Thinking about Time and Historical Periods in India |

 Thinking about Time and Historical Periods

Historians do not see time just as a passing of hours, days or years - as a clock or a calendar. Time also reflects changes in social and economic organisation. in the persistence and transformation of ideas and beliefs. The study of time is made somewhat easier by dividing the past into large segments - periods - that possess shared characteristics.

In the middle of the nineteenth century British historians divided the history of India into three periods: "Hindu". "Muslim" and "British". This division was based on the idea that the religion of rulers was the only important historical change, and that there were no other significant developments in the economy, society or culture. 

Such a division also ignored the rich diversity of the subcontinent.   Few historians follow this periodisation today. Most look to economic and social factors to characterise the major elements of different moments of the past. The histories you read last year included a wide range of early societies-hunter-gatherers, early farmers, people living in towns and villages, and early empires and kingdoms. The histories you will be studying this year are often described as "medieval". 

You will find out more about the spread of peasant societies, the rise of regional and imperial state formations-sometimes at the cost of pastoral and forest people the development of Hinduism and Islam as major religions and the arrival of European trading companies.

These thousand years of Indian history witnessed considerable change. After all, the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries were quite different from the eighth or the eleventh. Therefore, describing the entire period as one historical unit is not without its problems. Moreover, the "medieval" period is often contrasted with the "modern" period.

 "Modernity" carries with it a sense of material progress and intellectual advancement. This seems to suggest that the medieval period was lacking in any change whatsoever. But of course we know this was not the case.

During these thousand years the societies of the subcontinent were transformed often and economies in several regions reached a level of prosperity that attracted the interest of European trading companies. As you read this book, look out for signs of change and the historical processes at work. Also, whenever you can, compare what you read in this book with what you read last year. Look out for changes and continuities wherever you can, and look at the world around you to see what else has changed or remained the same.

 contrasted with the "modern" period. "Modernity" carries with it a sense of material progress and intellectual advancement. This seems to suggest that the medieval period was lacking in any change whatsoever. But of course we know this was not the case.

During these thousand years the societies of the subcontinent were transformed often and economies in several regions reached a level of prosperity that attracted the interest of European trading companies. 

As you read this book, look out for signs of change and the historical processes at work. Also, whenever you can, compare what you read in this book with what you read last year.

 Look out for changes and continuities wherever you can, and look at the world around you to see what else has changed or remained the same.