Feudalism

Feudalism

Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...

 was a social system of medieval European origin, according to which the nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and vassals were in turn tenants of the nobles, while the peasants (villeins or serfs) were obliged to live on their lord's land and give him homage, labor, and a share of the produce, notionally in exchange for military protection. The term Indian feudalism is an attempt to classify Indian history according to a European model.

Historians have become very reluctant to classify other societies into European models and today it is rare for Indian history to be described as feudal by academics; it still done in popular usage, however, but only for pejorative reasons to express disfavour, typically by critics. These include zamindar

Zamindar

A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...

, jagir

Jagir

In historic India, a jagir was a small territory granted by the ruler to an army chieftain in fairly short terms usually of three years but not extending beyond his lifetime, in recognition of his military service...

, desmukh

Desmukh

Deshmukh or desmukh Desmookh the tenth handful. In Marathi Des or Desh means a country and Mookh means mouth, hence a spokesman of a district. It was the title given to a person who was granted a territory of land, in certain regions of India, specifically Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and...

, chowdhury and samanta

Samanta

Samanta was a title and position used by the Indian nobility. The institution of Samanta finds mention for the first time in epigraphs of northern India dating to the 6th century...

. Most of these "systems" were abolished after the independence of India and the rest of the Subcontinent, but most still exist, officially or in its remnants. D. D. Kosambi

D. D. Kosambi

Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi was an Indian mathematician, statistician, Marxist historian, and polymath who contributed to genetics by introducing Kosambi's map function. He is well-known for his work in numismatics and for compiling critical editions of ancient Sanskrit texts...

 and R.S. Sharma, together with Daniel Thorner

Daniel Thorner

Daniel Thorner was an American-born economist known for his work on agricultural economics and Indian economic history. He is known for the application of historical and contemporary economic analysis on policy and influenced agricultural policy in India in the 1950s through his association with...

, brought peasants into the study of Indian history for the first time.

Telangana

The rebellion against feudal lords from 1946 to 1951 in Telangana region called as Telangana rebellion

Telangana Rebellion

The Telangana Rebellion or Vetti Chakiri Movement also known as Telangana Raithanga Sayudha Poratam was a communist-led peasant rebellion against the feudal lords of the Telangana region and later against the princely state of Hyderabad between 1946 and 1951...

 illustrates the feudal society in the region. A famous line which is repeated by the oppressed was “Banchen Dora nee Kalmoktha (will touch your feet my lord). A major Telugu blockbuster, Maa Bhoomi

Maa Bhoomi

Maa Bhoomi is a 1979 Telugu film based on the Telengana Rebellion in Hyderabad State. It also depicts a typical life of villagers under feudalistic society in Telangana region. It was the first feature film of acclaimed Indian diector Goutam Ghose...

, showed the society under feudal lords.

The Srikrishna committee on Telangana

Srikrishna committee on Telangana

Srikrishna committee on Telangana or Committee for consultations on the situation in Andhra Pradesh is a committee headed by former chief justice B. N. Srikrishna to look into the demand for separate statehood for Telangana or keep the state united in the present form, Andhra Pradesh...

 says in its findings that, there is still gross injustice to the land tillers of the region, the villains in this case were landlords of Telangana and not those of other regions.

Jharkhand

The Jharkhand

Jharkhand

Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...

 region (now a state) of India was a hotbed for feudalism. Feudal lords ruled the region for decades; semi-feudal conditions still exist. Child malnourishment is common and is counted among the poorest states in India.

Vidarbha

The feudal lords in Vidarbha region

Vidarbha

Vidarbha is the eastern region of Maharashtra state made up of Nagpur Division and Amravati Division. Its former name is Berar . It occupies 31.6% of total area and holds 21.3% of total population of Maharashtra...

 are notorious for their oppressive rule.

Kerala

There were a number of feudal states in Kerala in the middle ages between the end of Chera dynasty and the British rule. The rulers of these city states were called Naaduvaazhi, usually from a Nair Dynasty.

Madras Presidency

Several zamindaris were established in the Madras Presidency

Madras Presidency

The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...

 (present-day Tamil Nadu and adjoining areas) from 1799 onwards. The largest of these were Ramnad

Ramnad estate

The Ramnad Estate is a permanently settled Zamindari estate in the Ramnad subdivision of the Madura district of the erstwhile Madras Presidency in British India. It comprises the southern and eastern parts of Madura district.The estate was ruled by a Zamindar who bore the title "Raja"...

, Ganapur and Sivaganga

Sivaganga estate

The estate of Sivaganga , also known as Kingdom of the Lesser Marava, was a permanently settled zamindari estate in the Ramnad sub-division of Madura district, Madras Presidency, British India. Along the estate of Ramnad, it formed one of the two zamindari estates of Ramnad subdivision.The...

. The zamindari settlement was based on an a similar settlement established in Bengal. The Zamindari settlement of Madras was largely unsuccessful and was wrapped up in 1852. However, a few Zamindaris remained till India's independence in 1947.

Further reading

• R.S. Sharma, Perspectives in Social and Economic History of Early India, paperback edn., (Munshiram Manoharlal
  Munshiram Manoharlal
  Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. is a leading Indian publishing house located in New Delhi, India. Established in 1952 by Manohar Lal Jain, it is one of the oldest and most well-reputed publishing houses in India...
  
  , Delhi, 2003). Translated into Hindi
  Hindi
  Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
  
  , Russian
  Russian language
  Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
  
   and Bengali
  Bengali language
  Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
  
  . Gujarati
  Gujarati language
  Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
  
  , Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi
  Marathi language
  Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
  
  , Tamil
  Tamil language
  Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
  
   and Telugu
  Telugu language
  Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
  
   translations projected.
• R.S. Sharma, Material Culture and Social Formations in Ancient India
  Material Culture and Social Formations in Ancient India
  Material Culture and Social Formations in Ancient India is a book by Professor Ram Sharan Sharma, published in 1985. The author surveys theories of social change and underlines the key role of production techniques together with climatic conditions in shaping ancient social formations...
  
  , (Macmillan Publishers
  Macmillan Publishers
  Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
  
  , Delhi, 1985). Translated into Hindi
  Hindi
  Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
  
  , Russian
  Russian language
  Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
  
   and Bengali
  Bengali language
  Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
  
  . Gujarati
  Gujarati language
  Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
  
  , Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi
  Marathi language
  Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
  
  , Tamil
  Tamil language
  Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
  
   and Telugu
  Telugu language
  Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
  
   translations projected.
• R.S. Sharma, Urban Decay in India (c.300-1000)
  Urban Decay in India (c.300-1000)
  Urban Decay in India is a book written by Ram Sharan Sharma published in 1987 by Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi.-Overview:It focuses on the decline of the towns and their desertion in late ancient and early medieval India on the basis of archaeological evidence...
  
  , (Munshiram Manoharlal
  Munshiram Manoharlal
  Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. is a leading Indian publishing house located in New Delhi, India. Established in 1952 by Manohar Lal Jain, it is one of the oldest and most well-reputed publishing houses in India...
  
  , Delhi, 1987). Translated into Hindi
  Hindi
  Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
  
   and Bengali
  Bengali language
  Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
  
  .
• R.S. Sharma, Early Medieval Indian Society: A Study in Feudalisation (Orient Longman
  Orient Longman
  Orient Blackswan , is an Indian publishing house headquartered in Andhra Pradesh....
  
   Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Delhi, 2003)
• R.S. Sharma, India's Ancient Past
  India's Ancient Past
  India's Ancient Past is a book by Professor Ram Sharan Sharma which details the history of early India. Beginning with a discussion on frameworks of the writing of history, the book sheds light on the origins and growth of civilizations, empires, and religions...
  
  , (Oxford University Press
  Oxford University Press
  Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
  
  , 2005, ISBN 978-0195687859).
• R.S. Sharma, Indian Feudalism
  Indian Feudalism
  Indian Feudalism is a book by Indian professor Ram Sharan Sharma. The book analyses the practice of land grants, which became considerable in the Gupta period and widespread in the post-Gupta period...
  
   (Macmillan Publishers
  Macmillan Publishers
  Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
  
   India Ltd., 3rd Revised Edition, Delhi, 2005).
• R.S. Sharma, The State and Varna Formations in the Mid-Ganga Plains: An Ethnoarchaeological View (New Delhi, Manohar, 1996).
• R.S. Sharma, Origin of the State in India (Dept. of History, University of Bombay, 1989)
• R.S. Sharma, Land Revenue in India: Historical Studies, Motilal Banarsidass
  Motilal Banarsidass
  Motilal Banarsidass is a leading Indian publishing house on Sanskrit and Indology since 1903, located in Delhi, India. It publishes and distributes serials, monographs, and scholarly publications on Asian religion, philosophy, history, culture, arts, architecture, archaeology, language,...
  
  , Delhi, 1971.
• Historiography of Indian Feudalism Towards a Model of Early Medieval Indian Economy, C. A.D. 600-1000, by Vijay Kumar Thakur. Commonwealth Publishers, 1989. ISBN 8171690327.
• Origin and Growth of Feudalism in Early India: From the Mauryas to AD 650, by Gian Chand Chauhan. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 2004. ISBN 8121510287.