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Indian Feudalism

Indian Feudalism

Section titled “Indian Feudalism”

2020-04-27 11:58:40

Indian feudalism Theory : According to this theory, the landed nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and vassals were in turn tenants of the nobles, while the peasants 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. Proposed by RS Sharma and DN Jha.

Indian Feudalism Debate

Section titled “Indian Feudalism Debate”
  • #todo
  • E Medieval has been labelled as one of crisis, decline, decay etc mostly attributed to advent of Muslim rule.
  • Feudalism school described period as an age marked by political fragmentation, transformation of peasants into serfs and decline of urban centres and money economy which happened in both North and South.
  • Segmentary model for south India presents kings as ritual figures w/o royal power like revenue infra and standing army.
  • This time was marked by proliferation fo states.
  • BD Chattopadhyay says that there was no dichotomoy b/w lineages and states in E M India and lineage ties were central to political formation.
  • Unprecedented military build up, incessant warfare.
  • Feudatories or Vassals were subordinate rulers who were obliged to offer allegiance and mil service to suzerains.

Salient Features of Indian Feudalism

Section titled “Salient Features of Indian Feudalism”
  • sub-infeudation - Landed intermediaries emerged as consequence of the Vassals of the Kings. A lord vassal relationship emerged.
  • Prevalence of forced labour Vishti. The intermediaries were granted the right to forced labour, mentioned in Chola inscriptions and is called Indian serfdom.
  • Peasants suffered curtailment of their rights reducing them to a position of tenants due to taxation, coercion and indebtedness.
  • Economic coercion and subordination increased to extract surplus. Inscription of Rajaraja Chola mentioned in more than 50 levies.
  • Closed Village economy consisting of immobile peasants, craftsmen and artisans.
  • another theory that opposes theory of Indian Feudalism “The theory of Autonomous peasant societies” based on evidence of South Indian sources.
  • Nadus or autonomous peasant societies evolved in south India on the basis of clan and kinship ties
  • Agri production was organised and controlled by the Nattar (the people)
  • They organised themselves into assemblies and members were Velalas or non-Brahmins
  • Nattars emerged as important landed class and Brahmana peasants and they became allies.
  • A/c to this thesis there was self-sufficiency in these villages both these theories agree in on this.

Criticism of Indian Feudalism

Section titled “Criticism of Indian Feudalism”
  • The term feudalism is vague and ambiguous, and does not capture the diversity and complexity of Indian society.
  • The European model of feudalism is not applicable to India, where there was no clear distinction between crown lands and private lands, no uniform system of land tenure or revenue collection, no fixed hierarchy of lords and vassals, no hereditary succession or primogeniture among nobles or rulers.
  • The land grants were not always permanent or unconditional; they could be revoked or modified by the grantors or their successors; they did not always entail military service or political allegiance; they were often motivated by religious or cultural reasons rather than economic ones.
  • The decline of trade was not universal or irreversible; there were periods of revival and expansion of trade within India as well as with other regions like Southeast Asia, China, Central Asia and West Asia.
  • The regional languages and scripts were not necessarily signs of fragmentation or isolation; they were also expressions of creativity and innovation; they facilitated communication and literacy among different sections of society.
  • The castes and sub-castes were not rigid or static; they were dynamic and flexible; they changed over time according to social mobility, economic opportunity, political affiliation etc.
  • The central authority was not always weak or absent; there were instances of strong empires like Harsha’s empire in North India (7th century CE), Chola empire in South India (10th-13th century CE), Vijayanagara empire in South India (14th-16th century CE) etc.

Religious and Ritual Obligation of the Land Grants

Section titled “Religious and Ritual Obligation of the Land Grants”
  • The land grants were usually made in the name of a deity or a temple, and were accompanied by a charter or an inscription that recorded the details of the grant, such as the name of the donor, the recipient, the boundaries, the rights and duties, and sometimes also a curse for anyone who violated or usurped the grant.
  • The land grants were considered as acts of piety and merit (punya), which would bring spiritual benefits to the donors and their ancestors in this world and beyond. The donors also expected protection and blessings from the gods or goddesses to whom they dedicated their lands.
  • The recipients of the land grants were mostly Brahmins, temples or monasteries, who were expected to perform certain services (seva) to the gods or goddesses, such as offering prayers, rituals, sacrifices, festivals, etc. They also had to maintain and protect the temples or monasteries, provide hospitality to pilgrims and travelers, support learning and education, etc.
  • The land grants also involved some obligations for the peasants who cultivated or lived on them. They had to pay a share of their produce (bhaga) or a fixed amount (bali) to their lords as rent or tribute. They also had to provide unpaid labor (vishti) or corvee service (rauta) as a religious duty to their lords or to the temples or monasteries. They also had to respect and obey their lords’ authority and rules.

PYQs and Answers

Section titled “PYQs and Answers”

Indian Feudalism and Land Grants

  1. “Land charters of north India (c. A-D. 750-1200).” Comment. [1995, 20m]
  1. Write a short essay on: “The Samanta System” [2006, 20m]
  1. Write a short essay on: “Applicability of the term ‘Indian Feudalism’ to early Medieval Society.” [2009, 20m]
  1. What kind of changes were visualized by historians on Indian feudalism? Examine critically. [2012, 30m]
  1. Do the evidences of land ownership at our disposal support the theory of the prevalence of feudalism in early medieval India? [2015, 15m]
According to this theory, feudalism in India was a system of land grants given by kings or queens to their nobles, officials, Brahmins or temples in exchange for military service, loyalty or religious merit12 . These land grants involved the transfer of fiscal, administrative and judicial rights from the central authority to the local grantees, who became semi-autonomous rulers or landlords with their own vassals, tenants and peasants. The land grants also led to political decentralization, social stratification and economic stagnation in feudal society.


The evidences of land ownership that support this theory are mainly inscriptions that record various types and terms of land grants issued by different dynasties or rulers from the Gupta period onwards. These inscriptions provide information on:


The names and titles of grantors and grantees
The extent and location of granted lands
The rights and obligations of grantors and grantees
The conditions and restrictions on land transfers
The witnesses and beneficiaries of land grants
The religious or secular motives behind land grants
Some examples of such inscriptions are:


The Banskhera copper plate inscription of Kumaragupta I, which records his grant of a village to a Brahmin for performing rituals for his welfare.
The Mandasor stone inscription of Naravarman, which records his grant of a village to a temple for securing divine favour for his victory over his enemies.
The Bagumra copper plate inscription of Prithivisena II, which records his grant of a village to an official for his loyal service as a governor.


-   The Kanyakubja copper plate inscription of Harshavardhana, which records his grant of a village to a Buddhist monastery for propagating his faith.
-   The Nandavara copper plate inscription of Dantidurga, which records his grant of a village to a Brahmin for securing the support of his clan.
-   The Tanjore copper plate inscription of Rajaraja I, which records his grant of a village to a temple for commemorating his conquests and achievements.


These inscriptions show that land grants were a common and widespread practice in early medieval India, and that they created a hierarchical and complex system of land ownership and power relations among different classes and groups in feudal society. They also show that land grants were influenced by various political, religious, social and economic factors and motives.
  1. Evaluate the socio-economic conditions from the Gupta Period to 1200 C.E. as gleaned from the various types of grants or dana shasana. [2011, 60m]