Question map
Assertion (A) : The origin of feudal system in ancient India can be traced to military campaigns. Reason (R) : There was considerable expansion of the feudal system during the Gupta period.
Explanation
Assertion is true: Gupta rulers often consolidated power through military campaigns which were followed by land grants and patronage, practices that contributed to the social conditions leading to feudal relations [1]. The Reason is also substantially true in that many scholars place the beginnings or first phase of Indian feudalisation in the period c.350–750 CE (which overlaps the Gupta era) and note emerging feudal tendencies as the empire fragmented. However, R does not correctly explain A: the origin being linked to military campaigns is a causal claim about how feudal relations began (land grants to military elites), whereas R refers to chronological expansion during/around the Gupta timeframe and so does not itself explain the causal origin asserted in A.
Sources
- [1] Exploring Society:India and Beyond ,Social Science-Class VII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 7: The Gupta Era: An Age of Tireless Creativity > Before we move on ... > p. 165