Assignment Code: BHIC-112/ASST/TMA/2022-23

Course Code: BHIC-112

Assignment Name: History of India-VII (c. 1605-1750)

Year: 2022-2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

There are three Sections in the Assignment. You have to answer all questions in the Sections.

Section-1

Answer the following in about 500 words each. 20x2

Q1) Analyse the causes for the rise of Marathas.

Ans) There are many hypotheses for the Marathas' emergence as a significant political power in the 17th century, albeit few have been put out by academics. Amid his book A History of the Mahrattas, Grant Duff described the Marathas as a "conflagration" in the Sahyadri forests. M G Ranade, however, asserted that it was a national defence effort against the foreign Mughals. Such a claim is difficult to support historically, especially in light of Marathas taking service at the kingdoms of Bijapur and Ahmednagar if we Mughals were outsiders.

Jadunath Sarkar and G S Sardesai made a similar viewpoint, viewing the rise of the Maratha power as 'Hindu' revenge to the Aurengzeb's discriminatory policies. However, it is difficult to support such a claim given that Marathas frequently provided service to the Muslim kings of Bijapur and Ahmednagar. Furthermore, such a perception is not supported by Shivaji's policies. He assumed the appellation of haindava dharmoddharak, which the emperors regularly appropriated. Andre Wink attributes the rise of the Marathas to the Mughals' increasing pressure. One of the many elements that Satish Chandra has elaborated on appears to be the Mughals.

The rise of the Marathas is placed in a broader socioeconomic framework by Satish Chandra. He also recognises the geography's important contribution to the development of a particular type of government. He contends that Shivaji was able to take advantage of the populace's animosity at middlemen and was successful in winning their support. Shivaji limited the deshmukhs' authority in order to prevent them from abusing their position. The deshmukhs' ability to maintain a certain number of retainers was also limited, which was a significant factor in limiting their authority. Petty landlords, who made up a sizable portion of the Maratha army's armed retainers under Shivaji, benefited from this. Shivaji placed a strong emphasis on expanding the area under cultivation and improving farming practises, both of which benefited the peasantry.

Shivaji, like any other burgeoning ruler, made effective use of marital ties. He negotiated marriage relationships with the top deshmukh families in the area Nimbalkars, Morayas, and Shirkes in order to assert equal status while limiting the deshmukhs' influence. Additionally, Gagabhat and other Benares Brahmins assisted in his coronation as a suryavamshi Kshatriya, which added to his status. He supported his assertion of kshatriya status with ancestry tying him to Indra and titles like kshatriya kulavatamsa. This aided him in asserting his superior rank among the Maratha households and, thus, his only right to amass sardeshmukhi.

The ability to obtain kshatriya status was crucial in the mobilisation of the Maratha, who were not just farmers but also a military class. Similar to the agricultural community, tribal tribes like the Kolis and others supported Shivaji, as did the Kunbis. Therefore, Shivaji's rise was built on increasing mobilisation of various Maratha social groups, who were also seeking improved social standing and harbouring hatred toward the area's traditional elite's economic exploitation. The development of Maratha power made the role and importance of the bhakti movement in social and political mobilisation clearer. The Maharashtra Dharma's insistence on egalitarianism was crucial in the establishment of the Marathas' cultural identity and opened the door for social advancement.

Q2) Discuss the growth of Vaishnava Bhakti in India during the 16th-17th centuries.

Ans) Devotion is "bhakti." It emphasised a follower's loyalty and affection for a personal deity. Bhakti initially appeared in North India in the 10th-century Bhagavata-Purana. Bhakti Saints believed total devotion to God was the route to salvation and opposed Buddhist and Jain austerities.

The Followers of Ramanand and their Socio-Religious Role

Krishnadas Payohari, Anantanand's successor, began converting Rajput chiefs to Vaishnavism in the early 1600s. Krishnadas Payohari's greatest achievement was removing the Nathpanthi Jogis from the monastery of Galta during Raja Prithviraj's reign and re-establishing it as a Vaishnava centre. During Akbar's reign, Nabhadas and Anantadas lived at the Galta and Raivasa monasteries, respectively.

Discovery of Krishna-Bhakti Sites in the Braj Region

Beginning in the early sixteenth century, Vaishnava preachers from various locations and practising various forms of Krishna-Bhakti began to appear in the Braj region of north India. There was a Krishna temple in Mathura at the time these preachers arrived, but Shaiva and Shakta cults predominated the religious life of the local population. The pastoral and rural inhabitants in the area also practised yaksha and Naga cults, as well as diverse forms of nature worship.

The Followers of Chaitanya (Gaudiya Sampradaya)

Chaitanya's followers are called Gaudiya Sampradaya. Chaitanya and his followers worshipped Radha-Krishna. In Chaitanya's madhurya devotional system, the devotee approaches God as his consort. Chaitanya's followers arrived in Braj after the Nimbarkis settled in Vrindavan. In the Krishna-Radha cult, Radha was raised above Krishna. Gaudiyas and Nimbarkis clashed over two nearly identical varieties of Krishnite bhakti in Vrindavan.

Followers of Vallabhacharya (Pushtimargi Sampradaya)

Vallabhacharya, the founder of Pushtimarg, espoused Vatsalya Bhakti, which focused on devotion to newborn Krishna. Gaudiyas conquered Vrindavan; Vallabhites settled Gokul-Mahaban-Govardhan. Vallabhacharya visited Indian pilgrimages. During his three pilgrimages to India, he established 84 Pushtimarg seats. North Indian Vaishnavas popularised the Four Vaishnava Orders in the 16th-17th centuries. North Indian Bhakti-based Vaishnavas joined one of four sampradayas. The Pushgtimargis said Vallabhacharya descended from Vishnuswami.

The Nimbark Sampradaya

Nimbark founded Dvaitadvaita bhakti philosophy in the 13th century. North India later termed Nimbark's disciples Sanakadi sampradaya. His birthplace was either Telugu or Vrindavan, according to sixteenth-century hagiographies. Sri Bhatta, a sixteenth-century preacher of this tradition, wrote in Braj to popularise the notion of Krishna and Radha's divine relationship throughout Vaishnava congregations. Harivyasadevacharya, a disciple of Sri Bhatta, influenced the organisational and doctrinal evolution of Vaisnava bhakti in the 16th century. Harivyasis call Nimbarkis. Nimbarki preachers initially emphasised asceticism despite included householders. Harivyasadevacharya gave the right to initiate new members to householder preceptors and their male descendants.

Radhavallabhi and Haridasi Sampradayas

Hit Harivansh, founder of the Radhavallabhi sampradaya in Vrindavan, revered Radha as the Supreme Being. This community's members were householders, not ascetics. Hit Harivansh and his disciples were more interested in aesthetics than intellectual discussions. Hariram Vyas of Orchha is thought to have been affiliated with the Radhavallabhis.

Women Vaishnava Devotees of the Mughal Period

Most sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Vaishnava preachers, poets, and hagiographers were patriarchal. They developed images of ideal Vaishnava women based on gender hierarchy and subjugation. Nabhadas hails the contribution of many women devotees from diverse social categories in his Bhaktamal. Many of the Bhaktamal and Varta women devotees were from lower castes but depicted as ideal Vaishnavas. Vaishnava hagiographers of the 17th and 18th centuries praised Mirabai and other woman devotees for their devotion and social rebellion.

Section-2

Answer the following questions in about 250 words each. 10x3

Q1) Examine the centrality of Indian subcontinent in the Indian Ocean trading Network during the 16th-17th Centuries.

Ans) The Arabian Sea exchanged gold, pearls, diamonds, pepper, and silk in the 16th and 17th centuries. Significant European exports. India's exports went to China, Southeast Asia, West Asia, and East Africa. Couto and other contemporary Portuguese sources demonstrate that Cambay, Surat, and other Gujarati ports traded directly with Atjeh and the Red Sea. 17th-century Indian Ocean trade was boosted by the Coromandel Coast and Southeast Asia. Nagapatnam to Ganjam make up Coromandel Coast.

The Gujaratis' role in Malacca's maritime trade before 1511 is well-known, and there are numerous, if scattered, references to their presence at Atjeh. Gujarat exported silk camlets to Persia and Arabia. Diu made carpets and tapestries for trade. Aden and Mecca supplied India with coral, quicksilver, vermillion, lead, alum, rosewater, madder, and saffron. Textiles dominated India's manufacturing industry. The Red Sea route was crucial for Gujarati traders, notably Surat. Gujaratis and Europeans competed on this route between 1620 and 1630, and the competition must have intensified after Gujarat's famines cut down exports. From Surat, India, Iran, Turan, and other west Asian regions traded extensively. Surat-Mocha trade consists mostly of Gujarat textiles and precious metals.

Bengal traded with Sri Lanka, Malabar, and the Maldives. Bengal exported textiles and food to all these locations, and rice export to the Maldives was a constant throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Bengal imported cinnamon, areca, Malabar pepper, and Maldives cauri shells. In Bengal, cauris were used in modest transactions due to the lack of coined money less valuable than the silver tanka. Coromandel's long-distance trade, notably in south Coromandel, focused on Southeast Asia. By the mid-1900s, this trade had distinct routes and terminals. It moved south from Paleacat, which declined in the second half of the century, to Devanampatnam, Pondichery, Cuddalore, Porto Novo, and Nagore. Coromandel textiles invaded Southeast Asian markets in the 17th century through Acheh, Melaka, Makassar, and Bantam to Sumatra, Java, the Moluccas, and the Malay Peninsula.

Q2) Write a note on the main characteristics Deccan Paintings.

Ans) The Deccani painting initially acquired elements from both the southern Vijayanagar School of painting and the northern Malwa pre-Mughal tradition. The presentation of female kinds and attire in the early Deccani paintings reflects these influences. Paintings from the Deccani schools use vibrant, rich colours that set them apart from northern art. The way that the Deccani paintings of the 18th and 19th centuries depict ethnic groups, clothing, jewellery, plants, animals, landscapes, and colours is distinctive.

The Deccani sultanates in peninsular India produced a thriving form of miniature painting known as "Deccani painting" beginning in the late 16th century. The aesthetic is an intelligent fusion of foreign and indigenous art styles. While the elongated figures appear to be inspired by Vijayanagar wall paintings, Persian influence may be seen in the floral backgrounds, towering horizons, and general use of landscape. Rich and luminous, gold, and white are frequently used in Deccani art.

Bijapur, which remained one of the major centres of the style, appears to be the source of the first dated manuscript, the Nujum-ul-Ulum of 1570. The patronage of Ibrahim Adil Shah II, who had a deep love for music and the arts and was the subject of several beautiful contemporary portraits, substantially encouraged the development of painting as well as other forms of art in that region. Other significant locations included Ahmadnagar, Golconda, and, in the 18th century, Hyderabad and Aurangabad. The northern Mughal schools and the Deccani schools had some impact on one another starting in the 17th century. Miniature painting in the Hindu courts of Rajasthan and central India was influenced by Deccani art as well.

Q3) Discuss briefly the Mughal-Sikh relations in the seventeenth Century.

Ans) Guru Hargobind's elevation as sixth Guru symbolises 17th-century radicalism. "Sacha patshah" represents the transmission of the emperor saint's principles of sovereignty to succeeding Sikh Gurus. Sodhi Khatris become the only source of guru succession after Ram Das. This boosted the Sikh Gurus' economic and political stature. The Sikh Gurus played a political and religious role in the socioeconomic mobility of central Punjab's peasants, giving them a Sikh identity that was important to imagining an alternative ideal of sovereignty to Mughal authority.

Guru Tegh Bahadur cemented the Sikh community by visiting congregations, writing hymns, and hosting poets. His missionary activity was well-received. The Guru held frequent darbar and employed sacha patshah. Succession difficulties in Kartarpur and Ramdaspur drove the Guru to Kiratpur and then Makhowal in Bilaspur's domain. During his eastward journey, he left his family in Patna, where Gobind Rai was born. Aurangzeb was aware of Guru's activities, including his urge that Sikhs recognise him as knowledgeable and fearless.

Guru Gobind succeeded his father at age nine. Bhikham Shah, a Chishti Sabri saint from Ghuram near Patiala, intuited Gobind Rai's birth and travelled to Patna to see him. He carried Muslim and Hindu kheer. Bhikham Shah gave Gobind Rai kheer with both hands. The Pir said the baby would safeguard Hindus and Muslims. These tales challenge attempts to see late-medieval Mughal-Sikh interactions as sectarian conflicts. Guru Gobind moved to Punjab, where he grew up in the Shivalik hills and ruled Anandpur, his father's 1665 village. Guru Gobind Singh constructed it to protect it from hill chieftains who feared him.

Guru Gobind Singh fought 13 engagements between 1688 and 1705. He left Anandpur during the 1704 Mughal assault. While he escaped, his two younger boys and Guru's mother were caught. Wazir Khan, the Mughal governor of Sirhind, offered the Nawab of Malerkotla the opportunity to murder Guru Gobind Singh's sons and avenge his two brothers who had died fighting against the Sikhs. Sher Mohammad Khan didn't punish the Guru's sons. Wazir Khan ordered them encased in the 'wall of Sirhind' Sher Muhammad Khan complained and wrote a letter to Aurangzeb. The Guru's sons could not be spared, and Aurangzeb did not survive the catastrophe, but he admired Sher Muhammad's effort and said, "His roots will always be green." Sher Mohammad Khan avoided helping the Mughals against the Sikhs. Banda Bahadur avenged Guru Gobind Singh's sons by destroying Sirhind, not Malerkotla.

Section-3

Answer the following questions in about 100 words each. 6x5

Q1) Nurjahan

Ans) Born as Mehrunnisa in an Irani immigrant family in the court of Akbar, Nurjahan married Emperor Jahangir in 1611. Widow of Ali Quli Beg Sher Afghan, she arrived at the  court following a tumultuous series of events in Bengal. Her royal marriage, an event of interpersonal attachment, and her ascendance in courtly politics were presented as interlinked developments in the seventeenth century tazkira, Zakhirat ul Khwanin.

Certain parts of the Nur Jahan story are well known, and often romanticised. She sat in the Jharokha, coins were minted in her name, she was the holder of the tughra. She issued orders on a wide range of administrative matters like revenue collection, grant of villages etc. Nurjahan’s family exercised immense authority in the court. Her father was given the title of Itimadud Daulah while her brother, Asaf Khan, was a close companion of the Emperor. Her niece, Mumtaz Mahal married the then heir apparent, Shahjahan, in 1612. In the politics of the Jahangiri court, Nurjahan and her family came to occupy one node of power, such that modern historians have even called them Nur Jahan’s Junta.

Q2) The Great Divergence Debate

Ans) One of the great debates in Global History concerns the origins of the ‘Great Divergence.’ This term refers to the growing gap in economic performance between Europe and China since the late eighteenth century. A recurrent question in this ever-expanding debate concerns the extent to which the development of technology in Europe differed from that in China and how this difference, if it existed, could be explained.

Gunder Frank disputed the existence of 'European' technology before 1800. He believed that very substantial' technology dispersion and global division of labour meant technological growth was a 'world economic process' rather than a regional or national one. Edmund Burke III called these 'technological complexes', or common human toolkits of technical knowledge. Gunder Frank claimed that even the Industrial Revolution's technological gains, which he acknowledged, were not solely European. John Hobson and Jack Goody opposed a European technological lead before the Industrial Revolution.

Q3) Textile Production

Ans) The production of cotton, silk, and wool cloth under the heading of textiles is as follows:

1. Cotton: With the exception of the sub-Himalayan region, cotton could almost be grown wherever, hence cotton textiles were produced all across the nation. Abul Fazl provides a list of significant cotton textile production centres.

2. Silk: Silk was another textile staple. Abul Fazl cites Kashmir's silk production. Patna and Ahmedabad made silk. Famous Banaras. Bengal produced the rawest silk for export in the 17th century. Qasimbazar and Murshidabad, Bengal, made silk. Mid-17th-century production was about 2.5 million pounds.

3. Wool: Wool was another textile material. Kashmiri shawls were exported worldwide. These shawls feature Tibetan wool. Akbar marketed his Lahore manufacturing, but it couldn't match Kashmiri shawls. Europeans brought the higher classes finer woollen cloths. North India produced wool blankets.

Q4) Mughal Public Works (Sarais and Bridges)

Ans) Sarais, which served the mobile citizens of mediaeval India, were among the most prominent public buildings of the time. Travelers needed more regular rest and shelter than mediaeval India's widely spread towns and cities could offer. The sarais were shelters along the main roadways where people and their animals could sleep safely and get food and drink. State and affluent individuals created them as charities.

Bridges During the mediaeval period, the Punjab and Gangetic valley's major rivers lacked masonry bridges. Common travellers used boats as ferries to cross rivers. Travelers crossed rivers at fordable spots. During an army expedition, these rivers were crossed by temporary pontoon bridges, which were destroyed soon after. A few texts mention boat bridges providing access to significant river settlements. We have evidence of timber and suspension bridges, mostly in steep areas.

Q5) Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi

Ans) God cannot and should not be linked with his creations, according to Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi, who also said that God created the earth. Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi proposed the Wahdut-ul-Shuhud philosophy in opposition to the Wahdut-ut Wujud. He consequently criticised the ecstatic rites used by Sufis to assert their apparent unity with the Creator. He insisted that humans and the creator have a master-slave relationship. As the Sufis asserted, it cannot be a relationship between a lover and a beloved. Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi was regarded as orthodox because he insisted on following the Shariah. It is interesting to note that Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi, who urged the strict application of Shariat in a few letters to the Mughal officials, was heavily appropriated in following centuries as a preacher of traditional Islam. As a result, we must consider his influence and significance in the context of India in the seventeenth century.