2nd Semester Syllabus

HISTORY MAJOR (History of Early Medieval India: 600 CE to 1206 CE)

MINOR COURSE- (History of Early Medieval India: 600 CE to 1206 CE)

Course learning outcomes:

After the completion of the course, the students will have the ability to:
1. Understand the ‘early medieval’ phase in the Indian history — shifting of political power
from Pataliputra to Kanauj.
2. Learn about the political condition of eastern India, the Deccan, and south India during the
early medieval period.
3. Know about the advent of the Turks and the changing political condition of north India.
4. Know about the state formation — nature and structure of feudalism —‘segmentary state’
— debate about ‘Third urbanization’.
5. Know about the Chola period — land revenue system, military organization,
administration etc.
Content/ Syllabus: Unit wise course content distribution

UNIT-1
Module I
Understanding the ‘early medieval’ phase in the Indian history
1.1 Different perceptions on the early medievalsituations
1.2 Literary and archaeologicalsources
1.3 Development of regional cultures: anoverview
Module II
Shift of political power from Pataliputra to Kanauj
2.1 Gauda under Sasanka: the most formidable power in easternIndia
2.2 The Gauda-Kanyakubja struggle and the emergence ofHarshavardhana
2.3 Military and political supremacy ofKanauj
Module III
An overview of politics in the Deccan and south India
3.1 The Chalukyas ofBadami
3.2 Chalukya-Pallavastruggle
3.3 Rashtrakuta- Pratihararivalry
3.4 Rise of the Cholas as the premier power of thesouth
Module IV Eastern India
1.1 The Palas and the tripartite struggle
1.2 Expansion of Pala power towardsparamountcy
1.3 The Senas ofBengal
Module V
The struggle for empire
1.1 The Ghaznavidraids
1.2 The Ghuris
1.3 Qutb-ud-din Aibak’sconquests

UNIT-2
Module I
Political processes and structure of polity
1.1 Absence of vast territorial empires — a ‘darkperiod’?
1.2 Emergence of feudal polity — nature and structure of Indian feudalism
1.3 Zenith of political feudalism: 1000 - 1200CE
1.4 The concept of segmentary state and the Indian experience
Module II
The urban scenario
2.1 Debates on the decay of urban centres
2.2 A third phase of urbanization?
Module III Administrative structures
3.1 The Chola experiment -- a centralized state?
3.2 Land revenue system
3.3 Military organization and administration ofjustice
Module IV Towards transition
4.1 Conditions in India during the pre-Sultanateperiod
4.2 An overview of the cultural scenario

Suggested Readings:
1. A.L. Basham, Studies in Indian History andCulture
2. Hermann Kulke and D. Rothermund, A History ofIndia
3. Romila Thapar, Early India from the Origins to c. AD1300
4. R.S. Sharma and K.M. Shrimali, eds, A Comprehensive History of India, Vol. IV, PartI
5. R.S. Sharma, Rethinking India’s Past
6. K.A. NilakantaSastri, TheColas
7. —,A History of South India from Pre-historic Times to the Fall ofVijaynagar(with an
introduction by R. Champakalakshmi and an epilogue by P.M. RajanGurukkal), OUP, 2009.
8. Upinder Singh, A History of Ancient and Early MedievalIndia
9. RanabirChakravarti, Exploring Early India: Upto c. AD1300
10. HarbansMukhia, ed., The FeudalismDebate
11. BrajadulalChattopadhyaya, The Making of Early MedievalIndia
12. —, Studying EarlyIndia: Archaeology, Texts, and Historical Issues
13. —, ed., A Social History of EarlyIndia
14. —, Aspects of Rural Settlements and Rural Society in Early MedievalIndia
15. Daud Ali, Courtly Culture and Political Life in Early MedievalIndia
16. Burton Stein, ed., Essays on SouthIndia
17. —, Peasant State and Society in Medieval SouthIndia
18. KesavanVeluthat, The Early Medieval in SouthIndia
19. —, Political Structure in Early Medieval SouthIndia
20. Andre Wink, The Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Vol. I: Early Medieval India and the
Expansion of Islam 7 th-11thCenturies
21. R.S. Sharma, Indian Feudalism c. AD 300-1200
 22. —, Urban Decay in India AD300-1000
23. —, Early Medieval IndianSociety
24. D.N. Jha, ed., The FeudalOrder: State, Society and Ideology in Early Medieval India
25. R.N. Nandi, State Formation, Agrarian Growth and Social Change in Feudal
South India
c. AD600-1200
26. Noboru Karashima ed, A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations
27. Dineschandra Sircar¸ Pal-purbaYugerVamsanucharit
28. —, Pal-Sen YugerVamsanucharit

MULTIDISCIPLINARY COURSE IN HISTORY

UG Second Semester, Full Marks 50

Understanding Medieval Bengal ( Select Themes): 1206 CE-1727 CE

UNIT I
From the Muslim Invasion to the Mughal Rule
Module 1: brief political history of Bengal under the Sultans
Module 2: brief political history of Bengal under the Mughals
UNIT II
Socio-Cultural Aspects of Medieval Bengal: Syncretism and Conflict
Module 1: Bhakti Movement with Specific Reference to Sri Chaitanya
Module 2: Sufism in Bengal
Module 3: Caste Mobility in Bengal
UNIT III
Select Themes in Medieval Bengali Literature
Charyapada-Krittibash Ojha-Kashiram Das-an Outline of the Mangalkavyas-Origin of Folk
Literature: A Conceptual Framework
UNIT IV
Economic Life in Medieval Bengal
Module 1: Agriculture, Land and Fiscal System
Module 2: Trade, Commerce and Urbanization
UNIT V
Glimpses of Art and Architecture
Art, Sculpture and Architecture in Medieval Bengal: Gour, Pandua and Bishnupur (special
reference to Terracotta)

Archives and Museums in India Since Independence

SEC
BAHHISSE201

UNIT I
I. Definition of Archives and allied terms like Manuscripts, Documents, Records, Library.
II. Physical forms of Archival Materials like Clay tablets, Stone inscriptions, Metal Plates,
Palm leaves
and Paper records, Photographs, Cartographic Records Film, Video tapes and other electronic
records.

UNIT II
I. Types of Archives.
II. History of Archives.
III. History of Setting up of Archives in India with some specific example like National
Archives, New
Delhi and any regional example of the local archive.
UNIT III

I. Museum Movement in India Since Independence – the Role of Science and Technology in
Museum making- The case of Birla Industrial and Technological Museum. Art in Museum
Making-the National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi .
II. Private Initiatives in Museum Making- The case of Gurusaday Dutt Museum in Calcutta.

UNIT IV

I. Types of Museum and Emergence of New Museums and allied institutions.

II. Material Collection, Conservation, Preservation and their policies, ethics and procedure.
III. Museum and Society: Exhibitions, Public Relation.
Suggested Readings:
Saloni Mathur : India by Design : Colonial History and Cultural Display, University of
California, 2007.
Sengupta, S. : Experiencing History Through Archives, Delhi : Munshiram Manoharlal,
2004.
Guha, Thakurta, Tapati : Monuments, Objects, Histories : Institution of Art in ColonialIndia,
New York, 2004.
Kathpalia, Y.P.: Conservation and Restoration of Archive Materials, UNESCO, 1973.
Choudhary, R.D.: Museums of India and their maladies, Calcutta: Agam Kala, 1988.
Nair, S.M.: Bio-Deterioration of Museum Materials, 2011.
Agrawal, O.P.: Essentials of Conservation and Museology, Delhi, 2007.
Guha-Thakurta, Tapti: The Making of a New Modern Indian Art : Aesthetics and
Nationalism in Bengal, 1850-
1920, Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Mitter, Partha: Indian Art, Oxford History of Art Series, Oxford University Press, 2001.
Ray Niharranjana: An Approach to Indian Art, Calcutta, 1970.
Basu, Purnendu; Records and Archives, What are they, National Archieve of India, 1960, Vol
II, No. 2