South India - Introduction

Dateline: Circa 900AD-Circa 1600AD

After the decline of the Gupta empire the country had disintegrated into a number of smaller kingdoms. Soon certain kingdoms would emerge more dominant and control a greater area. In the north the new invaders set up the Delhi Sultanate. Southern India however remained unaffected by such developments and instead had its own set of warring kingdoms. South India would remain essentially unchanged during the period of Islamic rule in the country, since it was not exposed to the new culture in the way the North was. Hence it remains till today, an example of the pre-Sultanate ideas in India. In this section we shall look at South India economy, society, art etc. with special reference to two Southern kingdoms, Chola and Vijayanagar.

Dateline: Circa 900AD-Circa 1600AD

After the decline of the Gupta empire the country had disintegrated into a number of smaller kingdoms. Soon certain kingdoms would emerge more dominant and control a greater area. In the north the new

South India - Art and Architecture

South India developed its own distinct architectural style which was essentially Indian for they had not been exposed to foreign techniques as North India had. The earlier system of carving temples out of rock had now ended and the trend was to build free standing structures. A Chola temple had a shrine which was approached by one or more halls. Outside there was a tall pyramidal structure known as the shikara , which was richly decorated. The temples was then surrounded by an enclosed courtyard. The entrance gates of these courtyards were also fine works of art in themselves, modelled after the shikara's ,they often were more elaborate then the shikhara . The temples of this period had a new floor plan, a star shaped one as opposed to their earlier rectangle. The star shaped floor plan gave more room for such artistic works then the earlier rectangular one, and this was perhaps the reason it was adopted. A temple consisted of the shrine room, ante chamber and various halls and aisles,

South India - Society

The centre of all social activity during the Chola period was the temple. A temple was either constructed by the king or else it was built by the village through revenue collection and donations from the trade guilds. The temple was where the assemblies were held and where schooling was done. A new concept of Devadasis (female servants of Gods) came about with women becoming actively involved in the running and management of the temple. They joined the temple at a very young age, and the more talented were selected for training in the dance form of Bharatanatyam, which involved very difficult training.

The caste system had by now become a marked feature of the society. The Brahmins (priests) had by now established themselves as the most privileged section of society. They had tremendous political influence and were exempt from tax. The remaining caste strictures were all essentially the same as before, although the concept of untouchable castes had further spread, they were not even allowed to enter the temples. The Brahmins in fact were strong supporters of the caste system, because they knew that their position depended on the disunity of the rests of the castes. Castes were also related to economic activity, and one could acquire privileges normally given to another caste by performing similar work.

South India - Vijayanagar Economy

The economy of the Viajaynagar empire was essentially unchanged from that of the Chola period. Blacksmiths and carpenters were now in great demand and hence occupied a higher social scale. Meanwhile the guilds continued to have a considerable influence on the economy. The guilds themselves were hierarchical with artists guilds working under merchant guilds, who were now powerful distributors who could influence the functioning of the artists guilds considerably. The economic power of the merchant guilds was considerable and they began commanding political influence as well. Any taxation policy would first have to be cleared with the guild leaders, who were also to some extent representatives of public opinion. The system of credit was controlled by temples who lent money to those who required it and often invested in various development project. Those who could not pay back their dues would have their land taken over by the temple. The temple was often the single largest land owner and consumer of a village, the hub of village economic activity, providing various employment opportunities. Their economic influence forged a closer link between them and the monarchy.

South India - Vijayanagar Government

The kingdom of Viajaynagar was ruled by a monarchy, which in theory was supposed to be hereditary. However the environment during the Viajaynagar empire was very turbulent, there was significant opposition to their rule in South India as well as from the Delhi Sultanate in North India. Hence only a strong king could survive who also possessed military and diplomatic skills. Weaker kings were almost always overthrown, as is evident from the fact that the Viajaynagar empire had three different ruling dynasties.

The king ruled as an autocrat and although he was advised by a council of ministers he was not bound to consult them or to accept their recommendations. He had complete authority and even the highest minister remained in power only as long as he commanded the kings favour. There was however an administrative machinery in order to govern the large empire. A central government with a number of departments was put in place and had a well organized secretariat with its own officer. The treasury was divided into two, one through which all the states income and expenditure was routed and the other which was a reserve, to which the kings continuously added and could fall back on in times of need. The major expenditure was in

South India - Rise of Vijayanagar

After the decline of the Chola power, South India once again disintegrated into a number of smaller kingdoms. Among these, Viajaynagar emerged as the dominant power in South India. The Viajaynagar empire which would last for about 300 years would become a centre for Hindu culture and would result in its survival today in South India, for in North India a more composite culture would develop as a result of the blending elements of Hindu and Islamic ideas. The kingdom was founded by HariHara who built the magnificent city of Vijaynagara (City of Victory) in 1343, after which the kingdom was named.

The Viajaynagar era has often been described as a period of revival of Hinduism in Southern India, but this is not entirely correct. Viajaynagar was not a kingdom which attempted to spread Hinduism or check the spread of Islam. It did not form alliances with other Hindu kingdoms to defeat the new Islamic rulers of the North India. Viajaynagar kings were great patrons of religious institutions and the arts and as a result during their reign Hindu traditions continued undisturbed. They were able to instill in South Indians a tremendous sense of religion and values, which was instrumental in the survival of Hindu culture in South India even today, despite enduring 200 year of European rule.

South India - Chola Economy

The Chola kingdom had a strong and well developed economy. Villages were completely self sufficient and were able to satisfy most of the needs of the villagers. They grew their own food, manufactured their own clothes and had their set of craftsmen and other professionals to full cater to the majority of their requirements. Hence there was no major surplus for everything was used within the village itself. This however began to change with the growth of towns and foreign trade. The demand for commodities went up and villages then began producing surplus goods for sale, with the monetary system entering the rural economy.

Guilds continued to be an important part of industry and were centered mainly In the towns. Besides manufacturing there was now the new concept of merchant guilds, who specialized in the procurement and distribution of goods. With the flourishing foreign trade of that time there was tremendous internal as well as external demand for goods and hence they formed a vital part of the economy. They were actively supported by the state, which would assist them if they faced difficulty in negotiations with a foreign country. The state however did not interfere directly with the functioning of the guilds. The guilds were

South India - Chola Government

The Chola system was headed by a king, who was the highest power in the state. Religion and culture played an important part in the Chola administration, with considerable energies of the state being used in building temples and patronizing priests. An interesting development was the cult of the god-king. Deceased Chola kings were often depicted on temples and were worshipped by the people. The king in the Chola form of government was assisted by an assembly of councillors and the rajguru (priest of the royal family). There does not appear to have been any regular ministerial councils.

The administrative set up of the Chola period was a well organized one. Although the kings word was law, before it could be implemented it would have to be written down. The entire kingdom was divided into a number of provinces known as mandalams . These were divided into districts or valanadus . The districts were then further divided into groups of villages known as kurram, naddu or kettam . A big village would sometimes be administered as a single unit, and such a unit would be known as a taniyur . The Chola villages retained the administrative machinery as it was during the Gupta period, and in fact one remarkable feature of the Chola period was the amount of autonomy given to the village government. While

South India - Rise of the Cholas

After the decline of the Gupta empire, the main kingdoms vying for control over southern India were the Pallavas, Pandayas and the Cholas. The Cholas after years of bitter struggle emerged as the dominant force and set up a southern empire. Their rivals however would continue to be a source of trouble and the years in power are characterized by one of almost eternal conflict.

The Chola dynasty began in 1907, with Parantaka I coming to power and establishing their presence. During his reign the Cholas made some substantial gains as well as sustained some crushing defeats. During the next thirty years following his death there was further erosion of the Chola power. However soon luck began favoring them, and whilst the other southern powers were locked in conflict the Cholas once again recovered and in fact extended their empire, making them the dominant force of south India This was achieved by the Chola king Rajaraja I. He would be succeeded by his son Rajendra, and their reign stabilized and extended the empire. The Chola dynasty would remain a powerful kingdom until 1200AD when the decline of their empire, would pave the way for Mughal expansion into south India.

British India - Advent of the Europeans

India's trade relations with European countries goes back all the way to the days of the Greeks. There was a thriving trade between the two countries along a number of routes. However there existed some monopolies. The Arabs controlled the goods on their way to Asia and the Italians controlled the goods en-route to Europe. Although there were so many middlemen in this trade, it still remained remarkably profitable.

The western European nations noticed this and were keen to get into the trade business. However, attempting to break the existing monopolies of the Arabs and the Italians proved to be very difficult. They began to search for another route to the spice islands of India and Indonesia. In 1492 Columbus set out to discover India but ended up discovering America instead. In 1498 Vasco da Gama of Portugal discovered a new route to India. He landed at Calicut and the goods he took back with him were sold for sixty times the cost of the trip. These

Religion In Ancient India

The predominant religion in ancient India was Hinduism. The roots of Hindu religion can be traced back to the Vedic period. Hinduism is believed to be the oldest of major religions and originated in northern India. Early Aryan, or Vedic, culture was the early Hinduism whose interaction with non-Aryan cultures resulted in what we call Classical Hinduism. It is interesting to note that much of ancient, classical and modern Indian culture has been greatly shaped by Hindu thought.

The Mahabharata and Ramayana, both sacred Hindu texts, served as India's main motivating base for a great deal of literary, artistic and musical creations in subsequent millennia. The Epic Period was a golden era in Indian philosophical thought because of the tolerance of different opinions and teachings. The most popular form of Indian medicine, Ayurveda, was developed by Vedic saints and Jyotish, Hindu astrology, is the most popular form of astrology in India today. Yoga, an internationally-famous system of meditation, is one of six systems of Hindu thought.

East India Company

East India Company was formed by British traders to trade with India. They set up godowns to store the goods they traded in. The protection of these godowns served as a good excuse to build forts and maintain armies at such centers.
[Image] During this time disorganized kingdoms were fighting amongst themselves. The British took the golden opportunity to benefit from these internal quarrels and helped one king against another. In this bargain the British gained more power and wealth. The British trained Indian soldiers and employed them in their army. This army was far better trained and disciplined than the armies with small Indian kings who were just struggling to survive. Gradually the British succeeded in capturing very large parts of India. They made treaties with kings who accepted the authority of the British. They were kings only in name. The British very cleverly managed to collect huge wealth from the people and the kings.
[Image] Likewise, even the weavers of fine cottons and silks were compelled to see their cloth only to British traders at prices decided by them. Anybody found selling his cloth to a trader other than the British was severely punished. Also, no duty was charged on British goods coming to India. On the other hand, Indian exports to Britain were subjected to high imported duty. The India cottage industry also suffered at the hands of the British traders. India had a large handloom industry. But the British by now had started a very big cotton textile mills in England. They needed a lot of cotton for these mills, so cotton was purchased here at a very low price and sent to England and in return huge quantities of cloth was sold in India. The result was that the big weaver class in India became unemployed. People had to buy costlier British cloth. Such were the ways of the British to amass wealth in India to be sent back to England. Thus the Indian farmers, weavers, traders, kings, Nawabs, craftsmen were all unhappy and this discontent led to the mightiest revolts in 1857 which was also joined by Sanyasis, Fakirs, disbanded soldiers and British soldiers too.
[Image] The British conquered India with the help of Indian soldiers, but did not treat them properly. They were denied higher positions in spite of their abilities. The Indians were also traded as slaves to other British colonies. The company was indifferent to education and so the old system of education suffered under the British rule. After this revolt the Company’s place was taken by the British government directly which too was very harsh with Indians. In 1857, power was transferred from the East India Company to the British Crown and India became a British colony. India fought a total of 111 wars and with Indian money and troops, British-India finally saw peace.
[Image] The British introduced modern technology with the intention to sell manufactured goods like textiles and machines for profit. In the process of trying to make a profit and exploiting India, the British did of course benefit India. They built railways throughout India in order to make everything readily accessible. They established Law Courts, civil services and transport systems. They also established factories, schools and universities to introduce western ideas and to incorporate the idea of democracy. Missionaries came to India and spread Christianity. This was all done in the name of Britain’s economy.

The Mughal Empire - Introduction

Dateline: 1526AD-1857AD

India had been without a major empire for almost a thousand years now, it had not been since the Gupta Dynasty that an all India empire had been created. The Mughal Dynasty was the last great empire of Indian history. Such was their greatness that not only did they leave a lasting impact on Indian history, the English word Mogul (derived from Mughal) means a powerful person. The Mughals were a remarkable dynasty, and at their peak they produced a successive set of capable rulers. It was also during their reign that some of the finest monuments of India were built, most notably one of the seven wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal.

The Mughal dynasty was founded by Babur, who was a ruler of a kingdom near Persia (modern day Iran). Babur a Turk, was related to the great Mongol conqueror, Chengiz Khan and the Turkish invader Timur. The increasing power of the Uzbeks of Central Asia, was a cause for Babur to want to leave his country. The Delhi Sultanate around this time existed merely in name, and the political scene was in total disarray. The Sultan in power was Ibrahim Lodi, but the nobles commanded a major portion of power. The entire system was very unstable, and finally it cracked. Daulat Khan, a powerful noble who was dissatisfied with Ibrahim Lodi actually requested Babur to come and invade India. Babur had long cherished a desire to

The Mughal Empire - Economy

By the time of the Mughals, cities had grown in importance. The expanding economy now needed urbanization and a fixed market in order to succeed. Earlier, there were usually weekly markets where people from surrounding regions would congregate at a particular place on a particular day. Once the economy started growing, many trade centres developed which soon grew into prosperous cities. Many Indian cities of that time, according to travelling foreigners, were better than those in Asia and Europe. Communication and transport facilities had also improved during the time of the Mughals and Sher Shah. There were several metalled highways reaching various places of the empire. River transport was also important, especially those which were navigable throughout the year. River transport was a cheap and fast way of transporting goods over long distances. Bridges were also constructed to speed up the movement of land transport. Such initiatives and conditions were important contributing factors to the development of the economy.

Agriculture continued to remain an important part of the economy, but the crops and techniques still remained largely unchanged. Irrigation was largely absent although some areas did have access to canals and water works. A variety of food and cash crops were grown. The textile industry was booming and hence there was tremendous demand for cotton and silk which were important cash crops. Tobacco, introduced sometime in 1604 also became an important cash crop. One negative aspect of the Mughal administration was that they did not make any major efforts in agricultural development. Hence the citizens

The Mughal Empire - Shah Jehan

After the death of Jehangir, there was a power struggle amongst the sons of Jehangir, in which Shah Jehan emerged as the emperor. Shah Jehan was in South India at the time of his father's death and speedily rushed to the north and proclaimed himself the emperor. Shah Jehan had a fairly stable rule, with a few rebellions and conquests from which he emerged largely successful. He was able to expand the Mughal territories deep into the South. However, in some areas like the North West Frontier, the Mughal army was defeated repeatedly which lowered the prestige of the Mughal Empire. Shah Jehan's reign was a return to that of the great Mughal kings like Babur and Akbar. An able military commander and man of tremendous cultural ambition. Shah Jehan is perhaps best remembered as being the best builder of the Mughal period, creating some of the finest structures, which blended the distinct Indian and Persian styles into a coherent whole. His most famous building is the mausoleum he made for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, which is called the Taj Mahal.

The Mughal Empire - Society

The society of the Mughal period can roughly be categorized into the rich, middle and poor class. The difference between the richest sections of society and the poorest was very wide. At the top of the social and economic ladder was the king followed by his nobles. This class lived in extraordinary luxury with abundant resources at their disposal. They lived a life of reckless festivity, grand banquets, lavish homes and often had inflated egos. Their food and dress was very costly, and their homes were huge palatial structures. Both indoor and outdoor games were popular with this class, for they had the time and resources to be able to indulge in them. An unfortunate aspect was that as a result of their tremendous wealth, many of them squandered away their money and lives in vice and temptations. Towards the close of the Mughal empire, many of the emperors were no longer interested in running the empire, instead they were more keen on enjoying the wealth they possessed as kings. The Mughal empire was very successful and hence very rich, and it took a strong king not to get tempted with all the luxuries and stay focussed on ruling the empire.

The middle class was a relatively new development, one that would grow and become an important force during British India. They were usually merchants, industrialists and various other professionals. While not being able to afford the extravagance of the rich class, they led comfortable and perhaps more sensible lives. Many middle class families were also very well off and were able to indulge in some luxuries. Below

The Mughal Empire - Government

The Mughal empire provided a system of government that shared many ideas with the Sultanate as well as bringing in some new ideas of its own. It also incorporated many Indian ideas as well. The empire was essentially still military in nature, with every officer of the Mughal state a member of the army. The emperor was an autocrat and had unlimited freedom in making laws. Although he had a council of ministers, he was not bound to consult them, and his word was law. The only restriction was that he had to follow the guidelines set forth in the scriptures and Islamic traditions. However, a powerful emperor could often violate these as well. The great Mughal kings can best be described as benevolent despots, who ruled fairly and justly. Most of them did involve their ministers in decision making. They also attempted to improve the lives of their subjects, although there was no socialistic work in their times.

The administrative system of the Mughal Empire was largely the work of Akbar, for the early two Mughal kings (Babur and Humayun) did not really get the chance to implement much of a system. Akbar's task was simplified for he inherited some measure of Sher Shah's system of organization. During Akbar's time the system worked very well, but it began to deteriorate during the time of his successors. As mentioned earlier, all officers were members of the army. Each officer was assigned a specific responsibility, and was

The Mughal Empire - Art and Architecture

Art and Architecture flourished under the Mughals. The uncertainty of the Sultanate period was over, and the new ideas from that period had been successfully absorbed. Now under the patronage of the powerful Mughal emperors, great works in art and architecture began in all parts of the empire.

Painting made some significant advances during the Mughal period. Painting was a popular expression of art during the Mughal period, and in fact a Mughal school of painting developed during the time, since the Mughal period had a distinctive style. The finest painting of the Mughal period are the Padshanamth and the Khandan-i-Timura. The Mughal paintings often covered scenes from the court and help our understanding of how the court functioned. These paintings also provide us with information on what the emperors and their nobles looked like. Many famous artists came and took up residence in the court of Akbar, during whose time Mughal art reached its peak. A large number of artists were Hindus, which is an example of Akbar's cosmopolitan approach to the empire. The painters amongst that time excelled in portraits, painting of animals, book covers and illustrations as well as the art of miniature paintings amongst many others. Akbar was extremely fond of art and gave much support and encouragement. After his death, Mughal art continued to flourish under Jehangir who was a

The Mughal Empire - Literature

There was tremendous literary activity during the Mughal period, because with the return of a stable and prosperous empire, there was once again patronage for their work. Languages like Persian, Sanskrit, Hindi and Urdu saw tremendous creative activity as did many vernacular languages.

Persian literature received a lot of attention as it was the court language. A vast number of works were written during the period of the Mughals. Broadly one can divide them into three categories, historical works, translations ,poetry and novels. Our understanding of the Mughal period was greatly enhanced by these books, and most of the historical works of this period provide us with a fairly reliable source of information. The important historical works written in this time were Ain-I-Akbari , and Akbarnamath by Abul Fazl, the Ta'rikh-I-'Alfi by Mulla Daud. Jehangir possessed a keen interest in literature, and his autobiography is one of the finest amongst the Mughal emperors. During his reign important historical works like Ma'asir-I-Jahangir , the Igbalnamah-I-Jahangiri and the Zubud-ut-Tawaikh were written.

Many important works in translation were also written during this period, with the translation of the epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana taking place. Many of the Vedas were also translated and several

The Mughal Empire - Akbar

Akbar was one of the greatest emperors of the Mughal dynasty. It was during the reign of Akbar that the rule of the Mughals truly began, for both Babur and Humayun had ruled for extremely short and interrupted periods. Akbar was a minor at the time of his father's death, and was under the guardianship of Bairam Khan. Soon after succeeding to the throne Akbar had to firmly establish Mughal authority and regain the territories it had lost. His enemies challenged his rule and another historic battle was fought at Panipat, one in which Akbar emerged victorious and firmly established the Mughal power as the dominant power in India. Akbar was still under the guardianship of Bairam but now wished to become a full fledged king in his own right. Bairam while providing invaluable service had begun behaving in a high handed manner which had resulted in many enemies. In 1560 Akbar expressed his desire to take over, to Bairam, who reluctantly agreed and prepared to leave the