Political processes in Ancient India (1500 BCE-7th century AD)

The study of ancient Indian history began with the advent of British rule in India. The British viewed Indians as savage and barbarians who were unfit to rule themselves and this was reflected in their attitudes towards Indians. The colonial historians like James Mill and Vincent Smith who first wrote the political and social history of ancient India wrote the history of India from a colonial perspective to suit the interests of British imperialism. They divided the history of India in to three periods-The Hindu period, Muslim rule and the British and they concluded that Indians were uncivilized and ruled by despots till the arrival of the British in India. This was justified in their rule over India and exploitation of India’s resources.However, Dayanand Saraswati, B G Tilak, V D Savarkar and K P Jayaswal were in the forefront and proclaimed the superiority of Hindus over Western culture.

They declared that the Indo Aryans were the originators of Indian civilization and the Vedas were the source of all knowledge and rational thought.Tilak  was in the forefront of this by saying that the Rigveda was the earliest text in India.K P Jayaswal  believed that before the advent of democracy  in Europe India had practiced it and thus  they justified self rule from the British.This was the beginning of extremist ideology in the freedom movement of India.But  nationalist historians like Bipin Chandra has emphasized the role of the Mutiny of 1857 ,the Congress and Mahatma Gandhi  as defining historical events.On the other hand Marxist historians like Romila Thapar and Irfan Habib have focused on the class conflict and land ownership in pre-colonial India and of deindustrialization in the Colonial period. The Subaltern school which began in the 1980s has focused on history from below looking at the peasants and working classes and has downplayed caste.

In ancient India between the end of the Indus Valley civilization and the Second Urbanization the Vedic age (1500-500 BCE) played an important role .It was in the Vedic period that the Vedas were composed and it formed the basis of the influential Brahmanical ideology eventually developing in the Kuru kingdom which was a tribal union of several Indo Aryan tribes. The Vedic society was patriarchal and patrilineal.The early Indo Aryans were centred in Punjab and they were organized in to tribes and sustained a pastoral way of life. But in the later Vedic period (1000-500 BCE) these tribes began to spread out from Punjab to the Indo Gangetic Plain. The availability of fertile land and iron production led to the clearing of forests and the adoption of agriculture.This period gave rise to the emergence of towns, kingdoms and complex social differentiation. The end of the Vedic period gave way to the formation of large states and kingdoms called Mahajanapadas and the rise of Buddhism and Jainism challenging the orthodoxy of the Vedas. This period corresponds with the Painted Grey Ware culture (PGW).The Indo Aryan tribes were bound by kinship ties and tribal identity was an important feature by which the territory of a particular tribe was identified.

The sixteen Mahajanapadas were distributed in the northern, eastern and central parts of India. These tribes were often at war with each other and were known as janas. In the course of time with the extension of agriculture and division of labour society came to be divided in to jatis or varnas. The four Varnas were the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras.In addition to this there were also the untouchables or the outcastes and were considered outside the varna system. This eventually gave way to the caste system in ancient India. Marriage between a Brahmin and a Shudra was strictly prohibited and each Varna had their assigned occupations. Trade and urbanization played a significant part in the Mahajanapadas. These Mahajanapadas existed as republics and monarchies in ancient India. Magadha was the most powerful of the Mahajanapadas and it finally established the Magadha Empire in eastern India by defeating the other  kingdoms.

The Magadha empire with its capital at Patliputra consisted of three dynasties. The Haryanka dynasty,Shishunaga dynasty and the Nanda dynasty.The Nanda dynasty was finally overthrown by Chandragupta Maurya  with the assistance of Chanakya and with this the Nanda dynasty came to an end.

The Mauryan empire (323-185BCE) founded by Chandragupta Maurya was the largest empire in South Asia. He expanded his kingdom to the western and central parts of India. After Chandragupta Maurya his son Bindusara extended the empire to the south of India. Bindusara’s son Ashoka further expanded the empire to include parts of south and west India.But it was the Battle of Kalinga which became a turning point in his life. Though Ashoka won the Battle of Kalinga he was deeply pained to see the devastation and loss of life. After this he renounced war and embraced Buddhism. He implemented principles of Ahimsa by banning hunting and violent sports activity. After the death of Ashoka in 185 BCE the empire began to decline due to Ashoka’s generous donations to Buddhist monasteries, internal revolts, a succession of weak rulers and administrative collapse.

Kautilya’s Arthashastra mentions the structure of the Mauryan state. The empire was divided in to four provinces with its capital at Patliputra.The king was assisted by Mahamatyas and council of Ministers. The head of the provincial administration was the Kumara (royal prince) who governed the provinces as king’s representative. A vast espionage system collected intelligence for both internal and external security. After the Mauryan Empire post Mauryan kingdoms emerged in India like the Indo Greeks, Kushanas and Satavahanas in the Deccan and the Tamil states in the south known as the Sangam age.

The Satavahanas with their capital at Paithan and Amaravati in modern day Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh ruled the Deccan region of India. Their territory comprised the present states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The empire reached the peak of its rule under Gautamiputra Satakarni.In the Deep South the Cholas, Cheras and the Pandyas ruled over South India. A remarkable feature of this period is the Sangam age in which Tamil literature flourished. Three were three Sangams held in south India .The first Sangam was held at Madurai, the second Sangam at Kapadapuram and the third sangam was also Held at Madurai in Tamil Nadu.

By the late 3^rd century AD the Gupta Empire was founded by Maharaja Sri Gupta.The most notable rulers were Chandragupta I, Samudragupta and Chandragupta II.The Gupta Empire is considered as the Golden age of India and it was during this period that the Mahabharata and Ramayana were canonized. The Gupta period also produced scholars such as Kalidasa, Aryabhatta, Varamihira and Vatsyayana.This period witnessed achievements in architecture, sculpture and painting. Samudragupta also called as the Napoleon of India made further conquests and consolidated the empire.Samudragupta was succeeded by Ramagupta, Chandragupta Vikramaditya, Kumaragupta and Skandagupta. After Skandagupta the empire went in to decline.

The administrative system of the Gupta Empire shows a hierarchy of administrative divisions from top to bottom. The empire was divided in to 26 provinces which were called as Bhukti, Pradesha and Bhoga. Provinces were also divided in to Vishayas and put under the control of the Vishayapatis. The Vishayapati administered the Vishaya with the help of the Adhikarana (Council of representatives).

From the post Mauryan period and especially from the Gupta period the kings used to make land grants to the Brahmanas, a custom which was sanctified in the Dharmashastras.Even during the Pre Mauryan period the Buddhist Pali texts refer to the villages granted to the Brahmanas by the rulers of Kosala and Magadha which has led historians to coin the term Indian feudalism. The lands granted to the Brahmanas could not be confiscated as the Brahmanas were at the top of the Varna hierarchy.By the post Gupta period even administrative officials were granted land. This ultimately led to a breakdown in the central authority. The major implications of feudal polity in India led to the creation of powerful intermediaries which had great shares of economic and political power.

Feudalism eventually led to the Brahmans moving their focus from the religious functions to secular ones. The immediate consequences of feudalism in India led to the political decentralization of semiautonomous rulers like Samantas and Mahasamantas. Feudalism continued to exist in India till the coming of the Mughals in 1500s.