present on the occasion of the installation of a
Kannagi Goddess in the temple, by Chera king It roughly included the modern districts of Tirunelveli,
Senguttuvan. Ramnad and Madurai in Tamil Nadu.
Manimekalai It was written by poet Sattanar. It is It had its capital at Madurai, which became a great
the story of Manimekalai, the daughter of Kovalan cultural centre.
and Madhavi, of the earlier epic. The main aim of The Pandyan kings were profited from trade with the
this epic was to show the excellence of the Buddhist Roman empire and sent embassies to the Roman
religion through the painful life of Manimekalai due emperor Augustus.
to the loss of the city, Puhar. This epic is the only The Brahmanas enjoyed considerable influence and the
important ancient work, which gives glimpse of the Pandyan Kings performed Vedic sacrifices in the early
development of the fine arts in the Sangam age. centuries.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
70

Chola Kingdom The Cheras owed its importance to trade with the
Romans. The Romans set up two regiments at Muziris
The Chola kingdom was called Cholamandalam or
identical with Cranganore in the Chera country to
Coromandal. It was situated to the North-Eastern part
protect their interests.
of the territory of the Pandyas, between the Pennar
and the Velur rivers. The most important event in the political history of the
Cheras was their fight against the Cholas in about 150 AD.
Uraiyur was the chief centre of political power of
Cholas. It was a famous place for cotton trade. According to the Chera poets, the greatest king was
In the middle of the second century BC, a Chola king Senguttuvan (Cenkuttuvan), the Red Chera.
According to Sangam work Silappatikaram, he
named Elara conquered Sri Lanka and ruled over it
invaded the North and crossed the Ganga.
for nearly 50 years.
The Chola kingdom flourished around 100 AD under Economic Life of the Three Kingdoms
the rule of famous king Karikala.
These states are very much profited from their natural
He founded Puhar and constructed 160 km of resources and foreign trade. They grew spice
embankment along the Kaveri river. Puhar is identical especially pepper, which was in great demand in the
with Kaveripattanam, which was the Chola capital. Western world.
It was a great centre of trade and commerce. The
The sea yielded pearls and their mines produced
excavations show that it had a large dockyard.
precious stones. Both of these were sent to the West in
One of the main sources of the wealth of the Cholas good quantity.
was trade in cotton cloth. They maintained and
The early Tamil poems also mentioned the wearing of
efficient navy which sailed as far as the mouths of the
complex patterns on silk. Uraiyur was noted for its
Ganga and the Irrawaddy.
cotton trade.
Under Karikala’s successors, the Chola power rapidly
From very early times, the Tamil traders were
declined and their capital Kaveripattanam was also
engaged with the Greek or Hellenistic kingdom of
destroyed.
Egypt, Arabia, Malaya archipelago and China.
South India Transit duties were also levied on the merchants who
(300BC - 750 AD) moved with their goods from place to place.
Narmada river The land produced paddy, ragi and sugarcane. From
er Mahanadi the taxes collected from the peasantry, the state
Tapti riv
Ellora Nagpur maintained a regular army.
Arabian Sea Ajanta
Mum
b ai Godavari river Social Life of the Three Kingdoms
Kr river

Taxes enabled the king not only to maintain a

ish

Hyderabad Vengi
Bay of Bengal professional army but also to pay the poets and priets,
na

Nagarjunkanda
Ahole who were mainly the priest class.
Badami Guntur The Brahamanas first appear in the Tamil land in the
a
Pattadkal
a dr
b h Sangam age. Many brahmanas functioned as court
Banwashi a r
ng ive poets and were rewarded by the king.
Tu r Madras
Kochi
Ka

Mahabalipuram The Kshatriyas and Vaishyas do not appear as regular

ve
ri

varnas in the Sangam texts. The class of warriors was

Ri
ve

Kaveripattanam
also present in the society.
r

Ujjain
Lakshadwep (India) Captains of the army were given the title of Enadi at a
Madurai
formal ceremony. Civil and military offices were held
under both the Cholas and the Pandyas by Vallalas or
Indian ocean
rich peasants.
The ruling caste was called the Arasar and its
members had matrimonial relations with the Vallalas,
Chera Kingdom who constituted the fourth caste.
The Chera or the Kerala country was situated to the Vallalas had vast pasture land and thus constituted
West and North of the land of the Pandyas. It included the peasantry, divided into the rich and the poor. The
the narrow strip of land between the sea and the rich did not plough the land themselves but employed
mountains and covered a portion of the modern labourers for this purpose.
Kerala state.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
71

Agricultural operations were generally carried out by The army of the Chalukyas consisted of a small
women of the lowest class (Kadaisiyar), whose status standing army, but looked after civil administration,
appears to have lower than the slaves. whenever the need arised. They patronised education
There were low class artisans called Pulaiyans who and learning. They promoted both Sanskrit and
used to make rope Charpaiys and used animal skins Prakrit languages.
as mats. Several outcastes and forest tribes also Gangaraja Durvinita, a famous Chalukyan feudal
existed in the society. lord, wrote a famous book on Grammar known as
Shabavatara. He also translated the book Brihatkatha
Religious Life of the Three Kingdoms written by Gunadhya into Sanskrit.
The Brahmanical influence was confined to a small Udayadeva wrote a Grammar book known as
part of the Tamil territory and only to the upper levels Jainendra Vyakarana. Vijnanesvara wrote the
to Tamil society. Mitaksara.
The chief local deity worshipped by the people was Though Chalukyas were Brahmin Hindus, they also
Murugan, who was also called Subramaniya. The promoted other religions. For example, Jainism made
worship of Vishnu is also mentioned in the texts. huge progress under them.
People offered paddy to the dead. Cremation was The Chalukyas developed the Deccan or Vesara style
introduced but burial practices of the megalithic in the building of structural temples. The temple
phase was not abandoned. building can be divided into two stages.
— The first stage is represented by the temples at
Organisation of New Kingdoms Aihole and Badami. Aihole was a town of temples
and had as many as 70 temples. The most
in Deccan remarkable ones were Ladh Khan Temple, the Jain
Between 300-600 AD, many new kingdoms arised to Temple of Meguti, the Durga Temple and the
power in Deccan. Some of these are discussed below : Huchimalligudi Temple.
— The second stage is represented by the temples at
Vakatakas Pattadakal. There are four temples in the Northern
The Vakataka rulers were the contemporary of the Gupta style (Nagara style) and six in the Southern style
dynasty. Inscriptions and Puranas testify that they (Dravidian style). The Papanatha temple and the
dominated the entire country of Bundelkhand, Central Virupaksha temple are the prominent ones.
Provinces, Berar, Northern Deccan. The Vakatakas were
They perfected the art of stone building i.e., stones
Brahmins and in their inscriptions, they called themselves
finely joined without mortar. It had two
as Haritaputras.
main components: Vimana and the Mandapa.
Important rulers of this dynasty were : Though, the cave paintings began earlier, some of the
Vindhyasakti He was the founder of this dynasty. finest specimens belonged to the Chalukya era. At
Pravarasena Assumed imperial titles such as Ajanta, a painting depicting the reception given to a
Maharajadhiraja and Samrat and also performed Persian ambassador by Pulakeshin II is one such
Asvamedha and Vajapeya. example.
Rudrasena I He faced defeat by Samudragupta.
Rudrasena II He married Prabhavatigupta, (daughter Pallavas
of Chandragupta II) and under her influence became a The term Pallava means creeper and is a Sanskrit
Vaishnavite. version of the Tamil word Tondai, which also carries
Pravarasena II He built temple of Ramachandra at the same meaning. The Pallavas were possibly a local
Pravarapura and composed famous Prakrit poem tribe, who established their authority in the ‘Tondai
Setubandha. Kalidasa wrote Meghadutam in his court. Nadu’ or the Land of Creepers.
It might have took them some time to be completely
Chalukyas civilised and acceptable, because in Tamil the word
The Chalukyas ruled Deccan from the 6th to Pallava is also synonym of robber.
8th century AD and again from the 10th to 12th Simha Vishnu (575-600 AD) was the real founder of
century AD. They occupy an important place in the
this dynasty. His son and successor Mahendravarman
history of the Deccan.
(600-630 AD) was defeated by the Chalukyan king
The Central Government under the Chalukyas of Pulakeshin II. With this, started the great struggle
Badami exercised a paternalistic control over the between the Pallavas and the Chalukyas.
village administration.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
72

Narasimhavarman I (630-668 AD) was the most Western Gangas

successful Pallava king. He adopted the title
It was an important ruling dynasty from Karnataka
Vatapikonda. In 642 AD, he occupied the Chalukyan
from 350 to 750 AD. They began their rule during the
capital Vatapi and killed Pulakeshin II.
time when the Pallava empire was weakening in
Many prominent scholars like Bharavi, Dandin, South India.
Dignaga, Mayursarman, etc achieved a lot in the
Initially, their capital was Kolar, they later moved
domain of literature due to the Pallava aid and
their capital to Talakadu on the banks of Kaveri river
patronage.
in modern Mysore district.
The Pallava power was wiped out by Aditya I, a Chola
King, who routed Aparajitavarman and annexed the
Pallava kingdom. Imperial Cholas
Ghatikas was the most important medieval Karnataka The founder of the Imperial Chola empire was
educational institution of the Pallavas, located near Vijayalaya, who was at first a feudatory of the Pallavas.
temples. He captured Tanjore in 850 AD. The Cholas had
defeated both the Pallavas of Kanchi (Tondaimandalam)
Conflict between the Chalukyas and weakened the Pandyas, bringing the Southern
and the Pallavas Tamil country under their control.
The main interest in the political history of peninsular It was hard for the Cholas to defend their position
India from the 6th to the 8th century AD centres round against the Rashtrakutas. This was a serious setback
the long struggle between the Pallavas of Kanchi and to the Cholas, but they rapidly recovered, particularly
the Chalukyas of Badami for supremacy. after the death of Krishna III in 965 AD and the
The Pandyas, who were in control of Madurai and downfall of the Rashtrakuta empire.
Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, joined this conflict Rajaraja and Rajendra II, were the most prominent
as a poor third. imperial Chola rulers.
The Pallavas and the Chalukyas quarrelled with each
other for plunder, prestige and territorial resources. Rajaraja (985-1014 AD)
Both tried to establish supremacy over the land lying Rajaraja destroyed the Chera navy at Trivandrum
between the Krishna and the Tungabhadra. and attacked Quilon. He then conquered Madurai and
The first important event in this long conflict took captured the Pandyan king. He also invaded Sri Lanka
place in the reign of Pulakeshin-II (609-642 AD), the and annexed its Northern part to his empire.
most famous Chalukya king. The Coromandel coast and Malabar were the centres
In his conflict with the Pallavas, he almost reached the for India’s trade with the countries of South-East Asia.
Pallava capital, but the Pallavas purchased peace by One of his naval exploits was the conquest of the
surrendering their Northern provinces to Pulakeshin II. Maldives.
Pulakeshin’s second invasion of the Pallava territory Rajaraja, annexed the North-Western parts of the
ended in failure. The Pallava king Narasimhavarman western Ganga kingdom in Karnataka and captured
(630-668 AD) occupied the Chalukya capital at Vatapi Vengi.
in about 642 AD, when Pulakeshin II was probably
killed in fight against the Pallavas. Narasimhavarman Rajendra I (1014-1044 AD)
assumed the title of Vatapi-konda or the Conqueror of Rajendra had considerable experience in
Vatapi. administration and warfare before his accession to the
The Chalukya king Vikramaditya II (733-745 AD) throne. He carried forward the annexationist policy of
attacked Kanchi three times. In 740 AD, he completely Rajaraja by completely capturing the Pandya and
routed the Pallavas. Chera countries.
The conquest of Sri Lanka was also completed with
Kadambas the crown and royal insignia of the king and the queen
This kingdom was founded by Mayursharma in 345 AD of Sri Lanka being captured in a battle. Sri Lanka was
and lasted till 540 AD. It was an ancient royal kingdom not able to free herself from the Chola control for
that ruled Northern Karnataka and Kanpur area. another 50 years.
Mayursharma defeated Pallavas for helping native One of the most remarkable exploits in the reign of
tribes and claimed sovereignty. Rajendra I was the march across Kalinga to Bengal in
Kadamba power reached its peak during the reign of which the Chola armies crossed the river Ganga and
Kakusthanarma. defeated two local kings.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
73

To commemorate this occasion, Rajendra I assumed The Chola state was divided into four Mandalams or
the title of Gangaikondachola (‘the Chola who provinces. Sometimes, princes of the royal family
conquered the Ganga’). were appointed governors of provinces. Officials were
He built a new capital near the mouth of the Kaveri generally paid by giving them assignments of
river and called it Gangaikondacholapuram (‘the city revenue-bearing lands.
of the Chola who conquered the Ganga’). The Chola rulers built a network of royal roads,
Another remarkable exploit in the time of Rajendra I which were useful for trade as well as for the
movement of the army. Trade and commerce
was the naval expedition against the Sri Vijaya
flourished in the Chola empire and there were some
empire in the 10th century. It extended over the
huge trade guilds, which traded in Java and Sumatra.
Malay peninsula, Sumatra, Java and the neighbouring
islands, and controlled the overseas trade route to The Cholas also improved irrigation system. The
China. river Kaveri and other tributaries were used for the
purpose. Many tanks for irrigation were also built.
The rulers of the Sailendra dynasty of the Sri Vijaya
kingdom were Buddhists and had cordial relations Some of the Chola rulers carried out an elaborate
with the Cholas. survey of land in order to fix the government’s share
of the land revenue. In addition to land tax, the Chola
The Sailendra ruler had built a Buddhist monastery at rulers drew their income from tolls on trade, taxes on
Nagapatnam and Rajendra I endowed a village for professions, and also from the plunder of the
upkeeping the monastery. neighbouring territories.
Society Under Imperial Cholas Local Self-Government
In Chola dynasty, the social order was based on the The most important feature of the Chola
Varna system. Brahmins had many privileges and administration lies in the running of autonomous
were exempted from taxation. They also had great institutions. Each village had its own general
influence over the kingdom. assembly which administered control over all the
Chola emperors linked themselves to Solar and lunar affairs of the village.
dynasties and called themselves Brahmakshatriyas. It was free from the control of the Central
Trading communities claimed Vaishya status and Government. It enjoyed all powers regarding the
called themselves Kamati, Vanijiya and Chettiar. village administration.
The society was also divided in Sat Sudras (Higher) There were two types of institutions working at village
and Asat Sudras (Lower). Untouchability was level. There were two assemblies, i.e., the Ur, and the
prevalent in Chola society. Sabha or Mahasabha. The Ur was a General assembly
of the village. This was a gathering of the adult men in
The position of women was average. They were
the Brahman villages, which were called Agraharams.
allowed to learn Vedas and attend religious
ceremonies. However, they were not part of imperial The affairs of the village were managed by an executive
courts. The Devadasi system also prevalent. committee to which educated persons owning property
were elected either by drawing lots or by rotation.
Administration Under Imperial Cholas These members had to retire every three years.
The Chola rulers set up a highly efficient system of The Ur consisted of all the taxpaying residents of an
administration in the South India. The period was ordinary village. The alunganattar was the executive
marked for great territorial expansion. committee and the ruling group of the Ur. The Ur was
open to all the adult men but was dominated by the
Provincial Administration older member of the village.
The Chola state included area of central control and The members of the executive committee of ‘Ur’ were
loosely administered areas under different types of called Shashak Gana or Ganam. Exact number of the
local control. committee members or the procedure adopted for
The basic unit of administration was the Nadu, which their election is not known.
consisted of a number of villages having close kinship There were other committees for helping in the
ties and other close associations. Grants to Brahmans assessment and collection of land revenue, for
and temple authorities increased, which helped in maintenance of law and order, justice, etc. One of the
expanding cultivation. In the Chola kingdom, Nadus important committees was the tank committee, which
were grouped into Valanadus. looked after the distribution of water to the fields.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
74

The Mahasabha could distribute new lands, and Ponna and Ranna are called the three jewels of
exercise ownership rights over them. It could also Kannada literature.
raise loans for the village and levy taxes. Kannada also became popular because a group of
Eripatti land was tank land. These were lands religious teachers called the Lingayatas preached in
registered in the name of particular tank. Kannada.

Type of Land Gifts in Chola Empire

Temple Architecture Under Imperial Cholas
According to Chola Inscriptions, there were five types of Temple architecture in the South attained its climax
‘land gifts’ that Chola kings gave to their people : under the Cholas. The style of architecture, which came
n Vellanvagai, was land for non-Brahmana, peasant into vogue during this period is called Dravida,
proprietors. because it was confined largely to South India.
n Brahmadeya, was land gifted to Brahmanas. The main feature of this style was the building of many
n Shalabhoga, was land for the maintenance of a storeys above the garbhagriha (the innermost chamber
school. where the chief deity resides). The number of storeys
n Devadana/Tirunamattukkani, was land gifted to varied from five to seven and they had a typical style
temples. which came to be called the Vimana.
n Pallichchhandam, was land donated to Jaina
The Kailashnathar temple at Kanchi and Seven
institutions. Pagodas as well as some other mansions were
built in the reign of Narasimhavarman.
Education under Imperial Cholas The striking feature of the Kailashnatha temple and
The village assembly would hold its meetings in the Seven Pagodas is that they were carved out of
temple and business discussed was sometimes solid rocks. He also built Mahabalipuram which was a
recorded on the walls of the temple. popular port and shore temple.
The priests of the temple were also the local teachers Rajaraja and Rajendra I marked their victories by
as there was no separate school. The school was held erecting a number of Shiva and Vishnu temples at
in the temple courtyard. various places. The most famous of these was the
The young students, most of whom were brahmins, Brihadeeshwara temple at Tanjore, which was
learnt their lessons in two languages. completed in 1010.
Much of the religious teachings were in Sanskirt The Chola rulers adopted the practice of having
since, texts such as the Vedas had to be studied very inscriptions written on the walls of these temples,
throughly. The students also learnt Tamil, which was giving a historical narrative of their victories.
widely spoken.
Many literary and religious works in Sanskrit were
re-written in Tamil such as the famous Ramayana of
Kamban.
Many of the inscriptions of the Chola kings are
written in both Sanskrit and Tamil.
In Andhra region, Telugu was spoken by the local
people. There were adaptations of the Mahabharata
and the Ramayana in Telugu. Naunayya is
remembered for his excellent adaptation of the parts
of Mahabharata. The adaptation was later added by
the poet Tikkana.
In the region around modern Mysore, Kannada was
the most widely spoken language. The poets Pampa,
Mahabalipuram Temple
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
Medieval History 75
CHAPTER 12

Arab and Turk

Conquest in India

Sources Class-VI Old NCERT Chap 1 (India and the World), Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 5 (The Age of Conflict),
Class-XII New NCERT Chap 5 (Through the Eyes of Travellers)

In India, the eighth century AD marked as the end Age of Conflict (1000-1200 AD)
of the ancient period and beginning of medieval
period. The period from 1000 to 1200 AD saw rapid changes both
in West and Central Asia. Therefore, it paved way to the
During this time, many aspects of Indian society
sudden attack of the Turks into Northern India leading to
have changed such as the political and economic
their rule towards the end of the period.
aspect as well as social laws, religion, language
and art. The Turkish tribesmen brought along with them the habit
of ruthless looting across India. The major attacks were
There is more information available about
carried out by Mahmud of Ghazni.
medieval India than ancient India such as
inscriptions on plates of copper or on stones.
Ghaznavids
There are also a great variety of literary sources on
paper, as the number of books have survived. Mahmud of Ghazni ascended the throne (998-1030 AD) as
Samanid ruler at Ghazni (Afghanistan).
Mahmud himself claimed descent from the legendary
Arabs in India Iranian king, Afrasiyab. He encouraged the Persian
In 712 AD, the Arabs conquered Sind in Western language and literature during his reign.
India under the leadership of Muhammad Bin Mahmud is said to have made seventeen raids into India.
Qasim. The initial raids were directed against the Hindushahi
In this part of India, that Islam first became an rulers of Peshawar and the Punjab.
important religion for the first time. He was a After the death of Mahmud in 1030 AD, a powerful
military commander of Al-Hajjaj and the empire, the Seljuk Empire, came into existence. The
Governor of Basna. Seljuk Empire included Syria, Iran and Trans-Oxiana. It
Arabs established several trading settlements on contended with the Ghaznavids for the control of Khurasan.
the West coast of India. In a fierce battle, Masud (the son of Mahmud) was
Here, they lived in peace with the local people, defeated and had to flee to Lahore for refuge. The
married them and took part in Indian trade with Ghaznavid empire was now limited to Ghazni and the
other regions of Asia. Punjab.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
76

Major Invasions of Mahmud Ghazni in India Al-Biruni and Kitab-ul-Hind

State/ Ruler Period Description Al-Biruni was born in 973 AD, in Khwarizm
Hindushahi 1001 AD l
Mahmud in his first invasion of (present day Uzbekistan). He came to India with
ruler, India defeated Jayapala in 1001 AD. Peace Mahmud of Ghazni. Al-Biruni’s expertise in
Jayapala was made by ceding the territory West of
the Indus to Mahmud.
several languages allowed him to compare
languages and translate many Indian texts into
l
Jayapala killed himself later and his son
Anandapala became his successor.
Arabic.
Conquest of 1003 AD l
Mahmud again appeared on the bank of Al-Biruni’s Kitab-ul-Hind is written in Arabic. It
Bhera river Jhelum and invaded Bhera. After his is divided into 80 chapters on subjects such as
victory, Mahmud plundered Bhera religion and philosophy, festivals, astronomy,
ruthlessly and returned to Ghazni with alchemy, manners and customs, social life, laws
immense booty.
and metrology (science of measurement).
Sukhpal 1008 AD l
Sukhpal was appointed Governor of Multan
by Mahmud because he embraced Islam Al-Biruni adopted a distinctive structure in each
(Nawasa Shah) but soon he gave up Islam chapter, beginning with a question, following
and began to rule as an independent ruler. with a description based on Sanskritic traditions
l
Again, Mahmud invaded Multan and Fateh and concluding with a comparison with other
Daud was again appointed the ruler of cultures.
Multan.
Anandapala 1009 AD
(Salt Range)
l
Anandapala was defeated and Mahmud
plundered his new capital, Nandana, in the
Turkish Conquest in India
Salt Ranges. He captured his fort called After the Ghaznavid conquest of the Punjab, it
Nagarkot (not to confuse with Nagarkot in became common trait of plunder, which resulted
Himachal).
in raids into the Gangetic valley of India.
Lahore/ 1015 AD l
In 1015, Mahmud advanced upto Lahore,
Kashmir plundered it and dethroned Anandapala. The rulers of the Rajput states resisted these raids
However, an attack on Kashmir by and became victorious against the Turks on
Mahmud in 1015 AD was failed due to several occasions.
weather conditions.
Two new powers rose to prominence during this
Kannauj 1018 AD l
During this expedition, Mahmud collected period :
a lot of wealth from the temples of Mathura
and Vrindavan. Besides this, he destroyed — The Khwarizmi Empire based in Iran,
the temples and broke up the idols. — The Ghurid Empire based in Ghur in
Plunder of 1022 AD l
In 1022 AD, Mahmud invaded both Kalinjar North-West Afghanistan.
Kalinjar and Gwalior. Both the kingdoms accepted
his supremacy and paid a huge war The power of the Ghurids increased under Sultan
ransom. Alauddin who earned the title of the World
Conquest of 1026 AD l
In Somnath attack, the objective was also to Burner (Jahan-soz).
Somnath create a sense of fear and shock among the
Rajputs. Muhammad of Ghur or
l
The Commander of the city fled at his Shahabuddin Muhammad
approach, but the citizens put up a strong
resistance. Mahmud broke the Shivalingam In 1173 AD, Shahabuddin Muhammad
and ordered to bring parts of it back with (1173–1206 AD) (also known as Muizzuddin
him to Ghazni. Muhammad bin Sam) ascended the throne at
Expedition 1027 AD l
Mahmud led his last major expedition in Ghazni.
against Jats 1027 AD against the Jats of Sind.
Meanwhile, the Chauhan Rajput power had been
l
He plundered the colonies of Jats and set
them on fire. He slaughtered the men and steadily growing in Northern India. The
enslaved women and children. expansion of the Chauhan power brought them
l
This was the last invasion of Mahmud into conflict with the Ghurid rulers of the area and
against Hindustan. several fierce battles were fought.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
77

Major Invasions/Campaigns of Muhammad of Ghor Turkish Conquest of Bihar and Bengal

Year Place Ruler/Dynasty Between 1192 and 1206 AD, Turkish rule was extended
over the Ganga-Jamuna Doab and its neighbouring
1175 AD Multan Karmathi dynasty
areas. After the Battle of Tarain, Muizzuddin returned
1178 AD Gujarat (Battle of Bhima II to Ghazni leaving the affairs in India in the hands of
Kayadara) one of his trusted slaves, Qutb-ud-din Aibak.
1181 AD Punjab Khusru Malik In 1194 AD, Muizzuddin returned to India and battle
1186 AD Punjab Khusru Malik between Muizzuddin and Jaichandra was fought at
Chandawar near Firozabad. In this battle, Jaichandra
1191 AD First Battle of Tarain Prithviraj Chauhan
was killed by an arrow and his army was totally
1192 AD Second Battle of Tarain Prithviraj Chauhan defeated.
1194 AD Battle of Chandawar Jaichand However, the Turks were more successful in the
Eastern India. A Khalji officer, Bakhtiyar Khalji made
1195 AD Bayana Bhima II
frequent raids into Bihar and had attacked and
1205 AD Revolt of Khokars Khokhars destroyed some of the famous Buddhist monasteries of
Bihar, Nalanda and Vikramashila.
First Battle of Tarain 1191 AD Making careful preparations, Bakhtiyar Khalji marched
The conflict between Muizzuddin Muhammad and with an army towards Nadia, a pilgrim centre where
Prithviraj Chauhan III started with rival claims for the Sena ruler, Lakshmana Sena was ruling.
Tabarhind. In the battle, which was fought at Tarain Lakshmana Sena was scared by the attack and left his
in 1191 AD, the Ghurid forces were defeated. capital.
Muizzuddin Muhammad’s life being saved by a Bakhtiyar was occupied the Sena capital, Lakhnauti,
young Khalji horseman. Prithviraj conquered without any opposition.
Tabarhind but he made huge error by not threwing Although, Bakhtiyar Khalji was severely defeated by
out the Ghurids from the Punjab. Magh rulers of Assam and he was able to come back
with a few followers. One of his own amirs stabbed him
Second Battle of Tarain 1192 AD to death.
The Second Battle of Tarain in 1192 AD is regarded Muizzuddin Muhammad led his last campaign into
as one of the turning points in Indian history. India in 1206 AD in order to deal with the Khokhar
Muizzuddin Muhammad had made careful rebellion in Bengal. On his way back to Ghazni, he was
preparations for the contest. killed by a Muslim fanatic belonging to a rival sect.
Prithviraj had fielded a force of 3,00,000 including a
large body of cavalry and 300 elephants, but the
Comparison between Muizzuddin
Turkish army was better organised. Many rajas sent
contingents to help him, but Jaichandra, the ruler of
and Mahmud of Ghazni
Kannauj stayed away.
n As a warrior, Mahmud Ghazni was more successful than
Muizzuddin, having never suffered a defeat in India or
The superior organisational skill and speed of in Central Asia. He also ruled over a larger empire
movements of the cavalry made Turkish power outside India but he had to contend with larger and
victorious. better organised states in India than Mahmud.
Prithviraj escaped but was captured near Saraswati n Though less successful in Central Asia, his political
(Sirsa). The Turkish armies captured the fortresses of achievements in India were greater. But it was
Hansi, Saraswati and Samana and also captured Mahmud’s conquest of the Punjab, which paved the way
for Muizzuddin’s success in North India.
Ajmer.
n The political and military motives of the two in India
Prithviraj might have ruled over Ajmer for some time were also different in many respects.
as coins of that period are found having the date and n Hindu officers and soldiers were used by Mahmud as
the legend Prithvirajadeva on one side and the well as by Muizzuddin. But neither hesitated to use the
words Sri Muhammad Sam on the other side. slogan of Islam for their purposes and to justify their
After the battle, Tomar ruler of Delhi was dethroned plunder of Indian cities and temples in the name of
and Delhi was made a base for further Turkish religion.
advance into the Ganga valley.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
78

Causes of Turkish Success Effects of Turkish Invasion

The most important cause of Turkish success was that they Turkish invasion ended the multiple power centres
had superior horses, which were swifter and stronger than and build a central authority of Turks. Some of the
the horses imported into India. important effects of Turkish invasion in India
The Indians were weak in social and organisational areas. were :
The growth of feudalism, i.e., rise of the local landed Governance was based on central autocratic
elements and chiefs had weakened the administrative system.
structure and military organisation of the Indian states. Development of urban economy.
Division between Rajput rulers in India and lack of Central Development in law systems, Islamic laws
authority in Rajput kingdoms were also led to Turkish stated in justice system.
success.
Uniformity in revenue system.
Rajput rulers lacked advance military skills and Turkish
Development of commercial activities and trade.
army was highly trained.
Change in military structures, formation and
The tribal structure of the Turks and the growth of the Iqta
maintenance of standing army.
and Khalisa systems, enabled the Turks to maintain large
standing armies, which could be kept in the field for a long Condemnation of caste system.
time. On the other hand, the Indian rulers had to depend Development of Persian language as an official
more on the various chiefs who rarely acted in coordination. language in India.
In terms of personal bravery, the Turks were inculcated Iqta system was introduced for division of areas.
with the ‘Ghazi’ spirit. The Rajputs lacked ‘strategic Development of Hindi.
vision’. Once the outer areas of India Kabul and Lahore, had Introduction of Turkish architecture, arches,
fallen to the Turks, but no concerted attempt was made by domes, lofty towns or minarets.
the Rajputs to recover them.
 INDIAN HISTORY
NCERT Notes
CHAPTER 13 79

Delhi Sultanate

Sources Class-VII Old NCERT Chap 3 (Sultan of Delhi), Class-VII New NCERT Chap 4 (The Delhi Sultans, 1206-1290),
Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 6 (Delhi Sultanate I, (1200-1400) Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 7 (Delhi Sultanate II, 1200-1400),
Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 8 (Government, Economic and Social Life Under the Delhi Sultanate)

Establishment of Delhi Sultanate Taj-ud-din Yalduz, the ruler of Ghazni, claimed his
rule over Delhi. Nasir-ud-din Qabacha, the
The Turks extended their conquest from the Punjab Governor of Multan and Uch also revolted for
and Multan into the Ganga valley after the Battle of independence.
Tarain and even captured Bihar and parts of Bengal. Aibak was able to win over his enemies. He defeated
After that, for almost one hundred years these Turkish Yaldauz and occupied Ghazni.
invaders ruled over the vast part of India and formed
He made Lahore as capital of Delhi Sultanate.
the Delhi Sultanate.
Qutb-ud-din Aibak was brave, faithful and generous.
The Turkish rulers were successful in extending their
Due to his generosity, he was known as Lakh Baksh.
rule over Malwa and Gujarat and penetrate into the
Deccan and South India. The effects of the establishment He laid the foundation of the 240 ft tall tower
of the Turkish rule resulted in far-reaching changes in Qutub-Minar in Delhi in 1192 AD (named after Sufi
society, administration and cultural life of India. saint Khwaja Qutb-ud-din Bakhtiyar Kaki) in Delhi.
Dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate are : He also built Adhai Din ka Jhonpra in 1199 AD in
— Mamluk Dynasty (1206-1290 AD) Ajmer.
— Khilji Dynasty (1290-1320 AD) In 1210 AD, Aibak died of injuries received in a fall
from his horse, while playing chaugan (Polo). His
— Tughlaq Dynasty (1320-1414 AD)
tomb is in Lahore.
— Sayyid Dynasty (1414-1451 AD)
— Lodi Dynasty (1451-1526 AD) Aram Shah (1210 AD)
Aram Shah became the second sultan of the Mamluk
1. Mamluk Dynasty (1206–1290 AD) dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate.
The earliest rulers of the Delhi Sultanate were Mamluks. He briefly held the throne after the unexpected death
They were also known as the Slave-Kings because many of Aibak before being dethroned by Iltutmish.
of them were either slaves or many of them were the sons Some historians were doubtful about his identity
of slaves, who had become Sultans. The first of these kings however, Ferishta and Al-Badaoni have written that
was Qutb-ud-din Aibak, the general of Muizzuddin Aram Shah was the son of Qutb-ud-din Aibak.
(Muhammad Ghori).
Aram Shah was incapable ruler and the Turkish
Qutb-ud-din Aibak (1206-1210 AD) nobles opposed him.
After the death of Ghori, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, became The weakness of Aram Shah’s character became
ruler (subordinate of Sultan) in 1206 AD. He had visible soon after his succession, when Nasir-ud-din
played an important role in the expansion of the Qabacha rebelled in Sind and besieged the forts of
Turkish rule in India. Uch and Multan.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
80

Iltutmish (1210–1236 AD) lltutmish’s wazir, Nizam-ul-Mulk Junaidi, opposed

Raziya’s elevation to the throne. He backed and
The Turkish chiefs of Delhi invited the then Governor
supported a rebellion of nobles against her.
of Badayun, Iltutmish to come to Delhi. Iltutmish
defeated Aram Shah and became the Sultan with the The Turkish nobles accused her for violating
name of Shamsuddin. feminine modesty, and being too friendly to an
Abyssinian noble, Yaqut Khan who was
Iltutmish took up the task of consolidating his position.
Superintendent of the Royal Stable.
He defeated Taj-ud-dinYalduz in 1215 AD in the third
Battle of Tarain. In 1217 AD, he drove away Qabacha Rebellions broke out at Lahore and Sirhind. Raziya
from Punjab. personally led an expedition against Lahore and
compelled the Governor to submit. On the way to
In 1220 AD, when Chengiz Khan destroyed the
Sirhind, an internal rebellion broke out in which
Khwarizm Empire, Iltutmish realised the political
Yaqut Khan was killed and Raziya imprisoned at
necessity of avoiding a confrontation with the
Tabarhind.
Mongols. When Jalaluddin Mangbarani, the son of the
Shah of Khwarizm, while escaping from the Mongols, However, Raziya won over her captor, Altunia, and
sought shelter at Iltutmish’s court, Iltutmish turned after marrying him made a renewed attempt on Delhi.
him away. Thus, he saved the Sultanate from Raziya fought valiantly, but was defeated and killed
destruction by the Mongols. in a forest by bandits.
In 1226–27 AD, Iltutmish sent a large army under his Bahram Shah (1240–42 AD)
son Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, which defeated Iwaz
Muiz-ud-din Bahram Shah became the next emperor
Khan and brought Bengal and Bihar back into the
but merely as the puppet in the hand of Turkish
Delhi Sultanate.
Nobles. Ikhtiyaruddin Aitigin used to run the
He was a generous and able ruler and built many administration of Delhi Sultanate on the behalf of
public works. He completed the construction of Qutub Sultan.
Minar in Delhi.
During his reign, the new post of ‘Naib-i-Mamaliqat’
He shifted capital from Lahore to Delhi. He gave the (Deputy of King) was created. He was killed in May
Sultanate two of its basic coins– the silver ‘Tanka’ and 1242 AD by noblemen.
the copper ‘Jittal’.
To gain greater control over the conquered areas, Masud Shah (1242–46 AD)
Iltutmish granted iqtas (land assignments in lieu of After the death of Behram Shah, Turkish Nobles
cash salaries) to his Turkish officers on a large scale. supported and choose Alauddin Masud Shah as next
ruler. He was grandson of Iltutmish and son of
Turkan-i-Chahalgani (Group of Forty) Ruknuddin.
n Iltutmish established ‘Group of Forty’ Due to incompetent sultan, one of the noble and
(Turkan-i-Chahalgani). These were Turkish and wazir, Hasan Ghori Muhazzabuddin killed Masud
non-Turkish amirs (nobles) who advised and helped the Shah and rose to power.
Sultan in administering the Sultanate.
n When Iltutmish died, the balance of power shifted and Nasiruddin Mahmud (1246-1266 AD)
the Sultan became a puppet of these amirs. For a few In 1246 AD, Ulugh Khan (Balban) placed the
years, they decided on the selection of Sultans one after inexperienced and young Nasiruddin (grandson of
the other. The group was finally eliminated by Balban. Iltutmish) on throne and himself assumed the
position of Naib (deputy). To further strengthen his
Raziya Sultan (1236–1240 AD) position, Ulugh Khan married his daughter to
Nasiruddin.
Iltutmish considered none of his surviving sons to be
worthy of the throne. He finally nominated his Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud died in 1265 AD.
daughter, Raziya to the throne. He induced the nobles According to Ibn Battuta and Isami, Balban poisoned
and the theologians (ulema) to agree to the Nasiruddin and paved way for himself as Sultan.
nomination. Balban (1266–87 AD)
Rule of Raziya Sultan marked the beginning of a
The struggle between the monarchy and the Turkish
struggle for power between the monarchy and the
chiefs continued, till Balban ascended the throne in
Turkan-i-Chahalgani. The nobles wanted to install a
1266 AD.
puppet ruler on throne whom they could control.
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
81

Though his methods were often harsh and The Turkish nobles raised his grandson Kaiqubad to the
undesirable, but with his accession to the throne, throne. He was soon replaced by his son, Kaimurs, who
an era of strong, centralised government began. remained on the throne for a little over three months.
Balban constantly sought to increase the prestige
and power of the monarchy. He tried to strengthen Policy of Consolidation by Balban
his claim to the throne by declaring that he was the Balban adopted a Policy of Consolidation rather than
descendant of the legendary Iranian king expansion. He introduced a new theory of kingship and
Afrasiyab. insisted on the ceremony of sijada (prostration) and paibos
Balban ruled in an autocratic manner and worked (kissing of the monarch’s feet) in the court. Balban assumed
the grand title of ‘Zill-i-Ilahi’ means image of God. He also
hard to elevate the position of the Sultan. He
introduced Persian new year festival ‘Nauroz’.
refused to entertain for important government
posts anyone who did not belong to a noble family.
This virtually meant the exclusion of Indian 2. Khilji Dynasty (1290-1320 AD)
Muslims from all positions of power and authority.
The Khilji rulers were probably of Turko-Afghan origin,
Balban broke the power of the which replaced Mamluk dynasty in Delhi Sultanate. The
Turkan-i-Chahalgani. To keep himself well Khilji dynasty is termed as ‘Khilji Revolution’.
informed, Balban appointed spies in every
department. Jalaluddin Khilji (1290–1296 AD)
He re-organised the military department After Kaimurs’ death Firoz ascended the throne under
(Diwan-i-Arz) and deployed army in different parts the title of Jalaluddin Khilji and laid the foundation of the
of the country to put down rebellion. Khilji dynasty in 1290 AD.
He also organised a strong centralised army, both He served as Ariz-i-Mumalik (Minister of War) during
to deal with internal disturbances, and to push Balban’s reign. Some scholars call this event as the
back the Mongols, who had well-established dynastic revolution of 1290. It brought an end to the
themselves in the Punjab and posed a serious slave dynasty.
threat to the Delhi Sultanate. Jalaluddin Khilji ascended the throne at the age of 70
Balban adopted a policy of both force and years. He ruled only for a short span of six years. He tried
diplomacy. He repaired the forts of Tabarhind, to mitigate some of the harsh aspects of Balban’s rule.
Sunam and Samana and posted a strong force in He was the first ruler of the Delhi Sultanate to clearly put
order to prevent the Mongols from crossing the forward the view that ‘the state should be based on the
river Beas. willing support of the people’.
He maintained diplomatic relations with Halaku Jalaluddin tried to win the goodwill of the nobility by a
Khan, the Mongol Commander. Balban agreed to policy of tolerance. He avoided harsh punishments, even
leave the major portion of the Punjab under the to those who revolted against him.
Mongol control.
He not only forgave them but at times even rewarded
The disturbances in Mewat, Doab, Awadh and them to win their support. However, many people
Katihar were ruthlessly suppressed by Balban. He considered him to be a weak sultan.
also secured control over Ajmer and Nagaur in
Eastern Rajputana but his attempts to capture Alauddin Khilji (1296-1316 AD)
Ranthambore and Gwalior failed. Alauddin Khilji was Jalaluddin’s nephew and son-in-law.
In 1279 AD, Governor of Bengal, Tughril Beg He had helped his uncle in his struggle for power and
revolted and assumed the title of Sultan. Balban was appointed as Amir-i-Tuzuk (Master of Ceremonies).
sent his forces to Bengal and killed Tughril. Alauddin had two victorious expeditions during the reign
Subsequently, he appointed his own son Bughra of Jalaluddin. After the first expedition of Bhilsa
Khan as the Governor of Bengal. (Vidisha) in 1292 AD, he was given the iqta of Awadh, in
Balban was undoubtedly one of the main architects addition to that of Kara.
of the Sultanate of Delhi, particularly of its form of He was also appointed Arizi-i-Mumalik (Minister of War).
government and institutions. He died in 1287 AD. In 1294 AD, he led the first Turkish expedition to
After Balban’s death, his son, Bughra Khan, was Southern India and plundered Devagiri.
invited to rule over the Delhi Sultanate but he In July 1296 AD, he murdered his uncle and father-in-law
preferred to rule over Bengal as Governor. Jalaluddin Khilji and crowned himself as the Sultan.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
82

Alauddin decided to revive Balban’s policies of Alauddin wanted that the landlords of the area—called
ruthless governance. He curbed the powers of khuts and muqaddams, should pay the same taxes as the
the nobles and interference of Ulema in the others. The policy of direct collection of land revenue by
matters of the state. He also faced, a few rebellions the state, based on measurement could only succeed if the
in succession during the early years of his rule. amils and other local officials were honest. Alauddin
Alauddin formulated certain regulations and insisted that their accounts should be audited strictly.
implemented them in order to prevent the The land revenue reforms of Alauddin marked an
reoccurrence of these rebellions : important step towards closer relationship with the rural
— Families that had been enjoying free land to areas. Some of his measures were continued by his
support themselves, should pay land tax for successors, and later provided a basis for the agrarian
their holdings. This curbed the excess of reforms of Sher Shah and Akbar.
wealth owned by some people. After the death of Alauddin in 1316 AD, Malik Kafur sat on
— The Sultan reorganised the spy system and took the throne for a few days, only to be deposed by Qutbuddin
measure to make it more effective. Mubarak Shah. He was soon murdered and Khusrau
— The use of liquor and intoxicants was ascended the throne. However, he was defeated and killed
prohibited. by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq in a battle.
— The nobles were ordered not to have social Punjab Alauddin Khilji’s
Delhi
gatherings or inter-marriages without his South Invasion
permission. 13

1
03
02
99

13 0
-1

13
— Alauddin established a huge permanent, 12
30 N
3
standing army to satisfy his ambition of
Ranthambore
conquest and to protect the country from Chittor Kara
external invasion.
Gujarat
According to Barani, the author of Mandu Bengal
‘Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi’, Alauddin figured out four Somnath 1305
96
reasons for state rebellions: 12
Devagiri
(i) Inefficiency of the spy system.
13
11
(ii) The general practice of the use of wine. da
v Bay of Bengal
Ya
(iii) Social intercourse among the nobles and inter
1310-1311

Arabian Sea Warangal

marriage between them.
t iya

(iv) Excess of wealth in the possession of certain

ka
Ka

nobles.
Ho

Military Campaigns
yas

Dwarsamudra
Amir Khusrau
laa
13
11

n Amir Khusrau was the court poet of Alauddin

Khilji and gave detailed information about Khilji Tanjore
dynasty. He was the renowned Sufi poet and Lakshadweep Madurai Andaman and Nicobar Island
disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya. His major works Pandayan
includes Tughlaq Nama, Wast-ul-Hayat and Nuh
Indian Ocean
Sipihr.
n He introduced many verse forms viz. Ghazal,
Masnavi, Rubai etc. Qawwalis, which were
originally written in Persian language, also Market Regulations of Alauddin Khilji
introduced by Khusrau in India. For contemporaries, Alauddin’s measures to control the
markets was one of the great wonders of the world.
Agrarian Reforms Alauddin set up three different markets for different
commodities in Delhi. These markets were the grain
Apart from the control of the market, Alauddin
market (Mandi), cloth market (Sarai Adl) and the market
took important steps in the field of land revenue
for horses, slaves, cattle, etc.
administration. He was the first monarch in the
Sultanate, who insisted that in the doab, land In order to ensure a regular supply of cheap food-grains, he
revenue would be assessed on the basis of declared that the land revenue in the doab region, that is,
measuring the land under cultivation. the area extending from Meerut near the Yamuna to the
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
83

border of Kara near Allahabad would be paid directly to the 3. Tughlaq Dynasty (1320-1414 AD)
state, i.e., the villages in the area would not be assigned in
iqta to anyone. The Tughlaq dynasty was originally
Turko-Indian dynasty, which ruled Delhi
To ensure implementation, Alauddin appointed a
during the Sultanate period.
superintendent (Shahna-i-Mandi) who was assisted by an
intelligence officer. Alauddin received daily reports of the It was mainly ruled by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq,
market from two other independent sources, barid Muhammad bin Tughlaq and Firuz Shah
(intelligence officer) and munhiyans (secret spies). Tughlaq.

Expansion of Sultanate Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (1320-25)

Sultan Alauddin Khilji’s major achievement lies in expanding The founder of the Tughlaq dynasty was Ghazi
Delhi sultanate’s boundaries across the Rajputana, Deccan and Malik who ascended the throne as
Southern states. Some of his major expeditions are as follows : ‘Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq’ in 1320 AD. This
dynasty ruled till 1414. Ghiyasuddin rose to an
Conquests of Alauddin Khilji important position in the reign of Alauddin
Khilji.
States Native King Sultanate’s Consequences
Commander(s) In 1325 AD, Ghiyasuddin was crushed to death
Gujarat Rai Karan Nusrat Khan l
Plunder of Somnath by collapse of stage, while attending an event
(1299 AD) (Solankis) and Ulugh Khan temple for his victories in Bengal. Some historians
l
Nusrat purchased Kafur suggest, it was Muhammad Tughlaq who
Hazar Dinari conspired and killed his father.
l
Alauddin married Chief
Queen of Gujarat Kamala
Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1325-1351 AD)
Devi Muhammad bin Tughlaq ascended the throne
Ranthambore Rana Hamir Alauddin Khilji, l
Nusrat Khan died 1325 AD. In contrast to Alauddin Khilji’s policy,
(1301 AD) Deva Ulugh Khan the Tughlaqs annexed the Deccan region.
l
Fort of Ranthambore
and Nusrat
taken Under the Muhammad’s rule the Delhi
Khan
Sultanate was further consolidated. Many
Chittor Rana Ratan Alauddin Khilji, l
Jauhar ceremony by
(1303 AD) Singh Ulugh Khan women
outlying territories were brought under the
(Gehlot) (Amir Khusrau (Rani Padmavati direct control of the Sultanate.
was eyewitness) episode) Muhammad bin Tughlaq while a prince (called
l
Alauddin’s son Khizr Jauna Khan) led the early expeditions against
Khan was given Rai Rudra Dev who was defeated after a
Governorship of Chittor
prolonged conflict and Warangal was annexed
l
Chittor renamed as under direct control of the Sultanate.
Khizrabad
Bhanudeva II, the ruler of Jajanagar in Orissa
Devagiri Ram Malik Kafur l
Ram Chandra Dev was
(1307 AD) Chandra Dev given the title of Rai
had helped Rai Rudra Dev of Warangal in his
Rayan battle against Delhi Sultans.
Fortress of Sheetal Dev Malik l
Sheetal Dev defeated and Ulugh Khan led an army against him in 1324
Siwana Kamal-ud-din the fortress of Siwana AD. Bhanudeva II was defeated and his territory
(1308 AD) seized annexed.
Warangal Pratap Rudra Malik Kafur l
Kohinoor diamond taken Muhammad bin Tughlaq was one of the most
(1309 AD) Dev II away
(Kakatiya)
remarkable rulers of his age. During his
l
King agreed to pay religious intercourse, Muhammad conversed
annual tribute to Delhi not only with the Muslim mystics, but also with
Dwarasamudra Veer Ballal Malik Kafur l
King agreed to pay the Hindu yogis and Jain saints such as
(1310 AD) III (Hoysala) annual tribute to Delhi Jinaprabha Suri.
Madurai Vir Pandya Malik Kafur l
Devastation of Nataraja Muhammad bin Tughlaq also welcomed
(1311 AD) temple at Chidambaram
foreigners to the nobility, many whom came to
Jalor Kanhar Malik l
Fortress of Jalor seized his court.
(1311 AD) Deva Kamal-ud-din
This was not liked by many orthodox
Devagiri Shankara- Malik Kafur l
Devagiri was annexed
(1313 AD) deva theologians, who accused him of being a
and included in
Sultanate ‘rationalist’.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
84

suggested. After some success, the armies went too far

Ibn Battuta into the inhospitable region of the Himalayas and
n Ibn Battuta was born in Tangier (Morocco). He reached suffered a disaster.
Sind in 1333 AD during Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s
reign. The Sultan appointed him the Qazi (judge) of Besides, the Sultan also planned invasions of Qarachil
Delhi. region (In present day Himachal) and Qandhar but it
resulted into failure. It is believed from an army of
n He led campaigns to Kalanaur and Peshawar especially
after the Mongol Attack under Tarmashrin Khan in
10,000, only 10 persons returned. However, it seems
1326-1327 AD during Tughlaq’s reign. that the hill rajas accepted the over-lordship of Delhi.
n Ibn Battuta recorded his observations in the book Token Currency
named Kitab-ul-Rehla about new cultures, peoples,
beliefs, values, etc of Indian subcontinent.
Another controversial project undertaken by
Muhammad bin Tughlaq was the introduction of
‘Token Currency’. According to Barani, the Sultan
Failed Experiments of Tughlaq introduced token currency because the treasury was
empty due to the Sultan’s schemes of conquests.
Muhammad took some very bold and strong measures
to reform the administration. Though there was Muhammad introduced a copper coin (Jittal) in place
nothing fundamentally wrong with Tughlaq’s of silver coin (tanka) and ordered that it should be
administrative and strategic experiments, but they accepted as equivalent to the tanka.
failed. These are as follows : Moreover, Qublai Khan of China had already
successfully experimented with a token currency.
Transfer of Capital
A Mongol ruler of Iran, Ghazan Khan had also
One of the controversial measures of Muhammad bin experimented with it. However, the idea of token
Tughlaq was that he transferred his capital from Delhi currency was new in India and it was difficult for
to Deogir (Daulatabad). traders and common people to accept it.
The Sultan wanted to maintain both Delhi and The State also did not take proper precautions to
Daulatabad as his capitals. According to Barani, in check the initiation of coins issued by the mints. The
1326–27 AD, Sultan decided to shift his capital from Central administration could not prevent people from
Delhi to Deogir (Daulatabad) in the Deccan because it forging the new coins and soon the new coins flooded
was more centrally located. the markets.
According to Ibn Battuta, the people of Delhi used to According to Barani, the people began to mint token
write letters containing abuses to the Sultan. In order currency in their houses. However, the common man
to punish them, Sultan decided to shift the capital. failed to distinguish between copper coin issued by
Isami states that Deogir was at a safer distance from the royal treasury and those, which were locally made.
the North-West frontier and thus, was safe from the Thus, the Sultan was forced to withdraw the token
Mongols. currency.
The entire population was not asked to leave only the
Doab Crisis
upper classes consisting of shaikhs, nobles, ulema
were shifted to Daulatabad. No attempt was made to Muhammad bin Tughlaq launched a scheme to extend
shift the rest of the population. and improve cultivation in the Doab. The area was
divided into development blocs headed by an official.
Though Muhammad bin Tughlaq built a road from
He responsibility was to extend cultivation by giving
Delhi to Deogir and set up rest houses but the journey
loans to the cultivators and to induce them to cultivate
was extremely harsh for the people. Large number of
superior crops.
people died because of rigorous travelling and the
heat. The scheme failed largely because the men chosen for
the purpose proved to be inexperienced and dishonest,
Expeditions of Khurasan and Qarachil (1329-1330 AD) and misappropriated the money for their own use. The
This expedition was launched in the Kumaon hills in large sums of money advanced for the project could
the Himalayas. According to a modern historian, the not be recovered.
expedition was aimed at Kashmir in order to control
the entry of horses from the Chinese side, i.e., Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1351-1388 AD)
Sinkiang. Muhammad bin Tughlaq was succeeded by his cousin
However, Khurasan expedition never aimed at the Firuz Shah Tughlaq. Under him no new territories
conquest of China, as some later historians have could be added to the Sultanate.
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
85

After his accession, Firuz Tughlaq was faced with the The governors of provinces became independent, and
problem of preventing the imminent breakup of the gradually the Sultan of Delhi was confined virtually to
Delhi Sultanate. a small area surrounding Delhi. The will of Sultan
The Sultan adopted a policy of trying to appease the stated that, ‘The dominion of the Lord of the Universe
nobles. Therefore, he made no attempt to re-assert his (being the title of the Sultans of Delhi) extends from
authority over South India and the Deccan. He led two Delhi to Palam.’
campaigns into Bengal but was unsuccessful. Thus,
Nasiruddin Mahmud (1390-1394 AD)
Bengal was lost by the Sultanate.
He was the son of Firuz Shah Tughlaq and the last
Firuz Shah led a campaign against the ruler of
ruler of Tughlaq dynasty. His empire with expanded
Jajnagar (Orissa). He destroyed the temples there and
till Palam of Delhi.
gathered a rich plunder but made no attempt to annex
Orissa. After his death, Timur Lang attacked and ended
Tughlaq dynasty.
He also led a campaign against Kangra in the Punjab
hills. His longest campaign was to deal with rebellions
in Gujarat and Thatta (Sind). Timur’s Attack of Delhi (1398 AD)
n Timur started his expedition from Kabul in August
The city Jaunpur was founded by Firuz Shah Tughlaq
1398 AD and reached Delhi in December 1398 AD. On
and named in memory of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, his way to Delhi, he captured and looted all the towns.
whose name was Jauna Khan.
n Sultan Mahmud Shah, the last Sultan of the Tughlaq
It was during the time of Firuz, that jizyah became a dynasty and his Vazir’ (Prime Minister) fled from
separate tax. Earlier, it was a part of land revenue. Delhi. Timur ordered a general massacre and plunder,
Firuz refused to exempt the Brahmans from the which continued for 15 days.
payment of jizyah since, this was not provided for in n Timur also took with him many Indian artisans, such
the sharia law. Only women, children, the disabled as masons, stone cutters, carpenters, etc. Some of them
and the indigent who had no means of livelihood were helped him in putting up many fine buildings in his
exempt from it. capital, Samarqand.
Firuz Shah Tughlaq patronised music and despite his
orthodoxy, was fond of wine. He was the first ruler 4. Sayyid Dynasty (1414–1451 AD)
who took steps to have Hindu religious works
Sayyid dynasty was the fourth dynasty of Delhi
translated from Sanskrit into Persian, so that there
Sultanate, which came to power after Tughlaq
may be a better understanding of Hindu ideas and
dynasty. The ruling family claimed to be Sayyid’s or
practices. Many books on music, medicine and
descendants of Prophet Muhammad.
Mathematics were also translated from Sanskrit into
Persian during his reign. Khizr Khan (1414-1421 AD)
Firuz was keenly interested in the economic After defeating the army of Delhi in 1398 Timur
improvement of the country. He set up a large appointed Khizr Khan as the ruler of Multan. Khizr
department of public works, which looked after his Khan defeated Sultan Daulat Khan and occupied
building programme. Delhi and founded Sayyid dynasty. He did not assume
Firuz repaired and dug a number of canals. The the title of Sultan but was comfortable with
longest canal was about 200 kilometres, which took off Rayati-Ala.
from the river Sutlej to Hansi; another canal took off The author of the Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi, Yahya
from the Yamuna. Sirhindi claimed that the founder of the Sayyid
These canals were meant for irrigation purposes and dynasty was a descendant of the prophet. Khizr Khan
also for providing water to some of the new towns was the most competent Sayyid rule of the dynasty.
were which Firuz built. These towns were
Hissar-Firuzah or Hissar (in modern Haryana) and Mubarak Shah (1412–1434 AD)
Firozabad (in modern Uttar Pradesh). After Khizr Khan’s death Mubarak Shah (1412–1434
When Firuz died in 1388, the administrative and AD) and Muhammad Shah (1434–1445 AD) ascended
political problems, which had to be faced after the the throne one after another.
death of every sultan came to the surface. The struggle In 1445 AD, Alam Shah ascended the throne and
for power between the sultan and the nobles started became the Sultan. He proved a totally incompetent
once again. Sultan.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
86

5. Lodi Dynasty (1451-1526 AD) Mongol Invasion in Delhi Sultanate

The Lodis were the last ruling family of the Sultanate Mongol invaded India time to time during the reign of
period and the first to be headed by the Afghans. different rulers of the Delhi Sultanate.
Bahlol Lodi (1451–1489 AD) Mongol Invasion at the time of Iltutmish
Bahlol Lodi laid the foundation of Lodi dynasty whose In the year 1218 AD, Genghis Khan defeated the
rulers were Afghans. Khwarizm empire and destroyed it completely.
Sultan Bahlol Lodi was a capable general. The Afghan The threat of Mongol invasion of India came in 1221
nobles wanted Sultan to treat them as an equal partner AD, when Khwarizm crown prince escaped from
rather than an absolute monarch. Mongols and cross Indus river.
Bahlol Lodi successfully suppressed the revolts in Prince Khwarizm then asked for assylum to
Mewat and Doab. In 1476 AD, he defeated the Sultan of Iltutmish, but he denied as Iltutmish do not want the
Jaunpur and annexed it to Delhi Sultanate. rivalry of Genghis Khan.
Sikandar Lodi (1489–1517 AD) Mongol Invasion at the Time of Balban
After the dealth of Bahlol Lodi, Sikandar Lodi ascended After the death of Genghis Khan (1226 AD) his
the throne. Sikandar Lodi showed little tolerance empire divided between his sons.
towards the non-Muslims. He re-imposed jizyah on The Mongol General Tair Bahadur headed towards
non-Muslims. Lahore and the subedar of Lahore asked for help of
Sikandar Lodi believed in the superior position of the Sultan Balban, but Balban did not gave any
Sultan vis-a-vis the nobles. He compelled nobles and assistance. Lahore was then captured by the
amirs to show formal respect to the Sultan in darbar Mongols.
and outside and treated them harshly. In the year 1245, Mongol attacked the Sultanate but
He was contemporary of Rana Sanga of Mewar as well defeated by Balban.
as Mehmud Begrah of Gujarat. He founded the city in
Agra in 1504 AD and made his second capital. Mongols Invasion during Khiljis
Sikandar Lodi introduced a new system of land Salaluddin Khilji was the chief defender of
measurement, known as Gaj-e-Sikandari. North-Western frontiers during the reign of Balban.
He fought many battles against the Mongols and was
Ibrahim Lodi (1517-1526 AD) well-known about the fighting skills against Mongols.
Afghan nobles helped Ibrahim Lodi to become Sultan, In the year 1292, Mongol commander Abdullah
after the death of Sikandar Lodi in 1517. attacked Delhi with force of 1,50,000. But Jalaluddin
Daulat Khan of Bihar and Rana Sanga of Mewar sent Khilji defeated them and a peace treaty was signed
an invitation to Babur at Kabul to invade India. due to which 4000 Mongols accepted Islam and
Babur defeated Sultan Ibrahim Lodi in 1526 AD in the settled near Delhi.
historic and decisive First Battle at Panipat. In the reign of Alauddin, many battles were fought
He was the first Sultan of Delhi who was killed in the between Mongols and his army, but Alauddin
battle field. crushed the Mongols decisively.
 INDIAN HISTORY
NCERT Notes
CHAPTER 14 87

Delhi Sultanate : Administration,

Economy, Society and Arts

Sources Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 8 (Government, Economic and Social Life under the Delhi Sultanate)

The state set up by the Delhi Sultanate towards the end of No clear law of succession developed among
the 12th century AD in Northern India, gradually developed Muslim rulers. The Islamic theory adhered to the
into a powerful and highly centralised state. idea of the election of the ruler but accepted in
For some time, it controlled almost the entire country practice the succession of any son of a successful
extending as far South as Madurai. ruler.
However, all the sons of a ruler were considered to
have an equal claim to the throne.
Administration in Sultanate Period
The Sultanate had a powerful effect on the Mughal system Central Administration
of administration, which developed in the 16th century. The sultan was assisted by several ministers who
were chosen by him and remained in office at his
The Sultan pleasure.
Although many of the Turkish sultans in India declared A definite system of administration developed
themselves ‘lieutenant of the faithful’, i.e., of the towards the end of the 13th century AD.
Abbasid caliph at Baghdad, and included his name in
the khutba in the Friday prayers. The Wazir
The caliph had only a moral position. By proclaiming The key figure in administration was the wazir. In
his supreme position, the sultans at Delhi were only the earlier period, the wazir were primarily military
proclaiming that they were a part of the Islamic world. leaders.
The sultan’s office was the most important in the In the 14th century AD, the wazir began to be
Sultanate and supreme political, military, and even legal considered more an expert in revenue affairs and
authority, was vested in him. presided over a large department dealing both with
He was also responsible for the maintenance of law and income and expenditure.
justice. The sultans dealt with strong manner in A separate Auditor General for scrutinising
dispensing justice. Balban didn’t spare even his expenditure and an Accountant General for
relatives or high officers of state. inspecting income worked under the wazir.
Muhammad bin Tughlaq applied this even to the Muhammad bin Tughlaq paid close attention to the
religious classes (ulema) who had previously been organisation of the revenue department. His wazir,
exempted from harsh punishments. Khwaja Jahan, was widely respected.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
88

Khan-i-Jahan, a converted Tailang Brahman who was Wakil-i-Dar Firuz Shah Tughlaq had set up a
deputy to the previous wazir, was chosen by Firuz separate department of slaves, known as Wakil-i-Dar,
Shah Tughlaq as his wazir. under whom many slaves were employed in royal
His long spell of 18 years as wazir is generally considered workshops.
to be the high watermark of the wazir’s influence. He was also responsible for the maintenance of
proper decorum at the court, and placing nobles in
Other Important Ministers of Central their proper order of precedence at formal receptions.
Administration Diwan-i-Amir-Kohi The department was related to
n Barid-i-Mumalik Head of state news agency. agriculture, established by Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
It was started to improve cultivation in the Doab
n Amir-i-Hazib Officer incharge of the royal court.
region, which was facing acute drought and crop
n Sadr-i-Jahan Officer incharge of religious and
failures.
charitable endowments.
n Amir-i-Akhur Officer commanding the royal horses. The Army
n Amir-i-Dad Officer incharge of justice (public
The efficiency of Delhi Sultanate’s army was the main
prosecutor).
factor to contain the Mongol invasions while at the
n Sahna-i-Pil Superintendent of royal elephants.
same time conquering entire North and Deccan. The
n Shiqdar Officer incharge of land measuring a ‘shiq’.
Turks also maintained a large number of elephants,
n Amir-i-Majlis Officer incharge of royal feasts,
which were trained for war purposes.
conference and festivals.
n Majlis-i-Am or Majlis-i-Khalwat Council of friends and Balban kept his army in good trim by making it march
officers (trusted ministers) consulted on important over long distances on the pretext of undertaking
affairs of state. hunting excursions. The Turks and Afghans
n Kazi-ul-Kazat Head of the Central Judicial department. predominated in the cavalry, which was considered
n Qazi Legal officer (dispensed Civil Law based on prestigious.
Muslim Law Shariat). The Hindus were employed both in the cavalry and
n Sadr-us-Sudur Dealt with the religious matters. the infantry at the time of the Ghaznavids. They
n Naib Wazir Deputy Minister. continued to be employed but largely in the infantry
in the subsequent period.
Major Departments of Delhi Sultanate Alauddin introduced the branding system (Dagh) of
the horses so that the soldiers may not bring horses of
Diwan-i-Risalat It dealt with religious matters, pious
poor quality. A descriptive roll of each soldier was
foundations and stipends to deserving scholars and
also maintained.
men of piety. It was presided over by the chief sadr,
who was generally the chief qazi. Of all the Delhi rulers, Alauddin Khilji had the
largest standing army. The strength of his army is
The chief qazi was the head of the department of
placed at 3,00,000 by Barani, which appears to be an
justice. The qazis dispensed civil law based on the
exaggeration.
Muslim law (sharia). The Hindus were governed by
their own personal laws. Alauddin was also the first sultan who paid his
soldiers fully in cash. Asatvar (cavalryman) in his
Diwani-i-Arz The Diwani-i-Arz or the military
time was paid 238 tankas a year or about 20 tangos a
department was the most important department of
month. Earlier, the Turkish soldiers had been
state, next to the wazir. The head of this department
assigned several villages in the doab for the payment
was called the Ariz-i-Mamalik.
of their salaries.
The office came into being the first time under Balban
as a separate department. The Ariz was not the Important Army Officials
Commander-in-Chief of the army, but it has
responsibilities such as to recruit, equip and pay Ariz-i-Mumalik The head of the Diwan-i-Arz department
responsible for the recruitment, payment and
the army. inspection of troops.
Diwan-i-Insha It dealt with state correspondence.
Amir-i-Akhur Officer commanding royal horses.
There were a number of other departments in addition
to these. The rulers posted intelligence agents called Sahna-i-Pil Superintendent of royal elephants.
barids in different parts of the empire to keep them
Amir-i-Bahr Officer incharge of police and transport naval
informed. Only a nobleman who enjoyed the fullest port.
confidence of the ruler was appointed the chief barid.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
89

Local Administration Iqta It is that part of land granted by the Sultan to its
military chiefs for the maintenance of a given
The Turks divided their administration into several number of troopers. The land was normally taken
tracts called iqtas, which were divided among the back, when the Iqtadars were not in a position to
leading Turkish nobles. The holders of these offices maintain the army.
were called muqtis or walis.
Monetary System There was a scarcity of silver
The muqtis were expected to maintain law and order in during the Sultanate period, hence, silver-mixed
their tracts and collect the land revenue due to the copper coins were introduced.
government.
The coins depicting images of Goddess Lakshmi, ox,
Out of the money they collected, they were expected to horsemen and name of the Sultan in Nagari script
meet the salaries of the soldiers and keep the balance. were called Delhiwala coins. Barani mentions two new
These iqtas later became provinces or subas. Under coins Dang and Dirham, which were also in circulation.
Muhammad bin Tughlaq there were twenty-four
provinces. Trade and Industry
Below the iqtas were the shiqs and these were under The Sultanate period was marked by the growth of
control of Shiqdar. towns and town life. A modern historian states that
The pargana was the next administrative unit. These on the whole ‘the Sultanate presents the picture of a
were grouped into units of 100 to 84 and traditionally flourishing urban economy. Ibn Battuta described
called chaurasi. The pargana was headed by the Amil. ‘Delhi the largest city in the Eastern part of the
The most important persons in the village were the Islamic world’.
khut (landowners) and muqaddam or headman. The The other important cities of the times were Lahore
village accountant was known as patwari. and Multan in the North-West, Kara and Lakhnauti
in the East and Anhilwara (Patan) and Cambay
(Khambat) in the West.
Economy in the Sultanate Period
Such an economy must have necessitated commerce
The new system of taxation was based on Quran. Four on a large scale.
kinds of taxes sanctioned by the Quran were imposed
Indian textiles had already established their position
namely kharaj, zakat, jeziah and khums.
in the trade of countries on the Red Sea and the
Types of Taxes Persian Gulf.
Zakat To be paid by well to do Muslims for helping the During this period, fine Indian textiles were
needy religious tax. introduced to China as well where it was valued more
than silk. India imported from West Asia high grade
Jeziah Tax levied on non-Muslims in return of which
textiles (satin, etc.), glassware and horses.
they received protection of life and property and
exemption from military services. Since, India had a favourable trade balance, gold and
silver came to India from these countries. India’s
Kharaj Land tax paid mainly by Hindus which was
foreign trade both overland and overseas was truly
equal to 1/10th of the produce of land.
an international enterprise.
Khums It was 1/6th of the booty captured during war.
The royal karkhanas, which we have referred to
Abwabs Excess taxes like house tax, grazing tax etc. earlier catered to all the needs of the sultan. They
Sharab Irrigation tax. manufactured costly articles made of silk, gold and
Ashraf 1/10th of the gross produce on land held by silver ware, etc.
Muslims.
Industries in Sultanate Period
Types of Lands During the Sultanate, various industries were
Khalisa (Crown Land) It was directly administered by prevailing. The special feature is the combination of
the Central Government. Doab region brought under Arabic and Persian elements in it. These industries are
this. divided in various categories :
Inam or Waqf It was the land given to the people Royal Industries
especially to the Muslim saints and scholars, in gift or During the Sultanate period, royal industries use to
charity. fulfill requirements of Sultan and royal family. Silk,
Lands of Feudatory Hindu Chiefs From such lands, gold, silver and other precious materials and their
the Sultan got annual fixed tributes. products are made by these industries.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
90

Jewellery of diamond, gold, pearl etc are made in Some historians call this type of a society ‘feudal’,
these industries. although features of European feudalism, such as
Royal Industries were made in the reign of vassalge, serfdom and manors did not exist in India.
Muhammad bin Tughlaq and it was developed in the Slavery also existed during the period. Prisoners of
reign of Firoz Shah Tughlaq. war, debtors unable to pay their stakes could be sold
into slavery.
Textile Industries
During famines, many farmers sold themselves or their
Invention of Chaukla during Sultanate period boosted wife and children for food.
the textile industries.
With the help of sieve, cotton is now cleaned faster. Caste System
Ziauddin Barani mentioned about clothes such as The caste system continued to be the basis of the
Khujkari, Masmesheriuttam, Shirin, Burad etc. society. But there were important changes within the
Jyotishwar Thakur in his text talk about 20 types of caste system.
clothes during the Sultanate period. Thus, there was considerable strengthening of the
Muhammad bin Tughlaq use to present clothes to his position of the Brahmans.
amins twice a year, these clothes are manufactured in
the royal factories. These were usually made up of Condition of Women
velvet, damask and wool. The omission of all reference to women teachers in the
During this period, India use to trade with countries literature written during the period shows the poor
near Red sea. state of higher education among women.
Gujarat and Bengal are two important trade centres for Daughters of high officials and courtesans were also
textile trade. supposed to be highly skilled in various arts, including
Raw silk was imported from China and best quality poetry.
textile was exported to China. The practice of sati was made obligatory by some
Metal Industry writers, but condemned by others.
Ahmedabad, Delhi and Bengal were important According to an Arab writer, Sulaiman wives of kings
centers for Iron industries during Sultanate period. sometimes burnt themselves on the funeral pyre of
their husbands.
Lahore, Kalinjau, Banaras, Sihalkot and Golconda
were famous for sword-making.
India use to import glass utensils from West Asia and Literary Works in Sultanate Period
clay utensils from China. The Delhi Sultanate established a new language
Utensils of gold and silver are made in metal and literary style that introduced into the sub-continent.
industries. Persian became the official language of Delhi Sultanate
and Urdu was mainly the camp language.
Other Industries
In the Sultanate period, tanning, metallurgy, carpet Literary works of Sultanate Period
weaving, wood working, furniture making, stone Author Book
carving craftmen were famous for their work.
Al Beruni Kitab-ul-Hind
Leather industries of Gujarat was popular.
Minhaj-us-Siraj Tabaqat-i-Nasari
Delhi and Multan were important Ivory work centres.
Wood Industry of Kashmir was also popular. Amir Khusrau Khazain-ul-Futuh, Tughlaqnama
Zia-ud-din-Barani Fatwa-i-Jahandari, Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi
Social Life of Sultanate Period Firoz Shah Fatwa-i-Firoz Shahi
Several important changes took place in Indian Hasan Nizami Taj-ul-Maathir
society during this period. One of these was the Abu Bakr Chach Namah
growing power of a class of people who are variously
Ibn Batutta Kitab-ul-Rehla
called samanta, ranak, rautta (rajput), etc.
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
91

The new features were :

Amir Khusrau
— The arch and dome
n Amir Khusrau was a creative Persian poet (1253-1325
AD) associated with royal courts of more than seven — The use of lime-mortar
rulers of Delhi Sultanate. Amir Khusrau was a genius of — The development of the true arch
those times. A very versatile person, he was a soldier, a In the beginning, they converted temples and other
composer of poetry in Arabic, Persian, Urdu and a structures demolished into mosques.
diplomat, smart in court matters and was also a good
musician. For example, the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque near
n He innovated Khayal (a style of singing), Amir Khusrau Qutub Minar in Delhi was built by using the materials
wrote Tarikh-i-Alai or Khazain-ul-Futuh. In this book, obtained from destroying many Hindu and Jain
he gave an account of conquest of Alauddin. He wrote temples.
another book called Ashiqa, which contains the love With the arrival of artisans from West Asia the arch
story of Deval Rani and Khizr Khan. and dome began to show up with precision and
n In his Nuh-Siphir or Nine Skies, he gave the story of perfection.
Sultan Mubarak Shah. He also lived in the court of
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq and wrote Tughlaqnama.
The Tomb of Balban was adorned with the first true
Khusrau is also known as Tuti-e-Hind or Parrot of arch and the Alai Darwaza adorned with the first true
India. dome.
n He created the fusion of Indian, Arabic and Persian The structures used the combined principle of Slab
music. He is credited to have invented tabla, sitar and and Beam method in Sultanate period.
modified veena. Architecture during Sayyid and Lodi dynasty
Ibn-Battuta developed a new form of Islamic architecture, which
n Ibn-Battuta belong to Morocco in South Africa.
was later followed by the Mughals.
n He came to India during the reign of Muhammad bin One pattern was based on octagonal plan surrounded
Tughlaq. He spent eight years in his court. by arched walkway with one storey in height and the
n In his arabic work ‘The Rihla’, he talk about the other one was based on square plan without walkway
contemporary social, economic, cultural and religious with two or three storey in height.
practices. He also talked about slave trade in India and
his experiences during this period. Structure and Monuments of Sultanate Period
n He mentions about the seasons in India, the fruits and Structure/ Monument Built by
vegetables, crops, roots etc. According to him, the soil
of India is highly cultivable, in which two crops are Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque (Delhi) Qutub-ud-Din Aibak
grown in one year. Adhai Din-ka Jhonpra (Ajmer) Qutub-ud-Din Aibak
n He talked about village industries, jaggery making, oil Qutub Minar (Delhi) Initiated by Qutub-ud-Din
extracting techniques and weaving skills of women. Aibak, completed by Iltutmish
n He mentions in his text about roads, social life etc.
Alai Darwaza(Delhi) Alauddin Khilji
n He also talks about court of Tughlaq. (the first true dome)
Jamat Khana Masjid (Delhi) Initiated by Alauddin Khilji
completed by Khizr Khan
Architecture of Sultanate Period Nizamuddin Dargah (Mausoleum) Muhammad bin Tughlaq
New architectural forms and styles were introduced in Tomb of GhiyasuddinTughlaq Initiated by Ghiyasuddin
India during the Delhi Sultanate. The synthesis of (Delhi) Tughlaq himself, completed
Indian and Islamic architectural features led to by Muhammad Tughlaq
emergence of Indo-Islamic architecture. Tomb of Sikandar Lodi Delhi Ibrahim Lodi
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
92 15

Vijayanagara and
Bahmani Empire

Sources Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 1 (The Age of Vijayanagara and the Bahmani’s and the Coming of the Portuguese),
Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 10 (Struggle for Empire in North India (1400-1525)),
Class-XII New NCERT Chap 1 (The Imperial Capital Vijayanagara)

The Vijayanagara and Bahmani Kingdoms Four dynasties ruled the Vijayanagara Empire. These were :
emerged in 14th century AD in Deccan region (i) Sangam Dynasty (1336-1485 AD) founded by Harihara I
of South India and dominated for more than and Bukka I
200 years. The Vijayanagara was Hindu (ii) Saluva Dynasty (1485-1505 AD) founded by Saluva
kingdom while Bahmani Sultanate was a Narasimha
Persian Sultanate.
(iii) Tuluva Dynasty (1505-1570 AD) founded by Vira
The Vijayanagara and Bahmani kingdoms Narasimha Raya
co-existed and were constantly at war with one
(iv) Aravidu Dynasty (1570-1652 AD) founded by Tirumala II
another. The Bahmani Empire declined
towards end of the 15th century AD, and of the
Vijayanagara Empire ended in 1565 AD in the
Sangama Dynasty (1336-1485 AD)
Battle of Bannihatti. The Sangam dynasty was the first dynasty of the Vijayanagara
Empire founded by two brothers Harihara and Bukka in 1336
AD. At first, the Vijayanagara kingdom was a kind of a
Vijayanagara Empire cooperative commonwealth at first.
The Vijayanagara kingdom was founded by
Harihara and Bukka in 1336 AD, who were the
Harihara I (1336-1356 AD)
feudatories of the Kakatiyas of Warangal and He was one of the first founders of the empire. He founded
later became ministers in the kingdom of ‘Vidyanagar’ which was later renamed as ‘Vijayanagara’.
Kampili (Karnataka). Harihara I made Anagundi his capital.
When Kampili was attacked by Muhammad He annexed the Hoyasala state in 1346 AD and killed Vir
Tughlaq for giving refuge to a Muslim rebel, the Ballal III. He also defeated Sultan of Madurai.
two brothers were imprisoned, converted to Bukka I (1356-1379 AD)
Islam. However, Guru Vidyaranya, re-admitted
both the brothers to Hinduism and they During his reign, Vijayanagara faced strong confrontation
with Bahmani kingdom. In the South, its main rivals were
established their capital at Vijayanagara.
the Sultans of Madurai. He made Gutti his royal capital.
Historians use the term, ‘Vijayanagara Empire’,
The Vijayanagara Empire saw expansion under Bukka I
but the contemporary literature and
which comprised the whole of South India upto
inscriptions described it as the Karnataka
Rameshwaram, including the Tamil country as well as that
Samrajyamu. of the Cheras (Kerala).
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
93

Harihara II (1379-1404 AD) Being a great patron of literature Deva Raya II wrote
two Sanskrit works Mahanataka Sudhanidhi and a
He was the first ruler to assume legal title as king
commentary on the Brahmasutras of Bhadrayana.
such as Raja Parmeshwara and Maharajadhiraja.
He also led an alliance with the Bahmani kingdom Saluva Dynasty (1485-1505 AD)
and expansion its territories of Gajapatis and Reddis
After Devaraya II’s death, Sangam Dynasty declined
into Eastern region.
due to series of civil wars erupted in various parts of
Victories of Belgaum and Goa from Bahmani the region.
kingdom in the Western region considered as
Therefore, a new dynasty founded known as Saluva
greatest achievement of Harihara II. He has sent an
Dynasty by Saluva Narasimha. He was the Governor of
expedition to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) as well.
Chandragiri.
Deva Raya I (1406-1422 AD) Saluva Narasimha (1485-1491 AD)
The reign of Deva Raya I began with a renewed
He ended the civil war and brought peace in
confrontation for the Tungabhadra Doab.
Vijayanagara empire.
He was defeated by Bahmani Sultan Firoz Shah and
He conquered the Western part of Kannada, Honnavan,
had to pay huge compensation and gave his daughter
Bakanur and Bhatkal.
in marriage to the Sultan.
The later rulers Timma and Imadi Narasimha were
He constructed a dam across Tungabhadra River in
titular kings in the hands of Narasa Nayak, a regent of
1410 AD.
the state.
Venetian (Italian) scholar and traveller Nicolo De
Conti visited his court. Tuluva Dynasty (1505-1570 AD)
Devaraya I built Hazar Rama Temple and Sri After the death of Narasa Nayak in 1505 AD, Vira
Rangam Inscription belongs to his reign. Narasimha deposed Imadi Narasimha and resumed as
new king.
Three Major Areas of Conflict Krishnadeva Raya was the brother of Vira Narasimha,
1. The Tungabhadra Doab (Region between the rivers who became the greatest ruler of Vijayanagara Empire.
Krishna and Tungabhadra)
Krishnadeva Raya (1509-1530 AD)
2. Krishna-Godavari Delta (Region of fertile land and
numerous ports) In a series of battles lasting seven years, Krishnadeva
3. Marathwada (Konkan Region of Western India) compelled the ruler of Orissa to restore to Vijayanagara
all the territories up to the river Krishna. This led to a
hostile alliance between his two main opponents,
Deva Raya II (1422-1446 AD) Bijapur and Orissa.
He assumed the titles Immadi Devaraya, Proudha Krishnadeva in 1520 AD, completely defeated the
Devaraya and Gajabetekara. Bijapur ruler and briefly captured Bijapur and Belgaum
In his reign, the Vijayanagara Empire extended to the before a truce was made. Babur described him as the
most distant South and touched the shores of Ceylon Greatest ruler of Tuluva dynasty.
(Sri Lanka). Under Krishnadeva, Vijayanagara emerged as the
In order to strengthen his army, he reorganised his strongest military power in the South.
army, incorporating in it many features of the armies Due to the danger posed by the rise of the Portuguese in
of the Delhi Sultanate. trade and commerce he maintained friendly relations
He started recruiting large number of Muslims in his with Albuquerque, the Portuguese Governor, whose
army and starting buying Arab Horses in large ambassador Friar Louis was a resident of Vijayanagara
numbers. kingdom.
The Persian traveller Abdur Razzaq and a He was a gifted scholar in both Telugu and Sanskrit.
Portuguese writer Nuniz, visited Vijayanagara in He wrote Ushaparinayam and Jambavati Kalyanam in
the reign of Deva Raya II. Sanskrit and Amuktamalya (Andal’s story) in Telugu.
Nuniz states that the kings of Quilon, Sri Lanka, He took the titles of Yavanaraja Sthapanacharya
Pulicat, Pegu and Tenasserim (in Burma and (Restorer of the Yavana kingdom i.e., Bahmani),
Malaya) paid tribute to Devaraya II. Abhinava Bhoja, Andhra Pitamaha and Andhra Bhoja.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
94

The Vitthalaswamy and Tirupati temple were built

during Krishnadeva Raya’s reign. Hazara Rama temple
Battle of Bannihatti
was expanded also during his tenure.
n The Battle of Bannihatti popularly known as
Talikota was fought between Vijayanagara led by
Krishnadeva’s court was adorned by the eight poets Rama Raja and confederation of four Muslim
known as Ashtadiggajas. They had composed at least Sultanates – Hussain Nizam Shah I and Ali Adil
one Prabandha Kavyamu (a new form of Telugu literary Shah I of Ahmednagar and Bijapur, Ali Barid Shah
style). I of Bidar and Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah Wali of
Golkonda in January 1565.
Ashtadiggajas n Rama Raja was surrounded, taken prisoner and
Name Writer immediately executed. The Battle of Bannihatti is
generally considered to mark the end of the great
Allasani Peddanna (He is Manucharitamu and age of Vijayanagara.
considered as Andhra-Pitamah) Harikathasaransamu
Nandi Thimmana Parijatapaharavamu
Madayyagari Mallana Raja Shekara Charitamu Vijayanagara Administration
Dhurjate Kalahasti Mahtyamu The concept of kingship among the Vijayanagara
rulers was high. Kingship was based on the
Ayyalaraju Ramambhadrudu Sakalamata Sara Sangrahu
principle of absolute monarchy, but with welfare
Pingali Suranna Raghava Pandaviyam and state policy.
Prabhavati Pradyumanu
The succession to the throne was hereditary.
Ramarajabhushanudu Kavyalankara Sangraham
Krishnadeva Raya in his book On Polity
Tenali Ramakrishna Ponduranga Mahtyamu Amuktamalyada, suggests the king that ‘with great
care and according to his power, should attend to
Achyuta Deva Raya (1530-1542 AD) the work of protecting (the good) and punishing
After the death of Krishnadeva, there was a struggle for (the wicked).’
succession and Achyuta Deva Raya became the next ruler
of Vijayanagara Empire. Central Administration in
During his reign, Tiruvengalanatha temple in Hampi Vijayanagara Empire
was built. The king was advised by a council of ministers
He ruled for 12 years and later imprisoned by his chief (Mahapratinidhi) in Vijayanagara Empire, which
minister Rama Raya, with whom he had agreed to share consisted of the great nobles of the kingdom.
power. However, the ultimate decisions were taken by the
Sadashiva Raya (1543-1567 AD) king himself.
The king enjoyed absolute authority in executive,
Ultimately, in 1543 AD, Sadashiva Raya, son of
judicial and legislative matters.
Krishnadeva Raya ascended the throne and reigned till
1567. Provincial and Local Administration
The real power was vested in the hands of Rama Raja, The kingdom was divided into Rajyas or
who able to play off the various Muslim powers against Mandalam (provinces) below, which were Nadu
one another. (district), Sthala (sub-district) and Grama (village).
Aravidu Dynasty (1570-1652 AD) Each province was under a governor known as
‘Mandaleshvara.’
It was founded by Tirumala II, the brother of Rama Raya
(ruled as the name of Sadashiva Raya). He has shifted his The Gauda was village headman and basic unit of
capital from Hampi to Penugonda. administration. However, the village
self-government concepts were considerably
He was succeeded by Sri Ranga, Venkata II
weakened under Vijayanagara rule.
(1586-1614 AD) and Sri Ranga III in 1642-1646 AD.
Although, the kingdom sustained for almost one hundred Nayakara and Ayagar System
more years, but its territories decreased continually and The Nayakara and Ayagar system were the main
the Raya was no longer counted in the political affairs of components of the Vijayanagara administration.
South India.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
95

Nayakara The position of women was fairly high in the society.

The Nayakara system was established by the time They were allowed to access knowledge and many
of Krishnadeva Raya. These were a category of women were employed in royal households. Allasani
officers appointed by the king with rights over Peddana’s Manucharitam gives detailed account of the
land and assigned a piece of land called Amaram. caste system of the Vijayanagara Empire.
These chiefs were known as Palaiyagars or Important Terms Associated with Vijayanagara Empire
Nayaka. The landholding allocated to the nayakas
was called Nayakattanam. Terminology Meaning
Ajamis Non-Arab lands
There were different kinds of nayakas such as
Dannayakas (military official), Durga-Dannayakas Kanikkai Tax for maintenance of Army
(military official in charge of fort) and Nadu Territorial Unit
Amaranayakas (sub-nayaka who received land Nattar Dominant non-Brahman land holders
from the nayaka). Periyanadu Supralocal (covering multiple regions) assemblies
Often the nayaka gave away a portion of land to Sabha Assembly of Brahmadeya villages
temples or some religious institution free of tax. Ur Assembly of the Nattar
Such grants were called manya.
The Nayakas were independent in their areas and Economic Conditions in Vijayanagara Empire
were non-transferable. In the course of time, it
Unbounded prosperity prevailed in the Vijayanagara
became a major cause of decline of Vijayanagara
Empire. Agriculture flourished in different parts of the
Empire.
kingdom and the state pursued a wise irrigation policy.
Ayagar The principal industries were related to textiles, mining
During the Vijayanagara rule the village and metallurgy and the most important of the minor
administration was organised in the form of the industries was perfumery. Craftsmen and merchants
Ayagar system. According to this system every guilds played an important part in the economic life of the
village was a separate unit. kingdom.
Twelve functionaries, collectively known as Ayagars The most remarkable feature in the economic condition
were appointed by the government in each village of the kingdom was Commerce: Inland, Coastal and
and once allotted, the office became hereditary. Overseas. The most important port on the Malabar coast
The Ayagars could sell or mortgage their office. was Calicut.
Tax free lands or manyas were granted to them for It had commercial relations with the islands in the Indian
their maintenance for perpetuity. ocean, the Malay Archipelago, Burma, China, Arabia,
Persia, South Africa, Abyssinia and Portugal.
Revenue Administration
The principal articles of exports were cloth, rice, iron,
The crown lands were the most important source saltpetre, sugar and spices and the principal imports into
of revenue. The taxes were collected on the basis the empire were horses, elephants, pearls, copper, coral
of assessment fixed after thorough survey. mercury, China silk and velvet.
The rates of taxes were as follows: The cheap means of transport for inland trade were
(i) One-third of the produce of kuruvai (a type of kavadis, head-load, peak-horses, peck-bullocks, carts and
rice) during winter. asses.
(ii) One-fourth of sesame, ragi, horse-gram, etc. Horses were imported from Central Asia, and local
(iii) One-sixth of millet and other crops cultivated on traders were known as ‘Khudrai Chettis’, who controlled
dry land. the local markets in Vijayanagara Empire. Ships were in
In addition to the land tax, there were various use for coasting and overseas trade.
other taxes, such as property tax, tax on sale of Art and Architecture in Vijayanagara Empire
produce, profession taxes, military contribution (in
times of war), tax on marriage, etc. The Vijayanagara Empire had become famous for art,
architecture, sculpture and fine arts like dancing and
Society in Vijayanagara Empire music.
There was considerable growth of towns and In this period, temples became very elaborate in structure
urbanisation under Vijayanagara rule. The and organisation; even old temples were amplified by the
Brahmanas held in highest position in the society, addition of pillared halls, pavilions and other subordinate
religious as well as political matters. structures.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
96

Gopurams and Mandapas

Famous Travellers who Came to the
In terms of temple architecture, certain new features Vijayanagara Kingdom
were in evidence. These included the Raya Gopurams
n Abu Abdullah/Ibn Battuta A Moroccan traveller left
or royal gateways that often overshadow the towers on
account of Harihara I’s reign in his book Rehla also
the central shrines.
called Tuhfat-un-Nuzzar fi Gharaib ul-Amsar wa
Other distinctive features include mandapas or Ajaib-ul-Afsar.
pavilions and long, pillared corridors that often ran n Nicolo de Conti An Italian traveller, who visited
around the shrines within the temple complex. during the time of Devaraya I. He left an account in
The Vijayanagara rulers built large number of temples travels of Nicolo de Conti.
scattered all over the empire such as the temples of n Abdur Razzaq Ambassador of Shahrukh of
Vittalaswamy, Hazara-Ramaswamy, Krishnaswamy, Samarqand at the court of the Zamorin of Calicut. He
Virupaksha etc. gives an account of the reign of Devaraya II in his
Matla-us-Sadain wa Majma-ul-Bahrain.
Mahanavmi Dibba n Athanasius Nikitin A Russian merchant, who
Mahanavmi Dibba was built by Krishnadeva Raya described the conditions of the Bahmani kingdom
after the victory of Udaygiri. under Mohammed III in his voyage to India.
n Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605-1689) He was a 17th
It is a rectangular shaped structure which look like a century French gem merchant and traveller. He was
huge stage. a private individual and merchant travelling at his
Its area was 11000 sq feets and high upto 40 feets. A own expense. He covered by his own account, 60,000
women sculpture was made on it. leagues (120,000 miles) in making six voyages to
Persia and India between the years 1630 and 1668. He
On this stage being use to show his superiority and
gave the earliest trustworthy account of Golconda
power on the occassion of Dussehra or Mahanavmi.
diamond mines.
Other Dynasties/Sultanate of Deccan n Ludovico di Varthema An Italian merchant, who
visited India in 1502-08 AD, and left his memoirs in
During Vijayanagara Empire
travels in Egypt, India, Syria etc.
Dynasty Place Founder Details n Dominigos Paes He was Portuguese, who spent a
Imad Shahi Berar Fatullah Khan He continued his number of years at Krishnadeva court and gave his
(1490-1574 Imad-ul-Mulk rule with Elichpur detailed account.
AD) its capital. n Marco Polo The only traveller, who could rival Ibn
Adil Shahi Bijapur Yusuf Adil Mohammad Adil Battuta’s tag of the greatest medieval traveller arrived
(1489-1490 Khan Shah wrote a book at India’s opposite extremity, a Tamil port, enroute
AD) named ‘Kitab-e- from China in 1290 AD. Marco Polo to his surprise
Navras’ in Dakhini. found that in Peninsular India there were tailors or
He also built ‘Gol seamstresses. He failed to get coat made for himself.
Gumbaj’, which is
world’s second
largest dome.
Nizam Shahi Ahmednagar Malik Ahmad Malik Ambar a
Bahmani Kingdom
(1490-1633 Bahri Siddi military Among all the independent kingdoms that arose on
AD) leader and Prime the ruins of the Delhi Sultanate the Bahmani kingdom
Minister became a
kingmaker. were the most powerful.
Qutb Shahi Golkonda Quli Qutb Shah He founded the
The Bahmani Sultanate was the first independent
(1518-1687 Hyderabad city. Islamic kingdom in South India.
AD) He also built Alauddin Hasan Bahan Shah founded the Bahmani
Charminar in
kingdom.
1591-92 AD.
Gulbarga was the capital of Bahmani kingdom.
Barid Shahi Bidar Ali Barid Bidar Fort was
(1528-1619 built by Ahmad Later on the Bahmani kingdom were split into five
AD) Shah Wali independent kingdoms known as- Bijapur,
Bahman. Ahmednagar, Berar, Bidar and Golconda.
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
97

Prominent Bahmani Kings Muhammad Shah-III (1463-1482 AD) He was the last
ruler of Bahmani kingdom. During his reign, Russian
Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah (1347-58 AD) Also traveller Niccatin came to Bahmani empire. He made
known as ‘Hasan Gangu’, he established the Mahmud Gawan killed after which Bahmani empire
Bahmani dynasty in 1347 AD. Hasan Gangu claimed declined.
descent from the famous Persian hero Bahman.
Muhammad Shah (1358–1375 AD) He was the Mahmud Gawan
eldest son and nominated heir of Hassan. n During the reign of Alauddin Humayun Shah (1458-1461
Muhammad Shah established a Council of Eight AD), Mahmud Gawan rose to prominence and power as
Ministers known as ‘Ashta-Pradhana’. Later on, this Chief or Prime Minister. He was bestowed with the title
concept was borrowed by the Marathas. of ‘Malik-ut-Tujjar’, and made tarafdar of Bijapur.
Taj-ud-Din Firuz Shah (1397-1422 AD) The most n Mahmud Gawan tried to accommodate Dakhnis and
remarkable step taken by Firuz Shah Bahmani was Afaqis in the nobility by giving them important
the induction of Hindus in the administration on a assignments.
large scale. n He was the first to introduce gunpowder in India (Babur
was first to introduce Artillery in India) during the
He was a good calligraphist and well versed not only
conflict against Vijayanagara Kingdom at Belgaum.
in Persian, Arabic and Turkish, but also in Telugu, n He was well versed in Islamic Theology, Mathematics
Kannada and Marathi.
and Persian language. Mahmud Gawan built the
Ahmad Shah I (1422-1435 AD) He was called a saint Mahmud Gawan Madrasa in Bidar, which was largest
(wali) on account of his association with the famous library of that time.
Sufi saint, Gesu Daraz.
Ahmad Shah invaded Warangal, defeated and Decline of Bahmani Empire
annexed most of its territories. He shifted the capital
from Gulbarga to Bidar in 1429 AD. After the death of Mahmud Gawan, the nobles were
divided into the native and long-established Dakhnis
Alauddin Ahmad II (1436-1458 AD) During his
and the new-comers Afaqis, with Iranian origin also
reign Afghans arrived and their influence increased.
called Gharibs.
There were series of conflicts between Gajpati and
Bahmani kingdom under his rule. Though Mahmud Gawan adopted a broad policy of
conciliation, but after his death, Bahmani Empire
Alauddin Humayun (1458-1461 AD) He was very
disintegrated and various governors became
cruel and barbaric ruler. Mahmud Gawan was made
independent.
Prime Minister by him in his Empire.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
98 16

Rise of Provincial
Kingdoms

Sources Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 10 (Struggle for Power in North India II)

Reasons for the Rise of Bengal

Bengal was made a part of Delhi Sultanate by Ikhtiyar-ud-din
Provincial Kingdoms Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji 1204 AD. However, it
In 1398 AD, the attack of Taimur on Delhi remained a problem area for the Sultans of Delhi due to its
and defeat of Delhi Sultanate showed the distance from the capital.
administrative weakness of the sultanate. This In 1345, Haji Iliyas became the ruler of Bengal under the title
empowered regional provinces to announce of Sham-ud-din abu Muzaffar Iliyas Shah.
their autonomy from the sultanate.
After Haji Iliyas, his son Sikandar Shah succeeded the
Bengal in East to Sind and Multan in West throne. He ruled Bengal for about 30 years and died around
became autonomous from Delhi Sultanate. 1390 AD. He was succeeded by his son Ghiyasuddin Azam
Gujarat, Malwa and Jaunpur subedars also Shah (1390-1410 AD). He sent an ambassador to China. He
announced their independence. was also famous for his respect for law and justice. His death
Apart from these, the Rajput dominated was followed by political instability.
provinces of Malwa, Mewar, Amber etc also His son, Saifuddin Hamza Shah was murdered by his slave.
became autonomous. In 1415 AD, a Hindu ruler named Raja Ganesh took
There were various regional powers advantage and assumed power in Bengal. He took the title of
pre-existed and newly emerged in India, ‘Danujmardan Dev’.
during the establishment of the Delhi After Raja Ganesh, his son Jadu converted to Islam and ruled
Sultanate, till its downfall in the 15th century. as Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Shah. During his reign, Bengali
Delhi Sultanate’s disintegration helped became a court language alongwith Persian. He patronised
Bengal, Gujarat, Malwa and Jaunpur to emerge Brihaspati Mishra who wrote commentaries on the
as powerful regional kingdom. Some regional Raghuvansha, Meghaduta and the Amarakosha.
powers also rose into prominence in different
Jalal-ud-din’s son, Shamsuddin Ahmad Shah was murdered
regions.
by his slave, Nasir Khan, who ascended the throne. The
nobles were angry by this act. That’s why they killed him and
Provincial Kingdoms of restored the Iliyas Shahi dynasty by installing Nasiruddin
Eastern India Mahmood Shah grandson of Haji Iliyas (1442 AD).
In Eastern India, there were three major regional He ruled for 17 years and during his reign Bengal was greatly
powers i.e., Bengal, Assam and Orissa. These extended. Nasiruddin was succeeded by his son, Rukunuddin
powers were continuously had conflict with Barbak Shah but died soon. After Rukunuddin death, some of
Delhi Sultanate as well as with each others. his slaves created political instability between 1487-1493 AD.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
99

A period of unrest was finally brought to an end Provincial Kingdoms of Western India
when a noble of Arab origin named Sayyed
These three were other most important regional powers in
Husain assumed power (1494 AD) and entitled
India, which gave stiff resistance to Delhi Sultanate time to
himself as Alauddin Hussain Shah. Thus, the
time.
Hussain Shahi dynasty was established.
Alauddin Hussain Shah ruled from 1494-1519 AD Gujarat
and was the most popular ruler of Bengal. It was The real founder of the kingdom of Gujarat was Ahmad
during his reign, that Bengali language witnessed Shah I. He shifted the capital from Patan to the new city of
considerable growth. Ahmedabad, the foundation laid in 1413 AD.
He was succeeded by Nasiruddin-Nasrat-Shah. He was a great builder and drew on the rich architectural
Chaitanya preached Vaishnavism in his reign. He traditions of the Jains style of building. The Jama Masjid in
concluded a peace treaty with Babur, but died in Ahmedabad and the Teen Darwaza built during his time.
1532 AD.
The most famous sultan of Gujarat was Mahmud Begarha
He built Bara Sona and Qadam Rasul mosque. (1459-1511 AD), who ruled over Gujarat for more than
The Portuguese made their first appearance in 50 years.
Bengal during his period.
He was called Begarha because he captured two of the
He honoured poet Maladhar Basu, compiler of most powerful forts (garhs), Girnar and Champaner in one
Srikrishna Vijay, with the title of Gunaraja day. His court poet was Udayaraja who composed many
Khan. texts in Sanskrit.
During the rule of Nasrat Shah, the Mahabharata
was translated in Bengali. After weak successors
Other Rulers of Gujarat
of Nasrat Shah, Bengal occupied by Sher Shah Muzaffar Shah I (1407-1411 AD) After Taimur’s invasion
Suri in 1538 AD. of Delhi in 1398 AD, Gujarat became independent under its
Governor, Zafar Khan.
Assam He named himself Muzaffar Shah I. He was appointed as
There were two warring kingdoms in Assam at Governor of Gujarat by Nasir-ud-din Muhammad bin
that time. Kamata kingdom (Kamrup) was in the Tughlaq IV in 1391 AD.
West and the Ahom kingdom was in the East. Shihab-ud-din Ahmed (1411-42 AD) He founded the city
An attack by Alauddin Hussain Shah of Bengal of Ahmedabad and shifted the capital from Patan to
which was supported by the Ahoms led to the Ahmedabad. He also built the Jama Masjid and Teen
destruction of the city of Kamtapur (in modern Darwaja at Ahmedabad.
Cooch Behar). Muslim historians argue that he was an idol breaker. He
Suhungmung (Svarga Narayana), who is imposed Jizya for the first time in Gujarat on Hindus. The
considered the greatest Ahom ruler, not only Hindu pilgrimage centre, Sidhpur was destroyed.
repulsed the Muslim attack, but also extended But, he also appointed Hindu officials, Manikchand and
his kingdom in all directions. The Vaishnavite Motichand into the government.
reformer Shankaradeva, belonged to his time. Mahmud Begarha (1458-1511 AD) He was considered the
greatest Sultan of Gujarat and was called Begarha. His title
Orissa Begarha was a constant reminder of both his conquest of
The Ganga dynasty was ruled over Orissa and its the two forts, Junagarh and Champaner. He also captured
nearby region during the Delhi Sultanate period, the forts of Girnar hills.
which made frequent made attempts to annex He formed a naval alliance with the Sultans of Turkey and
Bengal. Egypt and defeated the Portuguese in the Battle of Chaul
Firuz Shah Tughlaq attacked Orissa in 1340 AD (1508 AD), but got defeated the next year in the Battle
and destroyed the Jagannath temple of Puri when of Diu.
it was under the rule of the Ganga dynasty King Malik Ghori was his Chief Minister and his court poet was
Bhanudeva III. Udayraja. The Italian traveller, Barthema and Portuguese
The Gajapati rule marks a brilliant phase in traveller Barbosa visited his court.
Orissa history. Muzaffar Shah II (1511-37 AD) He fought against Rana
The Gajapati rulers were mainly instrumental in Sanga of Mewar. He restored Mahmud Khilji II of Malwa to
building the famous Jagannath temple and the this throne. He was considered by Babur to be one of the
Sun temple (Konark). five great rulers of Hindustan.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
100

Bahadur Shah (1526-37 AD) He annexed Malwa in Jaunpur

1531 AD. He was the last able ruler of Gujarat. Jaunpur was a prosperous province in the Eastern part
He imposed a humiliating treaty on Chittor, so of India. Malik Sarwar, a prominent noble during
Humayun attacked in 1534-35 AD, whereupon Firuz Shah Tughlaq’s period became ruler of Jaunpur.
Bahadur Shah sought help from Portuguese and had to In 1402 AD, Ibrahim Shah Sharqi became the Sultan,
surrender Bassein and Diu to Portuguese. who was a scholar, well versed with music and fine
He recaptured Gujarat from Humayun, but was killed arts. A distinctive architecture evolved during this
by the Portuguese. Emperor Akbar finally captured period known as the Sharqi style of architecture. Its
Gujarat in 1572-73 AD. capital Jaunpur was called the ‘Sheraz of India’.
Malwa Kashmir
During the medieval period, the kingdom of Malwa A Muslim adventurer from Swat, Shah Mirza had
remained at the height of its glory. One of the early entered into the service of the Hindu prince of Kashmir
rulers of Malwa, Hushang Shah, adopted a broad in 1315 AD. The Hindu prince died shortly afterwards
policy of religious toleration. Many Rajputs were and Shah Mirza seized the throne. He kept aside the
encouraged to settle in Malwa. claims of descendants of the Hindu prince and himself
Hushang Shah was the first ruler of Deccan who assumed the title of the king.
extended his patronage to the Jains. Nardeva Soni, He died in 1349 AD and was succeeded by his
was one of his advisors. Lalitpur temple was built four sons, one after another who ruled for a total
during Hushang Shah’s period. period of 46 years.
After the death of the fourth son Qutb-ud-din (1394
Mewar AD), his son Sikandar ascended the throne.
Mewar was an old principality of minor importance Sultan Zainul Abidin (1420-1470 AD) was the greatest
under the rule of the Guhilot dynasty, with its capital Muslim ruler of Kashmir. He was highly enlightened,
Nagada. Although Alauddin Khilji captured Chittor, liberal and benevolent, for which he was known as the
the Capital of Mewar, in 1303 AD, it was soon Akbar of Kashmir. He abolished Jizya and withdrew
restored by Rana Hamir, who established the rule of Sati.
Sisodiya dynasty.
He abolished cow slaughter, because of his liberal
Rana Kumbha (1433-68 AD) The greatest ruler of approach, he was called Badshah i.e. great king.
the Sisodiya dynasty, carried out continuous warfare
He had translated Mahabharata into Persian. Two
against Gujarat and Malwa. The first great ruler of
famous scholars Johraja and Srivara extended
medieval Mewar was Rana Kumbha.
Kalhana’s Rajatarangini to the 15th century under the
Some contemporary inscriptions and a literary work patronage of Zainul Abidin.
Ekling Mahatmya speaks of his military success.
He created Zaina Lanka, the artificial island on the
He wrote commentaries on Jayadeva’s Gita- Govinda Wular lake.
and Chandisatakam.
After Zainul Abidin death, a anarchy under the rule of
The greatest architectural monument of his reign was the nominal kings arised who ascended the throne.
the Kirtistambha built by him at Chittor. He was
Haidar Shah was a fairly competent ruler, but his
murdered by his son, Uda, to gain the throne. He was
successors were incompetent and in 1540 AD, a
famous for Kirtistambha or the Tower of Fame.
relative of Babur, Mirza Haidar, conquered Kashmir.
Rana Sanga (1509-28 AD) His real name was Rana
Later, Akbar annexed Kashmir into the Mughal empire
Sangram Singh. He defeated Mahmud Khilji II of
in 1588 AD.
Malwa and also Ibrahim Lodhi of Delhi at Ghatoli.
He was defeated by Babur in the Battle of Khanwa
in 1527 AD.
Other Regional Kingdoms
Marwar Rao Chunda, who ruled from 1404 to 1421
Provincial Kingdoms AD, was succeeded by Jodha. Jodha built the fort of
Jodhpur. Bikaner was founded by Bika, Malwa ruler
of North-West and North India and one of the sons of Jodha in 1465 AD.
These two important provincial kingdoms not only Amber or Amer Dullah Rao was the founder of the
expanded territorially but also encouraged art and Kachhawaha dynasty, which ruled Amber or Amer
cultural development prominently in their respective during this period. Hammir Deva was the most
states. famous ruler of this dynasty.
 INDIAN HISTORY
NCERT Notes
CHAPTER 17 101

Bhakti and
Sufi Movements

Sources Class-VII New NCERT Chap 8 (Devotional Paths to the Divine, Class-VII Old NCERT Chap 5 – Life of the People),
Class-VIII Old NCERT Chap 8 (Changes in Religious Beliefs and Devotional Texts), Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 1 (Cultural
Development in India From the Thirteenth to the Fifteenth Century), Class-XII New NCERT Chap 6 (Bhakti Sufi Traditions)

The medieval period in India saw the rise and growth of the Causes for the Emergence
Bhakti and Sufi Movements. The two movements brought a
new form of religious expression amongst Muslims and of Bhakti Movement
Hindus. The common people were no longer satisfied
The Sufi and Bhakti saints played an important role and with a religion, which only emphasised
made religion accessible and meaningful to the common ceremonies and forms.
people. The Bhakti saints believed that salvation can be
achieved by all.
Bhakti Movement Their ideas were drawn from both Hindu and
The word Bhakti is derived from a Sanskrit word ‘Bhanj’, Islamic traditions and were aimed at bridging the
which means coordination and charity. The roots of gulf between the Hindus and the Muslims.
Bhakti first found in the Vedas. It stresses the Union of the Improvement in the economic conditions of
individual with God as well as one’s personal devotion to the lower classes and the impact of Islam’s
God. Doctrine of Monotheism and Equality also were
Bhakti movement originated in South India between the 7th important cause of the emergence of Bhakti
and the 12th centuries AD. The Shaiva and Vaishnava saints movement.
during the rule of Pallavas began the Bhakti movement. Emergence of great reformers was also the cause
It also received patronage of the Chola rulers. of the emergence of Bhakti movement.
According to the saints of Bhakti movement, an individual
could realise God through devotion and personal efforts. Features of Bhakti Movement
The saints of Bhakti movement gave three means or margas Open mindedness about religious matters.
for attainment of Moksha or salvation, which were : They rejected caste discrimination and believed
(i) Gyan Marg Salvation through Learning and in equality of all humans.
Understanding Bhakti saints use local or regional language for
(ii) Karma Marg Through good deeds like service of mankind preaching.
(iii) Bhakti Marga Through unconditional love and total Condemnation of rituals, ceremonies and blind
surrender to God faith.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
102

Nayanars and Alvars 4. Vishnuchitta ‘Amuktamalyada’ of Krishnadeva Raya

based on his life.
The seventh to ninth centuries saw the emergence
5. Poigai Considered as the last Alwar saints.
of new religious movements in India, led by the
Nayanars (worshippers of Shiva) and Alvars
(worshippers of Vishnu) who came from all castes
Bhakti Saints
including those considered ‘untouchable’ like the Some of the significant Bhakti saints with distinct schools
Pulaiyar and the Panars. of philosophy emerged. They were as follows :
They disregarded the rigidities of the caste system Shankaracharya (788-820 AD)
and also disregarded the austerities of the Jains and
the Buddhists. They drew upon the ideals of love Shankaracharya was one of the most influential
and heroism from Sangama literature and both philosophers of India, was born in Kerala in 788 AD.
Alvars and Nayanars used Sanskrit and Tamil He advocated Advaita (doctrine of the oneness) of the
languages in their hymns. individual soul and the Supreme God (the Ultimate
Reality). He considered the world as an illusion or
Nayanars maya.
They are devotees of Shiva. His greatest work known as Brahmasutrabhasya and
The Tamil Nayanar saints were total 63 in number. greatly emphasised on the study of the Upanishads to
Nambiyandar Nambi gives detailed information gain self-liberating knowledge.
about these 63 Nayanar saints in Tiruktatotar Shankaracharya established four Mathas at Dwarka
tiruvantati. (Sharda Peeth) in the West, Puri (Goverdhan Peeth) in
There are two sets of compilations of Nayanar saints’ the East, Sringeri in the South and Badrinath in the
songs i.e., Tevaram and Tiruvacakam. North. These four mathas were headed by his four main
Some of the important Nayanar saints called as disciples.
‘Samyacharya’ were as follows : Ramanujacharya (1017-1137 AD)
1. Appar He was known as ‘Tirunavukarrashu’.
Born in Tamil Nadu in the 11th century AD.
2. Tirugyansamnbandar He was famous as ‘Dravida Ramanujacharya was deeply influenced by the Alvars.
Shishu’ He propounded the doctrine of Vishishtadvaita or
3. Sundarmurti He was regarded as ‘saint of the qualified oneness. There exist a plurality and distinction
saints’. between Atman (soul) and Brahman (metaphysical).
4. Mannikavachkar Known as Tiru-vadvur. According to him, the best means of attaining salvation
Tirumarai is the compilation of hymns of Nayanars was through intense devotion to Vishnu.
by Nambiyandar Nambi. His major works include Vedarthasangraha, Sri
Bhashya (commentary on the Brahma Sutras) and Gita
Alvars Bhashyam.
Alvars or Vaishnavites also emerged during the He founded the Shrivaishnava Sampradaya, which
Pallava rule in South India. The total numbers of greatly inspired the new strand of Bhakti in North
Alvara saints were 12 and their combined anthology India.
is known as the Nalayira Divyaprabandham (‘Four
Thousand Sacred Compositions’) Nimbarkacharya (1130-1200 AD)
By the tenth century, the compositions of the 12 Nimbarkacharya, a Telugu Vaishnavite was in Andhra
Alvars were compiled in this anthology known as the Pradesh in 11th century AD but spent most of his life in
Nalayira Divyaprabandham. Mathura. He was the chief proponent of Dvaitadvaita
Some of the prominent Alvar saints were as follows : (dualistic–non-dualistic).
He referred five ways of salvation such as :
1. Nammalvar The greatest among all Alvara saint.
His works termed as ‘Four Vedas of South’. 1. Karma (Righteous Action)
2. Thirumangai His poetries considered as ‘Six 2. Vidya (Knowledge)
Vedangas of Tamil’. 3. Dhyana (Meditation)
3. Andal The only female Alwar saint and considered 4. Prapatti (Complete Surrender to God)
as ‘Mirabai of South India’. 5. Gurupassatti (Devotion for the Guru)
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
103

Madhvacharya (1238–1317 AD) Nirguna Saints

Madhvacharya was born in 1238 AD at Udupi, Nirguna saints believed in invisible formless God and God
Karnataka. He was a chief proponent of the without attributes.
Dvaita (dualism) school of Vedanta (Divine is
Some of the important Nirguna saints are :
separate from human soul).
He called his philosophy Tattvavada Dadu Dayal (1544-1603 AD)
(Arguments from a realist viewpoint). He was born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat in 1544 AD. He
Madhva’s greatest work was Anuvyakhyana, a founded the Brahma Sampradaya. His teachings were
philosophical supplement composed with a compiled in the book named Bani. Much of the imagery
poetic structure. He founded Brahma used is similar to that used by Kabir.
Sampradaya and proclaimed himself to be an He believed that devotion to God should transcend
avatar of Vayu. religious affiliation and the one should become
He played a major role in spreading the worship non-sectarian or Nipakh.
of Radha-Krishna cult and founded Nimbarka Dadu Dayal’s compositions in Braj language were recorded
Sampradaya, one of four main traditions of by his disciple Rajjab and are known as the Dadu Anubhav
Vaishnavism. Vani, a compilation of 5,000 verses.
Note Nimbarkacharya was the contemporary of
Madhvacharya.
Kabir (1440-1510 AD)
There is uncertainty about the early life of Kabir. According
Vallabhacharya (1479-1531 AD) to legend, he was the son of a Brahman widow and was
Vallabha was born in a Telugu Tailang Brahmin brought up in the house of a Muslim weaver living at Kashi.
family and spent his entire life in Varanasi. He was the disciple of Ramananda from whom he adopted
Vallabha rejected asceticism and monastic life, Vedanta Philosophy.
suggested that through loving devotion to God Kabir, who is generally placed in the 15th century AD,
Krishna, anyone could achieve salvation. emphasised the unity of God whom he calls by several
He founded the Krishna-centred Pushti-Marg names, such as Rama, Hari, Govinda, Rahim, etc.
sect of Vaishnavism in the Braj region and the He strongly denounced idol-worship, pilgrimages, bathing
philosophy of Shuddha advaita (Pure in holy rivers or taking part in Namaz.
Non-dualism). The mission of Kabir was to preach a religion of love,
He was the prominent saint of Rudra which would unite all castes and creeds.
Sampradaya out of the four traditional Vaishnava Kabir strongly denounced the caste system, especially the
Sampradayas. practice of untouchability and emphasised the fundamental
Note Vallabhacharya was contemporary of Krishnadeva Raya unity of man.
and received the title ‘Jagadguru’.
Bijak
Virashaiva Tradition Sayings of Kabir were compiled in a book named Bijak. It is the
A new form of tradition and movement emerged holy Scripture for followers of the Kabirpanthi religion. The
in Karnataka in 12th century AD by Basavanna Bijak is one of the earliest of the major texts in modern Bagheli.
(1106-68 AD) who was a minister in the court of
Kalachuri dynasty. Guru Nanak (1469-1539 AD)
His followers worship Shiva as a linga and were Guru Nanak was born in a Khatri family in Talwandi
known as Virashaivas (heroes of Shiva) or (Nankana, Pakistan) in 1469 AD.
Lingayats (wearers of the linga). He composed hymns and sang them along with his faithful
Virashaivas believe that on death the devotee attendant, Mardana.
will be united with Shiva and will not return to It is said that Nanak undertook wide tours all over India
this world. They also questioned the theory of and even to Sri Lanka and Mecca and Medina.
rebirth.
Guru Nanak laid great emphasis on the purity of character
The source of Virashaiva tradition is compiled as and conduct as the first condition of approaching God, and
‘Vachanas’ composed in Kannada. the need of a guru for guidance.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
104

He advocated a middle path in which spiritual life An early social reformer, he accepted disciples
could be combined with the duties of the householder. without discriminating anyone by gender, class.
Baba Guru Nanak organised his followers into a His twelve disciples included later Bhakti movement
community. He set up rules for congregational worship poet-saints such as Kabir, Ravidas, Pipa and others.
(sangat) involving collective recitation. Ramananda composed his works and discussing
He appointed one of his disciples, Angad, to succeed spiritual themes in vernacular Hindi, stating that this
him as the preceptor (guru), and this practice was makes knowledge accessible to the masses. His verse
followed for nearly 200 years. is mentioned in the Sikh scripture Adi Granth.
Guru Arjan, the fifth guru, compiled Baba Guru Twelve Disciples of Ramananda
Nanak’s hymns along with his four successors and
religious poets like Baba Farid, Ravidas (also known Kabir Muslim Weaver
as Raidas) and Kabir in the Adi Granth Sahib. These Raidas Cobbler
hymns, called ‘gurbani’, are composed in various
Pipa Rajput Prince
languages.
Dhanna Jat Peasant
In the late 17th century the tenth preceptor, Guru
Gobind Singh, included the compositions of the ninth Sena Barber
guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, and this scripture was called Narhariyananda All were Brahmins/Priests
the Guru Granth Sahib. Sursurananda
Guru Gobind Singh also laid the foundation of the Sukhananda
Khalsa Panth (army of the pure) and defined its five Bhavananda
symbols: uncut hair, a dagger, a pair of shorts, a comb
Anantananda
and a steel bangle.
Padmavati Female Disciples

Comparison between Kabir and Nanak Surasari

n Like Kabir, Nanak laid emphasis on the one God, by
repeating whose name and dwelling on it with love and Tulsidas (1544-1623 AD)
devotion one could get salvation without distinction of He was a Hindu poet saint belonged to Ram Bhakti
caste, creed or sect. sect. He spent most of his life in the city of Varanasi.
n Guru Nanak, like Kabir, strongly denounced He was a contemporary of Akbar and his works include
idol-worship, pilgrimages and other formal observances Ramcharitamanas, Kavitawali, Gitawali, Parvati
of the various faiths. Nanak had no intention of founding Mangal, Janki Mangal, Vinaya Patrika etc.
a new religion.
n Guru Nanak’s approach aimed at bridging distinctions Nabhadas (1570-1662 AD)
between the Hindus and the Muslims, in order to create He wrote Bhaktmal a poem in the Braj language in
an atmosphere of peace, goodwill and mutual give and which 200 bhaktas have been mentioned. He
take. This was also the aim of Kabir. belonged to the tradition of Ramananda.
n In course of time, the ideas of Nanak gave birth to a new
creed, Sikhism, while the followers of Kabir shrank into
He was born in 1570 AD in Gwalior and was blind
a sect, the Kabir Panthis. The fundamental teachings of since birth. He was raised by a saint name Agradas
these two great saints are reflected in the religious ideas and his notable work is Ramashtakam in Braj
and policies of Akbar in a remarkable manner. language.

Difference between Nirguna and Saguna Saints

Saguna Saints
Nirguna Saguna
Saguna Bhakti Saints believed in God with forms and
attributes. Some of the important Saguna saints are : Believed in ‘Formless Believed in the ‘Personification of
existence of God’. God’.
Ramananda (1299-1411 AD)
Formless idea of God with Deities were lord Vishnu as Rama
He was a 14th century Vaishnava devotional poet saint, his omnipresence . and Krishna.
and spent most part of his life in Kashi. He was the
Liberal in social matters, Rigid in social matters.
founder of the Ramanandi Sampradaya; the largest against of caste system and
monastic community all time. rituals.
Saint Ramananda developed his philosophy and Saints- Kabir, Nanak, Saints- Ramananda, Surdas,
devotional themes through inspired by Ramanuja, and Ravidas, Dadu Dayal etc. Tulsidas and Chaitanya
by Nathpanthi and Siddhas ascetics’ school of philosophy. Mahaprabhu.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
105

The Vaishnavite Movement He emphasised the need for naam kirtan, recitation of
the names of the lord in satsanga or congregations of
The Bhakti movement in North and Eastern India devotees. He also encouraged the establishment of
developed as the Vaishnavite movement with the satra or monasteries for the transmission of spiritual
worship of Rama and Krishna. They used the love knowledge and naam ghar or prayer halls.
between Radha and Krishna in an allegorical manner to Many of these institutions and practices continue to
depict the relationship of love, in its various aspects, flourish in the region. His major compositions include
between the individual soul and the supreme soul. the Kirtana-ghosha.
Narsi Mehta (1414-1481 AD) Raidas
Also known as Narsi Bhagat, he was a 15th century Raidas is also known as Ravidas. He was one of the
poet of Gujarat. most renowned saints of the North Indian Bhakti
He was disciple of Saint Dadu Dayal. movement.
He has written the famous Bhakti Bhajan He was born in a low caste family of untouchable
‘Vaishnavajan’. leather-working class. His poems and songs often
He highly contributed in the development of Gujarati revolve around social inequality and hierarchy.
literature and spread of Bhakti movement in Gujarat. He preached self-devotion to God.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1483-1533 AD) Vidyapati (1352-1448 AD)
He was the most popular Bhakti reformer from n Vidyapati was a Sanskrit writer and Maithili poet who
Bengal. was referred to as Maithil Kavi Kokil (meaning the poet
cuckoo of Maithili).
He was born at Nabadwip (Bengal). He was also
n Vidyapati mainly propagated Vaishnavism in his region
known as Gouranga and Vishwambar. He preached
that was initiated by Ramanuja. It advocated liberation
Vaishnavism in Bengal and Odisha. through direct love of God Krishna. His works included
According to Chaitanya, worship consisted of love, Bhu-Parikrama, Varsaktrya and Danavakyavali etc.
devotion, song and dance. These produce a state of
ecstasy in which the presence of God (Hari), could be
realised. Such a worship could be carried out by all,
Bhakti Movement in Maharashtra
irrespective of caste or creed. From the 13th to the 17th centuries, Maharashtra saw
He was also the first to introduce Kirtans in Bhakti a great number of saint-poets, whose songs in simple
movement. The form of Vaishnavism that he Marathi continue to inspire people.
preached came to be called as Goudia Vaishnavism. The most important among them were Dnyaneshwar
(Gyaneshwar), Namdev, Eknath and Tukaram as well
Surdas (1478-1583 AD) as women like Sakhubai. This regional tradition of
Disciple of Vallabhacharya, a blind poet from Agra. Bhakti focused on the Vitthala (a form of Vishnu)
He sang the glory of Krishna in his Sursagar. temple in Pandharpur, as well as on the notion of a
He belonged to the Saguna saints–Krishna Bhakti sect. personal god residing in the hearts of all people.

Mirabai (1498-1546 AD) Nathpanthis, Siddhas and Yogis

Rathor princess of Merta and daughter-in-law of Rana n The Nathpanthis, Siddhacharas and Yogis advocated
Sanga of Mewar (husband–Bhoja Raja). She wrote the renunciation of the world.
verse Padavali. She was devotee of Lord Krishna and n The path to salvation to them lay in meditation on the
she devoted her life to Lord Krishna. formless Ultimate Reality and the Realisation of
Oneness with it.
Shankaradeva (1449-1568 AD) n To achieve this, they advocated intense training of the
In the late 15th century, Shankaradeva emerged as mind and body through practices like yogasanas,
one of the leading proponents of Vaishnavism in breathing exercises and meditation.
Assam.
n They criticised the ritual and other aspects of
conventional religion and the social order, using
His teachings are often known as the Bhagavati simple, logical arguments.
dharma because they were based on the Bhagavad n These groups became particularly popular among ‘low’
Gita and the Bhagavata Purana. They focused on castes.
absolute surrender to the supreme deity, in this case
Vishnu.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
106

The Sufi saints and many modern thinkers trace the

Sufi Movement Sufi ideas to the Quran.
The tenth century AD is important in Islamic history Irrespective of origin, there were many similarities in
for variety of reasons; first, it marks the rise of the the ideas of the Sufis and the Hindu yogis and mystics.
Turks on the ruins of the Abbasid Caliphate, as well
as important changes in the realm of ideas and Chishti Silsilahs
beliefs. Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti introduced the
In the realm of ideas, it marks the end of the Chishti silsilah in India. He arrived in India in 1161 AD
domination of the Mutazila or rationalist philosophy. with Mahmud of  Ghazni  and found a base in Ajmer
It marks the rise of orthodox schools based on the till 1236 AD.
Quran and Hadis (traditions of the Prophet and his Other saints and followers of  Khwaja Moinuddin
companions) and rise of the Sufi mystic orders. Chishti were Bakhtiyar Kaki and his disciple
The ‘rationalists’ argued that their philosophy of Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakar.
monism God and the created world were In Delhi, there were Nizamuddin Auliya and Shaikh
fundamentally one was heretical on the ground that it Nasiruddin Mahmud, known as ‘Chirag-i-Delhi’.
abolished the difference between the creator and the Sheikh Salim Chishti of Fatehpur Sikri was another
created’. popular Sufi saint.
The works of the ‘traditionalists’ crystallised in four Major Teachers of the Chishti Silsilah
schools of the Islamic Law. Of these, the Hanafi
Sufi Teacher Year of Birth Location
School, which was the most liberal, was adopted by
the Eastern Turks who later came to India. Shaikh Muinuddin Sijzi 1235 Ajmer (Rajasthan)
Some of the early Sufis, such as the woman mystic Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar 1235 Delhi
Rabia (eighth century) and Mansur bin Hallaj (tenth Kaki
century), laid great emphasis on love as the bond Shaikh Fariduddin Ganj I 1265 Ajodhan
between God and the individual soul. Shakar (Pakistan)
But their approach led them into conflict with the Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya 1325 Delhi
orthodox elements who had Mansur executed for
heresy. Shaikh Nasiruddin Chiragh-I 1356 Delhi

Despite this setback, mystic ideas continued to spread

among the Muslim masses. Suhrawardi Silsilahs
The Suhrawardi order entered India at about the same
Influence of Other Religions on Sufism time as the Chishtis by Shaikh Shihabuddin Umar
The monastic organisation of the Sufis, and some of Suhrawardi (1145 – 1234 AD).
their practices such as penance, fasting and holding Unlike the Chishtis, the Suhrawardi saints did not
the breath are sometimes traced to the Buddhist and believe in leading a life of poverty.
Hindu yogic influence. They accepted the service of the state, and some of
Buddhism was widely prevalent in Central Asia them held important posts in the ecclesiastical
before the advent of Islam. department.
Yogis continued to visit West Asia even after the The Chishtis, on the other hand, preferred to keep
advent of Islam and the yogic book, Amrit-kund, had aloof from state politics and shunned the company of
been translated into Persian from Sanskrit. rulers and nobles. The most well-known saints of the
order were Shaikh Shihabuddin Suhrawardi and
Twelve Sufi Silsilahs Hamid-ud-Din Nagori.
However, the Sufi saints helped the rulers in their own
Around this time, the Sufis were organised in 12
way by creating a climate of opinion in which people
orders (or Silsilahs). A Silsilah was generally led by a belonging to different sects and religions could live in
prominent mystic who lived in a Khanqah along with peace and harmony.
his disciples.
While Mecca remained the holy of holies, the rise of
The link between the teacher or pir and his disciples popular saints provided a useful point of veneration
or murids was a vital part of the Sufi system. Every pir and devotion to the mass of Muslims within the
nominated a successor or wali to carry on his work. country.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
107

Qadiri Silsilahs It was during the reign of Akbar that Ajmer

This order was founded by Abdul-Qadir Gilani (1166 AD). emerged as one of the most important centre of
It is popular among the Muslims of South India. Sheikh pilgrimage. Moinuddin Chishti written several
Niamatullah was the first important Qadri to come to books including Anis al-Arwah and Dalil al-Arifin,
India. both of which deal with the Islamic law of living.
Nasir-ud-din Muhammad Jilani was the most important Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki
Qadri, who effectively organised the Qadiri order. He was a renowned Muslim Sufi mystic, saint and
This order was dominant in Sindh and Lahore. Shahjahan’s scholar of the Chishti order. He was a disciple of
eldest son Dara Shikoh was a follower of the Qadiri order. Moinuddin Chishti.
Naqshbandi Silsilahs He played a major role in establishing the order
securely in Delhi, which was earlier confined to
This order was founded by Baha-ud-din Naqshband Ajmer and Nagaur. He was followed by the first
Bukhari (1318-1389 AD), born in Bukhara. Mughal Delhi Sultan, Qutubuddin Aibak, who started the
emperor Babur was a follower of Ubaidullah Ahrar who construction of Qutub Minar.
was a Naqshbandi.
Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi was a contemporary of Akbar and Nizamuddin Auliya
Jahangir. He was against the liberal policies of Akbar He was a famous Sufi saint of Chishti order. He
which he criticise as un-Islamic. Sirhindi wanted to was born in 1238 AD in Badayun, Uttar Pradesh.
remove Hindu influences on Islam. He was also opposed His biography finds mention in Ain-i-Akbari, a
to the Shias. 16th century document written by Mughal
His work Maktubat is compiled into three volumes called emperor Akbar’s Wazir, Abu’l Fazl.
Durr-al- Ma’rifat, Noor-al-Khallaq and Ma’rifat-al-Haqa’iq, One of the kings of the Delhi sultanate during
in which he systematised the doctrine of the Nizamuddin Auliya lifetime was Qutub-ud-din
Wahadat-ul-Wujood. Mubarak Shah, the last ruler of Khilji dynasty.
Firdausi Silsilahs Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari
This order was popular in Bihar. It was popularised by He was born in 1318 and was the founder of what
Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya, who was a disciple of Khwaja would become one of the largest and most
Nizamuddin Firdausi, prominent saints of this order were influential Sufi Muslim order, the Naqshbandi.
Badruddin Samarqandi and Sheikh Sharfuddin Maneri.
Sheikh Rukn-ud-Din Abul Fateh
They practiced ascetic practice in forests and believed in
the philosophy of Wahadat-ul-Wujood. He was commonly known by the title
Rukn-e-Alam (pillar of the world) or Shah Rukne
Shattari Silsilahs Alam and was among the important Sufi saint
This order was introduced in India in the 15th century by from Multan.
Abdullah Shattari. He was the grandson and successor of Sheikh
Other prominent saints were Sharaf Wajihuddin of Gujarat Baha-ud-din Zakariya.
and Shah Pir of Meerut. The saints of this order claimed Baba Sain Mir Muhammed Sahib
direct contact with God.
He was popularly known as Mian Mir and was a
Important Sufi Saints famous Sufi saint, who resided in Lahore,
specifically in the town of Dharampura (in
Important Sufi Saints are discussed as follows : present day Pakistan). He belonged to the Qadiri
Moinuddin Chishti order of Sufism.
He is the most famous saint of the Chishti order. He was He is famous for being a spiritual instructor of
born in 1141 AD and died in 1236 AD. He became a disciple Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Mughal emperor
of the Chishti Saint Usman Harooni. He reached Ajmer Shahjahan. He is identified as the founder of the
along with Mu’izz ad-Din Mohammad and settled down. Mian Khail branch of the Qadiri order.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
108

Mullah Shah Badakhshi

He was popularly known as Mullah Shah. He was a 17th century Muslim Sufi and spiritual successor of the
famous Sufi saint Mian Mir (1550-1635 AD).
He belonged to the Qadiri order of sufism. He was the spiritual mentor of the Mughal prince Dara Shikoh Qadri
(1615-1659 AD) and his sister princess Jahanara Begum.
Burhanuddin ‘Gharib’
He studied under Nizamuddin Auliya. Burhanuddin succeeded the Sultan- ul-Mashaikh as caliph.
He allowed music and joy in the religious exercises at his convent. He remained for sometime at Daulatabad and
then left for Roza (Khuldabad), where he died.

Sources to Recount History of Sufism

n Kashf-ul-Mahjoob It is one of the most popular treatise on Sufism which contains a complete system of sufism with its
doctrine and practices.
n Fawid-ul-Fuwad It is book based on conversation of Saikh Nizamuddin Auliya with Amir Khusrau. It is compiled by
popular Persian poet Amir Hussan Rizzai.
n Malfuzat It is a collection of ten books comprising the discourses, question and answer sessions, sermons and dialogues
of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of Ahmadiyya movement.
n Makhtubat (Letters) It is written between sufies and their disciples. It became one of the important source to find more
about history of sufism tradition.
n Tazkirat al-Auliya It is a  collection  of ninety-six Sufi saints and their miracles (Karamat) by the 12th to 13th century
AD by Persian poet and mystic, Farid al-Din ‘Attar. ‘Attar’s only surviving prose  work comprises 72-chapters, beginning
with the life of  Jafar Sadiq, the Sixth  Shia  Imam and ending with the Sufi Martyr,
Mansur Al-Hallaj’s.
n Ulma They are the scholars of Islamic studies, who perform various religious, juridical and teaching functions to preserve
the Islamic traditions.
n Shari’a  It is a law which govern the muslim community.
It includes :
—Quran – Holy book
—Hadis – Traditions of prophet
—Qiyas – Reasoning by analogy
—Ijma – Consensus of the community.
n Wali It is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an  Islamic  saint. It is also referred as the more literal friend
of  God.
n Sufism and Tasawwuf Sufism known as tasawwuf in the Arabic-speaking world. Tasawwuf is  a form of Islamic
mysticism that emphasises introspection and spiritual closeness with God.
n Tasawwuf is an Arabic term for the process of realising ethical and spiritual ideals; meaning literally becoming a Sufi.
 INDIAN HISTORY
NCERT Notes
CHAPTER 18 109

The Mughal Empire

and Its Decline

Sources Class-VII New NCERT Chap 4 (The Mughal Empire), Class-VII Old NCERT Chap 7 (The Coming of the Mughals and the
Europeans), Class-VII Old NCERT Chap 1 (The Age Magnificence), Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 12 (Struggle for Empire in North
India-II (Mughals and Afghans 1525-1555), Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 1 (Consolidation of the Mughal Empire (Age of Akbar),
Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 14 (The Deccan and South India), Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 15 (India in the First Half of the
Seventeenth Century), Class-XI Old NCERT Chap 1 (Climax and Disintegration of the Mughal Empiere-I)

The Mughal Empire which lasted for more than 300 First Battle of Panipat
years (1526-1857 AD), was a period of national
integration with stability. It was a period of First Battle of Panipat (21st April, 1526) was fought near
flourishing art and culture in medieval India. a small village of Panipat (Haryana) between the Babur
and the Delhi Sultanate emperor Ibrahim Lodi.
The name ‘Mughal’ derives from Mongol, though
Mughal rulers claimed from ‘Timurids’ lineage. As per the historical sources, Babur forces numbered
Historically, the Mughals were descendants of two around 15000 with two dozen pieces of field artillery.
great lineages of Genghis Khan and Timur. Babar The forces of Ibrahim Lodi were much larger, estimated
was the founder and first emperor of Mughal around 40,000 men and 1000 elephants.
Dynasty. Babur’s army used gunpowder and artillery which
proved to be decessive in the battle.
Rulers of Mughal Empire Two of Babur’s artillery men’s Ustad Ali and Mustafa
played important role in it.
The important rulers of Mughal Empire were :
Ibrahim Lodi died in the battlefield and Babur became
Babur (1526–1530 AD) victorious. This laid the foundation of Mughal empire in
Delhi.
Zahir-ud-Din  Muhammad Babur, the eldest son of
Umar Sheikh Mirza, ascended the throne of Major Wars won by Babur
Fergana (Transoxiana, Central Asia) in 1494 AD at Battle Year Between
the age of 12. He tried to conquer his homeland, the
First Battle of 20th April, 1526 AD Babur and Ibrahim
city of Samarkand; however, he faced stiff Panipat Lodi
resistance from Uzbeks chief Shaibani Khan.
Battle of Khanwa 17th March, 1527 AD Babur and Rana Sanga
Babur forced to move towards Northern India where
Battle of Chanderi 29th January, 1528 AD Babur and Medini Rai
he defeated Ibrahim Lodi in First Battle of Panipat
(1526 AD) with the use of gunpowder, firearms and Battle of Ghaghra 6th May, 1529 AD Babur and Eastern
field artillery, first to do so. Afghan Confederates
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
110

Significance of Babur’s Advent conquered the provinces of Sarangpur, Mandesar,

Fort of Mandu, Champaner and Diu. With the
With the advent of Babur, for the first time since the
conquest of Gujarat, Humayun completed his
downfall of the Kushan Empire, Kabul and Qandahar
conquest in Central India.
(now in Afghanistan) became integral parts of India.
Battle of Chausa (1539 AD) The battle was fought
The control of Kabul and Qandahar strengthened
between Humayun and Sher Shah Suri in which
India’s foreign trade since these two towns were the
Humayun was defeated. It facilitated Sher Khan to
starting points for caravans meant for China and
march on to Delhi and Agra and occupied them.
Mediterranean.
Battle of Kannauj (1540 AD) Sher Shah Suri
Babur introduced new modes of warfare in India
defeated Humayun in the Battle of Kannauj. After the
through gunpowder and skilled combination of artillery
battle, Humayun fled to Iran and Sher Shah occupied
and cavalry.
Delhi. Humayun lost the battle because none of his
Babur was deeply learned in Persian and Arabic. His brother supported him.
famous memoirs, Tuzuk-i-Baburi, is considered one of
the classics of world literature written in now extinct Restoration of Humayun (1555-1556 AD)
Chagtai Turkish language. With the death of last Sur ruler Ismail Shah,
He laid out a number of formal gardens including Humayun got the opportunity to regain its kingdom
Bagh-e-Babur in Kabul where he was buried. in India. In two closely contested battles in 1555 AD,
he defeated the Afghans and recovered Delhi and Agra.
Humayun (1530-1540 AD), (1555-1556 AD) However, he did not live long to enjoy the victory as
Humayun succeeded Babur in December 1530 AD at he died from a fall from the first floor of the library
the young age of 23. building in 1556 AD at Delhi.
He had to deal with a number of problems left behind
by Babur. Immediately after the death of his father, Sur Empire (1540–55 AD)
Humayun divided his empire, giving Mewat to Hindal,
Sambhal to Askari and; Punjab, Kabul and Qandahar to The fifteen years (1540-1555 AD) of Afghan rule by
Kamran. Sher Khan (Sher Shah Suri) formed a breakage in
the history of Mughal Empire and known as the Sur
Humayun’s Expeditions Empire.
Humayun’s famous expeditions may be listed as follows :
Sher Shah
Expedition of Kalinjar (1531 AD) Six months after his
accession, Humayun besieged the powerful fort of Sher Shah ascended the throne of Delhi at the age of
Kalinjar in Bundelkhand. This fort, along with Bayana, 54. His original name was Farid and his father was a
Gwalior and Dholpur, formed the chain of forts small jagirdar at Jaunpur. The title of Sher Khan
protecting Agra from the South. The Chandela ruler was given to him by his ruler of Bihar for killing a
surrendered Kalinjar to Humayun after a siege of a month. lion.
He was allowed to keep the fort in return for accepting Sher Shah’s empire extended from Bengal to the
Humayun’s suzerainty and giving 12 tonnes of gold. Indus, excluding Kashmir. In the West, he conquered
Malwa and almost the entire Rajasthan.
Battle of Dauhariya (1532 AD) Humayun defeated
Mahmood Lodhi, the Afghan of Bihar in this battle. Major Battles of Sher Shah
Siege of Chunar (1532 AD) In 1532 AD, Humayun Battle Date Between Result
seized the fort of Chunar which was under Sher Shah Battle of 26th Sher Khan l
Mughal army defeated
Suri. It was also known as Gateway of Eastern India. Chausa June, and and Humayun fled to
But instead of following up his success by crushing the 1539 AD Humayun Agra.
routed Pathans, Humayun accepted the submission of Battle of 17th May, Sher Khan l
Sher Khan defeated the
Sher Shah, who promised to be loyal to the Mughals and Bilgram 1540 and Mughal army for the
sent one of his sons to Humayun as a hostage. Humayun second time.
l
Humayun took shelter at
Thus, the fort was returned to Sher Shah Suri. The the court of the Iranian
abandoning of Chunar siege was actually induced by the king Tahmasp.
fear of the Bahadur Shah, who was aiming at the Battle of 22nd Sher Khan l
The fort of Kalinjar was
conquest of Delhi. Kalinjar May, and Raja taken by Afghan forces
Wars with Bahadur Shah (1535-36 AD) Humayun 1545 AD Kirat Singh but, Sher Shah died
due to cannon burst.
waged wars with Bahadur Shah from 1535-36 AD and
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
111

Contribution of Sher Shah Land survey was carefully done and he introduced a
schedule of crop rates.
Amongst the foremost contributions of Sher Shah was
his re-establishment of law and order across the length Revenue officials called Amils and Qanungo were the
and breadth of his empire. His major reforms in different officials incharge of maintaining revenue record.
areas were as follows : All cultivable land were classified into three categories
i.e., good, middle and bad. The state’s share was
Central Administration one-third of the average produce and it was paid in
Sher Shah continued the strong central machinery of cash or crop.
administration. Land was measured using Sikandari gaz (32 points).
A number of villages comprised a pargana. The
pargana was under the charge of the shiqdar, for
Roadways
law and order and general administration, and the Sher Shah paid great attention to the fostering of trade
munsif or amil looked after the collection of land and commerce and the improvement of
revenue. communications in his kingdom.
Above the pargana was the shiq or sarkar under the He restored the old imperial road called the Grand
charge of the shiqdar-i-shiqdaran or faujdar and a Trunk Road, from the river Indus in the West to
munsif-i-munsifan. Sonargaon in Bengal.
He also built a road from Agra to Jodhpur and Chittor,
Important Officials
evidently linking up with the road to the Gujarat
Diwan-i-Wizarat – Revenue and Finance. seaports. He built a third road from Lahore to Multan.
Diwan-i-Ariz – In charge of Army.
Sarai
Diwan-i-Rasalat – Foreign Minister.
For the convenience of travellers, Sher Shah built a
Diwan-i-Insha – Minister of Communication. total 1700 sarai at a distance of every two kos (about
Barid – Intelligence. eight km) on these roads.
The Army Every sarai had several watchmen under the control of
Sher Shah set up a strong army in order to administer a shahna (custodian). His roads and sarais have been
his vast empire. He recruited soldiers directly. Every called ‘the arteries of the empire’.
soldier had his descriptive roll (chehra) recorded Trade and Commerce
and his horse branded with the imperial sign. Sher Shah also promoted the growth of trade and
Sher Shah set up cantonments in different parts of commerce. He directed his governors and amils to treat
the empire and a strong garrison was posted in each merchants and travellers well in every way, and not to
of them. harm them at all.
Judicial System Sher Shah made the local village headmen
(muqaddams) and zamindars responsible for any loss
Sher Shah gave immense importance to the judicial
that a merchant suffered on the roads.
system in empire.
The currency reforms of Sher Shah also helped in the
Kazis were appointed in different places to deliver
growth of commerce and handicrafts. His silver rupee
justice.
remained a standard coin for centuries after him.
But like old traditions in village, civil and criminal
He introduced Rupaya (a silver coin) and Dam
matters were managed by Panchayats or landlords.
(a copper coin).
Land Revenue System
Art and Architecture
Sher Shah insisted on measurement of the sown land.
Sher Shah was also a great builder. The tomb which he
The produce of land was no longer to be based on
built for himself at Sasaram is regarded as one of the
guess work. A crop rate (ray) was drawn up, laying
masterpieces of architecture.
down the state’s share of the different types of crops.
Sher Shah also built a new city on the bank of the
The share of the state was one-third of the produce.
Yamuna near Delhi known Old Fort (Purana Qila) and
The peasants were given the option of paying in cash
the fine mosque within it.
or kind, though the state preferred cash. All the
details were written down on a paper called patta. One of the finest works in Hindi, the Padmavat of
Malik Muhammad Jayasi, was completed during Sher
He started land assessment every year.
Shah’s reign.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
112

Akbar (1556-1605 AD) Akbar’s Military Campaigns

Against Details
Akbar, the greatest of the Mughal rulers, was
born at 1542 AD at Amarkot (Rajasthan). Malwa l
The expedition against Malwa was led by Adham Khan, son of
Akbar’s foster-mother, Maham Anaga. Baz Bahadur was badly
When Humayun died, Akbar was at defeated on 1561 AD.
Kalanaur in the Punjab. He was crowned Garh- l
The kingdom of Garh-Katanga (Northern Madhya Pradesh) was
there in 1556 AD at the young age of 13 Katanga under Sangram Shah.
years and 4 months. l
Mughal governor of Allahabad Asaf Khan defeated the Gonds
It was Akbar’s tutor Bairam Khan, who decisively.
served the Mughal emperor and even Chittor l
A major step in his campaign against the Rajput states was the
commanded the Second Battle of Panipat to siege of Chittor ruled by Rana Udai Singh.
consolidate the Mughal Empire in India. l
Chittor fell on 1568 AD after a gallant siege of six months. In
honour of the gallant Jaimal and Patta, two stone statues
The battle between the Mughals and the erected by Akbar at the gate of fort of Agra.
Afghan forces led by Hemchandla
Battle of l
In 1572, Rana Pratap succeeded Rana Udai Singh in Mewar.
Vikramaditya, took place once again at Haldighati Many embassies were sent by Akbar to accept Mughal
Panipat (Second Battle of Panipat) on 5th suzerainty but failed.
November, 1556 AD. Bairam Khan of l
In 1576, under Raja Man Singh Mughal forces defeated Mewar.
Mughal army decisively defeated Afghan Gujarat l
In 1572, At Surat, Akbar assaulted the Mirzas with the help of
forces. Hemu was captured and executed. Man Singh and Bhagwant Das of Amber. The Mirzas were
defeated and Gujarat came under Mughal control.
Regent of Bairam Khan Bengal l
The Afghans under Daud Khan had continued to dominate
Bairam Khan emerged as the most powerful Bengal and Bihar.
noble and became very arrogant. By this l
For the first time, Akbar advanced with a strong flotilla of boats
time, Akbar also wanted to assume full and in a stiff battle in Bihar in 1576 AD, Daud Khan was
defeated by the Mughals.
control.
Ahmad l
The Mughal invasion was led by Prince Murad, who was the
Akbar removed Bairam Khan as Wakil and nagar governor of Gujarat and by Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khana against
asked him to retire to Mecca for pilgrimage, Chand Bibi.
though he was killed by an Afghan near l
The two sides in the end came to an agreement in 1596 AD.
Ahmedabad. Mughal suzerainty was also recognised.
Bairam Khan’s son later became an Khandesh l
The fort of Asirgarh in Khandesh was reputed to be the
influential noble under Akbar as Abdur strongest fort in the Deccan. After a tight siege, it surrendered
Rahim Khan-i-Khana. on 1601 AD to Mughals.
l
Prince Daniyal, the youngest son of Akbar, concluded a peace
with Murtaza Nizam Shah II.
The Nine Gems (Navratnas) of Akbar
1. Raja Man Singh He was the Chief of Staff
of the Mughal Army.
Rajput Policy of Akbar
2. Miyan Tansen A renowned singer in To win over the friendship of Rajput rulers and using their
Mughal court who composed many ragas. loyalty and bravery to strengthen his own position were the
3. Mulla Do-Piyaza Minister of Home twin pillars of the Rajput Policy of Akbar.
Affairs in Akbar’s court. Akbar developed special relationship with the Rajput rulers.
4. Raja Birbal Foreign Minister and the only Rajputs became the important supporters and strength of the
Hindu to convert to Din-i Ilahi. Mughal Empire.
5. Abu’l-Fazl Grand Wazir or Prime
As the relationship grew, Rajputs were assigned by position of
Minister.
responsibilities. Akbar made the Rajputs not only his friends,
6. Faizi Minister of Education and mentor of
but also took many Rajput princess as his bride.
royal Princes.
7. Fakir Aziao-Din Minister of Religious He established matrimonial alliances with the Royal families of
Affairs. the Rajput states of Amber, Bikaner and Jaisalmer. Raja
8. Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khana Defence Bharmal Kachhwaha of Amber married his eldest daughter to
Minister, wrote numerous Dohas in Akbar.
Hindi. Raja Bhagwan Das (Raja Bharmal’s heir) and Man Singh, son of
9. Raja Todar Mal Finance Minister; he was Bhagwan Das were subsequently given senior positions in the
famous for framing Dahsala system. imperial hierarchy. They were given 5000 and 7000 Zat ranks
respectively.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
113

Soon other, Rajput rulers also followed the The basic purpose of the formulation of Din-i-Ilahi was
Kachhwahas and established friendly relations with Sul-i-Kul or universal harmony which governed all
Akbar. This included Rathore of Jodhpur, Bhatis of public policies of Akbar.
Jaisalmer, Hadas of Ranthambore etc.
Tenets of Din-i-Ilahi (1582)
Only the Sisodias of Mewar refused to accept
It could be adopted on Sunday by performing paibos
Mughal paramountcy and kept on struggling for its
(the emperor placed his feet on the head of the
survival as a fully sovereign state under its rulers
initiated), following which Akbar gave Shat (formula).
like Udai Singh, Rana Pratap etc.
The initiated had to express greeting in the form of
Religion and Social Reforms Allah-O-Akbar and Jalle-Jalaluhu.
One of the first actions which Akbar took, after he He had to abstain from eating meat and had to give alms.
had taken power in his own hands, was to abolish There were no scriptures or priests.
the poll tax or jizyah. At the same time, Akbar Tauhid-i-Ilahi had four grades of devotion in the
abolished the pilgrim tax as well. He also abolished ascending order sacrifice of property, life, honour and
the practice of forcibly converting prisoners of war to religion.
Islam. Birbal, Abu’l Fazl and Faizi joined the order. Badauni
Akbar’s initiated a policy of religious harmony believed that Akbar was creating a new religion but
named Sulh-i-Kul or ‘peace to all’. According to contemporary historians believe that he was only trying
which, a true ruler solely depended on divine to attain the status of Insaan-i-Kamil.
illumination (farr-i-izadi). Hence, no one could stand
between God and a true ruler. Jahangir (1605–1627 AD)
Akbar also set up a new religion Din-i-Ilahi or Jahangir, the eldest son of Akbar, succeeded in 1605 AD
Tauhid-i-Ilahi which literally means Divine to the throne. Under his reign, the Mughals played a key
Monotheism. However, many leading nobles, except role in stabilising India’s relations with neighbouring
Birbal, declined to join. The number of this group such as Iran, the Uzbeks and the Ottoman Turks.
was eighteen only.
The main achievement of Jahangir, was the settlement
Ibadat Khana of the outstanding dispute with Mewar. He launched
three successive campaigns and in 1613 a peace treaty
In 1575, Akbar built a hall called Ibadat Khana or the
was accorded by Prince Khurram (later Shah Jahan) to
Hall of Prayer at his new capital, Fatehpur Sikri. To Mewar.
this, he called selected theologians to discuss
religious and spiritual topics with them. Jahangir was the first Islamic emperor to introduce the
fashion of men wearing costly jewels in their ears after
The proceedings, at first, were confined to the piercing them.
Muslims. Later, he opened Ibadat Khana to Christians,
Zoroastrians, Hindus, Jains, even atheists. Jahangir after killing Nur Jahan’s first husband, Sher
Afghan, married to her in 1611 AD. Her father,
Akbar invited Purushottam and Devi to explain the
Itimaduddaula, had been made joint diwan by Jahangir.
doctrines of Hinduism, and Maharaji Rana (Meherji
Rana) for Zoroastrianism.
Akbar also sent an embassy to Goa and two Christian Nur Jahan
missionaries Aquaviva and Monserrate came to
n Nur Jahan along with her father Itimaduddaula and
brother Asaf Khan, and in alliance with Khurram,
Akbar’s court. Jain saint of Kathiawar, Hira Vijaya
formed a group or junta.
Suri participated in Ibadat Khana.
n Coins were issued in her name and she was given the
The debates in the Ibadat Khana had not led to a title of Badshah Begum.
better understanding. Hence, in 1582 AD, Akbar n Under Mughal rule, no woman had reached such an
discontinued the debates in the Ibadat Khana. important position earlier.
Din-i-Ilahi n She lived a retired life till her death and was buried at
Lahore.
The Din-i-Ilahi was a syncretic religion propounded
by Akbar in 1582 AD. He wanted to merge the best
elements of the religions of his Empire.
Rebellion of Prince Khurram and Mahabat Khan
The elements were primarily drawn from Islam and Towards the end of Jahangir’s reign, a struggle for
Hinduism, but some others were also taken from power took place between prince Khurram and prince
Christianity, Jainism and Zoroastrianism. Shahryar, Jahangir’s youngest son and the son-in-law
of Nur Jahan.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
114

Prince Khurram captured Bihar and Bengal. Asaf Ahmednagar (1633 AD) Shah Jahan pursued the
Khan supported Khurram in the civil war which Mughal designs of the complete conquest of the Deccan.
lasted for more than three years. The royal forces However, it could not be completed during Shahjahan.
recaptured Bengal and Bihar and Khurram had to After the death of Malik Ambar, his son, Fateh Khan
seek shelter in Deccan. failed to get the cooperation of the Nizam Shahi nobles
Khusrau was imprisoned and blinded to disqualify and consequently surrendered to the Mughals.
him as an emperor. One of Khusrau’s well-wishers, Ahmednagar was annexed to the empire in 1633 AD.
Guru Arjan Dev (5th Guru of the Sikhs), was Other Deccan States Next Shah Jahan forced the
beheaded. kingdoms of Bijapur and Golconda to accept his
Finally, Khusrau died at Burhanpur in 1621 AD. overlordship. Both Bijapur and Golconda signed a treaty
Another revolt was led by Mahabat Khan who had with the emperor in 1636 AD.
been deprived of his office. Khandesh, Berar, Telangana and Daulatabad were made
Crossing the river Jhelum, on the way to Kabal, into four Mughal provinces. This brought 20 years of
Mahabat Khan attacked Jahangir and his royal party peace to the Deccan, till war broke out again in 1656 AD.
in 1626 AD. However, the diplomacy of Nur Jahan Marathas, Portuguese and Kamarup Shah Jahan lured
saved the situation. some Maratha leaders into his service. The most
influential among them was Shahji Bhonsle.
Shah Jahan (1628–1658 AD) Shah Jahan also expelled the Portuguese from Hooghly,
Jahangir breathed his last at Lahore on 1627 AD and as they were abusing their trading privileges and
Shah Jahan became next Emperor with all his rivals indulging in piracy and slave-trade. Kamarup was also
were murdered by his order. annexed.
In the areas of Art and Architecture, Shah Jahan’s Central Asia Kandahar and Transoxiana Shah Jahan’s
reign is considered as ‘Golden Era in Medieval policy towards Central Asia was to secure a possession
India’. of Kandahar, which the Persians had re-occupied during
The reign of Shah Jahan marked as successful the Jahangir’s reign. He had recovered Kandahar in 1638
conquest of Deccan with the treaties with Bijapur AD, only to lose it in 1649 AD. But his three expeditions
and Golconda in 1636 AD. It helped Mughals could to regain it were without success.
expand their area of dominance to large parts of Thus, Kandahar was forever lost to the Mughal Empire.
Southern India. Shah Jahan, wanting to conquer Badakshan and Balkh,
Shah Jahan’s reign also marked with continuous sent his forces there in 1646 AD, but the campaign proved
struggle with Safavid (Iran) empires for the territory a failure.
of Qandahar (Afghanistan). However, despite of The Mughal inability to fight prolonged wars in
various attempts, the Mughals failed to capture mountains frustrated Shah Jahan’s ambitions to conquer
Qandahar. Transoxiana, his ancestral lands.
The Mughals lost more than 5000 lives during their
successive invasions between 1638 AD and 1647
Wars of Succession
AD. Shah Jahan became more realistic and stopped The last years of Shah Jahan’s reign were surrounded by
dreaming of ruling over his former ancestral lands. a bitter war of succession among his sons. Shah Jahan
rallied in favour of his eldest son Dara Shikoh
Conquests by Shah Jahan as his successor (wali-ahd) and gave the title-
Shahzada-e-Buland Iqbal (Prince of High Fortune).
Bundelas and Afghans In the first year of his reign,
Shah Jahan had to overcome the revolts of the
Bundelas at Bundelkhand and the Afghan noble Dara Shikoh ‘Most Learned Prince’
named Khan Jahan Lodhi, an ex-viceroy of Deccan. n Dara Shikoh was the most learned Prince of Mughal
During Jahangir’s reign, Bir Singh Bundela had Empire.
become the emperor’s favourite by assassinating n Dara Shikoh wrote  Majma-ul-Bahrayn  (The Meeting
Abul Fazl. After his death, his son Jujhar Singh Place of the Two Seas), a famous book about the
succeeded him. Jujhar and his son, Vikramajit, similarities between Islam and the monotheistic streak of
Hinduism.
rebelled against the Mughals, but the imperialist
n He also had the Upanishads translated in Persian text
forces pursued them relentlessly and eventually
called  Sirr-i Akbar  (The Greatest Secret).
murdered them.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
115

Three Major Wars of Succession Rathore ruler of Marwar, Sisodiya ruler of Mewar
and Ajmer were the close allies of Aurangzeb.
Battle Date Result
Jai Singh, until the death of Aurangzeb in 1707 AD.
Battle of Dharmat 1658 AD Both Raja Jaswant Singh and Shuja Jaswant Singh was given the responsibility of
(District Indore, were defeated by Aurangzeb.
MP) suppressing revolts in Afghanistan.
Aurangzeb has the most Rajput officials in his court
Battle of 29th Aurangzeb defeated Dara Shikoh
than any other Mughal ruler.
Samugarh (near May, Shah Jahan besieged in fort of Agra
Agra, UP) 1658 AD by Aurangzeb.
Aurangzeb’s Religious Policy
Battle of Deorai March The last major battle between Dara It is believed that he reversed Akbar’s policy of
(near Ajmer, 1659 AD and Aurangzeb. Dara was defeated
Rajasthan) and executed along with his son,
religious toleration and thus undermined the loyalty
Sulaiman Shikoh in 1661 AD. of the Hindus to the Empire.
A compendium of Aurangzeb’s rules and regulations
had been collected in a work called
Aurangzeb (1658-1707 AD) ‘Zawabit-i-Alamgiri’.
During Aurangzeb’s long reign of 49 years, the Mughal His prohibitive steps were as follows :
Empire reached its territorial climax, more than as it
— Discontinuation the kalma on coins.
was during Akbar’s reign.
— Discontinuation of the festival of Nauroz.
Aurangzeb proved to be a hardworking ruler and a strict
disciplinarian who did not spare his own sons. — Official department of history-writing
discontinued.
In 1686 AD, he imprisoned prince Muazzam on a
charge of intriguing with the ruler of Golconda and kept — Aurangzeb discontinued the practice of
him in prison for 12 long years. jharoka-darshan.
Unlike his predecessors, Aurangzeb did not like — Appointment of Muhtasibs to check and promote
extravagant lifestyle. the Sharia laws.
His personal life was marked by simplicity. In course of — Ban on singing and dancing in the court.
time, he began to be regarded as a Zindapir or a living Steps against Hindus
saint.
During his reign, Aurangzeb ordered in 1665 AD
Rajput Policy of Aurangzeb order to demolish many temples including temple of
Somnath at Gujarat, temple of Vishwanath at
Aurangzeb gave immense importance to friendship Banaras and the temple of Keshava Rai at Mathura.
with Rajput. To gain more support of Maharana of
Mewar, he increased his position from 5000 zat to Aurangzeb re-introduced jizyah or the poll tax,
6000 zat. which was abolished by Akbar.

Revolts During Reign of Aurangzeb

Revolt Cause/Description
Cooch- Behar The first 10 years of Aurangzeb’s rule were militarily and politically a great success. By 1661 AD, Mughal Governor of
and Ahom Bengal, Mir Jumla, seized Cooch-Behar and marched up the Brahmaputra.
Next year, he entered Garhgaon (near Gauhati), the Ahom capital. The Ahom army was defeated, but Mughals failed to
suppress the feelings of regional independence, among the people of Ahom kingdom. Finally, Mir Jumla made peace
with the Ahom Raja. After Mir Jumla’s death, Aurangzeb appointed Shaista Khan as Governor of Bengal.
Afghan Revolt In 1667 AD, Afghans revolted under leadership of Bhagu. It was suppressed by Mughal subedar Amir Khan. In 1672 AD,
Afghans again revolted under leadership of Akmal Khan Afridi.
Satnami Peasants The revolt by the Satnami peasants of Punjab in 1672 AD was sparked off by a minor dispute between a Satnami peasant
of Punjab and a Mughal foot soldier. Satnamis established an independent government, but the imperial army crushed the
rebellion.
Bundelkhand The Bundelas under the leadership of Champat Rai and Chhatrasal Bundela in Bundelkhand revolted against the
reactionary policies of Aurangzeb. Chhatrasal attacked imperial troops and began collecting Chauth (tax) from the
neighbouring tracts of the Mughal empire.
Jat Revolt The cruelty committed by Abd-un-Nabi, the faujdar of Mathura, aroused the Jats around Mathura and Agra to rise in
Revolt in 1699-70 AD.
Gokula, a zamindar of Tilpat, became the Jat leader and killed the faujdar. The emperor himself marched to the area
and put down the rebellion temporarily by capturing and executing Gokula (1669 AD).
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
116

Revolt Cause/Description
Sikh Revolts Guru, Tegh Bahadur, opposed the religious policy of Aurangzeb openly and resented against it, in a public meeting.
Aurangzeb arrested him and forced him to accept Islam. Guru’s refusal led to his torture and finally his execution. In
1675 AD, Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded on the orders of the Qazi of Delhi.
Guru Gobind the tenth guru of the Sikhs, reinterpreted the Sikh ideologies to justify military action and createdKhalsa
(the army of pure). After the death of Gobind Singh, the Khalsa rose in revolt against Mughals, under the leadership of
Banda Bahadur.
North- Western The most serious revolt against Aurangzeb, however, was done by Rajputs of Jodhpur. This begun when Maharaja
India (Marwar) Jaswant Singh died in the North-Western tribal region in 1678 AD. He had no heirs, but one of his pregnant queens gave
birth to his son Ajit Singh.

Decline of Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire had become highly centralised and too large to be controlled by any ruler from one centre i.e.
Delhi. The Great Mughals till the reign or Aurangzeb) were efficient and exercised control over administration
and army; however the later Mughals were weak and lacking foresightedness.
During the last years of Aurangzeb’s reign, the number of jagirdars appointed had risen to such a great number
that there was a serious shortage of paibaqi land (land earmarked to be given as jagirs). This created huge crisis in
jagirdari system among nobles and the Mughal Emperor.
Aurangzeb Deccan policy was another cause of downfall of the Mughal dynasty. His religious persecution against
the Shia kingdoms of Bijapur and Golconda and waged a long, endless war against the Marathas inflicted
disagreement among his own nobles and mansabdars.

Russia

India
Kabul Mughal Empire
Afghanistan (in 1700 AD)
Peshawar

Qandhar Lahore China

Multan Jalandhar
SIKHS
Panipat Tibet
Pakistan
Iran Mewar Delhi Koil Ne
Jats pal
Rajputs Mathura Agra Bhutan
Ajmer Amber
Jodhpur Banaras
Gwalior
Ban

Chittorgarh Allahabad
glad

Bundela Patna
Ahmedabad
esh

India
Myanmar
Nizamshahis
Aurangabad
Arabian Sea
Golconda
Bijapur
Bay of Bengal
Goa Bijapur
(Portuguese) (Marathas)
Chandragiri
Laks

Mughal Empire
h adw

Modern Name
rs
eep

lyga
Po
(India

Sri
)

Lanka
200 0 100 400
Indian Ocean
 INDIAN HISTORY
NCERT Notes
CHAPTER 19 117

Mughal Administration,
Society, Economy and Arts

Sources Class-X Old NCERT Chap 1 (The Heritage of India), Class-XI New NCERT Chap 1 (Post-Mauryan Trends in
Indian, Art and Architecture), Class-XI New NCERT Chap 1 (Some Aspects of Indo-Islamic Architecture),
Class-XI New NCERT Chap 1 (Temple Architecture and Sculpture)

Bairam Khan’s regency saw the rise of the wakil-wazir

Mughal Administration with unlimited powers. Akbar took away the financial
The Mughal Emperors initiated many political, powers of the wakil and entrusted it into the hands of the
administrative developments in its Administration. Diwan-i-Kul (Finance Minister).
They not only developed highly efficient
governance but also ensured effective working of
Important Officials in Central Administration
both at the central as well as provincial levels. Diwan-i-Kul His duty was to supervise the imperial
treasury and check all accounts. Akbar entrusted the
Central Administration revenue powers to the Diwan. The entire revenue
collection and expenditure machinery was under his
The Mughal administrative structure was highly
charge.
centralised in nature. This centralisation is
manifested in the efficient working of land revenue The central revenue ministry had many sub-departments
system, mansab and jagir, uniform coinage, etc. such as Diwan-i-Aalisa, Diwan-i-Tan (For cash salary),
Diwan-i-Jagir, Diwan-i Buyutat (Royal household), etc.
In spite of the vast range of powers enjoyed by the
Central ministers, the Mughals prevented any Mir Bakhshi He was the head of the military
minister or officer from gaining unlimited powers administration and also incharge of intelligence
through a system of checks and balances. gathering. Intelligence officers (barids) and news
reporters (waqia-navis) were appointed under him.
The Emperor Recommendations for military appointments and
The concept of supreme leader traditions had promotions to the Emperor were also done by him.
always special feature of the Mughal Empire. The Mir Saman The Mir Saman was the officer in-charge of
Mughal king considered as of divine origin among the royal karkhanas. He was also known as
the Indian people. With that reason, all officers in Khan-i-saman. He was responsible for the purchase of all
Mughal administration owed their position and kinds of articles and their storage for the royal
power to the Emperor, which were subject to the household. He also used to supervise the manufacture of
ruler’s personal preferences. weapons of war and articles of luxury. Under the Mir
The position of emperor was hereditary. Saman, there was Tahsildar (Cash keeper).
Wazir Sadr-us Sudur The Sadr-us Sudur was the head of the
religious department. His chief duty was to protect the
The institution of Wazir saw great significance
laws of the shariat. He was also connected with the
during the period of Mughals. The Wazir enjoyed
distribution of charities – both cash (Wazifa) and land
both the civil and military powers.
grants (Suyurghal, in’am, madad-i ma’ash).
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
118

Qazi-ul-Quzzat He was the head of the judiciary Local Administration

and was known as Qazi-ul-Quzzat. His principal
duty was to administer the shariat law both in At the local level in the Mughal Empire, it was known as the
civil and criminal cases. In the capacity of the Sarkar, Pargana and Mauza (village) levels.
chief qazi, he looked into the appointment of the
Sarkars (Districts)
qazis in the suba, sarkar, pargana and town
levels. There was a separate qazi for army also. In Mughal administration, provinces were further divided
into Sarkars (Districts).
Provincial Administration Important officials of Sarkars were :
Mughal rulers also paid great attention to the — Faujdar He was the executive head of the sarkar. His duty
organisation of the provincial governments. The was mainly to take care of rebellions, and law and order
Mughal Empire divided into 15 subas. These were problems. His jurisdiction was decided according to the
-Bengal, Bihar, Allahabad, Awadh, Agra, Delhi, needs of the region. In special circumstances, he was to
Lahore, Multan, Kabul, Ajmer, Malwa, Gujarat, help the amalguzar in matters of revenue collection.
Ahmednagar, Khandesh and Berar. — Amalguzar The most important revenue collector was the
Subedar (Provincial Governor) The governor of amil or amalguzar. His primary duty was to assess and
a suba (Subedar) was directly appointed by the supervise the revenue collection through other
Emperor. Usually the tenure of a subedar was subordinate officials. Daily receipts and expenditure
around three years. He looked after the welfare reports were sent by him to the provincial diwan.
of the people and the army. He was responsible — Qazi The office of Qazi was responsible for judicial
for the general law and order problem in the administration in Saukars (Districts). He provides justice
suba. He was supposed to take up welfare in both civil and criminal matter where one or both parties
activities like construction of sarais, gardens, were Muslim.
wells, water reservoirs, etc.
Diwan He was the head of the revenue Pargana
department in the suba. The provincial diwan Parganas were the administrative units below Sarkar. The
was appointed by the Emperor. He supervised Shiqdar was the executive officer of the Parganas.
the revenue collection in the suba and Important officials of Pargana were :
maintained accounts of all expenditure incurred
— Shiqdar He was the executive officer of the pargana and
in the suba. A Roznamcha (Daily register) was
maintained by the diwan which carried entries assisted the amils in revenue collection.
of amount that was deposited in the royal — Amil He looked after the revenue collection at the pargana
treasury. level also. His duties were similar to those of the
Bakhshi The Bakhshi was appointed by the amalguzar at the sarkar level.
imperial court at the recommendation of the Mir — Qanungos He kept all the records pertaining to the land in
Bakhshi. He was responsible for checking and his area. He was to take note of different crops in the
inspecting the horses and soldiers maintained by pargana.
the mansabdars in the suba. He issued the — Faujdar He used to be the treasure of Pargana. It was his
paybills of both the mansabdars and the responsibility to protect treasury of Parganas.
soldiers. It was his duty to prepare a list of
— Karkun He used to be the clerk of Pargana, his
deceased mansabdars. To facilitate his work, he
posted his agents in the parganas and various responsibility is to keep the records of revenue and
important offices. expenditures.
Darogha-i-Dak At every suba headquarters, Mauza
Darogha-i-Dak was appointed for
During the Mughal period, villages were known as Mauza.
communication network purpose. A number of
dak chowkis were also maintained throughout Important officials of villages were :
the Empire where postal runners (Mewras) were — Patwari He keeps all the records of land in a village and
stationed who carried the post to the next get the commission of 1 cp in every land sale or purchase.
chowki. His duty was to pass on letters through He is the lowest rank of treasury department.
the postal runners to the court. Horses and boats — Muqaddam He was the village headman and he was
were also used to help in speedy delivery. responsible for the welfare of village.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
119

Other Important Departments of Local Administration Akbar implemented land measurement system in
every part of his kingdom.
Post Details
During the reign of Akbar, there were two other
Kotwal His primary duty was to safeguard the life and
property of townsmen. land revenue systems that is ‘Gallabakshi’ and
‘Batai’. These systems fixed the division of crop
Qiladar In-charge of the fort
between the farmers and empire.
Mutasaddi Governor of the port
Another important procedure of deciding land
revenue was called as Kankut. Under this system,
Judicial System prediction of revenue was made on the basis of crop.
Mughal justice system was Islamic justice system, the The Dahsala System
basis of which is Quaran, Hadith and Shariya.
Akbar instituted Dahsala system in 1580 AD with
According to Abul-Fazal, the emperor use to protect the help of Todar Mal. Under this system, the
four rights of his citizens and they were-life, property, average produce of different crops as well as the
honour and religious faith. average prices prevailing over the last ten (Dah)
Mughal emperor use to be the supreme judge of all years was calculated. One-third of the average
matters in justice system. produce was the state share and stated in cash.
Civil matters of Hindus were dealt according to Hindu Dahsala calculation was done on the basis of a
Personal laws and matter of Muslims by Muslim schedule of average prices over the past ten years.
Personal laws. But, if one party is Muslim and another is The state always used to modify it time to time.
Hindu in the matter then Islamic laws is used for The Dahsala system was a further development of
judicial process. In the criminal matters only Islamic the Zabti system. In fact it was the system of
laws are used. measurement and the assessment. It is sometimes
Matters other than religious are heard by Mir-ae-Adal. called Todar Mal’s Bandobast.

Monetary System Batai/Ghallabakhshi

Another system of assessment under Akbar was
Babur in Kabul started silver Sarukhi and Baburi
called batai or ghallabakhshi. In this system, the
named coins in Kandhar.
produce was divided between the peasants and the
Akbar started various gold, silver and copper coins of
state in fixed proportion.
different weights and values. Akbar also introduced a
gold coin named Asharafi. Under batai, the peasants were given the choice of
paying in cash or kind.
Akbar introduced practice of inscribing Persian poetry
praising the ruler on coins. Nasaq
Akbar began dating his coins as per new ‘Illahi era’. A third system which was widely used in Akbar’s
Nisar named silver coin stated by Jahangir. time was nasaq. It was a rough calculation on the
Aurangzeb started inscribing Kalma (prayer) on coins. basis of what peasant had been paying in the past.
It is also called Kankut or estimation.
Revenue Administration
During Mughal period, land revenue and other taxes Classification of Land
were major source of income. Zakat tax to be collected Land was classified into following four types :
from Muslim (2.5% of property) and Jaziya tax on n Polai Continuously cultivated and very fertile.
n Parauti Left fallow for a year or two to recover its
Hindu’s are also included in revenue.
productivity.
Apart from this, Khums (booty of war) was also a part of
n Chachhar Left fallow for 3-4 years.
revenue.
n Banjar Uncultivable land.

Land Revenue Administration

In Mughal period particularly Akbar, paid personal The Army
attention to the land revenue system. He adopted Sher
Cavalry and elephantry were the main basis of the
Shah’s system, by which the cultivated area was measured
Mughal army including artillery.
and a crop rate (ray) was drawn up.
The contingents were mixed group of Mughal,
Zabti system of measuring land was used during
Pathan, Hindustani and Rajput. Akbar also kept an
Mughal period. According to size of land, its total land
efficient collection of war boats.
revenue is estimated.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
120

There is a new methodology adopted in the Mughal Types of Jagir

army by Akbar that was Dagh and Chehra. For this Types Nature Meaning
purpose, the soldier’s horse was branded with the
imperial marks, called the dagh system. With the Tankha Jagirs Transferable It is given in lieu of salaries.
requirement of best and competitive soldiers, a Mashrut Jagirs Transferable It is given on certain conditions.
descriptive roll (Chehra) of the soldier was included. Watan Jagirs Hereditary and It is assigned to Zamindar or
Non-Transferable Rajas in their local dominions.
The Ahadis : Most Trusted Troops Al-Tamgha Hereditary and It is given to Muslim nobles in
n Mughal emperors used to carry the individual Jagirs Transferable their place of birth.
troopers, called ahadis. They received much higher
salaries and highly trusted corps, being recruited
Note In Mughal period, only Autonomous Rajas were allowed to
directly by the emperors.
continue with their traditional land revenue system in their
n The Mughal Emperors also maintained a corps of territories.
royal bodyguards (Walashahis). The footmen
(Piyadgan) formed a miscellaneous body of troops. Society During Mughal Period
Society during Mughal phase was feudal and majority
Mansabdari System of its population is dependent on agriculture.
Mughal Emperor Akbar introduced Mansabdari There were high influential elites in provinces and
system in Mughal Empire. The word ‘Mansab’ is of center, who were wealthy.
Arabic origin meaning rank or position. The origins Farmers, workers, servants, slaves, beggars etc came
of the mansabdari system related with Changez Khan. under lower middle class and middle class.
Under the mansabdari system, every officer was In North India, people use wheat, dal and vegetables
assigned a rank (Mansab). The lowest rank was 10 and in Southern and East India rice and fish was
and the highest upto 7000 for the nobles. Princes with consumed more.
blood relations always received higher mansabs.
Banjaras were important trader class of medieval era.
The mansab system developed gradually under
Artisans and merchant belong to both higher class and
Akbar. At first there was only one rank (Mansab) but
middle class.
from 1594-95 AD, the ranks were divided into
two—zat and sawar. Economy During Mughal Period
The word zat means personal. It fixed the personal
India had a large class of rich traders and merchants,
status of a person, and also the salary due to him.
some of them being amongst the richest merchants of
The sawar rank indicated the number of cavalrymen
the world in the medieval times. The Indian trading
(sawars) a person was required to maintain.
classes were large in numbers, spread out all over the
The salary of the mansabdars generally not paid in country, well organised and highly professional.
cash, but by assigning them a jagir. The manasabdari
system was further moved forward by Jahangir and Some traders specialised in long distance,
inter-regional trade and were called Seth, Bohra, Modi,
Shah Jahan with minor modifications.
and Beoparis or Banik. There was a special class of
Du-Aspah and Sih-Aspah traders, the Banjaras, who specialised in carrying bulk
n Jahangir introduced a system whereby selected nobles goods, such as textiles, silks, etc.
could be allowed to maintain a large quota of troopers, Boat traffic on waterways, and coastal trade along the
without raising their zat rank. seashore was highly developed during this period. The
n This was the du-aspah (a trooper with two horses) or movement of trade across the region was made possible
sih-aspah (a trooper with three horses) system. through agents (Gumashtas) and commission agents
(Dalals).
Jagirdari System
The Jagirdari system can be defined as system of Major Centres of Trade
land ownership. Mansabdars who were paid through n Bengal Sugar and rice as well muslin and silk.
land (Jagirs) were called Jagirdars. n Coast of Coromandel Textile production.
The Jagir assignment to Mansabdars, initiated by n Gujarat Fine textiles and silks (Patola), Entry point of
Akbar, was only meant to give rights to collect foreign goods.
revenue. Later Rajput Mansabdars were given more n Burhanpur and Agra Nodal points of trade in North India.
extensive rights of residence within their own n Malabar Pepper and spices.
homeland.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
121

Hundi System Under the rule of Jahangir, special progress was

made in portrait painting and paintings of animals.
The hundi was a letter of credit payable after a period
Mansur was the great name in this field.
of time at a discount. Movement of goods was
facilitated and done through the use of Hundis. The
Hundis often included insurance which was charged at
Literature During Mughal Period
different rates on the basis of value of the goods, Mughal Rulers were great patrons of literature and
destination, etc. laureates. During this period, many significant
The sarrafs (Shrofs) who specialised in changing biographies, memoirs and history texts were written.
money also specialised in dealing with Hundis. They Some of the important literary works were as follows :
also acted as private banks. The sarrafs helped in Baburnama It is an autobiography Babur written in
supplementing the money in circulation during this Chagtai Turkish language. Babur has given detailed
period. information about political, natural, economic
and environmental condition of India. He also
The Spread of Tobacco mentioned about the types of farming and crops
The Tobacco first arrived in the Deccan, spread to cultivated in India.
Northern India by the Portuguese. Humayunama It was written by Gulbadan Begum in
Akbar and his nobles came across tobacco for the first 1523 AD. The book is divided into two parts the first
time in 1604. However it became a major article of part consists of the life history of Babur and the
consumption, cultivation and trade all over India. second part consists of information about Humayun’s
rule.
Famous Merchants in Medieval Period Akbarnama It was written by Abul Fazl. Divided in
n Virji Vohra He set up agency houses across the Asia and three volumes, the book is the official chronicle of the
reputed to be amongst the wealthiest men of his time. reign of Akbar. Ain-i-Akbari was the last volume of
n Abdul Ghafur Bohra He left 55 lakh rupees in cash and this book.
goods and a fleet of 17 sea-going ships at the time of his Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri It is an autobiography of Jahangir
death in 1718 AD. and the primary source of his era.
n Malay Chetti, Kashi Viranna and Sunca Rama Chetti Padshahnama It is the first official document of
They were extremely wealthy of Coromandel region
Jahangir and gives detailed information about his
with extensive network in India and abroad.
rule.
Tarikh-i-Shahjahani It was written by Sadik Khan
Major Towns through the Eyes of Travellers and gives detailed information about the rule of Shah
According to Ralph Fitch, an English Merchant and Jahan.
traveller, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri were larger than Futuhat-i-Alamgiri The book was written by Isardas
London, then one of the biggest town in Europe. Nagar. It tells about the relation of Aurangzeb with
Anthony de Montserrat, the Jesuit priest of Portugal the Rajputs.
who came to Akbar’s court, stated that Lahore was
second to none of the cities in Europe or Asia. Music in Mughal Period
Francois Bernier, a French physician, who wrote in In Ain-i-Akbari, Abul Fazal suggests that there were
the middle of the 17th century, says that Delhi was not 36 musicians of high grade in the Mughal court of
less than Paris and that Agra was bigger than Delhi. Akbar.
Tansen was also one among the eight Maharatnas of
Mughal Paintings Akbar court, who is considered as greatest musician
The Mughals made distinctive contribution in the field of Indian history.
of painting. They introduced new themes depicting the Tansen said to have invented many rages.
court, battle scenes and the chase, and added new
Mughal emperors patronised music and music grown
colours and new forms.
during their period.
Under Akbar, European painting was introduced at the
At the court of Akbar, Hind and Islamic music
Mughal court by the Portuguese priests. Under their
mingled and became one.
influence, many new features were adopted. Daswant
and Basawan were two of the famous painters of Music was also a part of culture in society during
Akbar’s court. Mughal period.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
122

Mughal Art and Architecture

The establishment of Mughal Empire in India revolutionalised Indo-Islamic form of architecture and techniques that
they brought from Central Asia and Persia. Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, and especially Shah Jahan were
personally interested in literature, art and architecture.
Main characteristics of Mughal Architecture were bulbous domes, slender minarets, large halls, massive vaulted
gateways, delicate ornamentation, etc.

Bagh-e Babur (Kabul)

Babur was very fond of gardens and Bagh-e Babur was one of the earliest surviving Mughal gardens built by him.
After his death, Babur was buried in this garden in 1544 AD.

Mughal Architecture

Reign Monuments Description

Akbar The Humayun’s l

It was commissioned by Humayun’s wife Bega Begum and completed by Akbar in 1558 AD.
common use of Tomb l
It was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent.
sandstone arches
(mainly in a Agra Fort l
Built in 1565-73 AD in red sandstone by Akbar, this massive fort is first building to have many
decorative form) magnificent gates.
and the decoration
by brightly Fatehpur Sikri l
A palace-cum-fort complex, Fatehpur Sikri built in 1572 AD by Akbar.
coloured patterns l
It is based in Gujarat style of Architecture.
on the interiors
increased during Buland Darwaza l
It is located inside the complex of Fatehpur Sikri.
Akbar’s reign. l
It is completed in 1575 AD to commemorate Akbar’s victory over Gujarat.

Panch Mahal l
The Panch Mahal ‘Five-level Palace’ located inside the Fatehpur Sikri.
l
It was used for entertainment and relaxation purposes by royal woman.

Jahangir During Tomb of l

This is the tomb of Mirza Ghiyas, father of Nur Jahan.
his reign Red I'timad-ud- l
Important aspect of this tomb is its ornamentation in geometrical designs and mosaic techniques
sandstone was Daulah of Pietra-Dura.
replaced by Marble
and beginning of
l
It is often regarded as a draft of the Taj Mahal.
Pietra dura style of
Begum Shahi l
The Begum Shahi Mosque is an early 17th century mosque situated in Lahore, Pakistan. The
work in
Mosque mosque is in the style of the Persian Char Taq (four arches).
monuments.

Shah Jahan Red Fort l

Its massive, 2.5-km-long enclosing walls are made of red sandstone. The fort was completed in
Mughal 1643 AD. It was originally named Qila-i-Mubarak.
architecture
reached its zenith Jama Masjid l
Jama Masjid of Delhi is the largest mosques in India. It was built by between 1650 and 1656.
during his reign Taj Mahal l
This magnificent piece of art built by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal in
and is best 1649 AD.
remembered as the
golden age of l
It consists of a symmetrical building with an iwan (an arch-shaped doorway) topped by a large
Mughal period. dome and finial. Pietra Dura and Jali work.

Aurangzeb In this Bibi ka Maqbara l

It was built by Aurangzeb in 1660 AD in memory of his wife, Dilras Bano Begum in Aurangabad
period, squared (Maharashtra).
stone and marble
were replaced by Moti Masjid l
The mosque was built by Aurangzeb at the Red Fort for his second wife Nawab Bai in the year
brick and rubble 1659-1660 AD.
with stucco l
The mosque was originally covered in gilded copper.
ornamentation.
 INDIAN HISTORY
NCERT Notes
CHAPTER 20 123

Emergence of
Maratha Empire

Sources Class-VII Old NCERT Chap 1 (Climax and Disintegration of the Mughal Empire-II)

Rise of Marathas Misrule of Deccan Sultans The major factor that

helped to the rise of Marathas was the misrule of
The rise of the Marathas in the 17th century AD is a Deccan Sultans. A large portion of Marathwada was
significant and far-reaching event in the history of under the rule of the Nizam Shahis of Ahmednagar
Medieval India. and the Adil Shahis of Bijapur. They constantly
This rise of Maratha power is primarily due to Shivaji fought each other and due to which common people
who shaped the Marathas into a superb guerilla fighting suffered a lot.
force. The Marathas fought for the defence of their Shivaji’s Charismatic Personality Shivaji’s own
religion and territory against Mughal rulers. personality played a great part in the rise of the
The emergence of Maratha power can be asserted as a Maratha power.
‘Hindu’ reaction against the communal policies of He united different Maratha Chiefs and filled them
Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. with the feelings of self-respect and faith. He was not
only the maker of the Maratha nation, but also a
Causes for the Rise of Marathas brilliant leader of medieval India.
Geographical Location The geographical location of
the Marathwada (modern Maharashtra) region was one Maratha Rulers
important factor, which gave rise to Maratha power.
The region was encircled through Sahayadri, Satpura Shahji Bhonsle, Shivaji, Shambhaji, Rajaram I and
and Vindhya mountain range. So, many chieftains of Shahu were important maratha rulers.
this region developed a sense of autonomy.
Role of Bhakti Movement The spread of the Bhakti
Shahji Bhonsle
Movement in Western India inculcated the spirit of Shahji Bhonsle was the father of Shivaji Maharaj.
oneness among the Marathas. Many saints such as He acquired practical experience of war and tactics
Jnaneshvar, Namdev, Tukaram, and Samarth Ramdas under his father Maloji and Malik Ambar of
played a significant role in providing the Marathas a Ahmednagar.
cultural identity as well. Shahji also joined the Mughals during the reign of
Internal Conflicts There was struggle for control over Shah Jahan but later rebelled.
land among regional landlords such as deshmukhs, Shahji acted as the kingmaker in Ahmednagar and
mirasis and the uparis (outsiders). There was settled number of Maharashtrian Brahmins and
mal-administration everywhere. The common people Marathas in his Poona jagir. He acquired great fame
were tired of this oppression. and was renowned as a capable administrator.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
124

Shivaji : The Great Maratha Relations with Aurangzeb

Shivaji born at Shivneri on 10th April, 1627 AD, was the The relation between the Mughals and Marathas
youngest son of Shahji and Jija Bai. were always been competitive in the Deccan region.
After Shahji’s death, Shivaji was raised under the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb launched a full-fledged
guardianship of Dadaji Konddev and Guru Samarth campaign against the Marathas under the
Ramdas was his spiritual guru. leadership of Shaista Khan, who occupied Poona in
1660 AD. However, in return, Shivaji made a night
At the age of 18, Shivaji attacked a number of hill forts of
strike and killed all sons of Shaista Khan and forced
Poona, Rajgarh, Kondana and Torna.
him to escape.
After Dadaji Konddev’s death in 1647 AD, Shivaji
After the failure of Shaista Khan, Aurangzeb
became the sole in-charge of his Poona jagir as Shahji’s
deputed Raja Jai Singh of Amber to deal with
successor.
Shivaji. Jai Singh decided to strike at the heart of
Shivaji wanted to occupy all the possessions of Shahji, as Shivaji’s territories ‘Fort Purandar’. After long
a matter of legitimate right. period, Shivaji opened negotiations and treaty of
Military Expeditions of Shivaji Purandar was signed.

Shivaji showed his military tactics for the first time in Shivaji’s Visit to Agra
1645 AD as a teenager. He successfully got control of the Jai Singh persuaded Shivaji to visit Mughal
Torna fort which was under Bijapur. emperor at Agra, which proved a disaster. Shivaji
felt insulted when he was put in the category of
Battles fought by Shivaji
mansabdars of 5000—a rank which had been
Battle Date Detail granted earlier to his minor son.
Battle of 10th l
Between the forces of Shivaji and Shivaji walked off angrily and refused imperial
Pratapgarh November, the Adilshahi general Afzal Khan. service. He was later detained in the Agra fort, from
1659 AD The Marathas defeated the where he escaped on 1666 AD. Shivaji’s Agra visit
Adilshahi forces despite being
outnumbered.
proved to be the turning point in Mughal relations
with the Marathas.
Battle of Pavan 13th July, l
Shivaji, managed to escape from
Khind 1660 AD the battlefield. It resulted in losing Coronation and Grand Title
the Panhala fort of Maratha to
Adilshahi rulers. Shivaji was crowned as the King of Marathas on 6th
Battle of 2nd l
Between Shivaji and Uzbek
June, 1674, at Raigad Fort and founded the Maratha
Umberkhind February, General Kartalab Khan of Mughals. Empire. He also assumed titles of Chhatrapati,
1661 AD Shivaji was well-prepared and Shakakarta, Kshatriya Kulavantas and Haindava
defeated the Mughal forces. Dharmodhhaarak.
Battle of 2nd June, l
It was fought between the Mughal The Maratha Kingdom founded by Shivaji grew
Purandar 1665 AD Empire under Jai Singh and larger over time and became the dominant Indian
Shivaji. Mughal army killed
Maratha General Murarbaji,
power in the early 18th century.
Shivaji surrendered and treaty of
Purandar was signed. Major Forts of Shivaji
Battle of 4th l
It was fought to occupy Sinhagad Forts Location
Sinhagad February, fort, between Tanaji Malusare of
Sinhagad Fort Pune (Earlier known Kondhana)
1670 AD Maratha and Udaybhan Rathore of
Mughal army. Raigad Fort Mahad (Raigad District) (Coronation of
l
Maratha forces occupied the Shivaji)
Sinhagad fort but with the loss of
Shivneri Fort Pune (Birthplace of Shivaji)
Tanaji. Shivaji renamed the fort as
‘Sinhagad’ (Earlier ‘Kondhana Vijaydurg Fort Devgad (Sindhudurg District)
fort’).
Sindhudurg Fort Malvan (Sindhudurg District) (Most
Battle of 1679 AD l
The war the last battle in which Strongest Fort)
Sangamner the Maratha King Shivaji fought
against Mughal Empire. The Rajgad Fort Pune
Mughals attacked Shivaji with a
Pratapgad Fort Satara
large force and defeated. However
Shivaji escaped to Raigad. Lohagad Fort Pune
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
125

Administrative Structure Military Administration

The Maratha administration was essentially derived from Military organisation of Shivaji was largely based
the Deccani Sultanate structure of rule and Mughal on Fort system. During his life, Shivaji constructed
institutions. around 250 forts and not a single officer was
entrusted sole charge of a fort. Instead every fort
Central Administration there was a Havaldar, Sabnis and Sarnobat.
The nature of Maratha polity was essentially a The Havaldar was the in-charge of the keys of the
centralised and autocratic monarchy one but with the fort. The Sabnis controlled the muster-roll and
elements of benevolence. The king was at the head of the dealt with all government correspondences of the
affairs its chief objective was the happiness and fort. The Sarnobat was the in-charge of the
prosperity of his subjects (Raja Kalsya Karnaam). garrison.
Besides, there was Karkhanis who used to take care
Ashta-Pradhana System of grain stores and other material requirements.
To assist the king, there was a council of state ministers There was good system of checks and balances was
known as Ashta-Pradhana, which was devised by Shivaji. applied by Shivaji to keep them under control.
These offices were neither hereditary nor permanent. These Shivaji’s cavalry consisted of Bargirs and the
were :
Siledars. The bargir troopers were supplied horses
n Peshwa (Prime Minister) Head of both Civil and Military
and arms by the state while the siledars had to
Affairs.
bring their horses and arms.
n Mazumdar (Auditor) He looked into the income and

expenditure of the state. Shivaji maintained light cavalry and light infantry
n Wakins In charge of King’s Private Affairs.
trained in guerilla and hilly warfare. The Mevalis
n Dabir Foreign Secretary
and the Hetkaris were his most excellent troopers.
n Surnis (Superintendent) He used to take care of all the Later, under the Peshwas, the Pindharis who were
oficial correspondences. robbers and plunderers were also allowed to
n Pandit Rao Ecclesiastical (Priestly) Head accompany the Maratha army.
n Senapati Commander in Chief

n Nyayadhish Chief Justice

Maratha Navy
n Shivaji built a strong navy for Marathas as well. His
fleet was equipped with Ghurabs (gunboats) and
Next to Ashtapradhan was Chitnis (secretary), who dealt Gallivats (row boats with 2 masts).
with all diplomatic correspondences and wrote all royal n Shivaji used his naval power to check both Siddis
letters. The letters of commanders of forts was and European trade powers.
responded by the Fadnis. n Robert Orme, an English Historian mentions that
On the other hand, the Potnis looked after the income Maratha Navy was led by Admiral Dariya Sarang and
and expenditure of the royal treasury, while the Potdar Mai Naik Bhandari.
was an assessment officer.
Revenue Administration
Provincial Administration
Shivaji introduced Ryotwari system, replacing
The Maratha Empire was divided into Mauzas, Tarfs and Jagirdari system in Maratha kingdom. He changed
Prants. Among these, Mauza was the lowest unit. the position of hereditary revenue officials. Shivaji
The provinces were known as prants under the rule of also strictly supervised the Mirasdars who had
Subedar, Karkun (Mukhya Deshadhikari). hereditary rights in land.
Under Shivaji, none of the officers was permanent and The revenue system was patterned on the Kathi
hereditary. All officers were liable to frequent transfers. system of Malik Amber in which every piece of
But under the Peshwas, many offices became permanent. land was measured by Kathi or stick.
Other sources of income were Chauth and
Other Important Posts Under Maratha Rule Sardeshmukhi. Chauth amounted to 1/4 of the
n Deshmukh Village Headman standard which was paid to Marathas as a
n Jamadar Treasurer safeguard in Non-Maratha territories.
n Mamlatdar Subedar of bigger provinces Sardeshmukhi was an additional levy of 10%
n Kamavisdar Subedar of small provinces demanded from areas outside of the Maratha
n Sarsubedar Supervisor of the work of Subedars kingdom.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
126

Judiciary In his 20 years reign, Baji Rao I never lost a single

The King was the supreme and last authority in the battle. In 1713 AD, Nizam ul Mulk of Hyderabad was
judicial matters in Maratha empire. Next to the king defeated by Baji Rao I in Battle of Palkhed. The
were the Nyayadhish and the Pandit Rao, appointed Nizam accepted the Maratha suzerainty.
by him and accountable to him. Balaji Baji Rao (1740-1761 AD)
Along with the king and his Nyayadhish, the Huzur
Also known as Nana Saheb, he was appointed as
Hazir Majlis or Dharmasabha (Central Judicial
Peshwa in 1740 AD. Balaji Baji Rao was not a great
Assembly) played an important part in the
military leader as like his father.
administration of justice.
During his tenure, the Maratha king was reduced to a
The village official was Patel who had administrative
mere figurehead.
revenue and judicial responsibilities.
He was the main link between the village folk and the Madhav Rao I (1761-1772 AD)
Maratha’s bureaucracy. The post of Patel was After the death of Balaji Bajirao, his son Madhav Rao
hereditary in nature. succeeded him as Peshwa. Madhav Rao defeated Hyder
Successors of Shivaji Ali of Mysore.
Shambhaji After the death of Shivaji, his son from He established the Maratha supremacy of the
first wife, Sambhaji became the king of Marathas in Marathas in the North India again. After his death,
1681 AD. He continued the attacks on Mughal Peshwa power decreased in rapid pace.
territories. Mughal emperor Aurangzeb with all his
capacity waged war against Marathas. Sambhaji was Anglo-Maratha Wars
captured and executed in 1689 AD. His infant son n First Anglo-Maratha War (1775-82 AD) Favouring the
Sahuji imprisoned. cause of Raghunath Rao (Raghoba) for Peshwaship,
English (Hasting) came in conflict with the Marathas.
Rajaram I He was the second son of Shivaji and
On being defeated, the British had to sign the
half-brother of Sambhaji. His reign (1689-1700 AD) Convention of Wadgaon (1779 AD), later signed the
marked with a constant struggle against the Mughals. Treaty of Salbai (1782 AD).
After Rajaram’s death in 1700 AD, his widow, Tarabai n Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803-06 AD) It was the
proclaimed her son, Shivaji II as the Chhatrapati and conflict between British East India company and the
ruled as his regent. Maratha empire in India. The Maratha Peshwa signed
Shahu He was the son of Sambhaji and as a child, was the Subsidiary Alliance Treaty of Bassein (1802).
taken prisoner along with his mother in 1689 by n Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817-18 AD) Lord Hasting
Mughals. In 1707 AD, Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah was determined to proclaim British Paramountacy in
I released Shahu. Thereafter, with his aunt Tarabai, India. He moved against Pindaris. It was the final and
Shahu fought a brief war and gained the Maratha decisive conflict between the British East India
Company and the Maratha Empire in India.
throne in 1708 AD.

Rise of the Peshwas Narayan Rao (1772-73 AD)

Narayan Rao was the fifth Peshwa of the Maratha
During the reign of Shahu, Balaji Vishwanath became a
empire from November, 1772 till his death by murder
prominent Peshwa. Over the next fifty years, the Peshwas
in August, 1773.
expanded Maratha power in all directions of the Indian
sub-continent. Important Peshwas were : Sawai Madhav Rao (1774-95 AD)
Balaji Vishwanath (1713-1720 AD) He is also known as Sawai Madhav Rao or Madhav
Rao II Narayan. He was the posthumous son of
Better known as Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath was the
Narayan Rao Peshwa. Madhav Rao’s death was a
first of a series of hereditary Peshwa gained effective
suicide.
control of the Maratha Empire. Balaji Vishwanath
assisted a young Maratha Emperor Shahu to Peshwa Baji Rao II (1796-1818 AD)
consolidate his grip on Maratha kingdom. He was After the death of Madhav Narayan Rao (1795 AD), the
called the Second Founder of the Maratha State. son of Raghunath Rao, Baji Rao II became the Peshwa.
Baji Rao I (1720-1740 AD) He was an incompetent ruler. He signed the Treaty of
He was a General of the Maratha Empire before Bassin with British in December 1802, in which
serving as the Peshwa. Baji Rao I is credited with British agreed to reinstate Baji Rao II as Peshwa. The
expanding the Maratha Empire in India. treaty was done in return of stationing of a permanent
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
127

resident of British at Poona and 6000 British troops will of Peshwa Madhav Rao I. After him, the Peshwa
be stationed in Maratha territory. Hoolkars and Sindhi could not control his subordinate chiefs, who
as resisted this treaty, which resulted in Second pursued against each other’s interest.
Anglo-Maratha war (1803-1805). Lack of Political Foresight The Marathas lacked
The British defeated the Marathas, due to internal political wisdom and farsightedness. When they
intrusion in Marathas and Marathas were forced to had become the strongest power in India, they
surrender much of their territories to British. simply desired to control the Mughal emperor.
During the 1817-1818 AD, Third Anglo-Maratha war They therefore, failed to achieve political unity
took place, which ended in defeat of Marathas and Baji of India.
Rao II was forced to sign an agreement renouncing Corrupt Jagirdari System During the later Maratha
claims on Gaekwar’s revenues and ceding large swarth period, Maratha chiefs distributed jagirs to their
territory to the British. officers for facilitating collection of Chauth and
Sardeshmukhi which led to the growth of corrupt
Third Battle of Panipat jagirdari system. This system weakened Maratha
n The effective image of the Marathas was dented through chiefs in all respects.
the defeat in Third Battle of Panipat in 1761 AD by Ahmed Military Weakness The primary cause of the
Shah Abdali. Thereafter, the Maratha started transforming decline of Maratha power was due to its military
into a confederacy.
weakness. They adopted European means of
warfare but failed to perfect them.
Maratha Confederacy The same way, the Maratha soldiers trained by the
French in European methods did not achieve
The major four Maratha states or confederacy that emerged
perfection in their training.
and became powerful were as follows :
Bhonsle of Nagpur It was the first independent state that Important Treaties of Maratha
emerged in Maratha confederacy. Raghuji Bhonsle
Name Year Importance
(1727–55 AD) was the founder, who expanded Maratha
kingdom into Bengal and Bihar. Treaty of 1665 Signed between Commander of
The Gaikwads of Baroda The state became a leading Purandar Mughal Empire Jai Singh I and
Shivaji. By this treaty Shivaji
power in Maratha confederacy. The founder of the surrendered 23 out of 35 forts.
dynasty was Damaji I who had risen to power by 1740
and made a leading power in Maratha confederacy. The Treaty of 1775 Between British East India Company
Surat and Peshwa Raghunathrao.
Sayajirao Gaekwad III is remembered for reforming
much of his state during his rule. Treaty of 1779 Signed between the British and
Holkars of Indore On 29th July ,1732, Peshwa Bajirao I Wadgaon Raghunathrao Peshwa.
granted Holkar State to Malhar Rao Holkar, the founder Treaty of Salbai 1782 Signed between East India Company
ruler of Holkar dynasty. The greatest ruler Ahilyabai under Warren Hastings and
Holkar (1767–1795 AD) of this dynasty was a great Mahadaji Shinde.
pioneer and builder of Hindu temples. Treaty of 1792 Signed between the British (Lord
Scindia of Gwalior Peshwa Bajirao I made Ranoji Shinde Seringapatam Cornwallis), the Marathas,
as a Sardar in the Gwalior region. He was instrumental in Hyderabad and Tipu Sultan.
re-establishing the Maratha supremacy and prestige in Treaty of 1803 Between Raghuji Bhonsle II, the
North India after the Maratha defeat at Panipat. Deogaon Maratha Raja of Berar and the British
East India Company.
Decline of Maratha Empire Treaty of Surji- 1803 Between the Maratha Chief Daulat
Several factors have been assigned for the defeat of the Anjangaon Rao Sindhia and the British.
Marathas against the English. Treaty of 1805 Between the Marathas under Holkars
Some of them were as follows : Rajpurghat and English East India Company.

Internal Weakness The empire of the Marathas was not Treaty of 1818 Between Malhar Rao Holkar of
a central empire under one chief. The nominal unity of Mandsaur Maratha and the British.
the Marathas remained only up to the period of the rule
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
128 Modern History
CHAPTER 21

Later Mughals (18th Century)

Sources Class-VIII New NCERT Chap 1 (From Trade to Territory), Class-VIII Old NCERT Chap 2 (India in the Eighteenth Century),
Class-XII Old NCERT Chap 1 (India in the Eighteenth Century)

Under his reign, an attempt to garrison the cities of

Disintegration of Mughal Empire Amber and Jodhpur was met with firm resistance.
The death of Aurangzeb in 1707 resulted into rapid After realising his mistake, he restored the Kingdom of
decline of the Mughal Empire. The Mughal court Raja Jai Singh and Ajit Singh, however, their demand
became site of fighting among the nobles and of high mansab and subedarship of important
provincial governors began to act in an independent provinces was not accepted.
manner.
He made a half-hearted conciliation regarding Maratha
The Mughal Emperors who came to the throne after Sardars. He granted the Sardeshmukhi of Deccan to
the death of Aurangzeb are called the Later Mughals. them but their demand of chauth was rejected.
The real power under these rulers passed into the
He released Shahu, the grandson of Shivaji but didn’t
hands of nobles.
recognise him as the rightful Maratha king. It resulted
The weakness of the Empire was proclaimed to the into struggle for supremacy between Tara Bai and
world when Nadir Shah imprisoned the Mughal Shahu and a situation of disorder arised in the Deccan.
Emperor and looted the Delhi in 1739.
He firstly tried to conciliate the rebellious elements by
In 1803, Delhi was occupied by the British Army and making peace with the Guru Gobind Singh and giving
the Mughal Emperor was reduced to the status of a him a high mansab. But after the death of the Sikh
pensioner of a foreign power. Guru, he led a campaign against the rebellious
On Aurangzeb’s death, his three sons fought among elements headed by the Banda Bahadur.
themselves for the throne in which 65 year-old He succeeded in capturing some important Sikh
Bahadur Shah, emerged victorious. strongholds including the Lohgarh fort built by Guru
Gobind Singh, North-East of Ambala. But the Sikhs
Bahadur Shah I (1707-1712) could not be crushed and in 1712, they recovered the
During his brief reign, Bahadur Shah tried to restore fort of Lohgarh.
the goodwill of the Mughal Empire by conciliating the He made peace with Chhatarsal, the Bundela chief
Marathas and the Rajputs. and the Jat chief Churaman, who joined him in the
He reversed the narrow-minded policies and campaign against Banda Bahadur.
measures adopted by Aurangzeb and adopted a more Due to his reckless grants of Jagirs and promotions,
tolerant attitude towards the Hindu chief and rajas. the position of state finances became worse. An
In order to exercise greater control over the Rajput amount of some ` 13 crore exhausted from the
states, he replaced Jai Singh by Vijai Singh at Amber royal treasure in 1707. In 1707, after the death of
and forced Ajit Singh of Marwar to submit to the Bahadur Shah I, the empire once again entered into
Mughal authority. civil war.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
129

Jahandar Shah I (1712-13) As Farrukhsiyar was incapable and cruel, the two
Sayyid Brothers acquired the dominant control over the
During this phase of Mughal rule, a new element affairs of the state. The Sayyid brothers adopted the
entered the Mughal politics in which the nobles policy of religious tolerance and abolished jizyah.
became owner of power and used princes as mere
In order to strengthen their own position they provided
puppets to capture the seat of authority.
high positions to Rajput princes, made an alliance with
Thus, after the death of Bahadur Shah I, Jahandar Churaman.
Shah emerged victorious, as he was supported by the
They also made an agreement with Shahu by providing
Zulfiqar Khan, the most powerful noble of that time.
him the right to collect the Chauth and Sardeshmukhi
Jahandar Shah was a weak prince who was wholly of the six provinces. In return, Shahu agreed to support
devoted to pleasure. During his brief reign, the them in Deccan with 15,000 mounted soldiers.
administration was virtually in the hands of his
In 1719, the Maratha Peshwa, Balaji Vishwanath
wazir, Zulfiqar Khan who was extremely capable and
accompanied Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan to Delhi and
energetic.
helped the Sayyid Brothers in overthrowing
In order to strengthen his own position at the court Farrukhsiyar.
and to save the Mughal Empire, he tried to establish
On the other hand, Farrukhsiyar in order to exercise
friendly relations with the Rajput rajas, Maratha
his personal authority intrigued against the Sayyid
chiefs and other Hindu chieftains.
Brothers which ultimately resulted into desposition
In his reign, Jizyah was abolished. Raja Jai Singh of and execution of Farrukhsiyar.
Amber was accorded the status of Mirza Raja Sawai
Finally, Sayyid Brothers selected Muhammad Shah the
and appointed the Governor of Malwa. Ajit Singh of
Emperor of India.
Marwar was awarded the title of Maharaja and
appointed as Governor of Gujarat.
Zulfiqar Khan also confirmed the arrangement
Downfall of Sayyid Brothers
between his deputy in the Deccan Daud Khan Panni
n Sayyid Brothers’ attempts to save the empire from
administrative disintegration failed because of constant
and the Maratha King Shahu in 1711.
political rivalry amongst the nobility.
He granted the Chauth and Sardeshmukhi to the n Gradually, they were looked upon as traitors and the

Marathas with a condition that it would be collected powerful members of nobility including Nizam-
by the Mughal officials. ul-Mulk (Chin Qilich Khan)and his fathers’ cousin
He also pacified Churaman Jat and the Chhatarsal Muhammad Amin Khan began to conspire against
Bundela. But the old policy of suppression was them.
n These factions of nobility were supported by Emperor
carried towards the Sikhs under the leadership of
Banda Bahadur. Muhammad Shah and ultimately in 1720, they
succeeded in assassinating the Husain Ali Khan and the
In order to improve the finances of the empire, he elder brother Abdullah Khan was defeated near Agra.
made an attempt to check the reckless growth of These two brothers are known in Indian history as the
jagirs and offices. He compelled the Mansabdars to ‘King-makers’.
maintain their official quota of the troops.
He introduced the Ijarah system. In this system, the
Government contracted the revenue farmers and
Muhammad Shah (1719-48)
middleman to pay the Government a fixed amount of He was weak-minded ruler and over-fond of a life of
money while they were free to collect whatever they ease and luxury. During his reign, the conflict between
could from the Peasant. the different groups of nobles weakened the authority
of central government.
Farrukhsiyar (1713-1719) He neglected the affair of the state and instead of giving
He was nephew of Jahandar Shah I and defeated full support to able wazirs such as Nizam-ul Mulk, he
him in 1713 at Agra. The two Sayyid brothers – fell under the influence of corrupt and worthless
Abudullah Khan and Husain Ali Khan supported nobles and conspired against his own ministers.
the Farrukhsiyar in the war of succession. And after Thus, Nizam-ul-Mulk (who was appointed wazir in
victory, they were rewarded with the offices of Wazir 1722) decided to leave the Emperor due to his
and Mir bakshi respectively. suspicious nature.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
130

He founded the state of Hyderabad in the Deccan and it Shah Alam II (1759-1806)
marked the physical break-up of the Mughal Empire.
Shah Alam II, who ascended the throne in 1759,
Gradually, hereditary Nawabs owing nominal allegiance
spent the initially years as an Emperor wandering
to the Emperor of Delhi arose in many part of the
from place to place far away from his capital as, he
country i.e., in Bengal, Awadh, Hyderabad and Punjab.
feared his own wazir.
In many parts, Zamindars, Rajas and Nawabs raised the
During his reign, the Third Battle of Panipat (1761)
banner of rebellion and independence. The Maratha
was fought between the Marathas and Ahmad Shah
Sardars also began their Northern expansion and
Abdali, the general of Nadir Shah. It resulted into
captured Malwa, Gujarat and Bundelkhand.
defeat of Marathas.
This situation alongwith weak central leadership led to
The battle and the subsequent defeat gave a big
the invasion of Nadir Shah.
blow to the Maratha ambition of controlling the
During the reign of Muhammad Shah, significant Mughal Emperor and thereby dominating the country.
progress in Hindustani music was observed. During his
Meanwhile in 1764, Shah Alam II joined Mir Qasim
reign, the semi-independent state of Rohilkhand rose to
of Bengal and Shuja-ud-Daula of Awadh to fought
power.
British East India Company in the Battle of
Buxar (1764).
Invasion of Nadir Shah (1738) After defeat in this battle, he lived for several years
n The visible weakness of the Mughal Empire in addition at Allahabad as a pensioner of the East India
to near bankruptcy condition attracted Nadir Shah ( the Company. In 1772, he returned to Delhi under the
ruler of Persia) to attack Mughal Empire. protective arm of Marathas.
n The years of neglect of North-Western frontier and The Britishers secured the Diwani or the right to
factions among nobles led to the crushing defeat of
collect revenues of Bihar, Bengal and Orrisa from
Mughals in Battle of Karnal on 13th February, 1739.
Shah Alam II.
n The Emperor Muhammad Shah was imprisoned and
Nadir Shah marched to Delhi. During his reign, the British occupied Delhi in
n He took possession of royal treasury and plundered (1803). Thus, he is regarded as the last sovereign
wealth having estimated value of 70 crores of rupees. He Mughal Emperor to rule Delhi.
also carried away the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond and
Jewel studded peacock throne of Shah Jahan. Akbar II (1806-37)
n He also compelled Muhammad Shah to cede him all the He is regarded as the first Mughal Emperor to rule
provinces of the Empire West of Indus. India under the Britishers.
In 1830s, he gave the title of Raja to the great social
reformer Ram Mohan Roy and also sent him as the
Ahmad Shah (1748-1754) envoy of the Mughal Emperor to England.
He was son of Muhammad Shah and inherited the that
was filled with mutual jealousness among the nobility. Bahadur Shah II (1837-58)
His reign is marked by series of plundering raids by the He was the last Mughal Emperor, although at that
Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali, who invaded North time the post of Mughal Emperor had became titular
India five times between 1748 and 1761. head only.
During his reign, the Marathas successfully annexed the He was well-versed in Urdu poetry and wrote poems
Mughal territories of Malwa and Bundelkhand. under the pen name of Zafar. He was contemporary
He was imprisoned and blinded by his own wazir, of the famous Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib.
Imad-ul-Mulk. The Governor-General Lord Dalhousie in 1848,
announced that the successor to Bahadur Shah
Alamgir II (1754-59) would have to abandon the historic Red Fort.
After desposition of Ahmad Shah, Imad-ul-Mulk raised In 1856, the Viceroy Canning announced that after
Alamgir II as the emperor of Mughal Empire. Bhadur Shah’s death the Mughals would lost the
During his reign, the Mughal Empire witnessed title of Kings and would be known as mere princess.
repeated attacks of Ahmad Shah Abdali. The Battle of During the Revolt of 1857, he was recognised as the
Plassey (1757) was also fought during his reign. Emperor of India by the rebel soldiers and
He was murdered by his own wazir, Imad-ul-Mulk. Zamindars.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
131

On 20th September, 1857, British captured Delhi and the Invasions of Nadir Shah and Ahmed Shah Abdali
aged Bahadur Shah was taken as the prisoner. The Royal were also the cause of downfall.
princess were mercilessly captured and killed. One of the major reasons for the fall was financial
The Bahadur Shah was tried and exiled to Rangoon crisis. The Royal treasury was almost empty by the
where he died in 1862. 18th century because of the maintanence of military
affairs.
Causes for the Decline of the Worthless and negligent later Mughal emperors
Mughal Empire were also the cause of downfall.
The causes for the decline of the Mughal Empire are as Absence of a definite law of succession lead to
follows: the instability of the government. The growth
of partisanship at the cost of patriotism existed.
Aurangzeb’s intolerant religious policy, spoiled
relations with Jats, Marathas and Rajputs and the A heterogeneous and non-hereditary nobility was
suspicious nature of Aurangzeb led to the fall of empire. proxminent that was divided in factions.
Aurangzeb’s religious policies was discriminatory and Vast expansion of the empire made it difficult for
most prominent example of this is the tax imposed on the weak rulers to control it, after Aurangzeb’s
Hindus called Jizyah that led to dissatisfaction among death.
public as well as Hindu rulers. Deterioration of the army revolts of Rajputs, Sikhs,
His Deccan Policy was also a reason for the decline of Jats and Marathas due to Aurangzeb’s religious
Mughal Empire. policy.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
132 22

Arrival of European
Powers in India

Sources Class-VIII New NCERT Chap 2 (From Trade to Territory), Class-VIII Old NCERT Chap 3 (The Rise and Growth of
British Rule in India), Class-XII Old NCERT Chap 2 (European Penetration and the British Conquest of India),
Class-XII New NCERT Chap 10 (Colonialism and Country Side)

From 1418, Prince Henry sent two or three ships

Advent of Europeans in India every year to explore the sea route. He was motivated
The old trading routes between East and West came by the two objectives :
under Turkish control after the Ottoman conquest — To oust the Arabs as well as European rivals.
of Asia Minor and the capture of Constantinople
— To counter the growing power of Turks and Arabs
in 1453.
by converting indigenous population of Asia and
The West European states including Spain and Africa to Christianity.
Portugal were denied any share in the trade through
In 1487, Bartholomew Diaz rounded the Cape of
old routes by the merchants of Venice and Genoa who
Good Hope and laid the basis of direct trade links
had monopolised these routes.
between Europe and India.
In order to break the Arab and Venetian trade
When Vasco-da-Gama landed at Calicut in 1498, he
monopolies and to bypass Turkish hostilities, West
met with stiff resistance from Arab merchants, who
European states and merchants began to search for
had established their colony on the Malabar Coast.
new and safer sea route to India and Indonesia.
However, the Hindu ruler, Zamorin welcomed the
These state were able to find sea routes due to great
Portuguese and allowed them to trade.
advancement in ship-building and the science of
navigation in 15th century. He returned on his ship with a cargo which was sold
for 60 times the cost of his voyage. In 1502, he
The first steps were taken by Portugal and Spain
established a factory at Cochin.
whose seamen, sponsored and controlled by the
Governments, began a great era of geographical Since the 16th century, Portuguese enjoyed a virtual
discoveries. monopoly of the highly profitable Eastern trade for
nearly a century.
In 1498, Vasco da Gama of Portugal discovered a new
all-sea route from Europe to India. He sailed Africa Under the Viceroyalty of Alfonoso de Albuquerque,
around Cape of Good Hope and reached Calicut. they established their domination over the entire
Asian coast from Hormuz in the Persian Gulf to
Portuguese Malacca in Malaya and the Spice Islands in Indonesia.
Before the arrival of Vasco-da-Gama, Portuguese They were successful in maintaining their
under their ruler Dom Henrique (also known as Henry possessions in India for a century due to naval
the Navigator) made significant attempts to search out superiority and absence of strong enemy as Mughals
a sea route to India. in the South India.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
133

Important Portuguese Governors in India Decline of Portuguese

n Franciso de Almeida (1505-09) He defeated the The Portuguese power began to decline during the second
combined naval fleet of Sultan of Egypt and half of the 16th century mainly due to intense competition
Ruler of Gujarat in 1509. He pursued Blue Water among European powers.
Policy in order to strengthen the Portuguese By the early 18th century, the position of Portuguese was
hold in Indian subcontinent and build forts at undertaken by the English and the French.
Anjediva, Cannanore and Cochin.
They lost Surat to the English in 1612 and eventually the
n Alfonso de Albuquerque (1509-15) He is
Dutch also won the entire Portuguese fort on the Malabar
considered as real founder of Portuguese power
in India. He captured Goa from Bijapur in 1510. Coast.
He encouraged Portuguese to marry natives and In 1662, the Portuguese gave the island of Bombay to King
abolished the practice of Sati in his dominion. Charles II of England as dowry for marrying Portuguese
n Nino da Cunha (1529-38) He transferred his princess. Thus, the Portuguese lost all their possessions in
capital from Calicut to Goa in 1530 and annexed India except Goa, Diu and Daman.
Diu and Bassein in 1534 from Bahadur Shah of
The emergence of powerful Marathas in Maharashtra and
Gujarat.
areas surrounding Konkan coast also led to the downfall of
n Alfonso de Souza (1542) He succeded Nino da
the Portuguese power in India. They captured Salsette and
Cunha. During his reign, famous Saint,
Fransisco Xavier came to Goa. Bassein from Portuguese in 1739.

The Dutch
Contribution of Portuguese In 1602, the Dutch East India Company was formed. The
Portuguese traded pepper, arms and Dutch States General (the Dutch Parliament) gave it a
ammunition and war horses with royal charter. This charter empowered it to wage wars, conclude
monopoly. treaties, acquire territories and build fortresses.
They opened up India’s trade with Japan from The main interest of the Dutch was not in India but in the
which copper and silver were obtained. Indonesian Island of Java, Sumatra and the Spice Islands
where spices were produced.
They introduced the first printing press at Goa
in 1556. They soon turned out the Portuguese from the Malay Straits
and in 1623, defeated the English attempts to establish
Furthermore, they were instrumental in starting
themselves there. The first Dutch mission to India was led
the cultivation of vegetables like tomatoes,
under the leadership of Corneliss De Houtman.
potatoes and chilies in India. Fruits like the
pineapple and papaya were also introduced by The Dutch established themselves at Masulipatnam,
the Portuguese. obtaining a farman from the ruler of Golconda in 1606.
As their main interest lied in the spice trade, they quickly
The cultivation of tobacco and maize also
realised that spices could be obtained most easily against
started under the Portuguese rule in India.
Indian textiles. Thus, they alongwith English were
They are also credited with the first scientific instrumental in exporting Indian textiles to the West.
work on Indian medicinal plants.
They spread South from Masulipatnam to the Coromandel
coast, obtaining Pulicat from the local ruler and making it
Key Battles Fought by Portuguese in India
base of their operations.
n Battle of Chaul (1508) It was a naval battle
fought between the Portuguese and the combined They also established trading depots at Surat, Broach,
forces of Mamluk sultan and the Sultan of Cambay and Ahmedabad in Gujarat in West India and
Gujarat. It resulted in defeat of Portuguese. Cochin in Kerala, Nagapatam in Madras, Masulipatnam in
n Battle of Diu (1509) It was also a naval battle Andhra, Chinsurah in Bengal, Patna in Bihar and Agra in
fought between the Portuguese forces on one side Uttar Pradesh.
and the combined forces of the Sultan of Gujarat, Later, they defeated Portuguese and annexed their key forts
Zamorin of Calicut and Mamluk sultan of Egypt. on Malabar Coast. In 1658, they also conquered Sri Lanka
It resulted in decisive victory of Portuguese. from the Portuguese. The English Company fell out with the
n Battle of Swally (1612) It was fought between the Dutch company over division of the spice trade of the
British and Portuguese colonial powers. In this Indonesian Islands.
battle, Portuguese lost Surat to the British.
The intermittent war in India between the two powers,
n Battle of Vasai (1739) It was fought between the
began in 1654 and ended in 1667, when the English gave up
Marathas and the Portuguese forces. It resulted
all claims to Indonesia while the Dutch agreed to leave the
in victory of Marathas.
English settlements in India.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
134

Contribution of Dutch The Britishers threw out Portuguese and Dutch rivals
by the end of 17th century, but France still was the
They helped in development of new markets for Indian
main rival of Britishers for the supremacy in India.
products in Europe. Calicos (Cotton textiles), Indigo
Britishers fought French for about 20 years from 1744
and Salt petere was the main item of the export.
to 1763 AD.
In order to expand their trade, they developed
Coromandal coast and established Pulicat as the base Expansion in Western Coast
of their operations in India. William Hawkins journeyed from Surat and arrived
As their trade flourished, they established mints at at the Jahangir’s court in 1609 AD, but failed to
Cochin, Masulipatnam, Nagapattinam, Pondicherry get permission to erect a factory at Surat.
and Pulicat. They issued gold coins depicting an image However, the victory of English under captain best
of Lord Venkateswara (God Vishnu) from Pulicat over Portuguese fleet at Swally (near Surat) in 1612
mint. AD broke the tradition of Portuguese naval
supremacy.
Factories established by Dutch in India
A Farman was issued by Jahangir permitting the
Centre Year English to establish a factory at Surat 1613 AD.
Pulicat 1610 Sir Thomas Roe was the royal ambassador from King
James I to the Mughal Emperor. He succeeded in
Surat 1616
getting two Farmans by 1618, one of the Mughal
Chinsurah 1653 Emperor Jahangir and the other of the Prince
Kasim Bazar 1659 Khurram granting the permission to trade and erect
factories in different parts of the empire.
Patna 1659
Surat was one of the chief centres of maritime trade, it
Nagapattinam 1659 is from Surat that the English extended their inland
Cochin 1663 trading operations and by 1616 built subordinate
factories at Ahmedabad, Baroda, Bharuch and Agra.
Finally, Bombay was declared as headquarters of the
The English company on the West coast in 1687AD.
An English Association or Company to trade was
formed in 1599 by a group of merchants known as the
Merchant Adventurers. Gerald Aungier
He was the first Governor of Bombay 1669 to 1677 AD.
The Governor and Company of Merchants of London
Under Aungier, Bombay became a safe asylum for all
trading into East India, (popularly known as the East
merchants and manufacturers. He established vigorous
India Company), was granted a royal charter and and strict discipline over all the inhabitants of the city
exclusive privilege to trade in the East by Queen and allowed every community to enjoy the free exercise
Elizabeth on 31st December, 1600. of its religion.
With this charter, the Company could venture across
the oceans, looking for new lands from which it could Expansion in Eastern Coast
buy goods at a cheap price and carry them back to
Europe to sell at higher prices. The English were permitted to trade in
Masulipatnam in 1611 AD and in 1630 AD secured
This charter granted to the East India Company
the ‘golden farman’ from the Sultan of Golconda
exclusive privilege of trading East of the Cape of Good
1632 AD, which ensured safety and prosperity of
Hope for a period of 15 years.
their trade.
Expansion of East Indian Company In 1639 AD, Francis Day obtained the site of Madras
East India Company had established factories at Surat, from the Raja of Chandragiri with permission to
Bharuch, Ahmedabad, Agra and Masulipatnam till build a fortified factory, which was named Fort St
1623 AD. George.
The situations in the Deccan were favourable for The position of the English on the Eastern coast
Britishers as there were no powerful kingdom. became strong and permanent with the foundation of
Madras by the English in 1639. They arrived at
Company established one of its factories in the Eastern
Hughli in 1650 AD and establish a factory at Balasore
India at Odisha in 1633 AD.
in North Orissa.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
135

Madras soon replaced Masulipatnam as the The Company was allowed to rent additional lands
headquarters of the English on the Coromandel around Calcutta.
coast. — In Hyderabad, the Company’s old privileges of
In 1641 AD all the English settlements in Eastern freedom from dues in trade was retained and it had to
India (Bengal, Bihar and Orissa) and the pay only the existing rent for Madras.
Coromandel were placed under the control of the — At Surat, the Company was exempted from the levy of
President and Council of Fort St George. all duties for its exports and imports in lieu of an
Expansion in Bengal annual payment of ` 10000 and the coins of the
Company minted at Bombay were to have currency
In 1633 AD, the Mughal Governor of Orissa gave the throughout the Mughal Empire.
English merchants permission to establish factories at
— In the subsequent years, the English East India
Hariharapur (near the mouth of Mahanadi), Balasore
Company began to extend its territorial claims. It
and Pipli.
defeated Battle of Bedara, 1759 (Dutch) and Battle of
The English also succeeded to establish their factory Wandiwash, 1760 (French). By the end of the 18th
at Hughli in 1651 AD, followed by those at Patna, century, it succeeded in establishing its
Dacca and Kasim bazar.
Paramountacy.
In 1667 AD, Aurangzeb gave the English a farman
for trade in Bengal and 5 years later, in 1672 AD, the
Mughal Governor, Shaista Khan, issued an order Important Terms related with
confirming all the privileges already acquired by the European Rule in India
English. n Cartaz system It was a naval pass issued by the
Portuguese, which was compulsorily required by any
The rebellion of Sobha Singh, a Zamindar in the
contingent passing through their territories.
district of Burdwan, gave an opportunity to the n Factories It was developed by the European powers in
English to fortify their settlement at Sutanuti in
India to store commodities which were later exported.
1696 AD. Here Company’s officials resided and it was fortified to
They were permitted by Azimuth Shah Governor of defend against the adversaries.
Bengal, to purchase the Zamindari of the three n Feitorias It was an unfortified trading post developed by
villages of Sutanuti, Kalikata and Govindpur on the Portuguese on strategic locations.
payment of ` 1200 to the old proprietors. n Farman It was a royal order issued by Mughal authority
In 1700 AD, the directors constituted Bengal as a usually to the European trading companies.
separate presidency independent of Madras and n Mercantile A business enterprise that makes profit
nominated Sir Charles Eyre as its first President. primarily through trade, buying goods cheap and selling
them at higher prices.
Aurangzeb’s death in 1707 AD made the English at
Calcutta fear that their growing trade would be swept
away by the coming tide of civil war and anarchy. The Danes (Danish)
After protracted negotiations, the English got The Danes came from Denmark to India in 1616 AD and
confirmation of their privileges from the new established their first factory at Tranquebar (Tamil
emperor Shah Alam and the de facto ruler of Bengal Nadu) in 1620 AD. Later, they established their second
Murshid Quli Khan. factory and its headquarters in Serampore in Bengal.
The most important event in the history of the At Serampore they established a printing press in 1800
Company during these years was the diplomatic and a college in 1818.
mission led by John Surman in 1715 AD to the court
of the Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar. Important European Companies in India
It resulted in the granting of three famous farmans
Year of
addressed to the officials in Bengal, Hyderabad and Company First Factory Headquarters
Establishment
Gujarat.
Portuguese 1498 Calicut Initial- Calicut
The farmans gave the Company many valuable
East India (1503) Final- Goa
privileges, which are as follows: Company
— In Bengal, it exempted the Company’s imports and
English East 1600 Surat Initial- Surat
exports from additional customs duties, excepting India (1605) Final-Calcutta
the annual payment of ` 3000 as settled earlier. Company
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
136

Year of In order to control the Southern regions of India

Company First Factory Headquarters
Establishment and expand their empires in India, they fought
three crucial battles in India, known as Carnatic
Dutch East 1602 Masulipatnam Indonesia
India (1605) wars.
Company
(Netherlands) First Carnatic War (1746-48)
In 1742, war broke out in Europe between France
Danish East 1616 Tranquebar Initial- Tranquebar
India (1620) (Tamil Nadu) and England over the Austrian succession. It was
Company Final-Serampore continued in India where two companies fought to
(Denmark) (West Bengal) secure and expand its positions.
French East 1664 Surat (1668) Initial- Surat Dupleix, the French Governor-General started
India Final- Pondicherry recruiting India soldiers and giving them training
Company in modern methods of warfare.
In 1745, the English navy captured French ships off
the South-East coast of India and threatened
Clash of European Companies with
Pondicherry. However, under the leadership of
Each Other in India Dupleix French retaliated and occupied Madras
Until the first decade of the 17th Century, all major European in 1746.
trading Companies had strengthened their position in India.
And all the Companies were interested in buying the same The Nawab of Carnatic was alarmed at growing
things, i.e. fine qualities of cotton and silk. power of the French in his province and sent an
Competition amongst the European companies inevitably army against them.
pushed up the prices at which these goods could be In 1748, peace was concluded in Europe between
purchased and this reduced the profits that could be earned. the British and the French with the treaty of Aix-La
The only way trading companies could flourish was by Chapelle. The victorious French restored Madras
eliminating rival competitors. Therefore, the urge to secure to the British.
markets led to fierce battles between the trading companies.
Joseph François Dupleix
The French He was the Governor-General of the French possessions
in India from 1742 to 1754. He devised few mechanism
The French East India Company was founded in 1664. It of statecraft which was later used by the British to
was firmly established at Chandernagore near Calcutta conquest whole India.
and Pondicherry on the East Coast. He evolved the strategy of using the well-disciplined,
The French Company also had some other factories at modern French army to intervene in the mutual quarrels
several ports on the East and West Coasts. It had also of the Indian princes and by supporting one against the
acquired control over the Islands of Mauritius and other, securing monetary, commercial or territorial
Reunion in the Indian Ocean. favours from the Victor.
It was heavily dependent on the French Government, Through the resources and armies of the native princess
and later making them their satellite he tried serve the
which helped it by giving it treasury grants, subsidies
interests of the French Company and to expel the
and loans. English from India. This strategy was fully
Consequently, it was largely controlled by the conceptualised in the form of Subsidiary Alliance by
government which appointed its directors after 1723. the Britishers.
The state control of the company proved quite harmful to
it as the French state of the time was autocratic, Second Carnatic War (1749-54)
semi-feudal and unpopular. The Second Carnatic War was mainly fought
because of the two rival companies supported
Carnatic Wars different claimants to the posts of the Nizam of
For nearly 20 years from 1744 to 1763, the French and Hyderabad and the Nawab of the Carnatic.
the English were in conflict for control over the trade, The French helped Muzaffar Jang and later when
wealth and territory of India. he died raised Salabat Jang as the Nizam of the
The area where conflict first erupted between the French Hyderabad.
and the English companies was the Mughal Suba of In return, the Nizam granted the areas in Andhra
Caranatic Arcot situated between Madras and Pradesh known as Northern Sarkars.
Pondicherry was the capital town of Carnatic.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
137

The French supported Chanda Sahib to become the As a result of this war, the English replaced the
Nawab and the English sent Robert Clive with a small French as the Nizam’s protectors and secured from
army to install Muhammad Ali as the Nawab of Arcot him Masulipatnam and the Northern Sarkars.
in 1751. The war ended in 1763 with the signing of the
In the war that followed French forces were repeatedly Treaty of Paris. The French factories in India were
defeated and Chanda Sahib was captured and killed. restored but they could no longer be fortified or
In the end, the French Government, due to heavy even adequately garrisoned with troops.
expenses of the war in India and fearing the loss of its
American colonies, initiated peace negotiations. In 1754, Significance of Anglo-French Struggle
it agreed to the English demand for the recall of Dupleix This struggle freed English of all its European rivals
from India. and they embarked a new era of territorial expansion in
India. But more importantly they learnt few lessons,
Third Carnatic War (1756-63) which helped them in consolidating their Empire in
The temporary peace between the two Companies ended India.
in 1756, when another war between England and France n Firstly, that in the absence of nationalism in the

broke out. country, they could advance their political schemes

In the very beginning of the war, the English managed to by taking advantage of the mutual quarrels of the
gain control over Bengal. The rich resources of Bengal Indian rulers.
n Secondly, the Western trained infantry, European
turned the scales decisively in favour of the English.
or Indian, armed with modern weapons and backed
Even though the French Government made a determined by artillery could defeat the old- style Indian armies
attempt this time to oust the English from India and sent with ease in pitched battles,
a strong force headed by Count de Lally, it was all in n Thirdly, it was proved that the Indian soldiers

vain. trained and armed in the European manner made as

The decisive battle of the war was fought at Wandiwash good a soldier as the European. And since, the
on 22nd January, 1760, when the English General Eyre Indian soldier too lacked a feeling of nationalism,
Coot defeated the French Governor-General Lally. he could be hired and employed by anyone.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
138 23

Rise of New and

Autonomous States

Sources Class-VIII Old NCERT Chap 2 (India in the Eighteenth Century),

Class-XII Old NCERT Chap 1 (India in the Eighteenth Century)

By 1761, the Mughal Empire was just a symbolic From 1720 to 1722, he consolidated his hold over the
authority. Due to its weaknesses, the local powers Deccan by suppressing all opposition to his viceroyalty
asserted their independence. and organising the administration on efficient lines.
The new states did not directly challenge his From 1722 to 1724, he was the wazir of the empire.
authority and constantly sought his sanction to But he soon got disgusted with that office as the
legitimise their rule. Emperor Muhammad Shah frustrated all his attempts
Therefore, the emergence of these states in the 18th at reforming the administration.
century, represented a transformation rather than So, he decided to go back to the Deccan where he
collapse of the polity. could safely maintain his supremacy. Here, he laid the
Following the disintegration of Mughal Empire, there foundations of the Hyderabad state which he ruled
were number of autonomous or independent states with a strong hand.
that emerged. Asaf Jah never openly declared his independence
During the first half of the 18th century, the boundaries from the Central government, but in practice he acted
of the Mughal Empire were reshaped by the emergence like an independent ruler.
of a number of kingdoms such as successor states, The state of Hyderabad was constantly engaged in a
independent kingdoms and new states. struggle against the Marathas to the West and with
independent Telugu warrior chiefs (nayakas).
Successor States He waged wars, concluded peace, conferred titles and
Successor states were the Mughal provinces that turned gave jagirs and offices without reference to Delhi.
into states after breaking away the empire. He followed a tolerant policy towards the Hindus. For
example, a Hindu, Puran Chand was his Diwan.
Important successor states are as follows :
He consolidated his power by establishing an orderly
Hyderabad administration in the Deccan on the basis of the
jagirdari system on the Mughal pattern.
The important rulers of the erstwhile Hyderabad state
were : He forced the big, turbulent zamindars to respect his
authority and kept the powerful Marathas out of his
Asaf Jah (1724-1748 AD) dominions.
Hyderabad was founded by Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah Asaf Jah also made an attempt to rid the revenue
in 1724. His real name was Chin Qilich Khan. system of its corruption. But after his death in 1748,
He played a leading role in overthrowing Sayyid Hyderabad fell a prey to the same disruptive forces as
Brothers. were operating at Delhi.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
139

Nasir Jung (1748-1750 AD) He recruited revenue farmers and officials from local
He ascended throne in 1748 AD. zamindars and merchant-bankers.
He was defeated and murdered by Muzaffar Jung (son He also granted agricultural loans (taccavi) to the
of Nasir’s sister and grandson of Nizam-ul-Mulk). poor cultivators to relieve their distress as well as to
enable them to pay land revenue in time.
Muzaffar Jung (1750-1751 AD) Murshid Quli Khan and the succeeding Nawabs gave
He ascended the throne with the help of the French in equal opportunities for employment to Hindus and
1750 AD. Muslims.
In 1751 AD, his rule came to an abrupt end with his They filled the highest civil posts and many of the
accidental death. military posts with Bengalis, mostly Hindus.
Salabat Jung (1751-1760 AD) In choosing revenue farmers Murshid Quli Khan
gave preference to local zamindars and Mahajan’s
He was the third son of Nizam-ul-Mulk. He came to the
(money-lenders) who were mainly Hindus. He thus
throne with the help of the French in 1751 AD.
laid the foundations of a new landed aristocracy in
Bengal.
Carnatic
Moreover, even though Khan demanded only the
The Carnatic was one of the subahs of the Mughal Deccan standard revenue and forbade illegal cesses, he
and came under the Nizam of Hyderabad’s authority. collected the revenue from the zamindars and the
The Nizam had become independent of Delhi peasants with utmost cruelty.
alongwith the Deputy Governor of the Carnatic, known Another result of his reforms was that many of the
as the Nawab of Carnatic. older zamindars were driven out and their place
He had freed himself of the control of the Viceroy of the was taken by upstart revenue-farmers.
Deccan and made his office hereditary. They also provided for the safety of roads and rivers
Thus, Nawab Saadutullah Khan of Carnatic had made from thieves and robbers by establishing regular
his nephew Dost Ali his successor without the thanas and chowkis.
approval of his superior, the Nizam. The Nawabs of Bengal neglected to build a strong
Later, after 1740, the affairs of the Carnatic deteriorated army and paid a heavy price for it.
because of the repeated struggles for its nawabship. In 1756-67, the English East India Company declared
This provided an opportunity for the European trading war on Siraj-ud-Daulah, the successor of Alivardi,
companies to directly interfere in Indian politics. the absence of a strong army contributed much to the
victory of the British.
Bengal
Owing of the growing weakness of the Central authority,
Sarfaraz Khan (1739-1740 AD)
Murshid Quli Khan and Alivardi Khan made Bengal He was the son of Shuja.
virtually independent. He took the title of Alam-ud-Daula Haider Jung.
Following were the main rulers/Nawabs of Bengal: He was defeated by Alivardi Khan, Governor of Bihar
in the Battle of Giriya (1740 AD) and was murdered.
Murshid Quli Khan
Murshid Quli Khan (1717-1727 AD) was appointed as Alivardi Khan (1740-1756 AD)
the Diwan of Bengal in 1700 and was made Governor In 1741, Alivardi Khan, the Deputy Governor of Bihar,
of Bengal in 1717. He soon freed himself from central killed the Nawab of Bengal Sarfaraz Khan in a battle.
control though he regularly sent a large tribute to the He certified his own position as the new Subahdar of
emperor. Bengal by paying a large sum of money to the Mughal
He established peace by freeing Bengal of internal and Emperor, Muhammad Shah.
external danger. Bengal was now also relatively free of Alivardi Khan ruled for 15 years, during which he
major uprisings by zamindars. fought with the Marathas. But he died in April 1756
and was succeeded by his grandson, Siraj-ud-Daula.
Trade and Finance in Bengal in Murshid Quli Khan
Murshid Quli Khan affected economies in the Siraj-Ud-Daula (1756-1757 AD)
administration and reorganised the finances of Bengal He had a rival in his cousin, the Nawab of Purnea,
by transferring large parts of jagir lands into Khalisah Shaukat Jang; his aunt, Ghasiti Begum and a
lands by carrying out a fresh revenue settlement and by rebellious commander of the army, Mir Jafar.
introducing the system of revenue-farming.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
140

There was a dominant group in his court comprising The victory made the English a great power in
Jagat Seth, Omichand, Rai Ballabh, Rai Durlabh and Northern India and contenders for the supremacy over
others who were opposed to him. the whole country.
To these, internal rivals were added the threat to Dual Government in Bengal (1765-1772 AD)
Siraj’s position from the ever-growing commercial
activity of the English company. After the Battle of Buxar, Robert Clive introduced the
Dual System of government, i.e., the rule of the two
Impulsive by nature and lacking experience, Siraj felt (the Company and the Nawab) in Bengal.
insecure and this prompted him to act in ways which
proved counterproductive. In this both the Diwani, i.e., collecting revenues and
Nizamat, i.e., police and judicial functions, came
under the control of the Company.
Black Hole Tragedy (20 June, 1758) The Company exercised diwani rights as the diwani
Siraj-ud-Daula, is believed to have imprisoned with and the nizamat rights through its right to nominate
146 English persons who were lodged in a very tiny room the Deputy subahdar. The Company acquired the
due to which 123 of them died due to suffocation. This diwani functions from the emperor and nizamat
incident is referred as Black Hole Tragedy. functions from the subahdar of Bengal.
Najm-ud-Daulah (1765-1772 AD)
Important Events in Reign of Siraj-Ud-Daula He was the son of Mir Jafar.
Important events in reign of Siraj-ud-Daulah were : He was made the Nawab in 1765 AD and remained a
puppet in the hands of the British during the period of
Battle of Plassey, 1757
‘Dual System of Government’ under Robert Clive.
Robert Clive forged a secret alliance with the traitors
of the Nawab—Mir Jafar, Rai Durlabh, Jagat Seth (an Awadh
influential banker of Bengal) and Omichand. Due to
The subah of Awadh was extended from Kannauj
the conspiracy of the nawab’s officials, Siraj was
district in the West to the river Karmnasa in the East.
defeated by Clive’s forces in Battle of Plassey on 23rd
June, 1757. Saadat Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk (1722-1739 AD)
Siraj-ud-Daula was captured and murdered by the He was the founder of the autonomous kingdom of
order of Mir Jafar’s son, Miran. The Battle of Plassey Awadh. He was appointed Governor of Awadh in 1722.
had political significance for it laid the foundation of At the time of his appointment, many rebellious
the British Empire in India. zamindars refused to pay the land tax, organised their
Mir Qasim to Power own private armies, erected forts and defied the
Imperial Government.
After the death of Miran, the son of Mir Jaffar there
was a tussle over authority of Bengal between Mir For years Saadat Khan had to wage war upon the
Qasim, the son-in-law of Mir Jafar and Miran’s son. zamindars. He succeeded in suppressing lawlessness
and disciplining the big zamindars and thus,
Vansittart, the new Governor of Calcutta agreed to
increasing the financial resources of his government.
support Mir Qasim’s claim after a treaty between Mir
Qasim and the East India Company was signed in 1760. Saadat Khan also carried out a fresh revenue
settlement in 1723.
Mir Qasim was the ablest nawab among the
successors of Alivardi Khan. After assuming power, He is said to have improved the lot of the peasant by
Mir Qasim shifted the capital from Murshidabad to levying equitable land revenue and by protecting them
Munger in Bihar. from oppression by the big zamindars. He also
continued the jagir system.
Battle of Buxar Like the Bengal nawabs, Saadat Khan too did not
The combined armies of Mir Qasim, the Nawab of discriminate between Hindus and Muslims. Many of
Awadh and Shah Alam II were defeated by the his commanders and high officials were Hindus.
English forces under Major Hector Munro at Buxar His troops were well paid, well armed and well
on 22nd October, 1764 in a closely contested battle. trained. His administration was efficient.
The English campaign against Mir Qasim was short
He was succeeded by his nephew Safdar Jang, who
but decisive.
was simultaneously appointed the wazir of the empire
The importance of this battle lay in the fact that not in 1748 and granted in addition the province of
only the Nawab of Bengal but also the Mughal Allahabad.
Emperor of India was defeated by the English.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
141

Safdar Jang (1739-1754 AD) Asaf-ud-Daula (1775-1797 AD)

Safdar Jang gave a long period of peace to the He signed the Treaty of Faizabad (1755 AD) with the
people of Awadh and Allahabad before his death British. He transferred his capital from Faizabad to
in 1754. Lucknow in 1775 AD.
He suppressed rebellious zamindars, won over He is also known for promoting Lucknow culture and
others and made an alliance with the Maratha built important monuments like Imambara and Rumi
Sardars. He was able to win the loyalty of Rajput Darwaza.
chieftains and Shaifyizadas.
He carried on warfare against the Rohillas and the
Saadat Khan (1798-1840 AD)
Bangash Pathans. In his war against the Bangash He was elder brother of Asaf. He ascended the throne in
Pathans in 1750-51, he secured the help of Maratha 1798 AD with the help of the British.
Military. He signed a subsidiary treaty with Lord Wellesley in
Safdar Jang entered into an agreement with the November 1801 AD. By the treaty, the Nawab was
Peshwa by which the Peshwa was to help the deprived of about half of his territory for the
Mughal Empire against Ahmad Shah Abdali and to maintenance of the subsidiary troops.
protect it from such internal rebels as the Indian
Wajid Ali Shah (1841-56 AD)
Pathans and the Rajput rajas.
He was the last Nawab of Awadh. During his reign,
In return the Peshwa was to be paid ` 50 lakhs,
Lord Dalhousie annexed Awadh under the infamous
granted the Chauth of the Punjab, Sind and several
‘Doctrine of Lapse’ on the grounds of bad governance.
districts of Northern India and made the Governor
of Ajmer and Agra. But the agreement failed.
Safdar Jang organised an equitable system of Independent Kingdoms
justice. He adopted a policy of impartiality in the They came into existence primarily due to the
employment of Hindus and Muslims. destablisation of the Mughal control over the Provinces.
The highest post in his government was held by a e.g., ‘Mysore and Rajputs Kingdoms’.
Hindu Maharaja Nawab Rai. The prolonged period
of peace and of economic prosperity of the nobles Mysore
under the government of the nawabs resulted in Next to Hyderabad, the most important power that emerged
time in the growth of a distinct Lucknow culture in South India was Mysore under Haider Ali. The kingdom
around the Awadh court. of Mysore had preserved its independence ever since, the
Lucknow, for long had been an important seat of the end of the Vijayanagara Empire.
Awadh Nawabs. After 1775, Delhi rivalled in its It had been only nominally a part of the Mughal Empire. It
patronage of the arts and literature. It also became independent under Hindu Wodeyar dynasty in
developed as an important centre of handicrafts. 1565 after the fall of Vijayanagar Empire.
Crafts and culture also percolated to towns under
Some of the important rulers of Mysore were as follows:
the patronage of local chieftains and zamindars.

Shuja-ud-Daula (AD 1754-1775) Haider Ali (1761-1782 AD)

He was born in 1721 and started his career as a petty
He was the son of Safdar Jung. Ali Gauhar (Shah
officer in the Mysore army. Though uneducated, he
Alam), the heir apparent of the puppet Mughal
possessed a keen intellect and was a man of great
emperor Alamgir II was provided protection at his
energy, daring and determination. He was also a brilliant
court.
commander and a diplomat.
He was driven out of Delhi by Turani Wazir,
Haider Ali soon found his opportunity in the wars which
Imad-ul-Mulk. He was an ally of the Afghan
involved Mysore for more than 20 years. Cleverly, using
invader Ahmad Shah Abdali.
the opportunities that came his way, he gradually rose in
He concluded the Treaty of Banaras (1773 AD), the Mysore army.
with Warren Hastings whereby Kara and Allahabad
He soon recognised the advantages of Western military
were sold to the Nawab and British troops were
training and applied it to the troops under his own
stationed at Awadh to protect the Nawab, for which
command.
he had to pay a subsidy to the British.
He established a modern arsenal in Dindigul in 1755
He defeated the Rohillas with the help of the British
with the help of French experts.
and annexed Rohilkhand to Awadh in 1774 AD.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
142

He was responsible for introducing the Mughal Modern Industrialisation Under Tipu Sultan
administrative and revenue system in his dominions. Tipu Sultan made some attempts to introduce modern
Haider Ali took over Mysore when it was a weak and industries in India by importing foreign workmen as
divided state. Soon, made it one of the leading Indian experts and by extending state support to many
powers. industries.
He practiced religious tolerance and his first Diwan He sent emissaries to France, Turkey, Iran and Pegu,
and many other officials were Hindus. Myanmar to develop foreign trade. He also traded with
Almost from the beginning of the establishment of his China.
power, Haider Ali was engaged in wars with the He even tried to set up a trading company on the
Maratha sardars, the Nizam and the British. In 1769, pattern of European companies and thus sought to
he repeatedly defeated the British forces and reached imitate their commercial practices.
the walls of Madras. He tried to promote trade with Russia and Arabia by
Haider Ali died in 1782 in the course of the Second setting up state trading institutions in the port towns.
Anglo-Mysore War and was succeeded by his son
Tipu. Religious Policies of Tipu Sultan
Tipu was orthodox in his religious views. He was
Tipu Sultan (1792-1799 AD) tolerant and enlightened in his approach towards
Tipu Sultan, who ruled Mysore till his death at the other religions.
hands of the British in 1799, was a man of complex Tipu gave money for the construction of the image of
character. Goddess Sarda in the Sringeri Temple after, it was
His desire to change with the times was symbolised in looted by Maratha horsemen in 1791.
the introduction of a new calendar, a new system of Tipu regularly gave gifts to this temple as well as
coinage and new scales of weights and measures. several other temples. The famous temple of Sri
His personal library contained books on such diverse Ranganath was situated barely a hundred yards from
subjects as religion, history, military science, his palace.
medicine and mathematics. But while he treated the vast majority of his Hindu and
He showed a keen interest in the French Revolution. Christian subjects with consideration and tolerance,
He planted a Tree of Liberty at Srirangapatam and he he was harsh on those Hindus and Christians who
became a member of a Jacobin Club. might directly or indirectly aid the British against
Mysore.
Economic Changes Under Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan tried to do away with the custom of
giving jagirs and thus increase state income. Anglo- Mysore Wars
n First Anglo-Mysore War (1767-1769) It was concluded
He also made an attempt to reduce the hereditary by Treaty of Madras.
possessions of the poligars and to eliminate the n Second Anglo-Mysore War (1779-1784) It was
intermediaries between the state and the cultivator. concluded by Treaty of Mangalore.
However, his land revenue was as high as that of n Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790-92) It was concluded
other contemporary rulers—it ranged up to one-third by Treaty of Seringapatam.
of the gross produce. n Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799) It was conquered by
But he checked the collection of illegal cesses and he British forces.
was liberal in granting remissions.
Miliatry Under Tipu Sultan The Rajputs
Tipu’s troops remained disciplined and loyal to him The principal Rajput states took advantage of the
to the last while there was general indiscipline among growing weakness of Mughal power to virtually free
Indian armies. themselves from central control while at the same
His infantry was armed with muskets and bayonets in time increasing their influence in the rest of the
the European fashion which were manufactured in empire.
Mysore. In the reign of Farrukhsiyar and Muhammad Shah,
Tipu Sultan also made an effort to build a modern the rulers of Amber and Marwar were appointed
navy after 1796. For this purpose, he established two governors of important Mughal provinces such as
dockyards, the models of the ships being supplied by Agra, Gujarat, and Malwa.
the Sultan himself.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
143

Raja Sawai Jai Singh of Amber (1681-1743 AD) With the withdrawal of Abdali from the Punjab, they
Jai Singh was a distinguished statesman, law-maker, began to fill the political vacuum. Between 1765 and
and reformer. He was a man of science in an age 1800 they brought the Punjab and Jammu under their
when Indians were oblivious of scientific progress. control.
He founded the city of Jaipur and made it a great But at this stage, power in the Sikh polity became more
seat of science and art. Jaipur was built upon strictly horizontally structured, as misls or combinations based
scientific principles and according to a regular plan. on kinship ties, now held territories as units.
Its broad streets are intersected at right angles. The political authority in Punjab remained
Jai Singh was above everything a great astronomer. decentralised and more horizontally dispersed during
He erected observatories with accurate and this whole period until Ranjit Singh, the chief of the
advanced instruments, some of them of his own Sukerchakia misl, tried to raise a more centralised Sikh
invention, at Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Varanasi and state at the end of the 18th century.
Mathura.
He drew up a set of tables, entitled Zij Muhammad New States
Shahi, to enable people to make astronomical They were the states set up by the rebels against the Mughal
observations. Empire.
He had Euclid’s ‘Elements of Geometry’ translated
into Sanskrit as also several works on trignometry Punjab
and Napier’s work on the construction and use of The kingdom of Punjab was founded by Maharaja Ranjit
logarithms. Singh.
Jai Singh was also a social reformer. He tried to Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839 AD)
enforce a law to reduce the lavish expenditure
which the Rajputs had to incur on their daughters’ He captured Lahore in 1799 and Amritsar in 1802.
weddings. He soon brought all Sikh chiefs West of the Sutlej under
This had given rise to the evil practice of female his control and established his own kingdom in the
infanticide. This remarkable prince ruled Jaipur for Punjab. Later, he conquered Kashmir, Peshawar and
nearly 44 years from 1699 to 1743. Multan.
Economic System Under Maharaja Ranjit Singh
The Sikhs Ranjit Singh did not make any changes in the system of
The Sikhism religion was founded at the end of the land revenue promulgated earlier by the Mughals.
15th century by Guru Nanak, this religion spread
The amount of land revenue was calculated on the basis
among the Jat peasantry and other lower castes of
of 50% of the gross produce.
the Punjab.
The transformation of the Sikhs into a militant, Military Under Maharaja Ranjit Singh
fighting community was begun by Guru Har Ranjit Singh built up a powerful, disciplined and well
Gobind. equipped army along European lines with the help of
It was, however, under the leadership of Guru European instructors.
Gobind Singh, the tenth and last Guru of Sikhs, that His new army was not confined to the Sikhs. He also
they became a political and military force. recruited Gurkhas, Biharis, Oriyas, Pathans, Dogras and
After Guru Gobind Singh’s death, Banda Bahadur Punjabi Muslims.
rallied together the peasants and the lower. Ranjit Singh set up modern industries to manufacture
Castes of the Punjab and carried on a vigorous cannon at Lahore and employed Muslim gunners to use
though unequal struggle against the Mughal army. them. He possessed the second-best army in Asia, the
first being the army of the English East India Company.
However, he failed because Mughal centre was still
strong and the upper classes and castes of Punjab Administration Under Maharaja Ranjit Singh
joined forces against Banda Bahadur for his Ranjit Singh had great capacity for choosing his ministers
championship of the lower castes and rural poor. and officials. His court was full of outstanding men.
The invasion of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah He was tolerant and liberal in religious matters. He
Abdali and the consequent dislocation of Punjab patronised not only Sikh but also Muslim and Hindu
administration gave the Sikhs in opportunity to rise holy men. Many of his important ministers and
once again. commanders were Muslims and Hindus.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
144

The most prominent and trusted of Maharaja Ranjit In 1719, Balaji Vishwanath, as the head of Maratha
Singh’s ministers was Fakir Aziz Uddin, while his force accompanied Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan.
Finance Minister was Dewan Dina Nath. They helped the Sayyid Brothers in overthrowing
The Sikh peasants were as much oppressed by Sikh Farrukhsiyyar in Delhi. After that Peshwa secured a
chiefs as was the Hindu or Muslim peasant. In fact, Mughal Sanad (imperial order) recognising Shahu’s
the structure of the Punjab as a state under Ranjit right to Chauth and Sardeshmukhi (one-fourth and
Singh was similar to the structure of the other Indian one-tenth respectively) in six Mughal provinces of
states of the 18th century. Deccan, Chauth of Malwa and Gujarat and
independent status in Maharashtra.
British Conquest of Punjab
After Maratha civil war was brought to an end, the
The process of decline of Sikh Empire began with the control of the state gradually passed on from the line
death of Ranjit Singh in 1839. of Shivaji to that of the Peshwas.
Plans and counter plans of various groups to capture After Balaji Vishwanath died in 1720, he was succeeded
the throne of Lahore provided an opportunity for as Peshwa by his 20 year old son Baji Rao I.
decesive action by the English.
By 1740, when Baji Rao died, the Marathas had won
The First Anglo-Sikh War started in 1845 AD, the control over Malwa, Gujarat and parts of Bundelkhand.
Britishers were led by Hughe Gough. Lord Hardinge
The Maratha families of Gaekwad, Holkar, Scindia
was the Governor-General of India at that time.
and Bhosle came into prominence during this period
Sikh army was led by Raja Lal Singh and Teg Singh. in the short period of 20 years.
The end of the First Anglo-Sikh war forced the Sikhs In the crucial Third Battle of Panipat, the Maratha
to sign a humiliating treaty in 1846, which included- forces under Sadashiv Rao Bhao were routed by
war indemnity of more than one crore rupee to the Abdali and this marked the beginning of the decline
English. of Maratha power.
Since, the Sikhs were not able to pay entire was
indemnity, Kashmir including Jammu was sold to Kerala
Gulab Singh. At the beginning of the 18th century Kerala was divided
After the defeat of Sikhs in Second Anglo-Sikh War up among a large number of feudal chiefs and rajas.
(1848-49), Punjab fell into the hands of English. The four most important states were those of Calicut,
Lord Dalhousie was the Governor-General of India at under the Zamorin, Chirakkal, Cochin and Travancore.
that time.
Following are the two most prominent kings that ruled
over Kerala:
The Marathas
They were another powerful regional kingdom to King Martanda Varma
arise out of a sustained opposition to the Mughal Rule. The kingdom of Travancore rose into prominence
The Maratha Confederacy was a dominating power after 1729 under King Martanda Varma, one of the
in many regions of India during the 18th Century. The leading statesmen of the 18th century.
rule of Marathas presented perhaps the most He subdued the feudatories, conquered Quilon and
formidable challenge to Mughal Rule both in Deccan Elay Adam and defeated the Dutch, thus ending their
and in the North. political power in Kerala.
When Aurangzeb died after 40 years of futile warfare He organised a strong army on the Western model with
in the Deccan, the Marathas still remained to be the help of European officers and armed it with modern
subjugated and after his death Shivaji’s grandson weapons. He also constructed a modern arsenal.
Shahu was released by Bahadur Shah. He used his new army to expand Northwards and the
The Maratha Kingdom was, however, certainly boundaries of Travancore soon extended from
weakened and the process was further worsened due Kanyakumari to Cochin. He undertook many irrigation
to the civil war between Shivaji’s grandson Shahu at works, built roads and canals to encourage foreign trade.
Satara and his aunt Tarabai at Kolhapur who had By 1763, all the petty principalities of Kerala had been
carried out an Anti-Mughal struggle since, 1700 in the absorbed or subordinated by the three big states of
name of her son Shivaji II. Cochin, Travancore and Calicut.
The contest with the Tarabai faction was settled later Haider Ali began his invasion of Kerala in 1766 and in
in the Treaty of Warna in 1731, which gave the state the end annexed Northern Kerala up to Cochin,
of Kolhapur to Shivaji II. including the territories of the Zamorin of Calicut.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
145

Rama Varma Suraj Mal (1756-1763 AD)

Rama Varma was successor of Martanda Varma. He Suraj Mal compelled the Mughal authorities to
was a poet, scholar, musician, renowned actor and a recognise him by successfully withstanding a siege by
man of great culture. Abdali’s army. He supported the Marathas in the
He conversed fluently in English. He took a keen Third Battle of Panipat.
interest in European affairs and regularly read He tried to lay the foundation of an enduring state by
newspapers and journals published in London, adopting the Mughal revenue system.
Calcutta and Madras. But after his death in 1763, the Jat state declined and
was split up among petty zamindars most of whom
Malyalam Literature in 18th Century lived by plunder.
The 18th century saw a remarkable revival in Malayalam
literature. This was due in part to the rajas and chiefs of Rohilakhand
Kerala who were great patrons of literature. Trivandrum, Muhammad Khan Bangash and Afghan adventurer
the capital of Travancore, became a famous centre of
established his control over the territory around
Sanskrit scholarship in the second half of the 18th century.
Farrukhabad (between what are now Aligarh and
Kanpur).
The Jats During the collapse of administration following Nadir
The agriculturists Jat settlers living around Delhi, Shah’s invasion, Ali Muhammad Khan carved out a
Mathura and Agra had revolted against the oppressive separate principality, known as Rohilakhand in 1741,
policies of Aurangzeb. However, the Mughal Emperor at the foothills of the Himalayas between the Ganga
Aurangzeb suppressed the revolt but the area in the South and the Kumaon hills in the North.
remained disturbed. The Rohilas clashed constantly with Awadh, Delhi
Though originally a peasant uprising, the Jat revolt and the Jats.
was led by zamindars. Sooner, it became predatory. Later Mughal States and their Rulers
The Jat state of Bharatpur was set up by Churaman
State Ruler Year
and Badan Singh. Jat power reached its highest glory
under Suraj Mal (1756-1763). Hyderabad Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah 1724

Some important leaders of the community were as Karnataka Saadutullah Khan 1720
follows: Bengal Murshid Quli Khan 1719-20
Awadh Saadat Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk 1722
Gokla
Mysore Haider Ali 1761
He was the zamindar of Tilpat, who provided
leadership to the Jat uprisings in 1669 AD. The Rohilakhand Muhammad Khan Bangash 1741
uprising was suppressed by the Mughal Governor,
Hasan Ali Khan.
Socio-Economic Conditions
Rajarama (1670-1688 AD) During 18th Century
He was the Zamindar of Sinsani. He provided
18th century India failed to make progress
leadership to the Jat uprisings in 1685 AD, which was
economically, socially or culturally, at an adequate
suppressed by Raja Bishan Singh Kachwaha of
pace.
Amber.
The common people remained impoverished,
Churaman (1690-1721 AD) backward and oppressed, the rich and the powerful
He obtained Mansab from the Mughal ruler Bahadur enjoyed a life of luxury and lavishness.
Shah I and established the State of Bharatpur. He
served in Bahadur Shah’s campaign against Banda Agriculture
Bahadur. Though agriculture was technically backward, it was
worked by the hard labour of peasants. It was
Badan Singh (1722 -1756 AD) backward and stagnant.
He was the nephew of Churaman.
The state, zamindars and jagirdars and revenue
Ahmad Shah Abdali gave him the title of Raja. He may farmers tried to extract maximum amount of farmer’s
be regarded as the real founder of the Jat States of produce from him. It was common across all the
Bharatpur. autonomous states.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
146

Trade and Industry The family system was primarily patriarchal and caste
was the central feature of the social life of the Hindus.
On account of being self-sufficient in handicrafts
Religious conversions occurred and caste proved to be a
and agricultural products, India did not import
major divisive force and element of disintegration in 18th
foreign goods on a large scale.
century India.
On the other hand, its industrial and agricultural
products were in good demand in foreign markets. Position of Women in Society
Hence, its exports were more than its imports; In the patriarchal family system in India, women
trade was balanced by import of silver and gold. possessed little individuality of their own. While upper
India was known as a sink of precious metals. class women remained at home, lower class women
Textile industry flourished during 18th century worked in fields and outside their homes supplementing
important centres of Textile Industry- Dacca, the family income.
Murshidabad, Patna, Surat, Ahmedabad, Haruch, Certain outdated and exploitative social customs and
Chanderi, Burhanpur, Jaunpur, Varanasi, traditions such as the purdah, sati, child marriage,
Lucknow, Agra, Multan, Lahore polygamy did exist in 18th century.

Items of Import
Condition of Slaves
European travellers and administrators, who came in the
n From the Persian Gulf Region Pearls, raw silk,
wool, dates, dried fruits and rose water 17th century, reported the widespread prevalence of
n From Arabia Coffee, gold, drugs and honey
slaves in India.
n From China Tea, sugar, porcelain and silk It is believed that some people were compelled to sell
n From Tibet Gold, musk and woolen cloth their offspring due to economic distress, famines, natural
n From Africa Ivory and drugs calamities and extreme poverty. Generally higher classes
n From Europe Woolen cloth, copper, iron, lead and
of Rajputs, Khatris and Kayasthas kept women slave for
paper. domestic work.

Development of Art and Architecture

Items of Export During 18th Century
Cotton textiles, raw silk and silk fabrics, hardware, The decline of the imperial Mughals forced talented
indigo, saltpeter, opium, rice, wheat, sugar, pepper people to seek the patronage of newly established state
and other spices, precious stones and drugs. courts like Hyderabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Murshidabad,
Status of Education Patna, Kashmir, etc.
The education imparted in 18th century India was At Lucknow, Asaf-ud-Daula built the Bada Imambara in
still traditional, which could not match with the 1784. In the first half of the 18th century, in the South, in
rapid developments in the West. Kerala, the Padmanabhapuram Palace, was constructed
they were famous for its architecture and mural
The knowledge was confined to literature, law,
paintings. New schools of painting were born and
religion, philosophy and logic and excluded the
achieved distinction. The paintings of the Rajputana and
study of physical and natural sciences, technology
and geography. Kangra schools became prominent and revealed new
vitality and taste.
Elementary education among the Hindus and the
Muslims was quite widespread. A distinct feature of the literary life of the 18th century
was the growth of Urdu language and poetry. It was the
The Hindu and Muslim elementary schools were
period of Urdu poets like Mir, Sauda, Nazir and Mirza
called pathshalas and maktabs respectively. The
Ghalib (19th century).
education was confined to reading, writing and
arithmetic. Children from the lower caste Kanchan Nambiar was a noted Malayalam poet. The
sometimes attended the schools, but female Tamil language was enriched by sittar poetry.
presence was rare. Thayumanavar (1706-44), one of the best exponents of
Sittar poetry, protested against the abuses of temple rule
Social Conditions and the caste system.
The society of 18th century India was Heer-Ranjha, the romantic epic in Punjabi literature, was
characterised by traditional outlook and composed by Warris Shah.
stagnation. Though there existed a certain degree In Sindhi literature, Shah Abdul Latif composed Risalo,
of broad cultural unity, people were divided by a collection of poems. These are just some examples of
caste, religion, region, tribe and language. literary works in regional languages.
 INDIAN HISTORY
NCERT Notes
CHAPTER 24 147

Administrative & Economic

Policies Under British Rule

Sources Class-VIII New NCERT Chap 2 (Form Trade to Territory), Chap 3 (Ruling the Country Side), Chap 7 (Civilising
the ‘Native’, Educating the Nation), Class-VIII Old NCERT Chap 4 (Administrative Structure, Policies and
Impact of British Rule),Class-XII Old NCERT Chap 3 (The Structure of Government and Economic Policies
of the British Empire of India, 1757-1857),

British rule in India can be divided into two

phases: Phase One 1773-1857 (The Company
Acts and Amendments Under British Rule
Rule) and Second Phase 1857-1947 (The Crown Major Acts and amendments of British Era are described
Rule). below :
This is a popular classification because it was the
year 1857 that completely changed the way
Phase 1 Company Rule (1773-1857)
British governed in India. After the Battle of Buxar in 1764, the East India Company
got the Diwani (right to collect revenue) of Bengal, Bihar
They received a major jolt in the form of Revolt
and Orissa.
of 1857, that compelled them to bring about some
drastic changes in their administrative, economic An annual subsidy was to be paid to the Mughal Emperor,
and social structure. Shah Alam II and an annual pension to the Nawab of
Awadh, Shuja-ud-Daula.
Revolt of 1857, is also stated as First War of
Independence by V D Savarkar. It was a The Company appointed two Indians as the Deputy
cumulative effect of British expansionist policies, Diwans—Mohammad Reza Khan for Bengal and Raja
economic exploitations and administrative Shitab Rai for Bihar.
innovation over years. It had an adverse effect In 1767, British for the first time attempted to intervene in
on all sections and classes of Indian society. economic affairs and demanded 10% share in the plunder
Hence, people actively revolted against the amounting to 4 million pounds annually.
government. From the year 1765 to 1772, the dual system of government
It was an unexpected revolt from India which continued, where the Company had the authority but no
had shaken the Britishers. Hence, it became responsibility and its Indian representatives had all the
inevitable to bring changes in the administrative, responsibility but no authority.
economic and social structure in the country. This period was characterised by :
The nature and objective of these changes were — Widespread corruption among servants of the Company
to serve the British imperial ideology but who made full use of private trading to enrich themselves.
unintentionally they introduced elements of the — Excessive revenue collection and oppression of peasantry.
modern State into India’s political and — The Company’s bankruptcy, while the servants were
administrative system. flourishing.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
148

By now the British government decided to regulate the Charter Act of 1813
Company to bring some order into its business. From now,
The Act abolished the trade monopoly of the East
there would be a gradual increase in controlling laws.
India Company in India and asserted sovereignty of
Regulating Act of 1773 British Crown over Company’s territories in India.
The Governor of Bengal was designated as the Governor- It provided for spread of Western education in India
General of Bengal and he was nominated as Governor- and permitted Christian missionaries to come to
General for all the three Presidencies of Bengal, Madras India.
and Bombay. Local governments were authorised to impose
Executive Council of four members was created to assist taxes.
Governor-General in the administration.
Charter Act of 1833
Supreme Court at Calcutta was established in 1774. It
The Act made Governor-General of Bengal as
comprised of One Chief Justice and three other judges.
Governor-General of India with all civil and
Court of Directors (governing body of the Company) had military powers. (First Governor-General of India-
to report on its revenue, civil and military affairs in India Lord William Bentinck).
to British Government.
Governor-General of India was given all legislative
Amending Act of 1781 (Act of Settlement 1781) powers. Laws that were made by this act were
This act was passed in order to rectify the loopholes in known as Acts, where as previously were known as
the Regulating Act of 1773. It was also known as Act of Regulations.
Settlement. Activities of East India Company as a Commercial
The activities of the Governor-General, his Executive body were ended.
Council and the servants of the Company were Competition for selection of Civil Servants was
exempted from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. introduced in which Indians could also participate
Supreme Court had to consider religious and social without any discrimination.
customs of Indians while administering the law. Charter Act of 1853
Act laid down that the appeals from the Provincial Legislative and Executive functions of Governor-
Courts could be taken to the Governor- General’s Council were separated and established
General-in-Council and not to the Supreme Court. Governor-General’s Legislative council known as
Pitts India Act of 1784 Indian Central Legislative Council.
The act made distinction between commercial and Macaulay Committee was appointed on Indian
political functions of the Company. Civil Services was appointed in 1854 for
recruitment and selection of Civil Servants.
Board of Control was created to manage the political
affairs of the Company. Local Representation of in Central Legislative
Council was introduced. Four members were
Board of Control were empowered to manage political appointed from governments of Bengal, Madras
affairs and the civil and military government or revenues and Agra.
of the British possessions in India. Court of Directors was
empowered to manage commercial affairs. Phase II Crown Rule (1858-1947)
System of Dual Government was also established.
After the revolt of 1857, Britishs were compelled to
Act of 1786 bring about some drastic change in Administrative,
Lord Cornwallis was appointed as Governor-General of Economic and Social Structure.
Bengal in 1786 and the act was enacted to endorse his Government of India Act, 1858
demands.
This act was passed due to Revolt of 1857. It was
He demanded power to supersede decision of his council also known as Act of Good Governance of India.
and would operate as Commander-in-Chief.
The Act also abolished the East India Company and
Charter Act of 1793 transferred all its powers and possessions to the
Governor-General of Bengal was given more power over Crown.
governments of Bombay and Madras and trade monopoly Power was now to be exercised by Secretary of
of the Company was extended for another twenty years. State for India aided by a Council. Secretary was a
Board of Control and their staff were to be paid out of member of British Cabinet and was responsible to
Indian revenues. British Cabinet.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
149

System of Dual Government was put to an end by Government of India Act, 1919
abolishing Board of Control and Court of Directors. It is also known as Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms.
Designation of Governor-General of India was The central and provincial legislatures were
changed to Viceroy of India (direct representative of authorised to make laws on their respective list of
British Crown). subjects.
Governor-General was to have an Executive Council Dyarchy system of government was introduced. It
member who were to act as heads of different divided the provincial subjects into two parts–
departments and their position was similar to that of transferred and reserved.
Cabinet Ministers.
The transferred subjects - administered by the
Indian Councils Act, 1861 Governor with the aid of Ministers responsible to the
It enlarged Governor-General’s Council for purpose of legislative council.
making laws known as Imperial Legislative Council. The reserved subjects - administered by the Governor
It was authorised to add six to twelve members out of and his executive council without being responsible to
which at least half were to be Indians and it only the legislative council.
acted as an advisory body. Bicameralism and direct elections were introduced in
It provided that the Viceroy should nominate some the country. Indian Legislative Council was replaced
Indians as non-official members of his expanded by a Bicameral Legislature consisting of an Upper
council. House (Council of State) and a Lower House
(Legislative Assembly). The majority of members of
In 1862, Lord Canning, the then Viceroy, nominated
both the Houses were chosen by direct election.
three Indians to his legislative council–the Raja of
Banaras, the Maharaja of Patiala and Sir Dinkar Rao. A Central Public Service Commission was set up in
1926 for recruiting civil servants.
It initiated the process of decentralisation by
restoring the legislative powers to the Bombay and Government of India Act, 1935
Madras Presidencies. It created New Legislative
It provided for the establishment of an All India
Councils for Bengal, North-Western Provinces and
Federation consisting of provinces and princely states
Punjab in 1862, 1886 and 1897 respectively.
as units.
Indian Councils Act, 1892 The Act divided the powers between the Centre and
Under this act number of non-official members were units in terms of three lists– Federal List for Centre,
increased but maintained official majority in them. with 59 items, Provincial List for provinces, with
Functions of Legislative Council were increased and 54 items, Concurrent List for both, with 36 items.
was conferred power to discuss budget and asking Residuary powers were given to the Viceroy.
questions to executive. It abolished dyarchy in the provinces and introduced
Under this Act, system of elections was introduced. ‘provincial autonomy’ in its place.
Bicameralism was introduced in six out of eleven
Indian Councils Act, 1909 provinces., the legislatures of Bengal, Bombay,
It is also known as Morley Minto Reforms. Madras, Bihar, Assam and the United Provinces were
It increased the size of both Central (from 16 to 60) made bicameral.
and Provincial Legislative Council and retained The Act provided for setting up of following
official majority in the Central Legislative Council, institutions in India :
but allowed the provincial legislative councils to have — Reserve Bank of India.
non-official majority.
— Federal Public Service Commission and Provincial
For the first time, it provided for the association of
Service Commission and Joint Public Service
Indians with the executive councils of the Viceroy
commission.
and Governors.
— Federal Court (1937)
Satyendra Prasad Sinha became the first Indian to
join the Viceroy’s executive council. He was Indian Independence Act, 1947
appointed as the ‘Law Member’. British rule in India came to an end and India was
It introduced a system of communal representation declared as an independent and sovereign state from
for Muslims by accepting the concept of ‘separate 15th August, 1947.
electorate’. Thus, the Act ‘legalised communalism’ India was partitioned of India independent dominions
and Lord Minto came to be known as the Father of of India and Pakistan were created.
Communal Electorate.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
150

Act abolished the office of the Secretary of State for

India and transferred his functions to the Secretary of
Economic Policies of British
State for Commonwealth Affairs. The major difference between the British colonists in
Act designated the Governor-General of India and the India and earlier invaders was that none of the earlier
provincial governors as constitutional (nominal) heads invaders made any structural changes in Indian
of the states. economy or drained away India’s wealth as tribute.
British rule in India caused a transformation of
India’s economy into a colonial economy, i.e., the
Provincial Administration structure and operation of Indian economy were
For the administrative convenience, the British had determined by the interests of the British economy.
divided India into provinces three of which – Bengal, The economic policies of British can be broadly
Madras and Bombay were known as Presidencies. divided into three phases which are as follows:
They were administered by a Governor and his three
executive councils, who were appointed by the crown. Phase 1 of Mercantilism
The Central government exercised authoritarian This phase was based on two basic objectives
control over the provincial expenditure. But this (i) To acquire a monopoly of trade with India,
system proved quite wasteful in practice. against other English or European merchants or
In 1870, Lord Mayo had taken the first step in the trading companies as well as against the Indian
direction of separating central and provincial finances. merchants;
Lord Mayo’s scheme was enlarged in 1877 by Lord (ii) To directly appropriate or take over governmental
Lytton who transferred to the provinces certain other revenues through control over State power.
heads of expenditure such as Land Revenue, Excise, This phase consisted of large-scale drain of wealth
General Administration and Law and Justice. from India.
The financial arrangements between the centre and the There was no large-scale import of British
provinces were to be reviewed every five years. manufactures into India but increase in export of
Indian textiles.
Local Bodies
Phase 2 of Mercentalism /Free Trade/
There were many factors which made it neccessary for
the British government in India to war towards Industrial Capitalism
establishing local bodies such as Free entry was also granted to the British capitalists
— Financial difficulties faced by the Government due to to develop tea, coffee and indigo plantations, trade,
over centralisation, made decentralisation imperative. transport, mining and modern industries in India.
— The utilisation of local taxes for local welfare could The Permanent Settlement and the Ryotwari system
be used to counter any public criticism of British in agriculture were introduced to transform
reluctant to draw upon an already overbourdened traditional agrarian structure into a capitalist one.
treasury or to tax the rich upper class. The taxation and the burden on peasant rose sharply
Local bodies were first formed in the period between due to economic transformation and costly
1864 and 1868, but in most cases consisted of administration (civil as well as military).
nominated members and were headed by district
Phase 3 of Mercentilism/Financial Capitalism
magistrates.
The third stage is often described as the Era of
In 1882, the Government of Lord Ripon desired the
Foreign Investments and International Competition
provincial government to apply the same principle of
for Colonies.
financial decentralisation in case of local bodies
implemented by Lord Mayo’s government. For his Britain’s industrial supremacy was challenged by
contributions, Lord Ripon is called ‘Father of several countries of Europe, the United States and
Local-self Government in India’. Japan.
The strengthening of colonial rule over India was
Rule of Law meant to keep out the rivals as well as to attract
In India, British implemented the rule of law. That British capital to India and provide it security.
means their administration was guided by laws and As a result, a very large amount of British capital got
rules not by the wish or direction of the ruler. invested in railways, loans (to the Government of
The law classified the rights of citizens, their India), trade and to a lesser extent, in plantations,
responsibilities and special privileges. coal mining, jute mills, shipping and banking in India.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
151

Land Revenue System Mahalwari System

In order to have an effective control over economy, This system was devised after Permanent Settlement and
British introduced many Land Revenue systems in Ryotwari System. Mahalwari system was formally
different areas, which are as follows : launched in 1822 based upon the regulation of East India
Company Secretary Holt Mackenzie.
Permanent Settlement It was used in 30% area of British India (North-West
The system of Permanent Settlement was provinces, parts of Central India, Punjab and Ganga
introduced in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, districts of Valley).
Banaras and Northern districts of Madras by Lord Under this system, revenue was fixed on the basis of
Cornwallis in 1793. assessment of production of the complete village (mahal)
According to the Permanent Land Revenue and was fixed collectively for all the landowners.
Settlement, the Zamindars were recognised as the This revenue settlement was done with the landlords
permanent owners of the land and acted as the who collectively claim to be the landlords of the village.
agents of the government.
Mahalwari system was basically a dual system in which
1/11th of the revenue could be retained by settlement was done collectively with the whole
zamindars while 10/11th was to be submitted to community and also with the individual landlords. The
the Company. revenue was periodically revised in this system.
The estate of the landlord was to be treated as his
property and was divisible among his dependents Taluqdari System
upon his death. The term taluqdar has different meanings in different
This system strengthened feudalism in upper parts of India. In Oudh, taluqdar is a great landholder.
sections and slavery in lower sections of society. But in Bengal, a taluqdar is next to zamindar in extent of
land control and social status.
Due to fixation of land revenue, the income of
government through land revenue could not Government made an agreement with the taluqdar for
increase even if the cost of agricultural land and period of 30 years. He collected the revenue from the
production increased. villages under his charge. Then, he deposited with
revenue the government after deducting cost of
Most of the zamindars had their focus on collection
collection and his own remuneration.
of maximum revenue rather than focusing on
betterment of agricultural land, which degraded
the condition of farmers.
Banking System Under British Rule
The banking system in India is not a new phenomenon and
Zamindars started shifting to the cities, which gave
its earliest evidence can be traced back to the Vedic
rise to Absentee Landlordism.
civilisation.
Sunset Law was introduced in 1794 according to
which if a Zamindar fails to submit the revenue But the evolution and development of the modern banking
from his land by the sunset of the fixed date, his system can be traced back to the British era. The first
estate would be confiscated and auctioned. modern bank set up in India was Bank of Hindustan
in 1770.
Ryotwari System The development of the Indian banking system can be
It was introduced in the territories of the Company segregated into two phases :
by Thomas Munroe and Captain Reed in 1820. Pre independence era (1786 to 1947)
Ryots (or Raiyyats) were recognised as owners of Post independent era (after 1947)
the land they cultivated and the revenue was to be
collected directly from them. Pre-Independence Era of Banking
The farmers had to pay revenue between 45% and System (1786 to 1947)
55% to the Company. The system was revised and The roots of the modern banking system can be traced
improved by Wingate and Goldsmith after 1836. back to the establishment of the Bank of Calcutta in
Revenue was not fixed so that government can 1786. Later on, the British set up Presidency Banks at
increase revenue in case of more production. Also, Bengal, Bombay and Madras.
the settlement was not fixed and could be revised The Bank of Calcutta was set up on 2nd June, 1806. The
between 20 to 30 years when the revenue demand Bank of Bombay was set up on 15th April, 1840 and the
was usually raised. Bank of Madras was established on 1st July, 1843.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
152

These three Presidency banks were merged in 1921 Progress Made Under Lord Macaulay
and a new bank was formed which was named as
The Charter Act of 1833, allowed native Indians to be
the Imperial Bank of India. Later on, in 1955 the
part of administration in British India.
Imperial Bank of India was nationalised by the
government and was renamed as the State Bank of The Charter set up India’s First Law Commission under
India. the Chairmanship of Lord Macaulay which
recommended codification of the Penal Code, the
Allahabad Bank, established in 1855 was the first
Criminal Procedure Code and other legal provisions.
Indian-owned Bank. The Punjab National Bank was
set up in 1895. The Bank of India was established in The concept of a merit based modern Civil Service in
Mumbai in 1906. India was introduced in 1854 after submission of Lord
Macaulay’s Report of the Select Committee of British
Between 1906 and 1913, many commercial banks
Parliament. The Report recommended that patronage-
including India bank, Central Bank of India, Bank based system of East India Company should be replaced
of Mysore, Canara Bank and Bank of Baroda were by a Permanent Civil Service based on a merit-based
set up under the Indian ownership. system with entry through competitive examinations.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was established in Recommendations of Lord Macaulay (in the backdrop of
1935, on the recommendations of Hilton Young Charter Act of 1853, along with Queen’s Proclamation
Commission, the Royal Commission on Indian
of 1858) led to the enactment of Indian Civil Services
currency and Finance set up by the British
Act, 1861. It allowed Indians to compete at par with the
government.
Britishers in an open merit-based recruitment.
The RBI started functioning as the central bank of
In 1864, Satyendra Nath Tagore became the first
the country. It is a statutory body established
Indian to succeed at the exam.
through RBI Act, 1934.
During this phase, the development of banking Reforms Under Lord Dufferin
system in India was very slow and it experienced Formation of Indian National Congress in 1885, led to
periodic failures. The banking system neglected the a growing demand for simultaneous examination both
rural and agricultural sector and was mostly in India and London including the demand for raising
concentrated in the urban areas. the upper age limit.
On the basis of these rising demands by the Moderate
Evolution and Reforms in faction of Indian National Congress, Lord Dufferin
Civil Services appointed Aitchison Committee on Public Services in
The Regulating Act of 1773, brought the Company’s 1886. It aimed to investigate into the problems of civil
management under the control of British services in India.
Government. The Commission rejected the idea of simultaneous
Lord Cornwallis after becoming the examination but rather proposed setting up of
Governor-General of India in February, 1786, provincial civil service. The members of this service
brought about a series of legal and administrative would be separately recruited in every province either
reforms. by promotion from lower ranks.
He enacted the Cornwallis Code in 1793 to improve The recommendations of Aitchison Committee were
overall governance of East India Company in India accepted and the covenanted civil service came to be
and separated revenue administration and judicial known as Civil Service of India. The provincial service
administration by establishing the Cornwallis Code. was called after the particular province.
He is also referred to as Father of Civil Service Royal Commission on the Superior
in India as he reformed and reorganised Civil Services in India : Lee Commission, 1923
administration for the Company.
The next major development in the permeation of civil
To check rampant corruption among Company
services in Indian roots was the appointment of Royal
servants, Lord Cornwallis debarred civil servants
Commission on the Superior Civil Services in India. It
from taking presents, bribes, etc.
was also known as Lee Commission.
He even raised their salaries and debarred private
The Commission was appointed by the British
trade for such servants.
government in 1923 to consider the ethnic composition
Governor-General Wellesley established Fort of the superior Indian public services of the
William College for training of new recruits, which Government of India. It had equal numbers of Indian
was later disapproved by the Directors of Company. and British members.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
153

Earlier, Islington Commission (1917) in its report of Sind Model

1917 had recommended that 25% of the higher
The existing system hardly produced satisfactory
government posts should go to the Indians.
results in terms of upholding law and order
The Lee Commission examined the recommendations throughout the empire.
of the Islington Commission report and reviewed the
Then a new model was experimented within
existing position of two groups of services i.e., All India
Sind after it was conquered by Sir Charles Napier
Services and the Central Services. The Provincial
in 1843.
Services were not considered as they had already come
under the control of the provincial governments. The previous practice of trying to adopt the
indigenous systems to the needs of the colonial state
On the basis of Islington Commission’s report, the Lee
was discarded.
Commission proposed in 1924 that 20% of the superior
posts should be filled by promotions from provincial A separate police department with its own officers
civil services. The out of remaining 80%, 40% should be was established on the lines of Royal Irish
British and 40% should be directly recruited Indians. Constabulary which was found to be ideally suited
for colonial conditions.
The Lee Commission, in its report in the year 1924,
recommended that the statutory Public Service The Sind model was extended to Punjab in 1849,
Commission contemplated by the Government of India Bombay in 1853 and Madras in 1859; but with
Act, 1919, should be established without delay. various modifications.
So, on 1st October, 1926, for the first time the Public Indian Police After, 1857
Service Commission was set up in India. The Revolt of 1857, had shaken the foundations of
British Empire and made them more conscious
Police System Under British Rule about the need to have an effective machinery for
The Indian Councils Act of 1861, created a professional collection of information and for policing the
police bureaucracy in India and it developed over the years Empire’s territories.
under different Governors. The Police Commission appointed in 1860 had
provided a basic structure for the police
Cornwallis System establishment needed by the Empire. It led to the
With the rise of the Company’s authority, a need was enactment of the Police Act of 1861.
felt for the creation of a police force which maintained In the new organisation, Military Police were
the law and order. eliminated and the Civilian Police were organised
The new system of Faujdars being replaced by English on a provincial basis.
Magistrates as police functions proved to be inadequate The entire police organisation was placed under the
in bringing down the crime rate. Hence, Lord control of the civilian authorities. For a long time,
Cornwallis realised the need for police reforms and he the positions of the inspector general were filled by
made many changes in the police organisation. civil servants.
Lord Cornwallis denied the Zamindars of their policing The district superintendents were to be incharge of
powers, divided the district into thanas or units of rural police and the Daroga became the
police jurisdiction of twenty to thirty miles. sub-inspector. The new system had solved the
Each unit was under an officer known as the Darogas age-old problem of integrating the rural police into
who was appointed by the magistrates and placed under the imperial structure.
their supervision. The Police Commission of 1902, had provisions for
Darogas came to be seen as the medium of the the appointment of educated Indians to the position
Company’s power and control over the rural areas. This of officers but below the rank of European officers.
came to be known as the Cornwallis System. The police under the colonial rule gradually became
successful in reducing major crimes such as dacoit.
Changes Made in the 19th Century They were also able to prevent the organisation of a
The Daroga system was formally abolished in 1812. large-scale conspiracy against the colonial rule.
The Tehsildars were deprived of their police duties
much earlier in 1807. The District Collector was made Judicial Policies Under British Rule
incharge of the village police. The Judicial System in India was neither adopted
This led to an extreme concentration of power in the proper procedures nor had the proper organisation
office of Collector since, he was responsible for revenue, of the law court from the ancient India to Mughal
police and magisterial functions. India.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
154

The beginning of a common law system, based on The British rulers soon realised that a cheap and easy
recorded judicial precedents, can be traced to the system of transport was a necessary if British
establishment of Mayor’s Courts in Madras, Bombay manufactures were to flow into India on a large-scale.
and Calcutta in 1726 by the East India Company. The British rulers introduced steamships on the rivers
With the Company’s transformation from a trading and also improved the roads. Work of the Grand
company into a ruling power, new elements of Trunk Road from Calcutta to Delhi began in 1839 and
judicial system replaced the existing Mughal legal completed in the 1850s. Efforts were also made to link
system. by road the major cities, ports and markets of the
Various Governor-Generals introduced various country.
reforms in Judicial systems. Some of them are as
follows :
Development of Railways
The first railway engine designed by George
Reforms Under Warren Hastings Stephenson was put on the rail in England in 1814.
District Diwani Adalats were established in districts Railways developed rapidly during the 1830s and 1840s.
to solve civil disputes. These adalats were placed In 1831, the earliest suggestion to build a railway in
under the collector and had Hindu law applicable for India was made in Madras. But the wagons of this
Hindus and the Muslim law for Muslims and District railway were to be drawn by horses.
Fauzdari Courts were set up to try criminal disputes. Construction of steam-driven railways in India was
Under the Regulating Act of 1773, a Supreme Court first proposed in 1834 in England. It was given strong
was established at Calcutta. political support by England’s railway promoters and
mercantile houses trading with India.
Reforms Under Cornwallis
The first railway line running from Bombay to Thane
The District Fauzdari Courts were abolished and
was opened in 1853.
instead, Circuit courts were established at Calcutta,
Dacca, Murshidabad and Patna. Lord Dalhousie, who became Governor-General of
India in 1849, was an advocate of rapid railway
The District Diwani Adalat was now designated as the
construction.
district, city or the Zila Court and placed under a
district judge. Dalhousie proposed a network of four main trunk lines
which would link the interior of the country with the
Reforms Under William Bentinck big ports and inter-connect the different parts of the
The four Circuit Courts were abolished and their country.
functions transferred to Collectors under the The railway lines were laid primarily with a view to
supervision of the Commissioner of revenue and link India’s raw material producing areas in the
circuit. interior with the ports of export. The Britishers
Sadar Diwani Adalat and a Sadar Nizamat Adalat neglected the needs of Indian industries regarding
were set up at Allahabad for the convenience of the their markets and their sources of raw materials.
people of Upper Provinces. Moreover, the railway rates were fixed in a manner so
In 1860, it was provided that the Europeans can claim as to favour imports and exports and to discriminate
no special privileges except in criminal cases and no against internal movement of goods.
judge of an Indian origin could try them. Several railway lines in Burma and North-Western
In 1865, the Supreme Court and the Sadar Adalats India were built at high cost to serve British imperial
were merged into three High Courts at Calcutta, interests.
Bombay and Madras.
In 1935, the Government of India Act, provided for a Development of Post and
Federal Court (set up in 1937), which could settle Telegraph System
disputes between governments and could hear The British also established an efficient and modern
limited appeals from the High Courts. postal system and introduced the telegraph.
The first telegraph line from Calcutta to Agra was
Transport and Communication System opened in 1853.
Under British Rule Lord Dalhousie introduced postage stamps.
Upto the middle of the 19th century, the means of Previously, cash payment had to be made when a letter
transport in India were backward. They were was posted. He also cut down postal rates and charged
confined to bullock-cart, camel and packhorse. a uniform rate.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
155

Impact of Economic Policies of The devastating effects of 1876-78 famine compelled

the British Government to do something substantial to
British in India check the recurrence of famines in India. Hence, they
Indian goods were purchased at cheap rates and sold formed three Famine Commissions in 1878, 1897 and
in high prices in England. Cheap and machine-made 1900 respectively
imports flooded the Indian market after the Charter
Act of 1813, allowing one-way free trade for the Destruction of Traditional Indian Industries
British citizens. On the other hand, Indian products Indian industry such as ship-building and steel
found it more and more difficult to enter the industries were crushed. The development of railways
European markets. was not coordinated with India’s industrial needs and
The newly introduced rail network helped the it demanded in a commercial rather than an industrial
European products to reach the remotest corners of revolution. Such developments were considered more
the country. Thus, from being a net exporter, India for benefits of British rather than Indians.
became a net importer. It was only in the second half of the 19th century that
The loss of traditional livelihood was not modern machine based industries started coming up
accompanied by a process of industrialisation in in India.
India. In 1853, the first cotton textile mill was set up in
By 1815, half of the total land in Bengal had passed Bombay by Cowasjee Nanabhoy and the first jute mill
into new hands—merchants and moneylenders. came up in 1855, in Rishra (Bengal). Most of the
Increase in number of intermediaries to be paid gave modern industries were foreign owned and controlled
rise to absentee landlordism and increased the by British managing agencies.
burden on the peasant. The basic assertion of these early intellectuals was
The cultivator had neither the means nor any that India was poor and growing poorer due to British
incentive to invest in agriculture. The zamindar had imperialism.
no roots in the villages, while the Government spent Since, the causes of India’s economic backwardness
little on agricultural, technical or mass education. All were man-made, they were explainable and
these were significant cause of low level of productivity. removable. The problem of poverty was seen as a
Regular famines became a common feature in India. problem of raising productive capacity and energy of
These famines were not just because of food grain the people or as a problem of national development.
scarcity, but were a direct result of poverty imposed Impact of Powerful Class of Manufacturers
by colonial forces in India.
The class of manufacturers began to attack the
Commercialisation of Agriculture monopolisation of the Company rule. They
The later half of the 19th century, saw the emergence discouraged imports of manufacturers from India and
of the commercialisation of agriculture. Now, encouraged exports of its own products to India.
agriculture began to being influenced by commercial From 1793 to 1813, they launched a powerful
considerations. campaign against the Company and its commercial
Certain specialised crops began to be grown not for privileges. In 1813, they finally succeeded in
consumption in the village but for sale in the national abolishing its monopoly of Indian trade.
and even international markets. The Government of India now followed a policy of free
For the Indian peasant, commercialisation seemed a trade of British goods. However, this free trade
forced process. There was hardly any surplus for imposed on India was one-sided. Indian handicrafts
them to invest in commercial crops. were exposed to the unequal competition of the
machine-made products of Britain and gradually faced
Commercialisation linked Indian agriculture with extinction.
international market trends and their fluctuations.
Indian hand-made goods were unable to compete
Forcible growing of commercial crops proved against the much cheaper products of British mills.
hazardous for peasants because they had to buy food
These mills were rapidly improving their productive
grains at high prices and sell cash crops at low prices.
capacity by using inventions and a wider use of system
Commercialisation of agriculture resulted in reduced power.
area of cultivation of food crops due to substitution of
Instead of exporting manufactured products, India was
commercial non-food grains instead of food grains.
now forced to export raw materials like raw cotton and
This had a devastating effect on rural economy and raw silk, plantation products like Indigo, tea or
got manifested in the series of famines. foodgrains, which were in short supply in Britain.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
156 25

Civil Uprisings, Peasant,

Tribal & Labour Movements

Sources Class-VIII New NCERT Chap 3 (Ruling the Countryside), Chap 4 (Tribals, Diku and Vision of Golden Age),
Class-XII New NCERT Chap 1 (The Making of Nationalist Movement), Class-XII Old NCERT
Chap 13 (Struggle For Swaraj (1927-1947))

Although the Revolt of 1857, is considered as the first Sanyasis defeated a Company of sepoys and killed the
major uprising against the British, but it is considered commander. They Captured some districts, virtually
as an amalgamation of many civil and tribals that took running a parallel government. This rebellion
place before the revolt. continued till the end of the 18th century.
There was a building resentment against the British Governor-General Warren Hastings launched a
rule which manifested itself in several sessions of military campaign against Sanyasis.
resistance by different groups of people in different Chirag Ali, Musa Shah, Bhawani Pathak and Debi
regions of India. Chaudhurani were important leaders of the revolt.
Erosion of the traditional forms of authority and Debi Chaudhurani’s participation is an important
increased economic pressure were two basic reasons feature as it showed the active participation of the
for these uprisings. women in early resistances against the British.
The rebellions in pre 1857 period can be divided into Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote
following categories: Anandamath, a semi-historical novel which is based
1. Civil and Peasant Uprisings on the Sanyasi Revolt.
2. Tribal Movements
Peasants Uprising of Rangpur (1783)
Civil and Peasant Uprisings in India The Rangpur Dhing (rebellion) erupted in the district
of Rangpur and Dinajpur in Bengal in 1783.
Important civil and peasant uprisings in India are
It was a protest by the peasants and the Zamindars
discussed as follows:
against the very high demands of revenue by the
Sanyasi Revolt (1763-1800) government and revenue contractors.
The disastrous famine of 1770 and government At that time, the Ijaradari system was prevalent
restriction on people from visiting holy places according to which the ijardar (revenue farmer) was
provoked Sanyasis in Eastern India. This led to the contracted by the Company to pay revenue that was
rebellion against the government. fixed either annually or every 5 years on a piece of
land.
They were joined by farmers, evicted landlords,
disbanded soldiers. The ijardar was not interested in the welfare of the
farmers who cultivated the land under him or in the
Majnu Shah Fakir was the leader of the revolt. Focal
development of the land.
point of the revolt was Rangpur to Dhaka.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
157

One such revenue contractors, Debi Singh practiced The leader of the rebellion was Bakshi Jagabandhu
extremely harsh measures against the peasants. Bidyadhar. He along with support of Mukunda Deva,
When the peasants sent a petition to the Company the last Raja of Khurda and other zamindars of the
asking for relief, it did not pay any heed to the region led an army of Paikas. It forced the East India
farmers’ grievances. This led to the farmers taking Company forces to retreat. The rebellion came to be
things into their own hands. known as the Paika Bidroh (rebellion).
They elected Dirhinjanarayana as their leader and Revolt of Mysore (1830-31)
attacked local kutcherries, tore houses of crops of
After the defeat of Tipu Sultan and imposition of the
local agents of the contractors and government
subsidiary alliance, the financial pressure from the
officials. Both Hindus and Muslims fought side by
Company on the Mysore ruler increased.
side in the rebellion.
It compelled him to increase revenue demands from
Ultimately, the government’s armed forces took
the Zamindars. The increasing burden of revenue
control of the situation and suppressed the revolt.
ultimately fell on the cultivators.
Poligar Revolt (1795-1805) The corruption and extortion of local officials added to
The poligars (or palayakkarargal) of South India gave the existing miseries of the peasants.
a stiff resistance to the British between 1795 and 1805. The growing discontent of the peasants broke out into
The main centres of these strong uprisings were an open revolt in the province of Nagar, one of the four
Tinneveli (or Thirunelveli), Ramanathapuram, divisions of Mysore.
Sivaganga, Sivagiri, Madurai and North Arcot. Peasants from other provinces joined the rebellious
The problem started in 1781, when the Nawab of peasants of Nagar and the rebel peasants were led by
Arcot gave the management and control of Tinneveli Sardar Malla, the son of a common ryot of Kremsi.
and the Carnatic Provinces to the East India Company. The peasants defied the authority of the Mysore ruler.
This arrangement caused resentment among the The British force regained control of Nagar from the
poligars who had, for long considered themselves as rebel peasants after strong opposition and ultimately
independent sovereign authorities within their the administration of the country passed into the hands
respective territories. of the British.
Kattabomman Nayakan, the poligar of Moplah Rebellions (1835-1921)
Panjalankurichi, led the insurrection between
The Moplah rebellions of Malabar, South India, were
1795 and 1799.
not only directed against British but also the Hindu
Velu Thampi Revolt (1808-1809) landlords. The relations of the Arabs traders with the
Malayali society can be traced back to the ninth century.
In 1808-09, Velu Thampi, the Dewan of Travancore,
rose up in rebellion against the British Attempt to The traders helped the local Hindu chieftains and were
remove him from the Diwanship. granted concessions. Many of the Arab traders settled
in Malabar marrying mostly Nayar and Tiyar women;
He opposed the heavy burden imposed on the state
and the subsequent descendants came to be known as
through the Subsidiary Alliance System.
Moplahs.
In one of the protests Velu Thampi was injured and
Their numbers also increased with the conversion of
died in forest. However, even though dead, he was
Hindus from the lower castes, especially the
publicly hanged as an example to the fate of those
Cherumars who were slave labourers and hoped to
who rose against the British.
gain better social status upon conversation.
Paika Rebellion (1817) The Moplahs were settled, became agriculturalists and
The Paiks of Odisha were the traditional landed joined the ranks of landless labourers, cultivating
militia (foot soldiers) and enjoyed rent free land tenants, fishermen and petty traders.
tenures for their military service and policing In the traditional Malabar land system, the Jenmi held
functions on a hereditary basis. land by birthright and were mostly high caste Hindus
The oppressive land revenue policy of the Company and let it out to others for cultivation.
caused resentment among zamindars and peasants The other main sections of the Malabar society were
alike. Common masses were affected by the rise in the Kanamdar, who were mostly Moplahs, the
prices of salt due to taxes imposed on it, abolition of Verumpattamdar (cultivators) and agricultural
cowrie currency and the requirement of payment of labourers. The peasants were mostly the Muslim
taxes in silver, etc. Moplahs.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
158

The land was given by the ruling raja to Namboodiri Women turned up to fight with pots, pans and kitchen
Brahmins whose obligation was to look after the implements. Those who worked for the planters were
temple and related institutions and the chieftains socially boycotted and the gomasthas – agents of
(mostly Nayars), who provided martial aid when planters – who came to collect rent were beaten up.
needed. Farmers were led by the Biswas brothers of Nadia,
Traditionally, the net produce of the land was shared Rafiq Mondal of Malda and Kader Molla of Pabna.
equally between the three. But, during the reign of The revolt also received support from many zamindars
Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan, Namboodiri Brahmins notably Ramrattan Mullick of Narail.
and Nayar Chiefs fled and the subsequent vacuum The play Nil Darpan (The Mirror of Indigo) by
was filled by the Moplahs. Dinabandhu Mitra written in 1858-59 portrayed the
The conflict arose in 1792, after Malabar’s cession to farmers’ situation accurately.
the British. After the return of the exiled Namboodiri It showed how farmers were coerced into planting
Brahmins and Nayars, the government re-established indigo without adequate payment.
and acknowledged their landlord rights.
The play became a talking point and it urged the Bengali
The British by recognising the Jenmis as the absolute intelligentsia to lend support to the indigo revolt.
owners of the land gave them the right to evict the
tenants at will. This reduced the other two groups to Pabna Rebellion (1873-1875)
the status of tenants and leaseholders. In larger parts of Eastern Bengal, landlords forcefully
The courts and the law officers sided with the collected rents and land taxes, often enhanced for the
Jenmis. the law court and the police started poor peasants.
tightening their hold and demands on the The peasants were also prevented from acquiring
subordinate classes. Thus, the Moplah peasantry rose Occupancy Rights under Act X of 1859.
up in revolt. In May 1873, an Agrarian League was formed in the
According to Dhanagare, the first outbreak occurred Yusuf Shahi Pargana of Pabna district, Patna (East
in 1836 and during the period of 1834-54, there were Bengal). It raised funds to meet litigation expenses. It
22 uprisings, out of which uprising of 1841 and 1849 organised mass meetings in which villagers were
were quite serious. called by the sounding of buffalo horns, drums and
The faithful sacrificed their lives in the belief that as night.
Ahadis would go straight to heaven. Rent strikes were organised, funds were raised and the
The second phase of the revolt was recorded in struggle spread throughout Patna and to other districts
1882-85, while another uprising occurred in 1876. of East Bengal. The struggle was mainly legal
resistance and little violence.
Gadkari Revolt (1844) The discontent continued till 1885 when the
The revolts in and around Kolhapur region of Government by the Bengal Tenancy Act of 1885,
Maharashtra state were led by Gadkaris. They were enhanced the occupancy rights.
hereditary servants attached to Maratha forts, that
The Pabna revolt and similar movements in other
were disbanded.
districts evoked sharply varied reactions among the
There was a revolt led by Daji Krishna Pandit and Bengali educationists.
occupied the Samangarh and Bhudargarh forts.
The zamindar dominated British Indian Association
Similarly, the discontent among people caused a
was bitterly hostile and its organ Hindu Patriot tried to
revolt in Savantvadi areas.
portray the Pabna movement as a communal agitation
Indigo Revolt (1859-1860) of Muslim peasants against Hindu landlords.
Under the ryotwari system, the planters forced the Though the bulk of the peasants in Pabna happened to
ryots to sign a contract, an agreement (satta). be Muslim and their zamindars mostly Hindus, the
communal element was as yet virtually absent.
In April 1860, all the farmers in the Barasat division
of the districts Nadia and Pabna went on a strike and The three principal leaders of the agrarian league were
refused to grow indigo. the petty landholder Ishan Chandra Roy, the village
headman Shambhu Pal (both caste Hindus), and the
In March 1859, thousands of ryots in Bengal refused
Muslim jotedar Khoodi Mollah.
to grow indigo in Nadia district of Bengal. As the
rebellion spread, ryots refused to pay rents to the The struggle was supported by Bankim Chandra
planters and attacked indigo factories armed with Chatterjee, RC Dutt and the Indian Association under
swords and spears, bows and arrows. Surendranath Banerjee.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
159

Deccan Riots (1874-75) Peasant Movements

The Deccan Riots took place in the Ryotwari areas of Movements/ Location Leaders
Pune and Ahmednagar of Maharashtra. Organisations
The main reasons for the revolt were that the land Pagal Panthis Bengal (now in Karam Shah, Tipu Shah
revenue was very high and farmers had to pay land (1825-35) Bangladesh) (Hajong and Garo tribes)
Revenue even during bad seasons. Sambhalpur Sambhalpur Surendra Sai
During American Civil War in 1860, there was a Uprisings (1840)
cotton boom but in 1864, ended of war led to the The Kuka Revolt West Punjab Bhagat Jawahar Mal and
decline in cotton boom and government raised land (1840) Baba Balak Singh
revenue.
Gadkari Rebellion Kolhapur Gadkaris
Farmers had taken loans from moneylenders, but (1844-45)
now they were unable to repay them. As a result,
Indigo Revolt (1860) Nadia district of Digambar Biswas,
moneylender took away their land, cattle, jewelry and Bengal Bishnu Biswas, Harish
property. Chandra Mukherjee
(Editor of newspaper
Eka Movement (1921) Hindu Patriot)
Peasant discontent began to resurface in the United Poona Sarvajanik Pune MG Ranade
Province by the end of 1921, mainly in the Northern Sabha (1870)
districts of Hardoi, Bahraich, Sitapur. Pabna Agrarian Pabna district of Shah Chandra Roy,
The issues they raised included excessive rents Uprising (1873) Bengal Shambhu Pal
which were 50% higher than the recorded rates, the Ramosis Uprising Ramosis, Vasudev Balwant
oppression by thekedars who were incharge of (1877-87) Maharashtra Phadke
revenue collection and the practice of share-rents.
Bijolia Movement Rajasthan Sitaram Das, Vijay
Eka or the Unity Movement was under the leadership (1905, 1913, 1916, Pathak Singh
of Madari Pasi. 1927)
Its meetings symbolised a religious ritual in which Champaran Bihar Gandhiji, Dr Rajendra
the peasants who had assembled took the vows to pay Satyagraha (1917) Prasad, Raj Kumar
the rent on time. Only the recorded rent was refused Shukla
to leave when they get evicted and not surrender to Kheda Satyagraha Uttar Pradesh Gandhiji
forced labour. (1918)
In Uttar Pradesh, the revolt began under the United Province Uttar Pradesh Gauri Shankar Mishra,
leadership of the Fiji-returned indentured labourer Kisan Sabha (1918) Indra Narayan Dwivedi,
Baba Ramachandra, who operated independently Uttar Pradesh Kisan Uttar Pradesh Indra Narayan Dwivedi,
but against the backdrop of the Non-Cooperation and Sabha Madan Mohan Malaviya
the Khilafat Movement. Uttar Pradesh (1918)
The Kisan Sabha Movement under Baba Awadh Kisan Sabha Oudh Jawaharlal Nehru, Baba
Ramchandra was basically a tenant and small (1920) Ram Chandra
zamindars movement against big landlords and Eka (1921) Awadh Madari Pasi
taluqdars.
Moplah Rebellion Malabar region Sayyid Ali, Sayyid Fazi
Inspired by the Non-Cooperation Movement, the Eka (1835-1921) (Kerala)
organisers added three important demands to the
Andhra Ryots Andhra Pradesh NG Ranga
original charter:
Association (1928)
— Fight for self-rule; adoption and promotion of
Bardoli Satyagraha Bardoli Vallabhbhai Patel
Swadeshi
(1928) (Gujarat)
— A pledge to avoid the British judicial system
All India Kisan Sabha United Province Swami Sahajanand
— Resolution of all conflicts at the local panchayat
(1936)
level, thereby directly bringing it in confrontation
with the British Raj. Tebhaga Movement Tebhaga Bengal Kisan Sabha
(1946) (Bengal)
The increasingly militant movement threatened to
destroy the feudal-colonial order in the region and Telangana Movement Hyderabad Praja Mandal and
(1946-51) Communist Party of
prompted government to pass Oundh Rent India
(Amendment) Act, 1922.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
160

Tribal Movements in British India Ramosis again rose later from 1877 to 1887 against
the British failure to take up anti-famine measures.
Important tribal movments are as follows : It was led by Vasudev Balwant Phadke.
Khasi Uprising (1793-1833) It was protested in the violent manner and not in the
peaceful manner.
British occupied the hilly region between Garo and
Jaintia hills with and intention of building a road Pagal Panthi Revolt (1825-35)
linking the Brahmaputra valley with Sylhet passing The main reason behind the revolt was the zamindari
through the Khasi domain. oppression in North Bengal.
Khasis in 1793 revolted under the leadership of Tirut Pagal Panthi was as semi-religious sect founded by
Singh, a Khasi chief in order to protest against Karam Shah. It consisted of Hajong and Garo tribes.
mobilisation of workers for road construction and The revolt was organised under the leadership of
Garos joined them in their revolt. Karam Shah’s son Tipu Shah.
By 1833, the superior English military force had Initially, British agreed to Pagal Panthi demand, made
suppressed the revolt. arrangement to protect the cultivators from
Bhil Uprising (1819) Zamindar. But later, massive military operation to
suppress Pagal Panthis was carried out by the
The Bhils were mostly concentrated in the hill ranges government.
of Khandesh. The British occupied Khandesh in 1818
which agitated the Bhils because they were suspicious Ahom Revolt (1828-1833)
of outsiders’ incursion into their territory. The Ahom revolt sparked off in 1828, under the
Moreover, it was believed that Trimbakji, rebel leadership of Gomdhar Konwar.
minister of Baji Rao I, instigated the Bhils against the The British had the commitment to leave Assam after
British occupation of Khandesh. the First Burma war (1824-26).
There was a general insurrection in 1819 and the Bhils But, after the war, instead of leaving, the British
in several small groups ravaged the plains. attempted to integrate the Ahom’s territories in
There were similar types of insurrection quite often by company’s dominion.
the Bhil chiefs against the British. Finally, the company decided to accept the policy and
The British government used its military force to gave Upper Assam to Maharaja Purandar Singh
suppress the rebels and at the same time tried to win Narendra and part of the kingdom was restored to
them over through various conciliatory measures. But the Assamese King.
the British measures failed to bring the Bhils to
their side. Kol Uprising (1831-1832)
The Kols of Singhbhum for long centuries enjoyed
Ramosi Uprising (1822, 1825-1826) independent power under their chiefs.
The Ramosis, the hill tribes of the Western Ghats, had As a result, when British occupied Singhbhum and
not reconciled to British rule and the British pattern of the neighbouring territories, a large number of people
administration. from outside began to settle in this area. This resulted
They resented the policy of annexation. After the in transfer of tribal lands to the outsiders.
annexation of the Maratha territories by the British, the The transfer of tribal lands and coming of merchants,
Ramosis, who had been employed by the Maratha money-lenders and the British law in the tribal area
administration, lost their means of livelihood. posed a great threat to the hereditary independent
They rose under Chittur Singh in 1822 and plundered power of the tribal chiefs.
the country around Satara. This led to popular uprisings against the outsiders in
In 1825-26, they again rose up in rebellion under the the tribal area. The rebellion spread over Ranchi,
banner of Umaji on account of acute famine and Hazaribagh, Palamau and Manbhum. The target of
scarcity in Pune. For three years they ravaged the attack was the settlers from other regions whose
Deccan. houses were burnt and property was looted.
Finally, the British Government pacified them not only The uprising was inhumanly suppressed by the
by condoning their crimes but also by offering them British militia. The government crushed Zamindari
land grants and recruiting them in the Hill Police. forces and Dadu Miyan was imprisoned.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
161

Khond Uprising (1837- 56) Rampa Rebellion (1922)

The Khonds lived in vast hill tracts stretching from A unique example of tribal militancy came from the
Tamil Nadu to Bengal and covering central provinces. Rampa region North of Godavari which had witnessed
Their uprisings from 1837 to 1856, were directed various uprisings in the 19th century.
against the British. the movement was led by Chakra Their grievances were against moneylenders and
Bisoi in the name of the Young Raja. forest laws.
Santhal Rebellion (1855-56) The movement was led by an outsider, Alluri
Sitarama Raju, claiming astrological and healing
Santhal rebellion occurred in Raj Mahal hills of
powers, who has become a folk hero in
Santhal region.
Andhra Pradesh.
It primarily happened due to the oppression of police,
He was inspired by the Non-Cooperation Movement
atrocities of landlords and moneylenders,
and admired Gandhiji, though he considered violence
ill-treatment of small farmers by land revenue
necessary to win tribal goals. The revolt came to an
officials. Government banned shifting cultivation in
end after the execution of Raju in May, 1924.
forest areas.
Leaders of the uprising were Sidhu and Kanhu. Under Tribal Rebellions
them the Santhals proclaimed an end to Company rule Tribe Year Leader Cause
and declared the area between Bhagalpur and
Chuar 1766-72 Raja Jagannath Excess revenue demand,
Rajmahal as autonomous. The rebellion was Bengal famine
suppressed by 1856.
Bhils 1817 Sewaram Agrarian hardship
The government pacified these Santhals and created a
Hos 1820 Ganga Narain British occupation of
separate district of Santhal Parganas by passing the
Singhbhum
Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act.
Ramosi 1822-26 Chittur Singh, British rule
Munda Uprising (1899-1900) Pratap Singh,
Dattatraya Patkar
In the Mundas, in the region South of Ranchi rose
Kolis 1824 Dismantle of forests
under Birsa Munda.
Ahom 1828-33 Gomadhar British occupation
The Ulgulan (Chhota Nagpur Plateau) was one of the
Kunwar
most significant tribal uprisings in the period
1860-1920. Khasi 1829-32 Tirut Singh British occupation

The rebellion which began as a religious movement Kol 1831-32 Buddha Bhagat Land transfer to outsiders
gathered political force to fight against introduction of Santhals 1855-56 Sidhu and British rule
feudal, zamindari tenures and exploitation by Kanhu
money-lenders and forest contractors. Naikda 1858 Rup Singh For Dharma Raj against Ban
Joria Bhagat on grazing and
Birsa wanted to drive out missionaries, moneylenders,
timber
Hindu landlords and the government and set up a
Munda Raj with Birsa at its head. Bhuyan 1867-68 Ratna Nayak Installation of British
and Juang 1891 Dharani Nayak protege on throne
The movement identified all these forces as the cause
Kacha 1882 Sambhuden British intervention
of the misery the Mundas were suffering. Nagas
They attacked police stations, churches and raided the
Munda 1899 Birsa Munda Land system, missionary
property of moneylenders and zamindars. They raised (Ulgulan) activity and forced labour
the white flag as a symbol of Birsa Raj.
Bhils 1913 Govind Guru A temperance and
In 1900, Birsa died of cholera and the movement faded purification movement
out. Oraons 1914 Jatra Bhagat and Religious reason, a
However, the movement was significant in atleast two (Tana other Bhagats millenarian movement
ways: Bhagat)
— First It forced the colonial government to introduce Chenchus 1921-22 Hanumanthu British control of forests
laws so that the land of the tribals could not be easily Koyas/ 1922-24 Alluri Sitarama British rule
taken over by dikus. (outsiders) Rampas Raju
— Second It showed once again that the tribal people Naga 1905-31 Jadunag A reformist movement later
had the capacity to protest against injustice and (1905-31) and directed against excess of
Rani Gaidinliu British rule
express their anger against colonial rule.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
162

Important Factory Acts

Movement of Working Class (1899)
Act Viceroy Important Facts
The Indian working class suffered from the same kind of
exploitation witnessed during the industrialisation of Factory Act, Lord Ripon Children less than 7 years of
Europe and the rest of the West. 1881 age were prohibited from
working.
They were distressed with low wages, long working
hours, unhygienic and hazardous working conditions, Factory Act, Lord Children less than 9 years of
1891 Lansdowne age were prohibited from
employment of child labour and the absence of basic working, work hours
amenities. 11/days, one day leave in a
The earlier attempts to improve the economic conditions week.
of the workers were in the nature of the philanthropic Factory Act, Lord Hardinge Work hours for male
efforts. 1911 workers fixed to 12 hours.
In 1899, the first strike by the great Indian Penisular Factory Act, Lord Classification of weather and
Railways took place and it got widespread support by 1934 Willingdone Non-weather factories,
Bal Gangadhar Tilak and other leaders. facility of treatment and rest
for the workers.
The AITUC Factory Act, Lord Wavell Facility of canteen, if
The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was 1944 number of workers is more
than 200.
founded on 31st October, 1920. Lala Lajpat Rai was
elected as the first President of AITUC.
Major Strikes by Labourers
Swargist Leader CR Das who presided over the third and
fourth sessions of AITUC advocated that the Congress Year Strike
should take up the wokers and peasant’s cause.
1877 Strike in Nagpur Mill
It urged to incorporate them in the struggle for swaraj or
else they would get isolated from the movement. 1895 Weaver’s Strike against the Ahmedabad Mill
Owners Union.
Major Farmer’s Association 1899 Strike in Great Indian Peninsular railway.
Association Year Founder 1908 Strike by Textile Mill workers in Mumbai because
Uttar Pradesh Kisan Sabha 1918 Gauri Shankar Mishra, of the arrest of Tilak.
Indranarayan Dwivedi
1918 Strike in Bombay Textile Mill.
Awadh Kisan Sabha 1920 Baba Ramchandra
1922 TISCO, Jameshedpur strike.
Bihar Kisan Sabha 1929 Sahajananda Saraswati
1922 Strike in Surat Textile Mill.
Krishak Praja Party 1929 Abdul Rahim/Fazlul Haq
Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Sabha 1936 Sahajananda Saraswati, 1928 Bombay Textile Mill strike (longest strike
NG Ranga 6 months)
 INDIAN HISTORY
NCERT Notes
CHAPTER 26 163

Socio-Religious Reform
Movements in India

Sources Class-VIII New NCERT Chap 8 (Religious and Social Reform Movements and Cultural Awakening),
Class-XII Old NCERT Chap 5 (Social and Cultural Awakening in 19th century), Chap 10 (Rise of New India)

With the onset of British rule in India came modern It focused on prayers, meditation and reading of the
thoughts, Western education, modern means of scriptures. It believed in the unity of all religions.
communication and Western culture. It was the first intellectual reform movement in
How, the age-old customs and traditions started to be modern India. It led to the emergence of rationalism
questioned. Due to printing of newspapers, magazines, and enlightenment in India, which indirectly
all kinds of issues – social, political, economic and contributed to the nationalist movement.
religious – could now be debated and discussed by men Prayers, meditation and readings of the Upanishads
(and sometimes by women as well) in the new cities. were considered as the forms of worship and no
Many defects and ills of Indian society began image, statue or sculpture, carving, picture, portrait,
resurfacing and Indian intellectuals such as Raja Ram etc was allowed in the Samaj buildings.
Mohan Roy. Samaj was tolerant towards all religions as it tried to
They not only began questioning the customs but also incorporate teachings of other religions.
took measures to eradicate them. Some of these
measures and reforms are discussed in this chapter. Raja Ram Mohan Roy
He is greatly regarded as Father of Indian
Renaissance and the Father of Bengal Renaissance.
Social Reform Movements
During his early education, Ram Mohan Roy studied
Prominent social reform movements are discussed as Persian and Arabic at Patna. Here he read the Quran,
follows : the works of Sufi mystic poets and the Arabic
translation of the works of Plato and Aristotle.
Brahmo Samaj In Banaras, he studied Sanskrit and read Vedas and
Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Sabha in Upanishads. At the age of sixteen, he wrote a rational
August 1828. It was later renamed Brahmo Samaj. critique of Hindu idol worship.
Its purpose was to purify Hinduism and preach He possessed a great love for his country and people
monotheism. e.g., worship of one god. and worked for their social, religious, political and
The new society was based on reason and Upanishads intellectual upliftment.
and Vedas. He wrote Gift to Monotheists (1809) and translated
The main theme was Nirgunsapna (formless worship). into Bengali the Vedas and the five Upanishads to
Brahmo Samaj led emphasis on human dignity, prove his conviction that ancient Hindu texts support
opposed idolatry and opposed Sati. monotheism.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
164

In 1814, he set up the Atmiya Sabha (or society of Some of the prominent members of this organisation
friends) in Calcutta to propagate the monotheistic were Mahadev Govind Ranade, RG Bhandarkar, NG
ideals of the Vedanta and to campaign against Chandavarkar. It was connected to Bhakti cult in
idolatry, caste rigidities, meaningless rituals and Maharashtra.
other social ills. Samaj had a following points social agenda :
Although he had great love for his Indian culture and — disapproval of caste system
traditions, he believed that Western education alone — women’s education
can help to regenerate the society. — widow remarriage
Ram Mohan Roy was given the title of Raja by the — raising the age of marriage for both males and females
titular Mughal Emperor of Delhi, Akbar II whose
grievances the former was to present before the Justice Ranade and Prarthana Samaj
British king. Justice Mahadeo Govind Ranade was the most
influential member of the Samaj.
Contributions of Raja Ram Mohan Roy Towards
Social Reforms Under his guidance Widow Remarriage Association
was formed in 1861.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy organised a crusade against
practice of Sati. He visited the cremation He worked for the spread of education among widows. He
grounds, organised vigilance groups and filed was one of the promoters of Sharada Sadan whose
counter petitions to the government during his motive was spreading education among the widows.
struggle against Sati. He founded girls’s college in 1861 in Poona and
His efforts were rewarded by the Government ‘Deccan Education Society’.
Regulation in 1829, which declared the practice of
Sati a crime under Lord William Bentinck. Arya Samaj
He condemned polygamy and demanded the right of The first Arya Samaj unit was formally set up by
inheritance and property for women. Swami Dayanand Saraswati at Bombay in 1875,
whereas its headquarters was established at Lahore.
He assisted David Hare in forming Hindu College
and in 1825, he established Vedanta college. Following are the ten guiding principles of Arya
Samaj :
He was also a pioneer in Indian Journalism and
1. God is the efficient cause of all true knowledge and all
brought out various journals, newspapers in Bengali,
that is known through knowledge.
Persian, Hindi and English.
2. God is existent, intelligent and blissful. He is formless,
omniscient, just, unborn, endless, unchangeable,
Keshub Chandra Sen and Brahmo Samaj omnipresent, immortal, fearless, eternal. He alone is
n Brahmo Samaj was revived with new enthusiasm worthy of being worshiped.
under Keshub Chandra Sen when he was made 3. The Vedas are the scriptures of all true knowledge.
Acharya by Debendranath Tagore. It is the paramount duty of all Aryas to read them,
n Many branches of the Samaj were opened outside teach them, recite them and to hear them being read.
Bengal like United Provinces, Punjab, Bombay,
4. One should always be ready to accept truth and to
Madras and other towns.
abandon untruth.
n Debendranath Tagore did not like some ideas of Sen.
He was dismissed from post of Acharya in 1865. 5. All acts should be performed in accordance with
n Keshab and his followers founded the Brahmo Samaj Dharma that is, after deliberating what is right and
of India in 1866, while Debendranath Tagore’s Samaj wrong.
came to be known as the Adi Brahmo Samaj. 6. The prime object of the Arya Samaj is to do good to the
world, that is, to promote physical, spiritual and social
good of everyone.
Prarthana Samaj 7. Our conduct towards all should be guided by love,
It was founded by Atmaram Pandurang with the righteousness and justice.
help of Keshub Chandra Sen in 1867. 8. We should dispel Avidya (ignorance) and promote
A precursor of the Prarthana Samaj was the Vidya (knowledge).
Paramahansa Sabha, something like a secret. It was 9. No one should be content with promoting his/her good
like a society to spread liberal ideas and encourage only on the contrary, one should look for his/her good
the breakdown of caste and communal barriers. in promoting the good of all.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
165

10. One should regard oneself under restriction to follow He taught at the Hindu College from 1826 to 1831 and
the rules of society calculated to promote the well was inspired by French Revolution.
being of all, while in following the rules of individual Derozio inspired his followers to think freely and
welfare all should be free. rationally, question all authority, love, liberty, equality
The Samaj also worked during the times of calamities and freedom and oppose in moral customs and
such as earthquakes, famines and floods. It also traditions.
worked for promoting education. However, the Derozians failed to have a long-term
Education was an all-important field for the samaj. impact. Derozio was removed from the Hindu College
The Dayananda Anglo Vedic (DAV) College was in 1831 because of his radicalism.
established in Lahore in 1886 . There was no support from any other social group or
class. The Derozians lacked any real link with the
Swami Dayanand Saraswati
masses.
The Arya Samaj was founded by Dayanand Saraswati
or Mulshankar (1824-1883). Theosophical Society
He was born in the old Morvi state in Gujarat and
Madame HP Blavatsky and Colonel MS Olcott,
belonged to a brahmin family.
founded the Theosophical Society in New York City,
His famous work is Satyarth Prakash where he
United States in 1875.
expressed his views.
In 1882, they shifted their headquarters to Adyar in the
He was inspired by the Vedas and considered them to
outskirts of Madras.
be India’s Rock of Ages.
It recognised the Hindu beliefs in reincarnation and
He gave the slogan “Back to the Vedas”.
karma and was inspired by the philosophy of the
Upanishads and Samkhya, yoga and Vedanta schools
Ramakrishna Mission of Thought.
Named after Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami
Its objective was to work for universal brotherhood of
Vivekananda’s guru, the Ramakrishna Mission
humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste
emphasised the ideal of salvation through social
or color.
service and selfless action.
Swami Vivekananda was the first Indian in modern In India, the theosophical society gained momentum
times, who re-established the spiritual pre-eminence after the election of Annie Besant.
of the Vedanta philosophy on a global scale. But his The society did an extensive work in field of education.
mission was not simply to talk about religion.
He was convinced that many of the problems facing Annie Beasant
the mankind could only be overcome if the nations of n Annie Besant arrived in India in 1893. She laid the foundation
the world come together on an equal footing. of the Central Hindu College in Banaras in 1898.
He united youth on the basis of a common spiritual n College curriculum included both Hindu religion and
heritage. Western scientific subjects. The college became the basis
for the formation of Banaras Hindu University in 1916.
Swami Vivekananda n Annie Besant took enormous efforts towards the cause of
Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), whose original the education of women.
name was Narendra Nath Dutta, combined the
simple teachings of Sri Ramakrishna with his well
founded modern outlook and spread them all over the
Satyashodhak Samaj
world. Jyotiba Phule (1827-1890), born in Satara,
Maharashtra, belonged to the mali (gardener)
He was extremely pained at the poverty and the
community, organised a powerful movement against
misery of his countrymen.
upper caste domination and brahminical supremacy.
He firmly believed that any reform could become
successful only by uplifting the condition of the masses. Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj (Truth
Seeker’s Society) in 1873, it had a leadership of the
Young Bengal Movement samaj belonged to the backward classes, malis, telis,
kunbis, saris and dhangars.
Young Bengal movement was an intellectual, radical
movement among the youth of Bengal. The main objective of the movement were :
— social service
Henry Vivian Derozio (1809-31), a young
— spread of education among
Anglo-Indian was its leader.
— women and lower caste people.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
166

Phule’s works, Sarvajanik Satyadharma and Indian Social Conference

Gulamgiri were sources of inspiration for the
masses. It was found by MG Ranade and Raghunath Rao.
Phule, firmly believed in gender equality and was a It was virtually the social reform cell of the Indian
pioneer in women’s Education. He with the help of National Congress.
his wife, Savitribai opened a girl’s school at Poona. Its first session was held in Madras in December 1887.
He was a pioneer of widow remarriage movement The Conference advocated inter-caste marriage and
in Maharashtra and also opened a home for widows opposed Kulinism and polygamy.
in 1854. It launched the famous Pledge Movement to inspire
Phule was awarded the title ‘Mahatma’ for his social people to take an oath to prohibit child marriage.
reform work.
Prominent Social Reformers
Satnami Movement In nineteenth century, many social reformers were born in
The Satnami movement in Central India was India who guided the society with many important reforms.
founded by Ghasidas who worked among the Few of them are as follows :
leather workers and organised a movement to improve
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
their social status.
He was one of the great reformers of 19th century.
In Eastern Bengal, Haridas Thakur’s Matua sect
worked among Chandala cultivators. Used the ancient texts to suggest that widows could
remarry. His suggestion was adopted by British officials,
Haridas questioned Brahmanical texts that
and a law was passed in 1856 permitting widow
supported the caste system.
remarriage.
Servants of Indian Society In 1850, he became the principal of Sanskrit College.
Servants of Indian Society was formed by Gopal He was determined to break the priestly monopoly of
Krishna Gokhale in 1905 for the expansion of scriptural knowledge and for this he opened the
Indian education. Sanskrit College to break the self-imposed isolation of
Sanskritic learning. He evolved a new technique for
The society trained people to be selfless workers so
learning Sanskrit.
they could work for the common good of the people.
He raised his powerful voice and thoroughly supported
The aims of the organisation were as follows:
the cause of widow remarriage and devoted his entire
— To train national missionaries for the service of
life for his agitation for legalising widow remarriage.
India.
First lawful Hindu widow remarriage among the
— To promote true interest of all Indians by all upper caste in India was celebrated under the
constitutional means. inspiration and supervision of Vidyasagar.
— To prepare a cadre of selfless workers for the
Through his endeavors nearly 25 widow remarriages
service to the country in a religious spirit. were solemnised between 1855-1860
For his advocacy of widow remarriage, he had bitter
Social Service League opposition from Orthodox Hindu class.
It was founded by Narayan Malhar Joshi in
In 1850, he protested against child marriage and all his
Bombay.
life he campaigned against polygamy.
Aim of the league was to secure for the masses better
and reasonable conditions of life and work. Balshastri Jambhekar
They organised many schools, libraries, reading He is also known as father of Marathi Journalism for
rooms, day nurseries and cooperative societies. his efforts in starting journalism in Marathi language
Activities of the league included police court agents’ with the first newspaper in the language named Darpan.
work, legal aid and advice to the poor and illiterate.
Gopal Hari Deshmukh
These also included excursions for slum dwellers,
facilities for gymnasia and theatrical performances, He was the famous social reformer of Maharashtra.
sanitary work, medical relief and boy’s clubs and He was also known as Lokhitawadi. He started the
scout corps. publishing of a magazine named Prabhakar in 1848 AD.
Joshi also founded the All India Trade Union He was related to the Theosophical Society and Arya
Congress (1920). Samaj. He authored a book named Jatibhed in Marathi.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
167

Pandita Ramabai Wahabi Movement

Pandita Ramabai was a great scholar of Sanskrit. Wahabi Movement was a revivalist response to
She felt that Hinduism was oppressive towards Western influences and the degeneration.
women and wrote a book about the miserable lives of
It was the teachings of Abdul Wahab of Arabia and
upper-caste Hindu women.
the preaching of Shah Walliullah that inspired the
She established a widow’s home at Poona to provide movement.
shelter to widows who had been treated badly by their
The movement stress was to condemn any change into
husband’s relatives. Here women were trained so that
the original Islam and return to its true spirit.
they could support themselves economically.
The movement was led by Syed Ahmed Barelvi.
India was considered to be Dar-ul-Harb (land of the
Religious Reform Movements Kafirs) and it needed to be converted to Dar-ul-Islam
Prominent religious reform movements are discussed as (land of Islam).
follows : Initially, the movement was directed at the Sikhs in
Punjab but after the British annexation of Punjab
Swami Narayan Sect (1849), the movement was directed against the British.
Swami Narayan Sect was launched by Swami
During the Revolt of 1857, the Wahabi’s played an
Sahajanand (1781- 1830) in Gujarat.
important role in spreading anti-British feelings.
This sect was a sort of protest against the luxurious
The Wahabi Movement dissolved out in 1870s.
practices of Vaishnavism.
The sect advocated vegetarianism and adviced people Aligarh Movement
to shun liquor and drugs. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was one of the important
The sect preached monotheism. It emphasised on the Muslim reformers of India. He interpreted Quran in
importance of a pure and simple life and social unity. the light of modern rationalism and science.
The sect attacked the restrictions on widow His greatest achievement was the establishment of the
remarriage, the institution of Sati and the practice of Mohammedan Anglo Oriental College (Also known
female infanticide. as Aligarh Muslim University) at Aligarh in 1875.
In course of time, this college became the most
Radha Swami Movement important educational institution of Indian Muslims.
Radha Swami Movement was founded in 1861 by It provided for education in humanities and science
Tulsi Ram. throughout English medium.
Tulsi Ram was also popularly known as Shiv Dayal The movement of Muslim awakening associated
Saheb or Swamiji Maharaj. with Syed Ahmed Khan and Mohammedan Anglo
The Radhaswamis believed in one Supreme Being, the Oriental College came to be known as Aligarh
supremacy of the Guru. Movement.
They also believed in the company of the ‘pious He appealed to the Muslims to return to the original
people’ (Satsang) and simple social life. Islamic principles of purity and simplicity.
They were of the view that there is no need to He advocated English education for the regeneration
renounce the worldly life for spiritual attainments. of Muslims in India.
He worked towards improving the position of women
Deva Samaj through better education and by opposing purdah and
Deva Samaj was founded by Shiv Narain Agnihotri, polygamy, advocating easy divorce and condemning
in 1887 at Lahore. the system of piri (mystic fakirs being treated as
The teachings of the Samaj were compiled in book teachers and gurus) and muridi(disciple).
form in Deva Shastra.
Faraizi Movement
The teachings of the Deva Samaj emphasised the
Faraizi Movement was founded by Haji Shariatullah
supreme being, eternity of the soul, the supremacy of
in the year 1818. The movement seeked to purify the
the Guru and need for good action.
religion by out casting all practices and preaching that
The Samaj prescribed ideal social conduct and are not in line with Islamic beliefs.
moral ethics, such as not accepting bribe, abstaining Under the leadership of Haji’s son, Dudu Mian, the
from gambling, intoxicants, non-vegetarian food and movement turned to become revolutionary from 1840
violence. onwards.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
168

Ahmadiya Movement The movement required the followers to abandon the

worship of gods, idols, tombs, trees, snakes, etc. And
The Ahmadiya movement was launched by Mirza
abstain from drinking, stealing, falsehood, slandering,
Ghulam Ahmad of Qadiyan in 1889.
backbiting, etc.
It described itself as the standard-bearer of
Further the consumption of beef was strictly
Mohammedan Renaissance and based himself on
forbidden as protection of cattle was important.
the principles of universal religion of all
humanity and opposed jihad (sacred war against Singh Sabha Movement
non- Muslims).
Reform organisations of the Sikhs, the first Singh
The Ahmadiya community is the only Islamic sect to Sabhas were formed at Amritsar in 1873 and at
believe that the Messiah had come in the person of Lahore in 1879.
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to end religious wars and
The Sabhas sought to rid Sikhism of superstitions, caste
bloodshed and to reinstate morality, peace and justice.
distinctions and practices seen by them as non-Sikh.
They believed in separating the mosque from the State
They promoted education among the Sikhs, often
as well as in human rights and tolerance.
combining modern instruction with Sikh teachings.
Deoband Movement Akali Movement
Deoband Movement was founded in 1867 by two
Before 1920, the Sikh Gurdwara were governed by the
theologians, Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi (1837-80)
Udasi Sikh mahants, who treated the Gurdwara
and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi.
offerings and other income of the Gurdwaras as their
The movement had two important objectives : personal income.
— Popularising the teachings of Kuran and Hadis. The British government supported these mahants as a
— To initiate Jihad against foreign rule. counterpoise to the rising tide of nationalism among
The aim of the Deoband Movement was moral and the Sikhs.
religious regeneration of the Muslim community. Matter came to such a pass that the priest of the
The instruction imparted at Deoband was in original golden temple issued a hukamnama (injunction)
Islamic religion. against Ghadarites, declaring them renegades.
The modern awakening among the Muslims led to a Then honoured General Dyer, the butcher of
decline in the practice of polygamy and widow Jallianwala massacre with a saropa.
remarriage was encouraged. The Gurdwara Reform Movement launched an
agitation for freeing the Gurdwaras from these corrupt
Nirankari Movement mahants and for handing over the Gurdwaras to a
Baba Dayal Das (1783-1855) was the founder of this representative body of Sikhs.
movement. This movement consisted of purification Under the growing pressure of the nationalist and
and return. Gurdwara agitators, the Gurdwaras came under the
In the 1840s, he called for the return of Sikhism to its control of an elected committee known as the
origin and emphasised the worship of one God and Shiromani Gurdwara Prablandhalk Committee, in
nirankar (formless). November 1920.
Such an approach meant a rejection of idolatry and The movement for liberation of Gurdwaras soon
also prohibition of eating meat, drinking liquor, lying, turned into Alkali movement, which later on got
cheating, etc. divided into three streams, namely moderate
nationalist reformers, pro-government loyalists and
It laid emphasis on Guru Nanak and on Sikhism before
political organ of Sikh communalism.
the establishment of Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh at
Anandpur. This separated them from the Namdharis. Reforms in Parsi Community
Namdhari Movement The earliest attempts to reform Parsi community were
started in the nineteenth century.
It was founded by Baba Ram Singh (1816-1885) in 1857.
To revive and transform the social situation of Parsi
The movement was founded on a set of rituals
community, Religious Reform Association was formed.
modeled after Guru Gobind Singh’s founding of the
Khalsa. Its followers were required to wear the five Rehnumai Maj Daysan Sabha was the name of this
symbols but instead of the sword the followers were reform association.
supposed to carry a stick. Dadabhai Naoroji and SS Bengali were the main
founders of the League.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
169

Lower Caste/Caste Movements and Organisation

Movement/Organisation Year Place Founder

Satya Shodhak Samaj 1873 Maharashtra Jyotiba Phule

Aruvippuram Movement 1888 Aruvippuram Kerala Shri Narayan Guru (1856-1928)

Shri Narayan Dharma Paripalana 1902-03 Kerala Shri Narayan Guru, Dr Palpu and Kumaran Asan
Yogam or SNDP Movement

The Depressed Class Mission Society 1906 Bombay Vitthal Ramji Shinde

Bahujan Samaj 1910 Satara, Maharashtra Mukundrao Patil

Justice (Party) Movement 1915-16 Madras (Tamil Nadu) C Natesa Mudaliar, Taravath Madhavan Nair and P Tyagaraja Chetti

Depressed Class Welfare Institute 1924 Bombay Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar

(Bahishkrit Hitkarni Sabha)

Self-Respect Movement 1925 Madras (Tamil Nadu) EV Ramaswami Naicker Periyar

Harijan Sevak Sangh 1932 Pune Mahatma Gandhi

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 1944 Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai and Ramaswami Naicker

Socio-Religious Reform Movements and Organisations

Movement/Organisation Year Place Founder(s)

Swaminarayan Sampraday 1800s Gujarat Swami Sahajanand (original name Ghanshayama)

Atmiya Sabha (later Brahmo Samaj) 1815-28 Calcutta Raja Rammohan Roy

Dharma Sabha 1830 Calcutta Radha Kanta Deva

Namdhari/Kuka Movement 1841-71 NWFP and Bhaini Bhai Balak Singh and Ram Singh
(Ludhiana
district, Punjab)
Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha 1851 Bombay SS Bengali, Naoroji Fundonji, JB Nacha etc

Indian Reform Association 1870 Calcutta Keshub Chandra Sen

Deccan Education Society 1884 Pune Mahadev Govind Ranade, VG Chibdonkarm and Gopal Ganesh
Agarkar etc.
Seva Sadan 1885 Bombay Behramji M Malabari

Indian National Social Conference 1887 Bombay Mahadev Govind Ranade and Raghunath Rao

Deva Samaj 1887 Lahore Shiv Narayan Agnihotri

Madras Hindu Association 1892 Madras Viresalingam Pantalu

Bharat Dharma Mahamandal 1902 Varanasi Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and Pandit Din Dayal Sharma

The Servants of Indian Society 1905 Bombay Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Poona Seva Sadan 1909 Pune GK Devadhar and Ramabai Ranade (wife of Mahadev Govind Ranade)

Nishkama Karma Math (The 1910 Pune Dhondo Keshav Karve

monastery of disinterested work)
The Bharat Stree Mandal 1910 Allahabad Sarala Devi Chaudhurani

Social Service League 1911 Bombay Narayan Malhar Joshi

Seva Samiti 1914 Allahabad Pandit Hridyanath Kunzru

The Women’s Indian Association 1917 Madras Annie Besant

Khudai Khidmatgar Movement 1929 NWFP Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan

 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
170 27

Development of
Education and Press
During the British rule

Sources Class-XII Old NCERT Chap 6 (Administrative Organisation and Social and Cultural Policy),
Class-VIII New NCERT Chap 6 (Civilising the ‘Native’, Educating the Nation)

Initially, the British East India Company was not Enlightened Indians and missionaries started
concerned with the development of the education exerting pressure on the Government to promote
system because their prime motive was trading and modern, secular, Western education. They believed
profit-making. that Western education was the remedy for social,
Modern education began in India under British rule. economic and political ills of the country.
Before the British, India had its own educational Missionaries thought that modern education would
systems like the Gurukuls and the Madrasas. destroy the faith of Indians in their own religions
The East India Company, during their first 60 years of and they would take to Christianity. Serampore
rule didn’t care much for the education of those they missionaries were very enthusiastic about spread of
ruled in India. education.
The development of education under British can be
divided into two phases:
Charter Act of 1813
— Development of education under East India Company. The Charter Act of 1813, incorporated the principle
of encouraging learned Indians and promoting
— Development of education under Crown rule.
knowledge of modern sciences in the country.
The Act directed the Company to sanction one lakh
Development of Education Under rupees annually for this purpose.
East India Company However, even this small amount was not made
East India Company took hardly a few measures to available till 1823.
promote and develop education in India. In 1781, Lord Enlightened Indians such as Raja Rammohan Roy
Warren Hastings set up Calcutta Madrasa for Muslims worked relentlessly and a grant was sanctioned for
law and related subjects. Calcutta College set up in 1817 by educated
Jonathan Duncan started Sanskrit College at Varanasi Bengalis, imparting English education in Western
for studying Hindu Law and Philosophy. Fort William humanities and sciences.
College was set up by Wellesley in 1800 for training of The government also set up three Sanskrit colleges
civil servants of the Company in languages and customs at Calcutta, Delhi and Agra.
of Indians.
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
171

The despatch emphasised on female and vocational

Orientalist-Anglicist Controversy education, teachers’ training and insisted that the
n Within the General Committee on Public Instruction, education imparted in government institutions should
the Anglicists argued that the government sholuld
be secular.
spend exclusively on modern education. The
Orientalists said while Western sciences and literature It recommended a system of grants-in-aid to
should be taught to prepare students to take up jobs, encourage private enterprises.
emphasis should be placed on expansion of traditional

n
Indian learning.
Even the Anglicists were divided over the question of
Development of Education
medium of instruction : Under Crown Rule
— One faction was for English language as the medium.
After the revolt of 1857, the East India Company was
— The other faction was for Indian languages
abolished and Crown rule was started in India. Hence,
(vernaculars) for the purpose.
many new reforms came into education which were as
follows:

Lord Macaulay’s Minutes Hunter Education Commission (1882-83)

The famous Lord Macaulay’s Minutes favoured In 1882, the Government appointed a commission
Anglicists views. The limited government resources under the Chairmanship of WW Hunter to review the
were dedicated to teaching of Western sciences and progress of education in the country since, the
literature through the medium of English language. Despatch of 1854.
English was made the medium of instruction in The Hunter Commission mostly limited its
schools and colleges and alongside a few schools and recommendations to primary and secondary
colleges were also opened instead of elementary education. Following are the recommendations of the
schools and thus neglected mass education. Commission:
The British planned to educate a small section of (i) Emphasised that state’s special care is required for
upper and middle classes who would act as extension and improvement of primary education,
interpreters between the government and masses. and that primary education should be imparted
They would also enrich the vernaculars by which through vernacular.
knowledge of Western sciences and literature could (ii) The Commission recommended transfer of control of
reach the masses. This was called the ‘Downward primary education to newly set up district and
Filtration Theory’. municipal boards. It also recommended that
secondary (High School) education should have two
Wood’s Despatch (1854) divisions :
In 1854, Charles Wood prepared a despatch on an — Literary Leading up to university.
educational system for India which was considered — Vocational For commercial careers.
the ‘Magna Carta of English Education in India’. (iii) The Commission also paid attention to inadequate
This document was the first inclusive plan for the facilities for female education, especially outside
spread of education in India. presidency towns and made recommendations for its
The despatch instructed the government of India to spread.
undertake responsibility for education of the masses, For the next two decades, there was a rapid growth
and thus rejected the ‘downward filtration theory’, at and expansion of secondary and college education
least on paper. with the participation of Indians.
It organised the hierarchy of education in the Universities were set up like the Punjab University
following manner : (1882) and the Allahabad University (1887).
— Vernacular primary schools in villages at bottom.
— Followed by Anglo-Vernacular High Schools. Indian Universities Act, 1904
— Followed by an affiliated college at the district level. In 1902, Raleigh Commission was set up to study the
— And affiliating Universities were set up in the conditions of universities in India and to suggest
Presidencies of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. measures for improvement in their structure and
working.
It recommended English as the medium of
instruction for higher studies and vernaculars at The commission did not report on primary or
school level. secondary education.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
172

Based on its recommendations, the Indian Universities A separate board of secondary and intermediate
Act was passed in 1904. education was to be set up for administration and
Following are the recommendations of the Act: control of secondary and intermediate education.
— Study and research were more encouraged in the
A full time Vice Chancellor should be appointed as
universities. the head of university.
— The number of fellows of a university and their There should be less rigidity in framing university
period in office were reduced and most fellows were regulations and university should function as
to be nominated by the Government. centralised, unitary residential-teaching autonomous
body, rather than as scattered, affiliated colleges.
— Government could have power to exercise veto
universities’ senate regulations. It could amend these Female education, applied scientific and
regulations or pass regulations on its own. technological education, teachers’ training including
those for professional and vocational colleges should
— Conditions for affiliation of private colleges were to
be extended.
be made stricter and five lakh rupees were to be
sanctioned per annum for five years for improvement Provisions should be made for instructions in
of higher education and universities. Engineering, law, agriculture and technology.
From 1916 to 1921, seven new universities came up
Government Resolution on at Mysore, Patna, Banaras, Aligarh, Dacca, Lucknow
Education Policy, 1913 and Osmania.
In 1906, the progressive state of Baroda introduced Hartog Committee (1929)
compulsory primary education throughout its
territories. National leaders urged the government to The Hartog Committee was set up to report on
do so for British India. development of education. Its main recommendations
were as follows :
In its Resolution on Education Policy, 1913, the
government refused to take up the responsibility of Emphasis should be given to primary education but
compulsory education accepted the policy of removal there need to be no hasty expansion or compulsion in
of illiteracy. It urged provincial governments to take education.
early steps to provide free elementary education to the It also recommended selective system of admission to
poorer and more backward sections. universities and diversified courses leading to
Private efforts were to be encouraged for this and the industrial and commercial careers.
quality of secondary schools was to be improved. Only deserving students should go in for high school
A university, was to be established in each province and intermediate stage, while average students
and teaching activities of universities were to be should be diverted to vocational courses after
encouraged. Standard VIII.
For improvements in standards of university
Saddler University Commission (1917-19) education, admissions should be restricted.
The purpose of the commission was to study and report
on problems of Calcutta University. Although its Sergeant Plan of Education
recommendations were applicable to other universities The Sergeant Plan (Sergeant was the educational
also. adviser to the Government) was worked out by the
It also studied the entire arena from school education Central Advisory Board of Education in 1944.
to university education and stated the view that, for the It recommended following points :
improvement of university education, improvement of — Pre-primary education for 3-6 years age group.
secondary education was a necessary pre-condition. — Free universal and compulsory elementary
education for 6-11 years age group.
Observations of the Commission — High school education for 11- 17 years age group for
School course should cover 12 years and students selected children.
should enter university after an intermediate stage
— A university course of 3 years after higher
(rather than matric) for a three-year degree course in
secondary and high schools were to be of two types
university.
i.e., Academic or Technical and vocational.
All the teaching resources in Calcutta should be
It provided for adequate technical, commercial and
organised so that Calcutta University may entirely
arts education and abolition of intermediate course.
become a teaching university.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
173

The plan also advocated for liquidation of adult illiteracy Development of Technical Education
in 20 years.
During the British rule, there was some focus on the
Teachers’ training, physical education, education for the
development of technical education in the form of
physically and mentally handicapped was stressed upon.
setting up of new colleges and courses which are
described as follows:
Wardha Scheme of Education (1937)
The Engineering College at Roorkee was set up in
Wardha Scheme of Basic Education (1937) is also known
1847; the Calcutta College of Engineering came up
as Nai Talim / Buniyadi Talim was the outcome of
in 1856.
thinking of Mahatma Gandhi. He considered education
as an effective instrument of national reconstruction. In 1858, Overseers’ School at Poona was raised to
the status of Poona College of Engineering and
Indian National Congress had been pleading for free
affiliated to Bombay University. Guindy College of
and compulsory Universal education. When Congress
Engineering was affiliated to Madras University.
Ministries were elected in the provincial elections of
1937, it became the duty of Congress to implement it into Medical training started with establishment of a
action. medical college in Calcutta in 1835.
However, it required huge amount of funds which was Lord Curzon worked to broaden the whole basis of
lacking. To solve this problem, Mahatma Gandhi put professional courses—medicine, agriculture,
forward his scheme of self-supporting education. He engineering, veterinary sciences, etc.
placed his basic education system in the Wardha He established an agriculture college at Pusa,
Conference of 1937. which acted as a parent institution of similar
A committee was appointed under the Chairmanship of institutions in other provinces.
Dr. Zakir Hussain to formulate the scheme of basic
education in India. The report submitted by the Developments in Indian Education
committee and published in March 1938, came to be Post Independence Era
known as Wardha scheme of education. The following developments took place in the field of
To discuss the proposed new education scheme, an education after India’s independence :
All-India Education Conference was held in Wardha on
22nd and 23rd October, 1937. Radhakrishnan Commission
For the improvement of education in India, the
Features of Wardha Scheme Radhakrishnan Commission was appointed in
Free and compulsory education was to be given for 8 November 1948. It gave a report on university
years (from 6 to 14 years). It was to be given in two education in India.
stages, the junior stage covering 5 years and senior stage
The Radhakrishnan Commission submitted its
for 3 years.
report in August, 1949. Recommendations of this
The idea behind the scheme was to provide education education commission in independent India on the
through some form of craft or productive work. It was to teaching standards.
relieve the child from the tyranny of purely academic and
Commission recommended for 12 years of
theoretical instruction and to break down the existing
Pre-University education before entry into
barriers of prejudice between manual and intellectual
universities.
work.
The committee gave three major objectives for the
Scheme aimed to provide such kind of education which
higher education:
can be self-supporting in later life. It would also ensure
— Central education
the dignity of labour along with livelihood for the
students after leaving school. — Liberal education

Zakir Hussain Committee had proposed that proper — Occupational education

teaching in the mother tongue should be the foundation The committee recommended for diverting the
of all education. Mother tongue would have helped to students after 10 to 12 years of Pre- University
speak, read and write correctly and effectively and to education to different vocational subjects in large
develop precision of thought and clarity of ideas. number of occupational institutes.
Various subjects were introduced like the basic craft, It was an important step to promote vocational
mother tongue, mathematics, Social Studies, painting, education by this education commission in
music and sports etc. English was not included in the independent India.
curriculum.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
174

This education commission in independent India The adoption of a common school system in India.
recommended for increasing the number of working Emphasis on the education of girls to promote social
days for a minimum of 180 days in a year. justice and social transformation.
It recommended for three terms of about 11 weeks Development of education among backward classes
each. and tribal people.
It recommended to raise the standard of education in
universities and university education was to be placed University Grants Commission (UGC)
in the concurrent list. The UGC was established in 1953 based on the
It recommended for setting up the University Grants recommendations of Radhakrishnan Committee and
Commission (UGC) to look after the universities in was made into a statutory organisation with the UGC
India. Act in 1956.
Recommendations of this education commission in UGC is responsible for coordinating, determining and
independent India on professional education were maintaining standards of higher education.
made by the commission. The University Grants Commission provides
This education commission in independent India recognition to universities in India and disburses
recommended to divide the professional education into funds to such recognised universities and colleges.
5 aspects i.e., agriculture education, commercial
education, engineering and technology, medical Development of Press in India
education and the Legal education.
Press in India started with the first newspaper, The
For finance, the Central government was given the Bengal Gazette or Calcutta General Advertiser, by
responsibility to promote higher education in India. James Augustus Hickey in 1780.
University Grant Commission was given the
Press in its initial phase was primarily an outspoken
responsibility for allocation of grants to the
critic of the misdeeds of British administration and its
universities and promote education in India.
officers.
UGC was constituted in 1953 and was given statutory
The Indian press (both Vernacular and English
status in 1956 by an Act of Indian Parliament.
language) played a major role in National awakening
Kothari Education Commission (1964-66) and mobilising public opinion and fighting for
freedom of India.
The Indian Education Commission, popularly known
as Kothari Education Commission (1964-66) was set up Some examples of early newspapers are:
by the government of India on 14th July, 1964, under ‘Payam-e-Azadi’ or the Message of Freedom (1857) by
the Chairmanship of Dr. DS Kothari. Nana Saheb Peshwa, The Hindu and Swadesamitran
by G Subramaniya Aiyar.
The objective of the Kothari Education Commission
(1964-66) was to examine the different aspects of the The Bengalee by Surendranath Banerjee, Voice of
education system in India. India by Dadabhai Naoroji, Kesari (in Marathi) and
Maharatta (in English) under Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
The recommendations of the Kothari Commission
education reforms became part of national policy on Censorship of Press Act, 1799
education in 1968. The Commission was assisted by This Act was enacted Lord Wellesley while
experts from countries like UK, USA, USSR, UNESCO. anticipating French invasion of India.
Recommendations of It imposed almost wartime press restrictions
Kothari Education Commission including pre-censorship but were relaxed under
Lord Hastings, who had progressive views and in
To provide free and compulsory education for children
1818, press censorship was dispensed with.
between 6 to 14 years.
To provide adequate and satisfactory service Licensing Regulations, 1823
conditions for the teachers along with proper It was enacted by the John Adams. According to
qualifications and responsibilities. this regulation, press without licence was a penal
The adoption of three language formula i.e., Hindi, offence.
English and a regional language (mother tongue). The restriction was directed mainly to Indian
Provision of educational facilities in the rural and language newspapers or those edited by the
backward areas. Indians.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
175

Press Act of 1835 or Metcalfe Act Newspaper (Incitement to Offences) Act, 1908
Metcalfe (Governor-General – 1835-36) repealed the This Act empowered the magistrates to confiscate
obnoxious 1823 ordinance and was named, liberator press property which published objectionable
of the Indian press. material.
The new Press Act (1835) required a These material would likely to cause incitement to
printer/publisher to give a precise account of murder/acts of violence against the Extremist
premises of a publication and cease functioning, if nationalist activity.
required by a similar declaration. The result of a
Indian Press Act, 1910
liberal press policy was a rapid growth of newspapers.
This Act was a revision of the Vernacular Act that
Licensing Act, 1857 empowered the local government to demand a security
This Act imposed licensing restriction and the right to at registration from the printer/publisher and
stop publication and circulation of book, newspaper forfeit/deregister if it was an offending newspaper.
or printed matter reserved with the Government. The printer of a newspaper was required to submit
This Act was mainly introduced due to the emergency two copies of each issue to local government.
caused by the Revolt 1857, this Act imposed licensing
restrictions in addition to the already existing
Press During and After the First World War
registration procedure laid down by Metcalfe Act. Defence of India Rules were imposed for repression of
political agitation and free public criticism during the
Registration Act, 1867 First World War.
This act relaxed the restrictions put by Metcalf’s Act In 1921, on the recommendations of a Press
of 1835 and hence, states that government acts as Committee chaired by Tej Bahadur Sapru, the Press
regulatory not restrictive body. As per the Act : Acts of 1908 and 1910 were repealed.
— Every book/ newspaper was required to print the
name of the printer and the publisher and the place
Indian Press (Emergency Powers) Act, 1931
of the publication. This Act gave powers to provincial governments to
— A copy was to be submitted to the local government suppress propaganda for Civil Disobedience
within one month of the publication of a book. Movement.
It was further amplified in 1932 to include all activities
Vernacular Press Act, 1878 calculated to undermine government authority.
It was constituted for ‘better control’ of the vernacular
press and effectively punished and repressed seditious
Press During the Second World War
writing. The provisions of the Act are given below: Under the Defence of India Rules, pre-censorship was
imposed and amendments made in Press Emergency
The District Magistrate was empowered to call upon
Act and Official Secrets Act.
the printer and publisher of any vernacular
newspaper to enter into a bond with the government. At one time, publication of all news related to
Congress activity was declared illegal.
By undertaking not to cause disaffection against the
government or antipathy between persons of different Development of Press in India After Independence
religions, caste, race through published material. In March 1947, a Press Enquiry Committee was
The printer and publisher could also be required to established to analyse the various existing laws and
deposit security, which could be seized if the offences regulations and to modulate them in accordance with
re-occurred. the Fundamental Rights proposed by the Constituent
The magistrate’s action was final and no appeal could Assembly.
be made in a court of law. The committee recommended to repeal the Indian
A vernacular newspaper could get an exemption from Emergency Powers Act of 1931, modification in
the operation of the Act by submitting proof to a Section 124-A and 153-A of the Indian Penal Code,
government censor. Amendments to the Press and Registration of Books Act.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
176 28

The Revolt of 1857

Sources Class-VIII New NCERT Chap 5 (When People Rebel 1857 and After), Class-XII New NCERT Chap 11
(The Revolt of 1857 and its Representations), Class-VIII Old NCERT Chap 5 (Revolts against British Rule)
Class-XII Old NCERT Chap 6 (The Revolt of 1857)

Revolt of 1857 was one of the most important The Company also brought the Mughal Dynasty to an
moments in Indian Freedom Struggle. The policies of end. The name of the Mughal king was removed from
the East India Company before 1857 had started to the coins minted by the Company.
affect different section of people. In 1849, Governor-General Dalhousie announced that
Kings, queens, peasants, landlords, tribes and after the death of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the family of
soldiers were all affected in different ways. People the king would be moved out of the Red Fort and given
began resistance against such policies and actions another place in Delhi to reside in. He would be last
that were harming their interests or were going king and next would be called princes.
against their sentiments, which culminated into this
moment.
Subsidiary Alliance and Doctrine of Lapse
n Subsidiary Alliance is a treaty between East India
Causes of the Revolt Company and Indian rulers framed by Wellesley. With
Variety of causes i.e., political, social, administrative, this Indian rulers had to- let go their armed forces, pay
economic, military, etc were responsible for the maintenance to British army and were not to form
outbreak of the Revolt of 1857. alliances. One official was placed of Company at court of
rulers, who was called Resident.
Important causes of the Revolt of 1857 are as follows : n Doctrine of Lapse was an annexation policy followed
by Dalhousie who ruled from 1848-1856. According to it
Political Causes any ruler under this if did not have male heir would be
East India Company being ignored the interests and annexed by Company. And any adopted son would only
pleas of kings, nawabs etc. inherit his father’s personal property and assets.
Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi wanted her adopted son
as the heir to the kingdom after the death of her
husband. Nana Saheb, the adopted son of Peshwa Administrative Causes
Baji Rao II, wanted his father’s pension. But both The phase from Battle of Plassey 1757 to the Revolt of
were refused by Company. 1857 was not of peace. It had different uprisings
Right to succession was denied to Hindu princes. against Britishers by tribes and peasants. Sanyasi
Doctrine of Lapse and Subsidiary Alliances were used Revolt in Bihar and Bengal, from 1763 to 1800 was one
to subjugate states and take away their powers. of such revolts. Fairazi, a muslim sect also rose against
zamindar and British, in Faridpur in 1838.
Awadh provided around 75,000 sepoys to the
company. It was annexed by Lord Dalhousie in name British policies did not make neither zamindar nor
of ‘misgovernance’. This act sent a wave of discontent peasant happy. Zamindar still understood problems of
among sepoys. peasants and was kind, but Britishers were focused on
their fixed revenue collections.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
177

Zamindars were dissatisfied with Britishers, as often Military Causes

their lands were taken away and were made to feel
The Indian sepoys in the employ of the Company also
inferior.
had reasons for discontent. They were unhappy about
Revenue settlement policies did not satisfy new their pay, allowances and conditions of service. Some
zamindar and made peasants go through tough of the new rules. Moreover, violated their religious
collections, brutualities of officials. sensibilities and beliefs.
In addition, common people were hit hard by the In 1824, the sepoys were ordered to go to Burma by
prevalence of corruption at the lower levels of the sea route to fight for the Company, when they
administration. The police, petty officials and lower refused, they were punished. Later, they agreed to go
law courts were corrupt. by the land route.
Officials lost no opportunity of enriching themselves In 1856, Lord Canning’s Government Service
at the cost of the ryots and zamindars. The complex Entitlement Act declared that every new person who
judicial system enabled the rich to oppress the poor. took up employment in the Company’s army had to
Torture and jailing of the cultivators for rent or land agree to serve overseas if required.
revenue or interest on debt were quite common.
There was already discrimination in army between
Socio-Religious Causes British and Indian soldiers in payments and promotions.
The Britishers felt they were superior and they had And the foreign allowance bhatta was withdrawn paid
right to ‘civilised’ Indian society. The abolition of the to sepoys which added to their wounds.
custom of sati, the legalisation of widow remarriage Immediate Cause
and the opening of Western education to girls were
seen as interference. The pre-existing discontent among sepoys was fuelled
by newly introduced enfield rifle, whose cartridge was
An important factor in turning the people against
supposedly made of cow and pig fat. It was supposed
British rule was fear of destroying their religion.
to be bitten by mouth before use. Another report was
This fear was due to the activities of the Christian of mixing of bone dust in Atta (Flour).
missionaries who came in the schools, the hospitals,
Both of these issues became end points in their
the prisons and at the market places.
growing dissatisfaction for the sepoys. They felt it was
These missionaries tried to convert people and made done to destroy their religion and convert them into
violent public attacks on Hinduism and Islam. They Christianity.
openly criticised the long-cherished customs and
Both Hindu and Muslim sentiments were hurt by these
traditions of the people.
actions and no steps were taken to allay these fears.
Religious sentiments were also hurt by the policy of
taxing lands belonging to temples and mosques and to Outside Influence on Revolt of 1857
their priests or the charitable institutions which were
The period of the growth of discontent among the
not taxed by earlier rulers.
people coincided with certain events which shattered
Economic Causes the general belief that British are unbeatable.
The most important cause of the popular discontent They encouraged the people to believe that the days of
was the economic exploitation of the country by the the British regime were over.
British. The complete destruction of its traditional Britishers suffered setbacks in different battles in
economic fabric impoverished the vast mass of India as well as outside India. Santhal uprising
peasants, artisans and handicraftsmen as also a large (1855-57), First Afghan War (1838-42), Punjab War
number of traditional zamindars and chiefs. (1845-49) and the Crimean War (1854-56), provided
British policies destroyed local rulers and their courts a sense of belief that they can be challenged and
who were patrons of handicrafts and artisans, which won over.
in turn led to destruction of local craftsmen and artist.
British also favoured the items which came from West
Beginning and Course of Revolt
and tried to dumped them India, as they were cheaper On 8th April, 1857, Mangal Pandey was hanged to
and Indian commodities could not compete with death for attacking his officers in Barrackpore.
them. Both of these led to impoverishment of people. Some days later, some sepoys of the regiment at
This led to pressure on agricultural lands and Meerut refused to do the army drill using the new
discontent among rural areas which also affected cartridges, which were suspected of being coated with
sepoys who came from these areas. the fat of cows and pigs.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
178

Eighty-five sepoys were dismissed from service and Weakness of Revolt and Failure
sentenced to ten years in jail for disobeying their officers.
This happened on 9th May, 1857. Revolt was limited to Northern states; Southern,
Western and Eastern were missing from the
The response of the other Indian soldiers in Meerut was
revolt.
quite extraordinary. On 10th May, the soldiers marched to
the jail in Meerut and released the imprisoned sepoys. Some classes did not join the revolt and some
They attacked and killed British officers. Indian rulers even actively helped British officials.
They captured guns and ammunition and set fire to the East India Company had modernised weapons
buildings and properties of the British and declared war (Guns, telegraph) by which they could easily tell
on the firangis. The soldiers were determined to bring an about movements of rebels. Peasants and most of
end to their rule in the country. Indians fought with swords, spears and few had
guns.
The soldiers chose the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah
Zafar as the leader of the rebellion. And with this, it Revolt was not very well-coordinated and was
turned into a widespread revolt all over not just military fought mostly independently without any strategy
camps. while British commanders experienced men like
Lawrence brothers, John Nicholson, James
Civilians began to join the unrest, particularly in
Outram etc.
North-Western and Awadh. It compassed of peasants,
zamindars, religious leaders and civil servants. Revolt also did not have a forward looking
outlook, even if they won an area did not know
Delhi was captured back by British on 20th September,
what to do with it.
1857, Bahadur Shah was taken prisoner and sent to
Rangoon (Myanmar). He died in 1862. These rebel came from different sections of
society and class and a feeling of unity or
Most of the leaders of rebellion were defeated. Nana
nationalism was missing.
Saheb lost Kanpur and escaped to Nepal in 1859. Rani
Lakshmibai died on battlefield in June 1858. Causes of the Failure of the Revolt
In the end by 1859, revolt had been suppressed and British The poor organisation and lack of coordination
had to bring more supplies and resources to re-establish among the rebels was perhaps the most important
their governance. cause of its failure. Some other causes were as
follows :
Centres of Revolts and Leaders
The stronghold area of the revolt remained limited
Place Indian Leader British Leader Date enabling the English to concentrate and utilise
Delhi General Bakht John Nicholson, 11th May, 1857
their strength, effectively against the rebels in the
Khan Lietenant limited area.
Willoughby The English had better resources, modern
Lucknow Begum Hazarat Colin Campbell, 4th June, 1857 weapons and materials of war.
Mahal Henry Lawrence The Telegraph kept Commander-in-Chief well
Bihar Kunwar Singh William Taylor, August, 1857 informed about the movement of rebels.
Kanpur Nana Saheb, Colin Campbell 4th June, 1857 There was lack of unity among Indians. Many
Tantia Tope natives actively helped the British to suppress the
revolt. They were the Scindhia of Gwalior, the
Bareilly Khan Bahadur — 4th June, 1857
Khan Holkar of Indore, the Nizam of Hyderabad, Raja of
Jodhpur and other rulers of Patiala, Nabha, Jind
Faizabad Maulavi — 4th June, 1857 and Kashmir and many other ruling chiefs and big
(Ayodhya) Ahmadullah
zamindars.
Jhansi Rani Lakshmibai Sir Hugh Rose 4th June, 1857 The modern educated Indians also did not support
Allahabad Liyaqat Ali Colonel Neil 5th June, 1857 the revolt. They were repelled by the rebels’
(Prayagraj) appeals to superstitions and their opposition to
Barout, Shah Mal (Jat — — progressive social measures.
Uttar leader) Neither the leaders nor the sepoys were inspired
Pradesh by any high ideals of patriotism and nationalism.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
179

Views of Historians on Nature of Revolt Impact of Revolt of 1857

The Revolt of 1857 is difficult to be seen as most of the Revolt of 1857 was unprecedented and made
documents related to revolt were destroyed by rebels or Britishers feel seriously threatened which led to
were burnt by British officials. British did not want changes in administration and policies.
people to know rebels. The British Parliament passed a new Act in 1858
Some consider it to be as Sepoy Mutiny; other as and transferred East India Company to the British
National Struggle or First War of Independence. Crown in order to ensure a more responsible
SB Chaudhary describes as, “First War of management of Indian affairs.
Independence it certainly was, as in the whole canvas A member of the British Cabinet was appointed
of the recorded history of India it would be difficult to Secretary of State for India and made responsible for
find a parallel to this gigantic anti-foreign combine of all matters related to the governance of India. He was
all classes of people and of many provinces of India. given a council to advice him, called the India
There was never a war in India lasting continuously for Council.
more than a year and simultaneously in all the regions The Governor-General of India was given the title of
which had for its objective the abasement and Viceroy, i.e., a personal representative of the Crown.
ejectment of the alien ruling power.” Through these measures, the British government
Dr K Datta considers the revolt of 1857 to have been accepted direct responsibility for ruling India.
“mainly a military outbreak, which was taken The change of responsibility to British crown was
advantage of by certain discontented princes and announced at darbar at Allahabad by Lord Canning
landlords, whose interests had been affected by the in ‘Queen’s Proclamation’ on 1st November, 1858.
new political order.” So rule of East India Company came to an end.
VD Savarkar in his book, First War of Indian As Britishers came to realise they had antagonised
Independence described it as a “planned war of and made enemy of native rulers, they tried to win
national independence.” over them by promising them autonomy and respect
RC Mazumdar did not consider it as national struggle, to their rights.
and said, “It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Indian annexed states and provinces were brought
so-called First National War of Independence of 1857 is under a single British paramountancy.
neither First, nor National, nor War of Independence.”
The British officials found army to be main cause of
such revolt and to prevent such reoccurrence,
Significance of the Revolt reorganised it.
Revolt was significant as it was not communal in The domination of the army by European branch was
character and Hindu-Muslim, both fought together. fixed. The share of Europeans in army was increased
And it took from mutiny of soldiers and became a and fixed at 1 to 2 in Bengal and 2 to 5 in Madras and
rebellion against Britishers. Bombay armies.
Another important thing to come out of revolt was new The old policy of excluding Indian sepoys from
sense of a modern nationalism. officer ranks was still maintained.
 Notes INDIAN
NCERTNotes INDIANHISTORY
HISTORY
CHAPTER
180 29

Indian National Movement :

First Phase (1885-1915)

Sources Class-VIII New NCERT Chap 9 (The Making of the National Movement : 1870s-1947), Class-XII New NCERT
Chap 13 (Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement), Class-XII Old NCERT Chap 9 (Growth of New India-
The Nationalist Movement, 1858-1905); Chap 10 (Nationalist Movement, 1905-1918: (Growth of Militant Nationalism)

The second half of the 19th century witnessed the The ruin of Indian economic conditions was also due
emergence of national political consciousness and to this very fact, India was dumped with cheaply made
growth of organised national movement in India. products from machines that destroyed Indian
A new feeling of oneness and belongingness to the handicrafts. And at the same place nothing was done
same nation also arised. It gave a new and different in respect of industrialisation in India.
path to the movement for independence Swaraj. The peasants also realised that they were suffering
due to foreign rule, who took away large part of their
Emergence of Nationalism in India produce as revenue, and the police, courts, favoured
and protected the zamindars and landlords, who took
Consciousness of a common nation began to be clearly heavy rents and exploited them.
stated by the political associations formed after 1850, They realised British capitalism was not going to
especially those that came into being in the 1870s and modernise Indian economic systems, and British
1880s. Most of these were led by English-educated policies were meant to help British capitalists.
professionals such as lawyers.
Heavy tariffs, taxation, and transport policies didn’t
help Indian capitalists, who were competing against
Causes and Rise of Nationalism industries favoured by the British.
Different causes that led to the rise of nationalism in
India are as follows : Administrative and Economic Unification
The sentiments of the nation grew among people after
Differences in Interests of 1857 as India was unified and sense of nationalism
Indians and Britishers emerged during the 19th and 20th centuries.
The root problem of British rule was its selfish interest The British gradually introduced a uniform system
which was totally different from Indian people. They and modern system of government throughout the
ruled over India and always prioritised their interests country and in this way unified it administratively.
over Indian welfare. Indians realised that their
As an economic unit, the country had become a unit,
interests were being sacrificed over British
and the destruction of the local self-sufficient and rural
manufacturers.
economy interlinked the economic life of different
Educated Indians were also dissatisfied with acquired parts of the country. If one area was under drought or
knowledge about economic and political exploits by famine others also felt shortages of food and prices
the British. fluctuations.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
181

Introduction of telegraph, railways and unified postal Cultural and Historical Invocation
system had also brought different areas of India together of India’s Past
and increased mutual contacts among Indians, People of India had lost confidence in their own
particularly among the leaders. potential of self-government. British officials, and
Growth of the Press, Newspapers and Literature some British thinkers constantly wrote about this.
The main medium through which the Indian people of Nationalist writers, like R G Bhandarkar, R L
nationalist mindset spread their message of patriotism Mitra and later Swami Vivekananda helped form
and modern ideas, thoughts, about social, economic a new picture and encouraged people to respect
conditions was the press. their own self and countered this propaganda.
Many newspapers with nationalist thoughts emerged Nationalists pointed to Indian heritage of culture
during the second half of the 19th century. and rules of Ashoka, Chandragupta Maurya,
They criticised British policies, perspectives of Indians Akbar etc. They helped people to have faith, think
were put forward, people were involved to unite and of self-government, and throwing away chains of
work for national betterment. British rule over India.
Ideas of self-government, democracy, and industries Socio-Religious Reform Movements
were brought in popular mass discussion by the press In light of Western and modern education, a new
and newspapers. It also brought people living in different temperament developed through which religious,
parts of the country together, and helped them exchange social, and other traditions were relooked and
their views. reformed were promoted.
Steps were taken by new organisations that were
Prominent Nationalist Writers of the Period established in the country, e.g., Brahma Samaj,
n Many novels, essays, patriotic poetry were written by Paramhans Mandali, Prarthana Samaj, Arya
writers like Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Rabindranath
Samaj and Mohammedan Literary Society etc.
Tagore, in Bengali, Laxminath Bezbaruah in Assamese,
Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar in Marathi, Subramaniyam Apathetic Attitude and Reactionary
Bharti in Tamil.
Policies of Lytton
n Bharatendu Harishchandra (the first writer in Hindi) and
Altaf Husain Hali (Urdu writer) were famous in this There was an attitude of racial superiority by
period. They helped in arousing feeling of patriotism and Britishers and deliberate discrimination against
national consciousness in country through their writings. Indians was done.
Indians felt disgusted by such treatment and
Modern Western Education and Thoughts actions of officials.
In the 19th century, many Indians who were educated in Lytton who served as Viceroy from 1876-1880,
Western education learnt and adapted a rational, secular, reduced the age limit of Indian Civil Service (ICS)
democratic, and nationalist political viewpoint. They examination from 21 years to 18 years to make it
admired and had inspirations from contemporary difficult for Indians to join in 1876.
nationalist movements of European nations. He held Delhi Darbar in 1877 which was heavily
These educated people assumed the leadership of the criticised as India was reeling under famine that
national movement and gave it democratic and modern time.
direction. Major Acts such as the Vernacular Act, Arms Act
English language also provided a certain uniformity and both passed in 1878 instigated a new front of
community among educated Indians, and helped the opposition in the country.
speed of ideas between these people.
Ilbert Bill Controversy (1883-1884)
Effects of Contemporary World Movements During the period of Lord Ripon (1880-84) who
Modern educated Indians found their political guide in came after Lytton, had the controversy of
Rousseau, Paine, John Stuart Mill and other Western introducing Ilbert Bill. The Bill was supposed to
thinkers. end the ‘judicial disqualification on the basis of
They had their political heroes in Mazzini, Garibaldi, race differences’ but it was shelved because of
and Irish nationalist leaders. These movements in Italy, opposition by Europeans.
South American nations where new states were being Thus, Bill’s original purpose was gone as it was
established provided a dream to Indian leaders of a free modified to keep the favour in place of Europeans.
Indian nation.
 Notes INDIAN
NCERTNotes INDIANHISTORY
HISTORY
182

This made it clear to nationalist leaders that fairness and justice could not be expected from British Empire and it
made it clear that only united they could fight against the British.
They also learnt how to agitate, put forth demands by agitations of Europeans who were against the Bill.

Political Associations before Establishment of the Indian National Congress

By the 1870s, Indian nationalism had gathered enough strength and momentum to appear as a major force on the
Indian political scene. The Indian National Congress, founded in December 1885, was the first organised
expression of the Indian National Movement on an all-India scale. However, it had many predecessors.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was the first Indian leader to start an agitation for political reforms in India. Many public
associations were started in different parts of India after 1836. Most of these were dominated by rich and
aristocratic people and they were regional or local in nature.
These usually worked for reforms in administration, association of Indians in administration and spread of
education and were usually dealing with petitions being sent to the British Parliament with demands of Indians.

Name Founder Objective

Bangabhasha Prakasika Sabha (1836 in Associates of Raja Ram Mohan Roy Welfare of Society, It asked for attention of
Bengal) Britishers on problems of Indians and
measures.

Zamindari Association or The Dwarkanath Tagore, Radhakant Deb, Safeguarding interests of landlords.
Landholders’ Society (1838) Prasanna Tagore etc.

Bengal British India Society (1843) George Thompson Collection and distribution of information
about condition of people in British India.

British Indian Association (1851) Radhakant Deb Separate legislature, separation of executive
Note : Its demand was accepted in the and judiciary, reduction of salary of higher
Charter Act of 1853- addition of six officials, abolition of various duties.
members to the Governor-General’s
council was accepted.

East India Association (1866 in London) Dadabhai Naoroji Influenced public in England to promote
( known as Grand Old Man of India) Indian welfare.

Indian League (1875) Sisir Kumar Ghosh Spreading political education

Indian Association of Calcutta or Indian Surendranath Banerjee, Anand Mohan Bose Creating public opinion on politics,
National Association (1876) Unifying Indians in a common political
Note Its first All India Conference in process.
1883 was attended by 100 delegates and
it later merged with Indian National
Congress in 1886.

Poona Sarvajanik Sabha (1876) S H Chiplunkar, Ganesh Vasudev Joshi, M G Acting as a bridge between government and
Ranade people.

Bombay Presidency Association (1885) Badruddin Tyabji, Pherozshah Mehta, K T Posting of Indians in jobs and organising ICS
Telang examination in India.

Madras Mahajan Sabha (1884) M Viraraghavachari, B Subramaniya Aiyer, Organising local association works.
P Ananda Charlu

Establishment of Indian National Congress

Many Indian people have been planning for an All India Organisation of political nature for workers and activists.
It was AO Hume, a retired English Civil Servant who founded the Indian National Congress in 1885.
AO Hume got in touch with famous Indian leaders of that time, and with their support the first session of Indian
National Congress (INC) was held at Bombay in December, 1885.
First President of INC was W C Bonnerjee and the first session of Congress was attended by 72 delegates.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
183

From here, each Congress session was held every year After Congress leaders refused to limit themselves
in December in different states of the country each only to social affairs, British Officials realised
time. Dadabhai Naoroji was the President of Congress Congress had become a tool in hands of Indian
three times. Badruddin Tyabji, Pherozshah Mehta, leaders. It was the focus of Indian nationalism and
Romesh Chandra Dutt, Gopal Krishna Gokhale were they began to criticise it openly and its leaders.
other leaders who became President of INC in its early British officials from 1887 in Madras Presidency
phase. became totally against Congress. Dufferin labelled
Before this, two sessions of the Indian National nationalist leaders as disloyal babus, seditious
Conference were held in 1883 and 1885 which had brahmins and violent villains. The Congress was
representatives from all over India. termed as a Factory of sedition.
As Congress was uniting people and country, British
Purpose and Objectives of INC officials used the policy of ‘divide and rule’. They
In the First session of Indian National Congress, President encouraged Sayyid Ahmed Khan, Raja Shiva Prasad
WC Bonnerjee declared these to be its objectives : of Benaras and other pro-British individuals to start
Training and organisation of public opinion in the an Anti-Congress Movement.
country. British also tried to start a communal divergence by
Promotion of friendly relations between nationalist putting Hindu and Muslim interests. They offered
political workers from different parts of the country. concessions to one and repressed the other to put
Development and consolidation of the feeling of down nationalism.
national unity irrespective of caste, religion or However, these efforts failed to limitise the growth of
province the national movement.
Formulation of popular demands.
Presentation of these demands before the British
Moderate and Extremists Phase
Government. of Congress
First phase of Indian National Movement’s can be further
Safety Valve Theory divided into two phases on the basis of policies and
Various safety valve theorists states that AO Hume actions of Congress.
founded Indian National Congress. He encouraged it
to give a ‘safety valve’ or a safe path to vent out the 1. Moderate Phase (1885 to 1905)
increasing discontent and dissatisfaction among In the beginning of the Congress, there was
educated Indians. dominance of leaders like Dadabhai Naoroji, MG
He was the one who convinced Lord Dufferin not to Ranade, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, WC Bonnerjee,
hinder the formation of Congress. SN Banarjee, Pherozshah Mehta etc. They were firm
The ‘Safety Valve Theory’ is partially correct, as believers in liberalism and a ‘moderate’ way of
modern historians disagrees with it. They say that struggle.
Congress represented thoughts of Indian political Moderates organised a powerful agitation against
leaders. They knew, if such an organisation is nearly all important official economic policies based
founded, it would have met with stiff opposition from on colonial structure.
the British Government. They opposed the British attempt to develop in India,
According to Bipin Chandra, Indian leaders making it supplier of raw materials, a market for
cooperated with Hume whose ideas were not evil and British manufacturers and a field of investment for
had love and respect for India and its poor people. foreign capital.
Moderates also complained of growing poverty and
Attitude of British Power economic backwardness. They considered British
Towards Congress exploitation the reason behind the failure of modern
British officials were hostile to the rising nationalist industry and low agricultural productivity to grow.
movement and had become suspicious of the National Early moderates complained of the wealth of India
Congress. Dufferin tried to persuade Hume to devote being drained and demanded reduction of land
Congress to only social work and not political affairs. revenue in order to lighten the burden of taxation on
the peasants.
 Notes INDIAN
NCERTNotes INDIANHISTORY
HISTORY
184

Moderates in the early phase were not in favour of direct Demands of Moderates
attack on the British Government and chose to work In the early phase of Congress, Moderate leaders
under such a system, but criticised the administration did not ask for independence from British rule but
and policies. demanded concessions, and presented their
Methods of Political Work of Moderates grievances which they hoped would be addressed.
Early moderates as they believed that if public opinion They asked for reforms in the following fields :
was created and organised. — Legislatures and its expansion
They presented popular demands to the authorities — Posting of Indians in higher offices, exams in
through petitions, meetings, resolutions and speeches. India and England for Indians in Civil Services
The authorities would concede these demands gradually and its Indianisation,
and step by step. They used 3Ps- Petitions, Protests and — Removing the bans on press, newspapers and
Prayers for these demands. speeches,
They published newspapers, wrote articles, and showed — Demand for inquiry by Royal Commission on
how British rule was leading to the economic ruin of the Indian Administration,
country. — Removal of taxes on salt,
They criticised British rule in their speeches and sent — Other industrial reforms and their promotion,
representatives to different parts of the country to — Repeal of the Arms Act.
mobilise public opinion.
Contributions of Moderates in Indian
They felt that the British had respect for the ideals of
freedom and justice, and so they would accept the just
National Movement
demands of Indians. According to critics, not much was achieved by
Therefore, it was necessary to express these demands early moderates and Congress, as very few reforms
and make the government aware of the feelings of were introduced of the demands made by them.
Indians. It is partially true, but it cannot be said the early
phase of moderate and Congress was a failure.
Propaganda of Moderates in England
It succeeded in creating awareness of the feeling of
To persuade the British Government and public opinion belonging to a common nation among people.
in England in Indian favour, many steps were taken by
It showed how politically, socially and
AO Hume, Dadabhai Naoroji and William Wedderburn.
economically their interests were intertwined.
For this, many newspapers, magazines were started and
It trained people in political work and popularised
associations were set up in England.
among people the idea of democracy, liberty,
In 1887, Dadabhai Naoroji established the Indian nationalism and secularism.
Reform Committee in England.
They exposed the true character of British rule, by
In 1888, with the association of William Digby, Dadabhai showing how they used the economic resources of
Naoroji set up the Indian Political Agency to hear the India for them.
grievances of Indians. In 1889, British Committee of
Their economic critique of imperialism served as a
Congress was set up, which also published a monthly
main base for coming years of national movement
magazine named India.
against British rule.
In 1890, a Committee of Representatives was sent to It laid the foundation for national struggle which
England by Congress to make representation of Indians was to grow and it provided a political and
in British Parliament. Members of this committee were economic programme on which later political
Surendranath Banerjee, WC Bannerjee and AO Hume. struggle could be based.
With the efforts of moderates in England, a sympathy
was generated towards Indians. In 1879, Lalmohan 2. Extremists Phase (1905-1919)
Ghosh was sent to England to demand the posting of Over the years, the trend of radical thoughts grew
Indians in Civil Services. and an extremist approach to national movements
In the 1889 session of Congress, a Member of British started to grow from the 1890s. By 1905 onwards, it
House of Commons, Charles Bradella was present. took a concrete shape.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
185

Leaders of this school of thought included Raj Major Events that Shaped Nationalist Growth
Narain Bose, Aswini Kumar Datta, Aurobindo
Years Significance
Ghosh, Bipin Chandra Pal in Bengal, and Vishnu
Shastri Chiplunkar and Tilak in Maharashtra. 1892 Indian Council Act was passed, it failed to satisfy
extremists leaders as it did not fulfill all demands.
Reasons for Growth of Extremism 1897 The Natu Brothers were deported without trial and Tilak
When the British Government was not conceding to and others were charged with sedition.
important demands, many of the political leaders 1898 Repressive laws in IPC Section 124 A were made more
started to feel that only an Indian Government stringent with addition of new provisions under Section
could bring India on a path of progress attracted 156 A.
more and more people. 1899 In Calcutta Corporation number of Indian members was
In the years between 1896 and 1900, over 90 lakhs reduced.
died because of severe famines. Bubonic plague 1904 Official Secret Act was brought to curb the freedom of
affected large areas of Deccan, the British press.
government failed to provide major relief and help 1904 Indian Universities Act was brought to bring more control
in these areas. over universities so that it can exercise power over
activities and discussions of national movement there.
The British did not pay attention to people in
distress, leaders in the Indian National Congress
(INC) felt politically disappointed. Partition of Bengal, 1905
Spread of education among the masses led to On 16th October, 1905, Lord Curzon had divided Bengal
increased awareness. The rising unemployment into Eastern Bengal (with Assam) and the rest of Bengal.
among the educated led their attention to poverty The decision had come after Lord Curzon claimed that
and underdevelopment under British rule. Bengal was too large to be governed effectively.
International events in the 19th century The partition separated the largely Muslim Eastern
encouraged extremists in India also. Progress made areas from the largely Hindu Western areas. It was
by Japan after 1868 and its emergence as an definitely the ‘divide and rule’ policy for the Indians and
industrial power opened the eyes of Indians. the national leaders outraged about the fact that the
British Government turning native population against
They realised that economic progress was possible
itself in order to rule.
even by an Asian country without any external help.
Bengali Hindus were at the forefront of political
The defeat of the Italian army by Ethiopians (1896),
agitation. Following the partition, an Anti-British
the Boer Wars (1899-1902) where the British forces
movement began. This involved non-violent and violent
defeated and Japan’s victory over Russia (1905)
protests and boycotts. The Indian National Congress
demolished myths of European invincibility.
began the Swadeshi Movement.
Also, the nationalists were inspired by the
nationalist movements worldwide in Ireland, Swadeshi and Boycott Movement
Russia, Egypt, Turkey, Persia and China. The main reason for partition of Bengal was to weaken
The Indians realised that a uniform spirit of people the political struggle whose centre was in Bengal.
with will to make sacrifices could take on the Lord Curzon tried to favour the Muslims by announcing
mightiest of empires. that Dacca (Dhaka) would be new capital of Muslim
Reacting to increasing Westernisation, the new majority province.
leadership felt the stranglehold of excessive With the announcement of partition on 7th August, 1905,
Westernisation and sensed colonial designs to a Resolution of Boycott was announced in Calcutta town
submerge the Indian national identity in the British hall and the formal proclamation of Swadeshi
Empire. Movement was made.
The intellectual and moral inspiration of the new On 16th October, 1905, the partition came into force, this
leadership was Indian intellectuals like Swami day was observed as a day of mourning throughout
Vivekananda, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Bengal. People bathed in Ganga and walked barefoot
Swami Dayanand Saraswati. singing Vande Mataram which became the theme song
They inspired many young nationalists with their of the movement.
forceful and articulate arguments, painting People tied rakhis on each other’s hand as a symbol of
India’s past in brighter colours than the British unity. Surendranath Banerjee and Anand Mohan Bose
ideologies had. addressed the gathering.
 Notes INDIAN
NCERTNotes INDIANHISTORY
HISTORY
186

Other Movements and their Leaders Muslim of upper and middle caste didn’t participate
Region Leaders
in the movement. People like Nawab Salimullah of
Dacca supported the Bengal partition.
Poona and Bombay Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Punjab Lala Lajpat Rai, and Ajit Singh Suppression of the Movement
Delhi Syed Haider Raza The British Government adopted a harsh attitude
Madras Chidambaram Pillai towards the agitators. Indigenous activists were
prosecuted and jailed.
Position of Congress To end the participation of students in the Swadeshi
Under the Presidentship of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Movement, the British Government, on 22nd
Congress in 1905, condemned partition and supported October, 1905, the Carlyle Circular was
Anti-Partition and Swadeshi Movement. implemented.
In 1906, under the Presidentship of Dadabhai Naoroji, Under this, grants and scholarships given to
the goal of Congress was declared as the educational institutions were to be stopped. The
‘self-government’ or Swaraj. students were even given corporal punishment.
In December 1908, 9 leaders of Bengal were
Movement under Extremist Leadership expelled from the country by the police at the
Under Extremist leaders, boycott of foreign goods, Bengal Provincial Conference held at Barisal in
public meetings and processions were organised. April, 1900. Among them were Krishna Kumar
Samiti or corps of volunteers generated awareness. Mitra and Ashwini Kumar Datta.
They tried to arise the sentiments of the public by After the riots in Punjab, Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit
songs, lectures, training in swadeshi crafts and Singh were expelled from the country.
organising courts. The movement failed to create an effective
Self-reliance or Atma Shakti was encouraged, emphasis organisation or a party structure. The movement
was placed on national dignity, honour, and social and was rendered leaderless with most of the leaders
economic regeneration of villages. either arrested or deported by 1908 and with
A Swadeshi Programme on National Education was Aurobindo Ghosh and Bipin Chandra Pal retiring
planned. Bengal National College was set up in 1906 from active politics.
(Aurobindo Ghosh as its Principal), inspired by Tagore’s Internal differences among leaders, magnified
Shantiniketan. by the Surat Split (1907) also affected the
On 15th August, 1906, National Council of Education movement.
was set up Satish Chandra Mukherjee to organise The movement aroused the people but did not know
National Education - literary, scientific and technical. how to use the newly released energy or how to find
Education was to be imparted in the vernacular new forms to give expression to popular
medium. Bengal Institute of Technology was set up for resentment.
technical education.
Establishment of Muslim League (1906)
Swadeshi (Indigenous) Enterprises such as : Swadeshi
textile mills, soap and match factories, tanneries, banks, Partition of Bengal became the biggest reason for the
insurance companies, shops, etc were set up. split between Hindu and Muslim communities in
VO Chidambaram Pillai set up the Swadeshi Steam India.
Navigation Company at Tuticorin. The Muslim delegation under the leadership of Aga
Rabindranath Tagore wrote Amar Sonar Bangla, Khan met the then Viceroy Lord Minto and
Subramania Bharati wrote Swadesha Geetham to demanded a special status for Muslims.
arouse national sentiments. In the year 1906, Muslim League was established in
Tilak used Ganapati and Shivaji festival as a medium Dhaka under the leadership of Salimulla Khan and
of propagation of nationalist ideas. In Bengal, traditional Aga Khan. The first President of the League was
folk theatres were used for this purpose. Waqar-ul-Mulk Mustaq Hussain.
Between the years 1905 to 1907, the mutual
Participation of Masses differences of extremist and liberal ideas grew.
There was mass participation of students, and women in Moreover, the leaders of the Extremist Party did not
the Swadeshi Movement. Labour unions organised believe in the ability of the Moderates to negotiate
strikes in Bengal, Punjab and Tamil Nadu. So, the social with the British Government.
base of the movement had increased.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
187

In the year 1905, in the Banaras Session of the

Congress, both the parties reached the edge of split
First Phase of Revolutionary
over the post of President. Activities (1907-17)
In the conference, Tilak wanted to make Lala Lajpat The beginning of revolutionary ideology and activities in
Rai the President and Bipin Chandra Pal wanted to Indian were the result of internal and external factors.
make Tilak the President. This possibility was averted
with Dadabhai Naoroji becoming the President. Revolutionary Programme
The revolutionaries did not adopted a violent mass
Surat Split (1907)
revolution throughout the country at this stage.
Already the tensions were high between the two
groups as they both had different thoughts. Moderates Instead, they opted to follow in the footsteps of Russian
didn’t want to antagonise the British as council reforms or the Irish nationalists.
were coming up. Extremists didn’t realise moderates This methodology involved individual heroic actions,
could be their defence line in case of any repression by such as:
British Officials. Organising assassinations of unpopular officials,
The Extremists wanted the 1907 session in Nagpur traitors and informers among the revolutionaries
with Tilak or Lajpat Rai as the President and the themselves.
Swadeshi, boycott education resolutions again to be Conducting Swadeshi dacoities to raise funds for
adopted. revolutionary activities (during the First World War),
Moderates wanted the session at Surat in order to organising military conspiracies with expectation of
avoid Tilak from the presidency, since a leader from help from the enemies of Britain.
the host province could not be session President as
Emergence of Revolutionary Movement
Surat was Tilak’s home province of Bombay.
Disappointed with the outcomes of the work of
They wanted Rashbehari Ghosh as the President and
moderates of Congress, extremists emerged which
then to drop the resolutions on swadeshi, boycott and
gave birth to the movement.
national education.
They were inspired by Western ideology. They used
Both sides adopted rigid positions and split became
to publish literature for the promotion of their ideas.
inevitable. The Congress was now dominated by the
The major centres of early phase of revolutionary
Moderates who were committed the goal of
movement was in Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar
self-government and to use only constitutional
Pradesh and almost entire parts of East India.
methods to achieve this goal.
Objectives of the Movement
Delhi Darbar
The idea was to strike terror in the hearts of the rulers.
The Delhi Darbar was an Indian imperial style mass
assembly organised by the British to mark the Arouse people and remove the fear of authority from
succession of an Emperor or Empress of India. It was their minds.
held three times; in 1877, 1903 and 1911. The revolutionaries intended to inspire the people by
The Darbar of 1877 was called Proclamation Darbar. appealing to their patriotism, especially the idealistic
It’s organisation was undertaken by Thomas Henry youth.
Thornton.
Revolutionary Activities
It was held to proclaim Queen Victoria as Empress of
India by the British. It was attended by the first Earl of The description of revolutionary activities in different
Lytton (Viceroy of India), many princely states and parts of India is given below :
intellectuals. Bengal
This was the culmination of transfer of control of By the 1870s, Calcutta’s student community was
British India from the East India Company to the crown. mixed with secret societies, but these were not as
The Darbar in December 1911 was held to active.
commemorate the coronation of George V and Mary of The first revolutionary groups were organised in 1902
Teck and to allow their proclamation as Emperor and in Midnapore, in Bengal under Jnanendranath Basu,
Empress of India. and in Calcutta.
In this Darbar, annulment of partition of Bengal and The Anushilan Samiti was founded by Promotha
the transfer of India’s capital from Calcutta to Delhi Mitter and including Jatindranath Banerjee, Barindra
were announced. Kumar Ghosh and others.
 Notes INDIAN
NCERTNotes INDIANHISTORY
HISTORY
188

Activities of these societies were limited to giving Savarkar and his brother organised Mitra Mela, a
physical and moral training to the members and were secret society, in 1899 which merged with Abhinav
not that significant till 1907. Bharat (imitating Mazzinni’s Young Italy) in 1904.
In April 1906, an inner circle within Anushilan with With this, Nasik, Poona and Bombay became centres
Barindra Kumar Ghosh, Bhupendranath Dutta of bomb-making.
started the weekly magazine Yugantar. In 1909, Jackson, the District Magistrate of Nasik, was
In 1906, Rashbehari Bose and Sachin Sanyal killed by Anant Lakshman; who was a member of
organised a secret society covering Punjab, Delhi and Abhinav Bharat.
United Province. Hemachandra Kanungo went Punjab
abroad for military and political training.
Reason of Extremism in Punjab was due to issues of
The Yugantar group made an attempt on the life of a
frequent famines and rise in land revenue, and
very unpopular British official, Sir Fuller (the first
irrigation tax, practice of ‘begar’ by zamindars, and by
Lt. Governor of the new province of Eastern Bengal
the events in Bengal.
and Assam).
Leaders like, Lala Lajpat Rai brought out Punjabee
They attempted to derail the train on which the
(with its motto of all help at any cost) and Ajit Singh
Lieutenant-Governor, Sir Andrew Fraser, was
(Bhagat Singh’s uncle) who organised the extremist
travelling.
Anjuman-Mohisban-Watan in Lahore with its journal,
Dacca Anushilan under Pulin Das did Barrah Bharat Mata.
dacoity to raise funds for revolutionary activities.
Ajit Singh’s group turned to extremism and was active
in urging non-payment of revenue and water rates
Alipore Bomb Conspiracy Case (1908) among Chenab colonists and Bari Doab peasants.
n The ‘Alipore Bomb Case’ was related to the assassination Other leaders included Aga Haider, Syed Haider
attempt against Douglas Kingsford, who was an Raza, Bhai Parmanand. The radical Urdu poet,
unpopular British Chief Magistrate. He was the target of Lalchand Falak joined the movement.
the bomb thrown at Muzaffarpur (Northern Bihar).
The British government in May 1907 banned political
n Two young revolutionists Prafulla Chaki and gathering and Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh were
Khudiram Bose threw bomb. However, the carriage at
deported and the movement died down here.
which the bomb was targeted not contained Kingsford,
but two British women, who died in the attack. Revolutionary Activities Abroad
n The British Government arrested Sri Aurobindo,
The need for shelter, possibility of bringing out
Barindra Ghose and many young revolutionaries.
revolutionary literature that would not be under
They were charged with ‘Conspiracy’ or ‘waging war
against the King’. They were all members of the Press Acts, and search for arms took revolutionaries
Anushilan Samiti in Calcutta. abroad.
n Chaki committed suicide while Bose, then only 18 Shaymji Krishnavarma started India House, in 1905
years of age, was caught and sentenced to death by in London, it was a student resident for radical youth
hanging. Aurobindo Ghose was released due to lack of students. VD Savarkar and Lala Hardayal became
evidence and others served life-terms in prison. members of India House.
Madanlal Dhingra assassinated India Office
bureaucrat Curzon Wylie in 1909.
Maharashtra
Madam Bhikaji Cama, started Indian Home Rule
Revolutionary activities here was the organisation of
Movement in 1916 in Belgavi and established a centre
the Ramosi Peasant Force by Vasudev Balwant
in France and brought out Vande Bharat newspaper.
Phadke in 1879.
It was operated by Ajit Singh.
It aimed to remove the British using an armed revolt
Virendranath Chattopadhyay did his activities from
by and breaking communication lines. It hoped to
Berlin in 1909. Alongwith him, Bhupendranath
raise funds for its activities through dacoities. It was
Dutta, Lala Hardayal and others, the Berlin
stopped at the very start.
Committee for Indian independence was established
During the 1890s, Tilak began a spirit of militant in 1915.
nationalism, through Ganapati and Shivaji festivals
It was helped by German officials and was known as
and his journals Kesari and Maharaita. Two of his
the Zimmerman Plan. It was to use and mobilise
disciples– the Chapekar brothers, Damodar and
Indians in foreign countries and arms, and send
Balkrishna murdered the Plague Commissioner of
volunteers to India for rebellion against the British.
Poona, Rand and one Lt. Ayerst in 1897.
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
189

The Ghadar Decline of Revolutionary Activities

It was a revolutionary group organised around a There was a temporary decline in revolutionary
weekly newspaper, The Ghadar with its headquarters activities due to various seasons. These were as follows :
at San Francisco and branches along the coast of USA Release of prisoners held under the Defence of India
and in the far East. The Ghadar was established in Rules, after the World War l.
1913. Montagu’s statement of August 1917 offered some
The Ghadar Programme intended to organise conciliations to Indians.
assassinations of officials, publish revolutionary and Entry of Gandhiji in the freedom struggle and his new
anti-imperialist literature, work among Indian troops methods of struggle.
abroad, procure arms and bring about a revolt in all
British colonies.
The revolutionaries included mainly ex-soldiers and
World War I and Nationalist’s
peasants who had migrated from the Punjab to the USA Response
and Canada in search of better employment
In First World War (1914-1919), Britain allied with
opportunities.
France, Russia, USA, Italy and Japan against Germany,
Pre-Ghadar revolutionary activities were carried out Austria Hungary and Turkey.
by Ramdas Puri, G D Kumar, Taraknath Das, Sohan
Nationalists leaders responded to British participation
Singh Bhakna and Lala Hardayal from 1911.
in war in three ways:
Swadesh Sevak Home was set up in Vancouver, and — Moderates were in favour of offering support to
‘United India House’ at Seattle. Britishers in war as a matter of duty.
Prominent Ghadar leaders were Lala Hardayal, — Extremists including Tilak supported the war in
Ramchandra, Bhagwan Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha, misbelief that the British Government would provide
Barkatullah and Bhai Parmanand. self-government to Indians as payback.
Defence of India Act, 1915 was the chief and most — The revolutionaries groups decided to use the
draconian instrument used by the British to counter opportunity to wage a war on the British and free the
the Ghadar Movement. country.
Indians failed to realise while supporting Britishers in
Komagata Maru Incident war efforts that the British were fighting only to
n In the year 1914, Komagata Maru- a ship chartered safeguard their colonies and investments and markets.
from Singapore carrying Sikh and Punjabi Muslims
were denied entry into Canada and forced to return to Revolutionary Activities done in War Times
India. Ghadar Party carried activities mainly in North
n The British government tried to detain the immigrants America.
at Calcutta, in order to transport them to Punjab. Berlin Committee in Europe sent missions to
n The immigrants refused to give in. A tussle ensued in Baghdad, Persia, Turkey, Kabul to work among Indian
which 22 immigrants lost lives. prisoners of war and to incite anti-British sentiments.
n The Ghadar leaders were angry by this incident. They
planned to launch a violent attack to expel the British.
Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh, Mohammed
Barkatullah and Obaidullah Sindhi went to Kabul to
n Kartar Singh Saraba, Raghubar Dayal Gupta,
Rashbehari Bose and Sachin Sanyal were the establish a ‘Provisional Indian Government’ with the
prominent leaders involved in the attack. help of Prince Amanullah in 1915.
n 21st February, 1915 was fixed as the date of attack. Indian soldiers in Singapore revolted against the
However, the British got to know about the attack, British government on 15th February, 1915. It’s
made pre-emptive arrests and suppressed the leaders were Jamadar Chisti Khan, Jamadar Abdul
movement. Gani and Subedar Daud Khan.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
190 30

Indian National Movement :

Second Phase (1915-1935)

Sources Class-VIII New NCERT Chap 9 (The Making of the National Movement: 1870s-1947), Class-XII New NCERT Chap 13
(Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement), Class-XII Old NCERT Chap 11 (Nationalist Movement, 1905-1918;
Growth of Militant Nationalism), Class-VIII Old NCERT Chap 10 (Struggle for Swaraj)

In the second phase of the Indian National Annie Besant and Tilak made efforts for reunion of
Movement, Indian leaders, after providing support to extremists and moderates to strengthen the movement.
the British Government in World War I expected Death of two main moderates Gopal Krishna Gokhale
returns from them, and planned further movement and Pherozshah Mehta also led to further closeness
accordingly. among two sections.
This phase also marked the entry of Mahatma Reasons behind Shift in Muslim League’s Stand and
Gandhi into the Indian Freedom Struggle. Lucknow Pact were :
— Britain’s refusal to help Turkey during World War I.
Lucknow Pact (1916) — Annulment of Bengal’s partition.
The Lucknow Session (1916) was presided by a — Refusal by British Government to set up university at
moderate leader Ambika Charan Majumdar. This Aligarh with powers to affiliate colleges.
session witnessed two important events — Rise of younger members in the league who were
— First, Extremists led by Tilak were readmitted in more anti-imperialistic like Maulana Azad (through
Congress fold. his work Al Hilal) and Mohammad Ali (by his work
— Secondly, Muslim League and Congress joined Comrade) helped Muslim League to change its stand.
each other and presented their demands together — Congress agreed to the League’s demand for a
to the British Government. separate electorate. Muslims were granted a fixed
Joint demands made by Congress and Muslim proportion of seats at all-India and provincial levels.
League were : Self-Government, Representative Evaluation of Lucknow Pact
Assemblies, reforms in Viceroy’s council, Secretary
Though bringing together of Congress and Muslim
of state to be paid by British treasury.
League was a grand vision but the acceptance of
Extremists were readmitted in Congress as separate electorates by Congress led to establishment of
differences of past opinions had become Two-nation Theory. Efforts of bridging the gap
meaningless. Political inactivity created by between masses of two communities were not done.
extremists because of the split were realised by both
Acceptance of separate electorates helped in allaying
moderates and extremists.
fears of minority community.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
191

This pact generated a new wave of enthusiasm and hope Major Leaders in Leagues
in people because of reunion.
Leaders like Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru,
This pact also led the British Government to declare to Bhulabhai Desai, Jinnah, Tej Bahadur Sapru, Lala
grant self-government to Indians in Montagu’s August Lajpat Rai, CR Das, Madan Mohan Malviya joined
1917 declaration, seeing unity among various factions leagues.
Congress and also with league.
Servants of India Society also joined the
movement. It was formed by Gopal Krishna
Home Rule League Movement Gokhale.
It was an Indian response to the First World War, inspired Muslims and Non-Brahmins from South India did
by the Irish Home Rule League. The Indian National not join as they were under the impression that
Movement at this time was influenced by various factors leagues were a Hindu majority and dominated by
which led to formation of Home Rule Leagues. high castes.
These were : Response of British Government to
Nationalists believed that popular pressure was required Home Rule Leagues
to attain concessions from the government. The British Government dealt with high hands with
The Moderates were disillusioned with the Morley- leagues. Annie Besant and her companions,
Minto Reforms. BP Wadia and George Arundale were arrested in
People were feeling the burden of wartime miseries June 1917.
caused by high taxation and a rise in prices and were Opposing the arrest, Sir Subramaniya Aiyar
ready to participate in any aggressive movement of protest. renounced his Knighthood and Tilak began passive
It was an imperialist war that exposed the myth of white resistance against this action of the government.
supremacy.
Decline of Home Rule Leagues
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, after his release in 1914, was
ready to assume nationalist leadership. He was inspired There was not effective organisation in leagues,
by the Irish Home Rule League. they were loosely formed.
Annie Besant began to take active part in nationalist Communal riots witnessed during 1917-18
movement. weakened the movement.
The moderates were pacified by method of
Objectives of the Home Rule League reforms.
The main objective of the movement was Self-rule. The extremists kept the moderates away from
Self-rule was to be achieved through political education activity from September, 1918 onwards.
and discussion. The Montagu-Chelmsford reforms which became
It can be done by collecting funds, organising social work known in July, 1918 further divided leaders.
and participating in local government activities. League main leaders like Tilak and Annie Besant
moved army, Tilak went abroad and Annie Besant
Branches of Home Rule League in response to proposed reforms resorted to passive
Tilak and Besant set up separate leagues to avoid movements.
friction. Tilak’s league was set up in April 1916 and it’s
activities covered Maharashtra (except Bombay), Achievements of Home Rule
Karnataka, Central Provinces and Berar. League Movement
It has six branches. Its demands were Swarajya, These leagues shifted base from educated people to
formation of linguistic states and education in vernacular masses. The link was established between villages
languages. and towns this movement created new cadre of
Annie Besant set up her league in September, 1916 in nationalists this phase paved the way for next stage
Madras and covered the rest of India (this included of movement of Gandhi phase.
Bombay also). August Declaration of 1917, by Montagu was
It had 200 branches, was loosely organised as compared direct result of these movements.
to Tilak’s League and George Arundale was it’s Home Rule League leaders helped bridge the gap
organising secretary. B P Wadia and C P Ramaswamy between moderate and extremists by Lucknow
Aiyar also worked closely with these leagues. Pact 1916.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
192

Gandhian Era of Indian Gandhiji was invited by Rajkumar Shukla to listen

to farmers facing problems with indigo plantations.
National Movement Peasants were forced to grow indigo on 3/20th part of
The emergence of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in the land, which was known as the Tinkathia System.
the National Movement played a pivotal role in the European planters demanded high rents and illegal
history of Indian Nationalism. dues to maximise their profits.
Gandhiji relied on the tools of Ahimsa and Satyagraha A committee was constituted to look into the issue
to fight the British regime. and Gandhiji was a member of the committee.
The Tinkathia System was abolished and 25% of the
Gandhi’s Activism in South Africa compensation was provided.
The first twenty years that Gandhiji spent in South Other leaders related to this movement were
Africa, had a decisive influence on his later life. His Rajendra Prasad, Mazhar-ul-Haq, Mahadeo Desai,
political ideologies, his greatest contribution to Indian Narhari Parekh, JB Kripalani etc.
politics, took shape in South Africa.
Gandhiji relied on sending petitions and memorials to Ahmedabad Mill Strike, 1918
authorities in South Africa and Britain. To unite It was the first hunger strike in the Indian National
different sections of the population, Gandhiji setup Movement by Gandhiji.
Natal Indian Congress and started newspaper Indian Dispute between cotton mill owners and workers
Opinion. over the issue of discontinuation of plague bonus.
Workers were demanding a raise of 50% in wages.
Satyagraha/Campaign of Gandhiji
Gandhiji demanded for a 35% hike and took a fast
in South Africa unto death.
n Satyagraha against Registration Certificate New
Anusuya Sarabhai was a social worker who invited
legislation made it mandatory to carry registration
certificates for Indians. Indians under Gandhiji’s Gandhiji to fight for these mill workers.
leadership started Satyagraha against this Kheda Satyagraha, 1918
discriminatory practice.
n Campaign against Restrictions on Indian Migration
It was the first Non-Cooperation movement by
New legislation imposed restrictions to migration, Gandhiji.
Indians defied by crossing over from one province to In Kheda district of Gujarat crops had failed but the
other. administration was still hell bent on retrieving the
n Campaign against Poll Tax and Invalidation of Indian taxes.
Marriages A poll tax of 3 Pounds was imposed on all Though there was a remission clause in case of
ex-indentured Indians, abolished of poll tax and
failure of produce, British administrators didn’t give
demanded for invalidation of Indian marriages.
remission.
Leaders associated with Kheda Satyagraha were
Arrival of Mahatma Gandhi in India Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Narhari Parekh,
Gandhiji returned to India in 1915. During his starting Mohanlal Pandya.
days, he spent his time at the Sabarmati Ashram in
Ahmedabad. Rowlatt Act, 1919
At this time, Gandhiji sought guidance from Gopal In March 1919, the British Government passed the
Krishna Gokhale in assuming his political stance. It Rowlatt Act, despite every single Indian member of
was Gokhale’s advice to Gandhiji that he should first the Central Legislative Council being opposed to it.
study in detail the socio-political scenario prevalent in This Act authorised the Government to imprison any
the country and then act accordingly. person without trial and conviction in a court of law.
So, it enabled the Government to suspend the right of
Initial Movements in India Habeas Corpus which had been the foundation of
After spending time at Ashram and roaming the country, civil liberties in Britain.
Gandhiji led different movements, some of the initial
The Act was officially called the Anarchical and
movements are as follows :
Revolutionary Crimes Act.
Champaran Satyagraha, 1917 It recommended imprisonment of activists without
It was the first Civil Disobedience Movement in India. trial for two years. Gandhiji called for a mass protest
at all India levels.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
193

Anti-Rowlatt Satyagraha In 1919, a Khilafat Committee was formed under the

leadership of Ali brothers (Shaukat and Muhammad),
Before the protests which was supposed to start on
Maulana, Ajmal Khan. Gandhiji headed the All India
6th April, 1919, there were large scale violent,
Khilafat Committee.
anti-British demonstration in major cities.
It was the first all India protest movement on a mass Non-Cooperation Movement (NCM)
level. From 1919-1922, the British were faced with two
He organised Satyagraha Sabha and roped in youths movements whose bases were masses—Khilafat and
of Home Rule Leagues and Pan Islamists. Non-Cooperation.
They form of protest finally chosen included
observance of a nationwide hartals. Causes of the Non-Cooperation Movement
These hartals were accompanied by fasting and prayer There was resentment against the British after the War.
and Civil Disobedience was against specific laws etc. Indians thought that they would be rewarded by
autonomy in return for the extensive support of
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre manpower and resources they had provided to Britain
The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (also known as the during the First World War.
Amritsar Massacre), took place on 13th April, 1919. But the Government of India Act, passed in 1919, was
Against the Rowlatt Act, there were protests by dissatisfactory. In addition, the British also passed
Indians and repression was on peak by British repressive acts like the Rowlatt Act, which further
Officials. angered many Indians who felt betrayed by the rulers
Troops of the British Indian Army under the despite their wartime support.
command of Acting Brig-Gen Reginald Dyer fired The Home Rule Movement started by Annie Besant
rifles into a crowd of people who had gathered in and Bal Gangadhar Tilak set the stage for the
Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar and Punjab. Non-Cooperation Movement.
The civilians had assembled for a peaceful protest to The extremists and moderates of the INC were united
condemn the arrest and deportation of two national and the Lucknow Pact also showed solidarity
leaders, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew. between the Muslim League and the Congress Party.
This incident shocked Rabindranath Tagore (First The return of the extremists gave the INC a militant
Asian Nobel Laureate) to such an extent that he stated character.
whilst returning his ‘Knighthood’ and said ‘‘such mass Due to World War I, prices of goods began to rise and
murderers aren’t worthy of giving any title to this affected the common man.
anyone’’. Peasants also suffered because the prices of
Gandhiji also surrendered his title ‘Kaiser-e-Hind’ agricultural products did not increase. All this led to
bestowed upon him by the British. resentment against the government.
The repressive Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh
Khilafat Movement, 1919
Massacre had a profound effect on the Indian leaders
During the First World War, Turkey, which was a and the people.
German ally, had fought against the British. After
Their faith in the British system of justice was broken.
Turkey’s defeat, the Ottoman Caliphate was proposed
The whole country rallied behind its leaders who
to be dissolved.
were pitching for a more aggressive and firm stand
The Khilafat Movement was launched by Muslims in against Britishers.
India to persuade the British Government not to
Khilafat Movement also gave an encouragement to
abolish the Caliphate.
Non-Cooperation Movement as they merged their
The Treaty of Sevres with Turkey had completely movement in it.
dismembered Turkey.
And due to this, Indian Muslims like other Muslims, Congress Nagpur Session, 1920
all over the world for whom Sultan of Turkey was a In this session, the Non-Cooperation Movement was
spiritual leader, Khalifa showed their sympathies. endorsed.
The leaders of this movement accepted the Attainment of Swaraj through peaceful and legitimate
Non-Cooperation Movement of Gandhiji and led a means, thus commitment for extra constitutional
joint protest against the British. mass struggle was made.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
194

Congress Working Committee was set up to lead Violent mob set fire to a police station killing 22
the Congress. policemen during a clash between the police and
Provinces on linguistic basis and ward committees protesters of the movement. This happened on 5th
were also set up. February, 1922.
Gandhiji called off the movement saying people were
Features of Non-Cooperation Movement (NCM) not ready for revolt against the British government by
NCM was essentially a peaceful and non-violent Ahimsa.
protest against the British Government in India.
Congress working committee in 1922 at the Bardoli
People were asked to resign from their government Session passed a resolution to stop the
jobs, withdraw children from government schools, Non-Cooperation Movement.
boycott foreign goods, boycott elections and not to
Most of the leaders like CR Das, Subhash Chandra
serve in the British army.
Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru and Motilal Nehru were not in
The INC also demanded Swaraj or self-government. favour of stopping the movement. They were surprised
The Non-Cooperation Movement was a decisive step by the decision to stop it.
in the independence movement because for the first In March, 1922, Gandhiji was arrested and sentenced to
time, the INC was ready to forego constitutional jail for 6 years.
means to achieve self-rule.
In Bengal, a movement was started against Union Evaluation of the Non-Cooperation
board taxes. Movement
No Tax Campaign was started in Andhra Pradesh. The NCM movement brought a new form of struggle to
The movement aroused popular resentment among the Indian National Movement.
the Moplah against their Hindu landlords Akali Though the movement was not successful in achieving
Movement was also started as a part of this its goal of Swaraj, it mobilised masses.
movement. Lakhs of Indians participated in the open protest against
Labour in tea plantations of Assam also went on the government through peaceful means.
strike during this movement. The movement reached common people in villages and
Gandhiji had assured that Swaraj would be achieved far flung corners of the country.
in a year if this movement was continued to As use of Khadi was promoted the Indian merchants
completion. and mill owners enjoyed good profits during this period
Response of Masses in NCM as a result of the boycott of British goods.
The NCM was led by the middle class, business This movement also established Gandhiji as a leader of
classes supported it as nationalist emphasised on the masses.
swadeshi. It drew many Muslims towards the movement.
Massive participation of peasants, students and Although most Congress leaders remained firmly
women, also played a dominant role. behind Gandhiji, the determined broke away. The Ali
Communal unity could also be seen at this time in brothers later become fierce critics.
movement. Other Contemporary Movements
Gandhiji was under increased pressure to launch a
Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). Movement Year Related fact

Gandhiji threatened to launch CDM on February Flag Satyagraha 1923 It aimed at exercising the right and
1922, if political prisoners were not released and (Jabalpur, Nagpur) freedom to hoist the nationalist flag.
press controls were not removed. It was abruptly Borsad Satyagraha 1923 To boycott ‘Docoit Tax’
brought to an end because of the Chauri-Chaura (Gujarat)
incident. Guru ka Morcha 1922-23 To emancipate Gurdwara Sahib
Chauri-Chaura Incident, 1922 (Punjab) from stronghold of Mahant Sunder
Singh.
In Chauri-Chaura, (Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh),
police had allegedly beaten up the group of Vaikom Satyagraha 1924 It was led by Mannathu
Padmanabhan against
volunteers who were protesting against liquor sale untouchability and caste
and high food prices. discrimination.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
195

Formation of Swaraj Party Swarajists failed to resist perks and privileges offered
by the British officials. They were attracted towards
When the Non-Cooperation Movement suddenly came
privileges which later became the communal divide
to an end due to the Chauri-Chaura incident, there
in the Indian National Movement.
was debate and difference of opinion on what to do
during the transition period. They also failed to raise and support the peasant
cause and to support the work done by no-changers in
One section led by CR Das, Motilal Nehru and Ajmal
masses and villages.
Khan wanted to end the boycott of legislative councils,
and demanded entry into councils. These groups were
called Swarajists. Simon Commission (1927-28)
Swarajists thought entering the councils would help The Indian Statutory Commission, (commonly
the Non-Cooperation programme. referred to as the Simon Commission), was a group of
It would enthuse masses and keep up their morale at a seven British Members of Parliament under the
time of political vacuum. Chairmanship of Sir John Simon. The commission
arrived in British India in 1928.
Councils can be used as an arena of political struggle.
The Government of India Act, 1919, had a provision
Other sections led by C Rajagopalachari, Vallabhbhai
of appointment of a commission to enquire into the
Patel, Rajendra Prasad and MA Ansari came to be
act and provide reforms.
known as ‘No-Changers’.
The Government of Britain appointed the commission
Council entry would lead to political corruption and
after 2 years in fear that the next Government might
loss of revolutionary zeal.
appoint liberal and pro-India commission.
They also thought constructive work done would
The British Government appointed the Simon
prepare masses for the next phase of Civil
Commission to report on India’s constitutional
Disobedience.
progress for introducing constitutional reforms.
Ashrams were brought up empowering tribals and low
The Commission was strongly opposed by many in
castes.
India for a number of reasons.
Hindu-Muslim unity was promoted and programmes
The commission was seen as racist and colonialist as
to remove untouchability, boycott of foreign cloth and
it had seven British members of the British
liquor, flood relief were done.
Parliament and no Indian members.
Promotion of Charkha and Khadi was done to
establish a sense of self-sufficiency. Recommendations of Simon Commission
National schools and colleges were set up to promote It proposed the abolition of dyarchy and the
education. establishment of representative government in the
provinces.
Swarajists were further divided into– responsivists
and non-responsivists. It rejected parliamentary responsibility at the centre.
The Governor-General was to have complete power to
Lala Lajpat Rai, Madan Mohan Malviya and NC
appoint the members of the Cabinet.
Kelkar advocated for cooperation with the government
and holding office and also to protect the Hindu It recommended that separate communal electorates
interest. be retained. It accepted the idea of federalism but not
in the near future.
Finally in 1930, they walked out as a result of the
Lahore Congress Session resolution and beginning of It suggested that a Consultative Council of Greater
Civil Disobedience Movement. India should be established which should include
representatives of both the British provinces as well
Achievements of Swarajists as princely states.
Vithalbhai Patel, (Speaker of the Central Legislative It also suggested that the Indian army should be
Assembly), gave a powerful speech. Indianised, though British forces must be retained.
Defeat of Public Safety Bill, 1928 through which the Anti-Simon Agitation
Government could deport undesirable and subversive
The British action was seen as a violation of the
foreigners, etc.
principle of self-determination (strike) and a
Drawbacks of Swarajists deliberate insult to the self-respect of the Indians.
Swarajist could not form a uniform coalition and their On 3rd February, the day the Commission reached
differences led to weakening of Swarajist outfit. Bombay, an all India hartal strike was organised.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
196

Wherever, the Commission went, it was greeted with Jinnah’s Fourteen Points, 1929
hartals and black-flag demonstrations under the slogan
Fourteen demands were made by Mohammad Ali
‘‘Simon Go Back’’.
Jinnah in 1929, which are popularly known as Jinnah’s
The Government used brutal suppression and police
fourteen points.
attacks to break the popular opposition. Lala Lajpat Rai
died because of brutal lathi charge while leading the Following were fourteen demands of Jinnah :
Anti-Simon protests. Federal Constitution with residual powers to
At its Madras session in 1927, presided over by provinces
Dr. Ansari, the National Congress decided to boycott the Provincial autonomy
Commission at every stage and in every form. No constitutional amendment without state
The Muslim League and the Hindu Mahasabha decided concurrence in Indian Federation
to support the Congress decision. Adequate representation in Legislative bodies
Muslim League even accepted the principle of joint Adequate representation of Muslims in
electorate, if seats were reserved for the muslims. self-governing bodies and in the services
All important Indian leaders and parties also tried to 1/3rd representation in Central Legislative
meet the challenge of the Simon Commission by getting Assembly
together. They tried to evolve an alternative scheme of 1/3rd representation in Cabinet, separate electorates
constitutional reforms.
No bills without 3/4th minority consideration
Mnay conferences and joint meetings of leading
Territorial distribution not to affect Muslim majority
political workers were held. The end result was the
in Punjab, Bengal and North-Western Frontier
Nehru Report named after Motilal Nehru.
Provinces (NWFP)
Full religious freedom to all communities
Nehru Report, 1928
Protection of Muslim rights in religion, culture
The Nehru report was prepared by a committee headed education and language
by Motilal Nehru. The committee included Tej Bahadur
Sapru, Subhash Chandra Bose, M S Aney, Mangal Singh, Separation of Sindh from Bombay
Ali Imam, Shuaib Qureshi and G R Pradhan as its Constitutional reforms in the NWFP and Balochistan
members. Separate electorates
It was done in response to a challenge posed by the
Simon Commission and Lord Birkenhead. Lahore Session of Congress
Major recommendations of Nehru Report were as and Poorna Swaraj
follows : At the Calcutta Session of Congress (1928), the
— Dominion status on lines of self-governing dominions. Nehru report was approved. Motilal Nehru was the
— Rejection of separate electorates. President of Congress at this session. The first All
India Youth Congress also came into being in this
— Joint electorates with reservation of seats for Muslims
session.
at the Centre and in provinces where they were in
minority. Younger leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash
— Linguistic provinces were demanded.
Chandra Bose and Satya Murthy expressed
dissatisfaction at the goal of dominion status.
— Nineteen Fundamental Rights including equal rights
for women, right to form unions and Universal Adult The government was given a one year period to
Suffrage. accept this goal. It was stated that if the government
did not accept a Constitution based on dominion
— Responsible government at the Centre and in
status by the end of the year, the Congress would
provinces. Full protection of the cultural and religious
demand complete independence. It would also
interests of Muslims.
launch a Civil Disobedience Movement to attain its
— Complete dissociation of State from religion. goal.
At All Party Conference in Calcutta in December 1928, Calcutta Session paved the way for the Lahore
Nehru Report was considered upon, here Jinnah on Session in 1929. Jawaharlal Nehru was nominated
behalf on Muslim League wanted amendments to Nehru as the President for the Lahore session of the
Report. These demands of Jinnah are known as Congress (December 1929) mainly due to Gandhi’s
Fourteen Points. backing.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
197

The following major decisions were taken at the Gujarat for 240 miles on 12th March, 1930 till 6th
Lahore session : April, 1930.
— The Round Table Conference was to be boycotted. On reaching the coast at Dandi, the salt law was to be
— Complete independence was declared as the aim of violated by collecting salt from the beach.
the Congress. Further actions were planned as Gandhi gave the
— Congress Working Committee was authorised to directions wherever possible Civil Disobedience of the
launch a programme of Civil Disobedience including salt law should be started.
non-payment of taxes and all members of Foreign liquor and cloth shops can be picketed,
legislatures were asked to resign their seats. non-payment of tax, boycott court, resign from
— On 31st December, 1929 at midnight on the banks of government service were to be done.
Ravi river, the newly adopted tricolour flag was
Spread of Salt Disobedience
hoisted by Jawaharlal Nehru.
— 26th January, 1930 was fixed as the first Gandhi’s arrest came on 4th May, 1930 when he had
independence, Swarajya Day was to be celebrated announced that he would lead a raid on Dharasana
Salt Works on the West coast.
everywhere.
After Gandhi’s arrest, the Congress Working
Civil Disobedience Movement Committee sanctioned Non-payment of revenue in
The Indian National Congress authorised Gandhiji to ryotwari areas; No-chowkidari-tax campaign in
start the Civil Disobedience Movement. zamindari areas; Violation of forest laws in the
Central Provinces.
Gandhi presented eleven demands to the government
and gave an ultimatum of 31st January, 1930 to accept Different forms of mobilisation like Prabhat Pheris,
or reject these demands. Vanar Senas, Manjari Senas, Secret Magazines and
Magic Lanterns shows were done.
Demands made by Mahatma Gandhi to Lord Irwin
were opposed by Jawaharlal Nehru. Women and students participated in huge numbers in
Salt Satyagraha.
Merchants and traders were enthusiastic and
Gandhiji’s Eleven Demands supported the movement.
1. Prohibit intoxicants and liquor There was an active participation of tribals, workers
2. Change the ratio between the rupee and the and peasants.
sterling.
But in the Salt Satyagraha, Muslim participation was
3. Reduction in the rate of land revenue,
least in comparison to Non-Cooperation Movement
4. Abolition of salt tax
(NCM) 1920-22.
5. Reduce the military expenditure,
6. Reduce expenditure on civil administration, Satyagraha at Different Places
7. Impose custom duty on foreign cloth, In Tamil Nadu C Rajagopalachari organised a march
8. Accept the Postal Reservation Bill, from Thiruchinapalli to Vedaranniyam on the Tanjore
9. Abolish the CID Department, coast.
10. Release all Political prisoners and In Malabar Kelappan known for Vaikom Satyagraha
11. Issue licenses of arms to citizens for self-protection. organised salt march.
In Andhra Sibirams were organised.
Salt Satyagraha: Dandi March Orissa Gopal Bandhu Chaudhuri organised in
Balasore, Cuttack organised marches.
As there was no positive response from the British
government, Gandhiji decided to launch the Civil Bihar Non-tax payment was planned.
Disobedience Movement by making Salt Satyagraha In Peshawar Badshah Khan also known as Abdul
its main theme. Gaffar Khan organised Khudaikhidmatgars (Red
Salt was made an issue, because the government Shirts) which organised a march.
controlled the sale of this indispensable commodity In Maharashtra, Sholapur, Sarojini Naidu led the
and imposed a tax on it, which was felt mostly by the protests.
poor. Defiance of forest laws in Karnataka, Maharashtra and
Gandhiji, along with a band of seventy-eight members Central Provinces was done.
of Sabarmati Ashram, was to march from his In Manipur and Nagaland, Rani Gaidinliu at the age of
headquarters in Ahmedabad through the villages of 13 years raised the banner against the British.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
198

Gandhi-Irwin Pact Congress boycotted the conference. British

representatives–Labour, Conservative and
In July, 1930, the Viceroy Lord Irwin, suggested a Round
Liberal. Muslim League was represented by Aga
Table Conference and reiterated the goal of dominion
Khan and Jinnah. It was also attended by Indian
status.
princes of states. British India representatives
In August 1930, Motilal and Jawaharlal Nehru were taken were Ambedkar and Sapru.
to Yeravada jail to meet Gandhiji and discuss the
In this, All India Federation was accepted which
possibility of a settlement.
was responsible government at provinces and
The Nehrus and Gandhiji unequivocally reiterated the Internal sovereignty to princely states was
demands of : promised.
— Right of secession from Britain.
The British Prime Minister in this conference
— Complete national government with control over defence
urged the Indian National Congress to attend the
and finance. next round of conference.
— An independent tribunal to settle Britain’s financial
claims. Second Round Table Conference
On 14th February, 1931 pact was signed it is also known as (September-December 1931)
Delhi Pact. It placed the Congress on equal footing with The second Round Table Conference was
the British government. attended by Congress as they had agreed in the
Irwin on behalf of British government agreed on release of Delhi Pact. It was attended by Mahatma Gandhi
political prisoners. as representative of INC. Other participants of
the first round of conference were also present.
Remission of fines, return of land, right to make salt etc.
were granted. Sarojini Naidu participated as a representative of
Indian women. Gandhiji in this conference
Public inquiry into police excesses was not accepted.
claimed Congress to be only representative of
And commutation of punishment to Bhagat Singh and his political India.
comrades’ death sentence to life sentence was also not
And Muslim and Untouchables should not to be
accepted.
treated as minority as it will divide the Indians
Gandhi on behalf of Congress agreed to suspend the Civil and fade the movement.
Disobedience Movement to participate in the next Round
Ramsay McDonald headed the National
of Table Conference.
Government in Britain at this time. As the
Karachi Session of Congress in 1931 conference failed, the second phase of Civil
Disobedience Movement was resumed.
The Karachi session of Congress was presided by
Vallabhbhai Patel. Third Round Table Conference
In this Congress Session, Gandhi-Irwin Pact was endorsed. (November-December 1932)
A resolution admiring the courage, bravery and sacrifice of The Third Round Table Conference was called on
three martyrs–Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru was 17th November, 1932. The Congress boycotted it.
passed. They were executed on 23rd March, 1931. Only 46 delegates attended the session.
Two resolutions– one on Fundamental Rights and other on The prominent members were Tej Bahadur
the National Economic Programme were adopted. Sapru and Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (the only
persons to attend all three Round Table
Round Table Conferences Conferences).
The Round Table Conferences were a series of Peace The conference lasted till 24th December, 1932.
Conferences organised by the British Government and Indian The discussion of this conference led to the
National Movement leaders to discuss constitutional reforms formulation of the Government of India Act, 1935.
in India.
Total three Round Table Conferences were organised from Civil Disobedience Movement :
1930–1932. Second Phase
First Round Table Conference Gandhiji went to England in September 1931 to
(November 1930, January 1931) attend the Second Round Table Conference. But
inspite of his powerful advocacy, the British
The First Round Table Conference was a stage where for government refused to concede to the demand of
the first time British and Indian leaders met as an equal. immediate grant of Dominion Status.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
199

In the meanwhile, peasant unrest had developed in New communist groups emerged with their
several parts of the country as peasants found the fall in emphasis on Marxism, socialism and proletariat.
the prices of agricultural products because of world They were inspired by the Russian Revolution
depression. (1917) and the success of the young soviet state.
In December 1931, the Congress started a no-rent, There was also the influence of journals, the articles
no-tax campaign. on self-sacrifice of revolutionaries, such as
On his return to India, Gandhiji had no choice but to Atmashakti, Sarathi and Bijoli.
resume the Civil Disobedience Movement. Bandi Jeewan by Sachin Sanyal, Pather Dabi by
The Government, headed by the new Viceroy Lord Sarat Chandra Chatterjee became popular.
Willingdon, believed that a major error had been made
in signing a truce with the Congress.
Hindustan Republic Association (HRA)
It operated in areas of Punjab, United Provinces and
He was fully determined and prepared to crush the
Bihar.
Congress this time.
It was founded in October, 1924 in Kanpur.
The government’s response was to arrest Jawaharlal
Nehru on 26th December. On 24th December, their Ramprasad Bismil, Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee and
leader Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was arrested. Sachin Sanyal were its founders.
In April 1934, Gandhiji decided to withdraw the Civil Their objectives were to organise armed rebellion to
Disobedience Movement as there was no momentum overthrow the colonial government and to establish
left in to keep the movement going. the Federal Republic of the United States of India.
And masses were also not prepared for a fresh It was later renamed as Hindustan Socialist Republic
movement. Association.
The members of HRA looted the official railway cash
Communal Award, 1932 at Kakori, Lucknow in 1925.
The Communal Award was announced by the British
Ramprasad Bismil, Ashafaqullah, Roshan Singh and
Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald, on 16th August, Rajendra Lahiri were hanged in this case.
1932. The Communal Award was based on the findings
of the Indian Franchise Committee (also called the Hindustan Socialist Republic Association (HSRA)
Lothian, Committee). It was formed under the leadership of Chandra
It established separate electorates and reserved seats for Shekhar Azad.
minorities (Muslims, Europeans, Sikhs, Indian Its participants were Bhagat Singh Sukhdev,
Christians, Anglo-Indians) including the depressed Bhagwati Charan Vohra, Bejoy Kumar Sinha etc.
classes.
It decided to work under a collective leadership and
Gandhiji saw the Communal Award as an attack on adopted socialism as its official goal.
Indian unity and nationalism.
Saunders who had ordered lathi-charge in Lahore
Poona Pact, 1932 was shot dead by Bhagat Singh, Azad and Rajguru
It was signed by BR Ambedkar on behalf of the in December, 1928.
depressed classes on 24th September, 1932 with To protest against the Public Safety Bill and Trade
Gandhiji. Dispute Bill which were restrictive in nature.
The Poona Pact abandoned the idea of separate Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw bombs in
electorates for the depressed classes. the Central Legislative Assembly on 8th April, 1929.
But the seats reserved for the depressed classes were Chittagong Bengal Armoury was done by the Indian
increased from 71 to 147 in provincial legislatures and Republican Army in April, 1930. It was led by Surya
to 18% of the total in the Central Legislature. Sen.
The Poona Pact was accepted by the government as an The plan was to occupy two main armouries in
amendment to the Communal Award. Chittagong to seize and supply revolutionaries to
arms.
Revolutionary Activities in Second Phase The raid was successful and Sen hoisted the
The sudden withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation movement National Flag and proclaimed a provisional
made many nationalists question the strategy of revolutionary government. But later, they got
nationalists and their emphasis on non-violence. arrested.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
200

Hindustan Socialist Republican Association Lahore, a police official involved in a brutal

(HSRA Army) lathi-charge. In April 1929, a bomb was thrown in the
Central Legislative Assembly at New Delhi by Bhagat
On 9th and 10th September, 1928 revolutionaries of
Singh and BK Dutta.
Northern India met at Ferozshah Kotla Ground in
Delhi and changed the name of the party of In December 1929, there was an attempt to blow up the
Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) special train in which the Viceroy Lord Irwin was
and accepted socialism as their official goal. travelling to Delhi.
Unlike early revolutionaries who believed in Bhagat Singh and BK Dutta, who had been arrested for
individual heroic action, HSRA favoured the idea of the bomb incident in the Central Assembly, were
mass-based armed struggle. prosecuted. They were also figured in the Lahore
conspiracy.
But with the death of Lala Lajpat Rai, subsequent to
One of the conspiracy case prisoners, Jatin Das died on
lathi-charge while he was leading a demonstration
13th September, 1929, on the sixty-fourth day of the
against the Simon Commission, the revolutionaries
fast. He was fasting against the harsh conditions of
decided to avenge the same.
political prisoners in jail.
On 17th December, 1928, Bhagat Singh, Chandra
Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were executed on
Shekhar Azad and Rajguru assassinated Saunders at
23rd March, 1931.

Revolutionary Books and Newspapers

Name Newspaper/ Journal Year Founder
Bande Mataram English language newspaper 1905 Aurobindo Ghose
Bhawani Mandir English political Pamphlet 1905 Aurobindo Ghose
Bharat Mata English journal 1907 Sardar Ajit Singh
Bombay Chronicle English -language newspaper 1910 Firoz Shah Mehta
Comrade Weekly English newspaper 1911 Maulana Mohammad Ali
New India English-language daily newspaper 1914 Annie Besant
Mook Nayak Marathi weekly 1920 BR Ambedkar
Bandi Jeevan Autobiography 1922 Sachindra Nath Sanyal
Free Hindustan Journal 1936 Tarak Nath Das
Hindustan Dainik Hindi newspaper 193 MM Malviya

Major Revolutionary Organisations (India)

Organisations Place Year Founder
Vyayam Mandala Poona 1896-97 Chapekar Brothers
Mitra Mela Nasik (Later Poona) 1901 Savarkar Brothers
Anushilan Samiti Midnapur 1902 Pramath Nath Mitra
Abhinava Bharata Poona 1904 Vikram Damodar (V.D.) Savarkar
Swadesh Bandhav Samiti Barisal 1905 Ashwini Kumar Dutta
Anushilan Samiti Dacca 1907 Pulin Bihari Das
Bharat Mata Society Punjab 1907 Ajit Singh, Sufi Amba Prasad
Hindustan Republican Association Army Kanpur 1924 Sachindra Nath Sanyal
(HRA)
Bharat Naujawan Sabha Lahore 1926 Bhagat Singh
Hindustan Socialist Republican Delhi 1928 Chandra Shekhar Azad
Association/Army (HSRA)
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
201

Indian Revolutionary Organisations (Abroad)

Organisations Place Year Founder
India Home Rule Society (India House) London 1904 Shyamji Krishna Verma
Abhinava Bharat London 1906 Vikram Damodar Savarkar
Indian Independence League California (USA) 1907 Tarak Nath Das
Gadar Party San Fransico 1913 Lala Hardayal
Indian Independence League Berlin (Germany) 1914 Lala Hardayal and Virendra Nath Chattopadhyaya
Indian Independence League and Kabul 1915 Raja Mahendra Pratap
Government

Major Conspiracy Cases During British Rule

Case Year Related Facts
Alipur Conspiracy Case (1908 AD) Khudiram Bose and Praffula Chaki threw bomb on Chief Presidency Magistrate DH
Kingsford of Muzaffarpur.
Delhi Conspiracy Case (1912 AD) Headed by Ras Bihari Bose to assassinate the then Viceroy of India, Lord Hardinge. Basant,
Kumar Biswas, Master Amichand and Avadh Behari were convicted and executed.
Lahore Conspiracy Case Case (1915) This case was against Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev who killed Saunders mistakenly
as the real target was, James Scott, who was responsible for the lathi charge that killed Lala
Lajpat Rai. Three were found guilty and executed.
Peshawar Conspiracy (1922-1927 AD) It was a trial against the Mujahirs, who had tried to enter in India from Russia to start a
Case communist movement in India.
Kakori Conspiracy Case (1925 AD) It was a train robbery against the British Indian Government that was organised by
Hindustan Republican Association.
Death sentences were awarded to Ramprasad Bismil, Ashfaqullah Khan, Thakur Roshan
Singh and Rajendra Lahiri.
Sachindra Bakshi and Sachindra Nath Sanyal were deported to Cellular Jail for life term.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
202 31

Indian National Movement :

Third Phase (1935-47)

Sources Class-VIII New NCERT Chap 9 (The Making of the National Movement), Class-XII New NCERT Chap 13
(Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement), Class-XII Old NCERT Chap 13 (Struggle for Swaraj-II),
Class-VIII Old NCERT Chap 10 (Struggle for Swaraj)

The Third Phase of Indian National Movement was set A new system of government for the provinces on the
by the mass movements like Civil Disobedience basis of provincial autonomy was also promised. The
Movement, Salt Satyagraha, which had shaken the dyarchy was abolished in Provinces.
roots of struggle in people of India. The Dyarchy was introduced at Centre and federal
Third phase began with passing of the Government of subjects were divided into reserved and transferred
India Act, 1935 and lasted till 1947 when India got its subjects. This part did not come into operation.
independence. There was to be a bicameral federal legislature in
which the States were given disproportionate
Government of India Act, 1935 weightage.
The representatives of the states were not to be
In the backdrop of Indian Political leaders being in jail in
elected by the people, but appointed directly by the
1932, the Third Round Table Conference was held
rulers.
without participation of Congress, which led to the
formulation of Government of India Act, 1935. Only 14% of the total population in British India was
given the right to vote.
Government of India Act, 1935 was passed in August,
The legislature, in which the princes were once again
1935 in the British Parliament.
to be used to check and counter the nationalist
Following were the main provisions of the Act : elements, was denied any real power.
An All India Federation was to be established. The Defence and Foreign affairs remained outside
federation was to be based on a union of the provinces legislative control, while the Governor-General
of British India and the Princely States. retained special control over the other subjects.
Powers were divided between centre and states, The Governor-General and the Governors were to be
princely states in three lists- Federal, Provincial and appointed by the British Government and were to be
Concurrent lists. Residuary powers were given to responsible to it.
Viceroy. In the provinces, local power was increased. Ministers
This federation never came into being because of two responsible to the provincial assemblies were to
conditions– first states comprising 52% seats in control all departments of provincial administration.
Council should agree to join the federation and The Governors were given special powers. They
second, total population of these states should be 50% could veto legislative action and legislate on their
of all Indian states. These conditions were not met as own. They kept full control over the civil service and
the Princely states had refused to join the federation. the police.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
203

It provided for the establishment of the Reserve bank Congress Ministries in Office (1937-39)
of India.
In the 28 months of Congress rule in the provinces,
This Act also abolished the Council of India and Congress ministries tried to improve the condition of
provided the Secretary of State for India with Advisers. people in what limited power they had.
It also established Federal, Provincial and Joint Public The Congress ministers reduced their salaries to 500
Service Commissions. rupees per month. They travelled third or second
A Federal Court was also set up in 1937, through this class in the railways.
Act. They promoted civil liberties, repealed restrictions
The Act could not satisfy the nationalist aspiration for on the press and radical organisations.
both political and economic power, which continued to They permitted trade unions and Kisan organisations
be concentrated in the hands of the British to function and to grow police powers were curbed.
Government.
In Bombay, land confiscated during the Civil
Foreign rule was to continue as before; only a few Disobedience Movement were restored. Pensions of
popularly elected ministers were to be added to the officials associated with the Civil Disobedience
British administration. Movement were also restored.
Measures for welfare of Harijans were taken up
Provincial Elections temple entry, use of public facilities etc.
In its Lucknow and Faizpur sessions of Congress (1936), Support was given to Khadi and other village
it decided to contest the elections under the new Act of industries through subsidies and other measures.
1935. Education at primary and secondary level was given
attention. The technical and higher education was
Election Manifesto of Congress also promoted.
Congress manifesto for elections of 1937 promised
following : Resignation of Congress Ministries
Total rejection of Government of India Act, 1935 was In September 1939, the Second World War broke out
reiterated. and Britain declared India’s support for war without
Release of prisoners held by the British administration. consulting Indians.
Removal of discrimination based on Gender and caste. Congress’ response was moderate and well
Transformation in agricultural system measured looking at the aim of war as it was being
fought against fascist nations.
Reduction of rent, revenue and rural debts
At the Wardha Congress Working Committee
Credit on discounted rate
meeting in September 1939, Gandhi’s stand was
Right to form trade unions and to strike unconditional support to British war efforts.
Other leaders like Subash Chandra Bose wanted to
Results of Elections 1937
take advantage of Britain’s and start a mass
The election campaign of the Congress met with movement.
massive popular response, even though Gandhiji did
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) decided
not address a single election meeting.
to not support Britain’s war efforts and also asked for
The elections, held in February 1937, showed that a the Government’s aim of war.
large majority of Indian people supported the Congress,
Lord Linlithgow’s statement declared the aim of war
which swept the polls.
to stop the aggression and also declared that all
Congress ministries were formed in July 1937 in seven interested parties would be consulted to modify the
out of eleven provinces. Government of India Act, 1935. A consultative
Later, Congress formed coalition governments with two Committee was immediately formed.
others. He also had an ulterior motive of using Muslims
Only Bengal and Punjab provinces had non-Congress League and Princes of states against Congress.
ministries. Defence of India Ordinance had been enforced on
Punjab was ruled by the Unionist Party and Bengal by the same day the war was declared. Thus civil
a coalition of Krashak Praja Party and Muslim liberties were restricted.
League.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
204

In May 1940, a top secret Draft Revolutionary In July 1941, the Viceroy’s Executive Council was
Movement Ordinance had been prepared, aimed enlarged to give the Indians a majority of 8 out of 12 for
at launching a crippling pre-emptive strike on the the first time, but the British remained in charge of
Congress. defence, finance and home.
Congress was totally dissatisfied by this response The National Defence Council was set up with purely
and decided not to support the war and Congress advisory functions.
Ministries resigned from the Provinces at CWC
meeting in October 1939. Individual Satyagrahas
The objectives of launching individual Satyagraha were:
Tripuri Session and Forward Bloc (1939) To show that nationalist patience was not due to
Gandhiji retired from Congress in 1934 and weakness.
Congress came under Jawahar Lal Nehru’s
To express people’s feeling that they were not interested
leadership.
in the war and that they made no distinction between
At the same time Subhash Chandra Bose was Nazism and the double autocracy that ruled India.
chosen unanimously in February 1938 session of
To give another opportunity to the government to accept
Congress at Haripura.
Congress’ demands peacefully.
Due to differences between Gandhi and Bose,
The demand of the satyagrahi would be the freedom of
Gandhiji fielded Pattabhi Sitaramayya as
speech against the war through an anti-war declaration.
candidate. But he was defeated and Bose
They were supposed to march towards Delhi to convert
re-elected.
the movement into Delhi Chalo Movement.
Later, Bose stepped down from the Presidency in
Vinoba Bhave was the first to offer the Satyagraha and
Tripuri Session and he formed Forward Bloc in
Nehru, the second.
1939 within the Congress.
The movement generated little enthusiasm in people as there
August Offer, 1940 were differences among the Congress about how to take
The events of World War II turned in favour of Hitler. forward the struggle and about participating in the Second
Thus, the British Indian Government under Viceroy World War. Thus, it was suspended.
came up with the August Offer:
Dominion status as the objective for India. Parallel Governments
Ballia
Expansion of the Viceroy’s executive council,
n Tenure One week, August 1942.
which would have a majority of Indians (who
n Leadership Chittu Pandey
would be drawn from major political parties).
n All the powers of district officials were taken away and all

Setting up of a Constituent Assembly after the war the Congress leaders in jail were released.
where mainly Indians would decide the
Constitution. Tamluk
n Tenure December, 1942 to September 1944.
This decision would be according to their social,
n Leadership Satish Samant, Matangini Hazara
economic and political conceptions.
n Jatiya Sarkar came into existene. It undertook cyclone

No future Constitution was to be adopted without relief work, gave grants to schools and organised an armed
the support of consent of minorities. Vidyut Vahini.
Reaction to August Offer Satara
n Tenure August 1943 to May 1946.

Congress rejected the August offer as there was no n Leadership Nana Patil, VB Chavan, Achyut Patwardhan

offer to form a national government. n Nyayadan Mandals or People’s court were set up and

Nehru rejected it saying, “Dominion Status justice dispersed.

concept is dead as a doornail”.
Muslim League also didn’t respond positively and
declared that partition was the only way forward. Cripps Mission, 1942
For the first time accepted Dominion status was In March 1942, a mission headed by Stafford Cripps was
explicitly offered, Indian’s request to form a sent to India with constitutional proposals to seek Indian
Constituent Council to frame Constitution for support for the war. Following were the reasons for
themselves was also accepted. sending Cripps Mission to India :
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
205

— Japan’s invasion was at India’s door so India’s support Muslim League did not like the machinery for the
was important and even Allied powers (USA, USSR) creation of a Constituent Assembly.
were pressuring the British for the same. Pakistan not being explicitly offered also
— Indian nationalists had agreed to support the Allied disappointed Muslim League leaders.
cause if substantial power was transferred immediately An important reason for the failure of the
and complete independence given after the war. negotiations was the incapacity of Cripps to bargain
Main clauses of the Cripps Mission were as follows: and negotiate. He had been told not to go beyond the
— Dominion status to India and permission to opt out of Draft Declaration.
Common wealth and free to join any international Winston Churchill, Amery (the Secretary of State),
bodies, including the United Nations. Linlithgow (the Viceroy) and Wavell (the
— After the end of the war, a Constituent Assembly Commander-in-Chief), did not want Cripps to
would be convened to frame a new Constitution. succeed. They constantly opposed his efforts to
Members of this assembly would be partly elected by accommodate Indian opinion.
the provincial assemblies through proportional
representation and partly nominated by the princes. Quit India Movement, 1942
— The British Government would accept the new
After the failure of Cripps Mission, Gandhiji formulated
Constitution subject to two conditions: a resolution and put forward a call for withdrawal of
(i) Any province not willing to join the Union could British and non-violent, non-cooperation movement
have a separate Constitution and form a separate against Japanese invasion.
Union. The Congress Working Committee at Wardha on 14th
(ii) The new Constitution making body and the July, 1942 accepted this idea of resolution.
British Government would negotiate a treaty to Reasons for CWC to accept this course of struggle were
effect the transfer of power and to safeguard following :
racial and religious minorities.
The failure of the Cripps Mission embittered the
In the meantime, defence of India would remain in people of India. While, they still fully sympathised
British hands and the Governor-General’s powers with the anti-fascist forces, they felt that the existing
would remain intact. political situation in the country had become
The proposals differed from those offered in the past in intolerable.
many respects : Discontent was further fuelled by war-time
— The making of the Constitution was to be solely in shortages and rising prices.
Indian hands now (and not mainly in Indian hands-as
The period from April to August, 1942 was one of
contained in the August Offer).
daily heightening tension with Gandhiji. More and
— A concrete plan was provided for the Constituent more militant as Japanese forces moved towards
Assembly. India and the spectre of Japanese conquest began to
— Option was available to any province to have a haunt the people and their leaders.
separate Constitution–a blueprint for India’s The Congress now decided to take active steps to
partition. compel the British to accept the Indian demand for
independence.
Failure of Cripps Mission
Leadership movement also wanted to prepare the
The Cripps Mission was a big failure. The Congress masses for a possible Japanese invasion.
Working Committee on 11th April, 1942 rejected the
Cripps Mission. Reasons for its failure were: Course of the Movement
The Congress objected to dominion status and The All India Congress Committee met at Bombay
demanded full transfer of powers. on 8th August, 1942. It passed the famous ‘Quit
Right of Provinces to secede was not favourable for the India Resolution’ and proposed the starting of a
Indian Union to come up. non-violent mass struggle under Gandhi’s leadership
Retention of Governor-General supremacy to achieve this aim.
No immediate transfer of power The resolution declared:
Nehru and Maulana Azad were the official negotiators ...the immediate ending of British rule in India is an
for the Congress. The Muslim League objected to idea urgent necessity, both for the sake of India and for the
of a single Indian Union success of the cause of the United Nations....
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
206

Demand was made for an immediate end to British rule Workers went on strikes and faced repression
in India and declare commitment of free India to Peasants of all strata were at the heart of the
defend itself against all types of Fascism and movement. Even zamindars participated. There was
imperialism. a complete absence of anti-zamindar violence.
Demand for the formation of a provisional Government Government officials especially those who belong to
of India after British withdrawal a sanction to lower levels in police and administration,
disobedience movement against British rule was also participated. This resulted in erosion of government
given. loyalty.
Gandhiji had built the tempo of movement by Muslims helped by giving shelter to underground
Individual Satyagraha, revamping the organisations, activists. There were no communal clashes during
and continuous propaganda against British rule. the movement.
But on 9th August, all the top leaders of Congress were Communists did not join the movement; in the wake
arrested and taken to unknown locations. of Russia being attacked by Nazi Germany, the
After this major activities took place without leaders, communists began to support the British war against
these were as follows: Germany and the Imperialist War became the
— The general public attacked symbols of authority and ‘People’s War’.
hoisted national flags forcibly on public buildings. Muslim League opposed the movement, fearing that
— Bridges were blown up, railway tracks were removed if the British left India at that time, the minorities
and telegraph lines were cut. would be oppressed by the Hindus.
— Most intense activities were in Eastern United The Hindu Mahasabha boycotted the movement.
Provinces and Bihar. The Princely states showed a low-key response.
— Students responded by going on strike in schools and
colleges, participating in processions, writing and Suppression of Quit India Movement
distributing illegal news sheets (patrikas) and acting The Government on its part went all out to crush the
as couriers for underground networks. 1942 movement.
— Workers went on strike in Ahmedabad, Bombay, The press was completely censored. The
Ahmednagar, Poona and Jamshedpur. demonstrating crowds were machine-gunned and
— The participants in these activities were the socialists, even bombed from the air.
forward members, Gandhi ashramites, Prisoners were tortured and the military took over
revolutionaries in Bombay, Poona, Satara, Baroda and many towns and cities. Over 10,000 people died in
other parts of Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra, police and military shootings.
United Provinces, Bihar and Delhi. Rebellious villages had to pay huge sums as punitive
— The underground activity taking up were Ram fines and the villagers had to undergo mass
Manohar Lohia, Jayaprakash Narayan, Aruna Asaf floggings.
Ali, Usha Mehta, Biju Patnaik, Chhotubhai Puranik, India had not witnessed such intense repression
Achyut Patwardhan, Sucheta Kripalani and RP since, the Revolt of 1857.
Goenka. Gandhiji commenced a fast on 10th February, 1943
— Usha Mehta started an underground radio in Bombay. in jail. He declared the fast would last for 21 days.
— This phase of underground activity was meant to keep Groups of people secretly reached Poona to offer
up popular morale by continuing to provide a line of Satyagraha outside the Aga Khan Palace, where
command and guidance to distribute arms and Gandhiji was being held in detention.
ammunition.
— Parallel Governments were set up at different places. Subhas Chandra Bose and
— Prohibition campaigns were carried on and ‘Gandhi
marriages’ were organised.
Indian National Army
Subash Chandra Bose was born on 23rd January,
Participation in Quit India Movement 1897 in Cuttack, Bengal Presidency.
Youth the students of schools and colleges, remained He passed the Indian Civil Services examination but
in the forefront. resigned in 1921 to join the struggle for freedom by
Women especially school and college girls, actively becoming a member of the INC.
participated, and included Aruna Asaf Ali, Sucheta His political mentor was Chittaranjan Das. He
Kripalani and Usha Mehta. became Mayor of Calcutta in 1923.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
207

He presided over the Hazipur session of INC in the On 6th November, 1943, Andaman and Nicobar
year 1938. Bose chose his own path, because of the islands were given by the Japanese army to the INA;
ideological and strategic differences with INC and the islands were renamed as Shahid Dweep and
party leaders. Swaraj Dweep respectively.
He formed a Forward Bloc Party in the year 1939. The INA headquarters was shifted to Rangoon (in
Burma) in January 1944 and the war “Chalo Delhi!”
Formation of Indian National Army (INA) became a famous cry.
Mohan Singh created an army of retreating soldiers On 6th July, 1944, Subhash Chandra Bose addressed
from Malaya and Prisoners of war from Japan. By the Mahatma Gandhi as ‘Father of Nation’ from the Azad
end of 1942, 40,000 men were ready to join the INA. Hind Radio.
INA would go into action only on the invitation of the The Azad Hind Fauj crossed the Burma border and
Indian National Congress and the people of India. stood on Indian soil on 18th March, 1944 then
The step to form this army has been seen as a check advanced up to Kohima and Imphal.
against the misconduct of the Japanese against On 14th April, Colonel Malik of the Bahadur Group
Indians in South-East Asia and as a bulwark against a hoisted the INA flag for the first time on the Indian
possible future Japanese invasion in of India. mainland at Moirang, in Manipur.
After the Quit India Movement, Mohan Singh wanted The INA met the same fate as the Japanese and all
to launch an invasion on India with the help of the brigades began their withdrawal on 18th July, 1944.
Japanese with larger Indian troops. However,
differences emerged over the role to be played by INA.
Finally, Mohan Singh was imprisoned by the INA Trials
Japanese. n Trial of Indian National Army prisoners is sometimes
described as edge of volcano.
Active Phase of INA n The British initially decided to hold trials of several
In June 1943, Subhash Chandra Bose met the hundreds of INA prisoners.
Japanese Prime Minister in Tokyo and secured n The first trial was held at Red Fort in November, 1945
permission for INA. putting on dock together a Hindu, Premkumar Sehgal,
a Muslim, Shah Nawaz Khan and a Sikh, Gurbaksh
Rashbihari Bose fled to Japan in 1915 due to failed
Singh Dhillon.
revolutionary activities in India and became a n Indian National Army Day is celebrated on 12th
naturalised citizen of Japan. November since 1945. INA week is observed from
He made a lot of effort in getting the Japanese 5th to 11th November. Indian National Army agitation
interested in the Indian Independence Movement. He spread all over the country and witnessed participation
had created the Indian Independence League (IIL) in of diverse social groups.
1942, in Tokyo.
After the formation of INA, he decided to fly to
Singapore and place INA under the Indian Course of Events for Independence
Independence League. There were various plans and proposals were prepared
After Subhash Chandra Bose reached Singapore, he and drafted for the amicable solution for avoidance of
met Rashbihari, who transferred the control and partition of India and granting independence.
leadership of the Indian Independence League and the
INA to Subhash in July, 1943. Rajagopalachari Formula (March 1944)
On 21st October, 1943, Subhash Chandra Bose formed C. Rajagopalachari proposed a formula for Congress and
the Provisional Singapore, Government for Free India Muslim League cooperation. It was a tacit acceptance of
at Singapore. the League’s demands for Pakistan and Gandhi supported
The famous slogan-“Give me blood, I will give you the formula.
freedom” was given here. Main points of the CR Plan were as follows:
This provisional government declared war on Britain Muslim League to endorse Congress demand for the
and the United States and was recognised by the Axis independence.
powers. The League was to cooperate with the Congress in
A women’s regiment called the Rani Jhansi Regiment forming a provisional government at centre.
was also formed.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
208

It was to be decided by plebiscite for the Muslim in cars. They threatened the policemen and
majority areas, whether or not to form a separate Europeans.
sovereign state. They became a symbol to people and supported the
In case of partition, agreement to be made jointly for cause of freedom. They cheered for them on roads and
safeguarding defence, commerce, communications offered food and drinks.
etc.
Jinnah wanted the Congress to accept the Two Nation Cabinet Mission Plan (March 1946)
Theory demand. In 1946, Secretary of State Pethick Lawrence in Attlee
He wanted only Muslims to vote in plebiscite in the Government personally led a three man cabinet
Muslim majority areas. deputation to New Delhi with the hope of resolving the
Congress–Muslim League deadlock. He wanted to
Desai-Liaqat Pact, 1945 transfer British power to a single Indian
administration.
Bhulabhai Desai who was the leader of Congress Party
in Central Legislative Assembly with deputy leader of The Cabinet Mission was sent as the British
Muslim League in the Assembly came up with a proposal withdrawal became imminent by 1946:
for the formation of interim government at the centre. — Success of nationalist forces in struggle for
hegemony.
Major features were as follows :
— Demoralisation among bureaucracy and loyalists.
An equal number of representatives for both the
— Limitation of conciliation and repression strategy of
Muslim league and the Congress in the Central
the British.
Executive and 20% seats were to be reserved for
— Royal Indian Naval Ratings Revolts also shook the
minorities
British Government and official rule seemed
No final settlement could be reached with this
impossible.
proposal also.
Major recommendations of the Commission were
Wavell Plan — The subcontinent was to be divided into three major
(Shimla Conference) (June 1945) groups of provinces: Sections A, B and C.
The elections in England necessitated a sincere effort on Section A Madras, Bombay, Central Provinces,
reaching a solution. A conference was convened by the United Provinces, Bihar and Orissa, which were of
Viceroy Lord Wavell, at Shimla in June 1945. Hindu Majority.
Section B Punjab, North-West Frontier Province and
The main proposals of the Wavell Plan were as follows:
Sind, these were Muslim majority areas.
With the exception of Governor-General and
Section C Bengal and Assam Muslim majority areas.
Commander-in-Chief all other members in the
executive council are to be Indians. — Rejection of a full-fledged Pakistan.
— Provincial to have autonomy and residual powers.
Both Hindus and Muslims were to have equal
representation. Common centre for defence, communications and
external affairs.
The reconstructed council was to function as an
— Three-tier executive and legislature at province,
interim government.
princely states and union level.
Governor-General was to exercise his veto on the
— Local provincial governments were to have the
advice of ministers.
choice of opting out of the group in, which they
Congress objected to the plan as it reduced the found themselves should a majority of their populace
Congress as a pure caste Hindu Party. vote to do so.
Muslim League wanted all Muslim members to be — A Constituent Assembly was to be formed by
league nominees. proportional representation, which will form the
interim government.
Royal Indian Naval Ratings Revolt
On 18th February, 1946 in Bombay, the Royal Indian Composition of Constituent Assembly
Navy Ratings went on a strike to protest the racial The proposed Constituent Assembly was to consist of
discrimination, abuse by senior officers and use of the 292 members from British India and 93 from the
Indian troops in Indonesia etc. Indian States.
Other naval branches also joined them later. They The British India members were to be divided into 210
hoisted the tricolour flags and went around Bombay General, 78 Muslims and 4 Sikh seats.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
209

In the preliminary meeting, the assembly was to elect Interim Government

not only a chairman and other office bearers but also
On 12th August, 1946, the Viceroy Lord Wavell invited
an Advisory Committee.
Congress to form the government under the leadership of
The elected members were divided into three Jawaharlal Nehru, which finally came into being on 2nd
Sections A, B and C. September, 1946. Following are important events related
All these sections were to have the authority to draw to formation of Interim Government:
up it’s Constitution and set up provincial legislature
The Muslim League kept out initially.
and executives.
The Interim Government was composed of 12 members
After the first general election, a province could
including 3 Muslims nominated by the Congress.
come out of a group. After 10 years a province could
call for reconsideration of the Group or Union It was for the first time since, the coming of the British
Constitution. that the Government of India was in Indian hands.
On 13th October, the Muslim League decided to join
Elections of 1945-46 the interim government. On 26th October, five
The failure of the Shimla Conference, once again nominees of the league joined the government.
revived with the coming to power of the Labour Party Congress appointees resigned to make room for the
in Britain. league nominees (two seats were already vacant, while
An important initiative taken by the Labour Mr Sarat Bose, Sayyid Ali Zahir and Sir Shafat
Government was the declaration that elections to the Ahmed Khan resigned).
central and provincial assemblies in 1945 and 1946. Out of the portfolios of the composite 14 member
The main parties in the contest were the Congress government, the first nine represented the Congress,
and the Muslim League. The elections were while the last five belonged to the League.
particularly important for the League in its quest for The Muslim League joined the interim government not
Pakistan. to work sincerely and cooperate with the Congress, but
The Indian National Congress emerged as the to block the functioning of the new government.
largest party, winning 59 of the 102 elected seats. Liaquat Ali used his position as Finance Minister in
The Muslim League’s biggest success was in Bengal the interim government to fulfil this aim of the league.
where out of 119 seats for Muslims, it won 113. This strategy of the league effectively brought the
business of the government to a virtual standstill.
The elected members later formed the Constituent
Assembly of India. These were the last general Interim Government (1946)
elections in British India; consequent election was
held in 1951 in India. Member Portfolios Held
Pt Jawaharlal Nehru External Affairs and Commonwealth
Direct Action Day (16th August, 1946) Relations
This happened, when the Viceroy, Lord Wavell, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Home, Information and Broadcasting
invited the Congress to form an interim government,
Dr Rajendra Prasad Food and Agriculture
still hoping that details could be worked out later.
Nehru formed a cabinet, which included two Dr John Mathai Industries and Supplies
Muslims, but Jinnah was convinced that the Hindus Jagjivan Ram Labour
could not be trusted to treat the Muslims fairly. Sardar Baldev Singh Defence
He called for a day of Direct Action in support of a
CH Bhabha Works, Mines and Power
separate Pakistan.
Liaquat Ali Khan Finance
The League decided that 16th August, 1946 would be
observed as Direct Action Day throughout the Abdur Rab Nishtar Posts and Air
country. Asaf Ali Railways and Transport
Thus, began India’s bloodiest year of civil war since, C Rajagopalachari Education and Arts
the mutiny nearly a century earlier.
Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar Commerce
The Hindu-Muslim rioting and killing that started in
Calcutta sent deadly sparks of fear to every corner of Ghazanfar Ali Khan Health
the subcontinent, as all civilised restraint seemed to Jogendra Nath Mandal Law
have had disappeared.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
210

Attlee’s Statement (20th February, 1947) The Indian Independence Act of 1947, which was
passed in the British Parliament and received the royal
By 30th June, 1948, a deadline for transfer of power
assent on 18th July, 1947, was drafted based on the
irrespective of any situation in India was set.
Mountbatten Plan.
The British would relinquish power either to some
Until the formation of new constitutions, the
form of Central Government or in some areas to the
Governor-General was made a constitutional head.
existing provincial governments if the Constituent
He was made responsible for assenting to laws passed
Assembly was not fully representative, i.e., if the
by the constituent assemblies of the nations as part of
Muslim majority provinces did not join.
this plan.
British powers and obligations vis-a-vis the princely
Thus, the League’s demand was conceded to the extent
states would lapse with transfer of power, but these
that Pakistan would be created and the Congress’
would not be transferred to any successor
position on unity was taken into account to make
government in British India.
Pakistan as small as possible. Mountbatten’s formula
Mountbatten would replace Wavell as the Viceroy. was to divide India but retain maximum unity.
The statement contained clear hints of partition and
even Balkanisation of the country into numerous Disapproval of the Plan by
states and was, in essence, a reversion of the Nationalist Leaders
Cripps offer.
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan wanted an independent
The date was fixed by the government to prevent any Pathan state in North-Western Frontier Provinces
further escalation of the constitutional crisis and to (NWFP).
portray the British’s sincerity.
Suhrawardy and Abul Hasan were for an independent
The INC was fine with the transfer of power to more united Bengal.
than one centre as it meant the current government
The Hindu Mahasabha too opposed the partition.
could work for its Constitution.
The non-Muslim majority areas in Punjab and in
However, emboldened by this provision, Muslim
Bengal, as also the entire province of Assam (except a
league launched Civil Disobedience Movement in
part of Sylhet) remained within the boundaries of India.
Punjab to overthrow coalition government in Punjab.
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan regarded the partition as
By April 1947, the Indian National Congress was
treachery on the part of the Congress and felt that ‘the
ready for partition. Bengal and Punjab were to be
Khudai Khidmatgars were being thrown to the wolves.’
divided in a fair manner.
They even boycotted the referendum held in NWFP.
The Mountbatten Plan (June 3rd Plan) Indian Independence Act, 1947
Lord Mountbatten, India’s last Viceroy, released a
On 5th July, 1947 the British Parliament passed the Indian
plan on the country’s independence from the British
Independence Act, which was based on the Mountbatten
on 3rd June, 1947. The plan, famously known as the
Plan.
Mountbatten Plan. It was the ‘Last Plan for
Independence’ of India. The Act was implemented on 15th August, 1947.
Provisions of the Act are:
The June 3rd plan announced that India would be
splitting into two nations after its independence. The creation of two independent dominions– India and
India and Pakistan. The division came into effect on Pakistan.
15th August, 1947. A Governor-General for each dominion for the effective
The plan included the principles of partition and operation of the Act.
gave autonomy and sovereignty to both India and The Constituent Assembly of each new dominion was to
Pakistan. It also gave the nations the right to form exercise the powers of the legislature of that dominion
their own Constitution. and the existing Central Legislative Assembly and the
The plan was accepted by both the Congress and the Council of States were to be automatically dissolved.
Muslim League. Till formation of new Constitution both dominions to
Under this plan, the Princely states, such as Jammu Act in accordance with Government of India Act, 1935.
and Kashmir, were given a choice to either remain MA Jinnah became the first Governor-General of
independent or join India or Pakistan. Pakistan and Mountbatten of India.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
211

Partition of India Integration of Princely States

The Indian nationalists accepted partition not After Independence
because there were two nations in India - a Hindu Nehru presided over the All India State People’s
nation and Muslim nation but because of following Conference sessions in Udaipur (1945) and Gwalior
reasons : (April 1947).
The historical development of communalism, both He declared that the states refusing to join the Constituent
Hindu and Muslim, over the past 70 years or so Assembly would be treated as hostile.
had created a situation where the alternative to
In July 1947, Vallabhbhai Patel took charge of the new
partition was mass killing of lakhs of innocent
States Department and skillfully incorporated all the
people in senseless and barbaric communal riots.
states in the following two phaser.
Riots had not been confined to one section of the — Phase-l By 15th August, 1947, all states except Kashmir,
country that Congress leaders could have curbed Hyderabad and Junagadh had signed an instrument of
them.
accession with the Indian government, acknowledging
Two Nation Theory was actively promoted by central authority over defence, external affairs and
Jinnah. communication.
Foreign Government also tried to further these The princes agreed to this fairly easily because
divisions, take advantage and encouraged these (i) they were ‘surrendering’ only what they never had
riots. and
(ii) there was no change in the internal political
Radcliffe Boundary Commission structure.
A Consultative Committee in July 1947 — Phase-II It involved a much more difficult process of
recommended how the Punjab and Bengal regions
‘integration’ of states with neighbouring provinces or
of the Indian subcontinent were to be divided
into new units like the Kathiawar Union, Vindhya and
between India and Pakistan.
Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan or Himachal Pradesh along
The Commission appointed by Lord Mountbatten, with internal constitutional changes in states. For some
consisted of four members from the Indian years, they retained their old boundaries (Hyderabad,
National Congress and four from the Muslim Mysore, Travancore-Cochin). This phase was
League and was chaired by Sir Cyril Radcliffe. accomplished within a year.
The commission’s mandate was to draw boundaries The principal bait offered was a generous privy purse
in the two regions that would keep intact as much while some princes were made Governors and
as possible, the most-cohesive Hindu and Muslim Rajpramukhs in free India.
populations within Indian and Pakistani teritory,
This rapid political unification of the country after
respectively.
independence was Patel’s greatest achievement.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
212 32

Governors, Governor-
Generals and Viceroys

Sources Class-VIII New NCERT Chap 9 (The Making of the National Movement), Class-XII New NCERT Chap 13
(Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement), Class-XII Old NCERT Chap 13 (Struggle for Swaraj-II),
Class-VIII Old NCERT Chap 10 (Struggle for Swaraj)

The East India Company was run by the Governor of In this period, he brought the Policy of Dual
Bengal till 1772 AD. Madras and Bombay presidencies Government in Bengal, which continued till 1772.
also had separate Governors. Clive and Warren Hastings are said to be the chief
After 1772 AD, through Regulating Act of 1773, instruments of laying the foundation of British
Governor of Bengal was made Governor-General. This power in India.
setup continued till 1833 AD Warren Hastings was the Clive is also criticised for his policies, which led to
first Governor-General. famine in Bengal. In 1770 AD, Clive established the
Lord William Bentick was the First Governor-General Society for Trade. It was meant as a monopoly but
of India as from 1833 to 1857 Governor-General of was not allowed by the East India Company.
Bengal was called Governor-General of India.
Governors of Bengal After Clive
In Government of India Act, 1857, the name of
Governor-General was changed to Viceroy. Lord John Zephaniah Holwell was a temporary Governor
Canning was the first Viceroy of India. of Bengal in 1760. He survived the Black Hole
Incidence of Calcutta in June 1757.
The Government of India Act, 1935, changed the post
of Viceroy to Governor-General of India again, this Henry Vanisttart was Governor of Bengal from
system continued till, 1950. 1760-65. In his Governorship Battle of Buxar was
fought.
Harry Verelst was Governor of Bengal from
Governors of Bengal (1757-1774) 1767-1769, at this time Bengal was put under the
East India company built an administrative system in Dual Government rule.
Bengal and top official in hierarchy was the Governor of John Cartier was Governor of Bengal from
Bengal. 1769-1772. During his time, the first famine of
Robert Clive (1757-60 and 1765-67) Modern India occurred in 1770.
The victory in Battle of Plassey in 1757 led to Clive Warren Hastings was made the Governor of Bengal
becoming Governor of Bengal. After the Battle of Buxar, in 1772 and continued till 1773. He abolished the
Clive was again made the Governor of Bengal in 1765. Dual Government System.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
213

A Supreme Court was also established in 1774 under

Governor-Generals of Bengal the Regulating Act of 1773, during the tenure of
(1773-1833) Warren Hastings.
Between 1773 and 1833, the following Social Reforms
Governor-Generals were appointed in Bengal :
The Asiatic Society of Bengal was established in 1784
Warren Hastings (1773-1784) AD by Hastings.
He established a madrasa in Calcutta for the
The first Governor-General of India was Warren
development of Muslim education.
Hasting from 1773 to 1784. He was impeached in
1784 for corruption and was acquitted in 1795 and In 1791,a Sanskrit School was established in Banaras
was made a Privy Councillor. by Jonathan Duncon.
He joined the British East India Company in 1750 as a Hastings strengthened the British power in India by
clerk. In 1757 was made the British Resident signing the Treaty of Banaras (1773) and the Treaty of
(administrative incharge) of Murshidabad. Faizabad (1775).
He was appointed to the Calcutta Council in 1761, This increased the influence of the English in the state
but went back to England in 1764. He returned to of Awadh and made the Nawab dependent on the
India in 1769 as a member of the Madras Council. company.
Hastings took measures to contain the Rohillas
Lord Cornwallis (1786-1793)
though they could not be prevented from capturing
Agra. After Hastings, Sir John Jefferson was made acting
Governor-General for one year from (1785-1786) and then
Hastings concluded treaties with various rulers and
Lord Cornwallis came to India as next Governor-General
sought alliances against the powerful forces of Haider
of India.
Ali of Carnatic.
Cornwallis was again made the Governor of India in 1805.
However, in order to wage these wars, Hastings
In the meantime, he died in Ghazipur in 1805. His tomb is
borrowed heavily from the Begum of Awadh and
situated in Jaipur.
Raja Chait Singh of Banaras.
Warren Hastings brought out a large number of Following are the main reforms taken out by Cornwallis:
reforms as follows : Cornwallis is called ‘the father of civil service in
India’. He started the civil services for administration
Administrative Reforms in British India.
Warren Hastings put an end to the Dual System of He was the first person to codify laws in 1793. The
Government in Bengal, established by Robert Clive in code separated the revenue administration from the
1768. Due to which the Company took responsibility administration of justice. This is known as Cornwallis
for revenue collection. Code.
He also stopped the payment of ` 26 lakh given to the He also created the post of District Judge.
Mughal Emperor.
The Zamindari system was introduced by Lord
Revenue Reforms Cornwallis in 1793 by Permanent Settlement. It fixed
A Board of Revenue was established in Calcutta to the land rights of the zamindars in perpetuity without
supervise the collection of revenue. any provision for fixed rent or occupancy rights for
actual cultivators.
In 1772, Calcutta was made capital and the treasury
was shifted from Murshidabad to Calcutta. The share of the government in the total land revenue
collected by the zamindars was at 10/11th and the rest
English collectors were appointed in each district, went to zamindars.
who were helped by native officials.
According to the Permanent Land revenue settlement,
Warren Hastings made the account of revenue simple, the zamindars were recognised as the permanent
intelligible and made many provisions for the owners of the land.
protection of Ryots.
In his period, the third Anglo-Mysore War took place
Judicial Reforms in which defeat of Tipu Sultan led to the Treaty of
Warren Hastings carried reforms in the Judicial Seringapatam, in 1792.
system. A Civil Court and Faujdari Adalat (Criminal In his period, Europeanisation of administrative
Court) in each district was to be established. machinery was done.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
214

Sir John Shore (1793-1798) Sir George Barlow (1805-1807)

The British Parliament passed the Charter Act of In his Governorship, the Vellore Mutiny of sepoys took
1793, in the time of Sir John Shore. place in 1806 AD. Main grievances of the sepoys were
The period of Shore’s rule as Governor-General related to uniform, hair cuts, etc.
was comparatively uneventful. His policy was It was suppressed by Governor of Madras, at that time it
attacked as balancing and timid. was William Bentick.
His rule saw the Battle of Kharda between Nizam
and Marathas in 1795. Lord Minto I (1807-1813)
The main event in his Governorship was the Treaty of
Lord Wellesley (1798-1805) Amritsar in 1809 with Ranjit Singh. On this treaty Charles
Lord Wellesley vigorously applied the policy of Metcalfe signed on behalf of the British administration.
subsidiary alliance to achieve British The Charter Act of 1813, was also passed during his
Paramountcy in India. The first Subsidiary tenure.
Alliance was made with Nizam of Hyderabad in
1798. Lord Hastings (1813-1823)
Through the Subsidiary Alliance, princely rulers The Nepalese War of 1814-1816 occured during his
were stopped from making any negotiations and Governorship. The Gorkhas accepted the Treaty of
treaty with any other Indian ruler without Sagauli in March 1816.
informing the Company officials. He participated in the Pindari War (1817-18), which
They were also not supposed to maintain any resulted in the suppression of the Pindaris.
standing armies. He fought the Third Maratha War from 1817 to 1818
They were instead to be protected by the troops of wherein Maratha power was finally crushed. Peshwaship
the European companies and Princely rulers had was abolished and all his territories were annexed.
to pay for upkeep of the British Army stationed at Bombay Presidency was created out of the Maratha
them. A British resident was also kept at the court regions in 1818.
of the native ruler. The Ryotwari settlement was introduced in the Madras
He also founded the Board of Trade. Presidency by Governor Thomas Munro in 1820.
He sent a British envoy Mehdi Ali Khan to the This was the primary land revenue system in South India.
Court of Shah of Persia. Later, he sent John Major areas of introduction include Madras, Bombay,
Marshall. parts of Assam and Coorg provinces of British India.
Wellesley passed a regulation for controlling the In the Ryotwari System, the ownership rights were
press. No newspaper was to be published at all, handed over to the peasants. The British Government
until the manuscript of the whole paper was collected taxes directly from the peasants.
submitted to and approved by the government. The revenue rates of the Ryotwari System were 50%
Christian missionaries established a printing where the lands were dry and 60% in irrigated land.
press at Serampore. Though ownership of land was vested with the farmers,
Wellesley founded Fort Williams College. Sir excessive tax impoverished them. Furthermore, the tax
John Gilchrist was appointed as head of rates were frequently increased.
Hindustani Language Department. The Bengal Tenancy Act was passed in 1822. Coffee
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799) was fought in plantation was started in Bengal and Assam region during
his rule, resulting in the defeat and death of Tipu his tenure.
and the annexation of many parts of Mysore.
Wellesley took the administration of Tanjore on Lord Amherst (1823-1828)
25th October, 1799, of Surat in March, 1800 and He fought the First Burmese War 1824-26.
Carnatic on 1st July, 1801. During his tenure, Barrackpore Mutiny took place in
In his rule, the Treaty of Bassein (1802) was 1824.
signed and the Second Anglo Maratha War The Malay Peninsula was also added to British territories
(1803-05) resulted in the defeat of the Scindhia, in his reign.
the Bhonsle and the Holkars. Capture of territories of Bharatpur was done in 1826 by
The Madras Presidency was formed under his him.
Governorship.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
215

William Bentinck followed the policy of

Governor-Generals and non-interference into the affairs of Indian states as
Viceroys of India (1828-1950) far as possible.
By Charter Act of 1833, the post of Governor-General of India At the request of the new Nizam, Nasir-ud-Daula,
was made and territories of Bengal, Madras, Bombay and who succeeded his father to gaddi 1829, the
other territories, placed under his control. British officers were removed from Hyderabad.
A similar policy of non-intervention followed
Lord William Bentick (1828-1835) towards the states of Jodhpur, Bundi, Kota and
Bentick was the last Governor-General from 1828 to 1833 Bhopal.
of Bengal and the first Governor-General of India from
However, Bentinck, departed from the policy of
1833 to 1835.
non-intervention and annexed Mysore (1831),
He is regarded as one of the liberal and enlightened Coorg (1834) and central Cachar (November 1834)
Governor-General of India. He is said to be ‘the Father of on the plea of misgovernance.
Modern Western Education in India’.
In his tenure, annexation of Mysore in 1831 took place. Sir Charles Metcalfe (1834-1836)
He concluded a treaty of perpetual friendship with Ranjit Charles Metcalfe is known for freeing the press in
Singh (1831). India.
The Charter Act of 1833, was passed during his reign. It He passed the famous Press law, which removed
provided that no Indian subject of Company was to be the restrictions placed on press.
debarred from holding an office on account of his religion,
place of birth, descent and colour. So the removal of Lord Auckland (1836-1842)
distinction in recruitment to public services was removed. The most important event of his reign was the
Following were the reforms measures taken by him: First Afghan War (1831–125), in which the British
— He abolished Sati and other cruel rites in 1829. suffered heavy losses.
Regulation of 1829 was brought in for abolition of Sati This defeat was a blow to the prestige of British
first in Bengal and then extended to Madras and Bombay power in India.
Presidency in 1830. Due to this, a Tripartite Treaty was made in 1858
— Suppression of thugi was another reform undertaken by AD between Shah Shuja, Ranjit Singh and the
him in 1830. British for Afghanistan.
— In education, Bentick brought the Macaulay Minute and Shah Shuja was to be seated on the Afghan seat,
English was made the official language of the British but later Ranjit Singh withdraw from this treaty.
Indian administration. It helped the growth of higher In his tenure, the construction of a road from
education in India. Delhi to Calcutta was started in 1839 and during
— In judicial reforms, the provincial courts of appeal and this time, Sher Shah Suri Marg was renamed as
circuit court were abolished. Their duties were Grand Trunk Road (GT Road).
transferred to Magistrates and Collectors under the
supervision of the Commissioner of Revenue and Lord Ellenborough (1842-1844)
Circuit. In his two years of tenure, he brought an end to
— For the convenience of the public of Upper Province the Afghan war. Sind was annexed in 1843 in the
(present-day UP) and Delhi, a separate Sadr Nizamat leadership of Charles Napier.
Adalat and a Sadr Diwani Adalat were set up at He brought the Indian Slavery Act, 1843, which
Allahabad. aboished slavery in India.
— The residents of these areas were no longer under the
necessity of travelling long distance to file their appeals Lord Hardinge I (1844-1848)
at Calcutta. The main event to have occurred in his reign was
— Persian was so far the court language. Bentinck gave the Anglo-Sikh War. This war started in 1845 and
suitors the option to use vernaculars in filing their suits. four battles were fought at
In higher courts, Persian was replaced by English Mudki, Sobraon, Feroz Shah and Aliwal. War
language. came to an end with the Treaty of Lahore in 1846.
— Qualified Indians were appointed in junior judicial
He also took steps to abolish female infanticide
capacities of Munsiffs and could rise to the position of and human scarifice.
Sadr Amins.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
216

Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856) He also laid the basis for the modern postal system in
1854. A separate Public Works Department was set
Lord Dalhousie became India’s Governor-General in
up for the first time.
1848 at the age of 36. He did a lot of important work
by expanding the British Empire on the basis of war He also worked on the construction of the Grand
and Doctrine of Lapse. Trunk Road and developed the harbours of Karachi,
Bombay and Calcutta.
During the time of Dalhousie, the Second Anglo-Sikh
War was fought in 1840, in which the Sikhs were
defeated and Punjab was annexed to the British
Lord Canning (1856-1862)
Empire in 18 days. Canning was the last Governor-General of India and
became the first Viceroy of India with the passage of
In Dalhousie’s time, the Second Anglo-Burmese War
the Government of India Act, 1858.
in 1852 took place. In this war, Burmese lost and
Lower Burma or Pegu were dissolved in the British The Government of India Act, 1858 ended the rule of
Empire. the East India Company and Indian territory came in
direct control of the British monarch.
Sikkim was merged with the English Kingdom in
1850 AD. In his tenure, the Widow Remarriage Act, was passed
on 25th July, 1856.
A major revolt by Santhals in 1856 AD took place in
his tenure, which was suppressed. The Revolt of 1857, took place in his Governorship.
He withdraw the policy of Doctrine of Lapse.
Doctrine of Lapse
The Indian Councils Act of 1861, was passed, it proved
Using the doctrine of lapse, Satara in 1848, Jaitpur and to be a landmark in the constitutional history of India.
Sambhalpur in 1849, Baghat in 1850, Jhansi in 1853,
The Indian Penal Code of Criminal Procedure (1859,
Udaipur in 1852 and Nagpur in 1854 were merged
and the Indian High Court Act (1861) were enacted.
with the British Empire.
Income Tax was introduced for the first time in 1858
In 1856, Awadh was annexed by Dalhousie and
in his tenure.
merged with the British Empire on the basis of
‘misgovernance’. On the recommendation of Wood’s Despatch,
Universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were
Reforms undertaken by Dalhousie founded in 1857. The Indigo riots in Bengal (1860)
Dalhousie appointed a Lieutenant-Governor for took place in his Governorship.
Bengal to ease the work of Governor-General of India
under administrative reforms. Lord Elgin I (1862-1863)
Territories, which had recently been annexed to the The Wahabi Movement, which was a Pan-Islamic
British Empire were put in a system of a centralised Movement, began in his period. It was suppressed by
control, in which a commissioner was appointed in the Britishers.
the territory who reported directly to the He died in Dharmshala in 1863, which was in Punjab
Governor-General. at that time.
This was known as the Non-regulation system.
In Military reform, he raised the Gurkha regiment. Sir John Lawrence (1864-1869)
Dalhousie also emphasised the reduction of Indians in Lawrence adopted the Policy of Non-Intervention in
the British army, which he saw as a danger. The the case of Afghanistan. He was also a friend of the
Gurkha regiment helped in the suppression of the ruler of Afghanistan, Sher Ali.
revolt of 1857. In his tenure, the region of Odisha, Bundelkhand and
In Educational Reforms, he recommended the Rajputana fell under severe famine. A Famine
Thomsonian System of Vernacular education for the Commission was set up under George Campbell to
whole of the North-Western Provinces (1853). deal with the famine.
Wood’s Education Despatch of 1854 and opening of Telegraphic communication was opened with Europe
Anglo-Vernacular Schools and Government Colleges through sea in his tenure. High courts were
came in his tenure. established at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in 1865
and reorganised the native judicial service.
An Engineering College was established at Roorkee.
He expanded canal works and railways.
Public Works like the first railway line connecting
Bombay with Thane was started in 1853. The Bhutan War (1865) took place in his reign.
Electric telegraph services also began in his reign. He also created the Indian Forests Department.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
217

Lord Mayo (1869-1872) Lord Ripon (1880-1884)

Under his tenure, the system of state railways began. He repealed the Vernacular Press Act, in 1882 and
Establishment of colleges for the education and introduced the First Factory Act, 1881 for improving
political training of the Indian Princes was done. the conditions of workers in factories.
Rajkot College in Kathiawar and the Mayo College at During his tenure, Census began to take place
Ajmer were established. regularly from 1881.
The Organisation of Statistical Survey of India under The introduction of Local Self-Government began in
WW Hunter was done and the first census of India 1882 with the Resolution for Local Self-government.
was taken in 1872. That’s why, he is called the Father of Local
Department of agriculture and commerce was Self-Government in India.
established. He formed the Hunter Commission in 1882, which
He initiated the process of financial decentralisation worked to improve primary education in India.
in India in 1870. Ilbert Bill Controversy took place during his time in
He took the first step in the direction of separation of 1883. This bill tried to do away with discrimination by
central and provincial finances. allowing Indian Jurists to try Europeans.
In 1872, Sher Ali Afridi, an Afridi Pathan, a convict in But the bill had to be amended because of protests by
the Andamans assassinated Mayo. He was the only Europeans. He resigned after this.
Viceroy to be murdered in office.
Lord Dufferin (1884-1888)
Lord Northbrook (1872-1876) An important event of Dufferin’s rule was the Third
Kuka Movement of Punjab took place in 1872, in his Anglo-Burmese War (1885 - 1888 AD). Burma was
tenure. defeated in this war. This led to annexation of Lower
The Prince of Wales (King Edward Seventh) also and upper Burma in 1885.
visited in 1875 while he was Viceroy. In his rule, the Tenancy Act, was passed in Bengal in
He donated ` 10000 to Mohammedan Anglo Oriental 1885, according to which the landlords could no longer
snatch the land of the farmers as per their wish.
College.
It was during Dufferin’s time that the Indian National
Lord Lytton (1876-1880) Congress was established in 1885.
Lord Lytton was a great writer and talented Allahabad University was established in 1887 AD
administrator. He wrote with the pseudonym Owen during his tenure.
Meredith for writing poetry.
In his tenure, the Second Anglo-Afghan War Lord Lansdowne (1888-1894)
(1878-1880) was fought. He adopted an aggressive In the time of Lansdowne, the Second Factory Act was
policy towards Afghanistan. passed in 1891 AD. Also the Indian Council Act, 1892
Under the chairmanship of Richard Strachey, a was passed in his tenure.
commission was formed under his tenure. This It was during this very period that the boundary line
commission had advised the Constitution of the between India and Afghanistan was determined.
Famine Fund in each province. India-Afghanistan border line is known as Durand line.
During his reign, Delhi Darbar was organised on
1st January, 1877, in which Queen Victoria was Lord Elgin II (1894-1899)
honored with the title of Kaiser-e-Hind. This was During the tenure of Lord Elgin, between 1896 to 1898
organised while the country was under severe famine. there was a severe famine in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya
It was during Lytton’s time that the Vernacular Press Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab.
Act was passed in 1878. Newspapers were banned in In 1898, a Famine Commission was appointed under
the Indian language because of this Act. This act was the chairmanship of James Lyall to investigate these.
also known as the Galaghont Act. In the time of Elgin itself, an Opium Commission was
He is also criticised for free trade and abolition of constituted in 1893. The Munda Uprising from 1899
duties on manufacturing goods in India, which led to took place under his regime.
drain of wealth. Two British officials Rand and Amherst, were
He also lowered the maximum age limit from 21 to 19 assassinated by Chapekar Brothers in 1897 in his
years. tenure.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
218

Lord Curzon (1899-1905) Lord Hardinge II (1910-1916)

Lord Curzon had accomplished many important works in The Delhi Darbar was organised in 1911 during the
India. During his time as Viceroy, Lord Curzon created reign of Lord Hardinge-II. King George V and Queen
the territory of Eastern Bengal and Assam. Partition of Mary of Britain came for coronation and visited the
Bengal was also planned in his tenure. Darbar.
Some of the major reforms done by him in India were as The partition of Bengal was cancelled at the time of
follows : King George V and Queen Mary’s Delhi Darbar and the
Foreign Policy Curzon United the new North-West transfer of capital to Delhi from Calcutta, was
Frontier. He started interference in Tibet by accusing announced in 1911.
the Dalai Lama of his inclination towards Russia. In On 23rd December, 1912, Hardinge was hit by a bomb
the year 1903, under the leadership of Colonel Young while entering Delhi in which he got injured.
husband, the army went to sign a treaty with Tibet. World War I began during Hardinge’s tenure.
Education Curzon established Indian University In 1916, Lord Hardinge gave his permission to open
Commission- under Thomas Raleigh in 1902. the Banaras Hindu University.
The Indian Universities Act was passed in the year
1904 on the basis of the recommendation of the Lord Chelmsford (1916-1921)
Commission. The Home Rule League was formed in 1916 during
Police Reform Lord Curzon set up a Police the time of Lord Chelmsford. At the same time,
Commission under the chairmanship of Sir Andrew Women University was established in Poona.
Fraser in 1902. In the year 1903, CID (Criminal Lucknow Pact was signed between Congress and
Investigation Department) was established in the Muslim League in 1916 and Moderates and Extremists
Police Department. also came back together in the same year. The Sadler
Constitution of Famine Commission During the reign Commission on Education was appointed in 1917.
of Lord Curzon, a Famine Commission was appointed It was during this period, that the Rowlatt Act of 1919,
under the chairmanship of Anthony McDonnell. Its was passed, during this time the Jallianwala Bagh
function was to make recommendations in the matter massacre took place on 13th April, 1919 and the
of running the system of famine assistance efficiently. Government of India Act, 1919, was passed.
Agriculture During his reign, the Agricultural During the reign of Chelmsford, the Khilafat
Research Institute was established at Pusa (New Movement, Non-cooperation Movement from 1920 to
Delhi). 1922 took place. The Third Anglo-Afghan War, 1919
In the year 1901, an Irrigation Commission headed by took place in his tenure.
Sir Colin Scot Moncrieff was set up to study the
problem of irrigation in India. Lord Reading (1921-1926)
He was the only Jewish Viceroy to come to India.
Lord Minto II (1905-1910) During his reign, on the recommendation of the
The anti-partition and Swadeshi Movement against Acworth Committee, the Railway budget was
the Bengal partition were one of the main events to separated from the General budget.
occur in his tenure.
Moplah Rebellion took place in Kerala in 1921 in his
Muslim League was founded in 1906 by Aga Khan in tenure.
his tenure.
The Swaraj Party was founded in December 1922,
Congress announced its goal of Swaraj in the Calcutta during the time of Reading.
Session in 1906.
On 5th February, 1922, after the incident at
Split in Congress took place in its annual session of Chauri-Chaura, the Non-cooperation Movement was
Surat in 1907. stopped.
In his tenure in 1908, Khudiram Bose was sentenced Civil Services exams began to be held in Delhi and
to death and Bal Gangadhar Tilak was sent to prison London simultaneously from 1923.
for six years.
It was at the time of Reading that the Lee Commission
Indian Council Act, 1909, known as Morley-Minto for the Public Service was established in the year 1924.
Reforms were announced in 1909. It widened the gulf
On 19th August, 1925, at the time of the Kakori
between Hindus and Muslims by announcing separate
Incident, Reading was the Viceroy of India.
electorates.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
219

Lord Irwin (1926-1931) Lord Wavell (1944-1947)

In the tenure of Lord Irwin, the Simon Commission came CR Formula was evolved by C. Rajagopalachari in
to India. Under his tenure, the following important events 1944 and Gandhi-Jinnah talks based on it took place
took place : in 1944.
The Nehru Report in 1928 was published under the On 25th June, 1945, Shimla Conference took place
chairmanship of Motilal Nehru. Against the Nehru to discuss the Wavell Plan.
report Jinnah put his 14 points. On 28th January, 1946, Wavell announced the
The Royal Commission related to agriculture was government’s intention to set up an Executive
appointed in 1928 in his tenure. Council of political leaders.
On 31st December, 1929, ‘Declaration of Purna On 18th February, 1946, Mutiny of the Indian Naval
Swaraj’ in the Lahore session was made. Ratings occurred in Bombay.
On 26th January, 1930, Independence Day was The INA Trial began in 1946.
organised in the entire country. On 15th March, 1946, Attlee announced the Cabinet
Civil Disobedience was launched by Gandhiji on 12th Mission, under Pethick Lawrence, Stafford Cripps and
March, 1930. In it Dandi March also took place. AV Alexander, arrived in Delhi on 24th March, 1946.
The First Round Table Conference was held in It’s proposal was accepted by Congress.
London in 1930. The Direct Action Day in August, 1946 was observed
Gandhi-Irwin Pact took place in March 1931. by Muslim League.
Elections were held for the Constituent Assembly
Lord Willingdon (1931-1936) and an interim government was formed by Congress
The Second Round Table Conference was organised in in September 1946.
London, 1931. Prime Minister of England Clement Attlee
It was during Willingdon’s time that Ramsay announced the end of British rule in India on 20th
MacDonald announced the Communal Award in 1932. February, 1947.
Individual Civil Disobedience Movement were
launched in his tenure. Lord Mountbatten (1947-1948)
The Third Round Table Conference (1932) was held. He announced the 3rd June, 1947 plan, which is
known as Mountbatten Plan.
The Government of India Act, 1935 was passed.
The Indian Independence Bill was introduced in the
India was separated in 1935 from Burma.
House of Commons in his tenure on 4th July, 1947.
In 1936, All India Kisan Sabha was formed.
As per the Bill, two independent Nations—India and
Lord Linlithgow (1936-1944) Pakistan were to be formed.
Two Boundary Commissions under Sir Cyril
In his tenure, the first general elections were conducted
Radcliffe were appointed for the partition of Punjab
and Congress attained absolute majority. Congress
and Bengal.
formed Ministries in the majority of the provinces
(1937). Pakistan got independence on 14th August, 1947 and
India on 15th August, 1947.
Congress Ministries resigned in 1939 after the outbreak
of the Second World War. After Independence, Mountbatten became the first
Governor-General of free India.
Subash Chandra Bose was elected as Congress
President in 1938 and later resigned and formed the C. Rajagopalachari
forward Bloc in 1939.
(June 1948-January 1950)
The August Offer was proposed by Viceroy in 1940 and
it was rejected by the Congress. He was the last Governor-General of free India and
only Indian Governor-General.
The Cripps Mission also came in 1942.
In his tenure, the Constitution was adopted on
On 7th August, 1942, Congress Session passed the Quit
26th November, 1949 and enacted on 26th January,
India Resolution (8th August, 1942) and launched the
1950.
Quit India Movement.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
220 33

India After Independence

Sources Class-VIII New NCERT Chap 10 (India After Independence), Class-XII New NCERT Chap 14 (Understanding Partition),
Class-XII Old NCERT Chap 15 (Framing the Constitution-The Beginning of a New Era)

In 1945-46, provincial elections were held in India.

Challenges for Newly The Provincial Legislatures then selected the
Independent India representatives to the Constituent Assembly.
When India became independent in August 1947, it faced The Constituent Assembly that came into being was
a series of challenges. Some of which were as follows : dominated by one party the Congress.
As a result of partition, 8 million refugees had come The Congress swept the general seats in the provincial
into the country from what was now Pakistan. These elections, and the Muslim League captured most of
people had to be found, homes and jobs. the reserved Muslim seats.
There was the problem of the princely states, almost Muslim League chose to boycott the Constituent
500 of them, each ruled by a maharaja or a nawab, Assembly, pressing its demand for Pakistan with a
each of whom had to be persuaded to join the new separate Constitution.
nation. Though the Constituent Assembly was dominated by
In the longer term, the new nation had to adopt a Congress, views of its members differed on critical
political system that would best serve the hopes and issues.
expectations of its population. Some members were inspired by socialism while
India had to adopt a Constitution and build a others were defenders of landlordism. Some were
consensus on which ideals the Constitution would be close to communal parties while others were assertively
based. secular.
India was left with a colonial legacy- which had The Constituent Assembly had 300 members. Of
drained the country of its economic wealth, these, six members played particularly important
industries. roles.
It had impoverished the masses, agricultural lands Three were representatives of the Congress, namely,
were heavily burdened and were concentrated in Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and Rajendra
hands of few. Prasad.
And the other three were lawyers- BR Ambedkar, KM
Making of the Constitution Munshi from Gujarat and Alladi Krishnaswamy
In the situation of challenges, the Constituent Aiyar from Madras.
Assembly pondered and discussed the making of the During the period of British rule, Ambedkar had been
Constitution of India. a political opponent of the Congress, but on the advice
The members of the Constituent Assembly were not of Mahatma Gandhi, he was asked at independence to
elected on the basis of universal franchise. join the Union Cabinet as Law Minister.
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
221

After a long debate, the Constituent Assembly also

Important Facts recommended that a certain percentage of seats in
n BR Ambedkar served as Chairman of the Drafting legislatures as well as jobs in government be reserved for
Committee of the Constitution.
members of the lowest castes.
n He was given assistance by two civil servants
The Constitution sought to balance the power of the
— BN Rau, Constitutional Advisor to the
Government of India.
Central Government and States by providing three lists of
— He prepared a series of background papers
subjects a Union List, a State List of subjects and a
based on a study of the political systems in Concurrent List. The Constitution declares India, that is,
other countries. Bharat, a Union with federal features.
— The Chief Draughtsman, SN Mukherjee, who Major debate in the Constituent Assembly took place
put complex proposals in clear legal language. concerning language. Many members believed that the
n Hansa Mehta from Bombay demanded social, English language should leave India with the British
economic and political justice for women in the rulers. According to them, Hindi should take place of
Constituent Assembly. English.
A compromise was made that Hindi would be the ‘official
Jawaharlal Nehru moved the resolution language’ of India, English would be used in the courts,
proposing that the National Flag of India be a the services and communications between one state and
‘horizontal tricolour of saffron, white and dark another.
green in equal proportion’, with a wheel in navy First General Election was held in 1951-1952 on the basis
blue at the centre. of universal adult franchise and those above 21 years were
On 13th December, 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru eligible to vote.
introduced the Objectives Resolution in the
Constituent Assembly. Timeline
The Objective Resolution outlined the defining 1945
ideals of the Constitution of Independent India. It 26th July Labour Government comes into power in Britain
provided the framework within which the work of
December-January General Elections in India
Constitution-making was to proceed.
1946
The Constitution of India was framed between
16th May Cabinet Mission announces its constitutional
December 1946 and November 1949. During this scheme
time, it’s drafts were discussed clause by clause
16th June Muslim League accepts cabinet Mission’s
in the Constituent Assembly of India. constitutional scheme
In all, the assembly held eleven sessions, with 16th June Cabinet Mission presents scheme for the
sittings spread over 165 days. In between the formation of an Interim Government at the Centre
sessions, the work of revising and refining the 16th August Muslim League announces Direct Action Day
drafts was carried out by various committees and 2nd September Congress forms Interim Government with Nehru
sub-committees. as the Vice-President
The Indian Constitution, which came into effect 13th October Muslim League decides to join the Interim
on 26th January, 1950, the longest in the world. Government
At independence, India was deeply divided. 3-6th December British Prime Minister. Attlee, Meets some Indian
A Constitution was designed to keep the country Leaders; talks fail
together, and to take it forward, had necessarily to 9th December Constituent Assembly begins its sessions
be an elaborate and carefully- worked-out drafted 1947
document. 29th January Muslim League demands dissolution of
The Constitution was signed in December 1949 Constituent Assembly
after three years of debate. 16th July Last meeting of the Interim Government
One feature of the Constitution was its adoption 11th August Jinnah elected President of the Constituent
of universal adult franchise. All Indians above Assembly of Pakistan
the age of 21 would be allowed to vote in state 14th August Pakishtan Independence, celebrations in Karachi
and national elections. 14-15th August At midnight India celebrates Independence
A second feature of the Constitution was that it 1949
guaranteed equality before the law to all citizens, December Constitution is signed
regardless of their caste or religious affiliation.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
222

Integration of Princely States Hyderabad

Indian Independence Act of, 1947 ended the British Hyderabad was the biggest princely state in India.
paramountcy on India states and the princely were It was surrounded from all sides from Indian territory.
given the choice of either merging with India or The Nawab of Hyderabad was Miz Usman Ali Khan.
Pakistan or remain independent. Nawab wanted to integrate with Pakistan but the
On 15th June, 1947, All India Congress Committee majority of population was Hindu.
decided that it will not accept independence of any Hyderabad signed a standstill agreement with India in
province within the territory of India and will neither November 1947, to retain the same status as it had
allow any integral part of India to succeed from India. before 15th August, 1947.
To resolve the issues of provinces, a Department of Hyderabad did not remain loyal with the agreement, it
Indian Provinces was established on 5th July 1947, started building military strength and weaponising its
which is headed by the then Home Minister Sardar army.
Vallabhbhai Patel. By military action in September 1948, the Hyderabad
By the time of 15th August, 1947, majority of states was integrated into India.
get merged into India, but only three states-
Junagarh, Hyderabad and Kashmir retained their Integration of European Colonies
autonomy. n After India’s independence, Portuguese and French
Junagarh colonies existed in India. Portuguese included Goa,
Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and French
The population of Junagarh was almost 7 lakhs and colonies included Pondicherry, Karikal, Yanam, Mahe
had a Hindu majority population of 80%, but the and Chandranagar.
ruler was a Muslim Nawab, Mahawat Khan. n In 1954, a treaty was sign between India and France;
On September 1947, the Nawab announced the according to which all the French colonies were
merger of Junagarh into Pakistan, but the majority liberated by France.
of population wanted to live in India. n In 1961, Daman and Diu and Goa were merged into the
Republic of India, after attaining independence from
Due to the resistance of people in Junagarh, the
Portuguese rule.
Nawab flee to Pakistan.
A plebiscite (voting) was held in Junagarh where
majority of people voted for merger with India. Formation of States and Linguistic Problem
On 8th November 1947, the Diwan of Junagarh, In the 1920s, the Indian National Congress had
Sahanavaz Bhutto sent a letter integration to promised that once the country won independence,
Government of India. each major linguistic group would have its own
province.
Kashmir But after independence, both Prime Minister Nehru
The Kashmir problem was different from that of two and Deputy Prime Minister Vallabhbhai Patel were
other princely states. The majority of population was against the creation of linguistic states.
Muslim and the ruler was a Hindu king.
The Kannada, Malayalam, and Marathi speakers, had
Kashmir decided neither to integrate with Pakistan all looked forward for having their own state.
nor with India and remain independent. But Pakistan
However, the strongest protests, came from the
attacked Kashmir with help of tribes of mountain
Telugu-speaking districts of what was the Madras
areas.
Presidency.
To protect the territory of Kashmir, Raja Hari Singh
When Nehru went to campaign there during the
requested Indian military for help and integration
general elections of 1952, he was met with black flags
with India.
and slogans demanding “We want Andhra”.
Indian government accepted the request and on 26th
In October, 1952, a veteran Gandhian named Potti
October, 1947 sent army in Kashmir.
Sriramulu went on a hunger strike demanding the
India approach UN Security Council with regards to formation of Andhra state to protect the interests of
the Pakistan attack in Kashmir. It lead to the Telugu speakers. On 15th December, 1952, 58 days into
ceasefire, but the original status was not established. his fast, Potti Sriramulu died.
In the year 1954, the Constituent Assembly of Jammu Thus, on 1st October, 1953, the new state of Andhra
and Kashmir confirmed integration of Kashmir with came into existence, which subsequently became
India. Andhra Pradesh.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
223

A States Reorganisation Commission was set up, Rural upliftment was done by two Programmes-
which submitted its report in 1956, recommending Community Development (CDP), 1952 and
the redrawing of district and provincial boundaries to Panchayati Raj, 1959.
form compact provinces of Assamese, Bengali, Oriya,
Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu speakers Banking Sector Reforms
respectively. After independence, the government of India made
The Hindi-speaking region of North India was many banking sector reforms.
broken up into several states. On 1st April, 1949, the Reserve Bank of India was
In 1960, the bilingual state of Bombay was divided nationalised.
into separate states for Marathi and Gujarati On 1st July 1955, the Imperial bank was nationalised
speakers. and made the State Bank of India.
In 1966, the state of Punjab was also divided into The government of India made banking one of the
Punjab and Haryana on linguistic basis. The Punjab branches of social sector reforms and expanded into
was for the Punjabi languages speakers who were services into social sector.
also mostly Sikhs. The Haryana was for the rest who
spoke not Punjabi but versions of Haryanvi or Hindi. Foreign Policy
India gained freedom soon after the Second World
Tribal Integration and National War. The United Nations formed in 1945 was in its
Consolidation infancy. The 1950s and 1960s saw the emergence of the
Tribals in India are a heterogeneous community and Cold War- conflicts between the USA and the USSR,
they were gradually integrated in India. with both countries creating military alliances.
Manipur was a monarchy at the time of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who was also the
independence, it was merged into India in September Foreign Minister of newly independent India, developed
1949. free India’s foreign policy in this context. Non-alignment
In 1969, Meghalaya was made another state within formed the bedrock of this foreign policy.
Assam, and later a full state in 1972. It was led by statesmen from Egypt, Yugoslavia,
Nagaland came into being with India in 1963 after a Indonesia, Ghana and India. The Non-aligned
violent rebellion with Dr Imkongliba accepting the Movement urged countries not to join either of the two
Indian offer of a separate state. major alliances.
Mizoram became a full state in 1987 with Laldenga But this policy of staying away from alliances was not a
as its first Chief Minister after years of insurgency. matter of remaining ‘isolated’ or ‘neutral’.
In the case of Jharkhand, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Non-aligned countries such as India played an active
role in mediating between the American and Soviet
and Shibu Soren led the demand and got statehood
alliances. They tried to prevent war — often taking a
in the year 2000.
humanitarian and moral stand against war.
Development and Planning The Panchsheel Agreement was signed between India
In 1950, the government set up a Planning and China in 1954 over the issue of Tibet.
Commission to help design and execute suitable
policies for economic development.
Panchsheel Agreement
The Panchsheel or five principles of peaceful
A ‘mixed economy’ model was adopted in which both
coexistence was first formally signed on 29th April,
the State and the private sector play roles in
1954 between India and China. The agreement was
increasing production and generating jobs.
signed between the then Prime Minister of India
In 1956, the Second Five Year Plan focused strongly Jawaharlal Nehru and China’s first Prime Minister
on the development of heavy industries such as steel, Chou En-Lai.
and on the building of large dams.
The main points of Panchsheel agreement were :
Focus was also put on Science and Higher Education.
— Peaceful co-existence
Indian Council of Scientific Research (ICSR) and
— Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity
Indian Institutes of Technology were established.
and sovereignty.
The Atomic Energy Commission under Homi
— Mutual non-interference
Jehangir Bhabha for development of nuclear energy
— Mutual non-aggression
was set up in 1948.
— Equality and Mutual benefits
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
224

Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) PL 480 Agreement

The First Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru In the year 1959, the President of America Dwight D.
with Nkrumah from Ghana, Nasser from Egypt, Eisenhower visited to India. After he visited in the
Sukarno from Indonesia and Tito from Yugoslavia year 1960, he made a four year PL 480 agreement
(now Serbia) had a meeting of non-aligned nations in between both countries.
New York (USA) in October, 1960. These five According to which, the USA will fill the food demand
comprised the core leadership of the Non-Aligned in India by exporting food grains.
Movement (NAM).
In the year, 1964, USA helped India to overcome
Free India’s foreign policy reflected all these concerns heavy food shortage in India by exporting huge
in the period immediately after independence. Apart amount of food grain to India.
from these factors at the global level, India had its own
This agreement also impacted India negatively as
share of concerns. India became dependent on USA for food security.
As a nation born in the backdrop of the World Wars, During the year 1965, USA stopped supply of food
India decided to conduct its foreign relations with an grains to India as an effect of India-Pakistan war.
aim to respect the sovereignty of all other nations and
to achieve security through the maintenance of peace. This event made the government realise to became
self-sufficient in food production.
This aim is derived from the Directive Principles of
State Policy. An Evaluation of the Ideals of
Just as both internal and external factors guide the Our Country
behaviour of an individual or a family, both domestic
India is united and it is still democratic.
and international environment influence the foreign
policy of a nation. Many foreign observers like Churchill had felt that
India could not survive as a single country, that it
Since independence, Cold War was just beginning and
would break up into many parts, with each region or
the world was getting divided into these two camps.
linguistic group seeking to form a nation of its own.
The foreign policy of a nation reflects the interplay of
domestic and external factors. Therefore, the noble Others believed that it would come under military
ideals that inspired India’s struggle for freedom rule. However, since independence, is united despite
influenced the making of its foreign policy. of several internal conflicts and factions.
There is a free press, as well as an independent
Bandung Conference judiciary.
n The Afro-Asian Conference held in the Indonesian city Finally, the fact that people speak different languages
of Bandung in 1955 is commonly known as the or practice different faiths has not come in the way of
Bandung Conference. It marked the zenith of India’s national unity.
engagement with the newly independent Asian and Though deep divisions persist despite constitutional
African nations. The Bandung Conference later led to
guarantees. The Constitution recognises equality
the establishment of the NAM.
before the law, but in real life some Indians are more
n The First Summit of the NAM was held in Belgrade in
equal than others.
September 1961. Nehru was a co-founder of the NAM.
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
Art and Culture 225
CHAPTER 34

Indian Paintings

Sources Class-VI NCERT Chap 2 (On The Trail of the Earliest People), Class-XI NCERT (All Chapters) (An Introduction to Indian
Art – Part-1), Class-XII NCERT (All Chapters) (An Introduction to Indian Art – Part-II) Class-XII NCERT Class-XI Chap 9
(Living Craft Traditions of India)

Origin of Indian Paintings During 19th and 20th century, Indo-European style of
paintings, referred as the Company style started by
Painting as an art form has flourished in India from European and Indian artists. Apart from that, many
pre-historic times (around 5000 BC), in the regional folk paintings were also predominantly
rock-shelters and caves as a form of Rock Arts. existed in many parts of India.
Bhimbetka and Lakhudiyar rock paintings have the
earliest pre-historic paintings in India. Development of Indian Paintings
The first discovery of rock paintings was made in
The development of Indian paintings can be divided into
India in 1867–68 AD by English archaeologist,
following two phases :
Archibald Carlyle and John Carkburn at rock
shelters in Sohagighat (Mirzapur district, Uttar 1. Prehistoric Rock Paintings
Pradesh). 2. Painting of Historical Age
Percy Brown (1917) is credited for combining pre-
historic paintings with the origins of Indian paintings Pre-historic Rock Paintings
in the 1st edition of his book ‘Indian Painting’. The pre-historic period is commonly known as the
The paintings of Indian subcontinent can be divided Old Stone Age or the Palaeolithic Age in the early
into two categories- mural and miniature paintings. development of human civilisations. Pre-historic
The mural paintings can be defined as any piece of paintings in rock shelters and walls of caves show
artwork that painted or applied directly on a wall or early life and activities of human society.
ceiling. Pre-historic paintings have been found in many parts
On the other hand, miniatures are small sized of India. Remnants of rock paintings have been found
colourful paintings with complex and gentle brush on the walls of the caves situated in several districts of
work on materials like palm leaves, paper, wood, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh,
marble and cloth. Karnataka and Bihar.
The cave paintings of post-Mauryan and Gupta period Subjects/ Material/Characteristics
at Jogimara, Ajanta and Ellora, represent the mural
art forms in India. Hunting scenes are the main theme of pre-historic
paintings in India.
In the medieval period, miniature paintings emerged
as a new art form, in which book illustrations or The hunting scenes depicted people hunting in
albums of paintings were dominant feature. groups, armed with barbed spears, pointed sticks,
arrows and bows.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
226

The hunters are shown wearing simple clothes and Humans are represented in stick-like forms.
ornaments. Sometimes, men have been decorated with A long-nose animal, a fox and a multiple legged lizard
elaborate head-dresses and masks as well. are the main animal motifs. One of the interesting
Elephant, bison, tiger, boar, deer, antelope, leopard, scenes depicted here is of hand-linked dancing
panther, rhinoceros, fish, frog, lizard, squirrel and human figures.
some times birds are also depicted in these paintings.
Though these animals were painted in a naturalistic Painted Earthenware of Indus Valley Civilisation
style, humans were depicted only in a stylistic manner. n Found in different sites of Indus Valley Civilisation,
There are paintings of people gathering fruit or honey the painting decorations consist of chequers, leaf
from trees and of women grinding and preparing food. patterns, lattice work and peepal trees etc.
n Birds, fishes and different animals are also
In many of the rock-shelters hand prints, fist prints and
shown.Simplistic in form, these Earthen-wares has
dots made by the fingertips are found. Community maximum polishing touch.
dances also provide a common theme.

Bhimbetka Cave Paintings

The caves of Bhimbetka were discovered in 1957–58 by
Paintings of Historic Age
eminent archaeologist VS Wakankar. The themes of Paintings of Historic age can be divided in the following
paintings found here are of great variety, ranging from four categories :
events of daily life in those times to sacred and royal 1. Paintings of Classical Age
images. (3rd century BC to 9th century AD)
These events included hunting, dancing, music, horse 2. Early medieval Paintings (9th-13th century AD)
and elephant riders, animal fighting, honey collection,
decoration of bodies and other household scenes. 3. Medieval Paintings (13th-18th century AD)
The paintings of the caves of Bhimbetka are 4. Paintings of Colonial Age (18 century to 1947)
representations in green and dark red colours of huge
animal figures, such as bisons, elephants, tigers, rhinos 1. Paintings of Classical Age
and boars besides stick-like human figures. Most of the The Classical age of painting is referred to as the
paintings are filled with geometric patterns. Buddhist cave paintings related to Post-Mauryan
period (Around 200 BC) till Post-Gupta period (fifth
century AD).
The unique emerged features of such cave paintings
were ample use of fresco and tempera style of
paintings with vibrant use of colours on the walls and
on the ceilings as well.

Jogimara Cave Art

Jogimara caves are located in the Surguja district in
the State of Chhattisgarh. These caves are dated back
to around 300 BC and are among the oldest surviving
cave paintings in India.
The doorway of Jogimara cave is ornamented with
seven paintings, primarily picturing a couple in love,
singers, dancers, fish and elephant figures. Each
Bhimbetka Cave Paintings
painting is painted on the white base plaster with a
Lakhudiyar Cave Paintings red outline.
Located in the Almora district of Uttarakhand, the Ajanta Cave Paintings
Lakhudiyar (literally means one lakh caves) cave is
The most famous cave site is Ajanta, which is located
another important rock shelters having pre-historic
in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. It has 29
paintings.
caves, which were built in three phases.
The paintings here can be divided into three
The first group starting around the second century
categories: man, animal and geometric patterns in
BC, while the second and third group of caves built
white, black and red ochre.
around 400–650 AD.
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
227

On 28th April, 1819, John Smith, the Madras Ellora Caves

Presidency officer of East India Company, Another important cave site is located in Aurangabad
accidentally discovered the Ajanta caves. district of Maharashtra is Ellora. It is located at about
Paintings of Ajanta caves have a lot of typological and 100 kilometres from Ajanta and has thirty-four Buddhist
stylistic variations, as different guilds of artisans (Caves 1-12), Brahmanical (Caves 13-29) and Jain caves
have worked on painting of these caves. Many caves (Caves 30-34). It is also unique in terms of stylistic
of Ajanta have double-storeyed layers. eclecticism, i.e., confluence of many styles at one place.
The caves of the early phase includes Cave No. 9 and
10 of Ajanta. They belong to the first century BC.The
figures are broad with heavy proportion and arranged
in the picture space in a linear way. Lines are sharp,
colours are limited and there is no over-stylisation.
The second phase of paintings is of the images of the
Buddhas painted on the walls and pillars of same
Cave No. 10 and 9. These Buddha figures are different
from the figures painted in the fifth century AD.
The third phase of development observed in Ajanta
paintings are mainly in the paintings of Cave No. 16,
17, 1 and 2. Various skin colours have been used in
the paintings, which represents a multi-coloured
population during that time.
The themes of the Ajanta paintings are the events Ellora Caves
from the life of the Buddha, the Jatakas and the Buddhist caves are big in size and are of single, double
Avadanas. Some paintings such as Simhala and triple storeys (Cave No. 12). All the caves were
Avadana, Mahajanaka Jataka and Vidhurpundita plastered and painted but few are left uncounted. The
Jataka cover the entire wall of the cave. caves of Ellora have images of Tara, Avalokiteshvara,
The Chaddanta Jataka has been painted in the Manushi Buddhas, etc.
entire Cave No 10. The other important paintings are The most numerous and best preserved Jain paintings
the famous Padmapani and Vajrapani in cave No. 1. at Ellora are found in one of the smaller Cave No. 19,
The Third Khanda (Chapter) of the which is part of the largest Jain cave complex, the
Vishnudharmottara Purana, a fifth century text has a Indra Sabha. The paintings are found in the ceiling in
chapter Chitrasutra, which is considered as a source the main hall and on the walls along with the ceiling of
book of Indian art in general and specifically in the inner sanctum.
painting. It talks about the art of an image making Bagh Caves
called pratima lakshana, which are the canons of
The Bagh caves situated at the Vindhyas in Bagh town
painting.
of Dhar district, in Madhya Pradesh are a group of nine
rock-cut monuments, which were built in the
fifth-sixth century AD.
These paintings are materialistic rather than
spiritualistic. Characteristics of Bagh cave paintings are
similar to those of Ajanta caves.
The paintings on the wall and ceilings in Cave No. 3
and Cave No. 4 of the Bagh caves, were executed
through tempera method (use of permanent fast-drying
painting medium). Cave No. 2 is the best preserved
cave of Bagh, known as ‘Pandava Cave’.
Badami Cave Paintings
Badami caves are located in the state of Karnataka. The
Chalukya king, Mangalesha patronised the excavation
of the Badami caves as it was the capital of the early
Chalukyan dynasty, which ruled the region from 543 to
Ajanta Cave Paintings 598 AD.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
228

The paintings of Badami represents an extension of Pala School of Art

the tradition of mural painting from Ajanta to Badami
The Palas rulers of Bengal and Bihar patronised Pala
in South India.
School of Art form during 9th till 12th century AD,
However, only fragments of painting have survived on which is considered as an earliest example of
the vaulted roof of the front Mandapa. Paintings in miniature painting in manuscripts. Almost all
this cave depict the palace scenes. The Cave No.4 is illuminations were inspired by Vajrayana Buddhism.
popularly known as the Vishnu cave.
The Pala School used natural colours for painting
The curving drawn lines, fluid forms and compact human skin. They developed pictures on paper
composition exemplify the proficiency and maturity, manuscripts, wooden covers and palm leaf. Flat
the artists had achieved in the sixth century AD. The heads, curving finishing lines, attention on mostly
gracefully drawn faces of the king and the queen lone human figure, paintings with no name are the
resembles the Ajanta paintings. Their eye-sockets are features of this school of painting.
large, eyes are half-closed, and lips are very unique.
A fine example of a Pala Buddhist palm leaf
Sittanavasal Art Form manuscript is Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita or the
The Sittanavasal cave is a rock-cut temple also known Perfection of Wisdom, written in 8000 lines.
as Arivar Koil. It is part of second century complex of During the Muslim attacks, the Buddhist monasteries
Jain temples located in the Sittanavasal village of were destroyed, which led to the abrupt end of the
Pudukkotai district of Tamil Nadu. Pala School of miniature painting. Although some
The temple is famous for its magnificent mural of the artists and monks escaped to Nepal and assisted
paintings dating back to Pallava era of sixth century in strengthening the prevailing art tradition there.
AD, which lasted till ninth century AD of early Apabhramsa School of Art/Western School
Pandyan reign.
of Paintings
The painting technique used here is Fresco and the
Painting activity that developed largely in Western
murals are painted on surfaces that first have been
covered with lime plaster. The ceilings have depiction parts of India is known as the Apabhramsa or
of natural looking images of men, animals, flowers, Western School of Painting. Gujarat is the most
birds and fishes representing the Samavasarana faith prominent centre of this school Southern parts of
of Jainism. Rajasthan and Western parts of Central India are the
other centres.
2. Early Medieval Period Paintings The word ‘apabhramsa’ means corrupt or mixed. So, it
can be observed a much stylistic difference between
The period of later Pallavas and Cholas in South India
the early and later phases through Apabhramsa
is considered as the beginning of art forms in the early
School of Art.
medieval India. Apart from that Pala School of Bengal,
Gujarat School and other regional art forms also Jain School of Painting
developed during the early medieval period.
Jain painting received impetus because the concept of
Chola Art Forms shaastradaan (donation of books) gained favour in the
community, where the act of donating illustrated
Paintings of Chola period are found in the paintings to the monastery’s libraries, called bhandars
Natyakuran of the Brihadeeswara temple of (repositories) was glorified as a gesture of charity,
Thanjavur. These paintings are the examples of righteousness and gratitude.
Murals or the tempera technique. It shows
Early Jain paintings were traditionally done on palm
continuation of the style and methods of the Ajanta
leaves before paper was introduced in the 14th
style.
century and the earliest surviving palm leaf
The paintings show narrations and aspects related to manuscript from the Western part of India dates back
Lord Shiva, Shiva in Kailash, Shiva as Tripurantaka, to the 11th century.
Shiva as Nataraja, a portrait of the patron Rajaraja and Among the most widely illustrated canonical text in
his mentor Kuruvar, dancing figures, etc. the Jain tradition is Kalpasutra. It has a section,
Chola paintings have brilliantly executed the colour reciting events from the lives of the 24 Tirthankaras.
treatment and different sizes of the images that are Jain paintings developed a schematic and simplified
painted and also remark about the judgements of the language for painting. Thin and wavy lines
artists. The walls that bear the paintings are usually predominate the composition and
8 ft high and 40 ft wide. The paintings have adopted three-dimensionality of the face is attempted with an
the complex method of the Fresco style. addition of a further eye.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
229

Pre-Mughal/Pre-Rajasthani Murals of Kerala

A large group of works, portraying Hindu n Kerala painters (during the period from the 16th to the 18th
and Jain subjects, such as the Mahapurana, century) evolved a pictorial language and technique of their own
Chaurpanchashika, Aranyaka Parvan of while discriminately adopting certain stylistic elements from
the Mahabharata, Bhagvata Purana, Gita Nayaka and Vijayanagara schools.
Govinda, etc are representative of this n The painters evolved a language taking clues from contemporary
indigenous style of painting in early traditions, like Kathakali and Kalam ezhuthu (ritual floor painting
medieval period in India. This phase and of Kerala), using vibrant and luminous colours, representing
style is also referred to as pre-Mughal or human figures in three-dimensionality.
pre-Rajasthani, which is largely
n More than sixty sites have been found with mural paintings in
three palaces—Dutch palace in Kochi, Krishnapuram palace in
synonymous with the term ‘indigenous
Kayamkulam and Padmanabhapuram palace.
style’.
A particular figure type evolved with an
interest in depicting transparency of
fabrics known as—odhnis i.e., ‘ballooned’
over the head of heroines and draped with
stiff and standing edges. Different kind of
hatchings evolved for depiction of water
bodies and particular ways of representing
the horizon, flora and fauna, etc., got
formalised.

3. Paintings in Medieval Period

During the early part of 13th century,
Vijayanagara and Deccan Sultanate were the
patrons and under them developed various Murals of Kerala
forms of paintings, among which
Vijayanagara kingdoms were significant.
Apart from that, Kerala murals were also
The Deccani Schools of Painting
developed in the same period. The Deccani style of Painting was placed under the
Indo-Persian art for long. It was considered to be Middle
The Vijayanagara Paintings Eastern, Safavid, Persian, Turkish and even Mughal in origin.
With the decline of power of the Chola The kingdoms of Bijapur, Golconda and Ahmednagar developed
Dynasty in the 13th century, the highly sophisticated and distinct school of court painting.
Vijayanagara Dynasty brought under its
control the region from Hampi to Trichy Ahmednagar School of Painting
and many paintings were made in different The earliest examples of Deccani painting are in a volume of
temples. poems, celebrating the reign of Hussain Nizam Shah I of
The paintings at Tiruparakunram, near Ahmednagar (1553–1565). One of the detailed paintings, has
Trichy, done in the 14th century represents depiction of the queen and her marriage with gorgeous colours.
the early phase of the Vijayanagara style. In The woman represented in it belongs to the Northern tradition of
Hampi, the Virupaksha temple has pre-Mughal painting.
paintings on the ceiling of its mandapa The women in the paintings of Ahmednagar wear a modified
narrating events from dynastic history and Northern costume with choli (bodice) and long braided pigtails,
episodes from the Ramayana and the ending in a tassel. Only a long scarf, passing round the body below
Mahabharata. the hips, is a Southern fashion, which is seen in the Lepakshi
In Lepakshi, present in Andhra Pradesh, painting.
there are glorious examples of Vijayanagara Bijapur School of Painting
paintings on the walls of the Shiva temple.
The faces are shown in profile and figures Paintings from Bijapur in the 16th century have a richly
and objects two-dimensionally. Lines illustrated encyclopedia known as the Nujum al-Ulum dated
become still but fluid, compositions appear 1570 AD. The school of Bijapur was patronised by Ali Adil Shah
in rectilinear compartments. I (1558–1580 AD) and his successor Ibrahim II (1580–1627 AD),
both patrons of art and literature.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
230

The theme of one of the Bijapuri painting is Akbar

Yogini—one who believes in yoga, leads a disciplined The tradition and fascination for painting started by
life of physical and emotional training, pursues Humayun was carried forward by his illustrious son
spiritual and intellectual explorations and is famous Akbar (1556–1605 AD). The Emperor took great
for renunciation of worldly attachments. interest in both pictorial narrative, as well as, recitation
Golconda School of Painting of Hamza Nama.
Golconda became an independent state in 1512 AD. The base surface is cloth with paper at the back, on
By the end of the 16th century, it was the wealthiest which the narrative text is written to help the narrator
of the Deccan kingdoms. Golconda’s art became known as gouache technique, which is water based and
popular as Dutch merchants carried the portraits of in opaque colours.
sultans in the late 17th century to Europe. The Persian translation and illustrated version of the
The earliest five miniatures, identified as Golconda Hindu epic Mahabharata done this period came to be
work, were bound up in Diwan of Hafiz, dated 1463 known as Razm Nama by Daswant in 1589 AD. This
AD. These paintings represent court scenes of a manuscript was scribed in ornate calligraphy and
young ruler, who is depicted seated enthroned, contained 169 paintings. Artists like Govardhan and
holding a typically long and straight Deccani sword, Miskin were popular for their visuals of court scenes.
in the centre of one of the painting folios. Madonna and Child (1580) by Basawan, was painting
is an important early work of the Mughal School of
Mughal School of Miniature Painting Painting during Akbar’s reign. Madonna, here, is an
Mughal painting is the style of miniature painting extraordinary theme, which brings the Byzantine art,
that developed in the Northern Indian subcontinent the European classical and its Renaissance to the
in the 16th century. It continued till the mid–19th Mughal atelier.
century in various art forms and contributed towards
enhancing the status of art, viz., calligraphy, painting,
Jahangir
bookmaking, book illustration projects, etc. The The Mughal miniature style and set standards were
development of mughal school of Miniature painting further taken to new heights by Jahangir (1605–1627).
under different rulers is stated below : Jahangir employed Aqa Riza, a well-known Iranian
painter and his son Abul Hasan to achieve
Babur unparalleled sophistication in painting.
In 1526, Babur, the first Mughal Emperor had a Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, the memoirs of Jahangir, tells about
dynamic taste for a variety of arts. Babur’s detailed his great interest in arts.
accounts in Baburnama, his autobiography, are Jahangir was presented with paintings and decorative
narratives of the emperor’s political carrier and objects, depicting high arts from Europe.Therefore,
artistic passion. European art sensibilities started overtaking into the
The books and albums that were produced in the prevalent Indo-Iranian style, thereby, making the
royal ateliers were not only calligraphic but also Jahangir school of art more impressive and vibrant.
painted. Bihzad was the prominent artist who find Jahangir in Darbar from Jahangirnama, attributed to
mention in Babur’s memoirs. Abul Hasan and Manohar (1620 AD) is an excellent
He was a master artist from the Persian school of painting. Jahangir is at the highest level in the centre,
painting, Herat (now in present day Afghanistan) and where the stunning white pillars surrounded by
was known for his sophisticated compositions and sparkling clear colours and brilliantly framed overhead
colour tints. Another artist, Shah Muzaffar (painter), canopy.
excelled in the representation of hairstyle. In the painting, Jahangir enthroned on an Hourglass
(1625 AD), symbolism is creatively applied by the court
Humayun
painter, Bichitra. Portrait that resemble the Ottoman
Babur was succeeded by his son Humayun in 1530 Sultan, King James I of England also stands on the
AD and during his exile in Shah Tahmasp’s court in right hand with gifts for the mighty emperor.
Iran, Humayun witnessed the magnificent artistic
tradition of miniature paintings and manuscripts. Shah Jahan
Humayun brought back with him the master artists The son of Jahangir, Shah Jahan encouraged the artists
when he regained power in India. He invited two in the atelier to create magnificent works that were a
Persian artists—Mir Sayyid Ali and Abd us Samad to blend of imagination and documentation. Idealisation
establish a studio in his court and carry out royal and great stylisation were preferred over naturalistic
paintings. rendering and accurate depiction.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
231

One of the exceptional painting of Shah Jahan was the Its two-dimensional simplistic language appears as a
titled Dara Shikoh with Sages in a Garden was created consummation of stylistic progression from the Jain
by Bichitra in 1635 AD. manuscripts to the Chaurpanchashika manuscript
The artworks produced under his supervision paintings.
concentrated on superficial qualities and extreme A large number of Malwa paintings discovered from
beautification, which was created by the use of the Datia Palace of Bundelkhand defy an obvious
jewel-like colours and intricate fine lines. Mughal influence, which is contrary to the works on
Padshahnama (The Chronicles of the King) is one of the paper that are stylistically inclined towards
most extensive painting projects undertaken by his indigenous two-dimensional simplicity.
court ateliers. Mewar School of Painting
Later Mughal Painting Mewar is a significant early centre of painting in
Rajasthan, from where, hypothetically, one would
After Shah Jahan, Mughal Art form declined drastically
have been able to formalise a continuous stylistic
under Aurangzeb. Although some masterworks were
tradition of painting.
produced during the periods of Muhammad Shah
Rangila, Shah Alam II and Bahadur Shah Zafar, but The reign of Jagat Singh I (1628–1652) is recognised
these were mere in declined state of the Mughal as the period when pictorial aesthetics got
miniature style. reformulated under great artists Sahibdin and
Manohar.
Rajasthani Rajput Schools of Painting
Sahibdin painted the famous Yuddha Kanda of
The Rajasthani Schools of Painting’ prevailed in the Ramayana (1652 AD). Manohar’s most significant
princely kingdoms. They constitute Rajasthan and parts work is that of Bal Kanda of Ramayana (1649).
of Madhya Pradesh in the present time, such as Mewar, Mewar artists, generally prefer a bright colour
Bundi, Kota, Jaipur, Bikaner, Kishangarh, Jodhpur palette with prominent reds and yellows.
(Marwar), Malwa, Sirohi etc.
The pictorial styles that emerged and evolved in these Bundi School of Painting
kingdoms were significantly diverse in terms of A prolific and distinct school of painting flourished
compositional elements, modes of narration, or on in Bundi in the 17th century, which is remarkable
extreme mannerism. for its unblemished colour sense and excellent
Scholar Anand Coomaraswamy in 1916 coined the formal design. The Bundi School began under the
term ‘Rajput Paintings’ to refer to these as most rulers reign of Bhoj Singh (1585–1607 AD).
and patrons of these kingdoms were Rajputs. The Bundi School blossomed under the patronage of
Rao Chattar Sal (1631–1659 AD), who was made the
Governor of Delhi by Shah Jahan and his son Rao
Bhao Singh (1659–1682 AD). Baramasa is a popular
theme of Bundi paintings, an atmospheric
description of the 12 months by Keshav Das.
Kota School of Painting
In the early period, the paintings of Bundi and Kota
cannot be distinguished for several decades as Kota
painters borrowed from the Bundi collections.
During the course of time, artists had passionately
enlarged their inventory to a large variety of subjects
in their compositions.
Bundi and Kota were parts of the same kingdom till
Rajasthani Rajput Schools of Painting 1625 AD when Jahangir divided the Bundi Empire
into two.
Malwa School of Painting Kota paintings are characteristically spontaneous and
calligraphic in execution. They emphasise on marked
The Malwa School flourished between 1600, and 1700 shading, especially, the double–lid eye. Artists of the
AD and is most representative of the Hindu Rajput Kota School excelled in providing animals and
courts. combat.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
232

Bikaner School of Painting Pahari Schools of Painting

As a result of long association with the Mughals, Pahari Schools of Painting includes towns, such as
Bikaner developed a distinctive language of painting Basohli, Guler, Kangra, Kullu, Chamba and others in
that was influenced by the Mughal elegance and the hills of Himalayas, which emerged as centres of
subdued colour palette. In the reign of Anup Singh, painting from 17th to 19th century.
Ruknuddin was the master artist, whose style was The emergence of the Pahari School mainly initiated
an amalgamation of the Deccani and Mughal by the artists who migrated from the Mughal atelier to
conventions. the hills.
The custom of having portraits of artists is unique to Basohli School of Painting
the Bikaner School and most of them are inscribed
From 1678 to 1695 AD, under Kirpal Pal, an
with information regarding their ancestry. In some
enlightened prince, Basohli developed a distinctive
cases, even the place of production and occasions for
and magnificent style.
which the works were commissioned.
It is characterised by a strong use of primary colours
Kishangarh School of Painting and warm yellows—filling the background and
The most stylised of all Rajasthani miniatures, horizon, stylised treatment of vegetation etc.
Kishangarh paintings are distinguished by their
Guler School of Painting
eyebrows, lotus petal shaped eyes, having drooping
eyelids, a sharp slender nose and thin lips. The first quarter of the 18th century saw a complete
transformation in the Basohli style, initiating the
A distinctive style of delicate human form, making Guler–Kangra phase.
lavish use of green and panoramic landscapes had
This phase first appeared in Guler, a high-ranking
evolved.
branch of the Kangra royal family, under the patronage
The most celebrated and outstanding artist was Nihal of Raja Govardhan Chand (1744–1773).
Chand who worked for Sawant Singh at Kishangarh.
His most renowned work is known as Bani Thani, Kangra School of Painting
where Radha is unique in her deeply curved eyes, Painting in the Kangra region blossomed under the
arch of the eyebrows, pointed nose, thin lips and patronage of a remarkable ruler, Raja Sansar Chand
pronounced chin. (1775–1823). The Kangra style is by far the most poetic
and lyrical of Indian styles marked with serene beauty
Jodhpur School of Painting
and delicacy of execution.
With the political presence of Mughals since the 16th
Characteristic features of the Kangra style are delicacy
century, influence of their visual aesthetics made its
of line, brilliance of colour and minuteness of
way in the style of Jodhpur School of Painting.
decorative details. Bhagvata Purana paintings is one
A productive period of painting was under
of the greatest achievements of Kangra artists. It is
Maharaja Jaswant Singh (1638–1678 AD).
best-known for its effortless naturalism and vivid
He was the follower of Vallabha cult of Shrinathji, details of figures that portray dramatic scenes.
and patronised many Krishna related themes with
Bhagvata Purana as the most prominent one. Painting in Colonial Age
The last phase innovative of Jodhpur painting was With the colonial rule, many English officers
during the reign of Man Singh (1803–1843 AD) under commissioned local artists to paint scenes around
whom Dhola-Maru (1804) painting was created. them to get a better idea of the natives.
Jaipur School of Painting The local artists had to rely more on close observation,
a striking feature of the European art, rather than
The Jaipur School of painting originated in its
memory and rule books, as seen in traditional art.
former capital Amer. Sawai Jai Singh (1699–1743
AD), an influential ruler, established a new capital It is the mixture of traditional and European style of
city Jaipur named after him in 1727 and shifted from painting that came to be known as the Company
Amer. School of Painting.
He was drawn to the Vaishnavite sect and Academic Style of Painting
commissioned numerous paintings on the theme of The academic style of oil painting that used a
Radha and Krishna. Artists during his reign, painted European medium to depict Indian subject matter,
sets based on Rasikapriya, Gita Govinda, Baramasa however, flourished in the art schools set up by the
and Ragamala, where the hero’s figure is in striking British.
resemblance with the king.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
233

The most successful examples of this can be seen in the Rabindranath Tagore often make patterns out of
works produced by self-taught artist, Raja Ravi Varma of doodles and developed a unique, calligraphic style
the Travancore Court in Kerala. out of crossed out words.
By imitating copies of European paintings popular in
Indian palaces, he mastered the style of academic realism Gaganendranath Tagore (1869–1938)
and used it to depict scenes from popular epics like the Paintings by Gaganendranath Tagore, brother of
Ramayana and Mahabharata. Many of his paintings Abanindranath Tagore, the influence of modern
were copied as oleographs (printed on cloth to imitate an Western style of paintings can be clearly seen.
oil painting) and even entered people’s homes as He was one of the earlier Indian painters, who
calendar images. made use of language and syntax of Cubism to
render his ideas.
Bengal School
City in the Night is a watercolour painting made
With the rise of nationalism in India by the end of the 19th
by Gaganendranath Tagore in 1922.
century, the Bengal School emerged as an art movement and
a style of painting that originated in Calcutta, the centre of He visualised the mysterious world of his
British power, but later influenced many artists in different imaginary cities like Dwarka (Lord Krishna’s
parts of the country, including Shantiniketan. legendary abode) or Swarnapuri through multiple
viewpoints, multi-faceted shapes and jagged edges
Abanindranath Tagore (1871–1951 AD) of Cubism.
The Bengal School of Painting was spearheaded by
Abanindranath Tagore who enjoyed the support of Jamini Roy (1887–1972)
British administrator and principal of the Calcutta School Jamini Roy was called the Father of the folk
of Art, EB Havell (1861–1934). Renaissance in India, who created an alternative
Both Abanindranath and Havell were critical of colonial vision of modern Indian identity.
Art Schools and firmly believed in creating a new type of In the mid–1920s, he travelled to the countryside of
painting that was Indian not only in subject matter but Bengal to collect folk paintings (pats) and learn
also in style. from folk artisans.
For them, Mughal and Pahari miniatures were more In his painting, a mother and her child created in
important sources of inspiration, rather than either the 1940 are with bold simplifications and thick
Company School of Painting taught in the Colonial Art outlines with sweeping brush strokes.
Schools. Both Abanindranath Tagore and Havell had Figures are coloured in dull yellow and brick-red
established Government Art School, Calcutta (now, background.
Government College of Art and Craft, Kolkata).
The two-dimensional nature of the painting is
Nandalal Bose derived from pat paintings and his search for
Nandalal Bose, a student of Abanindranath Tagore, was a simplicity and pure form is visible.
prolific early modernist painter, who was invited by Roy used the notion of village community as a
Rabindranath Tagore to head the painting department in weapon of resistance to colonial rule and a
the newly established Kala Bhavana (India’s first political act of making local signify national
National Art School) at Shantiniketan. spirit.
Mahatma Gandhi invited him to paint panels that were
put on display at the Congress session at Haripura in Benode Behari Mukherjee
1937. Famously called the Haripura Posters, they Benode Behari Mukherjee was Nandlal Bose’s
depicted ordinary rural folks busy in various activities — most creative students, who gave a lot of thought as
a musician drumming, a farmer tilling, a woman how to understand the world.
churning milk and so on. Rather than making paintings around well-known
epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata, Benode
Modern Indian Art Behari Mukherjee was drawn to the lives of
medieval saints.
By mid and late 19th century, art schools were established
in major cities like Lahore, Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. On the walls of Hindi Bhavana in Shantiniketan,
These art schools influenced Indian artists like he made a mural called Medieval Saints, in which
Gaganendranath and poet–painter Rabindranath Tagore, he charts a history of medieval India through the
who welcomed international trends of Cubism and lives of Tulsi Das, Kabir etc., and focuses on their
Expressionism. humane teachings.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
234

Ramkinkar Baij Living Art Traditions of India

He was an artist given to the celebration of nature. Our country has always been a repository of
Ramkinkar developed his own unique style of art that indigenous knowledge, which has been transferred
could capture not only their immediate environment like from one generation to another.
flora and fauna but also those who lived there. Almost
Artists in each generation have created the best of
all his sculptures and paintings are created as response
works out of available material and technology.
to his environment.
Among the many popular traditions of painting,
His Santhal Family, made as an outdoor sculpture within
Mithila or Madhubani painting of Bihar, Warli
the Kala Bhavana compound. The daily activity of a
painting of Maharashtra, Phad from Rajasthan etc.,
Santhal family setting out for work are presented in the
are famous.
form of a life size piece of art.
Mithila Painting
Amrita Shergill (1913–1941)
Among the most known contemporary painterly art
Amrita Shergill half Hungarian and half Indian, emerges
forms is Mithila art that derives its name from
as a unique female artist, who contributed immensely to
Mithila. Also called Madhubani painting after the
modern Indian art through the 1930s.
nearest district capital, it is a widely recognised folk
Unlike others, she was trained in Paris and had a art tradition.
first-hand experience in European modern art trends
These paintings, characterised by bright colours,
such as Impressionism and post–Impressionism.
are largely painted in three areas of the house—
After deciding to make India her base, she worked to various armed gods and animals or images of
develop art with Indian themes and images. Amrita women at work like carrying waterpots or
Shergill assimilated miniature and mural traditions of winnowing grain, etc., are vividly portrayed in the
Indian art with European modernism. She died young, outer central courtyard.
leaving behind a remarkable collection of work.
Warli Painting
Progressive Artists’ Group The Warli community inhabit the West coast of
The desire for political as well as, artistic freedom soon Northern Maharashtra around the North Sahyadri
spread widely among young artists, who witnessed range with a large concentration in the district of
independence from the British Raj. Thane. Married women play a central role in
In Bombay, a set of artists formed a group, called The creating their most important painting called
Progressives in 1946 with Francis Newton Souza as the Chowk to mark special occasions.
leader of the group, they included MF Husain and SH The central motif related scenes of everyday life,
Raza and others. They wanted to question and challenge portraying acts of hunting, fishing, farming,
the traditional sense of beauty and morality. dancing, mythological stories of animals, where the
Francis Newton Souza (1924-2002) He was one of the tiger is conspicuously visible and busy urban life of
first painters to achieve international recognition from a Mumbai.
newly independent India. He was a leading figure of the Gond Painting
progressive artists group. As a result of his time spent
Paintings of Gonds of Mandla (Madhya Pradesh)
abroad, Souza’s style drew heavily from Expressionism
and its surrounding regions have been transformed
and often referred to as the Indian Picasso.
into a colourful depiction of animals, humans and
MF Husain (1915-2011) Maqbool Fida Husain, known as flora.
MF Husain, was most eminent artist of India. He
The delicate paintings are geometric drawings
attended JJ School of Arts in Bombay. Using freehand
done on the walls of huts, portraying Krishna with
drawing and vibrant colour, he depicted Indian subject
his cows surrounded by gopis with pots on their
matter in the style of contemporary European art
heads.
movements, particularly Cubism.
SH Raza (1922-2016) One of the most distinguished Pata Painting
artists of the Indian subcontinent, Sayed Haider Raza is Done on fabric, palm leaf or paper, scroll painting is
famous for his usage of rich colors in all his portrays. another example of art form practised in different
The paintings of SH Raza revolved mainly around nature parts of the country, especially, Gujarat and
and its various facets. Over the years, his paintings Rajasthan in the West and Odisha and West Bengal
transformed into abstract ones such as the Bindu (dot). in East. It is also known as Pachedi, Phad, etc.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
235

Bengal Patas comprise the practice of painting on Illustrating the valorous tales of these bhomias, the
cloth (pata) and storytelling in regions of West Bengal. phads, are carried by bhopas, the wandering bards.
It is the most receptive oral tradition, constantly Phads, however, are not painted by the bhopas. They
seeking new themes and formulating novel responses have traditionally been painted by a caste called Joshis
to major incidents in the world. who have been painters in the courts of the kings of
The vertically painted pata becomes a prop used by a Rajasthan.
patua (performer) for performance. Patuas, also called
chitrakars, belong to communities largely settled
Kalamkari Painting
around Midnapore, Birbhum and Bankura regions of Kalamkari  is an ancient style of hand painting
West Bengal, parts of Bihar and Jharkhand. done on cotton or silk fabric with a pen, using
natural dyes.
Puri Patas or paintings evidently acquire their claim
to recognition from the temple city of Puri in Odisha. The word ‘Kalamkari’ is derived from a Persian word
It largely comprises the pata (initially, done on palm where ‘kalam’ means pen and ‘kari’ refers to
leaf and cloth but now done on paper as well). craftsmanship.
A range of themes are painted, such as the daily and This art involves 23 steps of dyeing, bleaching, hand
festival veshas (attires) of Jagannath, Balabhadra and painting, block printing, starching, cleaning and more.
Subhadra. Kalamkari art and printing is concentrated primarily
in Kalahasti and Machilipatnam districts of Andhra
Phads of Rajasthan Pradesh.
Phads are long, horizontal, cloth scrolls painted to In the Machilipatnam, motifs are essentially printed
honour folk deities of pastoral communities inhabiting with hand-carved traditional blocks with complex
the region around Bhilwara in Rajasthan. Designated detailing painted by hands. On the other hand,
by the broad term bhomia, these heroes are honoured, Srikalahasti style of painting draws inspiration from
worshiped and remembered for their acts of the Hindu mythology.
martyrdom.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
236 35

Sculpture Art of India

Sources Class XI New NCERT Chap 3 (Fine Arts , Arts of the Mauryan Period), Chap 4 (Post-Mauryan Trends in Indian Art
and Architecture), Chap 7 (Indian Bronze Sculpture)

Beginning of sculpture art in India is primarily The Dancing Girl

attributed to Indus Valley Civilisation where
The world’s first bronze sculpture of a dancing girl has been
first evidence of sculpture art, found in
found in Mohenjodaro. This exquisite casting depicts a girl
different variations and in mass scale.
whose long hair is tied in a bun.
The artists of Harappan Civilisation had fine
Approximately four-inch-high copper figure has bangles on
artistic sensibilities and a vivid imagination.
her left arm, a bracelet and an amulet or bangle adorn her
In the Mauryan period and later phases,
right arm, and a cowry shell necklace is seen around her
sketches of human and animal figures were
neck. Her right hand is on her hip and her left hand is
made in a highly realistic nature with extremely
clasped in a traditional Indian dance gesture. This figure is
careful manner.
full of expression and bodily vigour and conveys a lot of
From medieval period, some notable sculpture information.
art forms from Vijayanagra empire can be found.
The Male Torso
Art Forms of Harappan The male torso of Harappa is a fine example of the earliest
Harappan work. It is made of red limestone. Its legs, arms,
Civilisation and head are broken; its belly is also heavy.
The arts of the Indus Valley Civilisation emerged There are three socket holes made on this torso where the
during the second half of the third millennium head and arm can be attached. It indicates that the people of
BC. The forms of art found from various sites of the Indus Valley Civilisation knew to make such sculptures
the civilisation include sculptures, seals, pottery, that can bend their neck and arms.
jewellery, terracotta figures, etc.
The Harappan people had constructed mainly Mother Goddess
three types of buildings-dwelling houses, The mother Goddess figures are usually crude standing
pillared halls and public baths. The most female figures adorned with necklaces hanging over and
important features of Harappan art forms were wearing a loin cloth and a girdle.
as follows : The fan-shaped head-dress with a cup-like projection on
each side is a distinct decorative feature of the mother
Stone Statue of the Priest King Goddess figures of the Indus Valley.
The statue is made of steatite and it was found in
Mohenjodaro. Terracotta
He is wearing an armlet in right arm, short The Indus Valley people made terracotta images also. They
beard, half closed elongated eyes (meditative are more realistic and the most important among the
posture). He is recognised as the ‘priest king’. Indus figures are those representing the mother Goddess.
The figure is draped in a shawl coming under A terracotta figure of a male in a yogic posture has also been
the right arm and covering the left shoulder. excavated.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
237

In terracotta, we also find a few figurines of bearded The tradition of constructing pillars was prevalent in
males with coiled hair, their posture rigidly upright, the Achamenian Empire of Persia as well. But the
legs slightly apart, and the arms parallel to the sides of Mauryan pillars are different from the Achamenian
the body. pillars. They carved single rock-cut pillars thus
The repetition of this figure in exactly the same displaying the carver’s skills. The Achamenian
position would suggest that he was a deity. A terracotta pillars are constructed in pieces by a mason.
mask of a horned deity has also been found. Toy carts All the capital figures are vigorous and carved
with wheels, whistles, rattles, birds and animals, standing on a square or circular abacus. Abacuses are
gamesmen and discs were also rendered in terracotta. decorated with stylised lotuses. Some of the existing
pillars with capital figures were found at
Seals Basarah-Bakhira, Lauriya-Nandangarh and
Archaeologists have discovered thousands of seals, Rampurva in Bihar, Sankisa and Sarnath in Uttar
mostly made of steatite. The purpose of producing seals Pradesh.
was mainly commercial. The standard Harappan seal The Mauryan pillar capital found at Sarnath
was a square plaque 2×2 square inches, made from popularly known as the Lion Capital is the finest
steatite. Every seal is engraved in a pictographic script example of Mauryan sculptural tradition. It is also
which is yet to be deciphered. our national emblem. This pillar capital symbolising
The most remarkable seal is identified as the Dhammachakrapravartana (the first sermon by the
Pashupati Seal. This seal depicts a human figure Buddha).
seated cross-legged. An elephant and a tiger are
depicted to the right side of the seated figure, while on
the left a rhinoceros and a buffalo are seen. In addition
to these animals two antelopes are shown below the
seat.

Pottery
A large quantity of pottery excavated from the sites,
enable us to understand the gradual evolution of
various design motifs as employed in different shapes,
and styles. Plain pottery is more common than painted
ware. Plain pottery is generally of red clay, with or
without a fine red or grey slip. It includes knobbed
ware, ornamented with rows of knobs.
The black painted ware has a fine coating of red slip Lion Capital at Sarnath
on which geometric and animal designs are executed
in glossy black paint. Yakshas and Yakhinis
Polychrome pottery is rare and mainly comprises Large statues of Yakshas and Yakhinis are found at
small vases decorated with geometric patterns in red, many places like Patna, Vidisha and Mathura. These
black, and green, rarely white and yellow. monumental images are mostly in the standing
position. One of the distinguishing elements in all
Mauryan Sculpture these images is their polished surface.
Sculptures of the Mauryan Empire mainly involve Didarganj Yakshi
Ashoka’s edicts carved on pillars and sandstone rocks,
One of the finest examples is a Yakshini figure
which represent the earliest stone sculpture of India.
from Didarganj, Patna, which is tall and well-built.
Mauryan Pillars It shows sensitivity towards depicting the human
physique. The image has a polished surface.
Stone pillars were erected by Ashoka, which have
found in the entire Mauryan Empire with inscriptions Almost 2000 years old, it stands five feet four inches
engraved on them. The top portion of the pillar was and is carved out of a single stone. The chauri is held
carved with capital figures like the bull, the lion, the in the right hand whereas the left hand is broken.
elephant, etc. The image shows sophistication in the treatment of
form and medium.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
238

Gandhara Art lost its pre-eminence and newer schools

Mathura, Sarnath and of sculpture evolved, the finest example being the
Gandhara Schools of Art beautiful Buddhist statue of Sarnath. A few other such
The first century AD onwards, Gandhara (now in wonderful specimens are the Manjushree
Pakistan) and Mathura in Northern India emerged as Avalokiteshwar statue at Sarnath, the Bodhisattava at
important centres of art production. Sanchi and the bronze statue of Buddha found at
Mathura.
In this period, another important school of sculptures
at Sarnath emerged in Northern Indian fifth century Characteristics of Gandhara School of Art
AD, and used chunar sandstone and localised around Below are some characteristics of Gandhara School
Sarnath. Many Buddha images in Sarnath can be of Art :
attributed with the plain transparent drapery covering
both shoulders, and the halo around the head has very Moulding human body in a realistic manner with
little ornamentation. minute attention to physical features like muscles,
moustache and curly hair.
Gandhara School of Art Thick drapery, with large and bold fold lines.
The region extending from Punjab to the borders of Rich carving, elaborate ornamentation and symbolic
Afghanistan known as the Gandhara region was an expressions.
important centre of Mahayana Buddhism upto the In Early Gandhara School, blackish grey sandstone
fifth century AD. was used and in later school mud and lime plaster was
The region became famous throughout the world used.
since a new school of Indian sculpture known as the The main theme was the Mahayana Buddhism.
Gandhara school developed during that period.
Owing to its strategic location, the Gandhara school
Mathura School of Art
imbibed all kinds of foreign influences like Persian, The Mathura School of Art flourished at the holy city
Greek, Roman, Saka and Kushana. of Mathura during the reign of Kushana especially
between first-third century AD.
The origin of the Gandhara art can be traced to the
Greek rulers of Bactria Parthia and North-West India. Contribution of Mathura School
But it was during the reign of Kanishka, that the art It established the tradition of transforming the
received great patronage. Buddhist symbols into the human form. Buddha’s
first image can be traced to Kanishka’s reign (about
Contribution of Gandhara School
78 AD).
The Gandhara School of Art is also known as the
The earliest sculptures of Buddha were made keeping
Graeco-Buddhist School of Art since, Greek
the Mathura Style yaksha prototype in mind. They
techniques of art were applied to the Buddhist
were depicted as strongly built with the right hand
subjects. The most important contribution of the
raised in protection and the left hand on the waist.
Gandhara School of Art was the evolution of beautiful
images of the Buddha and Bodhisattavas, which were The figures produced by this school of art do not have
executed in black stone and modelled on identical moustaches and beards as in the Gandhara Art. These
characters of Graeco-Roman pantheon. Hence, it is figures can be seen in the museum of Mathura.
said, ‘the Gandhara artist had the hand of a Greek, but The standing Buddha figures resembles the yaksha
the heart of an Indian.’ figures and indicates the Kushana influence. The
The most characteristic trait of Gandhara sculpture is seated figures are in the padmasana posture. Here
the depiction of Lord Buddha in the standing or seated statues were made with delighted facial expressions
positions. The seated Buddha is always shown and graceful postures.
cross-legged in the traditional Indian way. The Mathura School not only produced beautiful
Another typical feature of the Gandhara art is the rich images of the Buddha, but also of the Jain
carving, elaborate ornamentation and complex Tirthankaras and Gods and Goddesses of the Hindu
symbolism. The best specimens of Gandhara art are pantheon.
from Jaulian and Dharmarajika stupa at Taxila and Many scholars believe that the Mathura School of Art,
from Hadda near Jalalabad in modern Afghanistan. although of indigenous origin, was greatly influenced
The tallest rock-cut statue of Lord Buddha is also by the Gandhara School of Art. The Guptas adopted
located at Bamiyan in modern Afghanistan and dates the Mathura School of Art and further improvised and
back to the third-fourth century AD. perfected it.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
239

Characteristics of Mathura School of Art Interesting images of Jain Tirthankaras have been
Below are the some characteristics of Mathura School discovered from Chausa, Bihar, belonging to the
of Art : Kushana Period during second century AD.
In Buddhist centres like Nalanda, a school of
The Buddha image exhibit the spiritual feeling on his bronze-casting emerged around the ninth century
face which was largely absent in the Gandhara school.
during the rule of the Pala Dynasty in Bihar and
The Mathura school also carved out the images of Bengal regions.
Shiva and Vishnu along with their consorts Parvati
Among the Pallava Period, bronze sculptures of the
and Lakshmi.
eighth century is the icon of Shiva seated in
The female figures of yakshinis and apsaras of the ardhaparyanka asana (one leg kept dangling).
Mathura school were beautifully carved. The right hand is in the achamana mudra gesture,
Earliest statues of Buddha were made in Mathura suggesting that he is about to drink poison.
School of Art.
Avalokitesvara
A remarkable bronze is of a four-armed
Avalokitesvara, which is a good example of a male
figure in graceful tribhanga posture.
Worship of female Goddesses was adopted which is
part of the growth of the Vajrayana phase in
Buddhism.
Images of Tara became very popular. Seated on a
throne, she is accompanied by a growing curvilinear
lotus stalk and her right hand is in the abhaya-mudra.

The Nataraja
The well-known dancing figure of Shiva as Nataraja
was evolved and fully developed during the Chola
Sculpture of Mathura School Period and since then many variations of this complex
bronze image have been modelled.
This  bronze  image of  Nataraja  is in the
Indian Bronze Sculpture chatura-tandava pose.
Bronze sculptures and statuettes of Buddhist, Hindu The three-eyed and four-armed Shiva is dancing with
and Jain icons have been discovered from many his right foot placed on the demon of ignorance,
regions of India. Most of these were used for ritual Apasmara. The rear right hand holds the damaru and
worship and are characterised by exquisite beauty and the front right hand is in abhaya-mudra, with a
aesthetic appeal. serpent coiled around the forearm.
The cire-perdu or ‘lost-wax’ process for casting was
learnt as long ago as the Indus Valley Culture.
Portrait of Krishnadeva Raya
Perhaps the ‘Dancing Girl’ from Mohenjo-Daro is the During the 16th century, at Tirupati, life-size standing
earliest bronze sculpture dates back to 2500 BC. portrait statues were cast in bronze, depicting
Krishnadevaraya with his two queens, Tirumalamba
The Lost-wax Process and Chinnadevi.
n The lost-wax process is a technique used for making The sculpture has combined the likeness of the facial
objects of metal, especially in Himachal Pradesh, features with certain elements of idealisation. The
Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. standing king and queens are depicted in praying
n The lost-wax process involves several different steps posture, that is, both hands held in the namaskara
and made by hand of pure beeswax. mudra.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
240 36

Indian Architecture :
Styles & Development

Sources Class-XII New NCERT Chap 1 (Fine Arts, Prehistoric Rock Paintings), Chap 3 (Arts of Mauryan Period),
Chap 4 (Post-Mauryan Trends in Indian Art and Architecture), Chap 5 (Later Mural Traditons),
Chap 6 (Temple Architecture and Scultpture), Chap 8 (Some aspects of Indo-Islamic Architecture)

Art and architecture forms an important part of Water from the tank flowed into a huge drain. Across a
Indian culture. The earliest and most remarkable lane to the North lay a smaller building with eight
evidence of Indian architecture is found in the cities bathrooms, with drains connecting to a common drain
of the Harappan Civilisation, which boast of a that ran along the corridor.
unique town planning.
In the post Harappan period, architectural styles have Mauryan Architecture
been classified as Hindu, Buddhist and Jain. The
medieval period saw the synthesis of Persian and By the fourth century BC, the Mauryan Empire
indigenous styles of architecture. Thereafter, the established their power and under Ashoka, a large part
colonial period brought the influence of Western of India was under Mauryan control.
architectural forms to India. Rock-cut architecture and construction of stupas and
viharas as part of monastic establishments became part
of the Mauryan traditions of Architecture.
Harappan Architecture
The most unique feature of the Harappan Rock-Cut Monuments
architecture was the development of the Great Bath The rock-cut elephant cave at Dhauli in Odisha
and the planned drainage system. belonged to Mauryan period is a fine example of
exemplary piece of monument with linear rhythm.
The Great Bath It also has Ashokan rock-edict. The rock-cut cave
The Great Bath found in Mohenjodaro (modern day carved at Barabar hills near Gaya in Bihar is known as
Pakistan) was a large rectangular tank in a courtyard the Lomas Rishi cave.
surrounded by a corridor on all four sides.
The facade of the cave is decorated with the
There were two flights of steps on the North and semi-circular chaitya arch as the entrance. The interior
South leading into the tank, which was made hall of this cave is rectangular with a circular chamber
water-tight by using a mortar of gypsum. at the back. The entrance is located on the side wall of
There were rooms on three sides, in one of which the hall. The cave was donated by Ashoka for the
was a large well. Ajivika sect.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
241

Pillars Gradually, narrative became a part of the Buddhist

tradition. Thus events from the life of the Buddha,
The pillars built by Ashoka furnish the finest remains of
the Jataka stories, were depicted on the railings and
the Mauryan art. The pillars with Ashoka edicts
torans of the stupas. Mainly synoptic narrative,
inscribed on them were placed either in sacred
continuous narrative and episodic narrative are
enclosures or in the vicinity of towns.
used in the pictorial tradition.
The pillars were made of two types of stone : the spotted
Red and White sandstone from the region of Mathura Sanchi
and the Buff coloured fine grained hard sandstone n The great stupa at Sanchi was built with bricks
usually with small black spots quarried in Chunar near during the time of Ashoka and later it was covered
Varanasi. with stone and many new additions were made.
The palace of Chandragupta Maurya excavated in n Stupa-1 at Sanchi has upper as well as lower
Kumrahar near Patna is an example of high level of pradakshinapatha or circular path. It has four
stone art. The stone was transported from Mathura and beautifully decorated toranas depicting various
Chunar to the various sites where the pillars have been events from the life of the Buddha and the Jatakas.
found and here the stone was cut and carried by n Figure compositions are in high relief, filling up the
craftsmen. entire space. Heads have considerable projection in
the picture space.
Each pillar had three parts: the Prop under the n Stupa-1 is presumed to have the relics of the
foundation, the Shaft or the Column and the Capital.
Buddha, Stupa-2, has the relics of ten less famous
The Prop is buried in the ground. The Shaft made of a arhats belonging to three different generations.
single piece of sandstone supports the Capital made of Stupa-3 has the relics of Sariputta and
another single piece of sandstone. Mahamougalayana.
The thin–round and slightly tapering shaft is highly
polished and very graceful in its proportions. The
capital, which is the third part of the pillar, consists of
some finally executed animal figures such as the lion or
the elephant.

Stupas
Stupas were built of huge mounds of mud, enclosed in
carefully burnt small standard bricks. Built by the
Mauryan kings, Buddha’s burial mounds and places
of major events in his life became important landmarks
of the significant architectural buildings in the country.
Sanchi Stupa
Due to the popularity of Buddhism and Jainism, stupas
and viharas were constructed on a large scale. The stupa
Viharas
consists of a cylindrical drum and a circular anda with a
harmika and chhatra on the top, which remain The viharas are excavated in all the cave sites of
consistent throughout with minor variations and Ajanta and Ellora caves. The plan of the viharas
changes in shape and size. consists of a veranda, a hall and cells around the
walls of the hall. Some of the important vihara
In the subsequent century, stupas were elaborately built
caves are Ajanta Cave, Bedsa Cave, Nashik Cave.
with certain additions like the enclosing of the circular
path with railings and sculptural decoration. Many of the early vihara caves are carved with
interior decorative motifs like chaitya arches and
There were numerous stupas constructed earlier but
the vedica designs over the cell doors of the cave.
expansions or new additions were made in the second
century BC. Facade design in Nashik Cave became a distinct
achievement.
Apart from the circular path, gateways were added.
Thus, with the elaborations in stupa architecture, there The vihara caves at Nashik were excavated with
was ample space for the architects and sculptors to plan front pillars carved with ghata-base and
elaborations and to carve out images. ghata-capital with human figures.
During the early phase of Buddhism, Buddha is depicted One such vihara cave was also excavated at Junnar
symbolically through footprints, stupas, lotus throne, in Maharashtra, which is popularly known as
chakra, etc. Ganeshleni because an image of Ganesha
belonging to a later period was installed in it.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
242

Narrative reliefs at Bharhut show how artisans used the

Post-Mauryan Architecture pictorial language very effectively to communicate
From the second century BC onwards, various stories. In one such narrative, showing Queen
rulers established their control over the vast Mayadevi’s (mother of Siddhartha Gautama) dream, a
Mauryan Empire. There are numerous sites dating descending elephant is shown.
back to the second century BC in India. On the other hand, the depiction of a Jataka story is very
Some of the prominent examples of the finest simple—narrated by clubbing the events according to the
sculpture are found at Vidisha, Bharhut, geographical location of the story. Such Jataka stories
Bodhgaya, Mathura, Khandagiri-Udayagiri of became part of stupa decoration.
Odisha and others.
Cave Tradition in Western India
Amaravati Stupa In Western India, many Buddhist caves dating back to
Amaravati Stupa site belong to Vengi in Andhra the second century BC onwards have been excavated.
Pradesh, which has many stupa sites. The Mainly three architectural types were executed—
Amaravati School developed under the patronage of (i) apsidal vault-roof chaitya halls (found at Ajanta,
the Satavahanas. A great stupa was built at Pitalkhora, Bhaja)
Amaravati in the Lower Godavari region.
(ii) apsidal vault-roof pillar-less hall(found at Thana
Nadsur in Maharashtra)
(iii) flat roofed quadrangular hall with a circular chamber
at the back (found at Kondivite in Maharashtra).
The front of the chaitya hall is dominated by the motif of
a semi-circular chaitya arch with an open front, which
has a wooden facade and in some cases, there is no
dominating chaitya arch window such as found at
Kondivite. In all the chaitya caves a stupa at the back is
common.

Karle Chaitya Hall

Many cave sites have the standard first type of chaitya
halls in the subsequent period. In Karla, the biggest
Amaravati Stupa
rock-cut chaitya hall was excavated.
Like the Sanchi Stupa, the Amaravati Stupa also has The cave consists of an open courtyard with two pillars,
pradakshinapatha enclosed within a vedika on a stone screen wall to protect from rain, a veranda, a
which many narrative sculptures are depicted. The stone-screen wall as facade, an apsidal vault-roof chaitya
domical stupa structure is covered with relief stupa hall with pillars and a stupa at the back.
sculptural slabs which is a unique feature. Karle chaitya hall is decorated with human and animal
There are a number of Jataka scenes that have not figures. They are heavy in their execution and move in
been completely identified. In the depiction of the the picture space.
birth event, the queen is shown reclining on a bed
surrounded by female attendants. A small-sized
elephant is carved on the upper frame of the
composition showing the dream of Queen
Mayadevi. In another relief, four events related to
the birth of the Buddha are shown.

Bharhut Stupa
Bharhut sculptures are tall are similar to the images
of Yaksha and Yakhshini in the Mauryan period.
In the relief panels depicting narratives, illusion of
three-dimensionality is shown with tilted
perspective. Clarity in the narrative is enhanced by
selecting main events.
Karle Chaitya Hall
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
243

Cave Tradition in Eastern India Temple Architecture

Like in Western India, Buddhist caves have also been The beginning of Gupta period marks the beginning of
excavated in Eastern India, mainly in the coastal the construction of Brahmanical/ Hindu temples. It had
region of Andhra Pradesh and in Odisha. a central shrine or garbhagriha where the image of the
One of the main sites in Andhra Pradesh is deity was placed. Each temple had a principal image of a
Guntapalle in Eluru district and the God.
Udayagiri-Khandagiri caves in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The shrines of the temples were of three kinds
The caves have been excavated in the hills along with
(i) Sandhara type (without pradakshinapatha)
the structured monasteries.
(ii) Nirandhara type (with pradakshinapatha)
Guntupalli Chaitya Cave (iii) Sarvatobhadra (which can be accessed from all sides).
The Guntupalli cave is circular with a stupa in the Some of the important temple sites of this period are
circular hall and a chaitya arch carved at the entrance. Deogarh in Uttar Pradesh, Eran, Nachna-Kuthara and
The cave is relatively small when compared to the Udayagiri near Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh. These
caves in Western India. temples are simple structures consisting of a veranda,
The main vihara caves, despite the small dimensions, a hall and a shrine at the rear.
have been decorated with chaitya arches on the
exterior. Basic Forms of the Hindu Temple
They are rectangular with vaulted roof and are carved The basic form of the Hindu temple comprises the
single-storeyed or double-storeyed without a large following :
central hall. These excavations date back to the (i) The sanctum (garbhagriha), which was a small
second century BC. cubicle with a single entrance and grew into a larger
chamber in time.
Udayagiri-Khandagiri Caves
(ii) The entrance to the temple, which incorporates
The rock-cut cave tradition also existed in Odisha. space for a large number of worshippers and is
The earliest examples are the Udaigiri-Khandagiri known as a mandapa.
caves in the vicinity of Bhubaneswar. These caves are
(iii) The shikhar in North India and a pyramidal tower,
scattered and have inscriptions of Kharavela, a Jain
called a vimana, in South India.
king.
(iv) The vahan, i.e., the mount or vehicle of the temple’s
main deity.
Two broad orders of temples in the country are
known— Nagara in the North and Dravida in the
South. At times, the Vesara style of temples as an
independent style created through the selective
mixing of the Nagara and Dravida orders.
As temples grew more complex, more surfaces were
created for sculpture through additive geometry, i.e.,
by adding more and more symmetrical walls and
niches, without breaking away from the fundamental
plan of the shrine.
Nagara Temple Style
The style of temple architecture that became popular
in Northern India is known as Nagara. In North India,
Udayagiri-Khandagiri Caves it is common for an entire temple to be built on a
stone platform with steps leading up to it.
According to the inscriptions, the caves belongs to Unlike in South India, it does not usually have
Jain monks. There are numerous single-cell elaborate boundary walls or gateways. While the
excavations. Some have been carved in huge earliest temples had just one tower or shikhara, later
independent boulders and given the shape of animals. temples had several.
The figures in this cave are voluminous and are an
The garbhagriha is always located directly under the
excellent example of qualitative carving.
tallest tower.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
244

There are many sub-divisions of Nagara temples Lakshmana temple, Khajuraho

depending on the shape of the shikhara. The shikhara The Lakshmana temple of Khajuraho, dedicated to
which is square at the base and whose walls curve or vishnu, was built in 954 AD by the Chandela king,
slope inward to a point on top is called the latina or the Dhanga. It is placed on a high platform accessed by
rekha-prasada type of shikara. stairs.
The second major type of architectural form in the There are four smaller temples in the corners and all
nagara order is the Phamsana. Phamsana buildings the towers or shikharas rise high upward in a curved
tend to be broader and shorter than latina ones. Their pyramidal fashion. This emphasise the temple’s
roofs are composed of several slabs that gently rise to a vertical thrust ending in a horizontal fluted disc
single point over the centre of the building, unlike the called an amalak topped with a kalash or vase.
latina ones, which look like sharply rising tall towers.
The third main sub-type of the nagara building is what Kandariya Mahadev Temple, Khajuraho
is generally called the valabhi type. These are Kandariya Mahadeo temple at Khajuraho is the
rectangular buildings with a roof that rises into a epitome of temple architecture in Central India.
vaulted chamber. The edge of this vaulted chamber is Its sculptures are highly stylised with typical
rounded, like the bamboo or wooden wagons that features i.e., they are in almost full relief, cut away
would have been drawn by bullocks in ancient times. from the surrounding stone, with sharp noses,
They are usually called wagon-vaulted buildings. prominent chins, long slanting eyes and eyebrows.
Chausath Yogini Temple, Khajuraho
Chausanth Yogini temple is the tenth century AD.
This is a temple of small, square shrines of
roughly-hewn granite blocks, each dedicated to
goddesses associated with the rise of Tantric
worship after the seventh century AD.
Several such temples were dedicated to the cult of
the yoginis. They were built between the seventh
and tenth centuries AD, but few have survived.
Sun Temple, Modhera
The Sun temple at Modhera in Gujarat, dates back to
early 11th century and was built by Raja Bhimdev I
Nagara Temple Style of the Solanki Dynasty in 1026 AD. There is a
massive rectangular stepped tank called the Surya
Temples of Nagara Style kund in front of it. This 100 sq metre rectangular
Important temples of Nagara style are discussed as pond is perhaps the grandest temple tank in India.
follows : A 108 miniature shrines are carved in between the
steps inside the tank. A huge ornamental arch-torana
Dashavatara Vishnu Temple, Deogarh leads one to the sabha mandapa (the assembly hall),
Dashavtara Vishnu temple in Deogarh (in Lalitpur which is open on all sides, as was the fashion of the
district, Uttar Pradesh) was built in the early sixth times in Western and central Indian temples.
century AD belongs to Gupta Period. The temple is in
panchayatana style of architecture where the main
Kamakhya Temple, Assam
shrine is built on a rectangular plinth with four smaller Kamakhya temple, a shakti peeth, is dedicated to
subsidiary shrines at the four corners. Goddess Kamakhya and was built in the 17th century.
The tall and curvilinear shikhara also corroborates this The style that came with the migration of the Tais
date. The presence of this curving latina or rekha- from Upper Burma mixed with the dominant Pala
prasada type of shikhara also makes it clear that this is style of Bengal and led to the creation of what was
an early example of a classic nagara style of temple. later known as the Ahom style in Guwahati.
There are three main reliefs of Vishnu on the temple Siddheshvara Mahadeva Temple, Bengal
walls – Sheshashayana on the South, Nara-Narayan on The Siddheshvara Mahadeva temple in Barakar in
the East and Gajendramoksha on the West. The temple Burdwan district of Bengal belongs to Pala dynasty of
is West-facing, which is less common, as most temples ninth century AD.
are East or North-facing.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
245

The style of the sculptures during the period between It is common to find a large water reservoir or a
the ninth and eleventh centuries in Bengal (including temple tank, enclosed within the complex.
Bangladesh) and Bihar is known as the Pala style. Subsidiary shrines are either incorporated within
While the Palas are celebrated as patrons of many the main temple tower or located as distinct,
Buddhist monastic sites, the temples from that region are separate small shrines beside the main temple.
known to express the local Vanga style. The temple The most sacred temples in South India, the main
shows a tall curving shikhara crowned by a large temple in which the garbhagriha is situated has one
amalaka and is an example of the early Pala style. of the smallest towers. This is because it is usually
the oldest part of the temple.
Surya/Sun Temple Konark, Odisha
The Surya or Sun temple is built in stone around 1240. Temples of Dravida Style
Its shikhara was a colossal creation said to have reached Important temples of Dravida style are discussed as
70m, which fallen in the 19th century. The vast complex follows :
is within a quadrilateral shape which the Jagamohana or
the dance-pavillion (mandapa) has survived. Shore Temple, Mahabalipuram
The Sun temple is set on a high base, its walls covered in The Shore temple is the icon of the ancient
extensive, detailed ornamental carving. These include monuments of Mahabalipuram. The sculptural
twelve pairs of enormous wheels sculpted with spokes excellence symbolises the heights of Pallava
and hubs, representing the chariot wheels of the Sun architecture under the rule of King Narasimha
god, rides a chariot driven by seven horses. Varman I during seventh century AD.
Erected on a 50 feet square platform, the temple is a
Unique Temple Style of Odisha pyramidal structure rising to the heights of 60 feet.
n The main architectural features of Odisha temples are As a characteristic specimen of Dravidian temple
classified in three orders, i.e., rekhapida, pidhadeul and architecture, the Shore temple has three shrines,
khakra. devoted to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu.
n The temples of Odisha constitute a distinct sub-style The main temple is a five-storeyed structure
within the nagara order. In general, here the shikhara, sculpted out of granite dedicated to Lord Shiva.
called deul in Odisha and mandapas called Jagamohana. The pyramidal structure is 60 feet (18m) high and
sits on a 50 feet (15 m) square platform. In the
Pandrethan Temple, Kashmir shrine, Lord Vishnu is seen reclining on the
The Karkota period of Kashmir is the most significant in Seshanag.
terms of architecture, who built the Pandrethan temple Brihadeeshwarar Temple, Thanjavur
in eighth and ninth centuries, possibly dedicated to
The magnificent Shiva temple of Thanjavur, called
Shiva.
the Rajarajeshwara or Brihadeeshwarar temple,
In keeping with the tradition of a water tank attached to was completed around 1009 by Rajaraja Chola. It is
the shrine, this temple is built on a plinth built in the
the largest and tallest of all Indian temples.
middle of a tank.
This temple’s pyramidal multi-storeyed vimana
The architecture of this temple is similar to the age-old
rises a massive, 70 metre (230 ft. approx) structure
Kashmiri tradition of wooden buildings. Due to the
topped by a monolithic shikhara, which is an
snowy conditions in Kashmir, the roof is peaked and
octagonal dome-shaped stupika.
slants slowly outward.
It is in this temple that one notices for the first time
Dravida or South Indian Temple Style two large gopurams (gateway towers) with an
Unlike the Nagara temple, the Dravida temple is enclosed elaborate sculptural programme, which was
within a compound wall. The front wall has an entrance conceived along with the temple. Huge
gateway in its centre, which is known as a gopuram. Nandi-figures are at the corners of the shikhara and
The shape of the main temple tower known as vimana in the kalasha on top by itself is about three metres
Tamil Nadu is like a stepped pyramid that rises up and eight centimetres in height.
geometrically rather than the curving shikhara of Hundreds of figures decorate the vimana. The main
North India. deity of the temple is Shiva, who is shown as a huge
In the South Indian temple, the word shikhara is used lingam set in a two-storeyed sanctum. The walls
only for the crowning element at the top of the temple. surrounding the sanctum have extended mythological
It is usually shaped like a small stupika or an octagonal narratives, which are depicted through painted
cupola— this is equivalent to the amlak and kalasha of murals and sculpture
North Indian temples.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
246

Vesara Temple Style A Nandi pavilion precedes each building. From the
central square, plan cut-out angular projections create
Many different styles of temple architecture the star effect decorated with the carvings of animals
influenced by both North and South Indian temples and deities.
were used in regions like Karnataka.
A hybridised style that seems to have become popular Pallava Art
after the mid-seventh century, is known in some The Pallava architecture shows the transition from the
ancient texts as vesara. rock-cut architecture to the stone built temples.
Temples of Vesara Style The earliest examples of the Pallava art are the
Important temples of Vesara style are discussed as rock-cut temples of the 7th century AD, while the later
follows : examples are of the structural temples built in the 8th
and the 9th century.
Kailashnath Temple, Ellora The rock-cut reliefs of the Pallavas are the earliest
The Kailashnath temple at Ellora is a complete surviving royal portraits after the Kushana images.
Dravida building with a Nandi shrine since the temple Mahendravarman I introduced the rock-cut temples.
is dedicated to Shiva. It has as gopuram like gateway, This style of Pallava temples are seen at places like
surrounding cloisters, subsidiary shrines, staircases Mandagapattu, Mahendravadi, Mamandur, Dalavanur,
and an imposing tower or vimana rising to 30 metres. Tiruchirappalli, Vallam, Siyamangalam and
Importantly, all of this is carved out of living rock. Tirukkalukkunram.
One portion of the monolithic hill was carved The five rathas, popularly called as the
patiently to build the Kailashnath temple. The Panchapanadava rathas, signifies five different styles
sculpture of the Rashtrakuta phase at Ellora is of temple architecture. The mandapas contain
dynamic, the figures often larger than life-size figures. beautiful sculptures on its walls. The most popular of
Virupaksha Temple, Pattadakal these mandapas are Mahishasura Mardini Mandapa,
Tirumurti Mandapa and Varaha Mandapa.
The hybridisation and incorporation of several styles
was the hallmark of Chalukyan buildings. The most The Pallava architecture is known for their four
elaborate of all Chalukyan temples at Pattadakal is specific styles
Virupaksha temple made in the reign of 1. Mahendra Style The influence of the cave style of
Vikramaditya II (733-44) by his chief queen Loka architecture is to be seen in an ancient pillar
Mahadevi. engraved in the Ekambaranatha (Kanchipuram)
The Virupaksha is a large complex consisting of a tall temple.
vimana with axial mandapas and peripheral 2. Mamalla Style The seven Pagodas are small
sub-shrines round the court, enclosed by a wall with temples, each of which is chop out of a single rock
gopura-entrances in front and behind. boulder. They lie near Mahabalipuram, founded by
The compound-wall of the complex, following the Narasimhavarman.
plan of the group itself, has on its coping kuta and These monolithic temples are complete with all the
said-heads, inspired from the Shore-temple at details of an ordinary temple and stand as an
Mahabalipuram-a device. undying testimony to the superb quality of the
Pallava art.
Hoysaleswara Temple
(Lord of the Hoysalas) Halebidu 3. Rajasimha Style The most famous temple of this
style is the Kailasha temple, Kanchi. It has a
The Hoysaleswara temple (Lord of the Hoysalas) at
pyramidal tower, a flat-roofed mandapam and a
Halebidu in Karnataka was built in dark schist stone
series of cells surround it resembling rathas. This
by the Hoysala king in 1150 AD. Hoysala temples are
style is a very elaborate one foreshadowing the
sometimes called hybrid or vesara as their unique
ornate Chola architecture.
style seems neither completely Dravida nor Nagara.
4. Aprajita Style This is more ornate resembling the
They are easily distinguishable from other medieval
temples by their highly original star-like ground plans Chola architecture. A few temples built in the
and a profusion of decorative carvings. style are found at Dalavanur. The noteworthy
feature of some shrines is that they are adorned by
Dedicated to Shiva as Nataraja, the Halebid temple is a
beautiful life-like images of Pallava kings and their
double building with a large hall for the mandapa to
queens.
facilitate music and dance.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
247

Important Pallava Temples Chalukyan Temple Architecture

Mandagapattu Temple This is the first Pallava The structural temples of the Chalukyas exist at
rock-cut temple, built by Mahendra I in the early 7th Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal. Cave temple
century. An inscription on the temple calls it the architecture was also famous under the Chalukyas.
Laksitayatna and dedicates it to Brahma, Isvara and Their cave temples are also found in Ajanta, Ellora and
Vishnu. The facade of the rectangular mandapa has Nasik.
four massive pillars and is flanked by niches
The best instance of Chalukya paintings can be seen in
containing large dvarpalaka images carved in relief.
the Badami cave temple and in the Ajanta caves. The
Kailasanatha of Kanchipuram The temple is reception given to a Persian embassy by Pulakesin II is
credited to the initiative and enterprise of the Pallava depicted in a painting at Ajanta.
ruler Narasimhavarman II or Rajasimha who
The Chalukya temples may be divided into two stages:
reigned between 690-728 AD. The Kailasanatha
— The first stage is represented by the temples at
temple is the finest structural project of the Pallavas.
It looks as if a chariot from heaven has descended on Aihole and Badami. Among the seventy temples
the Earth. found at Aihole, four are important :
Vaikuntha Perumal Temple This temple is situated 1. Lad Khan temple is a low, flat-roofed structure
at Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu and was built in the consisting of a pillared hall.
8th century AD. It was built by the Pallava emperor, 2. Durga temple resembles a Buddha Chaitya.
Nandivarman Pallavamalla in the 8th century AD. 3. Huchimalligudi temple at Aihole.
This temple is famous for its unique architectural 4. The Jain temple at Meguti.
grandeur and religious importance. — The second stage is represented by the temples at
This temple is one of the 108 Divya Desam dedicated Pattadakal. There are ten temples here, four in the
to the Lord Vishnu. This temple is also called the Tiru Northern style and the remaining six in the Dravidian
Parameswara Vinnagaram. style.
Shore temple This temple at Mamallapuram was The Papanatha temple is the most notable in the
built during the reign of the Pallava King Rajasimha Northern style. The Sangamesvara temple and the
(700-728 AD). Its three sanctuaries are dedicated to Virupaksha temple are famous for their Dravidian
Vishnu and Shiva. style.
This temple is also acknowledged for being the first The Virupaksha temple is built on the model of the
stone structure made by the Pallavas. Before this, the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram. It was built by
monuments used to be carved out of the rocks or one of the queens of Vikramaditya II.
stones. This group of temple is an UNESCO World Sculptors brought from Kanchi were employed in its
Heritage site. construction. It is located in Hampi, Karnataka on the
Seven Pagodas This term is closely associated with banks of the Tungabhadra river.
the Shore Temple of Mahabalipuram. According to a
popular belief, once upon a time six other temples Rashtrakuta Art
stood along with the now famous Shore temple on the The rulers of the Rashtrakuta dynasty were great
shores of Mahabalipuram’s rock strewn beaches. patrons of art and architecture and were great builders
In the late 2004, during the tsunami that struck the and a half century of the Rashtrakuta rule, witnessed a
coast, the sand deposits of around 500 m from the very high achievement in the fields of sculpture and
Shore temples were gulped by the sea. architecture.
During this time, tourists and residents were reported The Ellora and Elephanta caves provide splendid
to have seen a long, straight row of large rocks examples of that era which excelled in carving out
emerge from the water just before the waters rushed huge monuments and monolithic sculptures.
back again. In Ellora (Maharashtra), rock-cut cave temples of all
The tsunami also made some immediate, lasting faiths are found that are flourishing in India i.e.,
changes to the coastline, which left a few previously Buddhist, Jain, Shaiva and Vaishnava.
covered statues and small structures uncovered on the Out of the 34 caves, 12 are Buddhist, (in the South) 17
shore like the large stone lion left sitting uncovered on are Hindu (Vaishnava, Shaiva and Shakta) and 5 caves
Mahabalipuram’s beach. on the Northern side are Jain.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
248

Chola Art Nalanda University

Many temples had been built by the Chola kings The monastic university of Nalanda is a
throughout their kingdoms. The temples of the early mahavihara as it is a complex of several
Cholas are found in large number in the former monastries of various sizes. Most of the information
Pudukkottai region. about Nalanda is based on the records of Xuan
These Chola temples reveal the gradual evolution of the Zang (Hiuen Tsang). The foundation of a
Chola art and architecture. The Chola kings earlier built monastery was laid by Kumargupta I in the
brick temples. Later, they built stone temples. fifth century AD.
The dvarapalas or guardian figures, at the entrance to The sculptural art of Nalanda, in stone and bronze,
the mandapa or hall which started from the Pallava developed out of a heavy dependence on the
period became an unique feature of the Chola’s temples. Buddhist Gupta art of Sarnath, characterised by
distinctive facial features, body forms and
The Dravidian style got fully developed after a transition
treatment of clothing and jewellery.
from the rock-cut structures of the Pallava period.
The characteristic features of Nalanda art can be
Important Temples of Chola art are Brihadeeswara
Distinguished by its consistently high quality of
Temple and Temple of Gangaikonda Cholapuram.
workmanship. Its sculptures are also usually not
flat in relief but are depicted in three-dimensional
The Temple of Gangaikonda Cholapuram forms. The back slabs of the sculptures are detailed
It was built by Rajendra I, and was completed in 1035. Its and the ornamentations delicate.
53m vimana (sanctum tower) has recessed corners and a
graceful upward curving movement, contrasting with the Lakshmana Temple, Sirpur
straight and severe tower at Thanjavur. It has 6 pairs of n The Lakshmana temple Sirpur in Chhattisgarh is an
massive, monolithic dvarapalas statues guarding the early-Odisha style site belonging to the period
entrances and bronzes of remarkable beauty inside between 550 and 800, with both Hindu and Buddhist
shrines.
n In many ways the iconographic and stylistic
Buddhist and Jain elements of the Buddhist sculptures here are similar
to that of Nalanda.
Architectural Developments
Buddhist and Jain developments were equally vibrant Lord Bahubali, Gomateshwara
from the fifth to fourteenth centuries. Sites such as
The Gomateshwara temple at Shravanabelagola,
Nalanda and Mahabodhi temple were built during this
Karnataka is the most renowned Jain pilgrimage in
time.
South India. The place is famous for its
When the Gupta Empire crumbled in the sixth century Gomateshwara temple also known as Bahubali
AD, this Eastern region of Bihar and Bengal, historically temple.
known as Magadha, appears to have remained unified
The Bahubali statue is a 57 feet high monolithic
under the Pala rulers.
statue built in around 983 AD by Camundaraya,
Mahabodhi Temple, Bodhgaya the General-in-Chief and Prime Minister of the
Ganga Kings of Mysore.
The Mahabodhi temple at Bodhgaya is an important
architectural monument. The first shrine here, located at Jain Temples, Mount Abu
the base of the Bodhi tree.
The Jain temples at Mount Abu were constructed
It is said to have been constructed by King Ashoka, the by Vimal Shah. Dilwara Jain Temples is one of the
vedika around it is said to be post-Mauryan, of about 100 finest Jain temple for its extraordinary architecture
BC. Many of the sculptures in the temple are dated to the and marvellous marble stone carvings.
eighth century Pala Period.
Notable for a simplistic exterior in contrast with the
The actual Mahabodhi temple itself as it stands now is marble interiors, their rich sculptural decoration
largely a Colonial Period reconstruction of the old with deep undercutting creates a lace-like
seventh century design. The design of the temple is appearance. The temple is famous for its unique
unusual. It is neither Dravida nor Nagara style. It is patterns on every ceiling, and the graceful bracket
narrow like a Nagara temple, but it rises without curving, figures along the domed ceilings.
like a Dravida one.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
249

From the beginning of the seventeenth century, bricks

Indo-Islamic Architecture were also used for construction and these imparted
The Indo-Islamic Architecture began in the early 13th greater flexibility to the structures. In this phase there
century AD in India with large scale building activity was more reliance on local materials.
begun under the Delhi Sultanate, established after the
Turkish conquest of Northern India. Decorative Forms
In the field of architecture, a mix of many structural These forms included designing on plaster through
techniques, stylised shapes and surface decorations stucco (fine cement) designs were either left plain or
came about through constant interventions or covered with colours. Motifs were also painted on or
modification of architectural elements. carved in stone. These motifs included varieties of
The study of Indo-Islamic architecture is conventionally flowers, both from the sub-continent and places
categorised into the Imperial Style (Delhi Sultanate), outside, particularly Iran.
the Provincial Style (Mandu, Gujarat, Bengal, and In the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries tiles were also
Jaunpur), the Mughal Style (Delhi, Agra, and Lahore) used to surface the walls and the domes. Popular colours
and the Deccani Style (Bijapur, Golconda). were blue, turquoise, green and yellow. Subsequently
the techniques of tessellation (mosaic designs) and
Typologies of Structures pietradura were made use of for surface decoration
In Sultanate and Mughal era, architectural buildings particularly in the dado panels of the walls. At times,
were constructed over a period of time for religious lapis lazuli was used in the interior walls or on
and secular necessities. These were mosques for daily canopies.
prayers, the Jama Masjids, tombs, dargahs, minars, Other decorations included calligraphy and high and
hammams, formally laid out gardens, madrasas, sarais low relief carving and a profuse use of jalis. The high
or caravanserais, Kos minars, etc., These were additions relief carving has a three-dimensional look. The
in the existing types of buildings in the sub-continent. arches were plain and squat and sometimes high and
In spite of the obvious Saracenic, Persian and pointed.
Turkish influences, Indo-Islamic structures were The roof was a mix of the central dome and other
heavily influenced by prevailing sensibilities of Indian smaller domes, chatris and tiny minarets. The central
architectural and decorative forms. dome was topped with an inverted lotus flower motif
Although religion and religiosity were very important and a metal or stone pinnacle.
to people of medieval India, as elsewhere, they
borrowed architectural elements liberally. Forts
Building monumental forts in medieval times, often
Architectural Influences symbolised the seat of power of a king. Some
Amongst provincial styles, the architecture of Bengal examples of strong, complex architecture which still
and Jaunpur is regarded as distinct. Gujarat was said amaze the visitor are the forts of Chittor, Gwalior,
to have a markedly regional character for patrons Daulatabad, earlier known as Devgiri and Golconda.
borrowed elements from regional temple traditions. Commanding heights were utilised to construct forts.
These traditions were toranas, lintels in mihrabs, These heights provided a good perspective of the
carvings of bell and chain motifs and carved panels region and strategic advantage for security.
depicting trees, for tombs, mosques and dargahs. Other complexities woven into such topography were
The fifteenth century white marble dargah of Shaikh concentric circles of outer walls as in Golconda, so
Ahmad Khattu of Sarkhej is a good example of that the enemy had to breach these at all stages before
provincial style and it heavily influenced the form and getting in.
decoration of Mughal tombs. Daulatabad Fort had several strategic devices to deal
with the enemy, such as staggered entrances so that
Materials for Construction gates could not be opened even with the help of
The walls in all buildings were extremely thick and elephants.
were largely constructed of rubble masonary, which It also had twin forts, one within the other but at a
was easily available. These walls were then cased over higher elevation and accessed by a complex defence
with chunam or limestone plaster or dressed stone. design arrangement. One wrong turn in the labyrinth
A range of stones were utilised for construction such or complex pathway could lead to the enemy soldier
as quartzite, sandstone, buff, marble, etc. Polychrome going in circles or falling to his death several hundred
tiles were used to great advantage to finish the walls. feet below.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
250

The Gwalior Fort was invincible because its steep Tombs

height made it impossible to scale. It had many
Monumental structures over graves of rulers and
habitations and usages. Babur, who did not find
royalty was a popular feature of medieval India. Some
much merit in many things he saw in Hindustan, was
well known examples of such tombs are those of
said to have been overawed at the sight of the
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, Humayun, Abdur Rahim
Gwalior Fort.
Khan-i-Khanan in Delhi, Akbar and Itmad-ud-Daula
Chittorgarh Fort bears the distinction of being the in Agra. These includes khanqahs (hermitage of Sufi
largest fort in Asia and was occupied for the longest saints) and dargahs.
length of time as the seat of power. It has many types
Beginning with the introduction of Quranic verses on
of buildings including stambhas or towers to signify
the walls, the tomb was placed within paradisiacal
victory and bravery. It was replete with numerous
elements such as a garden or near a body of water. The
water bodies.
case of the Humayun’s tomb and the Taj Mahal, follows
Innumerable acts of heroism have been associated the charbagh style.
with the principal people in the fort, forming the
substance of many a legend. An interesting aspect Sarais
associated with forts is that within the palace
An interesting feature of Indo-Islamic architecture was
complexes stylistic and decorative influences were
the sarais, which ringed cities. Sarais were largely built
absorbed most liberally.
on a simple square or rectangular plan. They were
Structures For Common People meant to provide temporary accommodation to Indian
One of the architectural features of medieval India and foreign travellers, pilgrims, merchants, traders,
was also a coming together of styles, techniques and etc.
decorations in public and private spaces of non-royal In effect, sarais were public domains, which thronged
sections of the society. with people of varied cultural backgrounds. This led to
These included buildings for domestic usage, cross-cultural interaction, influences and syncretic
temples, mosques, khanqahs (hermitage of Sufi tendencies of the times and at the level of the people.
saints) and dargahs, commemorative gateways,
pavilions in buildings and gardens, bazaars, etc. Regional Architectural Style
Minars The Provincial style of architecture encompasses the
architectural trends and developments noticed in different
Another form of stambha or tower was the minar, a
provincial capitals in India, but specifically in the
common feature in the sub-continent as Indo Islamic
following Architectural forms :
art form. Two most striking minars of medieval times
are the Qutub Minar in Delhi and the Chand Minar Bengal Architecture
at Daulatabad Fort. The everyday use of the minar
The Adina and Pandua mosques are the earliest
was for the azaan or call to prayer.
architectural examples in Bengal.
Qutub Minar’s phenomenal height, however,
symbolised the might and power of the ruler. It is The tomb of Akhi Serajuddin, the Kotwali Darwaza,
associated revered saint of Delhi, Khwaja the Dakhil Darwaza and the tomb of Sultan
Qutub-ud-din Bakhtiyar Kaki. The Qutub Minar, Jalaluddin Muhammed Shah (1414-1431 AD), known
built in the 13th century, is a 234 feet high tapering as the Eklakhi Tomb, served as prototypes for the
tower divided into five storeys. subsequent Islamic architecture of Bengal.
The minar is a mix of polygonal and circular shapes. The other important buildings of Bengal include
It is largely built of red and buff sandstone with some Tantipara Masjid ( 1475 AD), Chamkatti Masjid (1475
use of marble in the upper storeys. It is characterised AD), Lotan Masjid (1480 AD), and Chota Sona Masjid
by highly decorated balconies and bands of (1510 AD).
inscriptions intertwined with foliated designs.
Jaunpur Architecture
Chand Minar, built in the 15th century, is a 210-
Under the Sharqi dynasty, Jaunpur became a great
feet-high tapering tower divided into four storeys. It
centre of art, culture and architectural activity. During
has bold bands of Quranic verses. Although it looked
the rule of Shamsudin Ibrahim (1402-1436 AD) several
like an Iranian monument, it was the combined
palaces, mosques, tombs and other buildings came up,
handiwork of local architects with those from Delhi
the most prominent being the Atala Masjid built in 1378.
and Iran.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
251

Later, other important buildings were produced that Akbar

include a Khalis Mukhlis Masjid (1430 AD), Jahangiri In architecture, the first great Mughal monument
Masjid (1430 AD), Lal Darwaja Masjid (1450 AD) and was the mausoleum of Humayun, erected during
the Jami Masjid (1470 AD). the reign of Akbar (1556–1605).
Malwa Architecture The tomb, which was built in the 1560s, was
designed by a Persian architect Mirak Mirza Ghiyas.
This is a very unique and adaptive architecture form of
It was set in a garden at Delhi, and has an intricate
15th century. They used stones and marbles of different
ground plan with central octagonal chambers, joined
colours in their buildings and decorated with arches
by an archway with an elegant facade and
and pillars.
surmounted by Cupolas, Kiosks and Pinnacles. At
They used locally available materials. Few important the same time Akbar was building his fortress-palace
features of their architecture are presence of large in his capital, Agra.
windows, use of artificial reservoirs and no use of
Native red sandstone was inlaid with white marble,
minars.
and all the surfaces were ornately carved on the
Some of their prominent buildings are Jahaz Mahal, outside and sumptuously painted inside. Akbar went
Raani Roopmati Pavillion etc. on to build the entire city of Fatehpur Sikri (City of
Victory) in which extensive use was made of the low
Bijapur Architecture arches and bulbous domes that characterise the
This style developed under Adil Shah, one of the Mughal style.
prominent kings of Bahamani dynasty/kingdom. He Built in 1571 the choice of the site of Sikri reflected
built various tombs, palaces and mosques. Akbar’s gratitude to a Muslim saint at Sikri for the
Some important features of their buildings are bulbous birth of his son. Courtiers soon followed suit and
dome, use of cornice, three arched facade and use of built homes surrounding the palace and mosque.
iron clamps for providing support to the ceilings. The new city became the capital of the empire, but
Some of the prominent buildings are Gol Gumbaj, in 1585 it was abandoned.
Bijapur Fort etc.
Jahangir
Mughal Architecture Though Jahangir was more interested in paintings.
The art and architecture of this period have a Under his reign more emphasis was given to album
characteristic of Indo-Islamic-Persian style that and individual portrait than illustrated manuscript.
flourished on the Indian sub-continent during the Some important buildings were made during his
Mughal empire (1526-1857). rule.
This new style combined elements of Islamic art and First of such buildings is Mausoleum of Akbar in
architecture, which had been introduced to India Sikandara near Agra, which does have a dome and
during the Delhi Sultanate (1192–1398). Many great has features of Buddhist architecture.
monuments are made in this style such as the Qutub It was started by Akbar himself. Another important
Minar, with features of Persian art and architecture. building is tomb of I’timad-ud-Daulah built by
Mughal monuments are found chiefly in Northern Noorjahan, in this building for first time Pietra Dura
India, but there are also many remains in Pakistan. style was used.
Babur Shahjahan
The Mughal dynasty was established with the crushing It was Shahjahan (1628–58) who perfected Mughal
victory of Babur at Panipat in 1526. architecture and erected at Agra, its most noble and
During his short five-year reign, Babur took famous building, the tomb of his favourite wife,
considerable interest in erecting buildings, though few which is known as the Taj Mahal.
have survived. He constructed the mosque at A huge white marble building of simple,
Rohilakhand and Panipat. symmetrical plan, it is inlaid with colourful
semiprecious materials and is set in an equally
Humayun beautiful and symmetrical garden.
Humayun’s era was very turbulant even then he built
The Taj Mahal continues the tradition of Mughal
some famous buildings like Mosques of Agra and
garden tombs, of which Humayun’s tomb was the
Fatehabad and most importantly Din-Panah city which first. Shahjahan established (1638) Delhi as his
is also known as Fifth Delhi. capital and built there the famous Red Fort, which
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
252

contained the imperial Mughal palace. Paintings

also flourished during Shahjahan’s reign.
Colonial Architecture
Portraiture was most highly developed at his The colonial influence can be seen in the architecture
sophisticated court and ink drawings were of high buildings of Europeans who started coming from 16th
quality. century AD constructed many churches and other
buildings.
Aurangzeb Portuguese built many churches at Goa, the most
Under the orthodox Aurangzeb (1659–1707) the famous of these are Basilica Bom Jesus and the chruch
decline of the arts began, although his ornate Pearl of Saint Francis.
Mosque (1662) at Delhi is worthy of mention. The British also built administrative and residential
During his reign, the Mughal academy was buildings, which reflect their imperial glory. Some
dispersed. Greek and Roman influence can be observed in the
Many artists then joined the Rajput courts, where colonnades or pillared buildings. Parliament House and
their influence on Hindu painting is clearly evident. Connaught Place in Delhi are good examples.
He was not so aspiring to spend time and resources The architect Lutyens, designed Rashtrapati Bhavan,
to erect huge buildings and therefore he has the formerly the Viceroy’s residence. It is built of sandstone
credit of constructing very few buildings such as and has design features like canopies and jaali from
Bibi Ka Maqbara (Rabia Durani). It is an imitation Rajasthan. The Victoria Memorial in Calcutta, the
of Taj Mahal at Aurangabad, Maharashtra. former capital of British India, is a huge edifice in
Apart from this the Badshahi Mosque at Lahore and marble. The British also left behind impressive railway
the Moti Masjid at Lal Quila, Delhi are other two terminals like the Victoria Terminus (now Chatrapati
specimens of his contribution towards Mughal Shivaji Terminal) in Mumbai.
architecture.
 INDIAN HISTORY
NCERT Notes
CHAPTER 37 253

Music, Dance and

Theatre Craft

Sources Class-X Old NCERT (The Story of Civilisation Volume II), Chap 14 (The Heritage of India),
Class-XI NCERT Chap 9 (Living Craft Traditions of India)

The history of Indian music and dance is deep Styles of Hindustani Music
rooted from the period of Vedic Age, where the
Different style of Hindustani music are :
earliest tradition of Indian music found mentioned
in Sama Veda, which contained the shlokas related Dhrupad This style of singing is traditionally performed
to music. by men with a Tanpura and Pakhawaj. The lyrics sung in
Dhrupad are in a medieval form of Hindi and typically
The detailed information is found in Bharatmuni’s
heroic in theme or in praise of a particular deity.
Natyashashtra (compiled during second century
Dhrupads are sung in four styles called Bansi Gaurhar,
BC to second century AD).
Dagur, Khandhar and Nauhar, initially named after the
language or dialect in which the verse was written. Pandit
Indian Classical Music Uday Bhawalkar, Pandit Ritwik Sanyal and the Umakant
Gundecha and Ramakant Gundecha (Gundecha Brothers)
The Indian classical music is broadly based on two
are some famous Dhrupad vocalists.
traditions, the Hindustani form prevalent in North
India and the Carnatic music form in South India. Khayal It consists of about 4-8 lines of lyrics set to a tune.
Both have some features in common. The performer uses these few lines as the base for
improvisation. Generally the theme of Khayal is romantic
However, their ragas and their articulation are
in nature. They sing about love, even if they are related to
usually distinctive.
the divine creatures.
Hindustani Classical Music One of the most important/unique features of Khayal is
the use of taan in the compositions. The Khayal form of
Hindustani classical music may be traced back to
Hindustani classical music is ascribed to Hussain Shah
the period of the Delhi Sultanate and to Amir
Sharqui, the 15th century ruler of the Sharqui dynasty. It
Khusrau (1253-1325 AD) who encouraged the
was made popular by the 18th century Mughal ruler
practice of musical performance with particular
Mohammed Shah. Some of the modern day vocalists are
instruments. He is believed to have invented the
late Bhimsen Joshi, Nagaraja Havaldar, Kishori Amonkar,
sitar and the tabla and is said to have introduced
Ulhas and Kashalkar, Prabhakar Karekar, Pandit Jasraj, etc.
new ragas.
Dhamar These compositions are similar to Dhrupad, but
The gharanas functions as guru-shishyaparampara,
are chiefly associated with the festival of Holi. Here, the
that is, disciples learning under a particular guru,
compositions are specifically in praise of Lord Krishna.
transmitting his musical knowledge and style, will
This music, sung in the Dhamar Tal is chiefly used in
belong to the same gharana.
festivals like Janmashtami, Ramnavami and Holi.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
254

Tarana Another vocal form of the Hindustani music is Ragamalika This is the final part of the Pallavi, where
Tarana. Tarana are songs that are used to convey a the soloist improvises freely and comes back to the
feel of joy and are usually performed towards the end original theme at the end.
of a concert.
Thumri It is an informal vocal form of Hindustani Gharanas of Classical Music
classical music and is said to have begun with the Some of the popular Gharanas of Indian Classical music
court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the Nawab of Oudh. are as follows :
The compositions are either devotional or romantic in Gwalior Gharana
nature. It was inspired by Bhakti movement. It mainly
used Hindi dialects like Awadhi or Braj Bhasha. This is the oldest among all the Khayal Gayaki (vocal)
styles. The distinctive feature of this style of singing
Carnatic Music has been noted for its lucidity and simplicity.
Its founders are Ustad Hassu Khan, Ustad Haddu
The compositions in Carnatic music may be attributed
Khan, Ustad Nathu Khan.
collectively to three composers who lived between
1700 and 1850 AD. Prominent exponents of the gharana are Bal Krishna
Ealchal Karanjikar, Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, Pandit
They were Shyam Shastri, Thyagaraja and
Omkarnath Thakur, Veena Sahasrabuddhe and Malini
Muthuswami Dikshitar. Thyagaraja is reversed both as
a saint and an artist. He epitomises the essence of Rajurkar.
Carnatic music. Purandara dasa was another great Agra Gharana
composer of Carnatic music.
The Agra Gharana places great importance on
The main compositions are known as kriti and are developing forcefulness and depth in the voice, so that
devotional in nature. The Carnatic alapana is similar the nodes are powerful and resonant.
to alap in Hindustani classical as well as Tilana in
Its founders are Haji Sujan Khan, Ustad Ghagghe
Carnatic resembles Tarana of Hindustani. Both lay
Khuda Baksh.
stress on tala or talam.
Prominent exponents of the gharana are the
Styles of Carnatic Music important singers of this gharana are Faiyaz Khan,
Styles of Carnatic Music are as follows : Latafat Hussain Khan and Dinkar Kaikini.
Varnam It is a composition usually sung or played at Kirana Gharana
the beginning of a recital and reveals the general form It derives its name from the birth place of Abdul
of the raga. The two halves are almost equal in length. Kharim Khan of Kirana, near Kurukshetra. In the
The Varnam is made up of two parts which are as Kirana style of singing, the swara is used to create
follow : an emotional mood by means of elongation and use
1. The Purvanga or first-half. of Kanas.
2. The Uttaranga or second-half. Its founders are Abdul Karim Khan and Abdul Wahid
Kriti It is a highly evolved musical song set to a Khan.
certain raga and fixed tala or rhythmic cycle. Prominent exponents of the gharana are Hirabhai
Ragam It is a melodic improvisation in free rhythm Barodekar, Begum Akhtar, Bhimsen Joshi, Gangubai
played without mridangam accompaniment. Hangal and Prabha Atre.
Tanam It is another style of melodic improvisation in Jaipur Gharana
free rhythm.
The most distinctive feature of the Jaipur gharana can
Pallavi This is a short pre-composed melodic theme be best described through its complex and melodic
with words and set to one cycle of tal. Here, the soloist form, which arises out of the involutedly and
improvises new melodies built around the word undulating phrases that comprise the piece.
Pallavi.
Its founder was Ustad Alladiya Khan.
Trikalam It is the section where the Pallavi is played
Prominent exponents of the gharana are Alladiya
in three tempos keeping the tal constant.
Khan, Mallikarjun Mansur, Kesarbhai Kerkar, Kishori
Swara-Kalpana It is the improvised section Amonkar, Shruti Sadolikar, Padma Talwalkar and
performed with the drummer in medium and fast Ashwini Bhide Deshpande.
speeds.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
255

Rampur Sahaswan Gharana It focuses on the hand gestures, leg movement and the
In the Rampur Sahaswan Gharana, there is a stress on facial expressions of the dancer.
the clarity of swara and the development and
elaboration of the raga is done through a stepwise
progression.
Mewati Gharana
The Mewati Gharana gives importance to developing
the mood of the raga through the notes forming it and
its style is Bhava Pradhan. It also gives equal
importance to the meaning of the text.
Its founder was Ghagge Nazir Khan.
Prominent exponents of this gharana are Pandit Jasraj,
Moti Ram, Mani Ram, Sanjeev Abhyankar and others.

Folk Music Bharatanatyam

India has a rich legacy of folk music as well, which Kathak (Uttar Pradesh) Kathak comes from the word
represents the emotion of the masses. The simple songs ‘Katha’ which means ‘story’, so the dance is performed
are composed to mark every event in life. Folk songs have in the form of storytelling. It can be performed by both
their special meanings or messages. They often describe by the male and female dancer together. This dance
historical events and important rituals. Some of the form focuses highly on the ankle.
important folk music are as follows : Kathakali (Kerala) Kathakali is another
Lavani Popular folk song from Maharashtra. traditional dance form of India, which relates to the
Maand Developed in Rajasthan as Veer Rasa. storytelling. It includes the intriguing face movements
and the heavy costumes, which include the traditional
Dandiya Raas Performed in Gujarat and is associated
face masks and body paints (generally green). The
with Holi and lilas of Krishna and Radha.
music which includes only the vocals is called
Bhagwati Popular folk music in Karnataka and Soppanam.
Maharashtra.
Mohiniyattam (Kerala) Mohiniyattam is a classical
Baul It is a type of Bengali music and a religious sect. dance tradition of Kerala, which gained prominence
Wanawan Folk music from Kashmir which is sung under the rulers of Travancore. It was revived by
during wedding ceremonies. famous poet Vallathol Narayana Menon along with
Alha :  Folk song from Madhya Pradesh and is a heroic Kalyani Ammal.
ballad song.

Dance Forms of India

Indian dance forms has developed in a rich classical
tradition. It has a great power of expression and
emotions while telling a story. Dance forms in modern
period can be divided into Classical and Folk dance
forms.

Classical Dance Forms

Many temples across the country shows the sculptures of
the dancers in their different forms. Classical dance
forms like Kathakali, Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Manipuri,
Kuchipudi and Odissi are an important part of our
Mohiniyattam
cultural heritage.
Bharatanatyam (Tamil Nadu) Performed by the Kuchipudi (Andhra Pradesh) Kuchipudi is probably
women, the dance form is known for its beautiful the toughest form of classical dance in India. Lasya
body movements and gestures, which are called and Tandava elements are important in Kuchipudi
Mudras in the traditional language. dance form.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
256

Odissi (Odisha) This traditional dance form has Then, all of them jump together, going round and
developed in temples in Odisha. The Odissi dance is round.
considered as the oldest dance forms of India, which
includes more than 50 intriguing mudras (body Karma
movements). Popular among the Gonds and Baigas of
Chhattisgarh and the Oraons of Madhya Pradesh,
Karma dance is associated with the fertility cult.
These dance forms represents the coming of green
branches on trees, during the spring season. It is
related to the Karma festival, which falls in the
month of August.

Kaksar
This dance is performed by people in hope of
reaping a rich harvest and is popular among the
Abhujmarias of Bastar.
It is mainly undertaken by young boys and girls, in
order to invoke the blessings of the deity.

Folk Dance Forms

Odissi Along with classical dance forms, folk dance also
flourished.
Sattriya (Assam) Mahapurusha Sankaradeva, a
Vaishnava saint and reformer of Assam, introduced Practically every region of our country has developed
Sattriya dance in the 15th century AD. Traditionally, their own rich tradition of folk dances.
this dance was performed by the male monks or bhokots
but now women mainly perform Sattriya dance. Folk Dances
Folk Dance Region
Manipuri (Manipur) This dance form is performed to
narrate the romantic relationship between the Hindu 1. Dumhal Jammu and Kashmir
gods Radha and Krishna, which is famously known as
2. Chholiya Uttarakhand Referred as ‘sword dance’
Raas-Leela.
3. Bhangra Punjab
Tribal Dances 4. Mayur Nritya Uttar Pradesh
Some of the prominent tribal dances are : 5. Giddha Punjab, Female version of ‘Bhangra’
Muria 6. Chhau Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal
The Muria tribals of North Bastar area are known for 7. Gotipua Odisha
performing the folk dances of Muria. These dances start
with an invocation or prayer to the phallic deity of their 8. Bardo Chham Arunachal Pradesh
tribe and the founder of the Ghotul institution. 9. Bihu Assam
One of the popular Muria dances comprises of Har 10. Nongkrem Dance Jaintia Hill, Meghalaya
Endanna dance, performed by boys and girls during
marriages. 11. Jhumur Assam, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and
Odisha
Saila 12. Mayil Attam Temples of Tamil Nadu and Kerala
This dance is the dance form of Chhattisgarh and is 13. Theyyam (Kerala) Also known as ‘Kaliyattam.’
performed by young boys in the post-harvest time. It is
basically a stick-dance, in which dancers (each standing 14. Lava Dance Lakshadweep
on one leg and supporting himself by holding on to the 15. Garba Gujarat
man in front) form a circle.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
257

Sarhul Dance Swang (Haryana/Rajasthan/Uttar Pradesh) A popular

It is a traditional dance of the Oraon tribe. It marks the folk theatre form, Swang is characterised by loud
commencement of a new year as per the Hindu calender. rendering of dialogues and songs. It has two
It is a worship of the village deity who is considered to be important styles –Rohtak (performed in the Bangru
language)and Hathras (performed in the Brajbhasha
the protector of the tribes.
language).
Bhand Pather (Kashmir) The centuries old
traditional theatre form of Kashmir, bhand pather is a
unique combination of dance, music and acting.
Traditionally, the performances begin in the evening
with a ritualistic dance called chhok.
Tamasha (Maharashtra) A traditional folk tamasha
flourished in the courts of Maratha rulers of the 18th
and 19th centuries and attained its artistic peak
during the reign of Baji Rao II. Unlike other theatre
forms, in tamasha, the female actress is the lead
performer.

Puppetry
Sarhul Dance
Puppetry throughout the ages has held an important
place in traditional entertainment. Like traditional
Theatre Crafts theatre, themes for puppet theatre are mostly based on
India has a long, rich and illustrious history of folk epics and legends.
theatre. In ancient times, Sanskrit dramas were staged at The earliest reference to the art of puppetry is found in
seasonal festivals or to celebrate special events. Tamil classic Silappadikaram written around the first or
It has also played an important part in the growth of second century BC.
modern theatres in different languages. These are some major types of Puppetry in India:
Some of the important theatre forms in India are as Glove Puppetry In this particular form, the heads and
follows : arms of the puppets are controlled by the fingers of
Koodiyattam (Kerala) One of the oldest traditional the puppeteer. Found in Odisha, Uttar Pradesh,
theatre forms of India, Koodiyattam follows the ancient Kerala and West Bengal. Pavakoothu, a glove
tradition of Sanskrit theatre. puppetry form is from Kerala.
In 2001, Koodiyattam was officially recognised by Rod Puppets The puppets in this form are
UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible manipulated using rods. This form of puppetry
Heritage of Humanity. expression is found in West Bengal and Odisha.
Jatra (Bengal/Bihar/Odisha) The Jatra, originated in Shadow Puppets Shadow puppets are flat and
Bengal in the 15th century as a result of the Bhakti operated against a white clothed screen. It is very
movement. It was initially known as Krishna Jatra due popular with many styles originating from various
to Chaitanya’s Mahaprabhu’s influence. states (Orisha, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka,
Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu).
Yakshagana (Karnataka) Yakshagana  is a popular folk
theatre form of Karnataka. It is a unique harmony of String Puppets String puppetry has prospered in
musical tradition, eye-catching costumes, improvised Rajasthan, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
gestures and acting. It is the most recognised and spoken form of puppetry
around India.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER
258 38

Indian Languages,
Literature and Philosophy

Sources Class-X Old NCERT – The Story of Civilisation Volume II, Chap 14, The Heritage of India

India’s heritage in language and literature is one of the The Dravidian languages are older than the
richest in the world. Through the many centuries of Indo-Aryan languages and many of them have
India’s history, many languages have grown and have classical language status.
influenced one another. 3. Austric This is the oldest and most indigenous
Sanskrit, Persian, Hindawi and Urdu as well as language in the language family of India. Its
various regional languages were developed over the speakers are concentrated in the hilly and tribal
period of times. areas of Central and Eastern India.
Santhali, Nicobarese, Khond etc are the examples of
Classical Literature in India languages from this family.
In Indian sub-continent, there are two main groups of 4. Sino-Indian This includes languages spoken in the
languages. The Indo-European or Indo-Aryan and North-East and Northern parts of India. It includes
the Dravidian. Naga, Bodo, Tibetan, Ladakhi, Karbi, etc.
However, both Indo-Aryan and Dravidian developed Apart from this, a fifth family of languages spoken in
simultaneously. South Andaman is Ongan, which includes the two
languages of Onge and Jarawa. The Great
Indian Language Families Andamanese is another language family, which is
In India, many major languages exist along with other almost extinct.
minor languages usually spoken by a small number of The Nihali language spoken by around 2000 people in
people. The Indian languages can be divided into the Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan is an isolated
following four families : language, not a part of any family.
1. Indo-Aryan Speakers of languages from this family The Sidi language, spoken by Sidi people in Gujarat
account for around 70% of the population of the till the middle of the 20th century, is not extinct and
country. was derived from Swahili and also constituted to be a
Most of the languages in this family are derived part of the Niger-Congo language family.
from Sanskrit. Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Role of Sanskrit
Rajasthani, Assamese etc are the part of this family.
Sanskrit was the language of the Indo-Aryans who
2. Dravidian This is the second largest family of came to India and belongs to the Indo-European group
languages in India and consists of languages mostly of languages. Sanskrit was gradually standardised and
spoken in Southern India like Tamil, Kannada, given a hugely scientific grammar by Panini, in fourth
Malayalam and Telugu. century BC.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
259

Sanskrit was the language of religion, philosophy Dravidian Literature

and learning and was used by upper castes. The The Dravidian languages in Southern India developed
common people spoke a number of dialects, which simultaneously, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and
were called Prakrits. Various spoken languages Malayalam developed simultaneously in Southern India,
which developed are called Apabhramsa. with Tamil the oldest language of these, produced the
The Vedas Sangam literature.

The Vedas are the earliest known literature in India. Sangam Literature
The Vedas were in Sanskrit and were handed down Poets, bards and writers, authors came from various
orally from one generation to the other. The four Vedas parts of South India to Madurai, were called ‘Sangamas’,
are Rigveda, Yajur veda, Sama veda and Atharva veda. and the literature produced in these assemblies was
called ‘Sangama Literature’.
Buddhist Literature
The Sangama literature is a collection of long and short
The Buddhist works can be divided into the
poems composed by various poets in praise of numerous
canonical and the non-canonical, which were
heroes and heroines. They are secular in nature.
written in Pali language. The canonical literature is
known as ‘Tripitakas’ (three baskets) - Vinaya There are about 30000 lines of poetry, which are called
Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka. Ettuttokai. Besides the Sangama texts, Tolkappiyam,
deals with grammar and poetry. In addition, we have
The non-canonical literature is best represented by
the twin epics of Silappadikaram and Manimekalai.
the Jatakas. These are the most interesting stories on
the previous births of the Buddha. Each birth story Indian Scripts
is called a Jataka.
Indus Script It refers to the script used by the people
The Jatakas throw invaluable light on the social and belonging to the Indus Valley Civilisation. It has not
economic conditions ranging from the sixth century been deciphered yet. Some people have argued that this
BC to the second century BC. They also make script was the predecessor of the Brahmi script.
incidental reference to political events in the age of
the Buddha. This script is an example of Boustrophedon style as in
one line it is written from left to right while in other it is
Jain Literature written from right to left.
The Jain texts were written in Prakrit and were Brahmi Script Brahmi is the originator of most of the
finally compiled in the sixth century AD in Valabhi present Indian scripts, including Devanagari, Bengali,
in Gujarat. The important works are known as Tamil, Malayalam, etc.
Angas, Upangas, Prakirnas, Chhedab Sutras and It developed into two broad types in Northern and
Malasutras. Southern India, with the Northern one being more
Important Jain scholars were Haribhadra Suri, angular and the Southern one being more circular.
(eighth century AD) and Hemchandra Suri, (12th It was deciphered in 1937 by James Prinsep. Its best
century AD). examples are found in the rock-cut edicts of Ashoka.
Jainism helped in the growth of a rich literature Kharosthi Script It is the sister script and contemporary
comprising poetry, philosophy and grammar. of Brahmi. It was written from right to left. It was used
in the Gandhara culture of North- Western India and is
Later Sanskrit Literature sometimes also called the Gandhari Script. Its
The Milind-Panho is another great Buddhist work inscriptions have been found in the form of Buddhist
consisting of dialogues between the Indo-Greek texts from present day Afghanistan and Pakistan.
King Meander and the Buddhist philosopher
Sharada Script It was a Western variant of the Gupta
Nagasena.
script. It evolved into Kashmiri and Gurmukhi (now
Later many books were written in Sanskrit, of these, used for writing Punjabi) scripts. It was also used for
the most famous is the Buddha-charita or Life of writing Sanskrit. It is now rarely used.
Buddha by Ashvaghosha in Kushana period.
Nagari Script It was an Eastern variant of the Gupta
Another important books were written such as script. It is an early form of the Devanagari script. It
book on medicine by Charak and on surgery by branched off into many other scripts such as
Sushruta. Books written on astronomy by Devanagari, Bengali, Tibetan, etc. It was used to write
Varahamihira and Aryabhatta. both Prakrit and Sanskrit.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
260

Tamil Script It is the script used to write Tamil Telugu Literature

language in India and Sri Lanka. It evolved from
Under the Vijayanagara kingdom, Telugu literature
Grantha, the Southern form of Brahmi. It is a
developed immensely. Krishnadeva Raya wrote the
syllabic language and not alphabetic. It is written
Vishnuchittiya and his court poets Allasani Peddana and
from left to right.
Dhurjati wrote the Manucharita and Kalahasti Mahatyam
respectively.
Literature in the Medieval Period
In the early medieval period in Northern India,
Hindi Literature
Sanskrit continued to be the language of literature. The period of Sultanate of Delhi saw a great advance in
Many texts were written in this period in the growth of various regional forms of Hindi languages.
Dravidian languages and Apabhramsha (Sanskrit Braj Bhasa and Khari Boli, forms of Hindi, began to be
mixed with local dialects) languages as well. used in literary compositions.
The famous ballad Alha Udal and Vishaldeo Raso
Sanskrit Literature belonged to this period. Mulla Daud wrote perhaps the
Somadeva’s Katha Sarit Sagara is a collection of oldest poem in Awadhi language called Chandayana
Indian legends, fairy tales and folk tales with (commentaries on ancient scriptures).
multiple layers of story within a story. Bhakti saints preached in the language of the common
Kalhana’s Rajatarangini is related to Kashmir, people. Kabir’s Bijak written in Bhojpuri and Tulsidas’s
which is a first systemtically written history book. Ramcharitmanas and Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s
Another famous work of this period is the Padmavat were written in Awadhi language.
Gitagovinda by Jayadeva, which is one of the Hindi language also made significant progress during this
finest poems in Sanskrit literature. Bilhana’s period. Surdas and Keshavdas wrote in this period. Rahim’s
Vikramankadeva Charita, a biography of the Doha or couplets were also written in Hindi language.
Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI.
One of the earliest works in an early form of Hindi Other Regional Literature
was Prithviraj Raso by Chandbardai. This work Literature in other languages also developed in this
marks the beginning of bardic literature. period. In Bengali, the Ramayana by Kritivasa and the
hundreds of lyrics by Chandidas were written.
Kannada Literature
With Chaitanya, the tradition of writing devotional songs
Nrupatunga wrote a first great work of poetry in began. Narsi Mehta wrote devotional songs in Gujarati,
Kannada called the Kavirajamarga, which was Namdev and Ekanath wrote in Marathi.
deeply influenced by Jainism.
In Kannada language, Pampa wrote the Adipurana Persian and Turkish Literature
(life of first Jain Tirthankara) and the The Turks introduced the Arabian traditions of historical
Vikramarjuna Vijaya based on Mahabharata. writings in India. Ziauddin Barani wrote the
Ponna wrote the Shantipurana, history of 16th Tarikh-i-Firoz shahi which gives a detailed accounts of
Tirthankara. Another great Kannada writer was the Khaljis and Tughlaqs.
Ranna, who wrote Ajita Purana and Gadayuddha. The most outstanding literary figure was Amir Khusrau.
Note Pampa, Ponna and Ranna are known as the ‘Three Gems He wrote the Ashiqa, Nuh Sipihr, the Khazan-ul-Futuh
of the Kannada Literature’. and other literary works.
Note Persian was the court language of the Delhi Sultanate. Because of
Tamil Literature it many Persian words became part of the vocabulary of Indian
In Tamil, this was the period of composition of the languages.
great hymns of the Alvars and the Nayanars. The
Babar the first Mughal ruler, was one of the pioneers of
hymns of the Alvars are collected into the Nalayira
Turkish literature in India. His autobiography Babar
Divya Prabandham.
Nama is written in Turkish language.
Some of the Nayanar works are Thiruvasagam,
Gulbadan Begum, sister of Humayun wrote Humayun
Thiumanairam and Thiruttondattagoi. Another
Nama. Jahangir wrote his autobiography, Tuzuk-i-
great work was Kamban’s Ramayanam, which was
Jahangiri in Persian language.
written during this time.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
261

Urdu Literature Yoga Philosophy

One of the most significant developments during The Yoga school, as expounded by Patanjali in his second
the medieval period as the birth of the Urdu century BC. Yoga Sutras, accepts the Sankhya psychology
language. It produced great poets like Wali, Mir and metaphysics, but is more theistic, with the addition of
Dard, Mir Taqi Mir and Mirza Ghalib and others. a divine entity to Sankhya’s twenty-five elements of
This language soon developed one of the richest reality.
literature in modern Indian languages. Many The relatively brief Yoga Sutras are divided into eight
states of Northern and Deccan region of India, Ashtanga (limbs), reminiscent of Buddhism’s Noble
Urdu language is spoken in large number. Eightfold Path, the goal being to quiet one’s mind and
achieve kaivalya (solitariness or detachment).
Development of Vaisheshika
Indian Philosophy The Vaisheshika school was founded by Kannada in
the sixth century BC and it is atomist and pluralist in
The six orthodox schools are called as
nature.
Shaddarshanas and include Nyaya, Sankhya,
Yoga, Vaisheshika, Purva. Mimamsa and Uttara The basis of the school’s philosophy is that all objects in
Mimamsa (Vedanta Philosophy). the physical universe are reducible to a finite number of
atoms and Brahman is regarded as the fundamental force
Most of these schools of thought believe in the
that causes consciousness in these atoms.
theory of Karma and Rebirth. Moksha (salvation)
is believed to be the liberation from the cycle of The Vaisheshika and Nyaya schools eventually merged
birth and death and also the ultimate goal of over the period of time because of their closely related
human life. metaphysical theories. However, Vaisheshika only
accepted perception and inference as sources of valid
Nyaya Philosophy knowledge.
Nyaya school follows a scientific and a rational
Purva Mimamsa
approach. Sage Gautama is the founder of this
school. Nyaya school banks upon various Purva Mimamsa school believes in the complete authority
pramanas (mechanism of attaining knowledge). of Vedas. It is based on sage Jaimini’s Mimamsa Sutras. It
emphasises the power of yajnas and mantras in sustaining
It believes that gaining knowledge through the
the activities of the universe.
five senses is the sole way of attaining liberation
from the cycle of birth and death. It states that a human being can attain salvation only by
acting in conformity with the principles of Vedas.
Sankhya Philosophy
Sankhya is the oldest of all philosophies put forth
Uttara Mimamsa (Vedanta)
by the sage Kapila. It is a dualistic philosophy with Vedanta school is a monistic school of philosophy that
Purusha (soul) and Prakriti (nature) in it. believes that the world is unreal and the only reality is
Brahman.
Advaita Vedanta derives its base from Sankhya
school. Sankhya also devolves philosophical basis The three sub-branches of Vedanta are Advaita of
for yoga. It emphasises the attainment of Shankaracharya, Vishishtadvaita of Ramanujacharya and
knowledge of self through meditation and Dvaita of Madhwacharya. Uttara Mimamsa is based on
concentration. Upanishads (the end portions of Vedas).
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
262

Appendix

Historical Events in India

2350-1750 BC Period of Indus Valley Civilisation 1202 AD Bakhtiyar Khilji destroyed Nalanda University
1500-600 BC Vedic Age 1206 AD Delhi Sultanate founded by Qutub-ud-din Aibak
563-483 BC Buddhist Era 1210 AD Iltutmish ascended the throne of Delhi Sultanate
540-468 BC Mahavira’s Era 1236 AD Razia Sultana ascended the throne
544-492 BC Reign of Bimbisara (Haryanka Dynasty ) 1241 AD First Mongol invasion during the rule of Bahram Shah
326 BC Alexander attacked India through Khyber Pass 1326-27 AD Muhammad-bin Tughlaq shifted his capital from
Daulatabad to Delhi
322 BC Chandragupta Maurya became King
1333 AD Moroccan traveler, lbn-Battuta’s visit to India
305 BC Battle between Chandragupta Maurya and Seleucus
1336 AD Vijayanagara Empire founded
304-299 BC Stay of Megasthenes in the court of Chandragupta Maurya
1347 AD Foundation of Bahmani kingdom
269 BC Coronation of Ashoka
1398 AD Invasion of Taimur in India
261 BC Victory of Ashoka in Kalinga War
1498 AD Arrival of Vasco-da-Gama in India
185 BC End of Mauryan Dynasty
1506 AD Sikandar Lodhi shifted capital from Delhi to Agra
183 BC Attack of Indo-Greeks
1510 AD Portuguese conquest of Goa
57 BC Vikram Era begins
1509-1529 AD Reign of Krishnadeva Raya
45 AD Discovery of Monsoon by Hippalus
1526 AD First Battle of Panipat, Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodhi
78 AD Beginning of Saka Era
1527 AD Battle of Khanwa, Babur defeated Rana Sanga
150 AD Junagadh Inscription (First Sanskrit Inscription)
1533 AD Humayun got Dinpanah constructed
319 AD Coronation of Chandragupta
1540 AD Battle of Bilgram, Sher Shah defeated Humayun
350-375 AD Reign of Samudragupta
1555 AD Battle of Sirhind, Bairam Khan defeated Sikander Sur.
375-415 AD Reign of Chandragupta –II, Fa-Hien Humayun once again ascended the throne of Delhi
(399-414) visited India
1556 AD Coronation of Akbar, Second Battle of Panipat fought in
415-455 AD Reign of Kumaragupta, establishment of Nalanda which Hemu was defeated
University
1565 AD Battle of Talikota between Vijayanagara and Bahmani
455-467 AD Reign of Samudragupta, Invasion of Huns Empire
510 AD First signs of Sati-Pratha found in Bhanugupta’s Eran 1567 AD Akbar introduced Mansabdari system
Inscription
1575 AD Establishment of Ibadat-Khana
606-647 AD Harshavardhana’s reign
1576 AD Battle of Haldighati
630 AD Visit of Huien Tsang during Harsha’s rule
1579 AD Announcement of Mahzar by Akbar
632 AD Battle between Harshavardhana and Pulakesin-II
1582 AD Din-i-llahi started by Akbar
712 AD Arab attack of Sindh
1600 AD East India Company established
915-16 AD Almasudi’s attack on India
1608 AD William Hawkins visited Jahangir’s court
1001-1026 AD 17 raids of Mahmud Ghazni on India, Albiruni’s visit in
India 1615 AD Sir Thomas Roe arrived in India

1015-1044 AD Reign of Chola ruler, Rajendra -I 1627 AD Birth of Shivaji

1178 AD Bhima-II emerged, victorious in the battle with 1665 AD Treaty of Purandar signed between Shivaji and Jai Singh
Muhammad Ghori 1674 AD Coronation of Shivaji , establishment the Puducherry by
1191 AD First Battle of Tarain, Prithviraj Chauhan defeated Ghori Francis Martin

1192 AD Second Battle of Tarain, Ghori defeated Prithviraj 1699 AD Khalsa sect established by Guru Gobind Singh
Chauhan 1707 AD Death of Aurangzeb
1194 AD Muhammad Ghori defeated Jaichand, ruler of Kannauj in 1717 AD Farrukhsiyar gave Forman to East India Company for free
Battle of Chandawar trade
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
263

1724 AD Establishment of Hyderabad state by Nizam-ul-Mulk 1914 AD World War I held

1739 AD Battle of Karnal, Nadir Shah’s invasion on Delhi 1915 AD Arrival of Mahatma Gandhi in India
1748 AD Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India 1916 AD Home Rule League founded, Pact signed between INC
and Muslim League
1757 AD Battle of Plassey
1917 AD Champaran Satyagraha launched by Mahatma Gandhiji,
1764 AD Battle of Buxar formation of Saddler Commission
1772 AD Warren Hastings appointed as Governor of Bengal 1919 AD Rowlatt Act passed, Montague- Chelmsford reforms,
1773 AD Regulating Act passed Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, Khilafat Movement

1784 AD Pitt’s India Act passed, Foundation of Asiatic Society of 1920 AD Non- Cooperation Movement, All India Trade Union
Bengal Congress established

1793 AD Permanent Settlement applicable 1922 AD Chauri-chaura incident, withdrawal of Non-Cooperation

Movement
1799 AD Death of Tipu Sultan
1924 AD Hindustan Republican Army founded, Mahatma
1803 AD British captured Delhi Gandhji appointed President only once in Belgaum
Session
1809 AD Treaty of Amritsar signed between Britishers and Ranjit Singh
1925 AD Kakori Train Case
1816 AD Treaty of Sugauli was signed between East India Company
and Nepal 1927 AD Simon Commission appointed
1824 AD Military revolt of Barrackpore 1928 AD Simon Commission came in India, establishment the
Hindustan Socialist Republican Army
1829 AD Abolition of Sati
1929 AD Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw bomb in
1833 AD Governor-General of Bengal became Governor- General
Assembly
of India
1930 AD Gandhiji’s Dandi March, Round Table Conference, Civil
1839 AD Construction of GT road from Calcutta to Delhi started
Disobedience Movement Launched
1843 AD Capture of Sindhu by British
1931 AD Second Round Table Conference, Chandrashekhar Azad
1853 AD Introduction of railways in India shot himself at Alfred Park in Allahabad

1854 AD Wood’s Despatch 1932 AD Third Round Table Conference, Communal Awards

1857 AD Establishment of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta 1933 AD Gandhiji started a magazine, ‘Harijan’

1860 AD Budget system started in India 1934 AD Congress Socialist Party founded

1865 AD Telegraph service started between Europe and India 1935 AD Government of India Act passed

1872 AD Census system started in India 1937 AD Provincial elections held, Federal Court of India was
established
1875 AD Arya Samaj founded
1938 AD Subhash Chandra Bose was appointed as a President of
1876 AD Indian Association established by Surendranath Indian National Congress
1877 AD Delhi Darbar held 1939 AD Forward Bloc founded, World War ll started
1878 AD Vernacular Press Act implemented 1940 AD Gandhiji launched individual Satyagraha
1883 AD Ilbert Bill Controversy 1941 AD Azad Hind Fauj established
1885 AD Indian National Congress established 1942 AD Gandhiji gave a slogan ‘Do or Die’ (Quit India
Movement)
1887 AD Indian General Allotment Act
1944 AD Subhash Chandra Bose called Mahatma Gandhiji as the
1888 AD The United Indian Patriotic Association was established by
‘Father of Nation’
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
1945 AD Wavell Plan
1893 AD Swami Vivekananda’s speech in Chicago
1946 AD Cabinet Mission, Muslim League’s call for direct action
1896 AD India’s National Song was sung for the first time
day, Royal Indian Navy’s Mutiny
1902 AD Lord Curzon appointed a Commission for improvement in
1947 AD Indian Independence and partition of India
University Education System
1948 AD Assassination of Mahatma Gandhiji
1905 AD Partition of Bengal
1950 AD Implementation of the Constitution of India
1906 AD Muslim League founded
1951 AD First General Elections held
1907 AD Surat Split of INC
1953 AD First Linguistic State Andhra Pradesh was made
1909 AD Morley-Minto reforms for separate electorates for Muslims
1954 AD First Bharat Ratna Award was given
1911 AD Annulment of partition of Bengal
1962 AD India-China War, annexation of Daman –Diu and Goa
1912 AD Capital was shift to Delhi from Kolkata
into India
1913 AD Ghadar Party founded, Rabindranath Tagore received
1964 AD Death of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
Nobel Prize
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
264

Inscriptions of Ancient India

Inscriptions of Inscriptions of
Ruler Subject Ruler Subject
Ancient India Ancient India
Piprahwa Buddhist Shaka Ruler l
Obtained from Piprahwa Allahabad Pillar Samudragupta l
Sanskrit language and Brahmi
Ashdi Kalesh situated in Basti district of Inscription script is used
Inscription Uttar Pradesh l
Description of War against
l
Just after the 12 Kings of Dakshinapatha
Mahaparinirvarna of Buddha l
Ashoka and Jahangir writings
l
Brahmi script and Prakrit were also engraved
Language
Iron Pillar of Chandragupta-II l
Qutub Minar complex
Sohgaura Copper Chandragupta l
Maurya Record that Mehrauli (formely established in
Plate Inscription Maurya mentions famine relief Mihirpuri Village)
efforts l
Sanskrit language and Brahmi
First Ashoka script is used
Ashoka l
Prohibition of animal killing
Inscription at and eating of animals l
Vishnu Flag on Vishnu Padha
Girnar Mountain installation detail

Second Ashoka Ashoka l

Talks about welfare measure Mandsaur Kumaragupta-I l
Sanskrit language and Brahmi
Rock Edict of Inscription script engraved in
l
Order for spread of Dhamma
Girnar l
This inscription gives
description about Tantuvai
Ashoka’s Triadesh Ashoka l
Life of Ashoka and class of people from Lat
Rock Edict discussion of Kalinga War Pradesh to settle in Dispur
Seventh Pillar Ashoka l
After 27 years of coronation, l
Prashasti was written by
Inscription of this incription was made to Vatsbhatti
Ashoka spread of Dhamma
Junagadh Skandagupta l
Inscription in Sanskrit
l
It is obtained from Topra and Inscription language and it is in Brahmi
established in Firoz Shah script
Kotla, Delhi l
Vishnu at the beginning of the
Lumbini Pillar Ashoka l
20 years after the coronation inscription
Inscription Ashoka came to Lumbini and l
Skandagupta’s success against
visited the place of Buddha’s the Mlechchhas
birth
l
Paying Reverence to Buddha, Bhitari Pillar Skandagupta l
Discovered by Tregear from
land tax was run away for Inscription Ghazipur (Uttar Pradesh)
residents of Lumbini village l
In this incription, the
genealogy of Gupta Dynasty
Besnagar Garuda Antialcidus l
Prakrit language influenced has been engraved
Pillar Inscription (Heliodorus) by Sanskrit is used and
engraved in Brahmi Script
l
Details of defeat of
Pushyamitra by Skandagupta
l
In Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh
and established as symbol of Harha Rock Ishaan Varman l
Sanskrit Language and
Bhagwat Religion Inscription Brahmi Script is used
Hathigumpha Kharavel l
Found Udayagiri Hills of
l
Found in Barabanki (Uttar
Inscription Odisha. Written in Sanskrit Pradesh), Haraha Village of
influenced Prakrit language the district Shastri in the
with Brahmani Script Year 1915
l
Life and victory of Kharavela
l
Date-611 Vikram Samvat
(554 AD) on inscription is
l
Description of his campaigns inscribed
and mention of being a
follower of Jainism
l
Description of achievements
of Moukhari Rulers
Nashik Inscription Gautami Putra l
Victories of the Satavahana
Rulers Aihole Inscription Pulakeshin-II l
In Sanskrit and Brahmi script
Shatkarni is used, engraved Ravikirti on
l
Prakrit language and Brahmi the walls of the Temple by
script is used Jain
Junagadh Rudradaman l
Sanskrit Language and l
Description of Pulakeshin
Inscription Brahmi Script, First Sanskrit victory over Harshavardhan
(Girnar Pillar) Inscription of India
Eran Boar Pillar Bhanugupta l
In this the First practice of
l
Description of his Inscription Sati gets mentioned
achievements
l
Discussion of Huna Ruler
l
Restoration of Sudarshan
meets Toorman
lake was mentioned
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
265

Famous Statements Related to History

Ancient History Medieval History
l Harappa and Mohenjodaro were the twin capitals of a l If I am guilty of any wrongdoing, then I can decide
vast Empire. Stuart Piggott against myself also. Akbar
l India is a companion of Greece in the field of astrology. l I don’t know what is their in the shriyat I do what is
Gargi Samhita good for my kingdom. I am unaware of what will
l No person could marry irrespective of his caste, change happen to me on the day of judgement.
of occupation was also not possible, only Brahmans had Alauddin khaliji
the right to change their occupation during an l Daulatabad was a monument of misguided power.
emergency. Megasthenes Lane-Poole
l Dhammavijay, the favourite of the Gods, enjoys the most l Firoz Tughlaq was Akbar of the Sultanate Era.
important victory. 13th rock edict of Ashoka Henry Elliott and Alston
l Dhamma is the common property of all religions. In fact, l The Sultan was freed from his people and the
the power prescribed in record was the essence of all subjects were freed people their Sultan.
religions. Flint Badauni, on death of Mohammad Tughlaq
l Not a year passed, in which India had not earned ten l Humayun tumbled through life and he tumbled out
million sastriyar (Roman currency) from the Roman of it. Lane-Poole
treasury. Panini l He is the most brilliant Asiatic prince of his age an
l During the period of Harshavardhana, the irrigation of worth of a high place among the sovereigns of any
fields was done by ‘Ghanti Yantra’ and ‘ Tula Yantra’. age or country. VS Smith
Banabhatta l The real soul of the Mughal painter has become
l After crossing the Indus River, Seleucus fought infatuated with Jahangir. Percy Brown
Chandragupta and eventually a treaty was made l Akbar's tomb (at Sikandra) is a complete
between the two and a matrimonial relation was
monument of a great Indian ruler. Hawell
established. Appian
l An architectural masterpiece like Fatehpur Sikri
l Mesopotamia is the inspiration of Indus Valley
was neither in the past nor will happen in future.
Civilisation. Hilary
VS Smith
l Sahabha and Samiti are the two daughters of Prajapati. l Fatehpur Sikri is an expression of love in stone and
Atharvanas
the mind of a great man. Ferguson
l The way of salvation is not knowledge, but devotion that
is love for God. Ramanujan
l Sher Shah’s tomb at Sasaram is the best work in
the whole of North India. Percy Brown
l Harsha was a follower of Mahayana Buddhism and did
not respect other religions. Hansang
l Had Razia not a woman, she would have been
named among the great Muslim rulers of India.
l Hindukush Mountain was the legal boundary of India.
Elphinstone
BS Smith
l The king is the representative of God on Earth
l Chandragupta with an army of six lakhs defeated all of
(Niyamat-i-Khudai), so his everything done by him
the India and annexed it. Pultorak
is just. Balban
l Except the East, i have conquered all other three l Aurangzeb’s fame and body both got a tomb in the
directions. Kanishk
South VA located. VS Smith
l A king should be respected, even if he is a child, because
l I almost lost the kingdom of Delhi for a handful of
he is a deity, ruling in the form of a man. Manu-Smriti
millets. Sher Shah (about the Marwar conquest)
l During the last days of his life (Ashoka), he was
surviving on a half a awala. Divyavadana
l The Alai Darwaza is the largest diamond in the
treasury of Islamic architecture. John Marshall
l Samudragupta was not just fond of war and victory, but
poetry and music also has a major part in his life.
l He (Krishnadev Raya) was the most learned and
Prayag Prashasti complete king. He was among the people who
respected foreigners, he was a great and he was a
l Samudragupta was ‘Napoleon’ of India. BA Smith
just ruler. Domingo Paes
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
266

India will be divided on my dead body, as long as I am

Modern History l

alive I will not allow partition of India.

l Nehru is a patriot, while Jinnah is a politician. Iqbal Mahatma Gandhiji
l The British rule is a formidable weight and strength, l If God is put up with untouchability, I will not call
which has its own. There are uses, but is does not him God. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
help in producing a fertile lump of land. l India has been won on the strength of the sword and
Rabindranath Tagore
it will be protected only by the strength of the sword.
l I am not a visionary. I claim to be a practical idealist. Elgin-II
Mahatma Gandhi ji
l Go back to the Vedas. Swami Dayananda Saraswati
l Bengal united is a force; Bengal divided will go in
different ways. Herbert Risley
l If we do not accept the demand of Pakistan, then
many people in this country Pakistan will be made,
l The bones of cotton- Weavers are bleaching the plains there will be a unit of Pakistan in each office.
of India. William Bentique
Sardar Patel
l Just as all the currents mix their waters by taking l Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna Ab Hamaare Dil Mein Hai.
them into the ocean, similarly, all religions lead man Ram Prasad Bismil
towards God. Swami Vivekananda
l There is nothing more horrifying than stupidity in
l Gandhiji did the work which 50 thousand armed action. Jawaharlal Nehru
soldiers could not do. He made peace. Mountbatten
l Delhi Chalo. Subhash Chandra Bose
l ‘Saare Jahaan Se Achcha Hindustaan Hamaraa
Hamaraa.’ Iqbal
l Inqlab Zindabad. Bhagat Singh
l Whole of India is a large prison. CR Das
l Jai hind. Subhash Chandra Bose
l Remember we will have to make zamindars out
l The creator of Pakistan was not Jinnah or Mohammad
friends. Mahatma Gandhiji Iqbal but Lord Minto. Dr Rajendra Prasad
l The Sword of Revolution is sharpened on the
l It is a state of looted country, where the robber is
whetting-stones of ideas. Bhagat Singh continuously robbing and then escapes cleanly.
Dadabhai Naoroji
l Better live a day like a lion, than twenty years like a
sheep. Tipu Sultan
l The shots that hit me are the last nails to the coffin of
British rule in India. Lala Lajpat Rai
l The peasants will have to free themselves not only
from foreign slavery, but also from the slavery of
l I think Satyagraha is the only way to stop terrorism.
landowners and capitalists. Bhagat Singh Mahatma Gandhiji
l Today our country needs nerves of steel and muscles
l The Congress is tottering to its fall and one of my
of iron. Swami Vivekananda greatest ambitions while in India is to assist it to a
peaceful demise. Lord Curzon
l We are all sons of the Earth, we have to live together,
believe me, India cannot move forward until the l By revolution we mean that the existing system based
people, Hindus and Muslims do not become one. on injustice should end. Bhagat Singh
Jinnah l Home rule is the right of India, India as a nation has
l A theory must be tempered with reality. its own judicial and authority demands from the
Jawaharlal Nehru British Empire. Annie Besant
l I will create a bigger movement than the Congress l The main reason behind the establishment of the
from the sand of the country. Mahatma Gandhiji Indian National Congress was it’s the birth fathers
l Give me blood, i will give you freedom. were concerned about saving the Empire from
Subhash Chandra Bose
disintegration. Lala Lajpat Rai

l You cannot believe in God until you believe in

l Congress represents the micro minority of the people.
yourself. Swami Vivekananda Dufferin (about Congress)
l Political freedom is the life-breath of a Nation.
l Our nation is like a tree, whose root stem is Swaraj
Aurobindo Ghosh and indigenous and boycott its branches. Tilak
l ‘Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it.’ l My only hope lies in the prayer and its answer.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak Mahatma Gandhiji
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
267

Ancient Temples of North India and their Patrons Firoz Shah Tughlaq l
Firoz-Shah Kotta

(Dravida Style of Temples)

l
Tomb of Khan-i-Jahan Tilangini
Sikandar Lodhi l
Moth Ki Masjid
Temples Place Time Period Built By l
Agra Town
Kailashnath Kanchipuram 700 AD Narasimhavar l
Tomb of Bade Khan and Chote Khan
Temple man
(Rajasimha) Ibrahim Lodhi l
Tomb of Sikandar Lodhi
Vekund Kanchipuram 1720 AD Narasimhavar
Perumal man
Temple Mughal Architecture
Mukteshvara Kanchipuram 8th Century Nandivarman Babar l
Kabuli Bagh Mosque
Temple AD l
Jama Masjid of (Sambhal)
l
Ram Bagh (Agra)
Choleshwar Kanchipuram 9th Century Vijayalaya
Temple AD Humayun l
Din Panah (Delhi)
Nageshwar Kumbakonam 9th Century Aditya Padam Akbar l
Agra Fort
Temple AD l
Panchmahal
Thiruvalleswar Brahmadesam 10th Raja raja l
Fatehpur Sikri
ar Temple Century AD Padam l
Tomb of Saint Salim-Chishti
Rajarajeswara Thanjavur 11th Raja raja l
Buland-Darwaja
Temple Century AD Padam
Jahangir l
Tomb of Akbar (Sikandra)
(Brihadeeswara
r Temple)
l
Tomb of I’timad--ud-Daulah
l
Shalimar Bagh (Kashmir)
Vaidyanatha Tiruchirappalli 11th Raja raja
Temple Century AD Padam Shahjahan l
Shahjahan Bad Town
Uttar Kailasa Thanjavur 1106 AD Logo Mahadevi l
Chandni Chowk
Temple l
Taj Mahal
Shiv Devalaya Temple 11th Raja raja –I l
Lal Qila (Delhi)
Temple Polonnaruwa Century AD
Airavatesvara Kumbakonam 12th Raja raja-II Aurangzeb l
Badshahi Masjid
Temple Century AD l
Moti Masjid
Kapreshwar Tribhuvanam 1176 AD Kulotung-III
l
Tomb of Rabiya-Ud-Dauranni
Temple
Sher-Shah-Suri l
Tomb of Sher-Shah
Virupaksha Hampi 14th Lakkan l
Grand Trunk Road
Temple Century AD Dandesha l
Sher-Shah Pavillion
Varadharaja Kumbakonam 3rd Century Chola Ruler
Perumal AD
Temple Important Historical Works
Meenakshi Madurai 4th Century Pandya
Temple AD Ancient Literature Creator
Ashtadhyayi Panini
Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Architecture
Mahabhashya Patanjali
Sultanate Rulers Architecture Built Kathasaritsagara Somdev
Kutub-Ud-Din-Aibak l
Qwati-ul-Islam Katha Manjari Kshemendra
l
Qutab Minar
Arthasastra Kautilya
l
Adhai-din-ka Jhonpra
Iltutmish l
Tomb of Sultangarhi Nitisara Kamandaka
l
Tomb of Iltutmish Mrichhakatika Sudraka
l
Bawali of Gandhak
Harshacharita Banabhatta
Bulban l
Lal Mahal
Rajtarangini Kalhana
l
Tomb of Bulban
Uttar Ramcharitar Sandhyakar Nandi
Alauddin Khilji l
Alai Darwaja
l
Shiri Fort Tolkappiyam Tholkappiyar
l
Hazar Situn Mlvikagnimitram Kalidas
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq l
Tughlaqabad
Prithviraj Raso Chandbardai
l
Tomb of Tughlaque
Silappadikaram Ilango Adigal
Muhammad-Bin-Tughlaq l
City of Jahanpanah
l
Fort of Adilabad Manimaekalai Sitalai Sattanar
l
Tomb of Nizamuddin Auliya Jeevak Chintamani Tirukkadevar
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
268

Important Works In Delhi Sultanate Important Wars of Indian History

Work Writer Wars Period Between
Tahkik-i-Hind Alberuni
Battle of Hydaspes 326 BC Alexander-Porus
Taj-ul-Maathir Hasan Dizami
Kalinga War 261 BC Ashoka-Ruler of Kalinga
Tarikh-i-Firozshahi Zid-ud-din-Barani
Battle of Sindh 712 BC Mohd Qasim-Dhir
Fatwa-i-Firozshahi Firoz Shah
Tabaqat-i-Nasari Minhaj-Us-Siraj War of Peshawar 1001 BC

Tarikh-Masoodi Abdul Fazl Muhammad Bin Huseen First Battle of Tarain 1191 AD Muhammad
Ghori-Prithviraj
Kitab-ul-Rehla Ibnbattuta
Tarikh-i-Salatin-i-Afghana Ahmed Yadgar Second Battle of Tarain 1192 AD Muhammad
Ghori-Prithviraj
Kitab-l-Yamini Utbi
Third Battle of Tarain 1215 AD Iltutmish-Yaldoz
Khazain-ul-Futuh Amir Khusrow
Fatwa-e-Jahandari Zia-ud-din Barani Battle of Chandawar 1194 AD Muhammad Ghori
Jaichand

Important Works During the Mughal Period First Battle of Panipat 1526 AD Babur-Ibrahim Lodhi

Work Writer Battle of Khanwa 1527 AD Babur-Rana Sanga

Tuzuk-i-Baburi Babur Battle of Chanderi 1528 AD Babur-Medini Rai
Gulbadan-Begam Humayun Nama
Battle of Ghagra 1529 AD Babur- Mahmud Lodhi
Tarikh-i-Shershahi Abbas Khan Sherwani
Battle of Chausa 1539 AD Sher Shah-Humayun
Tarikh-Rashidi Mirza Haider Duglat
Tarrikh-Farishta Muhammad Qasim Farishta Battle of Kannauj (Bilgram) 1540 AD Sher Shah-Humayun

Tabakate-Akbari Nizamuddin Ahmed Second Battle of Panipat 1556 Akbar-Hemu

Akbarnama Abdul Fazal Battle of Talikota 1565 Vijaynagar-Bahmani
Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri Jahangiri
Battle of Haldi Ghati 1576 Akbar-Rana Pratap
Badshah Namah Abdul Hamid Lahori
War of Plasi 1757 Anglo-Bengal Nawab
Shahjahan Namah Inayt Khan
Nuskha-i-Dilkusha Bhimsen Battle of Wandiwash 1760 Anglo-French

Badshah Namah Muhammad Amin Kajvini Third Battle of Panipat 1761 Ahemad Shah
Abdali-Maratha
Important Works of Modern India Battle of Buxar 1764 British-United Alliance

Work Writer First Anglo-Mysore War 1767-69 English-Hyder Ali

Young India Lala Lajpat Rai
Second Anglo-Mysore War 1780-84 English-Hyder Ali
India Divided Rajendra Parsad
Third Anglo-Mysore War 1790 Tipu Sultan -British
Pakistan or the Partition of India VR Ambedkar
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War 1799 Tipu Sultan -British
Annihilation VR Ambedkar
Satyarth Parkash Dayanand Saraswati First Anglo-Sikh War 1845-46 Anglo-Sikh

Poverty and Un-British Rule of India Dadabhai Naoroji Chilian War 1848-49 Anglo-Sikh
India Wins Freedom Abdul Kalam Azad
First Carnatic War 1744-48 Anglo-French
Golden Threshold Sarojini Naidu
Second Carnatic War 1748-54 Anglo-French
Ideas of Nation Sarojini Naidu
Third Carnatic War 1756-63 Anglo-French
First War of Independence Veer Savarkar
The Life Divine Aurobindo Ghosh First Anglo-Maratha War 1775-82 Anglo-Maratha

Anand Math Bankim Chandra Chatterjee Second Anglo-Maratha War 1803-05 Anglo-Maratha
Lectures from Colombo to Almora Swami Vivekananda Third Anglo-Maratha War 1817-18 Anglo-Martha
Hind Sawaraj Mahatma Gandhiji
First Anglo-Afghan War 1838-42 Anglo-Afghan Ruler
Gita Rahasya Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Second Anglo-Afghan War 1878-80 Anglo-Afghan Ruler
Discovery of India Nehru
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
269

Important Personalities of Modern India

Dadabhai l
He was the first Indian to be elected in the house Bipin Chandra l
He was leader of revolutionary ideas.
Naoroji of commons (The Lower House) of the British Pal l
He was the first among all revolutionary thinkers
(1825-1917) Parliament. (1858-1932 AD) l
He played a prominent role in Swadeshi Movement
l
He had active participation in the establishment and Anti-Bengal Partition Campaign.
of the Indian National Congress and elected as
its President in 1886, 1893 and 1906.
l
He was prominent campaigner of India Swaraj abroad.
l
He is also called ‘Grand Old Man of India’. Madam Bhikaji l
She was a freedom fighter from Mumbai.
Cama l
She participated in the Socialist Congress at
Mahadev l
He was famous social reformer and Nationalist (1861-1936 AD) Stuttgart in 1907.
Govind Ranade leader of Maharashtra.
(1842-1901 AD) l
She founded the Free India Society.
l
Gopal Krishna Gokhale considered him as his
Guru. Madan Mohan l
He was a moderate leader and a lawyer by
Malviya profession. He served the provincial and central
l
He played an active role in Widow Remarriage
(1861-1946 AD) legislature for many terms.
Committees, Prathana Samaj, Deccan Education
Society, Vidhiva Partha etc. l
Through his efforts, a memorial was built at the
Jallianwala Bagh site.
Badruddin l
He was liberal Congressman and social
Tyabji reformer.
l
He founded the Nationalist Party in 1926.
(1844-1906 AD) l
He was first Muslim President of Congress
l
He was appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of
(Madras in 1887 AD) the session. Banaras Hindu University.
Annie Besant l
He played key role in the establishment of
l
He served as the editor of Hindustan, Abhyudaya
(1847-1933 AD) Central Hindu College (1898 AD). and the Indian Union.
l
In the year 1916, the Home Rule League was Lala Lajpat Rai l
He was fearless journalist and Freedom Fighter. He
formed and the Swadeshi Movement (1865-1928 AD) was also known as ‘Sher-e-Punjab’ or ‘Punjab
established. Kesari’.
l
In the year 1917 (Calcutta Session), she was the l
He joined the Extremist section along with Tilak
first Congress woman to become president. and Bipin Chandra Pal.
l
In the year 1907, she became the President of l
He was nominated as the President of the Calcutta
the Theosophical Society. special session of the Congress in the Year 1920.
l
Important newspapers associated with her are l
He was one of the founders of Swaraj Dal and also
‘Commonwealth’ and ‘New India’. helped in the establishment of DAV College.
Anand Mohan l
He was leading educationist, social reformer l
In November 1928, during the demonstration
Bose and active of Bengal nationalist. against the Simon Commission, he was injured and
(1847-1906 AD) martyred.
l
He organised Indian National Conference
in 1883 AD. Gopal Krishna l
Gandhiji regarded him as his Political Guru.
l
He was founder and secretary of Indian Gokhale l
He was President of the Banaras Session of INC,
Association. (1866-1915 AD) 1905. He supported the Swadeshi Movement.
l
He was President of the Madras Session of l
He founded the Servants of Indian Society in 1905
Congress in 1898 AD. to train people who would work as National
Missionaries.
Surendranath l
He was nationalist leader, journalist, jurist and
Banerjee educationist. CR Das l
He was a lawyer by profession. He defended
(1848-1925 AD) l
Indian Association was founded by him in (1870-1925 AD) Aurobindo in the Alipur Bomb Conspiracy Case.
1876 AD. l
He was the member of the Congress Enquiry
l
He established the Indian National Liberal Committee set up to look into Jallianwala Bagh
Federation in the year 1918. Massacre.
l
He founded the All India Swaraj Party in 1923.
Bal Gangadhar l
He was supporter of extremist ideology.
Tilak
l
He was elected as the First Mayor of the Calcutta
l
He tried to spread awareness through Cooperation in 1924.
(1856-1920 AD) newspapers like Kaisari and Maratha. l
He prepared the Das Formula for Hindu-Muslim
l
He started the Ganpati and Shivaji Mahotsav in Cooperation.
Maharashtra in 1897 AD. l
He was nicknamed as Deshbandhu Chittaranjan.
l
Due to his fearless journalism, he was l
His works include Malancha in 1895
imprisoned for 6 years in Mandalay jail, in the (Poems), Mala in 1904, Antaryami in 1915,
year 1908. Kishore-Kishoree and Sagar-Sangit in 1913.
Shyamji l
He was prominent freedom fighter of l
Newspapers/Journal associated with him are
Krishna Verma revolutionary ideology. Narayana (Bengali Monthly) and Forward.
(1857-1930 AD) l
He represented the Indian Independence
Sohan Singh l
He was a popular revolutionary.
Movement in London.
Bhakna l
He founded Hind Sangh in 1913.
l
He established India House in London in the Year (1870-1968 AD)
1905.
l
He published letter named Gaddar, in context of
Komagata Maru incident.
l
He established the Home Rule Society in l
He was released from jail in 1930 and joined
England (1905).
Farmer Movements.
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
270

Shri Aurobindo l
He was popular leader during Bengal Partition Sarojini Naidu l
She was popularly known as the ‘Nightingale of
Ghosh Movement. (1879-1949 AD) India’. She was a nationalist and poetess from
(1872-1950 AD) l
He was leader of Revolutionary Movement in Uttar Pradesh.
Bengal. l
She was married to Dr Govindarajulu Naidu in
l
He was editor of Yugantar, Karanuyagi and 1893.
Dharam. l
Under the guidance of Gopal Krishna Gokhale,
l
He was sentenced for one year in Alipur she became the first woman to participate in
Conspiracy Case. India’s struggle for Independence.
l
She participated in the Dandi March with
Tej Bahadur l
He was progressive Congress Leader. Gandhiji and presided over the Kanpur Session
Sapru l
He founded National convention. of Congress in 1925.
(1875-1949 AD) l
He was President of UP Congress Committee. l
She was the first woman to become the Governor
l
He was member of Legislative Council of United of Uttar Pradesh state.
Province between 1913 and 1916. l
Her famous poetries include - The Golden
l
He was law member of Viceroy’s Council. Threshold (1905), The Feather of The Dawn, The
Vallabhbhai l
He was a freedom fighter and social reformer from Bird of Time (1912) and The Broken Wing (1917).
Patel Gujarat. He is popularly known as Sardar Patel and Narayan Malhar l
He founded of All India Trade Union Congress
(1875-1950 AD) honoured with the title of ‘The Iron Man of India’. Joshi 1920.
l
His father, Jhaverbhai Patel, is supposed to have (1879-1955 AD) l
He founded Social Service League in Bombay.
fought in the army of Rani of Jhansi in the Revolt l
He was President of Bombay Textile Labour
of 1857. Union.
l
He started the Kheda or Kaira Satyagraha in 1918
Dr Pattabhi l
He was a doctor by profession and a prominent
and fought for the rights of the Peasants in Bardoli
Sitaramayya nationalist.
Satyagraha. Here, he was honoured with the title
(1880-1959 AD) He was official historian of Indian National
‘Sardar’. l

Congress.
l
He was the first national leader to be arrested
during the Civil Disobedience Movement. l
He was President of Indian National Congress in
1948.
l
He participated In Gandhi’s Individual Satyagraha
and Quit India Movement. l
He was first Governor of Madhya Pradesh.
l
In the Post-Independence Period, he was Madan Lal l
He was a revolutionary from Punjab. He was the
appointed as the first Deputy Prime Minister of Dhingra member of Indian Home Rule Society, the
India along with the portfolios of the Information (1887-1909 AD) Abhinav Bharata and the India Houses.
and Broadcasting and Home Ministry. l
He was sentenced to death for assassinating Sir
l
He played a major role in integrating the 562 William Curzon Wyllie, an advisor to the
princely states in the Indian Union. secretary of state of India during a public
Chakravarti l
He was a politician and lawyer from Tamil Nadu. function in the imperial institute, London.
Rajagopalachari l
He gave up his practice during Non-Cooperation Lala Hardayal l
He was a revolutionary from Delhi. He took up
(1879-1972 AD) Movement. (1884-1939 AD) the cause of India’s Freedom to a foreign land in
l
He held the post of the General-Secretary of the order to win international support for the freedom
INC in 1921-1922 and was a member of Congress movement.
Working Committee from 1922 to 1924. l
He was the first President of the Ghadar Party
founded in San Francisco in 1913.
l
He was arrested for leading a Salt March from
Trichinopoly to Vedaranyam on the Tanjore Coast.
l
He founded the Indian Independence Committee
in Germany and an Oriental Bureau to translate
l
He was elected as the Chief Minister of Madras in
the writings in the local language.
1937 elections.
l
His books were Wealth of Nations and Hints for
l
He resigned from INC in 1942 for not accepting the
Self Culture.
Cripp’s Proposal.
l
He prepared the CR Formula for Congress-League Dr Rajendra l
He participated in Swadeshi Movement
Cooperation. Prasad (established Bihari Students, Conference),
(1884-1963 AD) Champaran Satyagraha and Quit India
l
He served as the Governor of Bengal Movement
(August-November 1947) and was the first and last
Indian Governor-General of India (1948-50).
l
He founded the National College at Patna.
l
He became the Minister of Home Affairs in the
l
He was minister incharge or Food and
country’s first cabinet. Agriculture in the Interim Government of 1946.
l
He founded the Swatantra Party in 1959.
l
He was President of the Constituent Assembly.
He was first President of the Indian Republic.
l
His rational ideas are reflected in the l
He was honoured with ‘Bharat Ratna’ in 1962.
collection Satyameva Jayate.
l
He published newspaper Desh (Hindi Weekly).
l
He was awarded the ‘Bharat Ratna’ in 1954.
NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
271

Abdul Kalam l
He joined INC during Swadeshi Movement. Khan Abdul l
He was given title of Frontier Gandhi, Badshah
Azad l
He was President of Khilafat Committee Ghaffar Khan Khan or Sarhadi Gandhi, Fakhar-e-Afghan.
(1988-1958 AD) presided over the Congress special session at (1890-1988 AD) l
He founded an organisation of non-violent
Delhi in 1923, to become the youngest revolutionaries known as ‘Red Shirts’ or ‘Khudai
President. He was also the longest-serving Khidmatgars’.
President of INC. l
He opposed partition of India. He participated in
l
He headed the Jamiat-ul-Ulema, 1924, Non-Cooperation Movement and Quit India.
Nationalist Muslim Conference, Shimla l
He was newspaper — Pakhtoon (In Pushto), later
Conference, 1945 and negotiated with Cabinet published as Das Roza.
Mission, 1946. l
He was honoured with ‘Bharat Ratna’ in 1987.
l
He was elected as the Member of Constituent
Assembly in 1946 and became Minister of Dr Bhimrao l
He was leader of the Depressed Class and an
Education and Arts in the Interim Government. Ramji eminent Jurist.
Ambedkar l
He founded the Depressed Classes Institute in 1924
l
He was first Education Minister of independent
(1891-1956 AD) and Samaj Samata Sangh in 1927.
India. He was also given the portfolios of
natural resources and Scientific Research. l
He set up a network college in the name of People’s
l
He contributed in the foundation of UGC, Education Society.
AICTE and IIT Kharagpur. l
He was participated in all the Three Round Table
l
His book was ‘India Wins Freedom’. Conferences and signed the Poona Pact with
Gandhiji in 1932.
Sarvepalli l
He was an educationalist from Tamil Nadu. He
Radhakrishnan was associated with many Educational
l
He was in the Governor-General’s Executive
(1888-1975 AD) Institutions in India. Council from 1942 to 1946 and organised the Indian
Labour Party and Scheduled Caste Federation.
l
He served as the Vice-Chancellor of Andhra
University in 1931 and Banaras Hindu
l
He was Chairman of the Drafting Committee of
University in 1942. Indian Constitution.
l
He gave lectures on theology and philosophy in
l
As the first Law Minister of Independent India. He
the Universities of Chicago, Manchester, introduced the Hindu Code Bill.
London and Oxford. l
He started ‘The Republican Party’ in 1956.
l
He was the leader of the Indian Delegation to l
Towards the end of his life, he embraced Buddhism.
UNESCO from (1946-50), its Chairman in 1948
and President of UNESCOS University Achary Vinoba l
He was a prominent participant and leader in Flag
Education Commission in 1952. Bhave Satyagraha, Temple Entry Movement, Salt
(1895-1982 AD) Satyagraha, Dandi March and Quit India Movement.
l
In 1962, he represented the Calcutta University
at the Congress of Philosophy at Harvard l
He was prominent Satyagrahi of Individual
University. Satyagraha.
l
He was twice elected as the Vice-President of l
He lead Bhoodan Movement and Sarvodya
India (1952-56 and 1957-62) and served as the Movement after Independence.
President of the Nation from 1962 to 1967.
Ram Prasad l
He was a revolutionary from Uttar Pradesh. He was
l
His birthday (5th September) is celebrated as Bismil a member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican
‘Teachers’ Day’. (1897-1927 AD) Association.
l
His works include — the Ethics of the Vedanta l
He was sentenced to death in charge of the Kakori
and Its Material Presupposition 1908, the Rail Dacoity Case (9th August, 1925).
Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore 1918,
Idealistic View of Life 1932, Eastern Religion
l
His most famous composition is ‘Sarforoshi Ki
and Western Thought, Indian Philosophy and Tamanna Ab Hamare Dil Mein Hai’.
Kalki on the Future of Civilisation. Subhash l
He passed the Indian Civil Services Examination in
Acharya l
He was a scholar, socialist, nationalist and a Chandra Bose 1920 in England but left it on Gandhiji’s call of
Narendra Dev lawyer by profession. He gave up his practice (1897-1945 AD) Non-Cooperation Movement.
(1889-1956 AD) and joined Non Cooperation Movement. l
He founded the Independence for India League with
l
He became the President of Patna’s Socialist JL Nehru.
Conference in 1934 and a member of UP l
He was elected as the President of INC at its
Legislation Assembly in 1937. Haripura Session 1938 and Tripuri Session 1939.
l
He was appointed as the principal of Kashi Resigned from Tripuri due to differences with
Vidyapeeth in 1925 and also became the Gandhiji.
Vice-Chancellor of Lucknow and Banaras l
He founded the Forward Bloc 1939 and Kishan
Universities. Sabha.
l
He founded the Socialist Party in 1948. l
He escaped to Berlin in 1941 and met Hitler. He
took the charge of Indian Army (Azad Hind Fauz) in
Swami l
He was Dandi Sanyasi of Dasnami Order. 1943 in Singapore and set up Indian Provisional
Sahajanand l
He was a nationalist. Government there.
Saraswati
(1889-1950 AD)
l
He was a prominent peasant leader of Bihar. l
He addressed Mahatma Gandhi as the ‘Father of the
l
He founded Bihar Kishan Sabha in the year Nation.’
1929. l
He supposedly died in a plane crash in 1945.
l
He established ‘Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha in l
His slogans are ‘Delhi Chalo’ and ‘Jaihind’
the year 1936. l
His autobiography is ‘The Indian Struggle’
 NCERT Notes INDIAN HISTORY
272

Udham Singh l
He was prominent revolutionary of Punjab Chandra l
He was a famous revolutionary activist, member of
(1899-1940 AD) and an Associate of Bhagat Singh. Shekhar Azad the Hindustan Republican Association and leader of
l
In London, he assassinated General Michel O (1906-1931 AD) the Hindustan Social Republican Army.
Dyer, the Governor of Punjab during l
He gained his title ‘Azad’ during the Non Cooperation
Jaliyawala Bagh Massacre. Movement. When he was arrested and the court asked
his name, he repeatedly answered ‘Azad’.
NG Ranga l
He played an important role in Indian
(1900-1995 AD) Communist Movement.
l
He was involved in Kakori Conspiracy of 1925,
Second Lahore Conspiracy, the Delhi Conspiracy, the
l
He founded first Kisan Sangh 1923 in Guntur. Killing of Saunders in Lahore and Central Assembly
l
He played important role in formation of Bomb Episode.
Akhil Bhartiya Kishan Sabha in the year 1936. l
He shot himself while fighting with the police at
Jayaprakash l
He was a freedom fighter from Bihar. He is Alfred Park in Allahabad.
Narayana popularly known as Loknayak. Bhagat Singh l
He was member of Hindustan Socialist Republican
(1902-1979 AD) l
He was a follower of Marxist philosophy and (1907-1931 AD) Army.
advocated for the nationalisation of heavy l
He started the Militant Naujawan Bharat Sabha in
industries and abolition of Zamindari. Punjab.
l
He joined INC on Nehru’s offer and was jailed l
He killed British official Saunders in 1928 and was
during Civil Disobedience Movement. involved in Lahore Conspiracy. He also bombed the
l
He formed the All India Socialist Party Central Legislative Assembly.
in 1934. l
He was executed on 23rd March, 1931.
l
He actively participated in Quit India Ashfaqulla l
He was a revolutionary.
Movement and was imprisoned. Khan l
He was member of Hindustan Republication
l
He joined the Bhoodan Movement of Vinoba (1900-1927 AD) Association.
Bhave. l
He was played an important role in Kakori Conspiracy
l
In 1975, he protested against the National Case.
Emergency and founded the Janata Party. l
He was hanged in Fridabad by the British.