Sources of Ancient Indian History

For the study of history of Ancient India we can use two different types of sources - literary sources as well as archaeological sources.

Literary Sources

• • For the sake of convenience we can divide ancient literature in two groups - indigenous literature and foreign literature.
• • Even indigenous literature can be divided into religious literature and secular literature.
• • Likewise, even religious literature can be divided into different sections such as Vedic literature, Post-Vedic Brahmanical literature, Buddhist literature and Jain literature.

Religious Literature

Vedic Literature

There are four Vedas - the Rig Veda, Sam Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. Each Veda consists of 4 parts: the Samhita, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and the Upanishads.

• • Samhitas consist of hymns, prayers, charms and formulae for sacrifices.
• • Brahmanas consist of procedural details of rituals and sacrifices.
• • Aranyakas (forest books) consist of philosophical explanations of sacrifices.
• • Upanishads are works of pure philosophy, dealing with the metaphysical relationship between man and god.

Among the Vedic texts, the Rig Vedic Samhita is the earliest, composed during the Early Vedic Age. The rest of Vedic literature was composed during the Later Vedic Age.

• • From the Rig Vedic Samhita we mainly get information about the social, cultural and economic conditions, but less information about the political conditions of the Early Vedic Age.
• • The Samhitas of the Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda are significant source materials for the study of the Later Vedic Age.
• • The Sama Veda Samhita is not equally important as most of its hymns have been taken from the Rig Veda itself.
• • The Atharva Veda has more importance as a source material because it gives us information about the assimilation of the Aryan and Non-Aryan cultures.

From the Brahmanas we get information about the sacrificial cult and ritualism in the life of the Vedic people. The Aranyakas and the Upanishads give us information about the philosophical refinements of the Vedic people.

Post-Vedic Brahmanical Literature

• • The six Vedangas — literally meaning the limbs of the Vedas — are necessary to understand Vedic literature: Shiksha (phonetics), Kalpa (ritual), Jyotishya (astronomy), Nirukta (etymology), Vyakarna (grammar) and Chhanda (meter).
• • The Kalpa Sutra can be divided into sub-texts like Srauta Sutra, Griha Sutra and Dharma Sutra.
  • ◦ From the Srauta Sutra, we get knowledge about the sacrificial cult.
  • ◦ Griha Sutra gives us information about family life and rituals.
  • ◦ From the Dharma Sutra, we gather information about contemporary political and social ideals.
    • ◦ Dharma Sutra literature was composed by scholars like Baudhayana, Apashtamba, Vashista and Gautama.
• • From the early Christian centuries, Smriti literature in the form of Shastras (ancient Indian law books) started to be composed.
  • ◦ The Manusmriti is the first one, giving information about political, social and cultural life during the post-Mauryan period.
  • ◦ After Manusmriti, texts like Yajnavalkya Smriti, Brihaspati Smriti, Naradasmriti, Parasarasmriti etc. were compiled, giving information about the Gupta Age.
• • For the study of Ancient India, Puranas are also important source materials. There are 18 Mahapuranas and many more Upapuranas. They give us information about the chronology of kings.
• • The great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata cover a long period in Ancient India. They were finally compiled in the Gupta age, so the material culture reflected in them corresponds to the Gupta age.

Non-Brahmanical Texts

Along with Brahmanical literature, Buddhist and Jain literature have also contributed to the study of history. Brahmanical literature reflected the mood of the Brahmanical elements of society and was elitist in approach. Pali and Prakrit literature, though having pro-Buddhist and Jain doctrinal biases respectively, reflected the popular mood and conditions of the lower strata in society.

• • Buddhist texts like the Tripitakas (Sutta Pitaka, Vinay Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka), Dipavamsa, Mahavamsa, Divyavadana, Ashokavadana etc. are important.
• • The Jataka stories are one of the fifteen books of the Khudakka Nikaya of the Sutta Pitaka.
• • We get information about the economic, social, cultural and to a certain extent, even political condition of India from these texts.
• • Likewise among Jain texts, the Bhagavati Sutra, Kalpasutra, Parishistaparvan, Obaisutra etc. are important. The Jain texts have not been used as extensively by historians as the Buddhist texts.

Secular Literature

• • Among secular literature, we find a number of texts like the Ashtadhyayi of Panini, the earliest work on grammar in India.
• • The Arthashastra of Kautilya is a significant text on polity. Its earlier portion corresponds to the Pre-Mauryan age and its later part to the Post-Mauryan period. Most of its parts correspond to the Mauryan age based on similarity in terminologies with Ashokan inscriptions. It is an encyclopedia for the study of the Mauryan age, though its information should be corroborated by other sources.
• • Apart from that, we have a number of other secular texts, such as the Mahabhashya of Patanjali, the Mudrarakshasha of Vishakadatta and the Nitisara of Kamandaka.
• • From the Mahabhashya of Patanjali, we get information about the Post-Mauryan age. Likewise, Vishakadatta gives us information about the rise of Chandragupta Maurya to power. The Nitisara focuses on political ideas during the Gupta age.

Tamil Texts

• • For the study of ancient Tamil society, Sangam literature is an important source material.
• • There are two types of Sangam poems - Akam and Puram.
  • ◦ Akam (the inner field) deals with personal or human aspects like love, in an abstract or metaphorical manner.
  • ◦ Puram (the outer field) deals with all other aspects of human experience such as valor, ethics, benevolence and social life. A.K. Ramanujan describes the Puram poetry as a kind of public poetry.
• • We can include Patinenmelkanakku — the eighteen major anthology series, which include Ettuthokai (the eight anthologies) and Pattupattu (the ten idylls) as well as some portions of Tolkappiyam (a Tamil Grammar) into the Sangam literature.
• • Patinenkilkanakku is a collection of eighteen poetic works created during the post-Sangam period (between 100-500 CE).
• • Tiruvalluvar's Tirukkural and the epics Silappadikaram and Manimekalai were composed during the 5th-6th century CE.
• • Early medieval period Tamil literature includes intense devotional poetry of the Bhakti Saints.
• • Telugu and Kannada literature becomes available from the early medieval period.

Foreign Accounts

• • The foreign accounts work as a supplement to the indigenous account. Firstly, they give us information about some regions about which our indigenous literature is almost silent.
• • Secondly, most of the foreign accounts are supposedly free from the ideological prejudices which we find in the indigenous literature.
• • But they have their limitations too. There is some distortion in facts and figures because the foreign travelers were alien to the Indian situation and did not have proper knowledge about India.
  • ◦ For example, Megasthenes divided Indian society into seven castes and claimed that slavery did not exist in India.
• • For convenience, we can divide the foreign accounts into different segments such as Greek and Roman accounts, Chinese accounts and the accounts of Arabian travelers.

Greek and Roman Accounts

• • Greek and Roman accounts are important source materials for the study of Ancient India.
• • Herodotus was the first Greek author who mentioned India. The companions of Alexander — Aristobulus, Curtis, Annasicretes and Nearchus — left an account of early North West India.
• • Before the excavation of the Harappan cities, clear cut dates in Indian history were supposed to start from 326 BCE.
  • ◦ When William Jones identified the name Sandrocottus with Chandragupta Maurya, the dates in Indian history became clear.
• • The Indica of Megasthenes is a significant source material for the study of the Mauryan period but his account is not available today. Whatever information we get from Indica comes through references given by classical authors like Plutarch, Strabo, Pliny and Diodorus.
• • Texts like the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea by an anonymous writer are important for the history of Indian Ocean trade.

Chinese Accounts

• • The accounts of Fahian and Huien-Tsang are important source materials for the study of the Gupta age and the period of Harsha respectively.
• • Yijing, a 7th century Chinese traveler, lived at the Nalanda monastery for 10 years.

Arabian Accounts

• • Among the Arabian accounts, the accounts of Suleiman, Al-Masudi, Ibn Khurdadab etc. are significant.
• • Suleiman talks about the Pala and the Pratihara kings in the 9th century CE. Al-Masudi came to India in the 10th century AD and mentions the Rashtrakuta kings, whom he calls Vallabha Raja.

Critical Analysis of Literary Sources

Literary sources definitely contribute a lot in the study of the history of ancient India. But literary sources have their own limitations.

• • First, there is the problem of extrapolation. While analysing a text, it becomes difficult to identify the actual time period when different portions were added, because some portions are added much later than others.
  • ◦ For example, the 10th Mandala in the Rig Veda had been added during the Later Vedic period while the other mandalas belong to the Early Vedic period.
• • Second, in ancient texts, there is some problem of stratification as well.
• • Third, we underline the element of subjectivity in a literary text. It means the text mainly reflects the author's point of view.
• • Fourth, usually religious literature was composed from a religious point of view. Looking for economic and political clues in these texts is problematic.

Recently, new dimensions have been added to the analysis of the literary source.

• • Firstly, there is an initiative for the sociological study of literary texts — the background of the author should be taken into consideration before his account is examined.
• • Secondly, even inputs from other disciplines are being applied to the analysis of literary sources — for example, the methods of analysis from economics, anthropology, sociology etc.
• • Likewise, on the basis of the methods of linguistics and computer analysis, the dates in ancient India are being studied.

Archaeological Sources

Due to the limitations of literary sources, archaeological sources emerge as a very significant source for the study of the history of ancient India. Archaeological sources have certain advantages.

• • Firstly, they are supposedly objective in the sense that they have been lying on the earth or beneath its surface for centuries without any human interference.
• • Secondly, for the study of the prehistoric period, the archaeological sources are the only available source. Even for the study of the proto-historic phase, the literary source has not been deciphered; so we are relying entirely on the archaeological evidences.
• • Lastly, the archaeological evidence is used for corroborating the information from the literary source.

Recently, new dimensions have emerged in the study of archaeological evidence.

• • For example, methods from other disciplines such as Geography, Geology, Botany, Computer Science etc. are being applied to the analysis of archaeological evidence.
• • Secondly, the study of the environment is being emphasised in the study of archaeological evidence.
  • ◦ We can take the example of the origin and decline of Harappan Civilisation. Environmental factors are being given much weightage in the decline of the Harappan Civilisation.
• • Finally, with the help of satellites, the study and tracing of archaeological evidence has become easier.

But even the archaeological sources have their own limitations.

• • Firstly, although the archaeological evidence is objective in nature, the conclusions drawn on its basis are subjective.
• • Secondly, we can't say that there is little human interference in archaeology.
  • ◦ For example, some of the structures at Harappa are disfigured because the bricks were stolen from the location. Likewise, some of the inscriptions of Asoka have been uprooted from their original places.
• • The archaeological evidences like artifacts and tools have to bear the elements of nature — heat and moisture. So, nature interferes with the archaeological evidence.
• • Thirdly, royal inscriptions usually give a distorted version of the facts because they were used as a tool for royal propaganda.
• • Finally, in place of horizontal excavation, vertical excavation has been given priority in India as horizontal excavation is too costly. Also, some locations have been continuously inhabited since millennia, so we don't have a clear picture of some specific periods.

Considering the limitations of both kinds of sources, we should try to corroborate one source with the other. Yet, sometimes their interpretations will simply not align.

Different Forms of Archaeological Evidence

1. Mounds
2. Inscriptions
3. Coins
4. Architecture and Monuments
5. Sculpture and Paintings

Mounds

As an archaeological source, mounds have more significance. These mounds are usually spread over a vast area. We can categorise the mounds in two groups:

1. Mono-cultural
2. Multi-cultural

• • From mono-cultural mounds, we usually find the evidence of a single culture.
• • But from multi-cultural mounds, we find different layers which usually belong to different cultures. In the course of the excavation, archaeologists catalogue the artifacts collected from a site — potteries, instruments, weapons, artifacts etc.

Inscriptions

The study of ancient inscriptions is called Epigraphy. Inscriptions are a very important source for the study of ancient cultures. We can classify inscriptions in two categories:

1. Royal inscriptions
2. Private inscriptions

• • As the Harappan inscriptions have not been deciphered yet, Ashokan inscriptions seem to be the earliest.
  • ◦ On the basis of Ashokan inscriptions, we get information about the expansion of the Mauryan Empire, the administrative structure under Ashoka, the policy of Dhamma and the personal life of Ashoka.
• • After Ashoka, most of the inscriptions have been composed in the form of Prashastis (panegyrics).
  • ◦ For example, the Hathigumpha inscription of Kharvela, the Girinar inscription of Rudradaman, the Allahabad inscription of Samudragupta etc.
• • Some of the royal inscriptions were issued on copper plates associated with land grants.
  • ◦ Through these land grant inscriptions, we get information about contemporary social and economic life. Indian feudalism has been defined on the basis of the study of these land grants.
• • The private inscriptions can often be found near the temples.
  • ◦ Through these inscriptions we get information about social and religious life. They are mostly donative and commemorative inscriptions.

Coinage

The scientific study of coins is called Numismatics. On the basis of ancient coinage, we get information about economic, social, cultural and political life.

• • Punch marked coins were the earliest coins in circulation in India. The name of the kings has not been mentioned on these coins, so these were possibly issued by merchant guilds.
• • It was the Indo-Greek Kings who issued coins in the name of kings for the first time.
• • Coins became an important source for the study of different states.
  • ◦ We know about the Mitra and Panchala rulers of the Gupta period on the basis of their coins.
• • On the basis of coins, we can examine the economy and cultural activities of the ancient people.
  • ◦ The use of a large number of coins in a particular age and the purity of the metal used in making those coins give a hint towards economic prosperity in that period.
  • ◦ The name and the figure of a particular God on the coins give us information about religious life.
  • ◦ Likewise, the size and appearance of the coins show cultural advancement.

Architecture and Monuments

They highlight the development of art in a particular period. The well-planned Harappan cities, Ashokan pillar edicts, Stupas, Caves, artificial lakes like the Sudarshan Lake, temples, chaityas, viharas etc. are examples of ancient architecture.

• • We can categorise the temple architecture of ancient and medieval India into three different styles:
  1. Nagara Style
  2. Dravida Style
  3. Vesara Style

Sculpture and Paintings

Three different schools of sculpture appeared during the ancient period:

1. Mathura School
2. Gandhara School
3. Amravati School

Starting from the Stone Age cave paintings of Bhimbetka, the Indian subcontinent has had a glorious tradition of painting based on all kinds of religious as well as secular themes.

Primary and Secondary Sources

• • The sources for the study of history can be divided in two categories - Primary and Secondary sources.
• • The artifacts or literature contemporary to the period under study are categorized as primary sources.
  • ◦ For example, the seals and terracotta figurines in the study of Harappan civilization; Harshcharita of Banabhatta for the study of the Harsha Period.
• • Secondary sources represent the developed form of primary sources. If some scholar writes an account on a certain period on the basis of primary sources and other scholars use that account for further study, it can be categorized as a secondary source.
  • ◦ If Irfan Habib writes about Mohammad bin Tughlaq on the basis of the account of Barni, his writing can be used by other scholars as a secondary source.

Exploration and Excavation of the Archaeological Source

To discover sites in the open field is known as field archaeology. There are two different kinds of methods for the exploration of sites - Traditional methods and New methods.

Traditional Methods

1. Chance discovery — an archaeologist inadvertently comes across a site. For example, Cunningham discovered a Harappan site in this manner.
2. Literary Account — sometimes archaeologists follow the description given in a text for the discovery of a site. For example, B.B. Lal started excavation on the site of Hastinapur on the basis of the description given in the Mahabharata.

New Methods

1. Aerial survey — carried out over a large region using technologies like LiDAR, so that available sites can be discovered.
2. Use of satellites — satellites with thermal and infrared capabilities are being used to identify potential sites of interest.
3. Chemical examination — even chemical examination of soil constituents gives a hint that there may have been a human settlement in the region in the remote past.
4. Computers — computers are being used for discovering archaeological artifacts under the earth's crust. Use of GIS and seismology is very common.
5. Other important techniques — radiocarbon dating, thermo luminescence, uranium/thorium dating, palaeobotany, palynology (the analysis of pollen and spores) etc. We do microwear analysis to understand the possible functions of a tool.

Excavation

Archaeological excavation can be divided into two categories:

1. Vertical excavation — a limited part of the mound is excavated vertically. It gives us information about the chronology and time period of different cultures on a single site.
2. Horizontal excavation — a vast excavation on a site is carried out which gives a larger picture of the culture concerned.

For gaining proper knowledge of a culture, both types of excavation are required. But vertical excavation has been given priority in India as the horizontal excavation is very costly and it creates an additional challenge of rehabilitation of the population living over the site.

Did Ancient Indians Have a Sense of Historiography?

View I

Many scholars described the Indian past as a static society that registered no historical change, and therefore it had no use for recording the past and used only cyclic time.

• • Alberuni had said that Indians had no sense of history and any query resulted in story-telling.
• • Early Colonial historians like V.A. Smith and H.H. Wilson said that the art of historiography was absent in ancient India.

Comparisons were made with ancient Greek and Chinese whose history was recorded by historians in a systematic manner.

• • In China, chronicles of dynasties and rulers were maintained but such a trend was absent in ancient India.
• • In India, there is absence of literature which can be described specifically as historical writing till 7th century AD.
• • Though there are historical records inherent in some literature but they cannot be considered as historical documents.
• • 7th century AD onwards, a number of historical biographies were written like Harshacharita by Banabhatta but many of these were not treated as history writing because of the absence of explanations and critical assessments.

View II (Refuting View I)

Many Indian historians have defined what the sense of history is.

• • According to Romila Thapar, the "sense of history" is in fact the consciousness of past events presented in an organised framework.
• • But what event is considered relevant varies from one society to another and the forms in which they are presented also vary from one society to another.
  • ◦ Under this definition, it cannot be said that ancient Indians were devoid of the sense of history.
• • It is not necessary that the document must be a purely historical document.
  • ◦ The forms of presentation could be mixed — genealogical records, mythological narratives, historical accounts etc.
  • ◦ There is one significant element of history, i.e. time, and ancient Indians were well aware of it. They followed both cyclic and linear systems of time.
• • Though there may not have been a conventional form of historical writing, there are nevertheless many texts that reflect the historical consciousness of Ancient Indians.
• • There were three distinct historiographies (ways of explaining the past): Bardic tradition, the tradition of the Puranas and Shramanic traditions.
• • The historiography of the bards or sutas lay in their narrating events of heroes in the form of ballads and epic fragments.
• • In both the Puranic and Shramanic traditions, there was a gradual change in form, information and commentary, moving towards creating a historic tradition.

Examples

The sense of history of ancient Indians is manifested in the following:

Later Vedic texts:

• • Later Vedic texts contain certain types of compositions that reflect a historical consciousness. These include the dana-stutis, gathas and akhyanas.
• • The dana-stutis are hymns praising the generosity and exploits of kings.
• • The gathas are songs in praise of kings, sung on the occasion of certain sacrifices.
• • Akhyanas are narrative hymns in dialogue form, referring to mythical and possibly historical events.

Puranas:

• • They reflect a strong sense of history and time.
• • Puranas consist of 5 elements — Panch Lakshanas:
  • ◦ Sarga — the creation of the universe
  • ◦ Pratisarga — re-creation after destruction
  • ◦ Vamsa — genealogy of the sages, gods and kings
  • ◦ Manvantara — cosmic cycles, history of the world during the time of one patriarch
  • ◦ Vamsanucaritam — account of royal dynasties, including the Chandravanshi and Suryavanshi kings

Epics (Itihasa):

• • The epics are known as Itihasa and are supposed to record things that actually happened (whether they did happen in the way in which they are described is another issue).

Bards (sutas and magadhas):

• • The historiography of the bards known as sutas and magadhas lay in their narrating events of heroes in the form of ballads and epic fragments.
• • The poets and bards of the ancient Tamil land who eulogized their royal patrons can also be seen as creators and transmitters of a historical tradition.

Mythico-historical account:

• • The Buddhist Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa, which offer a mythico-historical account of how Buddhism traveled to Sri Lanka, represent a historical tradition as well.
• • Mention may also be made of sacred biographies in the Buddhist, Jaina and Hindu traditions.

Eras:

• • Conceptions of various eras like the Saka era, Vikram era, Gupta era etc. also reflect consciousness of time and history.

Royal biographies and inscriptions:

• • Royal biographies and inscriptions, even though eulogical (Prashasti containing an account of the king's exploits), reflect historical tradition too:
  • ◦ Prashasti of Samudragupta by his court poet Harisena
  • ◦ Harshacharita of Banabhatta
  • ◦ Ramacharita of Sandhyakaranandin
  • ◦ Vikramadevacharita of Bilhana (Vikramaditya VI, Chalukya king of Kalyani)
  • ◦ Chronological description in inscriptions like the Hathigumpha inscription, Ashokan inscriptions, Allahabad inscription, Junagarh inscription etc.

Royal archives to preserve official records:

• • The Arthashastra and the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang mention royal archives preserving official records in every Indian city (e.g. Royal archives of Harshavardhana).
• • Al-Biruni's 11th century Tahqiq-i-Hind refers to the archives of the Shahi kings of Kabul.
• • Unfortunately, no such ancient archives survive.

Conclusion

• • The intellectuals of every age and society select the aspects of the past they consider important and interpret and present them in their own way.
• • Since ancient and modern societies differ from each other in so many respects, their ways of looking at the past were different.
• • While there is evidence of different kinds of historical traditions in ancient and early medieval India, these traditions were very different from our modern notions of history.
  • ◦ Modern historians distinguish between myth and history; ancient texts do not.
  • ◦ The historical traditions of ancient India were connected with religious, ritualistic and court contexts.
  • ◦ History in our times is an academic discipline based on research, linked to modern institutions such as universities. The ways in which the past was understood and represented in ancient texts are very different from the methods, techniques and goals of historical research today.
• • In conclusion, although standardised history as a developed subject was absent, the sense of history writing was definitely present in ancient India.

Historiography of Ancient India

The study of Indian history started in the 18th century with the establishment of British rule in India. A need was felt to understand the native culture, traditions and laws in order to administer the country well. As the discipline developed, new perspectives emerged. Between the 18th and 20th centuries there were different approaches in the study of Indian history:

• • Orientalist School
• • Utilitarian School
• • Nationalist School
• • Marxist School
• • Revisionist School

The first two schools together are known as the Imperialist School.

1. The Imperialist School

a. The Orientalist School

The study of ancient history of India was initiated by British scholars like William Jones, Henry Cole Brooke, Charles Wilkins and Alexander Cunningham. William Jones led the foundation of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784.

• • This provided a crucial forum for Oriental studies.
• • He translated a number of texts, like the Abhigyan Shakuntalam of Kalidasa, which reached a wide European readership.
• • The sustained efforts of these scholars in exploring the ancient Indian texts and cultures contributed a lot in the study of Indian history.

Contributions:

• • Ancient Sanskrit texts were brought to light by these scholars.
  • ◦ They produced critical/systematic editions of many ancient texts.
• • Cunningham laid the foundation of the study of Indian architecture.
  • ◦ Archaeological Survey of India came into existence in 1871.
• • The systematic study of ancient Indian history was initiated by the Orientalist scholars.
  • ◦ E.g. James Prinsep deciphered the Brahmi Script.

Limitations:

• • They had many preconceived ideas about India.
  • ◦ They argued that the Indians were more inclined towards religion and spiritualism, and material life didn't interest them as much.
  • ◦ This argument was an indirect explanation for the backwardness of India.
• • They were interested mainly in exploring Sanskrit texts but they neglected the Pali and Prakrit texts which reflect the life of common people more closely.

b. Utilitarian School

The rise of this school was due to the Industrial Revolution in Europe. It opposed the Orientalists as it believed that they had given undue praise to the Indian past. Scholars like James Mill, John Stuart Mill and Thomas Macaulay belonged to this group.

• • James Mill was critical of the Indian people and their cultures.
  • ◦ He claimed that contemporary as well as ancient India were barbarous and anti-rational.
  • ◦ According to him, the Indian Civilisation showed no concern for political evolution and India had been ruled by a series of despots.

Limitations:

• • This school distorted Indian history.
• • James Mill communalised the Indian history by dividing it into the Hindu, Muslim and British periods.
• • James Mill was the first scholar to propose the theory of oriental despotism which was later developed by Karl Marx.
  • ◦ He tried to prove that India was ruled by a number of despots right from the ancient times and had no tradition of democracy.
  • ◦ In this way he tried to justify the despotic and alien character of British rule.
• • This school also emphasised that all the so-called Golden Ages in Indian history were periods of foreign rule.
  • ◦ This was a gross mischaracterisation of the Indian past.

2. Nationalist School

As a reaction to the imperialist school, a new school with a nationalist approach emerged. Scholars like R.C. Majumdar, Prof. Hem Chandra Raychowdhary, A.S. Altekar and K.P. Jaiswal belonged to this school.

• • They criticised the utilitarian ideas about India and tried to focus on certain political and cultural achievements of ancient India.
• • Initially inspired by the 19th century social reforms movement, the Indian historical scholarship gradually became overtly anti-imperialist.
  • ◦ They rejected the periodisation of Indian history into the Hindu period and Muslim periods, but retained the basis of division for such periodisation.
  • ◦ The conquest of North India by Muhammad Ghori and the foundation of Turkish rule was regarded as the beginning of the medieval period.
• • As the Indian demand for political rights and a representative government grew stronger during the 1920s, nationalist scholars began to attribute the highest achievements in the field of political thought and practice to ancient Indians.
  • ◦ E.g. parallels were drawn between Kautilya's social and economic policies and social legislation of Bismarck.
  • ◦ Republics of the Mahajanapada era were compared with the ancient Greek republican city states.

Limitations:

• • They were unable to escape the Euro-centric view of Indian history.
  • ◦ Although they superficially rejected the utilitarian division of India's past into Hindu, Muslim and British, they retained its basis.
  • ◦ They also mischaracterised Hinduism by trying to view it as a monolithic, organised and homogenous religion, completely ignoring that Hinduism was at best an umbrella term for various strands of Indian religious thoughts, beliefs and practices.
• • They unconsciously supported the cause of Hindu chauvinism — while trying to glorify the Indian past, they focused primarily on Hindu achievements, while ignoring others.
• • They were too focused on Sanskrit literature and neglected Pali and Prakrit literature.
• • They remained fixated on political developments and outstanding cultural achievements but neglected the history of the common people.

3. Marxist School

D.D. Kosambi laid the foundation of the Marxist school in India. Later, scholars like R.S. Sharma, D.N. Jha and B.N.S. Yadava got associated with this school. Irfan Habib and other scholars of the Aligarh school also contributed in developing this school of thought. From the 1960s onwards this school brought a major revolution in the study of ancient history.

• • These scholars tried to establish the relationship between the basic structure and the superstructure.
  • ◦ The economic structure is supposed to be the basic structure while the political, social structure, culture and ideas are supposed to be the superstructure.
  • ◦ The basic structure (economic change) was recognised as a major factor behind the changes occurring in history.
• • D.D. Kosambi suggested the need to identify the major turning points in the life of people, which could form the basis for the periodisation of early Indian history.
  • ◦ In his view, changes in history are closely linked with the material and technological changes.
  • ◦ E.g. The beginning of the use of iron in agriculture in the Ganga Valley created an agricultural surplus which led to the Second Urbanisation and the emergence of territorial kingdoms.
• • Such crucial changes can provide a rational basis for the periodisation of Indian history.
  • ◦ Thus, it is possible to argue that the medieval period does not begin with the advent of Turkish rule. Rather, it begins with the end of Gupta rule towards the end of the 6th century CE, which marks the beginning of some significant developments in Indian society, on account of land grants.

4. Revisionist School

In due course of time, Marxist historiography received a challenge from a number of revisionist scholars.

• ◦ For example, Bridget Allchin and Raymond Allchin revised the earlier views about the Harappan civilisation.
• ◦ D.K. Chakravarty challenges the Marxist historiography by trying to undermine the role of iron in the Second Urbanisation.
• ◦ Similarly, B.D. Chattopadhyay and Ranvir Chakravarty countered the views given by R.S. Sharma and his group on the decline of trade, money economy and urban centers in the early Medieval Period.

• • Recently some important contemporary issues like environment, gender discrimination as well as exploitation of weaker sections have become a part of historiography.
  • ◦ Thus, making the study of history a more diverse and multi-faceted domain. This is a welcome development.
• • More recently, some scholars guided by the Hindutva agenda are trying to propagate new theories in Indian historiography.
  • ◦ But they are not professional historians and the views propounded by them have not been substantiated by proper research. So, presently such views can't be taken seriously.
  • ◦ But if this line of thought continues and does some proper research work, an alternative school of historiography may emerge in the future.