History of Delhi

                              Part 1- Tomara dynasty

The origin of Tomaras is one such dispute. The Tomara dynasty claims to be the heirs to the Pandavas - sons of Pandu, and heroes of the epic Mahabharata. If we were to believe the legend, then Delhi was a just a new name given to the ancient kingdom of Indraprastha, and Tomaras began to rule in succession to the Pandavas.

To add to our confusion, there are other Hindu texts, which accredits the term ‘Delhi’ to myriads of other origins. For one, Delhi could either be traced back to the word 'Dhillika', or if we were to pick from Satyarth Prakash (1874) by Swami Dayanand, it was Raja Dhilu who founded ancient Delhi in 800 BC, and the term Dilli was derived from the king’s name. But sadly it isn’t supported by any older texts.

Going simply by archeology and making life easy for us, let's go by the premise that, the foundation of Delhi was laid by Anangpal Tomar in 736, as the capital of many villages in and around the Delhi, Haryana region. Stronghold of Tomaras, ‘Lal Kot’ - a fortified city in Mehrauli region was built by Anangpal Tomar II, to halt the raids by Mahmud of Ghazni. After the demise of Anangpal Tomar II, Prithviraj Chauhan, his maternal grandson and the then king of Ajmer, took control of Lal Kot. Whether Prithviraj Chauhan was a crowned heir, or he forcefully took the throne is still a debate.

Composite culture in Medieval India

Culturally medieval period marks the beginning of new stage in the growth of India's composite culture. It saw the introduction of new features in art and architecture of India and their diffusion to all parts of the country. The architecture that developed during this period was the result of the synthesis of the traditions of Central Asia and Persia with the pre-existing Indian styles. During the 15th and 16th centauries distinctive styles of art and architecture also developed in the regional kingdoms which had emerged with the disintegration of the Sultanate.

During this time notable advances were made in the development of languages and literature. Two new languages-Arabic and Persian became a part of India's linguistic heritage. Historical writings for the first time became an important component of Indian literature. Under the influence of Persian, new forms of literature such as the ghazal were introduced. The period saw two great religious movements. The Bhakti movement spread throughout the country.

It disapproved religious narrow-mindedness, superstitions and observance of formal rituals. The Bhakti saints condemned caste inequalities and laid stress on human brotherhood. The other was Sufi movement. The Sufis or the Muslim mystics preached the message of love and human brotherhood. These two movements played a leading role in combating religious exclusiveness and narrow -mindedness and in bringing the people of all communities together. Sikhism began to emerge as a new religion based on the teachings of Guru Nanak and other saints. The growth of a composite culture reached its highest point under the Great Mughals in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The Mughals built an empire which once again brought about the political unification of a large part of the country. Akbar the greatest Mughal Emperor followed the policy of Sulhkul (peace with all). Some of the finest specimen of Indian architecture and literature belong to this period. A new significant art form was painting which flourished under the patronage of the Mughal court. Influenced by the Persian traditions the Mughal painting developed into a distinct Indian style. It later spread to other parts of the country in various regional styles. Another significant development was the emergence of a new language Urdu which became the lingua franca of the people of the towns in many parts of the country.

Justice Party fuelled success of Dravidian movement

The party among its many reforms pioneered caste-based quotas in the 1920s and abolished the Devadasi system in TN

The results of the Tamil Nadu assembly election show that the Dravidian movement’s roots are strong as ever in the state. In many ways, the movement’s political and social priorities can be traced directly to the Justice Party.

On October 26 1926, Periyar’s ‘Kudi Arasu’ pointed at one of the seminal objectives and achievements of the Justice party which had been in power under the dyarchy from 1920 to 1925 twice -their quest to take education to the villager’s door and orient him “to the necessity of literacy .“ Rightly understanding that education was the key to social mobility the Justice ministries began chipping away at the historical and religious mindset that stood between the 97% majority in the Madras Presidency and education. Thanks to their work, learning would no more be the prerogative of the few.

Schooling was made free and compulsory for children from 5-12 and parents who withdrew their wards faced penalty. In Malabar, 37 schools for children of fisher folk were set up. Also, in 1920, the Justice Party pioneered free breakfast in a corporation preparatory school later extending it to four other schools till 1925 when paucity of funds saw an end to the avant garde meal scheme and a consequent drop in school enrollment. Additionally , free education was provided for girls above eighth standard initially in the district of Madras and by 1925 to 18 of the 20 districts. In 1968 the government made education free up to the pre-university level and later by the mid-1970s up to the first college degree.

When it came to western medicine believe it or not entrance to medical colleges required proficiency in Sanskrit. Yes Sanskrit and not Latin or Greek, which abound in medical terms. When the Justicites won the fight to do away with this, they opened the doors to many who could have otherwise never dreamt of becoming medical doctors and much more. One such was Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy , the first woman physician and legislator in 1926 and deputy speaker of the legislature in 1927. As early as 1921 the Justicites had turned Madras the first British province in India to provide women’s suffrage. The Raja of Panagal had reminded on that occasion that some 900 years ago women had held positions in administrative committees in the Chola era. In 1922 the Justicites legislated to term those who fell outside the pale of caste as Adi Dravidas, the predecessor of the Dravidas. The party was also responsible for doing away with the degrading Devadasi system.

The Justice Party was known for its governance and bespoke decentralisation and federalism. Its ministry spurred industrial growth. The ministry provided loans to farmers by substituting ‘indebtedness’ for ‘distress in the Agriculturists’ Loans Amendment Act.

In 1926 the Justicites passed the Hindu Religious Endowments Act in the face of much opposition. The idea was that temple property and revenue should serve the entire community and not just a private few. It was done with much tact as the Raja of Panagal took N Gopalaswami Iyengar of the provincial civil service and later a central minister as an `expert member’ to assist the passage of the bill. T Sadasiva Iyer, a retired judge of the Madras high court became the first president of the Hindu religious endowments board to assuage the sentiments of the Hindu religious. In 1989 the successor Dravidian party government set up a committee led by pontiff Kunrakudi Adigalar to suggest ways on better temple administration.

In 1921 and 1922 the Justice ministry extended the principle of communal representation in the services and promotions, in simpler terms reservation as we understand it today spearheading a social revolution. Earlier the Justices had legislated the use of public facilities like roads and wells for Adi-Dravidas, appointed a labour commissioner to enforce non-discrimination, provided liberal aid to acquire lands for cultivation and occupation, free building sites, and much incentive for education. The irony is that the classist Justicites were rich and accomplished people in their own right but they set about to change the situation of the masses.

Administration during Feudalism in Early Medieval India

The kingdom was divided into a central region directly ruled by the king and many areas or fiefs were governed by feudal lords. The central region was divided into bhuktis or rashtras which were under viceroys, vishayas under vishayapatis and finally villages under grama patis. The village self-government weakened during this period due to the domination of the feudal chiefs while at the same time it was best under the Cholas in the south India.

The army consisted of royal retainers or the personal army of the king and the contingents supplied by feudal lords. This was the main reason for the lack of unity in the armies of the rulers of this period. The military service became the monopoly of Rajputs. Taxation during this period was heavier compared to earlier times. This was mainly due to heavy expenditure over the royal household and the court. There was also fighting all around for suzerainty. The burden was laid on the general public.

There was no clear instructions for maintain justice. In the Bhuktis there was a dandanayaka who was in charge of justice, police and prison. There is no mention of any other officer. It is likely that most of the cases were settled by caste and village panchayats. Some feudal chiefs were government officers who were increasingly paid not in cash but by assigning to them revenue-bearing villages. Others were defeated kings and their supporters who continued to enjoy the revenues of limited areas. Some were tribal chiefs.Some of them were village chiefs who had dominated the entire region. There was a definite hierarchy among these chiefs. They constantly fought against each other for supremacy.

Society during Feudalism in Early Medieval India

The caste system formed the basis of the society as in earlier periods but now the kshatriyas and the Brahmins were given more privileges while more and more social and religious disabilities were placed on the sudras and other lower castes. A large number of sub castes such as potters, weavers, goldsmiths, musicians etc proliferated. They were classified as jatis now. Most of the workers were classified as untouchables. Women continued to be denied the right to education. The age of marriage for girls was further lowered. They were kept in seclusion and their lives were regulated by the male relations –fathers, brothers and husbands. The practice of sati seems to have spread widely and was made even obligatory at some places. The custom of sati was widespread in the higher castes.

The attitude of higher classes became very rigid. They tended to isolate themselves from all scientific thought. Buddhism almost disappeared from the land of its origin. There was a marked revival and expansion of Hindusim.There was a growing popularity of Shiva and Vishnu cults. A number of popular movements arose around the worship of these gods. In the eastern India, a new form of worship arose. This was the worship of Sakti or female creator of the universe.

Economy during the Feudalism in Early Medieval India

A very important development of the period was the rise of a self-sufficient village economy where production was according to the local requirements with little attempts at producing a surplus to be used for trade or exchange. This existing system led to accepting the standard of minimum production since the incentive to improve production was absent. As a result pressure on peasantry was increased and production stayed at a subsistence level only.

The subsistence economy of the village led to decline in trade. Trade was further hampered by the emergence of wide range of local weights and measures making long distance trade more difficult. The unstable political conditions and internal fighting in India only helped this process of decline in trade.

This decline in trade affected the growth of towns. In coastal areas and Bengal towns however prospered because they continued to trade with West Asia and South East Asia. The only prosperous class in north India during this period was feudal lords. But the surplus wealth was not invested in trade or craft production. It was on the other hand used for conspicuous consumption. The huge amounts were given to temples also thus attracting outsiders.



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Feudalism in Early Medievel India

Feudalism became an important feature of the political system of North India between 750 and 1200 AD. This was because the authority of the rulers had been limited in many ways. The ministers were appointed on the hereditary basis and became all powerful. There were numerous feudal chiefs who had ties with ruling class. In the local and central govt these feudal chiefs had special privileges and powers which no ruler could ignore. This also led to the limited authority of the kings. The rulers were under the obligation to rule according to holy Sastras and Smirtis could not enact or amend the laws at will. Thus rulers of this period were basically feudal lords with limited overall power.

 The basis of the sovereignty during this period was a mixture of Divine Right theory and contract theory. On the one hand the authors of treaties on polity regarded the ruler as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. On the other hand they also held that it the people who conferred sovereignty on the ruler. So the natural duty of the ruler was to rule in the interests of the people while the duty of the people was to be loyal to him.

A king was usually succeeded by his elder son. If a king dies without an heir the kingdom passed to the head of next in king to the ruling dynasty. There was little scope for disputed succession in this period. The powers of the king were limited in practice due to privileges and prerogatives of the feudal lords. Since he had the theoretical ownership of all the lands, the feudal lords needed his recognition but then this prerogative of the kings was limited as the feudal lords had hereditary rights.

The king was helped in the administration by a council of ministers besides crown prince. The chief priest and the court astrologer were recruited from Brahmin while all over posts were held by feudal lords. They usually belonged to Kshatriya caste.Sudras or lower caste had no place in the political set up of the king.

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