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HISTORY
TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES

In large parts of the subcontinent, society was already divided according to

the rules of varna. These rules, as prescribed by the Brahmanas, were accepted by the rulers of large kingdoms.

Many societies in the subcontinent did not follow the social rules and rituals
prescribed by the Brahmanas. Nor were they divided into numerous unequal classes. Such societies are often called tribes.

Many tribes obtained their livelihood from agriculture. Others were huntergatherers or herders.

Some tribes were nomadic and moved from one place to another. A tribal
group controlled land and pastures jointly, and divided these amongst households according to its own rules.

A few exceptions apart, tribal people did not keep written records. But they
preserved rich customs and oral traditions.

Some powerful tribes controlled large territories. In Punjab, the Khokhar

tribe was very influential during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Later, the Gakkhars became more important. Their chief, Kamal Khan Gakkhar, was made a noble (mansabdar) by Emperor Akbar.

In Multan and Sind, the Langahs and Arghuns dominated extensive regions
before they were subdued by the Mughals.

The Balochis were another large and powerful tribe in the north-west. They
were divided into many smaller clans under different chiefs.

In the western Himalaya lived the shepherd tribe of Gaddis. The distant

north-eastern part of the subcontinent too was entirely dominated by tribes the Nagas, Ahoms and many others.

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In many areas of present-day Bihar and Jharkhand, Chero chiefdoms had

emerged by the twelfth century. Raja Man Singh, Akbars famous general, attacked and defeated the Cheros in 1591.

The Maharashtra highlands and Karnataka were home to Kolis, Berads and
numerous others. Kolis also lived in many areas of Gujarat.

The large tribe of Bhils was spread across western and central India. By the The Gonds were found in great numbers across the present-day states of
Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

late sixteenth century, many of them had become settled agriculturists and some even zamindars.

Nomadic pastoralists lived on milk and other pastoral products. They also
exchanged wool, ghee, etc., with settled agriculturists for grain, cloth, utensils and other products.

The Banjaras were the most important trader-nomads. Their caravan was

called tanda. Sultan Alauddin Khalji used the Banjaras to transport grain to the city markets. Emperor Jahangir wrote in his memoirs that the Banjaras carried grain on their bullocks from different areas and sold it in towns. They transported food grain for the Mughal army during military campaigns. With a large army there could be 100,000 bullocks carrying grain.

The Gonds lived in a vast forested region called Gondwana or country

inhabited by Gonds. They practised shifting cultivation. The large Gond tribe was further divided into many smaller clans. Each clan had its own raja or rai.

The Akbar Nama, a history of Akbars reign, mentions the Gond kingdom of
Garha Katanga that had 70,000 villages.

Each garh was controlled by a particular Gond clan. This was further divided
into units of 84 villages called chaurasi. The chaurasi was subdivided into barhots which were made up of 12 villages each.

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So, Aman Das, the Gond raja of Garha Katanga, assumed the title of In 1565,the Mughal forces under Asaf Khan attacked Garha Katanga.

Sangram Shah. His son, Dalpat, married princess Durgawati, the daughter of Salbahan, the Chandel Rajput raja of Mahoba.

The Ahoms migrated to the Brahmaputra valley from present-day Myanmar

in the thirteenth century.

During the sixteenth century, they annexed the kingdoms of the Chhutiyas
(1523) and of Koch-Hajo (1581) and subjugated many other tribes.

The Ahoms built a large state, and for this they used firearms as early as the
1530s. By the 1660s they could even make high-quality gunpowder and cannons.

In 1662, the Mughals under Mir Jumla attacked the Ahom kingdom. The Ahom state depended upon forced labour. Those forced to work for the
state were called paiks.

Ahom society was divided into clans or khels. There were very few castes of

artisans, so artisans in the Ahom areas came from the adjoining kingdoms. A khel often controlled several villages.

Originally, the Ahoms worshipped their own tribal gods. During the first half
of the seventeenth century, however, the influence of Brahmanas increased.

In the reign of Sib Singh (1714-1744), Hinduism became the predominant

religion. But the Ahom kings did not completely give up their traditional beliefs after adopting Hinduism.

Important works of Sanskrit were translated into the local language.

Historical works, known as buranjis, were also written first in the Ahom language and then in Assamese.

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18TH CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATION

It became increasingly difficult for the later Mughal emperors to keep a
Check on their powerful mansabdars. Nobles appointed as governors (subadars) often controlled the offices of revenue and military administration (diwani and faujdari) as well.

In the midst of this economic and political crisis, the ruler of Iran, Nadir
Shah, sacked and plundered the city of Delhi in 1739 and took away immense amounts of wealth.

This invasion was followed by a series of plundering raids by the Afghan

ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali, who invaded north India five times between 1748 and 1761.

The worst possible humiliation came when two Mughal emperors, Farrukh

Siyar (1713-1719) and Alamgir II (1754-1759) were assassinated, and two others Ahmad Shah (1748-1754) and Shah Alam II (1759-1816) were blinded by their nobles.

Amongst the states that were carved out of the old Mughal provinces in the
eighteenth century, three stand out very prominently. These were Awadh, Bengal and Hyderabad. All three states were founded by members of the high Mughal nobility who had been governors of large provinces Saadat Khan (Awadh), Murshid Quli Khan (Bengal) and Asaf Jah (Hyderabad).

Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah, the founder of Hyderabad state, was one of the

most powerful members at the court of the Mughal Emperor Farrukh Siyar.

Burhan-ul-Mulk Saadat Khan was appointed subadar of Awadh in 1722 and Burhan-ul-Mulk tried to decrease Mughal influence in the Awadh region by

founded a state which was one of the most important to emerge out of the break-up of the Mughal Empire.

reducing the number of office holders (jagirdars) appointed by the Mughals. He also reduced the size of jagirs, and appointed his own loyal servants to vacant positions. The accounts of jagirdars were checked to prevent cheating and the revenues of all districts were reassessed by officials appointed by the Nawabs court.
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Bengal gradually broke away from Mughal control under Murshid Quli Khan

who was appointed as the naib, deputy to the governor of the province. Although never a formal subadar, Murshid Quli Khan very quickly seized all the power that went with that office.

These influential Rajput families claimed the subadari of the rich provinces
of Gujarat and Malwa. Raja Ajit Singh of Jodhpur held the governorship of Gujarat and Sawai Raja Jai Singh of Amber was governor of Malwa. These offices were renewed by Emperor Jahandar Shah in 1713.

Sawai Raja Jai Singh founded his new capital at Jaipur and was given the
subadari of Agra in 1722.

Several battles were fought by Guru Gobind Singh against the Rajput and Banda Bahadur was captured in 1715 and executed in 1716. Under a number of able leaders in the eighteenth century, the Sikhs

Mughal rulers, both before and after the institution of the Khalsa in 1699.

organized themselves into a number of bands called jathas, and later on misls. Their combined forces were known as the grand army (dal khalsa).

The entire body used to meet at Amritsar at the time of Baisakhi and Diwali
to take collective decisions known as resolutions of the Guru (gurmatas).

One of them, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, reunited these groups and established
his capital at Lahore in 1799.

The Maratha kingdom was another powerful regional kingdom to arise out of
a sustained opposition to Mughal rule. Shivaji (1627-1680) carved out a stable kingdom with the support of powerful warrior families (deshmukhs). After Shivajis death, effective power in the Maratha state was wielded by a family of Chitpavan Brahmanas who served Shivajis successors as Peshwa (or principal minister). Poona became the capital of the Maratha kingdom.

Between 1720 and 1761, the Maratha empire expanded. It gradually

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chipped away at the authority of the Mughal Empire. Malwa and Gujarat were seized from the Mughals by the 1720s.
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GEOGRAPHY
LIFE IN THE TEMPERATE GRASSLANDS
As climate plays an important role in the formation of grasslands, it is
generally used as a basis to divide the worlds grasslands into two broad categories: those that occur in the temperate region and those that occur in the tropical regions.

The prairies are bound by the Rocky Mountains in the West and the Great
Lakes in the East. In the USA, the area is drained by the tributaries of Mississippi and the Canadian prairies are drained by the tributaries of Saskatchewan Rivers. The word Prairie originated from Latin word priata which means meadow.

Chinook is a hot wind that blows in winter and therefore raises the

temperature within a short time. Large cattle farms called ranches are looked after by sturdy men called cowboys. Bison or the American buffalo is the most important animal of this region

Important cities in the American prairies are Chicago, Minneapolis,

Indianapolis, Kansas and Denver. In the Canadian prairies the important cities are Edmonton, Saskatoon, Calgary and Winnipeg.

The Veld name was given by the Dutch settlers before South Africa was
colonized by the British.

Veld is bound by the Drakensburg Mountains on the east. To its west lies,
the Kalahari desert. On the northeastern part, high velds are located that attain a height of more than 1600 m, in some places.

The main crops are maize, wheat, barley, oats and potato. Cash crops like
tobacco, sugarcane and cotton are also grown.

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Sheep rearing is the most important occupation of the people. Sheep is

bred mainly for wool and has given rise to the wool industry in the velds. Merino sheep is a popular species and their wool is very warm.

Dairy farming is the next important occupation. Cattle are reared in the

warmer and wetter regions and the dairy products like butter, cheese are produced for both domestic supply and also for export. The velds have rich reserve of minerals.

Johannesburg is known for being the gold capital of the world. Kimberley is
famous for its diamond mines. Mining of diamond and gold in South Africa led to the establishment of trade ties with Britain and gradually South Africa became a British Colony.

HUMAN ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS: THE TROPICAL AND THE SUBTROPICAL REGION

Notice that the tropical region lies very close to the equator; between 10N
and 10S. So, it is referred to as the equatorial region. The river Amazon flows through this region.

The place where a river flows into another body of water is called the
rivers mouth.

Numerous tributaries join the Amazon River to form the Amazon basin. The
river basin drains portions of Brazil, parts of Peru, Bolivia,Ecuador, Columbia and a small part of Venezuela.

The Amazon Basin is the largest river basin in the world. The Amazon Basin stretches directly on the equator and is characterized by
hot and wet climate throughout the year. Both day and nights are almost equally hot and humid. The skin feels sticky. It rains almost every day, that too without much warning. The day temperatures are high with very high

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humidity. At night the temperature goes down but the humidity remains high.

The rainforest is rich in fauna. Birds such as toucans humming birds, bird of
paradise with their brilliantly coloured plumage, oversized bills for eating make them.

Bromeliads are special plants that store water in their leaves. Animals like monkeys, sloth and ant-eating tapirs are found here. Various
species of reptiles and snakes also thrive in these jungles. Crocodiles, snakes, pythons abound. Anaconda and boa constrictor are some of the species. Besides, the basin is home to thousands of species of insects. Several species of fishes including the flesh eating Piranha fish is also found in the river.

Slash and Burn is a way of cultivating land where farmers clear a piece of
land by slashing or cutting down trees and bushes.

The People of Amazon mainly grow tapioca, pineapple and sweet potato. The staple food is manioc, also known as cassava that grows under the
ground like the potato. They also eat queen ants and egg sacs. Cash crops like coffee, maize and cocoa are also grown. The rainforests provide a lot of wood for the houses.Some families live in thatched houses shaped like beehives. There are other large apartment-like houses called Maloca with a steeply slanting roof.

In 1970 the Trans Amazon highway made all parts of the rainforest
accessible.

The basin lies in the sub-tropical region that is situated between 10N to

30N latitudes. The tributaries of the River Ganga like the Ghaghra, the Son, the Chambal, the Gandak, the Kosi and the tributaries of Brahmaputra drain it.

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Agriculture is the main occupation of the people where flat land is available Wheat, maize, sorghum, gram and millets are the other crops that are
grown. Cash crops like sugarcane and jute are also grown.

to grow crops. The density of population of the plains is very high. The main crop is Paddy.

Silk is produced through the cultivation of silk worms in parts of Bihar and
Assam. In the mountains and hills, where the slopes are gentle, crops are grown on terraces.

Terraces are built on steep slopes to create flat surfaces on which crops are
grown.

The most popular varieties of the fish are the rohu, catla and hilsa. Fish and
rice is the staple diet of the people living in the area.

The one-horned rhinoceros is found in the Brahmaputra plain. The Ganga-Brahmaputra plain has several big towns and cities. The cities of
Allahabad, Kanpur, Varanasi, Lucknow, Patna and Kolkata all with the population of more than ten lakhs are located along the River Ganga.

Kolkata is an important port on the River Hooghly. The plain area also has a
large number of airports.

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE

THERE ARE FEW IMPORTANT POINTS IN S.P.L LESSONS (9&10). READ THE TEXT BOOK.

THE END AND BEST OF LUCK!

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