Yearly Archives: 2022

Class 12 Political Science Quick Revision notes Chapter 2 The End of Bipolarity

Soviet System

• The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) came into being after the Socialist Revolution in Russia in 1917. The revolution was inspired by the ideals of socialism and the need for an egalitarian society as opposed to capitalism.
• After the Second World War, the East European countries that the Soviet army had liberated from the fascist forces came under the control of the USSR.
• There was change in the economic and political system of the USSR. Then the Soviet economy became more developed than the rest of the world except the US.
• However, the Soviet system became very bureaucratic and authoritarian. It made life very difficult for its citizens.
• In the arms race, the Soviet Union managed to match the US from time to time, but at great cost.

Gorbachev and the Disintegration of the USSR

• Mikhail Gorbachev, who had become General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985, sought to reform the system. He introduced economic and political reform policies of perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness). But later his policies were criticised.
• A coup took place in 1991 that was encouraged by Communist Party hardliners. The people did not want the old-style rule of the Communist Party and wanted freedom.
• Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, the three major republics of the USSR, declared in December 1991 that the Soviet Union was disintegrated.;
• Capitalism and democracy were adopted as the basis for the post Soviet republics.

Reasons for the Soviet Union Disintegration
There are several reasons which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. These were

• Internal weaknesses of Soviet political and economic institutions failed to meet the aspirations of the people.
• The economy of the Soviet Union became stagnant. The Soviet economy used much of its resources in maintaining a nuclear and military arsenal.
  The Soviet Union too became stagnant due to rampant corruption, the unwillingness to allow more openness in government, and the centralisation of authority in a vast land.
• A section of the society was not happy with the reforms of Gorbachev. It was believed that the reforms introduced by Gorbachev were at a very slow pace.
• Another reason for the collapse of USSR was the rise of nationalism and the desire for sovereignty within various republics including Russia and the Baltic republics.

Consequences of Disintegration
There are many consequences of the disintegration of USSR. They are as follows:

• It led to the end of Cold War confrontations. There was no dispute of Socialist ideology and Capitalist ideology.
• Power relations in world politics changed and thus it led to change in the relative influence of ideas and institutions.
• The US became the sole superpower which also backed the capitalist economy making it the dominant economic system internationally.
• The end of the Soviet bloc paved way for the emergence of many new countries. All these countries had their own independent aspirations and choices.
• The international system saw many new players’ emerge, each with its own identity, interests and economic and political difficulties.

Shock Therapy in Post-Communist Regimes

• The model of transition in Russia, Central Asia and East Europe from an authoritarian socialist system to a democratic capitalist system which was influenced by the World Bank and the IMF came to be known as ‘Shock Therapy’.
• This process of transition was due to the Collapse of Communism.
• There was a need to make a total shift to a capitalist economy which meant rooting out completely any structures evolved during the Soviet period.
• Shock therapy also involved a drastic change in the external orientation of these economics.
• It also involved a break up of the existing .
  trade alliances among the countries of the Soviet bloc.

Consequences of Shock Therapy

• The shock therapy brought ruin to the economies and disaster upon the people of the entire region.
• The value of the Russian currency ‘Ruble’ declined dramatically. People lost all their savings due to high rate of inflation.
• The government withdrew subsidies which pushed large sections of the people into poverty. The middle classes were pushed to the periphery of society.
• The construction of democratic institutions was not given the same attention and priority as the demands of economic transformation.
• Most of these economies, especially Russia, started reviving in 2000, 10 years after their independence. The reason for the revival was the export of natural resources like oil, natural gas and minerals.

Tensions and Conflicts in Former Soviet Republics

• There were tensions and conflicts in most of the former Soviet republics and many have had civil wars and insurgencies.
• In Russia, two republics, Chechnya and Dagestan have had violent secessionist movements.
• Tajikistan witnessed a civil war for almost 10 years till 2001. The region had many sectarian conflicts.
• Central Asia too become a zone of competition between outside powers and oil companies.
• Czechoslovakia was divided into two, the Czechs and the Slovaks thus forming independent countries.
• Yugoslavia broke apart with several provinces like Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina declaring independence.

India and Post-Communist Countries

• India maintained a cordial relationship with all the post-communist countries. The strongest relation of India is still with Russia.
• Indo-Russian relation is an important aspect of India’s foreign policy. Both the countries share a vision of a multipolar world order.
• India got benefits from Russia over issues like Kashmir, energy supplies, access to Central Asia, balancing its relations with China.
• Russia stands to benefit from this relationship because India is the second largest arms market for Russia. Both the countries have collaborated over many scientific projects.

FACTS THAT MATTER
1. The Socialist Revolution in Russia in 1917 gave birth to USSR with inspiration of socialism, ensure a minimum standard of living for all its citizens and also the government subsidised basic necessities and productive assets were owned and controlled by the state.
2. Russia was the only republic among fifteen republics who dominates everything and people in the region.
3. Soviet Union lagged behind the west in technology, infrastructure and could not fulfil political aspirations of people. Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 also weakened the system furthermore.
4. Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of Communist Party of Soviet Union in 1985 initiated the policies of economic and political reforms to democratise the system which were opposed by leaders within communist party and contradictory view of people.
5. The people of republic had been fed up with old style rule of Soviet bloc and in Dec 1991, under the leadership of Boris Yeltsin (an elected leader), Russia, Ukraine and Baltics declared themselves independent.
6. The formation of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) came as a surprise and the exclusion of these states was resolved by making them founder members of the CIS.
7. Russia was accepted as successor state of Soviet Union by inheriting a Soviet seat in UN Security Council, who accepted all international treaties and commitments of Soviet Union and carried out some nuclear disarmament measures with the US.
8. Now Soviet Union had been disintegrated on the grounds to maintain nuclear and military arsenals, awareness of people of their backwardness than western capitalism as well as alienation of ordinary people who were exempted from any kind of privileges.
9. The rise of nationalism and the desire for sovereignty within republics like Russia, the Baltic Republics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Ukraine, Georgia and others proved to be the most immediate cause for disintegration of USSR.
10. Disintegration of USSR resulted into the end of Cold War confrontations, created dominant capitalist system, emerged many new states and the advantage was taken by Central Asian countries of their geographical locations by maintaining relations with Russia, the West, the US, China and others.
11. The process of transition from an authoritarian socialist system to a democratic capitalist system in Russia, Central Asia and East Europe was influenced by World Bank and IMF came to be known as Shock Therapy.
12. Shock Therapy involved privatisation of property, private firms emergence, complete switch over to free trade and Foreign Direct Investment, Financial opening up, Currency convertibility as well as break up of existing trade alliances among the countries of Soviet Bloc to maintain relations directly with the West.
13. Shock Therapy resulted in the largest garage sale in history, declined value of Russian Currency ‘Ruble’, due to inflation, food was imported, destroyed Old Social Welfare System, Migration of educated and intellectual manpower and disparities due to privatisation between rich and poor regions of Russia.
14. The constitution of newly democratic institutions was drafted in a hurry where strong executives appointed themselves as presidents due to weak Parliament and lack of independent judiciary as in Russia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
15. Russia revived in 2000 due to export of natural resources like oil, natural gas and minerals which were available in abundance in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. And from where these pipelines crossed, were paid on rent.
16. Most of the former Soviet Republics had civil wars and insurgencies as in Russia, two republics Chechnya and Dagestan had violent secessionist movements, in Central Asia. Civil War took place in Azerbaijan and Georgia. Czechoslovakia was also split into two. Even countries and provinces like Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, and Georgia are fighting over river water leading to instability and making life difficult for ordinary people.
17. The Central Asian Republics were rich in hydrocarbon resources for economic benefit as Oil Companies and outside powers had a competition to exploit these natural resources. Also, the US approached them to hire bases and territories during wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
18. Russia and India share a vision of multipolar world order, collective security, greater regionalism, negotiated settlements of international conflicts, on independent foreign policy and decision making through UN.
19. India is benefitted from Russia on issues of Kashmir, energy supplies, sharing information on international terrorism, access to Central Asia and balancing its relations with China. In return, Russia has also been benefitted from India on the ground of second largest arms market for Russia.
WORDS THAT MATTER

1. Soviet System: Soviet system was introduced after Russian Revolution in 1917 based on the principles of egalitarian society and planned economy controlled by the state.
2. Socialist Bloc: The east European countries were known as Socialist Bloc because these countries were liberated from the fascist forces and their political and economic systems were based on this bloc only.
3. Capitalist Economy: In this economy, land and productive assets are owned and controlled by the Capitalists.
4. Unipolar System: Affairs at international level are dominated by only one superpower.
5. Multipolar System: Affairs at international level can not be dominated by one superpower only, instead group of countries play an important role.
6. Egalitarian Society: It believes that all people are equally important and should have the same rights and opportunities in life.
7. Largest Garage Sale: It was resulted due to Shock Therapy to undervalue the valuable industries of USSR to sell them at throwaway prices.
8. Shock Therapy: The model of transition from authoritarian socialist system to a democratic capitalist system in Russia, Central Asia and East Europe under the influence of the World Bank and IMF.

TIMELINE

• March 1985  Mikhail Gorbachev electced as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union; appoints Boris Yeltsin as the head of the Communist Party in Moscow; initiates a series of reforms in the Soviet Union.
• 1988  Independence movement begins in Lithuania; later spreads to Estonia and Latvia.
• October 1989  Soviet Union declares that the Warsaw Pact members are free to decide their own future; Berlin Wall falls in November.
• February 1990  Gorbachev strips the Soviet Communist Party of its 72-year long monopoly on power by calling on the Soviet Parliament (Duma) to permit multiparty politics.
• March 1990  Lithuania becomes the first of the 15 Soviet republics to declare its independence.
• June 1990  Russian parliament declares its dependence from the Soviet Union.
• June 1991  Yeltsin, no longer in the Communist Party, becomes the President of Russia.
• August 1991  The Communist Party hardliners stage an abortive coup against Gorbachev.
• September 1991 Three Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania becomes UN members (Later join NATO in March 2004).
• December 991 Russia, Belarus and Ukraine decided to annul the 1992 Treaty on the creation of the USSR and establish the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS); Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan joined the CIS (Georgia joined later in 1993); Russia took ones the USSR seat in the United Nations.
• 25 December 1991 Gorbachev resigns as the President of the Soviet Union; the end of the Soviet Union.

Class 12 Political Science Quick Revision notes Chapter 1 The Cold War Era

Cuban Missile Crisis

• Cuba was an ally of the Soviet Union and received diplomatic and financial aid from it. In April 1961, leaders of the USSR were worried that the United States of America would invade communist-ruled Cuba and overthrow its President Fidel Castro.
• In 1962, the leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, placed nuclear missiles in Cuba for converting it into a Russian base.
• Three weeks later, Americans became aware of it. The US President John F. Kennedy and his advisers tried to find a solution to avoid full-scale nuclear war. But they were determined to get Khrushchev to remove the missiles and nuclear weapons from Cuba.
• Kennedy ordered American warships to intercept any Soviet ships heading to Cuba as a way of warning the USSR. This clash between the USA and the USSR came to be known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. It made the whole world nervous.
• The Cuban Missile Crisis was a high point which came to be known as the Cold War. It refers to the competition, the tensions and a series of confrontations between the United States and Soviet Union.

Cold War

• The Cold War was the war of ideologies. The US followed the ideology of liberal democracy and capitalism while the USSR backed the ideology of socialism and communism.
• The Second World War (1939-1945) came to an end with the defeat of the Axis powers led by Germany, Italy and Japan by the Allied forces led by the US, Soviet Union, Britain and France.
• It marked the beginning of the Cold War. The Second World War ended when the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, causing Japan to surrender.
• This decision of the US was both criticised and supported. But the consequence of the end of the Second World War was the rise of two new powers on the global stage.
• The United States and the Soviet Union became the greatest powers in the world with the ability to influence events anywhere on Earth.
• But the Cold War inspite of being an intense form of rivalry between great powers, remained a ‘cold’ and not hot or shooting war. It was due to the ‘logic of deterrence’.
• The ‘logic of deterrence’ means when both sides have the capacity to respond against an attack and to cause so much destruction that neither can afford to initiate war.
• The two superpowers and their allies were expected to behave as rational and responsible actors.

The Emergence of Two Power Blocs

•  The two superpowers i.e. the US and USSR wanted to expand their spheres of influence in different parts of the world. Hence, they decided to take help of the smaller countries.
• These smaller states got the promise of protection, weapons and economic aid against their local rivals, mostly regional neighbours.
• The first division took place in Europe. Most countries of Western Europe sided with the US and thus, came to be known as ‘Western alliance.
• The countries of the Eastern Europe joined the Soviet camp and came to be known as ‘Eastern alliance.’
• The Western alliance formed itself into an organisation, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). It came into existence in April, 1949 with twelve states.
• The NATO declared that armed attack on any one of them in Europe or North America would be regarded as an attack on all of them.
• The Eastern alliance, also known as the Warsaw Pact, was led by the Soviet Union. It was established in 1955. Its principle function was to counter NATO’s forces in Europe.
• In East and South East Asia and in West Asia (Middle East), the United States built an alliance system called the South-East Asian Treaty Organisation (SEATO) and the Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO).
• Many newly independent countries were worried of losing their freedom. Cracks and splits within the alliances were quick to appear.
• Communist China quarrelled with the USSR towards the late 1950s. The other important development was the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
• The smaller countries were of more help to the superpowers because they were the means to gain
  vital resources such as oil and minerals; locations to spy each other and to launch weapons.

Arenas of the Cold War

• The arenas of the Cold War refer to areas where crisis and war occurred or threatened to occur between the alliance systems but did not cross certain limits.
• The Cold War was also responsible for several shooting wars.
• The two superpowers were poised for direct encounter in Korea (1950-53), Berlin
  (1958-62), the Congo (the early 1960s) and in several other places.
• Jawaharlal Nehru, one of the key leader of NAM played a key role in mediating between the two Koreas. In the Congo crisis, the UN Secretary General played a key mediatory role.
• The US and USSR decided to collaborate in limiting or eliminating certain kinds of nuclear and non-nuclear weapons.
• The two sides signed three significant agreements within a decade. These were :
  • Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT).
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
  • Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABMT)

Challenge to Bipolarity

• Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) offered the newly decolonised countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America a third option i.e. not to join any of the alliances.
• NAM was founded by three leaders-Yugoslavia’s Josip Broz Tito, India’s Jawaharlal Nehru and Egypt’s leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. Indonesia’s Sukarno and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah strongly supported them. The first NAM summit was held in 1961 at Belgrade.
• Non-Alignment neither means isolationism nor neutrality. It played a role in mediating between the two rival alliances.

New International Economic Order

• The challenge for the newly decolonised countries was to become more developed economically and to lift their people out of poverty. The idea
  of a New International Economic Order (NIEO) originated with this realisation.
• The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) brought out a report in 1972 entitled ‘Towards a New Trade Policy for Development’.
• The nature of Non-Alignment changed to give greater importance to economic issues. As a result,
  NAM became an economic pressure group.

India and the Cold War

• India followed a two way policy regarding the Cold War. It did not join any of the alliances and raised
  voice against the newly decolonised countries becoming part of these alliances.
• The policy of India was not ‘fleeing away’ but was in favour of actively intervening in world affairs to soften Cold War rivalries.
• The Non-Alignment gave India the power to take international decisions and to balance one superpower against the other.
• India’s policy of Non-Alignment was criticised on a number of counts. But still it has become both as an international movement and a core of India’s foreign policy.

FACTS THAT MATTER
1. Cuban Missile Crisis made whole world nervous by creating clashes between the two superpowers, the US and Soviet Union namely Cold War.
2. Cold War referred to competitions, tensions and series of confrontations between the US and USSR.
3. In 1945, with the end of Second World War, Cold War began when the US dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in diplomatic manner to warn Soviet Union.
4. Both the powers became reluctant to initiate war to protect world from large scale destruction as they were a.vare that it will not lead only political aim to them.
5. The greed of expansion of their spheres of influence divided the world into alliances. The
US built NATO, South East Asian Treaty Organisation (SEATO) and Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO).
6. The Soviet UnrIri created Eastern alliance known as WARSAW PACT.
7. Smaller states „Maine either the alliance to get the promise of protection, weapons and economic aid against their local rivals.
8. Superpower required them to gain on access to vital resources, territory to launch weapons and troops, to spy on each other and economic support.
9. Despite of occurring crisis in Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan, both the superpowers behaved rationally and responsibly.
10. Both the superpowers maintained ‘arms control’ by signing various treaties as Limited Test Ban Treaty, Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
11. Countries outside the two blocs known as NAM (Non-Aligned Movement), joined by decolonised countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, played a crucial role in reducing cold war conflicts to maintain peace and stability all over the world.
12. Five founder members of NAM were Yugoslavia’s Josip Broz Tito, India’s JL Nehru, Egypt’s leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, Indonesia’s Sukarno and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah.
13. The majority of NAM members was categorised as Least Developed Countries (LDCs) which initiated economic development under the head of New International Economic Order (NIEO).
14. The United Nations Conference of Trade and Development (UNCTAD) brought out a report in 1972 to propose to give the LDCs control over their natural resources, to make western market available to them to reduce cost of technology and to provide greater role in international economic institutions.
15. India responded to growth of Cold War into two fold. First, it stayed away from alliances and secondary, it raised voice against newly decolonised countries becoming part of either the alliance.
16. NAM served India’s interests also to participate in international decisions and maintained balance between two superpowers.
17. India’s policy was criticised on grounds of possessing contradictory postures i.e. signed treaty of friendship with the USSR in August 1971 for 20 years and developed good relations with the US during Bangladesh crisis.
18. It is said that NAM has lost its relevance after disintegration of USSR and end of cold war in 1991.
19. NAM is based on a resolve to democratise international system to redress existing inequities that poor and very small countries need not to follow any of the big powers instead they can pursue an independent foreign policy also.
20. These core values make NAM relevant even in today’s scenario as it has stood of adverse circumstances and served an important purpose of protecting the interests of third world countries.
WORDS THAT MATTER

1. Cold War: Cold war referred to competitions, tensions and a series of confrontations between the US and USSR.
2. Cuban Missile Crisis: It created tensions between the US and USSR when Soviet Union (USSR) installed missiles in Cuba to make it a Russian base.
3. Allied Forces: Allied forces were one of the two camps during second world war including the US, Soviet Union, Britain and France.
4. Axis Power: It was another camp against allied forces led by German” Italy and Japan.
5. Alliance System: Alliance system was created by the two superpowers to expand their sphere of influence all over the world.
6. Deterrence: It was a logic followed by both the superpowers to avoid large scale destruction
   i. e. not to take place hot war between them because both of them had the capacity to retaliate.
7. Neutrality: Neutrality is a condition not to participate in world affairs or make oneself aloof from world.
8. Decolonisation: To make colonised states free from the rule of mother country.

TIMELINE

• 1947 American President Harry Truman’s Doctrine about containment of communism.
• 1947-52 Marshall Plan: US aid for reconstruction of Western Europe.
• 1948-49 Berlin blockade by the Soviet Union.
• 1950-53 Korean War
• 1954 Defeat of the French by Vietnamese at Dien Bien Phu; Signing of Geneva Accord; Division of Vietnam along the 17th parallel formation of SEATO.
• 1954-75 American intervention in Vietnam.
• 1955 Signing of Baghdad Pact, later CENTO.
• 1956 Soviet intervention in Hungary.
• 1961 US-sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba construction of Berlin Wall.
• 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis
• 1965 American Intervention in the Dominican Republic
• 1968 Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia.
• 1972 US President Richard Nixon’s visit to China
• 1978-89 Vietnamese intervention in Cambodia
• 1979-89 Soviet intervention in Afghanistan
• 1985 Gorbachev becomes the president of the USSR and begins reform process.
• 1989 Fall of Berlin Wall
• 1990 Unification of Germany
• 1991 Disintegration of Soviet Union, End of the Cold War era.

Class 12 History Notes Chapter15 Framing the Constitution The Beginning of a New Era

• Indian constitution was prepared by the learned members of the Constituent Assembly.
• The constitution was framed between December 1946 to December, 1949.
• Each clause of the constitution was discussed by the Constituent Assembly. All in all, eleven sessions of Constituent Assembly were held and 165 sittings took place.
• Different committees and sub-committees carried out the work of revising and refining the drafts of the constitution.
• The Constituent Assembly had 299 members. The assembly adopted the constitution on 26 November 1949, but it came into effect on January 26, 1950.
• The members of the Constituent Assembly were elected on the basis of provincial election held in 1946.
• Muslim League did not participate in the meeting of Constitutent Assembly. These meetings were held before the partition of India.
• The Constituent Assembly remained as a one party show as its 82% members belonged to Congress party.
• The meeting of the Constituent Assembly was influenced by the public opinion. The arguments of various sections were published in all leading newspapers and there was a public debate on all proposals.
• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar played an important role in Constituent Assembly. He acted as the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the constitution.
• Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru moved the objective resolution in the Constituent Assembly.
• Objective Resolution was a historic resolution which defined the ideals of the constitution of free Indian.
  • It proclaimed India as an independent sovereign Republic.
  • It guaranteed justice, equality and freedom to all citizens of India .
  • It assured that safeguards shall be provided for all the minorities, backward and tribal area.
• By 1949, most of the members of the Constituent Assembly agreed that the resolution of separate electorate is against the interest of minorities.
• A socialist leader and the leader of the peasant movement N.G. Ranga urged that the word minorities must be interpreted in economic terms.
• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar demanded the separate electorates for scheduled caste. He raised this issue during the national movement. It was opposed by Mahatma Gandhi, who said that this would segregate from the rest of the society.
• K. Santhanam favoured the right to the states because he felt that a reallocation of powers of the state as well as the centre is necessary.
• The language issue was debated in the Constituent Assembly for many months.
• Till the decade of 1930s the Congress accepted the Hindustani out to be given the status of national language. Hindustani which was blend of Hindi and Urdu was a popular language among most of people of India.
• R.V. Dhulekar favoured the use of Hindi language as a language of constitution making. He argued that the Hindi must be declared as a national language not as an official language. He criticised that those who protested that the Hindi language was being forced on the nation.
• Most of the members of the Assembly were agreed on the fact that all the adult citizens of India must be granted the right to vote.
• Our constitution is a very long and detailed document. Therefore, it needs to be amended quite regularly to keep it updated.
• Those who drafted the constitution of India felt that it has to be in accordance with people’s aspiration and changes in the society. So, they made provisions to incorporate changes from time to time.
• The constitution describes the institutional arrangements in a very legal language. It lays downs the procedure for choosing person to govern the country.
• Constitution declares India as a secular state. Every person is allowed to practise the religion of his/her choice.
• The Indian Constitution came into effect on 26 January 1950.
• It is the largest Constitution of the world.
• On 16 Jun, 1946 Cabinet Mission presented scheme for the formation of an Interim Government at Centre.
• On 2nd September 1946, the Indian National Congress formed Interim Government with Jawaharlal Nehru as the Vice-President.
• On 13 October 1946, Muslim League decided to join the Interim Government.
• Federal form of government was adopted in which political power is divided among Centre and States . It means Government works at two levels.
• Citizens of India have been granted Fundamental Rights. These are important for the progress and development of any individual.
• Division of power was made between the Centre and the States. There are 97 issues in the Union List, 66 issues in the State list and 47 in the Concurrent List.
• On the subjects of the Union List only Centre can make laws.
• State has the power to make laws on subjects related to the State List.
• State and the Centre both have the power to make laws on the subject related to Concurrent list. But whenever there is a clash, the centre Law will prevail.
• At present there are 30 states and 7 Union territories in the Union of India.

The constitution of India is the longest constitution in the world. It was framed between December 1946 and December 1949. It came into effect from 26th January, 1950. A Constitution is designed to keep the country together and to take it forward. A constitution is an elaborated and carefully worked out document.

The Making of the Constituent Assembly:

• Members of the constituent assembly were indirectly elected. Members were elected by provincial legislature. Constituent assembly was dominated by the Congress.
• The Muslim League boycotted the assembly as it wanted separate constitution and separate state.
• Though members were mostly from the Congress but views and opinion of its members were diverse. In constituent assembly, there was intense debate between the members regarding different ideas and proposals.
• Intense discussion within the constituent assembly was also influenced by opinion of the public. Public was also asked to send in their views and ideas.
• Linguistic minorities asked for protection of their mother tongue, religious minorities demanded for special safeguards. While dalits asked for abolition of caste suppression and reservation in education and government jobs.

The Dominant Voices in the Constituent Assembly:

• Out of all 300 members of the constituent assembly, few members like Pt Nehru,Vallabh Bhai Patel, Rajendra Prasad, BR Ambedkar, ICM Munshi and Alladi Krishna Swamy Aiyar had a remarkable contribution. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabh Bhai Patel and Rajendra Prasad were representatives of the National Congress.
• Pt Jawaharlal Nehru moved crucial “objectives resolution” as well as proposal of National Flag. While Vallabh Bhai Patel played an important role in negotiating with princely states, merging these princely states with India. He drafted several reports and worked for reconciling the opposing point of view.
• Rajendra Prasad as a President of assembly steered the discussion along the constructive lines and made sure that all members had a chance to speak.
• Dr BR Ambedkar joined the cabinet on advice of Gandhiji and worked as law minister. He was the chairman of drafting committee of the constitution. KM Munshi and Alladi Krishnaswamy Aiyar were another two lawyers who played important role in drafting of the Constitution.
• There were two civil servants who gave vital assistance to these leaders, one among them was B.N. Rao, who worked as constitutional advisor to government of India and another was S.N. Mukherjee who put up complex proposal in clear legal language.

The Objective of Indian Constitution:

• On 13th December, 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru introduced “Objective Resolution”. It proclaimed India to be an “Independent Sovereign Republic” guaranteed its citizen, justice, equality, freedom and assured “adequate safeguards for minorities, backward and tribal areas, depressed, and backward classes”.
• Objective resolution outlined the ideals of constitution and provided frame-work for constitution making.
• Nehru referred to American and French constitution and event associated with its making. He said that we are not just going to copy them, instead he said it is important to learn from these, so mistakes can be avoided.
• Nehru said the system of government to be established in India had to fit in with the temper of our people and should be acceptable to them.
• The objective of the Indian constitution would be to fuse the liberal ideas of democracy with socialist idea of economic justice, and re-adapt and rework on all these ideas within the Indian context.

The Aspiration of the People:

• Somnath Lahiri, a communist member said ‘we Indians need to be free from British influences’. He further said Constituent Assembly was British-made and was working with British plan.
• Nehru said, in his response that it is true, British government played role in Assembly’s birth and attached conditions to the function of assembly. But, he also said, we have met because of strength of the people behind us and we shall go as far as people wish to go alongwith us.
• He believed that members of assembly were elected by provincial legislature and provincial legislature is elected by Indian people. So here, we represent our country men.
• The constituent assembly was expected to express the aspirations of people. Democracy, equality and justice were ideals that people of India aspires for.

Rights of People:

• The way of defining the rights of people was quiet different. Different demands were made by different groups of people. These demands, ideas, opinions were debated, discussed and conflicting idea were reconcilled and then consensus was made to take collective decision.

The Problem with Separate Electorates:

• Intense debate took place in assembly on the issue of separate electorate. B. Pocker Bahadur gave powerful presentation for continuation for separate electorate. He said electorate will help in giving minorities representation in the political system and in governance of the country. The need of Muslim could not be understood by non-Muslims-he further said.
• Many nationalist leaders saw separate electorates system as a tool to divide people on the basis of religion and they also believed that this idea was finally culminated in partition of the country. Therefore many leaders were against of it.
• Sardar Patel strongly declared that separate electorate was a poison that has entered the body of politics of our country and turned one community against other, caused blood sheds, riots and partition. So for a peace we need to remove separate electorate.
• GB Pant in a debate said, separate electorate is not only harmful for nation but also for minorities. He said that majority community had an obligation to try and understand the problem of minorities and empathise with their aspirations. Demand of separate electorate would permanently isolate the minorities and will make them vulnerable and in addition it will deprive them of any effective say within government.
• All these arguments against separate electorate was based on the unity of nation, where every individual is a citizen of a state, and each group had to be assimilated within the nation.
• The Constitution will grant citizenship and rights, and in return citizens had to offer their loyalty to the state. Communities could be recognized as cultural entities and. politically members of all communities are equal to the member of the state.
• By 1949, most of the Muslim members of constituent assembly were agreed against separate electorates and removed it.
• Muslims needed to take an active part in the democratic process to ensure that they had a decisive voice in the political system.

Objective Resolution of the Constitution:

• NG Ranga, a socialist and a leader of peasant movement welcomed the Objective Resolution and urged that the term minority be interpreted in economic terms. The real minorities are poor and downtrodden.
• NG Ranga welcomed all legal and civil rights granted by the constitution to its citizen but said these rights can only be enjoyed when suitable conditions or opportunities are provided. Therefore to make the condition of poor and downtrodden better and protect them, there is need of much more than this resolution.
• Ranga also talked about huge gap between the masses of India and their representatives in the assembly. Most of members of constituent assembly does not belongs to masses. But, they are representing them as their trustees, their companions and trying best to work for them.
• Jaipal Singh a representative, a tribal, spoke in detail about the exploitation, oppression and discrimination faced by tribal all through the history. He further said about the need to protect the tribes and to make provisions that would help them come to the level of the general population.
• Jaipal Singh said, there is a need to break physical and emotional distance to integrate them into mainstream. He stressed on reservation of seat in legislature, as it helps them to give their demands voice and people would be compelled to hear it.

Provision in the Constitution for Depressed Classes of our Country:

• Depressed classes form 20-25% population of our country, so they are not minority but they have faced marginalization continuously.
• Members of Depressed classes suffered systematic marginalization. They had no access to public places, they were suppressed through distorted social and moral orders. Depressed classes had no access to education and had no share in the administration.
• Members of Depressed classes emphasized the problem of untouchability that could not be resolved through safeguard and protection. To completely remove this, there is a need to integrate these people into mainstream and bring attitudinal change in the society.
• The constituent assembly made a provision that abolished untouchability, Hindu temples be-thrown open to all castes and seats in legislature, jobs in government offices be reserved for lowest castes. Many recognized that social discrimination could only be solved through a change in the attitudes within society.

The Powers of the State:

• Issue of division of power of the government at the centre and at state level was intensely debated.
• Draft constitution provided three lists of subject i.e. Union List-union government can make laws on it. State List, State government can make laws on it and Concurrent List-Both Union and State government can make laws on listed items.
• More items are listed in Union list. In India-Union government is made more powerful so that it can ensure peace, security, and can coordinate on the matter of vital interest and to speak for whole country in the international sphere.
• However some taxes such as land and property taxes, sales tax and tax on bottled liquor could be levied and collected by the state on their own.

View of Santhanam on Powers of Centre and State:

• K Santhanam said reallocation of power was necessary, not only to strengthen the state but also the centre. He said if centre is overburdened with responsibility it could not function properly. So it is important that some powers to the state should be transferred.
• Again, Santhanam said states should be given appropriate fiscal provision so that they can work independently and they do not need to depend on centre for even nominal expenditure,
• Santhanam and many others predicted dark future if allocation is not done properly. He further said that province might revolt against centre and centre will break, as excessive power is centralised in the constitution.

Need for Strong Government:

• The need for strong government had been further reinforced by the events of partition. Many leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, BR Ambedkar, Gopalaswami Ayyangar etc advocated for strong centre.
• Before Partition the Congress had agreed to grant considerable autonomy to the provinces. This was agreed to satisfy the Muslim League. But after partition, there was no political pressure and voilence aftermath of partition gave further fillip to centralised power.

The Language of the Nation:

• In the Constituent Assembly issues over national language was intensely debated over months. Language was an emotional issue and it was related to culture and heritage of the particular region.
• By 1930s, Congress and Mahatma Gandhi accepted Hindustani as National language. Hindustani language was easy to understand and was a popular language among large section of India. Hindustani developed with the interaction of diverse culture and language.
• Hindustani language was chiefly made up of Hindi and Urdu but it also contained words of another language. But unfortunately, the language also suffered from communal politics. Gradually, Hindi and Urdu started moving apart. Hindi started using more Sanskritise words similarly Urdu became more persianised. Even then, Mahatma Gandhi retained his faith in Hindustani. He felt that Hindustani was a composite language for all Indians.

A Plea for Making Hindi as National Language:

• RV Dhulekar, a member of constituent assembly made a strong plea to make Hindi as national language and language in which constitution should be made. The plea evoked strong opposition.
• Language committee of assembly produced a report in which it tried to resolve the issue by deciding that Hindi in devanagri script would be an official language but transition to Hindi world be a gradual process and for initial 15 years after Independence, English to be used as official language.
• Provinces were allowed to choose one language for official work within the province.

The Fear of Domination of Hindi:

• SG Durgabai, a member of constituent assembly said that there is intense opposition against Hindi in South India.
• After the eruption of controversy regarding the language, there is a fear in the opponent that Hindi is antagonistic to provincial language and it cuts the root of provincial language and cultural heritage associated with it.
• She had accepted Hindustani as language of people but the language is being changed. Words from Urdu and regional languages were removed. This move erodes the inclusive and composite character of Hindustani, and due to this, anxieties and fear developed in the mind of people of different language groups.
• Many members felt that issue of Hindi as a national language must be treated cautiously and the aggressive tenor and speech will only create fear in non-Hindi speaking people and will further complicate the issue. There should be mutual understanding between different stake holders.

Class 12 History Notes Chapter 15 Important Terms:

• Constitution: Set of rules and regulations according to which a country is governed.
• Draft: A premier version of legal document.
• Clause: A distinct section of a document.
• Constituent Assembly: An assembly of people’s representative that writes a constitution for a country.
• Constituent Amendment: A change in the constitution made by the supreme legislative body in the country.

Time line:

• 26 July 1945 – Labour Government comes to power in India
• 16th May 1946 – Cabinet Mission announces its constitutional scheme.
• 16th June 1946 – Cabinet Mission presented the scheme for the formation of an interim government at centre.
• 2 Sept 1946 – Congress forms the interim govt.
• 13 October 1946 – Muslim League decides to join the interim government.
• 11 August 1947 – Jinnah was elected as the president of Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.
• 14 August 1947 – Pakistan Independence
• 15 August 1947 – India became an independent nation.

Class 12 History Quick Revision notes Chapter 14 Understanding Partition

Key concepts in nutshell
Sources: Oral testimonies – narrations, memories, diaries, family history and handwritten accounts.
Partition or Holocaust

1. Almost 15 million people had to cross borders
2. They were rendered homeless, having suddenly lost all their immovable property and most of their movable assets, separated from many of their relatives and friends as well.
3. Thus stripped of their local or regional cultures, they were forced to begin picking up their life from scratch.
4. The Holocaust in Germany is remembered and referred to in our contemporary concerns so much. Yet, differences between the two events should not be overlooked.
5. In 1947-48, the subcontinent did not witness any state-driven extermination as was the case with Nazi Germany
6. The “ethnic cleansing” that characterized the partition of India was carried out by self-styled representatives of religious communities rather than by state agencies

The power of stereotypes –

• The stereotypes of the extraterritorial and Pan Islamic loyalty comes fused with other objectionable ideas about both the communities, the Hindus as well as the Muslims.
• Some of these stereotypes pre-date Partition, but they were immensely strengthened because of 1947.
• The relationship between Pakistan and India has been profoundly shaped by this legacy of Partition.

Why partition took place –

1. Mr. Jinnah’s two nation Theory ( the Hindus and Muslims in colonial India constituted two separate nations can be projected back into medieval history).
2. The British policy of divide and rule.
3. Separate electorates for Muslims, created by the colonial government in 1909 and expanded in 1919, crucially shaped the nature of communal politics.
4. Hindu Muslim conflict and communal riots in different parts of the country.
5. The secular and radical rhetoric of the Congress merely alarmed conservative Muslims and the Muslim landed elite, without winning over the Muslim masses.
6. The Pakistan Resolution of 23rd March 1940 demanding a measure of autonomy for the Muslim-majority areas of the subcontinent.

Post-war development –

• Muslim league emerged as the sole representative of Indian Muslims in the provincial elections of 1946.
• Cabinet mission proposal of a loose three-tier confederation in 1946 which failed.
• Direct action day by Muslim league on 16th August 1946. On this day, violence spread to many parts of the country.
• In March 1947 the Congress high command voted for dividing the Punjab and Bengal.

Post Partition Developments

• The collapse of the institutions of governance.
• Gandhiji’s valiant effort to restore communal harmony and principle of Non-violence

· Gendering partition ——

• Women were raped, abducted and sold. Families were uprooted.
• Some began to develop new family bonds in their changed circumstances.
• But the Indian and Pakistani governments were insensitive to the complexities of human relationships and sent them back to their earlier families or locations.
• Preserving honor –
• Ideas of preserving community honor came into play in this period of extreme physical and psychological danger.
• The men feared that their females would be molested by the enemies, they killed their own women.
• For the community of survivors, the remembrance ritual helps keep the memory alive.

Important Events during Partition: Negotiation and Discussions Started Again

• Negotiations between British, Congress and Muslim league began in 1945 but the discussions broke down due to Jinnah’s unrelenting demands about members of council and communal veto.
• In 1946, again provincial elections were held. In this election, Congress swept general constituencies and league succeed in gaining large majority of Muslim vote.
• The League’s success to capture seats reserved for Muslims was spectacular. It won all 30 reserved constituencies in the centre and 442 out of 509 seats in the provinces. Therefore, in 1946 league established itself as dominant party among Muslims.

Cabinet Mission Came to India:

• In March 1946, Cabinet Mission came to India to make a suitable political framework for India.
• Mission recommended India to be united with three tier confederation. It grouped provincial assemblies into 3 sections. A for Hindu majority province, while B and C were for Muslim majority areas of North-West and North-East. Cabinet Mission proposed a weak centre and provinces will have power to set up intermediate level executives and legislature of their own.
• Initially, all parties agreed but later league demanded that grouping should be made compulsory and should have right to secede from the union. While Congress wanted that provinces should be given the right to join the group. So due to differences, talks broke down.
• Now Congress sensed after this failure that partition became inevitable and took it as tragic but unavoidable. But Mahatma Gandhi and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan of North-West frontier province continued to oppose the idea of partition.

Re-Election in the Year 1946:

• After withdrawal from Cabinet Mission, Muslims league decided on direct action for winning its Pakistan demand. It announced 16th August, 1946 as ‘direct action day’. Initially riots broke out in Calcutta and gradually spread to other parts of Northern India.
• In March 1947, Congress accepted division of Punjab in 2 halves, one will be Muslim majority and other will be Hindu/Sikh majority. Similarly, Bengal was a ho divided.

The Withdrawal of Law and Order Situation:

• Large scale bloodshed took place in the year 1947. Governance structure of the country was totally collapsed, there was complete loss of authority. British officials were reluctant to take decisions and did not know how to handle the situation. British were busy preparing to quit India.
• Top leaders barring Gandhiji were engaged in negotiation regarding Independence. Indian Civil Servants in the affected areas were concerned for their own life. Problem became more complicated when soldiers and policemen forgot their professional commitment and helped their co-religionist and attacked members of other communities.

Condition of Women during the Partition:

• During the partition women suffered the most. Women were raped, abducted, sold and forced to settle down to a new life with stranger in unknown circumstances. Some began to develop a new family bond in their changed circumstances.
• Government of both India and Pakistan showed lack of understanding of emotions and sometimes forcefully sent women away from their new relatives. They did not consult the concerned women and undermine their rights to take decisions.
• Notion of honour drew on a conception of masculinity, defined as ownership of zan [women] and zamin [land]. Virility, it was believed that lay in ability to protect your possession i.e. zan and zamin from outsiders.
• So when men feared that their women-wives, daughters, sisters would be violated by enemy, they killed their women themselves. There was an incident in village of Rawalpindi, where 90 Sikh women voluntarily jumped into w’ell for protecting themselves from outsiders.
• These incidents were seen as ‘martyrdom and it is believed that men at that time had to courageously accept the decision of women and in some cases even persuade them to kill themselves.

Role of Mahatma Gandhi during Partition:

• Using Turmoil, Gandhiji took brave effort to restore peace, toured villages of Noakhali (East Bengal), villages in Bihar then riots torn Calcutta and Delhi to stop communal killing and reassure the safety of minority community.
• In East Bengal, he assured safety of Hindus, while in Delhi he told Hindus and Sikhs to protect Muslims and tried to build a spirit of mutual trust.
• Gandhiji begem a fast to bring about a change in the heart of people. Many Hindus, Sikh migrants fasten with him. The effect of the fast was ‘electric’ as people started to realise the misdeed what they have done with other communities. But only with martyrdom of Gandhiji, finally this massacre ended.

Regional Variations in Partition:

• The partition brought carnage and thousand of lives were lost.
• In Punjab, there was a mass displacement of Hindu and Sikh population from Pakistani side to Indian side and displacement of Punjabi Muslims to Pakistan from Indian side.
• Displacement of people in Punjab was very agonising. Property were looted, women were killed, abducted and raped. There was large scale massacre.
• In Bengal, people moved across porous border, suffering was less concentrated and agonising in Bengal in comparison to Punjab. There was also not total displacement of Hindu and Muslim population in Bengal.
• Some Muslims families of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad also migrated to Pakistan during 1950s and early 1960’s.
• Jinnah’s theory of two state based on religion failed when East Bengal separated it from West Pakistan and become independent country as Bangladesh in 1971.
• In Punjab and Bengal there is huge similarity in both these states. Women and girls were the prime target of persecution. Attacker treated women bodies as territory to be conquered.
• Discoursing women of community was seen as dishonouring community.

Help, Humanity and Harmony:

• There is history’ of help, and humanity beneath the debris of violence and pain of partition. Numerous stories are there when people took an extra effort to help the victims of partition.
• Many stories of caring, sharing, empathy are present, stories of opening of new opportunities and of triumph over trauma are also present.
• For e.g. the story of Khushdeva Singh, a Sikh doctor’s work, is one of the finest examples, who helped many migrants whether of Muslim, Hindu or Sikh communities with affection. He provided them shelter, food, security, etc in times of partition.

Oral Testimonies and History:

• Oral narratives, memoirs, diaries, family histories, first hand written accounts helped in understanding the suffering of people during the time of partition.
• Lives of the affected people changed drastically between 1946-50. They bore immense, psychological, emotional and social pain.
• Oral testimonies helps us to know about experience and memory in detail. It enabled historians to write rich and vivid account of suffering and anguish of people. Official record tells us about policy matters and high level decision of government and its machinery.
• Oral histories provided historian the experiences of poor and powerless. It gives information about significant help and empathy of people in easing out the life of affected person.
• The oral history of partition has succeeded in exploring experiences of those men and women who were earlier ignored and taken for granted or mentioned in passing history.
• Some historians casts doubt on oral history as they say oral history lacks concreteness and chronology. Oral histories are not able to provide overall bigger picture and are usually touching the tangential issues. Reliability of oral histories can be corroborated and examined by the evidences from other sources. Oral history should not be seen as tangential if one has to know about experience of people.
• Oral histories are not easily available and affected People might not like to share their sufferings to strangers. The oral historian faces the daunting task of having to shift, the actual experiences of partition from the web of constructed memories.

Class 12 History Quick Revision notes Chapter 13 Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement

Key points in nutshell:-

• Mahatma Gandhi is the most influential and revered of all the leaders who participated in the freedom struggle of India.
• In January 1915, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi returned to India after spending two decades in South Africa.
• It was in South Africa he first focused the distinctive techniques of nonviolent protest known as Satyagraha and promoted harmony between religions.
• On Gokhale’s advice, he spent one year traveling around British India to know the land and its peoples.
• His first major public appearance was at the opening of the Banaras Hindu University in February 1916.
• Here in his speech, Gandhiji charged the Indian elite with a lack of concern for the laboring poor.
• GandhijI’s speech was at the opening of BHU was a statement of intent to make Indian nationalism more properly representative of the Indian people as a whole.
• Many of them venerated Gandhiji, referring to him as their “Mahatma”.
• He successfully organized Satyagraha at Champaran (Bihar in 1917) to ameliorated the condition of the peasants who cultivated indigo.
• In 1918, he started a satyagraha to increase the wages of Ahmedabad mill workers by 35 per cent
• In 1918, he also organised a peasant movementto remit the revenue in Kheda.
• In 1919, Gandhiji called for a countrywide campaign against the “Rowlatt Act”. It was the Rowlatt Satyagraha that made Gandhiji a truly national leader.
• In 1920, after Jalianwala Bagh Massacre he called for a campaign of non-cooperation with British Rule and joined hands with the Khilafat movement.
• He was of the opinion that by coupling the non-cooperation with the Khilafat would result in Hindu-Muslim unity to end the colonial rule.
• The British Raj was shaken to its foundations for the first time since the Revolt of 1857.
• Non-cooperation movement was suspended in 1922 after Chauri-Chaura incident where 22 policemen were killed by a violent crowd.
• By 1922 Gandhiji had transformed Indian nationalism. It was no longer a movement of professionals and intellectuals, now hundreds of thousands of peasants, workers, and artisans also participated in it.
• Causes of Gandhiji’s popularity among Indians – he dressed like them, lived like them and spoke their language.
• Rumours about the miraculous power of Mahatma Gandhi resulted in widespread followers.
• Mahatma Gandhi was released from prison in February 1924 devoted himself in constructive work like – the promotion of home-spun cloth khadi, the abolition of untouchability, Hindu-Muslim unity etc.
• In 1928, Gandhiji began to think of re-entering politics. After the failure of Simon Commission, in its annual session at Lahore Congress demanded Purna Swaraj and decided to observe 26th January 1930 as Independence Day.
• In Lahore Session of Congress held in December 1929, it was decided that now the struggle will be for complete independence and 26 Jan 1930 will be observed as independence day nationwide.
• Soon after this Gandhi decided to launch a Salt Satyagraha.
• On 12 March 1930 – Gandhiji begun his famous ‘Salt March’ and  launched Dandi Satyagraha officially.
• He chose the issue of salt as this was indispensable for every household.
• On 6 April 1930 broke the salt law by making a fistful of salt.
• Taking a cue from Gandhiji’s Salt Satyagraha, all across large parts of India, peasants breached forest laws, factory workers went on strike, lawyers boycotted courts and students refused to attend government-run educational institutions.
• In November 1930 – First Round Table Conference was held – Gandhiji did not attend.
• In 1931, the  ‘Gandhi-Irwin Pact’ was signed by the terms of which civil disobedience was called off and all prisoners were released. This pact drew many criticisms because Gandhiji was unable to obtain a commitment to political independence for Indians from the Viceroy, he could obtain merely an assurance of talks.
• The Second Round Table Conference was held in 1931 in London. Gandhiji represented the Congress in the meeting but it was inconclusive.
• GandhijI returned to India and relaunched Civil Disobedience but it could not get its momentum.
• In 1935 – a new Government of India Act was formed which promised a representative form of government.
• In 1937 – in Provincial Election, Congress formed ministries in 8 out of 11 provinces.
• In September 1939 – World War II broke out. Nehru and Gandhi promised Congress support to the war effort if the British, in return, promised to grant India independence. But the British rejected this offer.
• Through 1940 and 1941, the Congress organised a series of individual satyagrahas to pressure the rulers to promise freedom once the war had ended..
• In 1940 – Two Nation Theory put forward by Jinnah.
• 1942 – Failure of Cripps Mission.
• On 9 August 1942 – Quit India Movement was launched by Gandhiji. He along with all prominent leaders was sent to jail.
• 1946- Cabinet Mission- Failed to get the Congress and the League to agree on the federal system.
• On 16th August 1946 – Direct Action Day was called by Jinnah to press the League’s demand for Pakistan and Communal riots in Bengal, Bihar, U.P, and Punjab.
• In 1947 Lord Mountbatten was appointed as viceroy.
• 15th August 1947- Formal transfer of power, the announcement of partition and India got her independence.

The last heroic days of Gandhiji:-

• On 15th August 1947, Gandhiji was not at Delhi to witness the festivities. He was at Calcutta and undertook 24 hours fast.
• Due to the initiative of Gandhiji and Nehru, the Congress passed a resolution on the rights of the minorities.
• After working to bring peace to Bengal, Gandhiji shifted to Delhi from where he hoped to move on to the riot-torn districts of Punjab. On 30th January 1948, Gandhiji was shot dead by Nathuram Godse.

Sources to know more about Gandhiji:-

1. Public voice and private scripts.
2. Series of Personal letters published by Gandhiji in his journal Harijan.
3. A bunch of old letters edited by Nehru.
4. Fortnightly Reports of the Home Department.
5. From newspapers.

Class 12 History Notes Chapter 12 Colonial Cities Urbanisation, Planning and Architecture

• 18th century marks the emergences of many new kingdoms like Lucknow, Hyderabad, Poona, Baroda, Nagpur, etc,
• With the decline to the Mughal Empire in the 18th century, many old lords lost their importance.
• The port towns/cities swat, Masulipatnam, and Dhaka which developed in the 17th century declined during the mid 18th century with the emergence of new cities like Madras, Calcutta and Bombay.
• The colonial rule was based on many kinds of data and compilation of information. Its purpose was to keep an eye on the city life and trading activities so the statistical data, maps, census and official records of municipalities were prepared.
• The survey of India was constituted in 1878 to prepare the survey map of India.
• Railway was introduced in India in 1853. The introduction of railway brought many changes in the life of urban life.
• In the 19th century East India Company established many stations likes, Shimla, Mount Abu and Darjeeling. These hill stations were set up for stationing army, for guarding frontiers and for launching invasion against enemy.
• In 1864, the Viceray John Lahilence, officially shifted his capital at ‘Shimla’ and the official residence of the commander-in-chief was also set up in Shimla.
• The social life of new cities was bewildering. It had rich and poorest of the poor people.
• The development in the means of the transportation brought many new changes in the social life of the people.
• The importance of middle class began to increase in new cities. Here, they got many new job opportunities which brought a great change in their perception and outlook.
• New identities and new social groups came into existence in these towns.
• Many new changes occurred in the life of the people. Important changes were witnessed in the lives of the woman living in the cities. Here they got many new opportunities of job, which brought new changes in their perception and outlook.
• The British East India company had first set up its trading activities in Surat.
• The Buildings and architectural style threw an invaluable light at many things and provided us an important information about the ideal building.
• These buildings also explain the perspective and viewpoints of those who constructed these building.
• Architectural style do not represent and reflect the prevalent taste. It moulded tastes, popularised styles, shapes, contours of cultures.

Company agents initially settled in the Madras, Calcutta and Bombay which were originally fishing and weaving villages. They gradually developed these villages into the cities. These cities had the mark of colonial government institutions which were set up to regulate economic activity and demonstrate the authority of new rule.

Towns and Cities in Pre-colonial Times:

• Towns and cities before the advent of the British can be discussed under the following heads

Nature of Towns:

• Towns represent unique form of economic activities and cultures. In town ruler administrator, artisans, inansabdars and jagirdars, traders, etc were living. Towns were surrounded by the fortified wall and thrived on the surplus and taxes derived from agriculture.
• Peasants from the countryside came to the town for pilgrimage or selling their produce during the lime of famine etc. There are also evidences of people going to village to sell their goods, crafts etc. People migrated to villages when towns were attacked.
• The presence of emperor, nobels and other affluent powerful persons in town and centres meant that a wide variety of service had to be provided and these towns were seat of power from where administration of empire works. In the medieval times, Delhi, Agra, Lahore, Madurai and Kanchipuram etc were famous, towns and cities.

Changes in the 18th Century:

• In the 18th century with decline of Mughal empire, old towns also lost their grandeur and new towns like Lucknow, Hyderabad, Seringpatnam, Pune, Nagpur, Baroda, Tanjore, etc were developed and these towns were seat of local authority. Traders, artisans, administrators and mercenaries migrated from old Mughal centres to these towns in search of work and patronage. Many new qasbah (small town in the country side) and garij (small fixed market) came into existence, but effect of political decentralisation were uneven (Puducherry).
• European commercial companies had set up their base in different towns, e.g., Portuguese in Panji, Dutch in Masulipatnam, British in Madras and French in Pondicherry.
• With expansion in commercial activity towns grew further, gradually by the end of 18th century land-based empires in Asia were replaced by the powerful sea-based European empires. Forces of international trade, mercantilism and capitalism defined the nature of society.
• As British took over political control in India from 1757, trade of East India Company expanded and colonial port cities like Bombay, Calcutta and Madras emerged as economic and political power.

Development of Town and Cities in Colonial Times:

• A number of records and data were collected by the British as well as Indian officials which provide information about the colonial cities. However, according to historians, the figures can be misleading, some may have correct information and some may have ambiguity.

Colonial Records of Urban History:

• British government kept detailed records, carried regular survey, gathered statistical data and published official records of their trading activities to regulate their commercial affairs. British also started mapping as they believed maps help in understanding landscape topography, planning development, maintaining security and to gauge possibilities of commercial activities.
• British government from late nineteenth century started giving responsibilities to elect Indian representatives to administrate basic services to towns and it started a systematic annual collection of municipal taxes.
• First all-India census was carried in 1872 and after 1881 it was carried decennial (conducted every ten years). But the data record generated and kept by British government cannot be trusted blindly as it has ambiguities. People during that time gave evasive answers to officials due to suspicion and fear.
• Many times false information were given by the locals about mortality, disease, illness. Always these were not reported. Sometimes the reports and records kept by British government was also biased. However, inspite of ambiguity and biasness, these records and data helped in studying about colonial cities.

Trends of Change:

• Urban population of India remained stagnant during 1800s. In the forty years between 1900 and 1940 the urban population increased from about 10 percent of the total population to about 13 percent.
• Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay were became sprawling cities. They were entry and exit points of goods from the country. Smaller towns had little opportunity to grow. Few towns which were situated on the bank of river like Mirzapur (which specialised in collecting cotton and cotton goods from Deccan) were growing but with introduction of railways its development stopped.
• Expansion of railway led to the formation of railway workshops and railway colonies. Towns like Jamalpur, Waltair and Bareilly developed due to railways.

Towns: A Unique Identity:

• Colonial towns reflects a number of features These were important in terms of economic, political and also cultural point of view, which showed a unique identity. They also tell how power was shifted from Indian rulers to the European elites.

Ports, Forts and Centra for Services:

• By 18th century Madras, Calcutta, Bombay, all had important ports and became the economic centre.
• Company built its factories and fortified these settlements for protection. Fort St. George in Madras, Fort Wiliam in Calcutta, and the fort in Bombay were famous settlement of that time.
• Indian traders, merchants, artisans who worked with the European merchant lived outside these forts in their own settlement. Settlement of European was called ‘White Town’ and settlement of Indians was known as ‘Black Town’.
• Expansion of railways connected the hinterland to these port cities. So it became convenient to transport raw material and labour to the cities.
• In 19th century, there was expansion of cotton and jute mills in region of Bombay and Calcutta.
• There were only two proper industrial cities. Kanpur, which was specialised in leather, woollen and textiles and second city was Jamshedpur, which was specialised in steel. However, Industrial development was lagging behind in India due to discriminatory policies of the British.

A New Urban Milieu:

• Colonial cities reflected the mercantile culture of English. Political power and patronage shifted from Indian rulers to the merchants of the East India company.
• Indian traders, merchants, middlemen and interpreter who worked with company also enjoyed important place in cities.
• Ghats and docks were developed. Along the ports, godowns, mercantile office, insurance agencies, transport depots and banking developed. Racially exclusive clubs, racecourses and theatres were built for ruling elite.
• European merchants and agents lived in palatial house in white town while Indian
• merchants, middlemen, agents had traditional courtyard houses in Black town.
• The labouring poor provided service to European and Indian master as cook, palanquin bearer, coachmen, guard, porters and construction and dock worker. They lived in huts in different parts of the city.
• After revolt the British felt the need that town needed to be more secure of and better defended. So pastureland and agricultural fields around older town were cleared and new urban space called Civil Lines were set up and white people used to live in it. Cantonment were developed as safe enclaves and here Indian troops lived under European command.
• British considered black town as area characterised by chaos, anarchy, filth and disease.
• When epidemics of Cholera and Plague spread, they decided to take stringent measure for sanitation, public health, hygiene and cleanliness

The Development of Hill Stations:

• British Government started developing hill stations initially because of need of British army. Simla (present day shimla) founded during Gurkha war (1815-16). Anglo-Maratha war led to development of Mount Abu (1818). Darjeeling was taken from the ruler of Sikkim in 1835.
• The temperate and cool climate of hills were seen as sanitarium (places where soldiers could be sent for rest and recovery from illness) because these areas were free from diseases like cholera, malaria, etc.
• Hilly regions and stations became attractive place for European rulers and other elites. During summer season, for recreation they visited these places regularly. Many houses, buildings, and Churches were designed according to European style.
• Later introduction of railway made these places more accessible and upper and middle class Indians like maharajas, lawyers and merchants also started visiting these places regularly.
• Hilly regions were also important regarding economy as tea plantation, coffee plantation flourished in the region.

Social Life in the New Cities:

• In cities life seemed always in a flux, there was a great inequality between rich and poor.
• New transport facilities like horse drawn carriage, trains, buses had been developed. People now started travelling, from home to work place using the new mode of transportation.
• Many public places were created, e.g. public parks, theatres, dubs, and cinema halls in 20th century. These places provided entertainment and opportunity for social interaction.
• People started migrating to cities. There were demands of clerks, teachers, lawyers, doctors, engineers and accountants. There were schools, colleges and libraries.
• A new public sphere of debate and discussion emerged. Social norms, customs and practices came to be questioned.
• They provided new. opportunities for women. It provided women avenues to get out of their house and become more visible in public life.
• They entered new profession as teacher, theatre and film actress, domestic worker, factory worker, etc.
• Middle class women started to express themselves through the medium of autobiographies, journals and books.
• Conservatives feared these reforms, they feared breaking existing rule of society, and patriarchal order.
• Women who went out of the household had to face opposition and they became object of social censure in those years.
• In cities, there were a class of labourers or the working class. Poor came to cities looking for opportunity, few came to cities to live a new way of life and desire to see the new things.
• Life in cities were expensive, jobs were uncertain and sometimes migrants leave their family at native place to save money. Migrants also participated in the Tamashas (folk theatre) and Swangs (satires) and in that way they tried to integrate with the life of cities.

Settlement and Segregation in Madras:

• Company first set up its centre at Surat and then tried to occupy east coast. British and French were engaged in Battle in South India, but with defeat of France in 1761, Madras became secure and started to grow as commercial centre.
• Fort St. George became the important centre where Europeans lived and it was reserved for English men.
• Officials were not permitted to marry Indians. However, other than English Dutch, Portuguese were allowed to live in the fort as they were European and Christian.
• Development of Madras was done according to the need of whites. Black town, settlement of Indians, earlier it was outside the fort but later it was shifted.
• New Black town resembled traditional Indian town with living quarter around temple and bazaar. There were caste specific neighbourhoods.
• Madras was developed by incorporating many nearby villages. City of Madras provided numerous opportunities for local communities.
• Different communities perform their specific job in the Madras city, people of different communities started competing for British Government job.
• Transport system gradually started to develop. Urbanisation of Madras meant areas between the villages were brought within the city.

Town Planning in Calcutta:

• Town planning required preparation of a layout of entire urban space and urban land use.
• City of Calcutta had been developed from three villages called Sutanati, Kolkata and Govindpur. The company cleared a site of Govindpur village for building a fort there.
• Town planning in Calcutta gradually spread from Fort William to other parts. Lord Wellesley played very important role in town planning of Calcutta. Further work of town planning was carried by Lottery committee with the help of government. Funds for town planning were raised by Lotteries.
• Committee made a new map for Calcutta, made roads in the city and cleared riverbank of encroachment. Many huts ‘bustis’ and poors were displaced to make Calcutta cleaner and disease free and these people were shifted to outskirt of Calcutta.
• Frequent fires in the city led to making of stricter building regulation. Thatched roof were banned and tiled roofs were made mandatory.
• By the late nineteenth century official intervention in the city became more stringent.
• British removed more huts and developed British portion of town at the expense of other areas.
• These policies further deepened the racial divide of white town and black town and new division of healthy and unhealthy further rised. Gradually public protest against these policies
• strengthened anti-imperialistic feeling and nationalism among Indians.
• British wanted the cities like Bombay, Calcutta and Madras to represent the grandeur and authority of the British Empire. Town planning were aimed to represent their meticulous and rational planning and execution alongwith Western aesthetic ideas.

Architecture in Bombay:

• Although, government building primarily serving functional needs like defence, administration and commerce but they often meant to showcase ideas of nationalism, religious glory and power.
• Bombay has initially seven islands, later it become commercial capital of colonial India and also a centre of international trade.
• Bombay port led to the development of Malwa, Sind and Rajasthan and many Indian merchants also become rich.
• Bombay led to development of Indian capitalist class which came from diverse communities like Parsi, Marwari, Konkani, Muslim, Gujarati, Bania, Bohra, Jew and Armenian.
• Increased demand of cotton, during the time of American civil war and opening of Suez Canal in 1869 led to further economic development of Bombay.
• Bombay was declared one of the most important city of India. Indian merchants in Bombay started investing in cotton mills and in building activities.
• Many new buildings were built but they were built in European style. It was thought that it would:
  • give familiar landscape in alien country to European, thus to feel at home in the colony.
  • give them a symbol of superiority, authority and power.
  • help in creating distinction between Indian subjects and colonial masters.
• For public building, three broad architectural styles were used. These included neo-classical, neo-Gothic and Indo-Saracenic styles.

Building and Architectural Styles:

• Architecture reflected the aesthetic idea prevalent at that time, building also expressed vision of those who build them. Architectural styles also mould taste, popularise styles and shape the contours of culture.
• From the late nineteenth century, regional and national tastes were developed to counter colonial ideal. Style has changed and developed through wider processes of cultural conflict.

Class 12 History Notes Chapter 12 Important Terms:

• Kasbah: A small town in the countryside.
• Ganj: Small size fixed market.
• Census: Counting of population
• White Towns: Towns where only European could live.
• Black Towns: Towns where only Indian could live.
• Civil lines: Urban areas where only white people could settle and live.
• Pet: A Tamil word, which means settlement.
• Purim: A Tamil word stands for a village.
• Dubhasia: Those people who speak English as well as local language.
• Vellars: A local rural community in Madras.
• Garermath: The east India company built the Fort William in Calcutta. From the prospective of its security, a vast open space was left around it. It was locally known as a garer math or maiden.

Time line:

• 1688 – Bombay was handed over to East India company by the Butanes Empire.
• 1673 – French established trading centre at Pondichhery.
• 1757 – Battle of Placey
• 1798 – Lord Welleseley appointed as the 1st General of Bangal
• 1807 – Lottery commission was setup at Calcutta.
• 1814  -16 – Shimla was established.
• 1836 – That shed huts were banned in Calcutta.
• 1872 – Attempts were made for 1st census.
• 1878 – Organisation of survey of India
• 1881 – Madras harbour was completed.
• 1896 – Plague began to spread in India cities.
• 1911 – British transfer their capital from Calcutta to Delhi.

Class 12 History Quick Revision notes Chapter 11 Rebels and the Raj

Key concepts in nutshell

• Rebels and the Raj – The revolt of 1857 and its representation Pattern of Rebellion – People from different walks of life plunged into the revolt – due to their hatred against the oppressive policies of the British Centres of the Revolt – Lucknow, Kanpur, Bareilly, Meerut, Arrah in Bihar.
• Leaders – Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, Nana Saheb, Kunwar Singh, Bakt Khan, Begum Hazrat Mehal, Tatya Tope.
• Awadh revolt – direct annexation policy of Dalhousie – 1856. Hatred provoked – dispossessed taluqdars of Awadh, Injustice done to Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh embittered the people.
• Revolt of the sepoys:
  1. Policy of social superiority of British.
  2. Interference in religious matters – greased cartridges issues.
• The vision of unity:
  1. Hindu Muslim unity
  2. Search for alternative powers
  3. Rebels established parallel administration, in Delhi, Lucknow, and Kanpur after capturing centers of British power. Later they failed.
  4. The British policy of repression.
• Repression – 1857 – North India was brought under a strict law to prolonged attack of British – one from Calcutta to North India, another from Punjab to recover Delhi, 27,000 Muslims hanged.
• Image of the Revolt – Pictorial images produced by British and Indians – posters and cartoons.
• The performance of terror:
  1. Execution of rebels Nationalist imageries.
  2. Inspiration to nationalists celebration as the first war of Independence – leaders depicted as heroic figures.

1. PATTERN OF THE REBELLION
   How the mutinies began?
   1. The sepoys began their action with a signal, firing of the evening gun or the sounding of the bugle.
   2. They seized the bell of the arms and plundered the treasury.
   3. They attacked the government buildings – the jail, treasury, telephone office, record room, bungalows –burning all records.
   4. Everything and everybody connected with the white man became a target.
   5. In major towns like Kanpur, Lucknow, and Bareilly, moneylenders and rich became the objects of the rebels.
2. Leaders and followers
   1. To fight the British, leadership and organisation were required, and for this, they turned towards the Mughal ruler Bahadur Shah who agreed to be the nominal leader of the rebellion.
   2. In Kanpur, the sepoys and the people of the town agreed to support Nana Sahib.
   3. In Jhansi, the Rani was forced to assume the leadership of the uprising.
   4. Kunwar Singh, a local Zamindar in Arrah in Bihar, too took the leadership.
   5. The local leaders emerged, urging peasants, zamindars, and tribals to revolt eg – Shah Mal mobilized the villagers of pargana Barout in Uttar Pradesh; Gonooa, a tribal cultivator of Singhbhum in Chotanagpur, became a rebel leader of the Kol tribals of the region.
3. Rumors and prophecies
   1. There was the rumor that the British government had hatched a gigantic conspiracy to destroy the caste and religion of the Hindus and Muslim.
   2. The rumour said that the British had mixed the bone dust of cows and pigs into the flour that was sold in the market.
   3. The sepoys and the common people refused to touch the atta.
   4. There was a fear and suspicion that the British wanted to convert Indians to Christianity.
   5. The sepoy had the fear about bullets coated with the fats of cows and pigs, and biting those bullets would corrupt their caste and religion.
4. Why did the people believe in the rumors?
   1. The British adopted policies aimed at reforming Indian society by introducing Western education, Western ideas, and Western institutions.
   2. With the cooperation of sections of Indian society, they set up English medium schools, colleges, and universities which taught Western sciences and the liberal arts.
   3. The British established laws to abolished customs like Sati (1629) and to permit the remarriage of Hindu widows.
   4. The British introduced their own system of administration, their own laws and their own methods of land settlements and land revenue collection.
5. AWADH IN REVOLT
   “A cherry that will drop into our mouth one day”
   1. In 1851, Governor General Lord Dalhousie described the kingdom of Awadh as “a cherry that will drop into our mouth one day” and five years later it was annexed to the British Empire.
   2. The Subsidiary Alliance had been imposed on Awadh.
   3. The terms of this alliance the nawab had to disband his military force of the British to position their troops within the kingdom and act in accordance with the advice of the British.
   4. Deprived of his armed forces the nawab became increasingly dependent on the British to maintain law and order within the kingdom.
   5. He could no longer assert control over the rebellious chief and taluqdars.
6. WHAT THE REBELS WANTED
   The vision of unity
   1. The rebellion was seen as a war in which both Hindus and Muslims had equally to lose or gain.
   2. The ishtahars (notifications) harked back to the pre-British Hindu-Muslim past and glorified the coexistence of different communities under Mughal Empire.
   3. In1857, the British spent Rs. 50,000 to incite the Hindu population against the Muslims but the attempt failed.
7. Against the symbols of oppression
   1. The land revenue settlements had dispossessed the landholders, both big and small and foreign commerce had driven artisans and weavers to ruin.
   2. Every aspect of the British rule was attacked and the firangi accused of destroying a way of life that was familiar and cherished.
   3. The proclamations expressed the widespread fear that the British were bent on destroying the caste and religions of Hindus and Muslims and converting them to Christianity.
   4. People were urged to come together and fight to save their livelihood, their faith, their honor, their identity.
8. IMAGES OF THE REVOLT
   1. Official accounts of colonial administration and military men left their versions in letters and diaries, autobiography and official histories.
   2. The changing British attitudes were evident through the innumerable memos and notes, assessments of situations.
   3. The stories of the revolt that were published in British newspapers and magazines narrated the in gory detail the violence of the mutineers.
   4. The pictorial images were produced by the British and Indians – paintings, pencil drawings, cartoons, bazaar prints.
9. Celebrating the saviors
   1. British pictures offer a variety of images that were meant to provoke a range of different emotions and reactions.
   2. Some of them commemorate the British heroes who saved the English and repressed the rebels.
   3. “Relief of Lucknow “, was painted by Thomas Jones Barker In 1859.
10. English women and the honour of Britain
    1. The British government was asked to protect the honor of innocent women and ensure the safety of helpless children.
    2. Artists expressed as well as shaped these sentiments through their visual representations of trauma and suffering.
11. The performances of terror
    1. The urge for vengeance and retribution was expressed in the brutal way in which the rebels were executed.
    2. They were blown from guns or hung from the gallows.
    3. Images of these executions were widely circulated through popular journals.
    4. When Governor General Canning declared that a gesture of leniency and a show of mercy would help in winning back the loyalty of the sepoys, he was mocked in the British press.
12. Nationalist imageries
    1. The nationalist movement drew its inspiration from the events of 1857.
    2. A whole world of nationalist imagination was woven around the revolt.
    3. It was celebrated as the first war of independence in which all sections of the people of India came together to fight against imperial rule.
    4. Art and literature had helped in keeping alive the memories 1857.

Timeline

Class 12 History Quick Revision notes Chapter 10 Colonialism and the Countryside

Key concepts in nutshell

• Bengal – Establishment of colonial rule – New land revenue, Auction system under Warren Hastings – 1793, Permanent Revenue settlement in Bengal by Lord Cornwallis.
• Crises in village economy, revenue demand of the state was fixed.
• The rise of the Jotedars – their land was cultivated through share croppers.
• Resistance of Zamindars – their land was auctioned frequently.
• The fifth report report submitted to British Parliament 1813.
• The Hoe and the Plough – Shifting agriculture, expensive of village economy.
• Paharias – hunters, shifting cultivators, food gathers connected with forests, invaded settled farmers 1770.
• Santhals – Settled in Bengal – practiced cultivation land demarcated to them known as Daman-i-koh.
• Conflicts with unsettled paharias -1850 – they resisted the British – Santhal revolt.
• Revolt in the Bombay and Deccan – 1875.
• Burning of account book of moneylenders and shopkeepers.
• New revenue System – Ryotwari system in Bombay Deccan – direct settlement, land assessed for 30 years subject to periodic revision.

1. The problem of unpaid revenue
   1. In introducing the permanent settlement, the British hoped to resolve the problems they had been facing since the conquest of Bengal.
   2. The rural economy in Bengal was in crisis with recurrent famines and declining agricultural output.
   3. The problem lay in identifying individuals who could both improve agriculture and contract to pay the fixed revenue to the state.
   4. The permanent settlement was made with the rajas and taluqdars of Bengal.
   5. They were classified as Zamindars and had to pay the revenue that was fixed.
   6. The Zamindar was not the landowner in the village, but a revenue collector of the state.
   7. The zamindar collected rent from different villages, paid the revenue to the company,and retained the differences as his income.
   8. He was expected to pay the Company regularly, failing which his estate could be auctioned.
2. Why zamindars defaulted on payments?
   1. High initial demand: The initial demand was very high. It was felt that if the demand was fixed for all time to come, the Company would never be able to claim a share of increased income from land when prices rose and cultivation expanded. To minimise this anticipated loss, the Company pegged the revenue demand high, arguing that the burden on zamindars would gradually decline as agricultural production expanded and prices rose.
   2. Imposition of high demand: This high demand was imposed in the 1790s, a time when the prices of agricultural produce were depressed, making it difficult for the ryots (raiyat, used to designate peasants) to pay their dues to the zamindar. If the zamindar could not collect the rent, how could he pay the Company?
   3. The revenue was invariable: The revenue was invariable, regardless of the harvest, and had to be paid punctually. In fact, according to the Sunset Law, if payment did not come in by sunset of the specified date, the zamindari was liable to be auctioned.
   4. Powers of Zamindars limited: The Permanent Settlement initially limited the power of the zamindar to collect rent from the ryot and manage his zamindari.
3. The rise of the jotedars
   1. A group of rich peasants consolidated their position in the villages.
   2. This class of rich peasant was known as jotedar.
   3. The jotedars had acquired vast areas of land.
   4. They controlled local trade as well as money lending,exercising immense power over the poorer cultivators of the region
   5. A large part of their land was cultivated through sharecroppers (adhiyars or bargadars).
   6. When the estate of the zamindar was auctioned for failure to make revenue payment, jotedars were often amongst the purchasers.
   7. The jotedars were the most powerful in North Bengal, in some places they were called haoladars, gantidars or mandals.
4. The accounts of Buchanan
   1. Francis Buchanan was a physician and an employee of the British East India Company.
   2. He marched everywhere with a large army of people  – draughtsmen, surveyors, palanquin bearers, coolies.
   3. The cost of the travels was borne by the East India Company.
   4. He was perceived as an agent of the sarkar.
   5. He observed the stones and rocks and different strata and layers of soil.
   6. He searched for minerals and stones that were commercially valuable, he recorded all signs of irons ore and mica, granite and saltpetre.
   7. He carefully observed the local practices of salt –making and iron ore mining.
   8. Buchanan’s journal were packed with observations.
5. A Revolt in the Countryside: The Bombay Deccan
   Through the nineteenth century, peasants in various parts of India rose in revolt against moneylenders and grain dealers. One such revolt occurred in 1875 in the Deccan.
   1. Account books were burnt
      1. The movement began at Supa, a large village in Poona (present-day Pune) district.
      2. It was a market centre where many shopkeepers and moneylenders lived.
      3. On 12 May1875, ryots from surrounding rural areas gathered and attacked the shopkeepers, demanding their bahi khatas (account books) and debt bonds.
      4. They burnt the khatas, looted grain shops, and in some cases set fire to the houses of sahukars.
   2. A new revenue system
      1. As British rule expanded from Bengal to other parts of India, new systems of revenue were imposed.
      2. Since the revenue demand was fixed under the Permanent Settlement, the colonial state could not claim any share of this enhanced income.
      3. Keen on expanding its financial resources, the colonial government had to think of ways to maximise its land revenue.
      4. The revenue system that was introduced in the Bombay Deccan came to be known as the ryotwari settlement.
      5. Unlike the Bengal system, the revenue was directly settled with the ryot. The average income from different types of soil was estimated, the revenue-paying capacity of the ryot was assessed and a proportion of it fixed as the share of the state.
      6. The revenue demand was no longer permanent.
   3. Revenue demand and peasant debt
      1. The first revenue settlement in the Bombay Deccan was made in the 1820s.
      2. The revenue that was demanded was so high that in many places peasants deserted their villages and migrated to new regions. In areas of poor soil and fluctuating rainfall the problem was particularly acute. When rains failed and harvests were poor, peasants found it impossible to pay the revenue. However, the collectors in charge of revenue collection were keen on demonstrating their efficiency and pleasing their superiors. So they went about extracting payment with utmost severity. When someone failed to pay, his crops were seized and a fine was imposed on the whole village
6. The Deccan Riots Commission
   1. When the revolt spread in the Deccan, the Government of Bombay was initially unwilling to see it as anything serious.
   2. But the Government of India, worried by the memory of 1857, pressurised the Government of Bombay to set up a commission of enquiry to investigate into the causes of the riots.
   3. The commission produced a report that was presented to the British Parliament in 1878.
   4. This report provides historians with a range of sources for the study of the riot.

Timeline:

Class 12 History Notes Chapter 9 Kings and Chronicles The Mughal Courts

• Chronicles of the Mughal Emperor provides us valuable informations about the institution of Mughal state. These texts clearly depicted the policies of Mughal Empire which they sought to impose on their domain.
• Babur was the founder of Mughal Empire. His grandson, Akbar, was considered as the greatest Mughal Emperor.
• Akbar did not only consolidate his empire but also made it one of the strongest empires of his time.
• Mughal chronicles were written by mostly Mughal courtiers, who mainly focused on the events related to the rulers, their family, the court and wars and the administration.
• Persian was used as the main language.
• Paintings were done on the choronicles to make them attractive.
• Two most important illustrated Mughal official histories were—Akbar Nama and Badshah Nama.
• According to Abu’l Fazl, the Mughal emperor had the responsibility to protect the Jan, Mai, names and din of his subject.
• Shahjahan’s daughter Jahanara took part in many architectural planning of new capital of the empire, Shahjahanbad.
• Imperial Kitabkhana were the main centres for the creation of manuscripts. Painters played an important role in the creation of Mughal manuscripts.
• Paper-makers required to prepare folio of manuscripts, calligrapher copied the text, gilders illuminated the pages, painter illustrated the scene from the text, bookbinders collected the individual folios and set them within ornamental covers.
• Akbar Nama has three volumes. Every volume contained information of ten lunar years. Its first two volumes were written by Lahori, which were later on revised by Wazir Sadullah Khan. The third volume is written by wazir, because at that time Lahori became very old and was unable to write.
• Gulbadan Begum wrote Humayun Nama. It gives us a glimpse into the domestic world of Mughals.
• Jharokha darshan was introduced by Akbar. According to the emperor it began his day at sunrise with a few religious prayer and then used to appear in a small balcony, i.e. the Jharokha in East direction. Below, a crowd wanted to have a look of the emperor.
• Court histories of the Mughals were written in Persian language in the 10th /17th centuries came from different parts of the subcontinents and they are now the Indian languages.
• All Mughal government officials held rank with two designation—zat and sawar. In the 17th century, mansabdar of 1,000 Zat or above was ranked as nobles.

The monarchs of the Mughal Empire considered themselves as legitimate rulers of vast Indian sub-continent. They appointed court historians to write on accounts of their achievements. Modern historians called these texts as chronicles, as they presented a continuous chronological record of events.

The Mughals and Their Empire:

• The name Mughal derives from the term ‘Mongol’. The Mughals were descendants of the Turkish ruler Timur on the paternal side. Zahiruddin Babur was related to Ghenghis Khan from his mother’s side.
• Babur was driven from Farghana by the warring Uzbeks. First he established himself at Kabul and then in 1526 came to Indian sub-continent.
• Babur’s successor, Nasiruddin Humayun (1530-40, 1555-56) expanded the frontiers of the empire, but lost it to the Afghan leader Sher Shah Sur. In 1555, Humayun defeated the Surs, but died a year later.
• Jalaluddin Akbar (1556-1605) was the greatest of all the Mughal emperors. He expanded and consolidated his empire making it the largest, strongest and richest.
• Akbar had three fairly able successors Jahangir (1605-27), Shah Jahan (1628-58) and Aurangzeb (1658-1707). After the death of Auranzeb (1707), the power of Mughal dynasty diminished.

Different Chronicles of Mughals:

• Chronicles commissioned by the Mughal emperors are an important source for studying the empire and its court.
• The authors of Mughal chronicles were invariably courtiers. The famous chronicles are Akbar Nama, Shahjahan Nama and Alamgir Nama.
• Turkish was the mother tongue of Mughals, but it was Akbar who made Persian the leading language of Mughal court.
• Persian became Indianised by absorbing local idioms. Urdu sprang from the interaction of Persian with Hindavi.
• All books in Mughal India were handwritten manuscripts and were kept in Kitabkhana . i.e. scriptorium.
• The creation of a manuscript involved paper makers, scribes or calligraphers, gilders, painters, bookbinders, etc.
• Akbar’s favourite calligraphy style was the nastaliq, a fluid style with long horizontal strokes. Muhammad Husayn of Kashmir was one of the finest calligraphers at Akbar’s court who was honoured with the title ‘Zarrin Kalam’ (Golden pen).

The Paintings of Mughal Period:

• Abu’l Fazl described painting as a ‘magical art’, but the production of painting was largely criticised by the Ulama, as it was prohibited by the Quran as well as by the ‘hadis’.
• Hadis described life event of prophet Muhammad which restricted the deception of living beings as they regarded it as function of God.
• The Safavid kings and the Mughal Emperors patronised the finest artists like Bihzad, Mir Sayyid Ali, Abdus Samad, etc.

Historical Text of Mughals: Akbar Nama and the Badshah.Nama:

• The Akbar Nama written by Abu’l Fazl is divided into three books, of which the third one is Ain-i Akbari which provided a detailed description of Akbar’s regime.
• The Badshah Nama was written by Abul Hamid Lahori about the reign of Shahjahan. Later, it was revised by Sadullah Khan.
• The Asiatic Society of Bengal founded by Sir William Jones in 1784 undertook the editing, printing and translation of many Indian manuscripts, including Akbar Nama and Badshah Nama.

The Ideal Kingdom of Mughal Empire:

• Iranian Sufi thinker Suhrawardi developed the idea that there was a hierarchy in which the Divine Light was transmitted to the king who then became the source of spiritual guidance for his subjects.
• The Mughal artists, from the 17th century onwards began to portray emperor wearing the haloto symbolise the light of God.
• Abu’l Fazl described the ideal of Sulh-i kul (absolute peace) as the cornerstone of enlightened rule.
• In sulh-i kul all religions and schools of thought had freedom of expression but they did not undermine the authority of the state or fight among themselves.
• Akbar abolished the discriminating pilgrimage tax in 1563 and Jizya in 1564.
• Abu’l Fazl defined sovereignty as a social contract i.e., the emperor protected life, property, honour and faith and in return demanded obedience and a share of resources.

Capitals and Courts of the Mughals:

• The capital cities of the Mughals frequently shifted during the 16th and 17th centuries.
• Babur took over the Lodhi capital of Agra.
• In 1570, Akbar decided to build a new capital, Fatehpur Sikri.
• Akbar commissioned the construction of a white marble tomb for Shaikh Salim Chisthi at Sikri. He also constructed Buland Darwaza here after the victory in Gujarat.
• In 1585 the capital was shifted to Lahore to bring the North-West in control and to watch the frontier.
• In 1648, under the rule of Shah Jahan, the capital was transferred to Shahjahanabad with the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid, the Chandni Chowk and spacious homes for the nobility.
• In Mughal Court, status was determined by spatial proximity to the king.
• Once the emperor sat on the throne, no one was permitted to move from his position without permission.
• The forms of salutation to the ruler indicated the person’s status in the hierarchy.
• The emperor began his day at sunrise with personal religious devotions and then appeared on a small balcony, the jharoka for the view (darshan) of his subjects.
• After that the emperor walked to the public hall of audience (Diwan-i-am) to conduct the primary business of his government.
• The Mughal kings celebrated three major festivals in a year i.e. the solar and lunar
• birthdays of the Monarch and Nauroz, the Iranian New Year on the vernal equinox.
• Grand titles were adopted by the Mughal emperors at the time of coronation or after a victory.
• The titles like Asaf Khan, Mirza Raja were given to the nobles.
• Whenever a courtier met with the emperor, he had to offer nazr (a small amount of money) or peshkash (a large amount of money).

The Mughal Household:

• The term ‘harem’ was used to refer to the domestic world of the Mughals.
• The Mughal household consisted of the emperor’s wives and concubines, his near and distant relatives (mother, step-and foster-mothers, sisters, daughters, daughters-in-law, aunts, children, etc) and female servants and slaves.
• Polygamy was practised widely by the ruling class.
• Both the Rajputs and the Mughals took marriage as a way at cementing political relationships and forging alliances.
• After Noor Jahan, Mughal queens and princesses began to control significant financial resources.
• The bazaar of Chandni Chowk was designed by Jahanara.
• Gulbadan Begum, daughter of Babur wrote ‘Humayun Nama’ which was considered as an important source of Mughal Empire.

The Officials in Mughal Administration:

• In Mughal period, the nobility was recruited from diverse ethnic and religious group. In Akbar’s imperial service Turani and Iranian nobles played a dominant role.
• Two ruling groups of Indian origin, the Rajputs and the Indian Muslims (Shaikhzadas) entered the imperial service from 1560 onwards.
• The emperor personally reviewed changes in rank, titles and official postings.
• Akbar designed mansab system which established spiritual relationships with a select band of his nobility by treating them as his disciples.
• Some important officials were Mir Bakshi (paymaster general), Diwan-i ala (Finance minister) and sadr-us-sudur (minister of grants and incharge of appointing local judges or qazis), etc. The keeping of exact and detailed rewards was a major concern of the Mughal administration.
• The Mir Bakshi supervised the corps of court writers who recorded all applications and documents of courts.
• News reports and important official documents travelled across the Mughal Empire by imperial post which included round-the-clock relays of foot-runners (qasid or pathmar) carried papers rolled up in bamboo containers.
• The division of functions established at the centre was replicated in the provinces (subas),
• The local administration was looked after the level of the paragana by three semi-hereditary officers, the qanungo (keeper of revenue records), the chaudhuri (incharge of revenue collection) and the qazi.
• Persian language was made the language of administration throughout, but local languages were used for village accounts.

Jesuit Missionaries in the Mughal Court:

• Mughal Emperors assumed many titles like Shahenshah, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, etc,
• All conquerors who sought to make their way into the Indian sub-continent had to cross the Hindukush mountains. Thus, the Mughal tried to ward off this potential danger, and tried to control Kabul and Qandahar.
• Europe got knowledge of India through the accounts of Jesuit missionaries, travellers, merchants and diplomats.
• Akbar was curious about Christianity and the first Jesuit mission reached the Mughal Court at Fatehpur Sikri in 1580.
• The Jesuit accounts are based on personal observation and shed light on the character and mind of the emperor.

Akbar’s Quest for Religion:

• Akbar’s quest for religions knowledge led to interfaith debates in the Ibadat Khana at Fatehpur Sikri, between learned Muslims, Hindus, Jainas, Parsis and Christians.
• Increasingly, Akbar moved away from the orthodox Islamic ways of understanding religions towards a self-conceived eclectic form of divine worship focused on light and sun.
• Akbar and Abu’l Fazl tried to create a philosophy of light and used it to shape the image of the king and ideology of the state. King was a divinely inspired individual who had supreme sovereignty over his people and complete control over his enemies.
• With these liberal ideas, the Mughal rulers could effectively controlled the heterogeneous population of Indian sub-continent for a century and a half.

Class 12 History Notes Chapter 9 Important terms:

• Chronicles: It is a continuous chronological record of events.
• Manuscript: The handwritten records.
• Divine theory of kingship: The king was believed as the representative of god, acquired his powers from him and therefore had to be obeyed.
• Sulh-i-kul: It is state policy of religious tolerance.
• Jizya: A tax imposed on non-muslims in lieu of military service.
• Mansabdar: All royal officers were known as mansabdars.
• Chahar taslim: A form of salutation to the emperor which is done four times.
• Tajwiz: A petion presented to the emperor by a nobleman recommending an application to the post of a mansabdar.

Time line:

• 1526 – Babur established Mughal dynasty in India.
• 1530 – Humayun succeeds the Mughal throne.
• 1556 – After the second battle of Panipat Akbar succeeds to the throne.
• 1563 – Akbar abolished the pilgrimage tax.
• 1585 – Akbar shifted his capital from Fatehpur Sikri to Lahore.
• 1589 – Babur Nama was translated in Persian and Abu’l Fazl wrote the Akbar Nama.
• 1605-22 – Jahangir wrote Jahangir Nama.
• 1648 – Shahjahanabad became the new capital of the Mughal Empire.
• 1668 – Alamgir Nama was written by Muhammad Kazim. It gives a historical account of the first decade of Aurangzeb’s rule.
• 1707 – Aurangzeb died.
• 1857 – The last ruler of the Mughal dynasty was overthrown by the British.

Class 12 History Quick Revision notes Chapter 8 Peasant Zamindars and State

Key concepts in nutshell

• Peasants and agricultural production – Geographical diversity
• Looking for sources – Historical Epic and Records, Important chronicles – Ain-i-Akbari, Records from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
• Peasants and their lands – cultivation was based on the principle of individual ownership.
• Irrigation and Technology – Expansion of agriculture, monsoon remained the backbone of Indian agriculture, artificial system of irrigation had to be devised, agriculture often harnessed cattle energy.
• An abundance of crops – two major crops – the kharif and the rabi, new crops came from different parts of the world.
• The village community. Caste and the rural milieu – Rajputs are mentioned as peasants.
• Panchayats and headman – The panchayats was usually a heterogeneous body; the headman was chosen through the consensus of the village elders, functions of the panchayat. Village artisans.
• The existence of substantial members of artisans. A little republic – deep inequities based on caste and gender distinctions.
• Women in agrarian society – women’s role in the production process, high mortality rates among women, women petitioned to the panchayat, Hindu and Muslim women inherited zamindaris.
• Forest and tribes -Beyond settled villages, livelihood came from the gathering of forest produce, hunting and shifting agriculture, jungles provided a good defence. Inroads into forests – the state required elephants for the army, hunting expeditions by the Mughals, the spread of commercial agriculture.
• During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries about 85 percent of the population of India lived in its villages. Both peasants and landed elites were involved in agricultural production claimed rights to a share of the produce. This created relationships of cooperation, competition and conflict among them.
• The basic unit of agricultural society was the village, inhabited by peasants who performed the manifold seasonal tasks that made up agricultural production throughout the year tilling the soil, sowing seeds, harvesting the crop when it was ripe.
• The panchayat was headman known as muqaddam or mandal.
• Documents from Western India – Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra – Record petitions sent by women to the village panchayat, seeking redress and justice.
• The Zamindars held extensive personal lands termed milkiyat, meaning property. Milkiyat lands were cultivated for the private use of zamindars, often with the help of hired or servile labour.
• Zamindars also derived their power form the fact that they could often collect revenue on behalf of the state, a service for which they were compensated financially.
• Both cultivated and cultivable lands were measured in each province. The Ain compiled the aggregates of such lands during Akbar’s rule. Efforts to measures lands continued under subsequent emperors. For instance in 1665, Aurangzeb expressly instructed his revenue of officials to prepare annual records of the number of cultivators in each village.
• The testimony of an Italian traveler, Giovanni Careri, who passed through India c, 1690, provides a graphic account about the way silver traveled across the globe to reach India.
• The Ain is made up of five books (daftars) of which the first three books describe the administration.
• The Ain completely department from this tradition as it recorded information about the empire and the people of India, and the people of India, and thus constitutes a benchmark for studying India at the turn of the seventeenth century.

Peasants and Agricultural Production

1. The basic unit of agricultural society was the village, inhabited by peasants who performed the manifold seasonal tasks.
2. Several kinds of areas such as large tracts of dry land or hilly regions were not cultivable. Moreover, forest areas made up a substantial proportion of territory.
3. Sources: The major source for the agrarian history of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries are chronicles and documents from the Mughal court. Ain-i Akbari of Akbar’s court meticulously recorded the arrangements made by the state.
4. Some other sources are detailed revenue records from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan dating from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
5. Besides, the extensive records of the East India Company provide us with useful descriptions of agrarian relations in eastern India.
6. All these sources record instances of conflicts between peasants, zamindars and the state. In the process they give us an insight into peasants’ perception of and their expectations of fairness from the state.
7. Peasants and their land: The terms most frequently used to denote a peasant were raiyat (plural, riaya) or muzarian, kisan or asami.
8. There is reference of two kinds of peasants in the seventeenth century – khud-kashta ( they were residents of the village in which they held their lands) and pahi-kashta (they were non-resident cultivators who cultivated lands elsewhere on a contractual basis).
9. An average peasant of north India did not possess more than a pair of bullocks and two ploughs, most of them possessed even less.
10.  In Gujarat peasants possessing about six acres of land were considered to be affluent; in Bengal, on the other hand, five acres was the upper limit of an average peasant farm.
11. Cultivation was based on the principle of individual ownership. Peasantsbought and sold their  lands like other property owners.
12. The abundance of land, available labour and the mobility of peasants were three factors that accounted for the constant expansion of agriculture.
13. Irrigation: Monsoons remained the backbone of Indian agriculture, as they are even today. But there were crops which required additional water. Artificial systems of irrigation had to be devised for this. Irrigation projects received state support as well.
14. Though agriculture was labour intensive, peasants did use technologies that often harnessed cattle energy.
15. Agriculture was organised around two major seasonal cycles, the kharif (autumn) and the rabi (spring).
16. During the seventeenth century several new crops from different parts of the world reached the Indian subcontinent. For example, Maize (makka), was introduced into India via Africa and Spain which gradually became one of the major crops of western India. Vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes and chillies were introduced from the New World at this time, as were fruits like the pineapple and the papaya.

The Village Community

1. Apart from individual ownership, lands belonged to a collective village community as far as many aspects of their social existence were concerned. There were three constituents of this community – the cultivators, the panchayat, and the village headman (muqaddam or mandal).
2. Distinctions: Deep inequities on the basis of caste and other castelike distinctions meant that the cultivators were a highly heterogeneous group. Like- despite the abundance of cultivable land, certain caste groups were assigned menial tasks. One who tilled the land was known as menials or agricultural labourers (majur). In Muslim communities menials like the halalkhoran (scavengers) were housed outside the boundaries of the village.
3. There was a direct correlation between caste, poverty and social status at the lower strata of society.
4. In a manual from seventeenth century Marwar, Rajputs are mentioned as peasants, sharing the same space with Jats, who were accorded a lower status in the caste hierarchy.
5. Castes such as the Ahirs, Gujars and Malis rose in the hierarchy because of the profitability of cattle rearing and horticulture.
6. Headman: The village panchayat was an assembly of elders headed by a headman known as muqaddam or mandal.
7. The headmen held office as long as they enjoyed the confidence of the village elders, failing which they could be dismissed by them.
8. The panchayat derived its funds from contributions made by individuals to a common financial pool.
9. One important function of the panchayat was to ensure that caste boundaries among the various communities inhabiting the village were upheld.
10. Panchayats also had the authority to levy fines and inflict more serious forms of punishment like expulsion from the community.
11. In addition to the village panchayat each caste or jati in the village had its own jati panchayat.
12. Village artisans: The distinction between artisans and peasants in village society was a fluid one, as many groups performed the tasks of both.
13. Cultivators and their families would also participate in craft production – such as dyeing, textile printing, baking and firing of pottery, making and repairing agricultural implements.
14. Village artisans – potters, blacksmiths, carpenters, barbers, even goldsmiths – provided specialised services in return for which they were compensated by villagers by a variety of means,mostly by giving them a share of the harvest, or an allotment of land, etc.
15. Some British officials in the nineteenth century saw the village as a “little republic” made up of fraternal partners sharing resources and labour in a collective. But this was not a sign of rural egalitarianism because there existed deep inequities based on caste and gender distinctions.

Women in Agrarian Society

1. Women and men had to work shoulder to shoulder in the fields, so a gendered segregation between the home (for women) and the world (for men) was not possible in this context. But biases related to women’s biological functions did continue.
2. Artisanal tasks such as spinning yarn, sifting and kneading clay for pottery, and embroidery were among the many aspects of production dependent on female labour.
3. Women were considered an important resource in agrarian society also because they were child bearers in a society dependent on labour.
4. Marriages in many rural communities required the payment of bride-price rather than dowry to the bride’s family.
5. According to established social norms, the household was headed by a male. Thus women were kept under strict control by the male members of the family and the community.
6. Amongst the landed gentry, women had the right to inherit property. Women zamindars were known in eighteenth-century Bengal.

Forests and Tribes

1. Apart from the intensively cultivated lands, India had huge swathes of forests – dense forest (jangal) or scrubland (kharbandi) – existed all over eastern India, central India, northern India (including the Terai on the Indo-Nepal border), Jharkhand, and in peninsular India down the Western Ghats and the Deccan plateau.
2. Forest dwellers were termed jangli as their livelihood came from the gathering of forest produce, hunting and shifting agriculture. These activities were largely season specific.
3. Regular hunting expeditions enabled the emperors to travel across the extensive territories of his empire and personally attend to the grievances of its inhabitants.
4. The spread of commercial agriculture was an important external factor that impinged on the lives of the forest-dwellers.
5. Elephants were also captured and sold.
6. Social factors too wrought changes in the lives of forest dwellers. Like the “big men” of the village community, tribes also had their chieftains.
7. New cultural influences also began to penetrate into forested zones.

The Zamindars

1. The zamindars were a class of people in the countryside that lived off agriculture but did not participate directly in the processes of agricultural production.
2. They were landed proprietors who also enjoyed certain social and economic privileges by virtue of their superior status in rural society.
3. The zamindars held extensive personal lands termed milkiyat, meaning property.
4. Zamindars also derived their power from the fact that they could often collect revenue on behalf of the state.
5. Most zamindars had fortresses (qilachas) as well as an armed contingent comprising units of cavalry, artillery and infantry.
6. Zamindars spearheaded the colonisation of agricultural land, and helped in settling cultivators by providing them with the means of cultivation, including cash loans.
7. Although there can be little doubt that zamindars were an exploitative class, their relationship with the peasantry had an element of reciprocity, paternalism and patronage.

Land Revenue System

1. Revenue from the land was the economic mainstay of the Mughal Empire.
2. This apparatus included the office (daftar) of the diwan who was responsible for supervising the fiscal system of the empire.
3. The land revenue arrangements consisted of two stages – first, assessment and then actual collection.
4. The jama was the amount assessed, as opposed to hasil, the amount collected.
5. In the list of duties of the amil-guzar or revenue collector, Akbar decreed that while he should strive to make cultivators pay in cash, the option of payment in kind was also to be kept open.
6. Both cultivated and cultivable lands were measured in each province. The Ain compiled the aggregates of such lands during Akbar’s rule.

Classification of Lands Under Akbar
The following a listing of criteria of classification excerpted from the Ain:
The Emperor Akbar in his profound sagacity classified the lands and fixed a different revenue to be paid by each. Polaj is land which is annually cultivated for each crop in succession and is never allowed to lie fallow. Parauti is land left out of cultivation for a time that it may recover its strength. Chachar is land that has lain fallow for three or four years. Banjar is land uncultivated for five years and more. Of the first two kinds of land, there are three classes, good, midding, and bad. They add together the produce of each sort, and the third of this represents the medium produce, one-third part of which is exacted as the royal dues.
The Flow of Silver

1. The Mughal Empire consolidated powers and resources from the empires of Ming (China), Safavid (Iran) and Ottoman (Turkey) during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
2. Voyages of discovery and the opening up of the New World resulted in a massive expansion of Asia’s (particularly India’s) trade with Europe.
3. An expanding trade brought in huge amounts of silver bullion into Asia to pay for goods procured from India, and a large part of that bullion gravitated towards India.
4. SO, the period between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries was also marked by a remarkable stability in the availability of metal currency, particularly the silver rupya in India.
5. The testimony of an Italian traveller, Giovanni Careri, who passed through India c. 1690, provides a graphic account about the way silver travelled across the globe to reach India.

The Ain-i Akbari of Abu’l Fazl Allami

1. Ain-i Akbari is a compilation of imperial regulations and a gazetteer of the empire.
2. It is a part of the Akbar Nama and was completed in 1598, after having gone through five revisions.
3. The Ain gives detailed accounts of the organisation of the court, administration and army, the sources of revenue and the physical layout of the provinces of Akbar’s empire and the literary, cultural and religious traditions of the people.
4. The Ain is made up of five books (daftars), of which the first three books describe the administration.
5. The first book, called manzil-abadi, concerns the imperial household and its maintenance. The second book, sipah-abadi, covers the military and civil administration and the establishment of servants. This book includes notices and short biographical sketches of imperial officials (mansabdars), learned men, poets and artists.
6. The third book, mulk-abadi, is the one which deals with the fiscal side of the empire and provides information on revenue rates, followed by the “Account of the Twelve Provinces”.
7. The Ain remains an extraordinary document of its times. By providing fascinating glimpses into the structure and organisation of the Mughal Empire and by giving us quantitative information about its products and people.

Timeline: