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Through the eyes of the traveller

The document summarizes accounts from several European travelers who visited India in the late medieval and early modern periods. It discusses their observations and representations of various aspects of Indian society and culture, including: - Al Biruni's Kitab al-Hind, a text that studied Hindu religious and philosophical texts and translated Sanskrit works. - Ibn Battuta's travelogue Rihla, which described his travels across India in the 14th century and observations of cities, culture, and the efficient postal system. - Francois Bernier compared Mughal India unfavorably to Europe and described the land as ruined and impoverished due to the lack of private land ownership. - European travelers

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THROUGHS THE EYES OF THE TRAVELLERS PREPARED BY RAHUL CHAUDHARY CLASS 12th C
Al Biruni and the Kitab-ul-hind. • Al biruni was born in 973 in present day Uzbekistan. • He was well knowledgeable in various languages. • He was captivated and taken to ghazni and died there at the age of 70 . • He spent years in the company with the local of Punjab and the Brahman priest. • He studied Sanskrit and religious and philosophical texts.
Al- Biruni
The kitab-ul-hind • It is written in Arabic. It is simple, lucid and voluminous. It talks about various subjects in India. • The book has a district structure, it begins with a question, the description based on sanskritic tradition, and the conclusion with a comparison with other cultures. • He translated text from sanskrit, pali and prakrit into arabic. • He was Critical about the way text was written and wanted to approve them.
Ibn-battuta‟s Rihala • Origin: morocco, born in tangier and educated in sharia law • The book „Rihal‟is written in Arabic, it is rich in detail of social and cultural like in the sub continent in the 14th century. • He left his family and friends behind to travel. He reached sind in 1333. • Muhammad bin tughlaq appointed as a qazi or a judge at delhi. • He remained in this position for many years, then due to a misunderstanding he was imprisoned.
The„enjoyment ofcuriosities‟ • Several year travelling through north Africa, west Africa, west Asia and central Asia. • India and china. • His stories were recorded.
IBN BATTUTA AND THE EXCITEMENTOF THE UNFAMILIAR. DONE BY Rahul chaudhary.
• India part of the global network of communication in the 14 century. • Spend much of his time with learned men and enjoyed the cosmopolitan culture. • Interaction between various multi-linguists. • Highlighted anything which he found unfamiliar to impress his readers. DID YOU KNOW? Ibn Battuta travelled 75,000 miles for about 29 years and visited around 60 rulers.
The coconut and paan- One of the best examples of Ibn Battuta‟s representation.
IbnBattuta and Indian Cities. Cities full of exciting opportunities. Densely populated and prosperous. Crowded streets with bright and colourful markets. Bazaars-hub of social and cultural activities.Had mosque and temples.Public Performances. Hefound Indian agriculture very productive. India- well integratedwith Inter Asian networks of trade andcommerce. Richin textiles, silk, muslin,satin and were in demand.
SYSTEM OF COMMUNICATION. • State evidently took measures to encourage merchants. • Trade routes supplied withinns and guest houses.• Amazed by the efficiency of the postal system. • Allowed merchants to send information and also remit credit across long distance. DID YOU KNOW? The postal system was so efficient that the news reports of the spies would reach in 5 days from Delhi to Sind.
BERNIER AND THE “DEGENERATE” EAST. • Francois Bernier belonged to a different intellectual tradition. • Preoccupied with comparing and contrasting what he saw in India in particular to that of europe. • His aim was to influence the policy-makers to ensure that they made the right decisions.
BERNIERS TRAVELS INTHE MUGHALEMPIRE. Marked by detailed observations,critical insights and reflection. His account contains discussions trying to place the history of the Mughals within the same sort of a universal framework. Representation works on the model of binary opposition. India presented as the universe of Europe. Compared Mughal India to that of Europe. India appeared to be inferior in the Western World.
The question of landownership. • Fundamental differences- lack of private property among Indians compared to Europe. • Firm believer of the virtues of private property. • Crown ownership- harmful to society. • This perception not unique to Bernier. • Land could not be inherited- crown ownership. • Averse to long- term investments. DID YOU KNOW? Bernier, a son of a farmer was an orphan at a very young age and he wad cared by his uncle.
• Absence of property in land denied the emergence of “improving” landlords to maintain or improve lands. • Uniform ruination of agriculture and excessive oppression of peasantry. • Decline in the living standards. • Bernier on India- undifferentiated masses of impoverished people subjugated by a small minority of rich. • Confidently asserted, “ there is no middle state in India.”
Bernier described the Mughal Empire as: Its king was the king of “beggars and barbarians”; it‟s cities and towns were ruined and contaminated with “ill air”; and its fields, “ overspread with bushes” and full of pestilential marshes.
• Abul Fazl, the Mughal chronicler described the land revenue as „remunerations of sovereignty‟. • Possible that European Travelers regarded such claims as rent because land revenue demands was very high. • This was actually a rent on the crop.
• Berniers description influenced Western th theorists from the 18 century. • French Philosopher, Montesquie u- oriental despotism. • Asiatic mode of production- Karl Marx. • Rural society characterized by social and economic differentiation. BIG ZAMINDARS BIG PEASANTS UNTOUCHABLE LANDLESS LABOURERS SPECTRUM- RURAL SOCIETY.
A more complex rural society. • Berniers preoccupation hint at a complex reality. • Artisans had no incentives to improve the life of their manufactures. • Manufactures were already in decline. • Precious metals flowed into India. • Also noted the existence of a prosperous merchant community engaged in trade.
Cities and towns • 15 of the population lived in towns compared to that of proportion in Europe. • Mughal cities – “camp towns”. • All kinds of towns- port towns, trading towns, pilgrimage towns etc. Their existence- index of prosperity of merchant communities. • Merchants- strong community organised into caste-cum occupational bodies.
URBANGROUP Physicians( hakim or vaid) Teachers(punditor mulla) Lawyers(wakil) Painters, architects. Calligraphers.
Women- Slaves, Sati and Labourers. • Travelers interested in the condition of women in the subcontinent. • Took inequities as a „natural state of affairs‟. • Women openly sold in the markets like any other commodity even exchanged as gifts. • Differentiation among slaves. • Slaves generallly used for domestic labour.
Differentiation among slaves. SLAVES • Female slaves in service ofsultans. • Experts in dance andmusic. SLAVES • Slaves also employed as spies to keepwatch on the nobles. • Ibn battuta found their service indispensible forcarrying men or woman onDola’s. SLAVES • Price of slaves especially women for domestic laborwere very low. • Affordable by mostfamilies.
A palanquin or a Dola.
SATI
PRACTICE OF SATI • Bernier has provided a detailed description of sati in his account. • He mentioned that while some women seemed to embrace death cheerfully, others were forced to death. • He also noticed the child satin which a twelve year old young widow sacrificed.
CONCLUSIO N• Contemporary European travelers and writers often highlighted the treatment of women as a crucial marker of difference between Western and Eastern societies. • Women's lives not only revolved around sati. They were also crucial in both agricultural and non-agricultural production. • They even participated in commercial activities.
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