question_answer

Explain why Abdur Razzak, a Persian Ambassador, was greatly impressed by the fortification of Vijayanagara Empire during the 15th century.

Or

Explain the ways through which Mughal village Panchayats and village headmen regulated rural society.

Answer:

Abdur Razzak who was an ambassador from Persia visited Vijayanagara empire in the 15th century. He stayed in Vijayanagar for some years and gave accounts of the economy, polity and social life. But his accounts on the structure of Vijayanagara grab a widespread attention because he explains that Vijayanagara was constructed with lot of planning and the best example is fortification structure.

He revealed that the Vijayanagar empire created its cities primarily for protection against invasion. The city itself was a fortress and designed as such in every possible way. It was built of massive stone and earthen walls, with hilltop fortresses and watch towers scattered across its length and breadth. Visitors to the city, irrespective of their guild and intention, had to travel through a heavily fortified and protected area before reaching the main urban core which gave them an ample view of the might that protected the empire.

The vijayanagara fort not only encircled the palace but it also encircled agricultural tracts, river streams, forests etc. This was especially done to survive sieges of the fort by any powerful enemy. There were seven lines of forts. Between the first, second and the third walls there are cultivated fields, gardens and houses.

The water channelized from River Tungabhadra was used for cultivation of agricultural tracts.

The outermost wall linked the hills surrounding the city. There cementing agent was e nip loved anywhere in the construction. The stone blocks were wedge shaped, which held them in place, and the inner portion of the walls was of earth packed with rubble. Square or rectangular bastions were projected outwards.

A second line of fortification went round the inner core of the urban complex, and a third line surrounded the royal centre, within which each set of major buildings was surrounded by its own high walls.

Gateways were distinctive architectural features. The arcs on the gateways were splendid and show influence of Turkish architecture.

There were pavements and. roads which generally wound round through the valleys, avoiding rocky terrain. Some of the most important roads extended from temple gateways, and were lined by bazaars.

Therefore Razzak was impressed by the intelligence, splendid planning and technology used in making the fort.

Or

During the Medival period, as was the traditional villages, the state did not interfere much in the village affairs except revenue collection and the village affairs were left to the village panchayat.

The panchayat was an assembly of elder, usually dominant caste men. Though the village consisted of multilicity of castes but lower castes were seldom represented in the village panchayat assembly. The decisions of the panchayats were binding on the members.

The panchayat was headed by a headman known as muqaddam or Mandal who was chosen through the consensus of the village elders, and this choice had to be ratified by the zamindar.

The chief function of the headman was to supervise the preparation of village accounts and he was assisted by the patwari of the panchayat.

The panchayat derived its funds from contributions made by individuals to a common financial pool. Expenses for community welfare activities such as tiding over natural calamities such as flood, digging canal etc. were also met from these fund.

One important function of the panchayat was to ensure that caste boundaries among the various communities inhabiting the village were upheld. Eg: In eastern India all marriages were overseen by the Mandal.

Panchayats also resorted to fines and punishments such as expulsion from the community in case any member defied the laws established by the panchayat. Such a measure was intended as a deterrent to violation of caste norms.

In addition to the village panchayat each caste in the village had its own Jati panchayat. These panchayats wielded considerable power in rural society.

Example: In Rajasthan Jati panchayats arbitrated civil disputes such as land disputes, marriage norms, ritual precedence of the castes etc, between members of different castes.