Book No.8 (Medieval History of India)

Book Name Caste and Social Stratification in Medieval India

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Caste and Urban Centres in Medieval India

Chapter – 3

Picture of Harshit Sharma
Harshit Sharma

Alumnus (BHU)

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Table of Contents

Caste in the South Indian Nagaram

  • Recent historical research on medieval South India has focused on agrarian structurespeasant settlements, and socio-economic changes.
  • Scholars have faced challenges in interpreting epigraphic records, the confused state of numismatic evidence, and the inadequacy of statistical data, which hinder the reconstruction of urban development history.
  • While conventional historical works refer to urban centres and trade organizations, they lack a meaningful framework to understand urban processes.
  • A major flaw in such works is the isolated treatment of agrarian and urban institutions as unrelated aspects and their failure to demarcate phases of change or progress over time.
  • Burton Stein’s study of the Chola state introduces a segmentary state model, providing a framework for empirical data and covering 17 centuries, but lacks substantial discussion on urban institutions.
  • Stein briefly mentions the nagaram (organization of merchants) and temple urbanization during the 12th–13th centuries but focuses more on peasant society and the agrarian order.
  • Kenneth R. Hall’s works focus on the nagaram as a marketing centre and attempt to address urban processes. He draws from Stein’s study of the nadu and the nagam.
  • Hall treats the Chola period as a single unit, using epigraphic data of diverse dates to study urban institutions like the nagaram and merchant guilds.
  • Hall’s main work, Trade and Statecraft in the Age of the Cholas, emphasizes the role of the Periya nadu and the growing influence of merchants, particularly in collusion with warlords, contributing to the decline of the Chola state.
  • Hall critiques Stein’s theory of nadu autonomy, arguing that the Chola policy aimed at centralizing power by favoring the nagaram and reducing the autonomy of nadu institutions, which were supported by temples.
  • The Periya nadu was a guild of agriculturists, centralizing societal integration to protect self-interest against the Cholas’ centralizing efforts.
  • Hall’s study of the economy of Kanchipuram compares urban experiences in medieval South India with those in medieval northern Europe.
  • The essay identifies areas for further research on urban processes in medieval Tamil Nadu.
  • Two periods of urbanization in Tamil Nadu are recognized: the first during the Sangam period (early centuries of the Christian era) and the second during the Chola period (9th to 13th centuries AD).
  • The intervening period saw large-scale agrarian expansion, laying the foundation for urban centres in the Chola period.
  • The urbanization of the Sangam period was largely driven by maritime trade, with early chiefdoms actively participating in trade.
  • The decline in overseas trade led to the decline of urban centres, many of which were ports or emporia of trade, and the disappearance of the early chiefdoms.
  • The term Vendar, used in Sangam texts for rulers, has been interpreted as kings, but these polities may be better described as chiefdoms or potential monarchies.
  • Early medieval South India, especially Tamil Nadu, exemplifies a rural-urban continuum with no clear-cut boundaries between rural and urban areas.
  • Key questions arise regarding agricultural production and its relationship to urban growth, particularly whether agricultural growth and surplus are prerequisites for urban development.

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