[go: up one dir, main page]
Scribd
Upload
614 views2 pages

Peseantization of Tribes and Polifiration

1) Ashish Kumar is a PhD candidate at JNU researching the political and social transitions from pre-state to state societies in the Malava-Dahala region of central India from 400-800 AD. 2) His research builds on B.D. Chattopadhyaya's thesis about the peasantization of tribes, proliferation of castes, expansion of kingdoms and assimilation of tribal religions during early medieval Indian state formation. 3) Important findings include that pre-state societies were diverse, including forest tribes, pastoralists and oligarchies, and that kings and merchants played a key role in forging communication networks between forest and state societies during the complex transition process.

Uploaded by

Niranjan Bhuyan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
614 views2 pages

Peseantization of Tribes and Polifiration

1) Ashish Kumar is a PhD candidate at JNU researching the political and social transitions from pre-state to state societies in the Malava-Dahala region of central India from 400-800 AD. 2) His research builds on B.D. Chattopadhyaya's thesis about the peasantization of tribes, proliferation of castes, expansion of kingdoms and assimilation of tribal religions during early medieval Indian state formation. 3) Important findings include that pre-state societies were diverse, including forest tribes, pastoralists and oligarchies, and that kings and merchants played a key role in forging communication networks between forest and state societies during the complex transition process.

Uploaded by

Niranjan Bhuyan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Ashish Kumar (Centre for Historical Research, School of Social Sciences, JNU)

PhD title: Kings, Merchants and Forest Societies in Malava-Dahala Region (c.400-800
AD)

My research elaborates B. D. Chattopadhyaya’s thesis on the political and social changes


in context of early medieval India. According to him, transition from pre-state to state
society was accompanied by the peasantization of tribes, proliferation of new castes, and
expansion of monarchy, agriculture and varna-jati social hierarchy, and also assimilation
of tribal cults into brahmanical religious systems. Following Chattopadhyaya, my
research work analyses and explores the transition from pre-state societies, particularly
the forest societies, into state society in the Malava-Dahala Region (broadly present day
Madhya Pradesh, parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh). And my work is based
on epigraphical and literary sources primarily. Archaeological and anthropological works
have also been used to further strengthen the arguments.

Important findings of my research are: a) pre-state societies had been of diverse types,
viz., forest tribes, pastoralists-nomadic, and the gana-sanghas or oligarchies. Here pre-
state society refers to those socio-political setups that lacked monarchy and varna-jati
social hierarchy particularly; b) forest societies need not to be seen simple or egalitarian
or inferior as such socio-political setups had their own complexities; c) in the transition
from pre-state (forest tribal background) to state society (based on monarchy and varna-
jati social hierarchy) different actors like kings and merchants had played crucial role by
forging diverse types of communication networks with the foresters; d) forest dwellers
too participated actively in this transition making it a two way process; e) in the transition
from pre-state to state society not only the tribal population underwent a change rather
state society too was transformed; and f) noticeably the process as well as outcomes of
such transition had not been uniform everywhere. Different tribes responded differently
to the advances of state society.

This transition in other words means an expansion of state society in the areas and
population that had been outside of it. As the state society expanded it stimulated a
change in the production patterns, techniques and relations among the pre state societies.
Here it is noticeable that not all tribes were transformed. Many of these, e.g., Bhils, had
retained their internal socio-political structure in spite of their active interactions with the
state societies. Hence, transition does not mean en masse disappearance of forest
dwellers; rather it refers to a process in which different types of socio-political setups
interacted and impacted each others. Emergence of new caste identities, cults and polities
was an important feature of this transition. The cordial as well as hostile communication
between forest societies and state societies had made this transition a much more
complex process in which foresters, kings, merchants, and brahmanas retained certain
features while embraced several new at the same time. This transition witnessed
continuity in erstwhile traditions as well as a change resulting in the emergence of new
traditions.
Acknowledgement
I was awarded the SYLFF in 2013, and over the period of more than one year this
fellowship has helped in my research tremendously. It provided much needed financial
assistance in the collection of primary as well as secondary sources required for my
research work. As my research requires a thorough study and analysis of several primary
texts and epigraphical material, this fellowship has enabled me to purchase many of the
primary sources (at least which are available in print). In those cases where primary texts
are not available in print, due to this fellowship I have been able to visit different libraries
across Delhi to study these texts. This fellowship has helped me too in undertaking a field
trip in Madhya Pradesh.

You might also like