Title Chapter 1 Introduction Tracing Changes through a Thousand Years.pdf ✅

HISTORY Chapter 1: Introduction Tracing Changes through a Thousand Years
(1) INTRODUCTION TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS 01 Introduction Tracing Changes through a Thousand Years Changing Histories The history of a place does not remain the same always but changes over a period of time. The changes in the rulers and dynasties, amalgamation of foreigners into the indegenious population, emergence of new social groups, development of trade and commerce etc. leads to politico-socio- economic changes in a country. Apart from these changes, innovations were also made in the field of science, technology, art and craft, transportation, map making etc. The art of map making is known as cartography. A person who makes maps is known as a cartographer. In the twelfth century, a map made by an Arab geographer al-Idrisi had many defects. South India was shown in the place of North India and the island of Sri Lanka was shown to the north of the Indian subcontinent. In the eigtheenth century, a Franch cartographer made a very accurate map of India in which he gave detailed information about the coastal areas of South India. Changes in science and technology also affected the art of map making. New and Old Terminologies Various names and terms also changed with the passage of time. Some facts about the various names of India which emerged in the past are: • The name ‘Hindustan’ used by Minhaj-i-Siraj in the thirteenth century only referred to the areas of Punjab, Haryana and the region between Rivers Ganga and Yamuna which were under the rule of the Delhi Sultanate. It did not include South India.
(2) INTRODUCTION TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS 01 • In the early sixteenth century, Babur used the name ‘Hindustan’ to describe the geography, fauna and culture of the people of the subcontinent. • The name ‘Hindustan’ described by Minhaj-i-Siraj and Babur did not have any political or national cannotation astoday. • Similarly, the term ‘foreigner’ also had different meanings in the past. Today anyone who is not an Indian is known as a foreigner. In the medieval period, any person who appeared in a village to which he did not belong was known as a foreigner. Any person outside his caste of religion was also considered to be a foreigner. Sources and their Interpretation • Historians study sources in order to construct the past. Coins, inscriptions and architecture are some important sources of the past. • In the medieval period, many textual records were written which now form an important source of history. • As paper became cheaper during this period, chronicals, religious texts, and judicial records came to be written. • Hand written records are known as ‘manuscripts’. Places where manuscripts and other documents are stored are known as archives. • Before the invention of the printing press, the writers or scribes copied the manuscript by hand. In doing so, small changes were also made by them. These small changes grew into major changes and hence the copied texts sometimes became very different from the manuscripts. Therefore, at times there were many different written accounts of the
(3) INTRODUCTION TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS 01 same manuscript from which they were copied. • Sometimes, the author himself revised the documents. For instance, Ziauddin Barani revised his chronicle which was different from the first one. Emergence of New Social and Political Groups In the medieval period from 700-1750 C.E., many developments occurred in various fields. In the scientific and technological fields the Persian wheel used for irrigation, the spinning wheel in weaving etc. New firearms began to be used. Many food crops such as potatoes, corn, chillies, tea and coffee made their way into India. Likewise there were many developments in the social fields. The following political and social groups appeared during the medieval period: • The Rajputs became an important community during this time. They were a group of warriors belonging to the Kshatriya clan. • Rajputs were considered to be brave and chivalrous, having a great sense of loyalty. • Many other groups like the Marathas, Jats, Ahoms and Kayasthas also emerged. The Kayasthas were a community of scribes and secretaries. • Many forest dwellers became a part of the agricultural society. They began to cultivate land and paid taxes to the local ruler. Some possessed more land and cattle. This marked the emergence of various groups or jatis within the peasant communities. The position, wealth and status of the jatis differed from region to region. • Jatis not only followed the rules which were formed within the community but also of the villages in which they lived.
(4) INTRODUCTION TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS 01 Emergence of Regions and Kingdoms • Some important kingdoms which became large empires and encompassed many diverse regions during this period were the Cholas, Khaljis, Tughluqs and Mughals. • A prashsti praised Ghiyasuddin Balban, a king of the Delhi Sultanate. It was mentioned that he was a ruler of a vast empire which included territories from Afghanistan to Bengal and from the North to South of the Indian subcontinent. However, historians do not approve all the facts of this prashasti. • Many large empires such as he Khaljis and later of the Mughals declined. After the decline of the Mughals in the eighteenth century many regional kingdoms emerged.