During the medieval period, approximately 85 per cent of India’s population lived in rural areas. The country’s rural society, excluding tribal areas, was highly stratified. People were divided and grouped based on their residency status, caste, and position as office holders. While the material status differed significantly, it was not the primary factor in determining the position in rural society.
Table of Contents
- Rural Society in Medieval Period – Features
- Peasants or Cultivating Class
- Service Class
- Conclusion
Rural Society in Medieval Period – Features
- Rural society in medieval times was highly stratified. Many factors contributed to this stratification like:
- Resource based – availability of seeds, oxen, agricultural implements, persian wheel, irrigation wells, etc.
- Caste also exacerbated the stratification – higher castes were assessed at lower rates, while lower castes had to pay revenue at much higher rates.
- Nature and pattern of crops produced exacerbated the gulf further – those who could produce cash crops would be better placed than those cultivating food crops.
- The distinction becomes even more pronounced between those who harvest one crop per year and those who grow more than 4-5 crops per year.
- The ‘core’ of the rural social structure was caste. It was a major factor in the establishment of the hierarchy in rural society, particularly in multi-caste villages.
- Higher castes, such as Brahmans, Rajputs, Banias, Charans, and so on, did not generally work in the fields. They used to cultivate their lands with wage labourers or through the begar system with menial caste labour.
- Social mobility was allowed and the high level of commercialization in rural areas appears to be a major factor in social mobility and change.
- Pedlars and merchants were common in rural communities. Merchants played an important role in the sale of agricultural produce for revenue payment. They were also necessary for certain other revenue-collection processes, such as cartage and grain sales.
- The Indian peasantry was highly stratified, with significant differences in peasant holdings, produce, and resources even within the same locality.
- India’s economy was well-diversified, with a wide range of crops grown. Cotton, indigo, chay (red dye), sugarcane, and oil seeds paid a higher rate of land revenue and had to be paid in cash, thus being referred to as cash crops or superior crops.
- The peasants not only switched from one crop to another, but they also adopted new crops. In the 17th century, tobacco and maize were introduced. During the 18th century, potatoes and red chillies were introduced.
- During this time, India exported foodgrains, particularly rice and sugar. As long as the peasant paid the land revenue, he was not evicted from his land.
- Although the peasant’s life was difficult, he had enough to eat and meet his basic needs.
- The village panchayat was dominated by the resident cultivators or a few people drawn from that section. The land was not held by the village community, but by individuals who were assessed separately.
- However, the body of resident cultivators was sometimes held liable for the payment of assessed land revenue. This was a plan to keep peasants from fleeing from the village.
- Zamindars became stronger during the eighteenth century, following the growing weakness of centralised government; the role of the resident cultivators in regulating the internal affairs of the village weakened.
Peasants or Cultivating Class
Peasants or cultivators made up the majority of the village’s population. There were three types of peasants.
Khud-kasht (riyayati)
- The village community was governed by those residential peasants who lived in their own village, owned their land and implements, and paid a reduced rate of land revenue.
- They were also known as gharu-hala in Rajasthan and mirasdars in Maharashtra.
Pahi-kasht
These peasants were essentially outsiders who cultivated rented land in a village by either staying in the same village (residential pahi-kasht) or staying in neighbouring villages (non-residential pahi-kasht).
Raiyatis Muzarian
- Those who belonged to the same village but lacked land or implements and were thus reliant on the Khud-kasht for sustenance.
- They were divided into two groups: tenants-at-will and hereditary tenants, known as paltis in Rajastan.
Service Class
Service Class
- There were also the service workers, such as the ironsmith, carpenter, rope maker, potter, leather worker, barber, washermen, village watchman, and so on.
- In Maharashtra, there were twelve of these service sectors, known as balutedars, who received a prescribed share (baluta) from the village produce.
- Alutedars were another section that was “neither essential nor universal in the Deccan villages, only some of them were occasionally found in the larger villages.”
- They were the village priests, tailors, water carriers, gardeners, drummers, vocalists, musicians, oil pressers, betel nut sellers, goldsmiths, and so on.
- These were compensated with a smaller share of the produce or a strip of land.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Medieval society was viewed as ‘homogeneous, non-stratified, and unchanging.’ However, it was highly stratified. Despite the fact that ‘caste’ played a significant role in determining social relations, social mobility was very much present. The state’s interest was to keep the peasant tied to the land because the land-to-man ratio was favourable. However, zamindars became stronger during the eighteenth century, following the growing weakness of centralised government.
