CBSE Class 7 Social Science History Tracing Changes Through a Thousand Years Notes Set 01

New and Old Terminologies

The meanings of words change over time. Hindustan was first used in the 13th century by the chronicler Minhaj-i-Siraj for the lands of the Delhi Sultan (Punjab, Haryana and the land between the Ganga and Yamuna); it never included South India. Babur used it in the 16th century for the geography, fauna and culture of the subcontinent, and the poet Amir Khusrau used 'Hind'. The word did not then have today's national meaning. A 'foreigner' in medieval times was any stranger to a village or society (pardesi in Hindi, ajnabi in Persian); a city-dweller might see a forest-dweller as a foreigner, but two peasants of the same village were not foreigners to each other.

Historians and Their Sources

Coins, inscriptions, architecture and texts are sources. In this period the number of written records rose greatly, and paper became cheaper. It was used for holy texts, chronicles, letters, petitions, judicial records and registers of accounts and taxes. Manuscripts were copied by hand by scribes, who made small changes, so historians compare many copies. Authors also revised their chronicles: Ziyauddin Barani wrote his chronicle in 1356 and another version two years later, and the first version was unknown to historians until the 1960s.

New Social and Political Groups

The period 700 to 1750 saw new technologies (the Persian wheel, the spinning wheel, firearms) and new foods and drinks (potatoes, corn, chillies, tea, coffee). It was a period of great mobility, as people travelled in search of fortune.

Rajputs (from rajaputra, son of a ruler) was a name for warriors claiming Kshatriya status between the 8th and 14th centuries, including chiefs, soldiers and commanders. Marathas, Sikhs, Jats, Ahoms and Kayasthas (scribes and secretaries) also became politically important. As forests were cleared and agriculture spread, forest-dwellers moved or became peasants, drawn into larger societies that paid taxes. People grouped into jatis (sub-castes) ranked by background and occupation; the ranks changed with power and resources. A jati's rules were enforced by an assembly of elders (jati panchayat), and jatis also had to follow village rules.

Region and Empire

Large states such as the Cholas, Tughluqs and Mughals covered many regions. A Sanskrit prashasti praising Delhi Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban (1266-87) claims he ruled from Bengal (Gauda) to Ghazni (Gajjana) and all of South India; historians treat these as exaggerated claims. By 700 many regions had their own geography, language and culture and ruling dynasties. Empires like those of the Cholas, Khaljis, Tughluqs and Mughals spanned regions but were not equally stable. After the Mughal decline in the 18th century regional states re-emerged, yet regions kept the legacy of earlier rulers in governance, economy, elite culture and language.

Old and New Religions

Important changes in Hinduism included the worship of new deities, temples built by rulers, and the growing importance of Brahmanas. The idea of bhakti, a loving personal god reached without priests or elaborate rituals, emerged. Islam was brought by merchants and migrants in the 7th century, and many rulers patronised it and the ulama. Muslims differed: the Shia believed Ali, the Prophet's son-in-law, was the rightful leader, and the Sunni accepted the early Khalifas; there were also different schools of law (Hanafi and Shafi'i in India) and mystic traditions.

Thinking about Time and Periods

Time reflects changes in society, economy and ideas, not just calendars. In the mid-19th century British historians divided Indian history into 'Hindu', 'Muslim' and 'British' periods on the basis of rulers' religion, which ignored other developments and the subcontinent's diversity. Few historians use this today; they look at economic and social factors, such as the spread of peasant societies, the rise of regional and imperial states, the development of Hinduism and Islam and the arrival of European trading companies. The medieval period is often contrasted with the 'modern' period, but in these thousand years societies were transformed and many regions grew prosperous enough to attract European trading companies.