Q55 (IAS/2015) History & Culture › Medieval India › Medieval social structure Official Key

With reference to Indian history, which of the following is/are the essential element/elements of the feudal system? 1. A very strong centralized political authority and a very weak provincial or local political authority 2. Emergence of administrative structure based on control and possession of land 3. Creation of lord-vassal relationship between the feudal lord and his overlord Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Result

Your answer: — · Correct: B

Explanation

Feudalism was characterized by fragmented political units with diffused[1] political authority, where local lords expanded their territorial control in the absence of forceful kings and emperors[1]. This directly contradicts statement 1, which incorrectly describes strong centralization as a feudal characteristic.

In Indian history, land revenue was a major source for rulers, with land divided into jagirs allotted to jagirdars, who further allocated land to zamindars for tax collection from peasants[2]. This confirms statement 2 - that feudalism involved administrative structures based on land control and possession.

Feudalism was marked by agricultural production around manor houses where lords possessed land cultivated by peasants who pledged loyalty, goods and services, while these lords pledged loyalty to greater lords who were vassals of kings[3]. This hierarchical lord-vassal relationship validates statement 3.

Therefore, statements 2 and 3 correctly describe essential elements of feudalism, while statement 1 is fundamentally incorrect as feudalism featured weak central authority, not strong centralization.

Sources

[2] Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 10: Land Reforms in India > HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF LAND REFORMS > p. 336
[3] Themes in world history, History Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 3: Nomadic Empires > CHANGING TRADITIONS > p. 79

How others answered

Each bar shows the % of students who chose that option. Green bar = correct answer, blue outline = your choice.

Community Performance

Out of everyone who attempted this question.

63%

got it right

Web / Current Affairs

Online pages / news items supporting the statement

Web source

Presence: 5/5

"That is, the tentacles of bureaucracy did not reach as deeply into local communities. ... Here, state control was minimal, amounting to little more than establishing workable relations with chieftains."

Why this source?

Describes limited reach of central bureaucracy into local communities, implying weak central control over localities.
Notes minimal state control in hinterlands and reliance on relations with chieftains, which contradicts the idea of a very strong central authority.

Web source

Presence: 4/5

"political units were fragmented and political authority diffused. ... In the absence of forceful kings and emperors, local lords expanded the territory subject to them and intensified their control over the people living there."

Why this source?

States that political units were fragmented and political authority diffused, a context in which local elites retained power.
Explains that in the absence of forceful kings local lords expanded control—supporting a model of weak central and strong local authority rather than the reverse.

Web source

Presence: 3/5

"Administration of justice was mainly based on local customs and practices. Property laws and personal laws were based on the feudal system and caste system."

Why this source?

Says administration of justice relied on local customs and practices, indicating significant local authority in legal matters.
Links property and personal laws to the feudal system and caste system, implying local/regional structures shaped social-legal order.

Indirect textbook clues (5)

How books hint at the answer

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 4: India on the Eve of British Conquest > Nature and Limitations of Regional States > p. 73

Strength: 5/5

“The independent political systems that emerged in the provinces continued to maintain ties with the Mughal imperial authority and acknowledged the emperor's importance as an umbrella. Even rebel chieftains of the Marathas and Sikhs recognised the Mughal emperor as the supreme authority. The polity that emerged in these states was regional in character, and functional with the collaborative support of the different local groups like the zamindars, merchants, local nobles and chieftains. The provincial rulers had to take care of these various local interests in order to maintain themselves. Of course, there were exceptions; for instance, in Mysore, rulers did not recognise the local chieftains.”

Why relevant

Describes provincial polities that maintained ties to Mughal imperial authority while local groups (zamindars, nobles) retained power, implying layered authority rather than absolute central control.

How to extend

A student could compare the degree of imperial oversight versus local autonomy in specific regions (e.g., Bengal, Deccan) to judge whether central strength coincided with weak local power.

Modern India ,Bipin Chandra, History class XII (NCERT 1982 ed.)[Old NCERT] > Chapter 2: Indian States and Society in the 18th Century > Indian States and Society in the 18th Century > p. 17

Strength: 5/5

“\sqrt{N} the debris of the Mughal Empire and its political system arose a large number of independent and semi-independent powers such as Bengal, Avadh, Hyderabad, Mysore and the Maratha Kingdom. It is these powers which challenged the British attempt at supremacy in India in the second half of the 18th century. Some arose as a result of the assertion of autonomy by governors of Mughal provinces, others were the product of rebellion against Mughal authority. The rulers of these states established law and order and viable economic and administrative states. They curbed, with varying degrees of success, the lower local officials and petty chiefs and zamindars who constantly fought with higher authorities for control over the surplus produce of the peasant, and who sometimes succeeded in establishing local centers of power and patronage.”

Why relevant

Notes emergence of independent/semi-independent powers from Mughal debris and that provincial rulers curbed but did not entirely eliminate local chiefs and zamindars, indicating contested authority.

How to extend

One could map which successor states established strong provincial administration and which allowed powerful local elites to persist, testing the necessity of centralized dominance.

Modern India ,Bipin Chandra, History class XII (NCERT 1982 ed.)[Old NCERT] > Chapter 2: Indian States and Society in the 18th Century > MODERN INDIA > p. 35

Strength: 4/5

“same decadent social order as the Mughal Empire did and suffered from the same underlying weaknesses. The Maratha chiefs were very similar to the later Mughal nobles, just as the saraniami system was similar to the Mughal system of jagirs. So long as there existed a strong central authority and the need for mutual cooperation against a common enemy, the Mughals they remained united in a loose union. But at the first opportunity they tended to assert their autonomy.”

Why relevant

States Maratha chiefs resembled Mughal nobles and that unity depended on a strong central authority; when it weakened, chiefs asserted autonomy — a pattern relevant to feudal fragmentation.

How to extend

Extend by comparing periods with strong emperors versus interregnums to see if feudal decentralization increased when central power fell.

History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 8: Harsha and Rise of Regional Kingdoms > Administration > p. 106

Strength: 4/5

“According to historian Burton Stein, a centralised administration did not even exist under the powerful Guptas. It was restricted only to the central part of the Gangetic plain between Pataliputra and Mathura. Beyond that zone, there was no centralised authority. The only difference between Guptas and Vardhanas is that the former had formidable enemies like Huns, while the latter had no such opponents. The copper plates of 632 CE record a gift of land to two Brahmans.”

Why relevant

Burton Stein's view that even powerful Gupta rule was centrally limited geographically, suggesting central authority could be strong only in core zones while peripheries remained autonomous.

How to extend

Use geographic knowledge to identify core and peripheral zones under Gupta rule and assess whether 'feudal' relations correspond to peripheral local autonomy.

History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 7: The Guptas > Introduction > p. 89

Strength: 4/5

“After the Mauryan empire, many small kingdoms rose and fell. In the period from c. 300 to 700 CE, a classical pattern of an imperial rule evolved, paving the way for state formation in many regions. During this period, the Gupta kingdom emerged as a great power and achieved the political unification of a large part of the Indian subcontinent. It featured a strong central government, bringing many kingdoms under its hegemony. Feudalism as an institution began to take root during this period. The living standards of upper classes reached a peak. Education, art and study of science progressed, but the feudal system of governance put people in some form of hardship.”

Why relevant

Claims feudalism began taking root in the Gupta period alongside a strong central government, implying that a strong centre and feudal features could coexist.

How to extend

A student could examine specific institutional features (land grants, jagirs) during Gupta rule to evaluate whether strong central institutions accompanied feudal practices.

With reference to Indian history, which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. The Nizamat of Arcot emerged out of Hyderabad State. 2. The Mysore Kingdom emerged out of Vijayanagara Empire. 3. Rohilkhand Kingdom was formed out of the territories occupied by Ahmad Shah Durrani. Select the correct answer using the code given below.

With reference to the guilds (Shreni) of ancient India that played a very important role in the country’s economy, which of the following statements is/ are correct? 1. Every guild was registered with the central authority of the State and the king was the chief administrative authority on them. 2. The wages, rules of work, standards and prices were fixed by the guild. 3. The guild had judicial powers over its own members. Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

Consider the following statements regarding Indian Feudalism in the early medieval period : 1. The revenue assignments were called Bhoga. 2. The hereditary chiefs neither collected revenues nor assumed administrative powers. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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.

With reference to the history of ancient India, which of the following was/were common to both Buddhism and Jainism ? 1. Avoidance of extremities of penance and enjoyment 2. Indifference to the authority of the Vedas 3. Denial of efficacy of rituals Select the correct answer using the codes given below :

Question map

Explanation

PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN

SIMILAR QUESTIONS

Consider the following statements regarding Indian Feudalism in the early medieval period : 1. The revenue assignments were called Bhoga. 2. The hereditary chiefs neither collected revenues nor assumed administrative powers. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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.