Discuss the various proponents of Indian feudalism.

Answer:

The theory of Indian feudalism was developed to explain socio-economic and political changes in early medieval India, especially land grants, agrarian expansion, decline of urban centres, growth of intermediaries and decentralisation of political authority.

Major Proponents

• D.D. Kosambi: Kosambi used a materialist approach and saw early medieval change as linked with agrarian expansion, land grants and transformation of social formations.
• R.S. Sharma: He was the most important proponent of Indian feudalism. In Indian Feudalism, he argued that land grants to Brahmanas and officials created intermediaries, weakened central authority and increased peasant subordination.
• B.N.S. Yadava: He studied northern India and highlighted the role of samantas, landed intermediaries and decentralised polity.
• D.N. Jha: He supported the broad feudal framework and connected it with changes in economy, society and polity.

Main Arguments

• Land grants: Tax-free and administrative rights transferred to donees reduced direct state control.
• Samanta system: Feudatory chiefs became important political intermediaries.
• Peasant subordination: Peasants increasingly came under the control of landlords, temples or Brahmana donees.

However, historians such as Harbans Mukhia, B.D. Chattopadhyaya and Burton Stein have questioned the universal application of feudalism to India. They argue for regional variation, integrative polity and different forms of state formation.

• Therefore, Indian feudalism remains a useful but debated model for understanding early medieval India.