THROUGH THE EYES OF TRAVELERS CLASS 12: NOTES CBSE

 

THROUGH THE EYES OF TRAVELERS CLASS 12: NOTES CBSE

Purpose of Travellers' Accounts: Travellers visiting the subcontinent recorded not only the activities of kings but also the everyday life of common people, enriching our understanding of the past.

Key Travellers: Al-Biruni, Ibn Battuta, and Francois Bernier are three famous travellers who visited the subcontinent from the 11th century to the 17th century.

Al-Biruni and the Kitab-ul-Hind

Al-Biruni: A Brief Biography

Birth and Early Life: Born in 973 in Khwarizm, present-day Uzbekistan.

Multilingual Scholar: Proficient in Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, and Sanskrit.

Journey to Ghazni: Arrived in Ghazni in 1017 as a hostage during the Khwarizm invasion.

  - Developed a fondness for the city and a keen interest in India.

Exploration of Northern India: Explored Punjab and other parts of Northern India after it became part of the Ghaznavid empire.

Study of Sanskrit and Indian Culture: Spent years with Brahmana priests, learning Sanskrit and studying religions and philosophical texts.

Notable Work: Kitab-ul-Hind: Wrote Kitab-ul-Hind in Arabic, presenting complex subjects in a simple and clear manner.

Content of Kitab-ul-Hind: Contains 80 chapters covering topics like religion, philosophy, festivals, astronomy, alchemy, manners, customs, social life, weights, measures, iconography, laws, and metrology.

Contribution to Scholarship:

• Familiar with translations and adaptations of Sanskrit, Pali, and Prakrit texts into Arabic.
• Critically assessed these texts and sought to improve upon them.

Al-Biruni's View About Indian Society

Language Barrier: Sanskrit was vastly different from Arabic and Persian, making direct translation of ideas challenging.

Caste System Analysis: Al-Biruni compared the caste system with social divisions in other societies, suggesting its universality.

  

Sources of Information: Al-Biruni relied on various Sanskrit texts like the Vedas, Puranas, Bhagavad Gita, Patanjali's works, and the Manusmriti for his research.

Caste System Flexibility: While Sanskrit texts defined the caste system strictly, Al-Biruni observed that in practice, the system was more flexible than portrayed.

Ibn Battuta and his Book Rihla

Ibn Battuta: A Traveller's Tale

Authorship of 'Rihla': Ibn Battuta wrote 'Rihla' in Arabic, detailing his travels and experiences.

Insight into 14th Century Subcontinent: 'Rihla' offers a vivid depiction of social and cultural life in the Indian subcontinent during the 14th century.

Extensive Travels: Explored distant lands and interacted with various cultures and peoples.

Pre-India Travels: Prior to arriving in India, he journeyed through Syria, Iraq, Persia, Yemen, Oman, Mecca, and trading ports in East Africa.

Time in Delhi: Arrived in Delhi during the reign of Sultan Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq, who appointed him as Delhi's 'qazi' or judge due to his scholarship.

Journey Beyond Delhi: Explored Bengal, Assam, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, and China.

Detailed Observations: Recorded detailed observations on diverse cultures, beliefs, and values encountered during his travels.

Perils of Travel: Faced dangers such as bandit attacks and severe injuries during his journeys.

Extensive Record of Experiences: Spent years traveling through North Africa, West Asia, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and China, meticulously documenting his experiences.

Battuta's Description of Indian Society

Extent of Contact: The Indian subcontinent had connections with China in the East and North West Africa and Europe in the West during the 14th century.

Journey to Delhi: Ibn Battuta reached Delhi in the 14th century after visiting sacred sites and meeting rulers, scholars, and multilingual individuals along the way.

Cultural Exchanges: Shared ideas, information, and anecdotes with people who spoke Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and other languages.

Unique Descriptions: Described unfamiliar items like coconut and paan in a distinctive manner while discussing Indian society.

View of Indian Cities: Found Indian cities, including Delhi and Daulatabad in Maharashtra, to be densely populated and prosperous.

Importance of Bazaars: 

• Bazaars served as centers for economic transactions and social and cultural activities.
• Some bazaars featured masjids and temples for prayers, along with spaces for public performances by dancers, musicians, and singers.

Productive Agriculture: Ibn Battuta noted the high productivity of Indian agriculture, with farmers cultivating two crops a year due to the fertile soil.

Flourishing Manufacturing:  Indian manufacturing thrived due to the inter-Asian trade network.

  - Goods were highly sought after in West Asia and South-East Asia, leading to substantial profits for artisans and merchants.

Demand for Indian Textiles: Indian textiles, including cotton cloth, fine muslins, silks, brocade, and satin, were in high demand.

Efficient Postal System: Ibn Battuta was impressed by the efficiency of India's postal system, which consisted of two types: the horse-post called 'uluq' and the foot-post called 'dawa'.

Francois Bernier : A French Traveller

Arrival of European Travellers: Portuguese, Dutch, English, and French travellers visited India in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Notable Writers: Jesuit Roberto Nobili, Duarte Barbosa, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, and Manucci wrote about various aspects of Indian society.

Francois Bernier's Indian Journey: French doctor, political philosopher, and historian Francois Bernier spent twelve years (1656 to 1668) in India, closely associated with the Mughal court.

Comparative Analysis: Bernier traveled extensively in India, comparing its situation with Europe and providing detailed accounts.

Publication and Popularity: Bernier's works were published in France in 1670-71 and translated into English, Dutch, German, and Italian, becoming extremely popular.

Bernier and his View About Contemporary Society

Francois Bernier's Views on India and Europe

Intellectual Tradition: Bernier followed a critical intellectual tradition, contrasting Indian society with Europe, particularly France, unlike Ibn Battuta.

Book Overview: His book 'Travels in the Mughal Empire' is known for detailed observations, critical insights, and comparisons with Europe, often highlighting Europe's superiority.

Land Ownership: Bernier noted that the Mughal emperor owned all land, distributing it among nobles, leading to negative consequences for the economy and society.

  - Landholders, lacking legal rights over their land, avoided long-term investments in production and were unable to pass land to their children.

Impact on Agriculture and Society: The crown's ownership of land adversely affected agriculture and living standards, except for the ruling aristocracy, which oppressed the peasant class.

Absence of Middle Class: Bernier noted the lack of a middle class in Indian society, attributing it to crown ownership of land, which created a stark divide between the poorest and the richest.

Mughal King's Perception: He described the Mughal king as the ruler of "beggars and barbarians", highlighting his perspective on the social and economic conditions.

Contrasting Views: Abul Fazl: Abul Fazl, on the other hand, viewed revenue as a claim by the ruler on his subjects for protection, rather than as rent on land owned by the ruler.

Influence on Western Thought: Bernier's descriptions influenced Western thinkers, with French philosopher Montesquieu using them to develop the concept of oriental despotism.

  - In the 19th century, Karl Marx used Bernier's account to develop the idea of the Asiatic mode of production.

Complex Social Reality:

• Bernier noted a complex social reality in India, where artisans had little incentive to improve their products due to state appropriation of profits.
• Despite this, India traded its manufactured goods for gold and silver from outside the subcontinent.
• He also observed a prosperous merchant community in India.

Urban Diversity: India had various types of towns, including manufacturing towns, trading towns, port-towns, sacred centers, and pilgrimage towns.

Urban Groups: Urban groups in India included mahajans (moneylenders), sheths (wealthy merchants), nagarsheths (head merchants), hakims or vaid (physicians), pundits or mullas (scholars), wakils (agents), painters, architects, musicians, and calligraphers.

Views of Travellers about Women

Open Slave Markets: Slaves were openly sold in markets alongside horses, camels, and other commodities.

Differentiation Among Slaves: Ibn Battuta noted considerable differentiation among slaves.

Use of Slaves: Slaves were primarily used for domestic labor, while female slaves served the Sultan and kept watch on nobles.

Practice of 'Sati': Bernier wrote about the practice of 'Sati', noting that while some women embraced death willingly, others were forced into it.

Women's Labor: Women played crucial roles in both agricultural and non-agricultural production.

Women in Commerce: Women from merchant families actively participated in commercial activities.

Limitations of Travellers' Accounts: While travellers' accounts provide valuable information, many aspects of social life were not documented by them.