Abstract
A History of South India by K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, covering the various aspects of the history of the peninsular India up to the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire, was published in 1955 and has gone into several editions since then. Based on his unmatched grasp of sources, it presents a magisterial treatment of historical developments in the region, and has deservedly attained the status of a classic. During the last six decades, however, much new material, especially archaeological and epigraphic, has come to light which needed to be incorporated in a new book. A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations (hereafter Concise History) edited by Noboru Karashima, weaving together contributions by more than a dozen scholars (including the ‘sections’ authored by himself), fulfils this objective admirably. It has a much larger chronological coverage than Nilakanta Sastri’s work and presents, for the first time, a connected history of south India from the earliest times to the present.
At the outset Karashima clarifies his position on several issues of south Indian historiography. First, he refers to the ‘excellent’ book by Sastri and tells us that his ‘inclination was to emphasize the role of north Indian and Sanskrit culture in the development of south Indian society’, which, he rightly says, ‘is a blemish in his work’ (p. xvii). This implies that the contributions to the Concise History are free from any bias of this sort, and this should be reassuring to the potential reader. Second, Karashima discards the commonly accepted periodisation scheme of ancient, medieval and modern, and divides south Indian history into ‘several periods characterized by distinctive political, socio-economic, or cultural features, each comprising one to several centuries’. This marks a welcome departure from the periodisation scheme solely based on the dominance and visibility of ruling dynasties. Third, Karashima, in his brief mention of the historiographical trends, refers to the Subaltern studies which highlights ‘the role of the ruled instead of the rulers’ and to the Marxist ideas, which ‘lost their charm’ after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1993. He does not apparently commit himself to either Subaltern school or Marxist thought, but his writings outside the ambit of the present book as well as in the sections contributed to it are not entirely uninfluenced by them; his critical reference to what he calls ‘the academic storm of post-modernism’ (p. xviii) brings him perhaps closer to the Marxist position.
The book begins with a prologue by Karashima which discusses the recent theories relating to the Dravidian origins and accepts the possibility of the indigenous origin of the Dravidian language groups (pp. 1–7)—a view which is reiterated in the subsequent section on prehistoric cultures by P. Shanmugam (pp. 8–15). This is followed by an up-to-date and succinct overview of the Megalithic sites (numbering 1600 in Tamil Nadu alone!), ranging in date from c. 1100 BC to the third–second century BC, and showing cultural continuity from the Neolithic/Chalcolithic, especially at some places in Karnataka (Y. Subbarayulu, pp. 15–38). The material evidence available from those sites consists largely of iron weapons, indicating proneness to war. The faunal and floral evidence and lesser proportion of agricultural tools available from the habitation sites indicate that pastoralism was a major component of the economy of the Megalithic communities till they moved towards the coastal and riverine tracts when agriculture tended to become more important. This later phase, third– second centuries BC, is also marked by the appearance of the Brahmi script in some sites like Kodumanal in Tamil Nadu which signifies the transition from orality to literacy, and, being comparable to the Aśokan Brahmi, indicates their possible exposure to north Indian influence (pp. 31–37). The dawn of history in south India is, however, more clearly borne out by the legend of Agastya, believed to have travelled to the south, the testimony of Megasthenes, who refers to a kingdom in the south ruled by Herakles’ daughter Pandaia, Kautilya’s reference to Pandya area and Kerala coast and Aśoka’s mention of the Cholas, Pandyas, Satiyaputras and Keralaputras (Karashima, pp. 25–31). All this may have reflected the process of state formation, especially in the far south, but the known political history of the region south of the Vindhyas begins with the Satavahanas of the Deccan (Subbarayulu, pp. 40–43).
Although there is difference of opinion among historians as to the chronology of the Satavahanas, their rule was significant in ways more than one. They ‘set the norms for most of the political and sociocultural developments’ for the subsequent centuries in that they were harbingers of the Vedic and dharmaśāstric ideas in most parts of south India: in fact one of their rulers, Satakarni I, performed the prestigious aśvamedha sacrifice and distributed lavish gifts to the Brahmin priests, and another, Gautamiputra Sātakarni, took the epithet ekabamhanasa (the only Brahmana). They subjugated the pre-Sātavāhana tribal chiefdoms and brought the entire Deccan under one political authority. Their rule was a period of brisk Roman trade and a concomitant high level of monetisation which is discussed in a separate section in some detail by Karashima who brings much new material to bear on the theme and links his analysis with the debatable paradigm of the ‘Indianisation’ of southeast Asia (pp. 70–80). The later phase of the Sātavāhana rule in the Deccan coincides with the emergence of the earliest Tamil bardic poems, the Sangam literature (c. 100 BC–AD 300). This literary corpus throws light on the early Tamil polities, and trade with the outside world, and gives us an idea of the spread of Jainism and Buddhism in south India (Subbarayulu, pp. 43–70).
The period from the sixth to ninth century AD (Chapter 3) saw the emergence of several new kinds of states in peninsular India, showing ‘both discontinuities as well as continuities’ with the earlier states of the region. Among the three major powers were the Pallavas of Kanchi, the Pāṇd[yas of Madura and the Chalukyas of Badami. The rulers of these dynasties performed Vedic sacrifices, and assimilated the north Indian ‘political culture’. Their rule was, however, distinguished from that of the previous dynasties in that it witnessed ‘the introduction of “Hinduism” and the rapid rise and spread of the bhakti movement’ (Karashima, p. 89). It led to a conflict between ‘Hinduism and Śramanic religions’ (p. 90), but, equally important, also to the merger of the north Indian gods with the traditional deities of the region. The kings adopted brahminical rituals, which led to an increased mutual dependence between the rulers and the priests: the former bestowed generous gifts on the latter who legitimised their rule by inventing sacred ancestry for them—from the seventh century onwards, we are told, the concept of a sacred lineage of kings beginning from Vishṇu became common (p. 91). In this milieu, the donation of tax-free land or village to Brahmins or ‘Hindu’ temples, often by reclaiming forest land, became more frequent than during the Satavahana period, and led to agrarian expansion accompanied by technological innovations in irrigation and an increase in the number of crops grown (Karashima, pp. 92–98). All this went along with the construction of temples and the development of the bhakti movement led by the nayanars (Shaivas) and alvars (Vaishnavas); they produced a corpus of liturgical and hagiographical literature (Karashima, pp. 106–15), which is extremely useful for the study of the religious and social developments, as well as gender history of the early medieval and subsequent centuries (R. Mahalakshmi, pp. 115–19). The spread of the bhakti cult, it is suggested, should not be seen merely as the process of Aryanisation; it should be explained also in relation to the aham tradition (idealised and typified love between man and woman), which was accorded much importance in the Sangam literature (Karashima, p. 108), and without which the bhakti from the north would have remained ‘just a doctrine or a dogma and would not have stirred the soul of the common people to give rise to a movement’. Further, it is also argued that since the ruling houses made political use of the bhakti cult (p. 108), the prevalent perception of it as a ‘social protest’ against the ‘oppressive rule of the new Hindu kingdoms based on the caste system’ (p. 112) is questionable.
Adopting Nilakanta Sastri’s nomenclature, Karashima (pp. 124–35) describes the period from the tenth to the thirteenth century as one of ‘the balance of two powers’ because the Cholas, the most powerful state of the time, were confronted successively by the Rashtrakutas and the Chalukyas. He narrates the details of their triangular fight and then proceeds to analyse the nature of the Chola state. Although he refers to the various models that have been applied to the Chola and Vijayanagara states, he pays much attention to the ‘segmentary state’ model used by Burton Stein. On the basis of his innovative statistical examination of inscriptions spread over many years Karashima analyses the land/ revenue grants, bureaucracy, military system, etc. and suggests that the authority exercised by the Chola monarchy was essentially ‘political’ and not merely ‘ritual’. He also discusses the social aspects of landholding pattern (pp. 135–38), maritime trade and merchant activities (pp. 139–43) as well as religion (pp. 147–51), all of which can be linked in some way with his discussion of the development of Saivasiddhanta and Virasaivism, emergence of supra-local assemblies and new jātis (‘left-hand’ and ‘right-hand’ castes) in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries (Chapter 5).
The thirteenth and fourteenth centuries formed period of political upheaval, marked by the defeat of the Cholas by the Pāṇd[yas, and of the Kakatiyas and Hoysalas by the Delhi Sultanate. This was followed by the founding of the Sultanate of the Bahmanis to the north of the Tungabhadra and of the Vijayanagara Empire in the south of this river. The establishment of the latter at Hampi in 1340 changed the situation in south India. Karashima presents a succinct narrative of the dynastic history of Vijayanagara kings, and, drawing on his own path-breaking research, follows it up with a detailed analysis of the nāyaka system. Introduced by the Saluva kings after the open revolt by the vangai/idangai groups against maladministration and oppressive taxation, the nāyaka system was similar to the practice of granting iqt]ā‘ in the Islamic world. According to Karashima’s statistical examination of inscriptions, the number of nāyakas in Tamil Nadu alone was approximately 500 (contra Stein’s estimate of 58!): if those of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are counted their number could be more than double of this (p. 195). The land assigned to them covered a large part of the Vijayanagara territory, and their military, administrative and revenue functions certainly feudalised the state. Although the feudal dimension of the Vijayanagara state does not receive adequate attention in the Concise History, Karashima (pp. 188–216, 224–28) discusses in some detail the state of trade and industry and the nāyakas’ role in their promotion (pp. 203–09). The nāyakas, in fact, seem to have exerted great influence in the Vijayanagara kingdom, especially those of Madurai, Thanjavur and Senji in Tamil Nadu and Ikkeri in Karnataka: they became independent after the decline of Vijayanagara and their rule saw the development of ‘a new ethos’ (pp. 228–29).
Karashima also touches upon the origins of the Vijayanagar state (pp. 209–16). He examines the authenticity, first, of the story of the establishment of the Vijayanagara state by the Sangma brothers, Harihara and Bukka, with the help of Vidyaranya and second, of the popular view of their conversion to Islam and subsequent reconversion, The first, following Hermann Kulke, he tells us, is a ‘myth’; and, the second, agreeing with Philip Wagoner, he avers, can be viewed against the background of ‘cultural but non-religious Islamization’, evident from their adoption of long-sleeved tunics (kabayi) and the title hinduraya-suratrana (sultan among the Hindu kings) (p. 210). But he does not explain the tolerant attitude of the Vijayanagara kings towards the conversion of the Hindu population to Islam and Christianity, especially in the wake of Muslim migration from Persia and Arabia and the arrival of the Portuguese filled with notable missionary zeal. He yet provides us with an engaging account of the advent of the Portuguese followed by the appearance of the Dutch, English and the French on the Indian scene, the commercial rivalry among them and their impact on native mercantile activities (pp. 229–34).
The demise of the Vijayanagara state in the mid-seventeenth century was followed by the emergence of the kingdoms of Bijapur and Golconda on its ruins, the decline of the Mughals after Aurangzeb and the birth of ‘successor states’ like Hyderabad, Mysore, Tanjore and Travancore. These developments are encapsulated in Chapter 7 which brings together contributions by several scholars who do not view the eighteenth century as a period necessarily of decline. The ‘economic regeneration’ of the regions under the ‘successor states’ are thus highlighted and so are the developments in the fields of literature and performing arts of the period: special mention, for instance, is made of the cultural activities of the Thanjavur Maratha kings (pp. 245–49), though after their fall the musicians and dancers patronised by them were forced to move out in search of new patrons (Takako Inoue, pp. 324–26).
A major part of Chapter 7 is devoted to a very large number of themes such as incorporation of south India into global economy, colonial land system (Tsukasa Mizushima, pp. 266–73, 278–81), agrarian changes and south Indian cotton industry (Haruka Yanagisawa, pp. 281–89), colonial administration and education policy (Miwako Shiga, pp. 273–78), decline of matrilineal system in Kerala (Toshie Awaya, pp. 293–95), and social movements in Tamil Nadu (Miwako Shiga, pp. 289–93).
Much of this provides a useful background to the book’s eighth and last chapter which surveys the major developments that took place in south India during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Discussion of such varied issues as the non-Brahmin movement (Miwako Shiga), women’s movement including the question of devadasis (Parvathi Menon and Takako Inoue), linguistic nationalism leading to anti-Hindi agitation (Keiko Yamada), the new trends in music and the combination of cinema, television and politics in our own times (Takako Inoue) as well as the economic changes before and after India’s independence (Haruka Yanigasawa) make fascinating reading. The final surprise of the Concise History lies in the epilogue by Karashima on the making of India’s national cuisine which closes with—shall I say?—the comforting thought that curry unites not only south India but also India as a whole (p. 367).
The Concise History, based on a rigorous analysis of the bulk of new evidence that has come to light during the last six decades, provides a well-structured narrative of the history of peninsular India. It gives ample evidence of the ripe scholarship of Karashima and his success in building a team of Indian and Japanese researchers who have joined him in producing what is undoubtedly an avant-garde history.