GEOGRAPHICAL INFLUENCE ON HISTORY OF INDIA

Geography has played a great role in influencing the History of India. India by itself is a large country. India was two third the size of USA and 20 times the size of Great Britain. On the north, India is surrounded by the high Himalayan ranges separated from Central Asia and Eastern Asia main line. On the Western and Southern side India is enclosed by waters of the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal.

Causes of geographical influence

The Renaissance was responsible for scientific inventions which encouraged new geographical discoveries. Foreigners came by land route to the East, for e.g., Maroc Polo. These Europeans found that there wee many luxury items like spices, silk, and precious stones. The Europeans especially the Portuguese wanted to have trade contact with the East. In order to have trade relations with the East, geographical discoveries were made.

The physical features of the country affected the lives and habits of the people and the richness of the soil made life easy. Agriculture and industry flourished especially in the plains of Punjab and Haryana, parts of Uttar Pradesh and Andra Pradesh. Ganga, Jamuna, Doab area in North, and Raichur Doab area in the South were noted for production of foodgrains. Besides the rivers of India have been useful for irrigation purposes and development of hydroelectric projects. Agriculture was the main occupation of the people and Indians were famous for producing commercial crops like cotton, silk, jute, etc. Indians supplied raw materials to small- and large-scale industries. The forest resources also supplied raw materials; Indian plains have been used to produce different kinds of medicine from ancient times. Trade was started by land and sea route. India traded with Rome and Middle Eastern countries since ancient times.

Geographical factors were responsible for cultural unity in diversity. The geography (rivers, plains and mountains) was responsible for creating common heroes and common sense of belonging which was responsible for nationalism. The different geographical zones and different climate were also responsible for developing a particular way of life. To suit the climate in the north, the north Indian people ate more wheat. The south Indians basic diet consisted of rice. The people in the coastal region eat fresh fish and rice. Thus, each region developed their own way of life.

Historians say that there is uniqueness in Indian culture because of geographical character. This is mainly because there are mountains, rivers, plains, forests which have encouraged cultural unity but at the same time each region maintains its own variety. E.g., coming from the north, crossing the Vindhya Mountain, one has a distinct change in culture, dress and habits of the people of India. This is because places in the north have a cooler climate that the south and vice versa.

Indian geographical features have encouraged aloofness and isolationism. India being surrounded by the high Himalayan ranges in the North and on three sides by oceans, India was cut off from the rest of Asia. So Indians developed their own habits of keeping aloof and were isolated from the outside world. Travelers and merchants from outside came to India, but Indians did not go outside, so much so that sea voyages were not encouraged. As a result, Indians remained aloof right up to the nineteenth century.

Geographical features encouraged centrifugal tendency. The natural regional boundaries created by mountains, plains, and rivers through the centuries have encouraged the rise of regional kingdoms and also the wars of conquest among the kingdoms to capture each other’s territories. For e.g., 6^th century BC there were 16 Mahajanapadas or monarchial states and few republics. Later on they were united under the Mauryan Emperor with Magadha being the most power state in the fifteenth century under Mughal rule and the rise of Bahamani kingdom in the Deccan. This Bahamani kingdom later split up into five independent kingdoms like Ahmednagar, Golkonda, Bijapur, Berar and Bidaar under separate Muslim dynasty. Such tendencies were responsible for disunity among ruling dynasties in India. This gave opportunities for foreign invaders to conquer India.

Geographical features make it difficult for political unity. The vastness of India with natural separation of different regions has been responsible for political divisions. Right from ancient and medieval times, India has never been bound under one Central Administration. It was only the British who brought India under Central rule.

India was a target for foreign invaders. The Geography of India shows that right from ancient times, Central Asian tribes and before that the Greeks, Persians, Saka-Parthian, Scythian, Kushans made their way into India. The Khyber and Bolan Pass provided easy access for invaders from Kandahar and Afghanistan. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries Mahmud of Ghazni and Mohammed Gauri invaded India several times. Later in 1526, the Mughal dynasty established their rule in India. With geographical discoveries, Europeans made their way to the East. The Portuguese, Dutch, French, English all came to India to trade and finally the British established their administration in the seventeenth century.

PORT LOTHAL | INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

Trade in the Indus Valley Civilization was carried on by land routes and sea routes. There were a lot of maritime ports like Lothal and Rangpur in Surendranath district.

Lothal, an Indus site has revealed a brick build dockyard system which worked on tidal principle. Professor S. R. Rao has traced the history of Lothal on the Gulf of Cambay (Gujarat) as a port of the Indus Valley Civilization.

Lothal is located in the coastal flats of the Gulf of Cambay. This place seems to have been an outpost for sea trade with contemporary West Asian societies. Its excavator S. R. Rao claims to have discovered a dockyard there.

According to recent information at the Eastern flank of this Lothal site is a large basin approximately 214 X 37 meters in dimension which has been represented as a dock and further more the discovery of the Persian Gulf Seal at Lothal determines the fact to acknowledge Lothal as an important port for trade of the Indus Valley Civilization in the Arabian peninsular and the near East.

Some of the seals excavated at Lothal bear pictures of ships. Moreover, recent excavations at Lothal have brought out five terracotta models of ships both with and without mast indicating Lothal’s importance as a port.

According to Prof. Sadashiv Gorakshar and K. Desai, the exact site of Lothal is about 16 kms form the confluence of the Sabarmati and Bhogavo rivers.

AUTHENTICITY AND CREDIBILITY OF A HISTORICAL SOURCE

 Discuss the criteria by which authenticity and credibility of a historical source is established.

How are authenticity and credibility of a historical source established?

 

AUTHENTICITY

The collection and classification of sources is a laborious job as whatever data has been collected must be reliable. History deals with things and persons who are no longer in existence and the dead do not speak. It is therefore the duty of researchers to show them as they were in reality without altering their actual genuine original forms.

Meaning and features of authenticity of historical sources

Authenticity means truthfulness. The historical sources in any form, whether in written form or concrete relics must be true and original. Men cannot live beyond a certain age; they die but their actions and ideas survive. In most cases it lingers on in memory of the contemporaries who may record them in writing or commemorate them in art and architecture. These writings and monuments, either in good condition or bad, as a complete whole or fragments of the original come to light after a few generations. There is nobody of that period still alive to give an eye-witness account and so the problem whether what is recorded or formed in art or architecture is true and real or not. This has to be determined by several tests. The main features of authentic sources of history are:

The documents, records, manuscripts, inscriptions, etc., and the relics in concrete form must be true and original kept as treasured possessions.

The time, place and authorship of the documents must be mentioned in the text. In case of relics correct identification must be available. For e.g., coins of the Gupta period and Ashoka’s rock edicts.

The official documents if presented as source material must carry the stamp and the seal of government institutions or trade guilds.

A reference to the documents and structures which survive should be found in contemporary literature and records.

The evidence in the form of documents and articles should be a neutral character for furthering research. All parts of the document must be consistent and of uniform style.

Criticism of sources to detect deviations – When we use the term criticism of historical sources, it does not mean simply finding fault with the source material. It means examination, analysis, testing the validity and authenticity of the sources before accepting them as raw material for the construction of the past. This is external criticism.

In order to detect deviations from the norms we must fix our attention on the principles of validity. Some of the guiding principles are:

How did the source originate? The Researcher must know the history fo the source. For e.g., ‘Jedhe Shakavli’ – Chronology of events during Shivaji’s period. How did it originate? On what basis did Jedhe compile it? The answer to that would avoid irregularities.

Does the document tell the whole story? In many cases the dynastic histories suffer from suppression of unpleasant events and experiences. This is true of modern documents also.

Has the document shown the date, place and authorship of the same? This is an acid test especially while dealing with ancient and medieval periods of Indian History. Chronology is the biggest problem while dealing with manuscripts of medieval documents. In ancient records there is hardly a mention of the name of the place and author of the text. ‘Mahabharata’ is believed to have bee composed by ‘Vyasmuni’ but we do not get definite information about when and where he composed it. In the case of Mauryan and Gupta edicts and inscriptions we do not find the dates and names of the craftsmen but in the Chalukyan inscriptions and those of their feudatories.

Does the author of the document make a reference to the sources on which he basis his information? The answer if affirmative would of course enhance its value but if there is no mention of such source of information it is a deviation. Kautilya in his Arthashastra mentions the names and works of his predecessors.

How many editions and versions of the text are available? The answer to this question will provide some clues for determining additions and alternations. There are no different versions of the text as in the cases of many classical Sanskrit works, it is easy to determine authenticity and variations. Consistency of all parts of the narrative and uniformity of style helps to determine interpolation in the text.

Are translations of the documents available in English or the language of the researcher? The problem of sources which are in foreign languages have to be solved. We cannot depend on the English factory records of the East India Company alone. We should also study the French, Dutch and Portuguese records relating to the same period for a comparative picture.

Different ways of fabricating and cheating – The researcher must get a true, valid and fresh version of the document by the real author. This is difficult in the cases concerning ancient and medieval India. It is also not easy to have access to confidential state documents which contain the true picture of the diplomatic relations, military affairs, war-time activities, and other secrets of public interest. A couple of decades ago Congress Government in India had buried underground a capsule containing true history of India. The subsequent non-Congress government dug it out and found nothing special about it.

Governments of the world especially the government of socialist countries keep some documents as top secrets. We cannot say anything about secret transactions relating to finance, military affairs and treaties. There are however other kinds of documents, public and private, which are available in the archives and libraries.

While handling the available documents of important nature we should proceed very cautiously to ascertain that there are no fabrications or misrepresentation or cheating. Documents can be thus subjected to external criticism or evaluation.

There are many ways in which the original documents of financial or political importance can be changed or fabricated to mislead the rivals or contenders for gains and annihilate opposition and challenge to ones authority or interest.

Fabrications of records are done in many ways:

Forgery – This is a criminal act of changing title deeds and contracts, charters or such important agreements. The most famous case of forgery in Indian History is that of Robert Clive forging the signature of Admiral Watson. He not only forged Watson’s signature but gave a fake copy of the agreement to merchant Omnichand and cheated Siraj-ud-Daulah.

There are some cases of forging manuscripts to make it appear as if it belonged to remote past. The dates and the names contained in the document may be doctored to appropriate land grants. In the political chaos that prevailed during the early Middle Ages, such fabrications were made.

Plagiarism – There is a tendency among writers of history to steal thoughts and information from other writers. They copy the material but do not mention the source of their information. It is for this reason that researchers should mention the source of their information and should not pose as the original writer. Many historians of the Middle Ages borrowed information and at times wrote on the basis of what they heard. That was not plagiarism but a fanciful addition. Barani, Badauni or Firdausi might have added some episodes in the life of Mohammad Tughlaq to make it more vivid and spicy.

Interpolation – Interpolation means adding some spurious material to the original account. We come across this fault in almost all Puranic literature and even Rig Veda is not free from this fabrication. If it is a religious part which is added for more effect it may be overlooked but if it forms a part of an ideology it is objectionable. In the Skanda Puran (Shiva Puran) the addition of Sahyadri Khanda with a view to explaining the origin and multiplication of castes was not desirable.

Misrepresentation – This defect of giving a wrong account of the past is mischievous. James Mills ‘History of British India’ published in 1818 was acclaimed as a wonderful historical work in England but it was based on insufficient data. The author had not visited India and did not know any Indian language but had the audacity to condemn the Hindu race as devoid of manliness.

Suppression or omission of facts – Nations under single political party dictatorship did not allow only the bright side of their government and suppress information about the unpleasant aspects of their policies and activities. The documents or texts from such countries cannot be treated as telling the whole truth. The information may be inconvenient to the government or the society.

There are extreme cases and are an integral part of the policy of the government.

In open societies where democratic governments rule, there are no cases of suppression of important information, but omissions of such information. The documents may refer to such unwanted experiences in a cursory manner or gloss over the objectionable aspects of the issue.

The records of medieval period of Indian history are full of one-sided narratives. The scribes at the court exaggerate the exploits of their patrons and omit to refer to defeats in war and their failures and exploitation of the people. You can hardly know whether the King Harsh was defeated by Chalukya Pulkesin II unless you read the inscriptions of the Chalukya King. Even the records of feudatories and Kings of tiny states are made to appear as if they were world rulers and invincible. Khafi Khan a known opponent of Emperor Aurangzeb’s repressive measures might say a good word about Shivaji’s religious tolerance but would not utter a word of praise about Shivaji’s struggle for ‘Swarajya’. They would have been against the Imperial rule.

Quotations and translations – Historians give quotations from other authors who wrote on the same theme. Usually this is done to show support to the views of the writer concerned. The context in which the other writer has written those words or passages must be examined to know the true position. Secondly, the translated works should be such as are approved by the experts in the first language. In this respect, Elliot and Dawson had done a good service to Indian history. A wrong translation and a misleading quotation detract from the truth. Any comments based on such translations must be treated with caution.

Causes for doctoring documents:

The answer to the simple questions ‘who will gain?’ and ‘what and how will he gain?’ will give us a clue to detect the possible offender. The gains are various and range from personal benefit to national glory. Some of the causes are:

Financial gain – This is the most common cause for forgery of documents. The change of names in the will of a rich relative, the amounts due to creditors in business transaction or land grant gifts and donations from patrons etc.

Political gain – Title deeds and authority delegated to persons by the old regime or overthrown governments. When the East India Company appointed ‘Imam Commission’ only those who could produce title deeds could get continuation, others were eliminated. There is always scope of fabrication of documents.

Social gains – Biographies of saints and origins of caste as int eh case of ‘Sahyadri Khand’ of Skanda Puran give higher status in the society. The Rajput clans claimed ‘Kshatriya’ category in the Hindu Society by fabricating their genealogies. The Nand dynasty was condemned by Hindu, Jain and Buddhist writers and the Mauryan dynasty was elevated to a higher status.

Position and fame – Nationalist historians gain position and fame in presenting the national history as a story of unblemished heroes. They suppress unsavory facts and eulogize the exploits to block any dissent.

Truth is more powerful than a powerful autocrat. Records may be suppressed, and doctored documents may be produced in support of claims of multifarious kind. They are temporary gains. The methods to establish the validity and the true facts have been evolved by historians over many years of research and they have load down certain guidelines.

Methods of determining garbled documents: A student of history or a researcher in history is interested in authentic documents and relics of the past as evidence of the past age. He is chiefly interested in:

Authorship of the document

The date of the document

Place of the document

Corroboration of contemporary documents or books and other sources.

His question is ‘Is this document genuine?’ In order to ascertain the genuineness of that he has to adopt a method to determine the above mentioned four points as problems before him.

Problem of authorship – If the name of the author is mentioned in the beginning the problem is easy to tackle. The student researcher must see that his authorship is not contested by other writers of his times. Usually the diction and the style of the narrative helps to identify the author f the work under consideration when we talk about document it is not a piece of paper on which the author has expressed his thoughts or described a fact of his experience. It may be a full volume in manuscript or in print. We use it as an evidence to ascertain the happenings in the past. The authorship of the book or document when in doubt may be guessed by going through the works of the concerned author so that his language, style of presentation, his approach to problems can be judged.

In case the concerned author has a single book or treatise like Kautilya who is supposed to have written ‘Arthashastra’ or Vyasmuni the author of ‘Mahabharata’ or Valmiki the author of ‘Ramayana’ we have to depend on the evidence of the contemporary writers as we cannot compare other works of the same Kautilya, Vyasa, or Valmiki.

Problem of Chronology – In history, date – time of events is very important. Modern history is free from the defect of uncertainty of chronology of event whether it is French Revolution or World War II. The problem of fixing the date arises in the case of ancient and medieval period narratives. The narrative itself gives certain clues about the occurrences of the events. For e.g., Ashoka’s Kalinga War – We can easily guess the year of the war from Ashoka’s edict referring to that bloody war. Same is the case about the period of disturbed conditions after the fall of thee Mauryan and Gupta empires. Although the exact dates cannot be fixed the absence of contemporary records once the probable period is tentatively fixed the authorship of the document and also the place of the event can be determined easily.

Problem of the place of the event – The unpublished sources usually manuscripts referring to some important event, say the Koli and Ramoshi revolts in Maharashtra after the conquest of Maharashtra by the East India Company. The letter describing such events or notes relating got such anti-government documents may not deliberately mention the date and place of its origin. In such cases the events already known in connection with such rebellions provide a clue to ascertain the date and place if not the authorship.

Corroboration of contemporary documents – Authenticity of a document can be ascertained by consulting contemporary documents which have been accepted by scholars. The Peshwa records about the First Anglo Maratha War and the Treaty of Purandhar must be read with the factory records of the English Company. The account of the wars may be corroborated with French and the Portuguese records of those events.

It is also instructive to compare the accounts of the same event from opposite points of view. Lord Robert’s book ‘An eyewitness account fo the Indian Mutiny’ may be compared with Veer Savarkar’s ‘War of Independence’ (1857). The truth lies somewhere in between.

John C. B. Webster in his book ‘An Introduction to History’ has suggested that while dealing with manuscripts researchers should focus attention on the handwriting, pages numbered, and the ink used. The change in handwriting or in the ink may suggest change in authorship. As regards published works it is advisable to go to the root of the source or to study how the account of the events originated. The root of the source material leads to a better view of the document.

Remedial Measures

While handing the evidence the research students should move cautiously. One should always entertain a healthy doubt of all the accounts about sensitive and controversial events. This is the first remedial measure. The question to be asked is ‘what part of this document may be a garbled one?’ For e.g., When we select a topic like ‘Quit India Movement’ for study, the conflicting views have to be considerable and the account before us in the document has to be critically examined.

Secondly source material on the topic prior to the one before us should be consulted. Just as we should know the latest work on the subject the previous works should be gone through to find the addition etc. A student of history should adopt the approach to know the history of the documents.

Thirdly, we have to make an intelligent guess who would be benefited by distortion of facts or advocating a particular point of view based on the garbled facts. If the subject chosen is of a neutral nature say ‘The history of sea fortresses on the western coast of India’ even here one can find a lurking interest of some communities and politicians. All subjects in this way be loaded with some interest or the other. It is therefore necessary to get hold of ‘hard and irreducible facts’ as we know, the Positivist approach advocated by Ranke, Acton and others is only a dream.

Finally, it is better to have a commonsense approach to all documents, physical relics of the old times can be tested by carbon-14 method, the ink and other material used can be analyzed or preserved by chemical treatment, but the written records have to be evaluated by men who aspire to know the truth. Like the judge in the court of law we must allow the case to be pleaded by lawyers and cross examine the witnesses. The judgment must be clear and convincing.

External criticism to establish authenticity of sources is an important step int eh reconstruction of the past. When we study one or more events for research, we should know the exact features of authentic documents i.e., the mention of author, date and place of the event and the available sources, old and new on the subject. With these features in mind, we should think about the deviations and the causes for such doctoring of documents. We should follow the correct method to eliminate such anomalies and restore the true and original source of information.

CREDIBILITY

An authentic document cannot be an absolutely reliable one. The witness giving the evidence might commit error deliberately or by oversight or in a way not be easily intelligible. Thus, we need to known more about the credibility of the source.

Meaning of credibility of sources – Credibility is trustworthiness. It is a guarantee that something presented to us for inspection is true and real. You trust you eyes and so you believe what you see. When it is a historical source you may regard it as true at the first sight. But all historical documents simply because they are kept in archives, libraries or in temples and churches cannot be regarded as credible unless you go through the relevant records concerning your subject under study.

What is credible in poetry or art may not be credible in practical life and so as historical knowledge. Platonic love may be trusted as true and real by a poet or a philosopher but historian will ask if such a love is actually experience by anybody at a place and time that can be determined.

Credibility of historical sources springs out of the contents of the evidence in written form or relics of the past. The outward or external features of the documents may be subjected to some tests as described in the previous lesson. The historicity of a document has to be established by proper method and sound reason. The researcher has to weed out the unwanted part and accept the genuine and the trustworthy part of the document. It is a common experience that everything submitted may not be entirely believable or it may not be entirely believable, or it may not be entirely unworthy of belief. The researcher has to apply certain tests to get a complete view of the truth. Such critical examination ensures credibility of documents. There are two types of criticisms – positive and negative.

Positive criticism – emphasizes the correct understanding of the document or an evidence in material form. A piece of an ancient tool tested by carbon -14 method will provide the age of the artefact. However, to understand the full size, shape, color and the use of such a tool, it should be examined by experts. Similarly, the documents before the researchers have to be analyzed and tested by experienced and skilled men in the field.

First thing in positive criticism is to see that the document is being referred to as a complete document not torn, smudged, illegible or stained etc. This is especially so in the case of manuscripts and inscriptions. The full impact of the document can be understood when it is in good condition. It is difficult in the case of old ‘Sanads’ (charters) grants, gifts, and donation deeds, or even official correspondence in the archives. The first requirement is therefore to see that the document is in its original form.

The internal criticism for credibility is concerned with the full contents of the document. Every event whether a war, a treaty or a policy or public activity that is under review must be studied in entirety. The evidence contained in the document must be as far as possible sequential and complete. Suppose we are studying the formation of the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat we have to collect documents from the time the linguistic commission was appointed to the actual reconstruction of states. The official documents as well as the reports of the recommendations and responses of the people during the six years (1955-61) must be scrutinized. The terms of reference of all commission and the recommendations have to be studied comprehensively. The background of the states reorganization and the debates in the parliament and the Bombay Provincial Assembly must also form a part of the evidence.

The second point in positive criticism is the mastery over the language in which the documents are issued. The language of the original document must be known to the researcher. The translation of documents is another impediment in the path of the student. Even if the translation is available as a standard and approved on the researcher has to consult the original text at least for those parts which are very crucial to the understanding of the main theme. There are certain sentences which may be open to different interpretation. The documents should be understood correctly.

Negative criticism – The next stage of critical examination is to look at the evidence with a sort of learned doubt to avoid sources of error. G. B. Vico has pointed five sources of error:

Magnificent opinion concerning antiquity i.e., the prejudice in favor of exaggerating the wealth, power, grandeur, etc., of the period the historian is studying.

The conceit of nations – Every nation in dealing with its own past history has a prejudice in favor of painting it in the most favorable colors.

The conceit of the learned – Some historians show a tendency to expect the in the past about whom he is doing research were academic men like themselves. Thus, when we examine the eye-witness account of the past age should eb objective as far as possible.

The fallacy that when tow nations have a similar idea or institution, one must have learnt it from the other.

The prejudice of thinking that ancients were better informed than us.

With these suggestion in mind the researcher must study the contents of the documents before him.

 

Principles and methods of Internal criticism

The following are the four main principles and methods to test the credibility of the documents.

Ability to tell the truth about the source.

Willingness to tell the truth.

Corroboration of evidence by contemporaries.

Accuracy and reality of the source.

These principles are based on reason and experience.

Ability to tell the truth about the source – The ability of the source material or the author presenting the evidence depends upon the possibility of producing factual evidence of the event. The method to test such a possibility rests on the following factors:

Nearness of the eyewitness or the writer of the event both in terms of place and time. In every case eyewitness account is very valuable. We have to ensure that he was present at the time of the event. If he was not present the account need not be dismissed as unreliable. We have to tke it in the absence of true evidence.

Keen observation and sharp memory of the writer of the account. The evidence that the author offers will depend upon the power of his observation and strong memory. This can be made out from the details that he provides and the way he records his information. When two authors write about the same event the difference of observation can be made out.

Alertness and dexterity of attention – The scholar who goes through the document must be alert and ready to grasp the essential and the relevant. His mind must be fixed on the aim of the topic that he is studying, and it should not wander merely in search of information. He should perceive the relevant facts and focus attention on them and reject what is unnecessary for his objective. Students will come across a lot of unnecessary and irrelevant information. The authors delighted in quoting anecdotes and hearsays to add some color to their narrative.

Aptitude for conducting enquiry – The most important method of establishing credibility of documents is by asking questions of the right type. The answers to such intelligent questions must be found in the documents concerned. For e.g., Kautilya’s Arthashastra is a treatise on political economy of the Mauryan Empire. If you ask the question ‘Is Kautilya describing the actual political structure and economy of the Mauryan Emperor or merely theorizing?’ The answer is the mixture of theory and practice. Dr. R. P. Kangle’s study of Kautilya’s Arthashastra published by the university of Bombay in 1968 provides many interesting details.

We can also ask such questions to find out whether treaties like Arthashastra gives you a credible evidence about a certain period and important events. The material relics of proved antiquity may be similarly questioned to elicit required information relevant to the subject that is being handled by the researcher.

Rational approach – When studying any document, a book, a manuscript or an inscription, we must take a rational view of the evidence. In the case of a book, we ask the question about its authorship, date, place, and the bibliography. In the case of manuscripts, the handwriting, ink, page numbers, and the place of its origin and the name of the writer if so mentioned. In the case of an inscription of grants and donation deeds the inscription is done by a craftsman and the format is more or less conventionally fixed. However, in all these cases we may argue about the inclusion of certain portions and questions, the omission of usual detail necessary in such cases. Suppose in a land grant deed if the portion relating to the reason why the grant was made is not mentioned, the researcher has to say that the credibility of the grant is questionable. He has to carry out further investigation of the point till he gets satisfactory explanation.

Willingness to tell the truth – The discerning eye of the researcher many a times finds that an author of a book or a document providing evidence of an event try to conceal truth or diverts attention to some other aspect. For e.g., Queen Victoria’s Declaration of 1858 does not mention ‘self-government’ and Cabinet Mission Plan did not mention the date when they would quit. There are many reasons why authors do not come out with the complete truth. Even in our daily transactions truth in its entirety is hardly possible. It comes out in small parts at times to avoid possible unhappy consequences.

Prejudice – Prejudices are of many kinds. Personal likes and dislikes, political ideology, economic interest, religious prejudices and prejudices about castes, colors and creeds. There are many other factors that give rise to prejudices, the most famous prejudice in the world is that of the white mans supremacy and in India prejudice arising out of ethnic identity and religious differences.

An author who writes about the people he despises is not willing to find any virtue among them. The ancient Aryans were prejudiced against the original natives, and they called them ‘Dasyus’. They were not willing to give a factual account of the ‘Dasyus’. Similarly, Alexander the Great and his Greek soldiers were not willing to tell the truth about their encounters with the Indian defenders. Even the Greek intellectuals were not willing to praise the achievements of the Taxila university. All English historians hardly show willingness to admit that the administration of the British was patterned on the Mauryan Mughal model.

The prejudice of such kind produces many evil trends in historical thinking. The documents concerning unfavorable evidence are either suppressed or condemned. On the contrary a bias in favor of some person, ideology or policy may thrive on half-truths. There are many cases when the author of the biography of a popular hero writes in praise of the person and glosses over his defects and weaknesses. Truth is thus a casualty both in the case of prejudice against an event, oral, individual or a bias in favor.

There are pressures which force the author to hide the reality as it would harm the interest of some important group of persons. The interests may be political, social, military, or diplomatic. Communist writers writing about capitalist countries or the democrats from the free countries writing about communist can hardly be realistic. In short, the credibility of documents must be judged in view of the mental framework of the writer. Willingness of the author is to be judged on the basis of the contents of his works not on our supposed impression about him.

Corroboration of Evidence by contemporaries – As in the cases of civils and criminal offences a corroboration and conformation by an independent evidence is desirable. The claims of gains and successes during war period cannot be accepted as counter – claims are made by the opposite side. There is no source to know the exact position as it changes every time. The correct position of gains and loses can be made after the war when treaties would be signed. The British claim to the good governance of the Indian people was contested by Dadabhai Naoroi in his famous book ‘Poverty in India’ which became an embodiment of ‘Drain Theory’ and exposed the claims of the British Government.

Accuracy and reality of the source – contemporary and corroborating evidence cannot be taken as foolproof evidence. Both types might have originated or copied from the same source. Many medieval historians copied information from Ain-e-Akbari of Abdul Fazl their corroboration has no reality. To know the truth, we must look for sources contemporary to Abdul Fazl.

The scientific tests of material relics and the critical method of history can ensure the accuracy and certainty of the event. In the case of biography and memoirs emphasis on fact and not feelings of the individual are to be given credence while looking out for factual history of the time.

Commonsense approach – There are different approaches to arrive at the truth. A sceptic approach shows us what we should not believe. A scholastic or ‘pundit’ type of approach will flatter the ego in compiling more and more source material even repetitive and unnecessary. A positivistic approach keeps us busy with minute details. But the commonsense approach keeps us on the right track while determining credibility of evidence in material or literary forms.

The first question to be solved is ‘what type of source are we handling? If it is an article, structure, coins or material type of source, the tests are to be conducted on scientific lines and the writings about them should be compared.

The second question is who is writing about any selected subject? For e.g., ‘History of Europe’ – the American – G. A. Craig, the Englishman – David Thompson and the French – Alfred Cobban have more or less the same material but will emphasize different aspects. A comparative view leads to real facts.

Thirdly the possibility of the event or experience contained in the document is to be examined. If it is a miracle, we have nothing to do with it. In the case of communal riots, revolts, rebellions, revolutions, and wars it is not possible to get a trustworthy account. Thus, who writes? What does he write? When and from where does he write? – are relevant questions. We should proceed with caution.

Lastly, we should adopt a rational attitude towards the sources. Historians have to depend on the relics, surviving portions and to writings and artefacts. The event and the actors in the event are no more existing. We have to depend on logical process. When we come across an evidence in any form, we must try to discern the aim and the purpose of the activity rather than the activity itself.

The critical examination of the source either to establish authenticity or credibility are necessary for ensuring that true facts regarding the subject under study are made available. The external criticism enables us to ascertain the true facts and internal criticism the reliability of the facts. Both processes are interlinked.

HISTORY | SCOPE OF HISTORY

 What is history? Explain its scope.

Subject matter of History – The scope of a subject means the number of matter or things covered for a satisfactory knowledge of a chosen subject. Usually for any subject that we study the purpose is clearly defined. Thus, in various disciplines, university or boards of education determine the syllabus. This is a routine program for studying a subject. We cannot limit our alteration to educational practice alone. We must specify topics for discussion and have to allow discussion on matters related to the specified topics also. At higher levels we must consider the spectrum of views on that matter. The scope of the subject under study is not determined arbitrarily. History is a social science and like all social sciences research is being carried out. More and more areas of knowledge are being added. They in turn stimulate further inquiry. It would be instructive to look at history in this perspective.

Subject matter of history as envisaged by historians and philosophers of history is of a complex character. Historians want to reconstruct the past and put it in a form of a story. Philosophers of history want to detect the hidden plan behind the course of History. Now historians and philosophers cannot be segregated, we therefore have to take a comprehensive view of the subject matter of history that is the scope of history.

Main feature of the scope of history

The scope of historical study depends upon the subject matter of inquiry of the past events.

The scope of history is determined by the activities, experiences, and thoughts of men at different times in the past.

The scope depends upon the nature of inquiry of the past such as social, economic, political or other kinds of inquiry. Thus, if we want to know a single aspect of the Quit India Movement of 1942 say economic aspect, its scope is narrower than a general assessment of the movement from different angles.

If we intend to study universal history of the progress of mankind, it is greater in extent than a local or a national history.

Similarly, when we think about world history, the time factor makes it necessary to define what exactly we want to study. If we simply say human activities it would mean a never ending search as human activities from the beginning to our days implies scope beyond our human capacities.

Just as the present has innumerable matters for consideration, the past which for some generations in the past was a living present and as such they dealt with many known and unknown matters. The scope of our study in general matters would be both impossible and end in a cloud. We have therefore to fix our attention on some points.

Limitations of the scope

When we say history is a study of man’s activities in time, the scope of our inquiry is limited by the time factor. If we do not fix the time of what happened in the past it would be a fantasy. The scope of history is limited by our knowledge of chronological details. Man appeared on this planet several million years ago but the recorded history of his activities cannot be pushed back beyond five thousand years. Those records do not give us a clear idea of his activities in civilized societies.

Human activities – History in the real sense of the term began when the Greek Statesman – Warrior Herodotus wrote about Greco Persian War in the fifth century BC. This was the first history of its kind in the world and the beginning of ‘history’ is thus reckoned from that time. the scope of history of the world is thus limited to the history of mans social activities to a few thousand years. The activities of men before the historical period, that is before fifth century BC is enveloped in the mist of ignorance.

 

Geographical factor – When we talk about world history, we actually refer to few places on the earth. As everybody knows more than half the surface of the earth is covered by water. Out of the remaining part a sizable surface is occupied by hills, deserts, mountains and rivers, ice, etc. Thus, the habitable portion of the earth is limited. Further, mans civilizations grew in a few favorable lands. The scope of history is thus limited.

Time factor – The scope of history cannot be rigidly fixed at any time. suppose today we say history covers life of man and his activities in civilized societies, a few years later on centuries after our time, historians would say history is concerned with activities and experiences of men and women only in highly developed societies or they may say it is confined only to the societies which are now developing.

Prevailing conception of history – Just as the scope of history is limited by time, it is limited by the prevailing conception of history at a given time. in communist countries, the conception of history is different from those of democratic countries or countries under despotic rule. Thus, scope of historical inquiry responds to the necessity of knowing the truth about certain people at certain time.

Stages in the Expansion of Historical Vision

Herodotus ‘the father of Secular History’ wrote his account of the Greco-Persian War and provided very useful information of contemporary Greece. His book started writing of history in the Western world. His purpose in writing the narrative was to see that glorious deeds of the heroes of the war were not forgotten by the subsequent generations. The scope of history outlined by him was the heroic deeds of Greek warriors. The subsequent Greek and Roman writers slightly modified the pattern.

Livy, the Roman historian of the first century BC. Wrote the history of rome with a wider view of describing the lives of men who lived in the Roman Empire. The scope of history was thus expanded.

The noteworthy feature of Greco-Roman histories was the humanistic approach that the writers adopted. This was abandoned in the early medieval period under the influence of Christian theology.

The scope of history during the Middle Ages was undefined as the writers believed that man’s activities were directed by Divine Providence. The Christian doctrines however promoted periodization of history and also a universal approach. Renaissance of the fifteenth century once again brought man at the center of the world. The period of the Enlightenment limited the scope of history only to the recent past which they regarded as a period of rational activity. The Romanticists expanded their vision and began the study of the past ages.

The scope of history from the eighteenth century under the inspiration from Rousseau’s ‘Social Contract’ made great strides int eh production of historical literature. The researchers of the nineteenth century and the ambitious projects of the Annales and Subaltern historians have included many matters coved by other social sciences and total history of men. H. G. Wells ‘Outline of World History’ (1920) started the movement and Will Durant wrote about world civilizations.

Scope of Historical Methods and Limitations

The main task of a historian is to show what man is, as is revealed through the evidence of his activities and experiences in the past. He depends upon the surviving evidence of the past as it was. The first problem that determines the scope of this inquiry is the relics and traces of the past in some form or the other. Man’s written records of his activities and experiences are of recent origin but the unwritten records of the past represented by artifacts and folklore are incalculable. Our only sources of information are written records and archaeological remains. The methods of history thus have to be adjusted according to the availability of these sources which would lead to an adequate knowledge of the events.

The scope of historical knowledge is expanded by new forms of evidence or by new ways of utilizing the old sources. The main sources of information of the past ages were limited to texts and chronicles. The decoding of the Harappan script or such other hitherto unknown picture symbols of ancient records may throw much light on the unknown history of the most ancient civilization of Africa, Asia and South America.

A new way of looking at old literature in oral or written forms also expands our vision of history. Hindu Mythology was looked upon by educated as childish fantasies. They were examined by Pargiter and Winternitz and they showed that a true picture of real social life of the ancient Indian people could be reconstructed from the indirect and unintentional narratives of those myths.

Limitation on the method are many. Historical knowledge is an indirect and inferential knowledge from the fragments of surviving evidence. The famous libraries of Nalanda University and the Chinese libraries in Beijing and other places were destroyed by vandals. Some of the secret documents were either seized by the conquerors or disappeared mysteriously. There are political and other considerations which suppress the truth which cannot be discovered at least at present. However, new techniques to squeeze truth out of the available sources or new discoveries will expand the vision of history.

New Science and New History

The eighteenth century station philosopher, G. B. Vico, was the first thinker of his time who widened the scope of history and claimed validity for historical knowledge. He dismissed Rene Descartes view that historical knowledge was not possible. The past is dead and gone, how could one reconstruct it as it actually was? Vicos reasoning was that ‘Man can know what man has done’ and on this basis has knowledge of the past and would be valid if he possesses the facts of the past. From his principle of ‘Venum Factom’ (knowledge of thing made by the maker) he maintained that, the systems of language, customs, laws, government and other institutions that is though of history represent the genesis and development of human societies and their institutions. He showed how the science of language i.e., philosophy, could help not only to reconstruct the history of the past but also provide means of verification of the facts narrated orally or in writing. He wanted to instill a strict discipline in collection and interpretation of documents and make history an autonomous science a ‘New Science’.

Vico expanded the vision of history and ensured the validity of the narrative by an intelligent and imaginative use of language, customs, laws, and institutions of the time under study. The twentieth century thinkers Marc Bloch and Fernand Braudel put forward the concept of ‘New History’. This expanded the scope in every respect. They painted out that there exists at all times, elements which are not ‘conscious’ or visible in the social development and this is known as unconscious history. Historians have to look beyond the events that are ‘conscious’ or appear on the surface. A mass of unknown and formless elements like climate of opinion influence the thoughts and activities of man. These elements have to be understood. The historical situation is full of such unconscious or unseen elements and they spring on the surface or on the conscious suddenly. For e.g., the unrest among workers or peasants breaks out unexpectedly at times. The scope of new history is to know the total history of man. In the twentieth century another view of history that is the subaltern view adds one more dimension. It is the study of masses of people who are of little or no consequence in business, political and intellectual fields.

THE GUPTA PERIOD

 Provincial administration – The Guptas followed a highly de-centralized system of administering the provinces since their empire was so large. Thus, the empire was divided into several provinces called Vishayas, each headed by a Vishayapati. He was assisted by 4 ministers who were in charge of merchants, traders, artisans and clerks. Together they formed the provincial council i.e., the Adhikarana. Besides these ministers, a number of other officials helped in local administration. These included the village headmen and council (Gramika), collectors of tolls and custom’s duties, record writers (Lekhakas) etc. Some provinces were headed by princes of the royal family and the Yuvraja always administered one province for experience.

The villages were administered by the Headman and a council of elders. Many villages together formed a Pethaka or Santhaka. Several of these together were called a Vithi and many Vithis formed a Vishaya. Cities of the Gupta empire were administered by the Nagarakashaha who was responsible to the Vishayaati. Important cities included Magadha, Pataliputra, Ayodhya and Ujjain.

The Gupta Economy

The Gupta period was called the Golden Age not only because of its cultural development, but also because of its prosperity. The political stability provided by the Gupta rulers led to a well-developed economy which in turn provided the funds for literature, architecture, etc. Agriculture, industry, and trade were the chief areas of the economy.

Agriculture remained the predominant occupation but did not contribute to the Gupta economy as extensively as trade and industry. Traditional methods of cultivation continued and according to Varahmihira, farmers relied on rainfall for irrigation. Thus, in years of poor monsoon, the harvest was substantially reduced.

Farmers harvested two crops. They grew a variety of crops such as wheat, rice, pulses, medicinal herbs, vegetables and fruits. Each farmer’s area of cultivation was demarcated though some villages cultivated and paid taxes collectively. Land tax was moderate and usually paid in kind.

Industry – goods were produced in villages and cities by artisans. These were traded in local bazaars as well as exported to different areas. Artisans of a particular skill usually formed their own guild and hence there were weaver’s guilds, jeweler’s guilds, etc. Textiles, cotton and silk, iron works, pottery, jewelry, embroidery, etc., were the main industrial products.

Trade and commerce – Trade was both inland and foreign. Goods were traded between villages and between villages and cities. Goods coming to the cities were also exported while imports found their way from the cities to smaller towns and villages. Foreign trade was by land and sea. The passes of the north and the silk route were used for trade with China, Persia and Europe. Sea trade was well developed. Kalyan, Chaul, Broach and Cambay were the main Gupta ports though export was also conducted through the Coromandel and Malabar coasts. The Gupta empire had trade links with Arabia, the East Coast of Africa, the Roman Empire, Ceylon, Malay and South East Asia. The main items of export were textiles, salt, spices and gemstones, while gold, silver, coins, coral, dates and horses were imported.

The guild system was the backbone of trade and commerce in the Gupta period. They functioned like chambers of commerce and each type of artisan, banker and merchant had their own guild. Each guild had a fixed hierarchy, they organized their members, improved their bargaining power and provided banking facilities to their members. Whenever a guild member sent a consignment of goods or a letter or signed an agreement, it was accompanied by the seat of the individual and the guild. If a particular trade was declining in an area, the entire guild would migrate to another place.

The guilds had specific rules and regulations to govern its members and trade practices. Thus, commercial crimes and cheating were almost unheard of in the Gupta period. Members of the guild had to abide by its rules and if the individual practiced two trades of skills, he could only belong to one guild. President and an executive committee of 4 or 5 members. Since they provided security to the artisans and traders and fostered industry through their banking activities, the Guptas encouraged the guilds and gave them a fair degree of autonomy. In time these guilds flourished, and they began patronizing temples, architecture, public works, etc.

According to various sources, the standard of living in the Gupta Empire was good as basic commodities were always available at affordable prices. The cities were the most prosperous and people enjoyed public amenities and cultural activities.

Society – The Gupta Age marked the revival of Brahmanical Hinduism. Thus, many social practices and institutions were based on Hinduism. The caste system continued and Brahmins enjoyed many privileges which were protected by the Guptas who themselves were Brahmins. Yet, social mobility did occur since people change their professions and even Shudras became traders. But the lowest castes of people could change their professions and even Shudras became traders. But the lowest castes of Untouchables faced tremendous discrimination and were forced to live outside villages and towns.

Women during this age were dependent on their families. They were married at early ages and did not have much to say in the choice of husband. Once married, she was restricted to the household duties. The practices of Sati and polygamy were increasingly popular especially among the upper castes. Widows were discouraged form remarrying. Education and training in the arts was given to girls from richer families but they were taught at home. Intermarriage between castes was permitted and interracial marriages were also frequent. The joint family system became stronger during this period but widows and daughters had no rights to property.

The diet of the people was vegetarian and non-vegetarian, though the Brahmins looked down upon meat eating. Pan chewing and foreign wines also became popular. Garments included dhoti-kurta for men, to which the Scythians added an overcoat. Women began to drape long pieces of cloth around them which developed into the sari. Jewelry was elaborate and popular with both men and women. Richer women also used cosmetics like kajal and perfumes and spent hours making elaborate hairstyles. Dice games and chess were popular pastimes while animal fights, drama, dancing and music provided environment.

Cultural developments

The Gupta Age was one of the most culturally productive eras of India. It saw tremendous growth in sculpture, architecture, painting, minting of coins and literature.

Sculpture – The Gandhara School of Art reached its peak during this age and a vast number of sculptures were created synthesizing elements from Greek, Roman, Persian, Chinese and Indian styles. Buddhism and images of Buddha were the most common theme while the material for the sculptures was black stone. Later, this style of sculpture was also used for stone and metal work.

Architecture – Between the 1^st and 5^th centuries AD, a number of monasteries were built in the Gandhara style. They usually consisted of living quarters for the monks and a stupa. These were decorated with images of Buddha and stories from the Buddhist teachings.

Painting – Buddhism not only influenced sculpture and architecture, but also inspired the wall paintings of Ajanta caves. Monks leveled, plasteed and then painted ‘frescoes’ telling stories of human existence and Buddhism. These paintings that include animals, humans and floral designs were executed with natural dyes and colors which have remained fresh and vibrant through the centuries.

Coinage – Under the Guptas the technique of coinage became a fine art. The Guptas issued coins in gold, silver, and coper with a variety of designs. Chandragupta I issued coins featuring his Queen Kumaradevi’s name along with his. Samudragupta issued a large variety of coins being the title Vikramanka. In his military coins he is shown holding a bow and arrow, a battle axe or trampling a tiger. Other coins depict hism playing musical instruments like the veena, or performing the Ashwamedh sacrifice. Chandragupta II also issued many coins using the title of Vikramaditya. His silver coins used the same imprint as that used in the western satraps along with the Gupta symbol. He was shown killing a lion, holding a sword, etc. His gold coins are considered even more sophisticated in design and finish than the other Guptas. Besides the king, Gupta coins usually bore the image of a goddess on the other surface while Chandragupta II introduced the Garuda (vehicle of Vishnu), perhaps signifying the rise of Vaishnavite Hinduism.

Literature – The greatest development during the Gupta Age was in the field of literature. Sanskrit was the chief language. Education was also developing with Nalanda becoming a world famous center for scholars. The kings, especially Samudragupta and Chandragupta II patronized scholars and writers.

Harisena was an eminent poet and the biographer of Samudragupta. His poem engraved on the Allahabad Prashasti is the chief source of information on Samudragupta. Kalidas became the greatest writer of the age with timeless stories like Shakuntala, Ritusamhara, Meghaduta, Raghuvamsa, etc. Sudaraka was a famous dramatist while Upavarsha and Bandhayan were famous philosophers. Works on medical science, astronomy and law were also composed. Aryabhatta and Varahamihira were famous astronomers. The Puranas were updated and the Smritis of Yanavalkya, Narada, Katyayana and Brihaspati were also written. The accounts of foreign visitors like Fa Hien, the Chinese scholar who visited the court of Chandragupta II also added to the historical literature of the age.

The Gupta Age – the Golden Age

The Gupta Age has been referred to as the ‘Augustan Age in the history of India’, ‘the Classical Age’ or the ‘Golden Age of India’. Thus was the Gupta Age deserving of such praise. Some scholars agree while others do not.

Dr Vincent Smith – ‘The Gupta period was a time of exceptional intellectural activity in many fields’.

Dr Mehandale – ‘The political unity and prosperity of India under the Guptas combined with the staunch patronage that they extended to Sanskrit learning resulted in the flourishing of Sanskrit literature in all branches. It was that period that produced the best authors in almost all branches of literature, including the sciences like astronomy and mathematics’.

Dr. A. K. Majumdar – ‘A new chapter in the history of India begins with the Guptas. Sanskrit literature reached its peak of glory during this age. The contribution of the Gupta Age in the realm of art is also considered classical’.

Dr. Romila Thapar – ‘The Gupta age was classical only for the upper classes of society. The common man did not share in these luxuries’. – This view is also held by Subaltern historians like Ranjit Guha. According to him, life for the common man continued in the same way as before and none of the ‘glory’ of the Guptas affected their everyday life.

SOCIAL CHANGE

Meaning and definition of social change: Change is an ever-present phenomenon. It is an integral part of nature and of man. All societies are subject to change, the physical environment, people, and culture all undergo changes. Society is not static but dynamic.

To Mac Iver and Page, social change refers to the changing pattern of social relations, social structure, of groups and organizations. It is defined as the changes in the structure and functioning of a particular social system. Identifying change involves showing how far the structure of an institution or society or community is altered over a period of time. a given social system is in a process of change when its basic institution is modified, when the roles which individuals constituting the system change when functions change, when status is based on achievement, etc.

Social change mainly refers to changes in the life patterns of people. Changes in art, science, technology, philosophy, may result in the changes in the attitudes, behavior, social processes, social patterns, interactions and relations of people. These changes then amount to social change.

Factors responsible for social change: Social change is the product of the interaction of many factors. A single factor may trigger a particular change, but it is always associated with a number of factors. The physical, biological, technological, cultural, and other factors may together being about social change. None of these factors works separately form the rest. Each factor is therefore an element in the system. Changes in one part influence the other parts, until the entire society or community is involved. The following are the factors that are responsible for change.

Physical environment – has an effect on the development of human social organization, for e.g., in extreme environmental conditions people must reorganize their ways of life in relation to weather conditions. People who live in Alaska follow different patterns of social life from people in Mediterranean countries. Major changes in the environment are quite reare but very compelling when they occur. For e.g., when there is a famine or when soil is eroded or when coal or oil in a particular region is exhausted etc., people have to move away or man’s original activity changes. Human beings however can adapt to their environment. They can master the world around them. Man does not accept the limitations imposed by his natural environment; he strives in various ways to change it. He can change the courses of rivers and turn deserts into fertile areas. Each new invention, each improvement of man can lead to change in society.

Population factors – Changes in the size, density, sex-age composition of population have an important impact on social change. A rapidly growing population must either migrate or improve in productive techniques. For e.g., population explosion in a developing country like India has led to many socio-economic problems including crime and violence. Great historical migrations and conquests of the Vikings, Huns, etc., have arisen from the pressure of a growing population upon limited resources. Migration encourages further change for it brings a group into a new environment, subjects it to new contacts and confronts it with new problems. Population changes have occurred all through human history, by reason of migration, war, changing mores, famines, etc. Those societies were declining death rate have a higher standard of living, high status of women, high levels of literacy, etc. A population change therefore is not only a change in itself, but also becomes a causal factor in further social and cultural changes.

Economic factors – influence the rate and kind of change. Industrial capitalism is one of the most important economic factors that have had a far-reaching impact on the society. It not only aims at technological innovations and increasing productivity but also maximizes profits at the cost of labor welfare. This results in conflicts between the rich and the poor. Economic inequality has become a common feature where there is deprivation of every kind. There is no equality of status, rather, a glaring disparity between the rich and the poor, leaving the country with no savings or capital investments. Our cultural interest are often affected by economy. For eg. Those interested in fine arts, dance, music, theatre, etc., as a career cannot take them for want of enough resources or economic support. However, economic factors alone cannot be the cause of social change.

Political factors – Another type of influence on social change is the impact of political developments. The struggle between nations to expand their power, develop their wealth and military over other nature has been an important source of change over the last few decades. The government as political machinery can either enhance change or disrupt and retard it. The political ideology, the policies and programs and efficiency with which they run the country tends to influence the process of social change. For e.g., political instability in India has adversely affected economic growth. NRIs and other foreign investors dread investing their money in projects or industries in India. Terrorism and religious fundamentalism have caused havoc in India. India has suffered from these politically oriented movements which have resulted in riots and conflicts. Thus, political factors can ruin a generation, affect social change, the socio-cultural and socio-economic life of the people.

Isolation and contact – Societies located at world crossroads have always centers of change. Since most traits come through diffusion, those societies in closest contact with other societies are likely to change most rapidly. Areas of greatest intercultural contact are always the centers of change. Trade, even war has always brought intercultural contact and today tourism is adding to the contacts between cultures. Conversely isolated areas are less likely to change. The most primitive tribes have been those who were the most isolated like the polar eskimos or the Onges of the Nicobar Islands. Isolation invariably retards change.

Attitudes and Values – Societies differ greatly in their general attitude towards change. A society that reveres the past, worships ancestors, are preoccupied with traditions, superstitions, and rituals will change very slowly and unwillingly. Literate and educated people tend to have positive attitudes and values towards change and hence accept changes more readily than illiterate and uneducated people do. A rapidly changing society therefore has a different attitude towards change and this attitude is both cause and effect of the change already taking place.

Perceived needs – A society’s rate and direction of change are greatly affected by the needs its members perceive. ‘Needs’ are subjective, they are real only if people feel they are real. Until people feel a need, they resist change. For e.g., the tire was invented in 1845 but was ignored until the popularity of the bicycle created an awareness of the need for tires. A more recent failure is the need to recognize that death control creates the need for birth control as well as the population will increase tremendously.

The cultural base – By cultural base we mean the accumulation of knowledge and technique available. As the cultural base grows, an increasing number of inventions, innovations and discoveries are possible. Unless the cultural base provides the necessary knowledge and technique available to the inventor, innovations cannot take place. For e.g. Leonardo da Vinci sketched many machines which were entirely workable in principle, but the technology of his day were incapable of building them.

Processes of social change

When we refer to social change as a process we mean that it is a definite step by step manner by which change takes place and where one state leads and merges into another. A process means a continuous change taking place in a definite manner through the operation of forces present from the very beginning with the situation. Examples of processes is communication, integration, socialization, inventions, diffusion, discovery, innovations, etc.

Discovery – A discovery is a shared perception of reality, which already exists. It is an addition to the world’s store of already existing knowledge. It adds something new to the culture because although this reality may have always existed, it became part of the culture only after its discovery. For e.g., human beings discovered continents, circulation of blood, the different planets, comets, etc. A discovery becomes a factor in social change only when it is put to use. For e.g., before AD 100 Hero of Alexandria had build a steam engine as a toy, but steam power produced no social changes until it was put to serious use years later. Therefore, when new knowledge is used to develop new technology, cast changes generally follow.

Invention – An invention is often defined as a new combination or a new use of existing knowledge. The wheel did not exist until someone had the idea of using a round slice of tree log and length of tree limb, or round stone. Thus, even though the elements used are not new, it is the idea of combining them in a useful way that produces something that never existed before. For e.g., iron, with the addition of small amounts of other metals, became steel, a new metal altogether. Inventions may be classified into material inventions such as bow and arrow, telephone and so on and social inventions such as the alphabet, law, etc. Each invention may be new in form, function and meaning. Form refers to the shape or trait of the new invention; function refers to what the invention does and meaning the long range consequence of its use. For e.g.  the hooka, bedi and cigarette are different in form, but not in function or meaning.

Innovation – The term innovation usually includes both discoveries and inventions. In either case something new has been added to the culture. Innovations are usually compatible with being the existing culture. Usually traits are modified to fit into the existing culture of the society. Example – A new speech form – Hinglish – new dance step, etc. A society with a good cultural base that provides for the accumulation of science, technology will have more innovations.

Diffusion – Most of the social changes in society have developed through diffusion, the spread of cultural traits from group to group. Diffusion operates both within societies and between societies. Jazz originated among the black musicians of New Orleans and today it has been diffused throughout the world. Diffusion takes place whenever societies come into contact. A typical American wears pajamas invented in India, uses coins invented in Lydia, eats waffles invented in Scandinavia and smokes (an American India habit) a cigarette, derived from Mexico. The process of diffusion therefore is an important instrument of social change. Most of the aid-programs in underdeveloped countries and underprivileged groups within countries are efforts to promote diffusion.

 

Planned social change – The direction and spread of change are often conditioned by human engineering. Planned social change referred to a conscious and systematic planning, projects, programs, etc., launched by man to determine and control the rate and development of change. For e.g., fiver year plans, Family Welfare Programs, Economic policies and so on. Planned social change is desirable as the various goals to be achieved the means to achieve them are outlined before. India has adopted planning programs after independence to bring about overall development particularly in the villages. For e.g., irrigation projects, credit societies, etc. Similarity, in the urban areas town planners seek to introduce various projects and constructive changes to make life in cities more bearable. For e.g., building flyovers, highways, controlling air and water pollution, reducing noise pollution, etc., Planning is also necessary to combat the problems that could arise of unplanned changes. Unplanned changes refer to changes resulting from natural calamities, wars, etc. Therefore, planning change is a necessary feature of modern societies in order to achieve overall progress.

 

Resistance to and acceptance of social change

Specific attitudes and values – Aside from its general attitude towards change, each society has many specific attitudes and values. Peoples establishes likes and dislikes are important factors in social change. If an object or trait has a purely utilitarian value – i.e., if it is a valued because of what it will do, or how it will benefit people – change may be accepted quite readily.

Demonstrability of innovations – An innovation is most quickly accepted when its usefulness can be easily demonstrated. The American Indians very eagerly accepted the European guns and pistols, as it was more useful than the bow and arrow. The people in the urban areas readily accepted the pressure cooker, washing machine, and various other household appliances. Sometimes inventions are inefficient in their earlier stages that the general acceptance is delayed until they are perfected. For e.g., the recent innovations of the solar operated autorickshaws or cars are not readily accepted. Social inventions however can be tested only through long term trial.

Compatibility with existing culture – Innovations are most readily accepted when they fit in nicely with the existing culture. If the innovation conflicts with the existing culture, it may be rejected, or it may be modified to fit into it. Many tribal areas have readily accepted the procedures and materials of scientific medicine – antibiotics, vaccinations, etc., and have continued to use their traditional folk medicine. Today American movies, sport, fashion, etc. have been readily accepted in Indian society, but with necessary modifications.

Technical difficulties and costs of change – Change is almost always costly. Not only does it disrupt the existing culture and destroy cherished sentiments and values, but it also involves some specific costs. The very poor resist change because they cannot afford to take any risks. Technology not only costs materially but also brings about difficulties if the culture is not modified enough to accept new change.

Role of the change agent – who proposes a change how does this person go about it? The identity of the originator greatly affects acceptance or resistance of change. Innovations, which are first adopted by persons at the top of the social ladder, are likely to filter downward quite rapidly. Many change agents are deviants of some sort. The non-conformists may launch a new fashion, speech form, or dance step, which may be readily accepted among people.