Society
Society
Section titled “Society”2020-04-26 19:29 :50
- #todo
Composition of Rural Society
Section titled “Composition of Rural Society”2020-04-27 12:21:28
Peasants
Section titled “Peasants”- Individual peasants cultivated their land
- Khots were large landholdings
- Balahars were small plots
- Owned oxen and plough
- Landless menial classes were below peasantry
- Wells were abundant, so was land.
- Sold their crops for payment of revenue in cash
- $ Barani mentions highest strata of peasants as Khots and Muqaddams who levied Qismat is Khoti from villagers during AK’s reign, were generally prosperous.
Dwelling of Peasants
Section titled “Dwelling of Peasants”- Mud huts, bamboo supports, thatched roof.
- Floor plastered with cowdung.
- Little furniture, slept on the floor or cotton quilts.
- Earthen pots, no separate bathing place, no privacy.
- Prosperous peasants had land around main structure, courtyard and chabutara.
- Food was rice, lintel, onion, chillies, ghee was a luxury.
- Hindu peasants went bareheaded and barefooted, Gujarat and Rajasthani’s wore red handkerchief around head.
- Women wore sari or lehanga.
Ruling Classes
Section titled “Ruling Classes”2020-04-27 12:21:37
- Head was Sultan, synonymous with the state.
- Was politically independent but culturally part of Islamic world
- Luxurious living to maintain distance from common.
- Owned and made huge palaces. Ibn Battuta mentions lofty gates, thousand pillars, huge halls, polished by wooden pillars during MBT.
- Royal umbrella sceptre used, Hindu rulers used the Chhatra, Danda with a Chowri (fly whisk).
- Band of Musicians accompanied the Sultan.
- Darbar was where court proceeding, special occasions like coronation, royal function etc took place.
- Harem was where women lived. Sultan’s mother, his queens, female servants and slaves lived. A karkhana was attached to their needs.
Town Dwellers
Section titled “Town Dwellers”2020-04-27 12:21:44
City Life
Section titled “City Life”- Broach, Cambay, Lakhnauti, Sonarogaon and Multan were some trading centres.
- $ Ibn Battuta has given detailed account of Delhi.
- Largest city in Islamic world, mixed population of merchants.
- Multanis were mostly Hindus traded West Asia others were Gujarati, Marwaris.
- Jains constructed temples.
- Large residential buildings surrounded by Orchards and fruit gardens Cambay.
- Big house, consumed good food and fine clothes.
- & Cotton silk garments, sandalwood paste, rings, gold earrings studded with precious stones used by men.
- & Women wore sari and silk blouses, jewellery made of gold and silver metals, earrings, anklets, rings on fingers and toes
- Muslim merchants clothes studded w/ gold, long boots
- Bengal, Gujarat famous for fine clothes, Cambay for gold and silver works.
- Barani mentions Multanis and Sahas of Delhi acquired wealth from maliks and amirs and repaid their loans with assignment of draft over iqta.
- Broker/ Dallals operated b/w merchants and customers.
- Sarraf or money changers.
2020-04-27 12:21:51
- Women were subordinate to men, main duty was to rear children.
- Birth of daughter was looked down upon, were confined to antahpura /inner sanctum.
- Early marriages, wife’s duty towards husband his kula was stressed.
- Annulment of marriages took place in special circumstances like desertion, disease or mental disorder.
- @ Some upper class women were given education like Dewalrani, Rupamati, Padmavati and Razia Sultan.
- $ Ibn Battuta mentions a woman burning herself/sati but it was limited to upper strata of society. Practice of Jauhar among Rajput.
- Widow had the right to property of a sonless husband but did not apply uniformly all over.
- Purdah was prevalent among both Hindus and Muslims and attained institutionalised form
Religious Classes
Section titled “Religious Classes”2020-04-27 12:21:54
- Ulema were given special religious place in administration.
- Dastarbandan were associated with admin of justice and religious laws.
- Helped in theological matters.
- Formed the elite group Ahl Qalam.
- Gave moral support to imperial rule.
Caste and Slavery under the Sultanate
Section titled “Caste and Slavery under the Sultanate”2020-04-27 12:22:03
Slaves and Servants
- Master-slave relation formed, noblemen referred themselves as slaves
- 2 types of slaves were there
- Bought in an open market
- Prisoners of war
- Bought for domestic service or for special skills
- FST collected 180,000 slaves most employed in handicrafts or bodyguards
- ! Eunuchs were slaves to guard harems
- Women slaves were for either domestic service or entertainment and pleasure.
- Became mark of prosperity, nobles vied among each other.
- were treated better than servants.
Position of Hindus and Jizya
Section titled “Position of Hindus and Jizya”- Religious freedom to those who accepted M rule were called ‘Zimmis’.
- New temples could not be built but old ones could be repaired.
- Origin of Jizya has been debated even traced to pre Islamic Iran and Greece.
- @ Until the time of Khalji and Firuz there is no reference to Jizya as a cess. As a separate tax it was collected in small section in towns.
- Qazi Mughis in court of AK was in favour of collecting it and using it as means of harassing and humiliating, insulting Hindus.
- $ Barani says that during the reign of Iltutmish argument was put to give Hindus either Islam or Death. Nizam ul Mulk Junaidi said M were too few like salt in food and would be impractical.
- H continued to dominate country side as Khuts, Muqaddams, Chaudhuri, rana, Thakur.
- Barani objects to H being honored, distinguished, favored and eminent.
Society
- Analyse the social composition and the role of mobility under the successors of Iltutmish. How did it affect the contemporary politics? [2012, 30m]