The document discusses B.D. Chattopadhyaya's view of the emergence of Rajputs as a process of 'Rajputization' involving political, economic, and social developments. It examines how expansion of agriculture led to the growth of new settlements and lineages. Tribes gained status as Kshatriyas, and lineages fabricated genealogies to seek legitimacy and social mobility.
The document discusses B.D. Chattopadhyaya's view of the emergence of Rajputs as a process of 'Rajputization' involving political, economic, and social developments. It examines how expansion of agriculture led to the growth of new settlements and lineages. Tribes gained status as Kshatriyas, and lineages fabricated genealogies to seek legitimacy and social mobility.
The document discusses B.D. Chattopadhyaya's view of the emergence of Rajputs as a process of 'Rajputization' involving political, economic, and social developments. It examines how expansion of agriculture led to the growth of new settlements and lineages. Tribes gained status as Kshatriyas, and lineages fabricated genealogies to seek legitimacy and social mobility.
The document discusses B.D. Chattopadhyaya's view of the emergence of Rajputs as a process of 'Rajputization' involving political, economic, and social developments. It examines how expansion of agriculture led to the growth of new settlements and lineages. Tribes gained status as Kshatriyas, and lineages fabricated genealogies to seek legitimacy and social mobility.
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iii) Recent View: Processual Theory
B. D. Chattopadhyaya examines the emergence of the
Rajputs as a process which he has called as process of ‘Rajputization’. He also suggests that the claims by different Rajput clans were actually a process to ‘dynasticize’, in which different periods and different regions was not almost alike but differed in context of time and place. According to him, their emergence should not be looked in terms of ancestry.The term rajputra in early medieval literary texts and inscriptions, in reality, represented a mixed caste constituting a fairly large section of petty land holding chiefs. The status of the clan was generally counted a lot during the early medieval period, which was known for hereditary offices and a stereotype system of administration. The contemporary status of the clan was , thus, the criterion for the inclusion in the Rajput clans mentioned in Rajatarangini, Kumarapalcharita and Varnaratnakara. It is to be noted that the list of 36 clans mentioned in all the literary texts is dissimilar. Political dominance may altogether be the prominent criterion which might have added to the status of a clan. Thus, it was perhaps owing to the political dominance of the Pratiharas and Chahamanas that their name was retained regularly in the lists. He suggests that the process of the emergence of Rajputs in early medieval records is found linked with political, economic and social developments.
B.D. Chattopadhyaya talks about two processes: one, the
territorial expansion and colonization of the area and other, the upward movement within the Brahmanical hierarchy of Varna system. Chattopadhyaya illustrated the growth of agriculture based economy leading to new agrarian settlements that ultimately led to the making of new political groups, who in order to gain more power tried to legitimize their position through several means. This expansion led to the emergence of new lineages in the newly settled areas, for example Chahmanas settled in sapadalaska area gradually branched off into other lineages. The colonization of new areas resulted in the expansion of a number of settlements and also of agrarianeconomy. The comparison of the list of early historic sites with those of early medieval period and appearance of new place names in the contemporary inscriptions clearly suggest an increase in the number of settlements. The inscriptions of the western and central India also refer tothe territorial expansion of the Rajput power by suppressing the tribal settlements of the Bhils, Pulindas and Sabaras. The Guhila kingdom was founded in the 7th century on the Bhil settlements, according to tradition. Similar movements of expansion are found in case of the Chahamanas of Nadol. Shakambhari – the capital of the main line of the Chahamaans –also came out of the colonization, which was earlier a forest land(jangaladesha). The present region of Rajasthan, according to Chattopadhyaya, in the period when Rajput polity was beginning to emerge was in its various areas undergoing a process of change from tribalism Mobility to Kshatriya Status: All the Rajput clans did not emerge out of the process of colonization. The Meds reached to the Rajput status from a tribal background and the other group, namely Hunas, were assimilated in Indian society and acquired the status of Kshatriyas. Thus, a criterion for the inclusion of the Meds and Hunas was mobility to Kshatriya status which was more commonly practiced. For the majority of other newly emerging royal lines Brahma-Kshatra was a transitional status. Chattopadhyaya opines that brahma-kshtra might have been an open status during the early medieval period. Political Eminence: The Gurjara-Pratiharas emerged out of different stocks of the Gurjaras acquiring political eminence in western India. However, in their inscriptions they have variously claimed their origin either from Brahman, Sun, Indra etc. in order to maintain the ancestral respectability. The sovereign or ruling families of a clan had a general tendency to frame the genealogies with respectable ancestry. It seems that a definite co-relation did exist between the political eminence and a movement towards corresponding social status Chahamana territory is identified with Sakambhari (Sapadalaksa), present day Sambhar area in Rajasthan. Sapadalaksa actually means one and a quarter lakh, so perhaps it was the number of settlements in the area. Scholars like B.D. Chattopadhyaya discuss agrarian growth in the region during early medieval centuries and the emergence of Rajputs as controllers of large group of settlements which led to their growth as landed aristocracy. Gradually, there was an upward mobility in economic, political and social spheres as well. As land under their control increased, they branched off, leading to the rise of other ruling lineages. For example, the Nadol branch of Chauhans moved to the Pali district of Rajasthan at a later period.
Expansion of agriculture in tribal areas marks an essential
feature for development of new lineages. Peasantization of tribes lead these tribes to become part of the mainstream. One can associate this with the expansion of Guhilas from Gujarat in southern Rajasthan by displacing the local tribal Bhils of the area. Similarly, the Nadol branch of Chahamanas displaced and assimilated the local Medas and Minas. This entire theory basically revolved around the concept of expansion of agriculture and better economy. This also leads to the concept of tribal’s acquiring the status of Kshatriya and hence becoming Rajputs. Different lineages of Rajputs can be better understood by the process of political developments and stratification over a period of time. Throughout the period, lineages tried to seek legitimacy that was aided by the fabrication of genealogies drafted by their bards. The mythological traditions were acts of seeking legitimacy for rulers coming from obscure backgrounds. Lineages from the reputable ancestry were sought after by the new warrior classes to have them acknowledged in the society. Such attempts were also made by landed aristocracy to acquire upward social and political mobility. By landed aristocracy we mean the new social groups who acquired control over large tracts of agricultural lands. This obviously happened due to expansion of agriculture during early medieval centuries. Similar developments can also be seen in the case of other regions where dominant land-holding groups emerged over a period of time. Upward mobility within the hierarchy of political structure can be explained by transformation from being a subordinate to an independent ruler. This basically related with the concept of attaining a Kshatriya status first, then a feudatory and ultimately a sovereign ruler. This upward mobility was basically associated with the growth of economic and military power. For example, Chahamanas, Guhilas and Chalukyas were subordinates of Gurjara- Pratiharas and later became independent rulers. Chattopadhyaya also suggests that merely acquiring the status of Rajput was not enough but maintaining it by consolidating one’s position was also a feature of this period. This was facilitated by the distribution of land among the kin and clan by which they ensured their expansion and acquiring of resources. This distribution of land was related to the expansion of their geographical territories as well as political authority. To consolidate it further, this process was aided by constructing fortresses on massive scaledone in order to have a defense mechanism and as well as a mark of authority on the nearby areas. To strengthen it further, they engaged themselves in matrimonial alliance with other clans and started a collaboration of social and political activities. This entire process of ‘Rajputization’ led to giving them a political status which gradually became hereditary. Thus, the recent perspectives on Rajputs have perceived the entire process of change as the result of interplay of several factors. At the same time, the processes were distinct for each region. Agrarian and Territorial Settlements: The colonization of new areas resulted in the expansion of a number of settlements and also of agrarian economy. The comparison of the list of early historic sites with those of early medieval period and appearance of new place names in the contemporary inscriptions clearly suggest an increase in the number of settlements. The inscriptions of the western and central India also refer to the territorial expansion of the Rajput power by suppressing the tribal settlements of the Bhils, Pulindas and Sabaras. The Guhila kingdom was founded in the 7th century on the Bhil settlements, according to tradition. Similar movements of expansion are found in case of the Chahamanas of Nadol. Shakambhari – the capital of the main line of the Chahamaans – also came out of the colonization, which was earlier a forest land (jangaladesha). The present region of Rajasthan, according to Chattopadhyaya, in the period when Rajput polity was beginning to emerge was in its various areas undergoing a process of change from tribalism Mobility to Kshatriya Status: All the Rajput clans did not emerge out of the process of colonization. The Meds reached to the Rajput status from a tribal background and the other group, namely Hunas, were assimilated in Indian society and acquired the status of Kshatriyas. Thus, a criterion for the inclusion of the Meds and Hunas was mobility to Kshatriya status which was more commonly practiced. For the majority of other newly emerging royal lines Brahma-Kshatra was a transitional status. Chattopadhyaya opines that brahma-kshtra might have been an open status during the early medieval period. Political Eminence: The Gurjara-Pratiharas emerged out of different stocks of the Gurjaras acquiring political eminence in western India. However, in their inscriptions they have variously claimed their origin either from Brahman, Sun, Indra etc. in order to maintain the ancestral respectability. The sovereign or ruling families of a clan had a general tendency to frame the genealogies with respectable ancestry. It seems that a definite co-relation did exist between the political eminence and a movement towards corresponding social status. Mobility from Feudatory to Independent Status: Some of the Rajput clans emerged out from the feudatory to the independent status, as is clear from the genealogical claims. The case of Gurjaras of Gujarat, Guhilas of Kiskindha and Dhavagarta, Guhilas of Mewar, Chahamanas of Gujarat and Rajasthan was a case of transition from feudatory to independent status. This transition and upward mobility was a result of the growth of the military strength. The emergence of the Rajputs, thus, in the existing hierarchical political structure was not sudden but a gradual process. The System of Land Distribution: The process of the emergence of early Rajputs is associated at the level of economy, with certain new features of land distribution and territorial system. One feature of land distribution, the trend of which appears to have been higher in Rajasthan, was the distribution of land among royal kinsmen. This practice was common among the Pratihara, Chahamana, and Guhila clans. Such land assignments were also hereditary in nature. The specific thing was that while the other assignees were not authoritative to grant land independently out of their holdings and depended on the approval of the king, the kinsmen needed no such sanction and could make grant independently without king’s approval. Fortifications: The Rajput clans strengthened themselves by maintaining military power, one of the chief features of which was the construction and maintenance of forts. The inscriptions of the early medieval period mentions about a number of fortresses in Rajasthan. Besides serving the defence purpose, the forts played wider functions such as maintaining linkage with big landholdings and existing composition of population. Rajasthan was a cradle land of such fortresses. Forts, thus, represented a process of consolidation of ruling clans. Inter-clan Relations: At the level of social relations, the consolidation of the Rajput clans and the acceleration of the process of “Rajputization” were through the marriage network among the clans (inter-clan relationships). The inter-clan relations maintained through marriage network provided social legitimacy. These marriages may have led to collaboration in wider areas of social and political activity. The new clans and the recognized sub-divisions of earlier clans were brought into the Rajput network by a few cases of marriage of which records are available. The consolidation of Rajput ascendency was also due to the circulation of clan members in different kingdoms and courts and their participations at various levels of polity