UGC NET History UNIT-6 SOCIETY AND CULTURE IN MEDIEVAL INDIA (1200–1750 CE)

1️⃣ SOCIAL ORGANISATION AND STRUCTURE

General Features

• Medieval Indian society was hierarchical, agrarian, and religious in outlook.

• Caste (varna-jati) remained the basic unit of social identity, but mobility increased through trade, service, and conversion.

• Urbanisation under the Sultanate and Mughals created new classes — nobles, soldiers, clerks, artisans, and merchants.

• Persian–Islamic ideas of equality before God interacted with the Hindu social order, producing syncretic cultural spaces.

✳️ Rural Structure

• Village = basic socio-economic unit; largely self-sufficient.

• Officials:

  • Patel / Muqaddam – headman.

  • Patwari / Qanungo – record keeper.

  • Chaudhuri / Amil – revenue collector.

• Peasantry (raiyat) formed the backbone; classes ranged from owner-cultivators to share-croppers and labourers.

• Non-cultivating groups – smiths, weavers, potters, barbers, washermen – essential to village life.

✳️ Urban Society

• Towns = centres of administration, trade, and crafts.

• Multicultural population – Persian officials, Afghan soldiers, Hindu traders, Jain bankers, artisans of all communities.

• Guild-like organisations (panchayats, mahajans) regulated crafts and trade.

✳️ Social Classes

---

2️⃣ THE SUFIS – ORDERS, BELIEFS AND PRACTICES

✳️ Nature of Sufism

• Mystical dimension of Islam focusing on inner experience, love of God, and moral purification.

• Belief in Wahdat-ul-Wujud (unity of existence).

• Khanqah (monastery) served as social-spiritual centre – provided food, shelter, and counsel.

• Adopted Indian idioms and music (sama/qawwali) to reach common people.

✳️ Major Orders (Silsilas)

✳️ Leading Saints & Teachings

• Muinuddin Chishti: compassion, service; shrine = Ajmer Sharif.

• Nizamuddin Auliya: “Love all, hate none”; attracted Hindus & Muslims alike.

• Shaikh Salim Chishti: adviser to Akbar.

• Nasiruddin Chiragh Delhi: last great Chishti of Delhi.

• Ahmad Sirhindi: reformer; upheld Islamic purity against Akbar’s liberalism.

✳️ Social Impact

• Broke barriers of caste & creed.

• Helped growth of Urdu, Hindavi literature.

• Promoted charity (langar) and syncretic ethics influencing Bhakti poets.

---

3️⃣ THE BHAKTI MOVEMENT

✳️ Essence

• Stressed personal devotion (bhakti) over ritual or priestly mediation.

• Preached oneness of God, equality of all, love and surrender.

• Encouraged worship in vernacular languages, creating regional literatures.

✳️ Phases

• Early Bhakti (South India) – 6ᵗʰ–9ᵗʰ centuries: Alvars (Vaishnava) & Nayanars (Shaiva).

• Later Bhakti (North India) – 14ᵗʰ–17ᵗʰ centuries: Ramananda, Kabir, Nanak, Mirabai, Tulsidas, Surdas.

✳️ Doctrinal Varieties

✳️ Important Saints – North India

✳️ South India Saints

✳️ Impact

• Weakened caste rigidity and ritualism.

• Stimulated vernacular literatures (Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil).

• Created moral foundation for religious tolerance in Indian culture.

---

4️⃣ THE SIKH MOVEMENT

✳️ Guru Nanak Dev (1469 – 1539)

• Taught Ik Onkar (one God), truth, equality, honest living, sharing wealth.

• Opposed caste, superstition, and empty ritual.

• Organised disciples (Sangats); established Kartarpur.

✳️ Successive Gurus

✳️ The Khalsa

• Initiated by Guru Gobind Singh at Anandpur Sahib.

• Five Ks – Kesh, Kangha, Kara, Kirpan, Kachha.

• Values – courage, discipline, equality, self-sacrifice.

✳️ Impact

• Created a distinct community (Panth).

• Blended spiritual devotion and political courage.

• Laid foundations of Sikh socio-political identity in Punjab.

---

5️⃣ SOCIAL CLASSIFICATION AND RURAL LIFE

✳️ Classes

✳️ Rural Hierarchy

• Zamindar → Patel → Patwari → Cultivator → Labourer.

• Village life revolved around customary law and panchayat.

• Social mobility through military service or urban migration.

---

6️⃣ POSITION OF WOMEN

✳️ Status and Restrictions

• Patriarchal society; women’s roles confined largely to domestic sphere.

• Among elites, purdah (zanana) and polygamy common.

• Practices such as sati & child marriage persisted.

✳️ Notable Women

• Razia Sultan – only woman ruler of Delhi.

• Nur Jahan – powerful empress; issued farmans.

• Chand Bibi – defended Ahmadnagar against Mughals.

• Mirabai, Akka Mahadevi, Andal – women saints advocating spiritual equality.

✳️ Devadasi System

• In South India, women dedicated to temples as dancers & musicians.

• Initially religiously esteemed; later became exploitative.

✳️ Education of Women

• Limited to elites and saints’ circles.

• Notable authors – Gulbadan Begum (Humayun-nama), Jahanara Begum (Sufi writings).

---

7️⃣ EDUCATION AND CENTRES OF LEARNING

✳️ Islamic System

✳️ Hindu & Regional Centres

• Pathshalas, Tols, Agraharas, Mathas taught Sanskrit, Nyaya, Vedanta, arts.

• South India – Kanchipuram, Sringeri, Mysore.

• North India – Varanasi, Jaunpur (“Shiraz of India”), Bidar.

✳️ Curriculum

• Religion, ethics, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, music, and Persian literature.

---

8️⃣ FINE ARTS – PAINTING AND MUSIC

✳️ Painting Schools

✳️ Music

• Two streams – Hindustani (North) and Carnatic (South).

• Amir Khusrau – credited with qawwali, tabla, sitar innovation.

• Akbar’s Navratnas – Tansen greatly advanced Hindustani raga system.

• Court music combined Persian & Indian styles; growth of dhrupad and khayal forms.

---

9️⃣ ART AND ARCHITECTURE

✳️ Indo-Islamic Architecture

• Features: arches, domes, minarets, calligraphy, geometric designs.

• Blended Islamic techniques with Hindu craftsmanship.

• Early examples – Qutub Minar, Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, Alai Darwaza.

✳️ Tughlaq Architecture

• Massive, simple, sloping walls; use of grey sandstone – Tughlaqabad Fort, Firoz Shah Kotla.

✳️ Mughal Architecture

✳️ Regional Styles

✳️ Gardens & Shrines

• Mughal Gardens – Persian Charbagh layout with water channels & pavilions (Shalimar Bagh, Nishat Bagh).

• Sufi Dargahs – Ajmer, Delhi, Pandua as spiritual centres.

• Hindu Temples – stone and bronze art of South & Odisha.

• Maratha Architecture – Hill forts (Raigad, Pratapgad) and temple shrines.