Old NCERT Summary (RS Sharma): Sequence of Social Changes | History for UPSC CSE PDF Download

Tribal and Pastoral

• Rig vedic people were primarily pastoral and nomadic.
• They gave very high position to cow.
• Wars were fought for the sake of cows and a duty of the king was to protect the cows called gopa.
• Bali was the payment or tribute receives by the king from hostile tribe in the form of booty.
• Cattle and women were generally given as gifts.

Agriculture and the origin of upper order

• When vedic people moved from Afghanistan and Punjab    to western U.P they turned from agriculturalists to territorial chiefdoms.
• They neither has a taxation system nor a standing army.
• The peasnatry served as sena.
• Princes were not completely eliminated form peasants.
• They could not grant land without the consent of the peasantry.

Varna sytem of production and government

• The egalitarian system of vedic people turned into fully divided class society based on vama.
• Large territorial states results in the formation of Magadhan empire.
• There were no wage earners but family members cultivated for their families.
• Varna system was devised to extracts taxes from different class of people.
• Upper three classes were distinguished from the fourth.
• The lowest class was not considered as citizens.
• Rate of payment of land revenue and economic privileges were dependent on the varna system

Social Crisis and landed Classes

• The first and second centuries were defined by bumpre trade and urbanism.
•  The king appeared as the restorer of the vama system.
• Raja usurped the power to permit land grants.
• Land grants were given to brahamanas and priests along with administrative powers.
• Land grants depreciated the position of Vaishyas.
• All these developments led to the devlopment of feudal class later on.