D. D. Kosambe's Historical Materialism

Works of D. D. Kosambe

• Viewed history from a Marxist perspective, also known as historical materialism.
• Held roles as a mathematician, philologist, and historian.
• Born into a Brahmin family to a Buddhist scholar.
• Studied in Portuguese Goa, London, and Harvard, and graduated from Harvard in mathematics.
• Upon returning to India in the 1930s, worked as a professor of mathematics at Banaras Hindu University and Aligarh Muslim University.
• Met the Indian historian A. M. Basham in London in 1940, sparking an interest in Indian history.
• Published "Introduction to the Study of Indian History" in 1956, critiquing colonial and nationalist historical works.
• Advocated a Marxist or materialist method of history writing.
• Used archeological findings and tribal society customs to understand India's past.
• Initiated the feudalism debate among Indian Historians.
• Colonialists did not think feudalism existed in India, but Marxist historians argued feudalism was present in India from the 5th to 15th centuries.
• Two forms of feudalism exist: feudalism from above and feudalism from below.
• Feudalism's first stage involved monarchical rulers overseeing subordinate regional rulers, such as during the Maurya era. Royal officials collected taxes.
• In feudalism's second stage, new landowners emerged, including Brahmins (Brahmadeyam), temples (Pallichandam), educational, and religious institutions, which started with the Guptas in the north and Pallavas in the south.

R. S. Sharma

• Like Kosambe, concentrated on ancient history writing as an Indologist and historian.
• Sharma authored over 100 books and articles.
• Graduated from Patna College in Bihar and completed his Ph.D. in London under A. M. Basham.
• His Ph.D. thesis focused on the history of Shudras in ancient India.
• Taught at Patna University and Delhi University before working in the history department at Delhi University (DU)
• A founding member of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). Was associated with peasant leaders of Punjab, including Sahajanand Saraswati and Rahul Sankriyayan.
• Adapted Kosambe's Marxist method of history writing to ancient history.
• Authored "Aspects of Political Ideas and Institute in Ancient India".
• Published his Ph.D. thesis in 1980 and "Material Culture and Social Formation" in 1983.
• Authored "Urban Decade in India" in 1987 and "India's Ancient Past".
• Examined social and economic history using literature and inscriptions, contrasting colonialist and nationalist approaches
• Made an important contribution. discovering urban centers in the 6th century BCE
• Offered ideas about the Gupta period, refuting the notion of it being a golden age, due to the decline of material culture before it in Magadhan.
• Participated in the feudalism debate, arguing that it was witnessed in post-Vedic periods.

B. D. Chatopadyay

• Known for studies in the early medieval period.
• Researched key figures in early medieval India extensively.
• Focused on the emergence of Shaivism and Vaishnavism during the time period.
• While using Marxist history writing, also critiqued some of Marx's ideas.
• Marx referred to state-controlled land in India, the lack of private property, and state-controlled irrigation.
• Emphasized how Marx utilized materials from colonial officials in England.

Subaltern School of History Writing

• Emerged in the 1980s.
• Founded by Indian historian Ranajit Guha
• Subaltern is derived from English Marxist historian E. P. Thompson's work "The Making of the English Working Class",
• E. P. Thompson's idea of "history from below" influenced thinking.
• Italian Marxist thinker Antonio Gramsci also used the word "subaltern".
• Included marginalized groups in Italy, such as peasants and women.
• Embraced post-modernism, diverging from Marxist origins
• Aimed to undermine materialism, focusing on cultural problems.
• Causes included neglect of Asian history by European historians.
• Post-colonial historians sought to include Asian, specifically Indian, history into world history.
• Arose from realizing the exclusion of Asian history in world history
• There was an increasing number of religious and caste violence
• War between India and China influenced new ways of developing the sphere of historians
• A new Maoist movement began in northeast India, starting in urban centers and spreading to rural areas.
• Ranajit Guha started a new study circle, which created a new approach called subaltern historiography
• Subaltern schools criticized colonialist, nationalist, and Marxist schools
• Argued that elite political history was the focus of colonialist and nationalist historians, leaving out ordinary people's roles in Indian politics
• Colonialists said modern developments were due to colonial rule.
• Asserted that there was no difference between colonial institutions and those post-independence
• Criticized Indian nationalist elites like Nehru and nationalist history writing that Bipin Chandra saw only one contradiction.
• Tribal revolts were perceived to be against modern transformation.
• Discovered that tribal revolts aimed to establish subaltern polity.
• One of the primary contributions was questioning colonial documents
• Advocated for folklores, biographies, and documents related to communities as new sources
• Promoted the subaltern movement through subaltern history writing.
• Involved violent approaches against non-violent approaches associated with elite politics
• Other subaltern historians are Partha Chatterjee, Ganendra Pandey, and Gayatri Chakraborty Spivak.
• Questioned colonial documents and created new sources.
• Ranajit Guha was from a wealthy family in Bangladesh.
• His family benefited from permanent settlements, gaining land control in Bangladesh.
• He studied in Calcutta, becoming a communist, and visited European countries.
• Served as a history professor at Jadavpur University and taught in Manchester and Sussex for over two decades.
• Produced many volumes of subaltern studies through small study circles.

Feminist History Writing

• Industrialization helped facilitate the women's movement.
• The French Revolution inspired ideas for women's rights
• Anti-colonial struggles facilitated women's movements in Asia.
• Women's movements in late 19th and early 20th century Europe led to the concept of feminism.
• Feminism aims to make women a self-conscious category
• Feminism aims to view women in women's own perspectives.
• Feminist historians used social and economic history because the field was historically male dominated up to the 20th century.
• The women's movement in India began in the early 19th century: women's issues like sati, widow remarriage, and child marriage were front and center.
• Women had no role to play earlier
• Educated men initiated the second phase of the Indian women's movement, encouraging participation in the India National Congress.
• Indian women realized the limitations imposed by the Congress, which led them to form their own organizations.
• In the 20th century, organizations advocated for women's right to vote, education, and entry into the legislature
• The 1960s saw the establishment of women's studies departments in universities.
• Feminism included women in history.
• It enabled everyone to rethink the male-dominated history.
• Acknowledged women as a separate class and outcome of feminist history writing.
• Strengthening women's self-consciousness through writing about past Indian women's lives.
• Established publications by women activists to support women's history writing such as Ritu Menon and Urvasi Butalia's "Kali for Women".

Uma Chakravarty

• Produced multiple academic works.
• First feminist historian to introduce "Brahminical Patriarchy" to describe Indian society.
• She tried to understand pandit Rama Bai. By reading life histor, she reconstructed Brahminical patriarchy

Ancient Indian History

• Classification is based ancient historians classifying India's past as prehistorical period and historical period based on availability of written sources
• Structural remains, burials, archaeological sites, bones, rock paintings and tools are prehistoric sources.
• Arthashastra and Indica in the 3rd century BCE is available.
• Why do people study the Indian past? - To determine the future - To understand culture, values, and how communities contributed to present day values.
• India established departments like the Geological Survey of India and the Archaeological Survey of India in the mid-19th century.
• They began to search many places in India
• Robert Bruce Foot, geologist and archaeologist, discovered a paleolithic tool in 1863 (Handaxe).
• Found historical settlements in the Indian subcontinent.

Prehistoric Period Tools

• Paleolithic (Old Stone Age)
• Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age)
• Neolithic

Paleolithic Period Specifics

• Roughtly 3 lakh BCE to 10000 BCE.
• Historians divide paleolithic period lower, middle and upper.
• Important sites are in the northwest region, western region, and the deccan region
• People used rough, unpolished quartzite tools
• People were hunter-gatherers who ate roots, fruits, and flesh.
• Fire was not used, but began to be used in later PP.
• There was no settled way of life
• There was unawareness of cultivation
• There was no knowledge of burial.

Mesolithic Period Specifics

• Period was between 12000 BCE to 2000 BCE
• New microlith tools were used in addition to Paleolithic tools
• Apart from hunting and gathering, people learned fishing and animal domestication.
• Art of rock painting was developed, especially in central India (Madhya Pradesh).
• Humans moved to eastern India
• Irfan Habib wrote a book on prehistory.
• Evidences of human burials were found at Bagnur, Langhnaj, and Bhimbetka.

Neolithic Period Specifics

• 7000 BCE to 1000 BCE
• Identified by historians as the Neolithic Revolution, due to some important developments related to the Indian subcontinent.
• Life became settled and led to agriculture.
• Earliest evidence of agriculture came from Mehrgarh in Baluchistan, Pakistan (6000 BCE).
• The wheel was invented
• Important items were excavated like pots and toys.
• Evidences of natural spirit worship begin
• Construction of small mud houses began.
• People began to cover their bodies using tree barks and animal skins.
• Clothes made of cotton were invented and men and women began to wear ornaments.
• Natural worship led to the invention of rituals related to birth and death.

Calcolithic Period

• The Neolithic period was followed by this time period where new materials like copper to make tools were used.
• Stone and copper were used.

Protohistory

• Describes Harappa history.
• Romila Thapar's "Early India", Irfan Habib's "Indus Civilization", R. S. Sharma's "India's Ancient Past", and Upendra Singh's "History of Ancient and Early Medieval India"
• Lies between the prehistory and historic period as a transitional period.
• There were some important developments that leads to
• Difference between protohistory in Europe and India is that in Europe, there is a culture and civilization without written documents but in India, there are written documents about the Harappan culture.
• Gordon Childe, an Australian archaeologist, first attempted to characterize civilization and urbanism in the first half of the 20th century.
• Civilization's characteristics include large urban settlements, wealth concentration, large scale public works, development of writings, knowledge of science and engineering, foreign trade, emergence of full-time specialists, a systematic social stratification, different hierarchical positions, political status based on residential status, free time/leisure time civilizations, a specific culture associated with cities and writing.
• Harappan culture known as bronze age
• Harappan civilization discovery pushed back Indian history to 3000 BCE.
• There was Non-Vedic culture and realization of knowledge related to art, architecture and sculpture.
• A person named Charles mason in 1930s was an archaeologist as well as army soldier.He identified the importance of Harappa and linked it to Alexander defeating Indian king Porus
• Alexander burns, or Mason, visited Harappa.

Harappa Culture

• An urban culture belonging to the Bronze Age.
• It had cities set up like Chandigarh, New Delhi, Pondicherry and Noida, laid out with streets and houses according to a north-south axis, and cross streets at right angles.
• Private and public buildings, houses, drains, and wells were constructed using uniform sized burned bricks.
• Harappa houses were two stories with 4-6 rooms, a bathroom and a kitchen. Almsot all houses were connected to a drainage system and had a separate well
• There were two settlement types: - Upper for kings- Lower for others
• Urban culture - Unique pottery. - Red color with designs and symbols of birds, animals, and humans painted on them.
• Harappa people knew the use of different materials like gold, silver, copper, bronze, lead, and tin.
• Harappa culture confined itself to the northwest and east because the east was covered with forest so with the restriction to enter, they didn't know the use of iron.
• Aryans had tools made of iron and used horses.
• First urban center of South Asia.
• Over 50 attempts to decipher Harappa scripts and there are many speculatons about their society, policies and economic conditions
• Many debates related to the namings of Harappa Culture
• John Marshall named civilization Indus Valley Civilisation - believed it has only spread 2000 km, later scholars thought cities were further than Indus river
• D.P. Sharma suggested Sindhu Saraswathi civilization due to mentioned river in Rig Vega
• Some historians believe there is similarity between Harappa and Aryan - Dravidian scripts. - Author is Dravidian or
• Al Basham said based on a Mohenjo Daro Great Bath, Dravidians played role in Harappa. -Temples in South India great baths. - Great bath proto-Shaivism, Harappa. - Harappa dravidian names
• It is acknowledged that Harappa culture worshipped nature
• People witnessed three stages: -1st worshipped nature, 2nd they worshipped trees and the 3rd Harappans worshipped ancestor spirits

Harappa Politics & Decline

• It some argued that city was already there and state will be difficult to control - others thought the same about King & Nobel men.
• Harappa connects to many other regions. Settlements separate: hierarchy.
• Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were important finds in 1920?
• Lower and upper settlements: lower= general upper= admin
• Granary buildings= tax and college= public w/ foreign.
• Head of 1st group SP Gupta was a prominent Indian archaeologist, founded many important institutions in India like Indian history & culture society, and director of Allahabad Museum.
• He expressed how Harrapa was based on a city state political structure.
• A 2nd viewpoint related to the highly centralized political structure with one leader given by Stuart Piggodd, wrote 2 books with Indian prehistories, some ancient cities of India(1944) and prehistoric India(1950)
• Said that the powerfulstate ruled with an aristocratic pries who subscried to John Marshall
• A 3rd with U.S archaeologist, Walter Fairservis, claimed Harappa cities were lead by the merchants with archaeoligical evidence showed presence of a king, slavery in the army or judicial system
• The 1st theory suggested that that the decline came with the Aryan invasion from ram prasad Chanda Mortimer wheeler.
• Ram Prasad Chanda spoke of puramdata in the Vedas especiallty rig Veda that suggested that words were "fort destroyer"
• Rig Vedas mentions "harrisupya" suggesting that the word refers to Harappa.
• Mortimer discovered the remains if Mohinjo-Daro where many died with the war between Harappa & Aryana while being unaware of using Iron.
• Scholars like P V Cane , B B Lal refuted this with the idea that the remains belonged to a later time the the harappa time .
• A 2nd theory gave by Daya Ram Shahini, Roberts Raika, Geroge, Dailas They noted that of the people who died, were from an instead invasion , it declined due to natural disasters
• M R Mughal said it declined due to the dried rivers since the indusits tributaires changed their source fequently B B LAL w/ one of the more important archeologist William Jones studied Aryans was a judge

Vedic Age

• The vedic texts were the major source of the vedic period - without complete chronological order.
• During colonial times the term 'Aryan' became popular where people would compile, translate & collect the ancient Indian to study their term,.
• The colonials were interested because they wanted to connect the Indian and Europe in order to legitimate control.
• Pastoralism & agricuture were the man sauce of income.
• Rig Veda mentioned "Aswa" (horse) 215 times where Go (cow) was mentioned 176 times without mention of iron while the other mentioned Iron (Ayas
• The word Aryan meant masters and or persons to high society where the grouped together "Indio-Iranian and Indo-Aryana Compared to Harappa culture the Aryan culture ha more donation for religion & practice.
• The term was also said in the Iranian test of Zend
• The term of Arya referred to a cultural community Later it changed to refer to twice born
• Sine the Vedas are the source to understanding these periods. archelogials plays a small role for the homeland
• Scholoary argue that the Aryana were both from here & from outside-1st suggest from William Jones that languages are similar- Sanskrit & Euro
• The texts of the Rig Veda and Dend Awastha come from Maxmueller who tried to identified the geography mentioned by the text and say that they camr from central Asia.
• However Bal Gangadhar Tilaksuggestrd it camr from the north pole because of the mentions of the Vedas with nights lasting 6 months
• A C Das, Bengali historian suggested that the mentioned rivers are around Punjab Vivekananda said it was from Tibet. Dr, Rudolf suggestiont that the migrated started in Aisa
• Over 600-700yrs the messengers stated their knowledge as tamil with the varna systm Early vedic(1500- 1000)
• The rig vedict were patroalitics with dependent agri Barata was one of the carolist and as they moved they got changes w/ important rulers too. The non Aryan were mentioned but just the refusals and the non folk that came from the rith
• Early time only allowed elected rulers instead of hereitary rulers Rig Vedic has no markings for big kings and the mentioning of Raja Eearly Aryna had mini advise groups/council- sabha, samiths, vidatas
• Sabha were councilor where matters were talked on- elections often.
• Sumithi: tribe asseble w/ key importance and power to select a leader. Vidata: regulatrd tribe relitigous life Jana(leader), vis:(, grab (village), griha(family) Important occuptations were grazing cattle of the the wealth and chariot 10 Mandala said in the Pushashuta that the 4 divisions of society weren't clear but in the Aryan itself there were division Pautillinel was a result where remarriages with conditions were allowes in Riga Veduc where creation was in an imported row Their diets also had no mention of food types with milk and fire for animals - they Drank soma and surf
• Race and music along dancing was recreated. Reg Vedics worshipped nature " Indra "god second place to AgnI as god of fire.
• The Vedas were composed during their saptrsindhu as well for saam & yajur

Later Vedic Period

• More developrnts Epicenter shift North West to hot India plain
• Mire settlenenrs exist and tribakl population exidtrd Ancient places started being named The Barata & prus formed tribe as the Kuss where they lived in Gurushetia.. More villages cane to view - as the Capital also for Gurushetia Even with those at the time but they had no impact in politics Laters veda named leaders as adiaga & Rajadirja denotinh extra por
• The later texts refered to rostra, it cane ot being Early tribe rulers had comktties but hearitary rite came to being Abalsohoimng with preists helped.comoletepatrined. -Animal sacrificies became importsnt. Horse was for territory The king had councilors with no imptancw ,councilerw named by King Large village towns also became prominent Vara were more cleared visable and hiearchy too with Brahmin starting ot to The key point was ruler was the varna system that protect from the thee vama with Brahmacharys student life, grinths, and retirement
• priests were added Scale kills happened the year, cows and home
• The god became preajanti and Shiva vishnu
• more iron was used that period
• More agriculture was made for a sauce of income
• Forests as a result were cut to use agri The weapon were made and agril was more prevlahet but suppy had more surplus with vega , metal and weaving also in the period.
• More goods happened more but exchange was more commen
• The code was yet emerge and regutlws society leader, King had major roles Most theft in rig was cows and death
• Women were trwswt s as property with no assembly function.
• Words come from Sanskrit that means knowledge

Veda Texts

Four parts Sonhita, brahima, Arayanka and upanishads

• Rig texts has 1028 Sam1810
• Yajur veda had 3093 Athaurda texts had 730

Post Vedic Period

• Supplement texts to the text

• Puranha helped in 4-6c With north dynasty W between 7-350 c bce with. k m Srinall.

• Also there came Buddhism but had text and aid with texts. Alexander and john helped identify a lot for ASI and also Buddhism sights such as gear and weapons etc.

• In 1st time of key developments they widely used the arm

The development with the second urbanization by trade and cities Varna was used They emerged with with jaisum and more important parts. 7 they widdley used afri this lead to a major developent 700 bcs help widen irn to the masses with tribe too agril lands became needed Rig periods for war turned territory to land and more D forest action was used. The the new crops merged the irrigation were needed As surplus happrnef

External grade merged 1 with Harappa Arabs also helped the trade The route was mentioned through by 5 route people and merchyrt as well. With alxander being named by all the traders The coins more useful.

The text mentions the emergence of Monarchs with state and principal too. That knowlage could be 2 classified : The texts the and society's economy and politics forced new New religions and they questioned because there was a large scale and Buddhism Buddhist test the Sects All set oppsed and opposed belief- A religious emphasis material well being, The sxhool helped helped natruali Katyayna philosophy emerge both happy and sad. The that opprswed Is needed for csttle Msn jainm A Jina helps gain edge and to. Moak Gains the help there was Pasuvauuafm was importa. R for. Formats a And