1

Concepts, Ideas
and Terms

The name Bharatvarsha Bharatvarsha

According to the scriptural description of the Brahmand, the entire Earth is called
was given to the whole Bharatvarsha but particularly, the area of the continent that lies South of the
country after the name of Himalayas is called Bharatvarsha. It is also called Aryavarta. The inhabitants of
Aryavarta are called Aryans as referred in the Rig Veda.
ancient tribe called the
Thus, the words Bharatiya or Aryans were both used for the inhabitants of
Bharata and the people Bharatvarsha or Aryavarta. Persians used to call Hindu for the Sindhu river and
were called thus, Hindustan came into being. The English called the river Sindhu, Indus and thus
the English name for Hindustan became India.
Bharatasantati. Our
ancient poets, Sabha and Samiti
A very striking feature of the Rigvedic polity was the institution of two political
philosophers
units known as the Sabha and the Samiti. The Sabha was a body of elders and was
and writers viewed the attended by persons of noble truth — Brahmanas and rich patrons. Judicial matters
country as an were decided by the Sabha and it was as important as the Samiti. The Samiti was
an ordinary assembly of the tribe and its members were called Visha. The king
integral unit. They attended the Samiti and the most important work of the Samiti was to elect the
spoke of the land king. Justice was based on dharma and the king was the head of the judicial set up.
The village head, Gramin led the villagers in time of war and attended the
stretching from the meetings of the Sabha and Samiti.
Himalayas to the sea, as
Varnasrama
the proper domain of a The Sanskrit word Varna means colour and suggests the origin of the four classes,
single universal monarch. priest (Brahmana), warrior (Kshatriya), peasant (Vaishya) and serf (Sudra) in the
development of the old tribal class structure, through contact with people of
different complexion and alien culture.
Asrama or Stage of life The life of an individual Aryan was divided into four stages :
(Brahmacharya); on his investiture with the sacred thread and leading a celibate

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4 UGC NET Tutor History
and austere life as a student at the home of his teacher,
next having mastered the Vedas, he returned to his
parental home and was married, becoming a householder
(Grihastha), when, well advanced in middle age, he left
his home and went away to the forest to become a hermit
(Vanaprastha); by meditation and penance, he freed his
soul from material things, until, atlast a very old man he
left his hermitage and became a homeless wanderer
(Sanyasin) with all his earthly ties broken.
A special group of Sanskrit texts dealing specifically with
dharma (righteous conduct) are collectively known as
Dharmashastras. It recognises three sources of dharma:
Shruti (the Vedas), Smriti (the Smriti texts) and
Sadachara (good custom and practices of the learned
people). A person’s dharma depends on gender, age,
marital status, varna and ashrama. The four varnas are
Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra.
The first three are referred to in the Brahmanical tradition
as Dvija (twice-born) as they alone have the right to the
sacred—thread ceremony, which is considered similar to a
second birth. The ashrama system went through several
stages of development and ultimately divided the life of a
dvija male into four stages: brahmacharya, grihasta,
vanaprastha and sanyasa.
Purusharthas
In Hinduism, purushartha (that, which is sought by man)
refers to a goal, end or aim of human existence. There are
generally considered to be four such purusharthas namely :
Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.
Samskaras
The Dharmashastras describe the samskaras (literally
preparation or arrangement) as rituals marking important
stages of life such as Upanayana (initiation), Vivaha
(marriage) and Antyeshti (funerary rites).
According to the texts, there were some 40 ceremonies
(samskara), which covered the whole life of a man from his
conception to his death; some of these were of great
importance and were performed by all respectable
members of the Aryan Community.
Yajna
In Hinduism, yajna is a ritual of sacrifice derived from the
practice in Vedic times. Yajna is a ritual of sacrificing and
sublimating the hawana samagri (herbal preparations) in
the fire accompanied by the chanting of Vedic mantras.
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Doctrine of Karma
The doctrine, according to which actions have
consequences, that manifest themselves in present and
future lives. Jaina doctrine holds that jivas (souls)
transmigrate due to Karma, but its ideas of
transmigration and karma are unique. Karma is
understood as consisting of material particles floating
about in space. Karmic matter is of different kinds – some
have directly negative effects on jiva and others do not.
Dandaniti/Arthashastra
Dandaniti, the administration of force, or rajaniti; the
conduct of kings, was a severely practical science and the
texts curiously dismiss the more philosophical aspect of
the state and the conduct of governmental affairs. The
earliest and most important text book specifically devoted
to state-craft is the Kautilya’s Arthashastra, which is
attributed to Kautilya, the famous Minister of
Chandragupta Maurya.
Saptanga
(Literally Meaning the Seven-Limbed State)
The Arthashastra is the first Indian text to define a state.
Its concept of saptanga rajya considers the state as
consisting of seven inter-related and inter-locking
constitutional limbs or elements (angas) Swami (the
lord), Amatya (the ministers), Janapada (the territory and
the people), Durga (the fortified capital), Kosha (the
treasury), Danda (justice of force) and Mitra (ally). The
idea of saptanga rajya was accepted with minor
modifications in many Dharmashastra texts, the Puranas
and the Mahabharata.
Dharmavijaya
(Literally Meaning Lawful Conquest)
Dharmavijaya did not involve the absorbtion of the
conquered kingdom, but merely its reduction to vassal
status. Though, many later kings, such as Samudragupta
ignored the sacred law and incorporated conquered
kingdoms into their empires, custom was against this
practice.
Stupa/Chaitya
The term chaitya means a sacred space, but is more
specifically used to refer to Buddhist shrines. Many of the
early Buddhist cave shrines contained a stupa as the
object of veneration and large independent stupas soon
came to form an integral part of Buddhist monastries. The
stupa represented many things in Buddhist tradition. It
stood for the axis mundi (the centre of the universe), it

symbolised the parinibbana (the passing away of the
Buddha) of the Buddha, it was a repository of relics of the
Buddha and it was also a place of veneration, worship and
pilgrimage for monks and laity.
Nagara/Dravida/Vesara
• Nagara Style The Northern style of temple
architecture, marked among other things, by a
curvilinear shikhar (tower).
• Dravida The Southern style of temple architecture,
marked among other things, by a pyramidal shikhara
(tower).
• Vesara A style of temple architecture, which has a
blend of elements associated with the Nagara and
Dravida styles, also referred to as Karnata-Dravida.
Bodhisatva/Tirthankara
(Bodhisatva or Future Buddha)
The most direct implication of Mahayana ideas at the
level of popular practice was the worship of Buddha and
Bodhisatvas in the form of images in shrines. The older
Buddhism had considered the veneration of stupas and
relics meritorious, but not essential.
Mahayana attached great importance to devotion to the
Buddha and Bodhisatvas. Tirthankara is another word for
jina and means ford-builder i.e., one, who builds fords, that
help people across the ocean of suffering. The word Jaina
means follower of jina, which means victor, a person, who
has attained infinite knowledge and teaches others how to
attain moksha, i.e., liberation from the cycle of rebirth.
Kara/Vishti
Kara has been interpreted as regular revenue, periodical
tax or oppressive tax like vishti or forced labour,
prevalent during post-Gupta period.
Stridhana
There was a category of property–stridhana, over which
the smritikaras conceded, that a women did have rights.
Stridhana means women’s property, but referred specifically
to certain special kinds of moveable property given to a
woman on various occasions during her lifetime. These
included presents (jewellery, clothes, household articles
etc) given by her parents, at the time of marriage and by
her relatives on other occasions. The Dharmashastra
agreed, that stridhana was passed on from mother to
daughter.
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Concepts, Ideas and Terms 5
Memorial Stones
The erection of memorials to honour the dead is an
ancient and worldwide phenomenon. The memorials
took different forms in different countries and times. In
Tamil Nadu, the act of erecting memorials gets its firm
foot in the megalithic culture. The gradual transformation
of the megalithic cult into the hero cult is reflected in
Sangam literature. The rituals for erecting hero-stones
(Nadu kal) are also mentioned in Tamil grammatical
works. Specimens of hero-stones are available only from
6th CE onwards.
Agraharas
Agraharas is the name given to the Brahmin quarter of a
heterogenous village or to any village inhabited by
Brahmins. These were gifted to the Brahmanas by the
king. Agraharas were also known as Chaturvedi-mangalams
in ancient times. Agraharas at times blossomed into
centres of traditional education and are well described in
the ancient literary works and in the inscriptions of the
various kings. Sometimes two or more agraharas were
joined together to create a larger one, which was then
renamed.
Khilafat Movement
The Khilafat Movement (1919-1924), was a pan-Islamic
political protest campaign launched by Muslims, in
British India, to influence the British Government, to
protect the Ottoman Empire during the aftermath of First
World War. This was an attempt by the Indian Muslim
Community to unite together in support of the Turkish
empire, ruled by the Khalifa, which was attacked by
European powers. The Muslims considered the Khalifa as
the custodian of Islam. The Khilafat Movement was
organised by the Ali Brothers, (Mohammad Ali and
Shaukat Ali against the injustices) done to Turkey (which
had fought against the British) after the First World War.
Sulh-i-kul
Sulh-i-kul literally means peace with all in Persian. The term
is associated with the Mughal emperor, Akbar the Great,
who integrated many Hindus into high positions in his
empire and removed many of the civil disabilities, to
which Hindus had been subject in his empire. He also
encouraged and participated in debates between
authorities of various religious traditions and started his
own synchretic religious cult.
6 UGC NET Tutor History
Sulh-i-kul was to become his method of judging, what was
legally right or wrong within his empire and was created.
Akbar understood that, he was trying to build political
institutions for predominantly non-Muslim society. He
wanted all his subjects to be judged equally before the
law.
Maharashtra-Dharma
Maharashtra-dharma is a subject of absorbing interest. In
the history of the Marathas, it has great significance since,
it was this concept, soul-stirring and dynamic, that gave
moral sanction to the establishment of swarajya as well as
to its expansion into an empire, firing them with a
religious zeal in their political mission. At the same time,
it is highly controversial as it admits of no generally
accepted interpretation.
Turkan-i-Chahalgani
Qutb-ud-din was succeeded by Iltutmish of the Slave
dynasty (AD 1206-AD 1290), who made Delhi his
capital. His reign is marked by his efforts in securing his
throne from rivals, attacks by Chengiz Khan and the
Mongol hovdes. Iltutmish organised his government and
made several reforms. First, he organised the ruling elite
or nobility, which is known as Turkan-i-chahalgani or
chalisa, means forty. It was an organisation of a group of
forty loyal nobles.
Baluta
The servants in the 18th century Maharashtrian village
categorised as twelve baluta servants served and were
maintained by the village as a territorial whole. The Bara
Balutedar system is a servant-system in Maharashtra’s
villages, which occurs in some castes, who used to work
for farmers in their surroundings. The balutedars, whose
services are still in demand are carpenters (sutar), the
barber (nhavi), idol-dresser (gurav), the water-carrier (koli),
the shoe maker (chambhar), the watchman (mahar), the
blacksmith (lohar), the washerman (parit), the potter
(kumbhar) and the rope-maker (mang).
Iqta
Iqta was an Islamic practice of tax-farming, that became
common during the Buyid dynasty. Iqta was a form of
administrative grant and its nature varied according to
time and place.
The Iqta holders generally did not technically own the
lands, but only assumed the right to the revenue of the
land. Many Iqta holders did not hold their Iqtas for life,
and at least in most cases, they were not subject of
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inheritance to the next generation. The Iqta system was
established in AD 9th century, to relieve the state
treasury, when insufficient tax revenue and little booty
from campaigns made it difficult for the government to
pay army salaries.
Jizyah
Under Islamic law, jizyah is a per capita tax levied on a
section of an Islamic state’s, non-Muslim citizen, who
meet certain criteria. The tax was to be levied on
able-bodied adult males of military age and affording
power. From the point of view of the Muslim rulers,
jizyah was a material proof of the non-Muslims
acceptance of subjection to the state and its laws.
In return, non-Muslim citizens were permitted to practice
their faith, to enjoy a measure of communal autonomy, to
be entitled to the Muslim states’s protection from outside
aggression and to be exempted from military services and
the zaqat taxes. The word jizyah is derived from the root
word, that refers to ‘part’ hence taken from a part of the
wealth of the non-Muslim citizen.
Madad-i-Maash
While the jagirdars were given revenue assignments in lieu
of cash salary, there was another category, which was
given revenue grants for their subsistence. This was the
class of religious men, who were patronised by the state.
These grants were known as suyurghal or Madad-I-Maash
(aid for subsistence). A department, Sadr-us-sudur looked
after these grants. If the aid was given in cash, it was
known as wazifa.
Amaram
The Nayakar and Ayagar systems were the backbones of
the Vijayanagara administration. Under the Nayakar
system, military chiefs were assigned certain pieces of
land called ‘amaram’. These chiefs called nayaks, had
revenue and administrative rights on their lands. They
were required to maintain elephants, horses and soldiers
in certain numbers, which were included in the royal
army during wars.
Alvars/Nayanars
The Alvars (those immersed in God) were Tamil
poet-saints of ancient India, who lived between the
AD 6th and 9th centuries, espoused emotional devotion or
bhakti to Vishnu-Krishna in their songs of longing,
ecstasy and service. The Nayanars were Shaivite
devotional poets of Tamil Nadu, active between the 5th
and 10th century.

Nayanars were from varied backgrounds, ranging from
kings and soldiers to untouchables. The foremost
Nayanars are: Appar, Sundarar, Manikkavacakar and
Sambandar. Together with the 12 Vaishnava Alvars, the
Nayanars are sometimes accounted as South India’s
75 apostles of bhakti because of their importance in the
rise of Hindu Bhakti Movement.
Sreni
Sreni was an association of traders, merchants and
artisans. Generally, a separate sreni existed for a
particular group of persons engaged in the same vocation
or activity. Srenis are like guilds.
Chauth
(From the Sanskrit, Meaning One-Fourth)
Chauth or Chauthai was an annual tax or tribute imposed
from early 18th century by the Maratha empire in India.
It was normally levied at 25% on revenue or produce,
hence, the name. The right to assess and collect this tax
was asserted first by Shivaji in the later 17th century. The
Sardeshmukhi was an additional 10% levy on top of the
Chauth. It is a tribute paid to the king. Chauth was levied
on the promise, that the Marathas will not raid the areas,
which pays them Chauth.
Hundi (Bills of Exchange)
The Indian name for Bills of Exchange is a Hundi. It is a
written note given by one person to another, instructing a
third person to pay, whoever presents it to them, a sum of
money. Bills of exchange appear to have been in use in
India from at least the 16th century. As a safety
precaution, the bills were only written in an elaborate
script, which only bankers knew, how to read and write.
Sarraf
A community engaged in monetary transactions and
whose reference began to appear from the Sultanate
period. However, by the Mughal period.
It developed three distinct functions
1. As money changers, the role of the Sarraf was, that he
was considered an expert in judging the metallic purity
of coins as well as their weight. He also determined the
current exchange rate of specific coins.
2. As bankers, they received deposits and gave loans on
interest.
3. As traders, they dealt in gold, silver and jewellery.
Besides, they also issued hundis or bills of exchange.
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Concepts, Ideas and Terms 7
Polygars
The Polygars were the offshoots of the Nayankara system
prevalent in the Vijayanagara administration. They were
quite similar to the Rajputs of North India and were given
land in exchange for military service, when called upon.
However, their influence and power increased beyond the
traditional lines and they often acted as sovereigns even
to the extent of extracting taxes from people, but the
company’s government sought to control them.
Jagir
Jagir (ja-means place, gir-means keeping/holding) was a piece
of land held by the mansabdar, which was granted by the
Sultan, in recognition of his loyal service to the crown. A
jagir was technically a feudal life estate, as the grant
lawfully reverted back to the monarch on death. The
jagirdar would typically reside at the capital, to serve as a
minister appearing twice a day before the monarch. The
jagir system, during the Mughal empire was considered as
an institution, that was mainly used to reserve the surplus
from the class of peasants and was also used to distribute
the income resources among the dominating classes.
Dastur
The Mughal Government supplied dastur-ul-amal or codes
of customary practice, explaining the mode of payment of
land revenue at the tehsil. Taxes were levied and expenses
paid in accordance with the dastur-ul-amal. After his
accession, Jahangir passed 12 orders (dastur-ul-amal) and
according to the 10th order hospitals were to be built in
all big cities and physicians were to be appointed and
expenditure for this purpose were to be made from the
Khalisa establishment (royal treasury).
Mansab (Rank)
Mansabdar was the generic term for military-type grading
of all imperial officials of the Mughal empire. The
mansabdars governed the empire and commanded its
armies in the emperor’s name. Though, they were usually
aristocrats, they did not form a feudal aristocracy, for
neither the officers nor the estates, that supported them
were hereditary. Mansab means rank and hence,
mansabdar means rank-holder, were of 3 classes : 7000-
3000—Amir-i-azam, the greater nobles, 2500-500-Amir,
noble; 400-20, mansabdar office holder. During the reign
of Akbar, the size of mansabs increased. Mansabdars were
given control over an area of land, a jagir, whose revenue
was to be used for maintaining troops.
8 UGC NET Tutor History
Deshmukh
Deshmukh (a patriot) was a historical title given to a
person, who was granted a territory of land in certain
regions. In Marathi, desh means a country and mookh
means mouth, hence deshmukh means a spokesman of a
district. It was the title given to a person, who was granted
a territory of land in certain regions of India, specifically
Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The granted
territory was usually referred to as the deshmukhi and the
deshmukh was in effect the ruler of the territory, as he was
entitled to the collected taxes. It was also his duty to
maintain the basic services of the territory, such as police
and judicial duties. It was typically a hereditary system.
Nadu
Nadu was the locality consisting of several settlements in
early medieval South India. It was a more important unit
than the village. The term nadu also referred to the
assembly of the locality. Nadus were usually named after
one of the villages and varied a great deal in size
indicating, that they were not artificial administrative
divisions created by the state. Clusters of villages similar
to the nadu existed in the Pallava and Pandya kingdoms.
Members of nadu assembly were known as the Nattar.
Pargana
A Pargana is former administrative unit of the Indian sub
continent, used primarily but not exclusively by the
Muslim kingdoms. Parganas were introduced by the
Delhi Sultanate, and the word is of Persian origin. As a
revenue unit, a pargana consists of several mouzas, which
are smallest revenue units, consisting of one or more
villages.
Bengal Vaishnavism
Bengal Vaishnavism or Gaudiya Vaishnavism after
Bengal’s older name Gaur is unique in India in several
ways. It claims, that Krishna is the supreme deity rather
than an incarnation of Vishnu and that he is in external
play (lila) with his beloved consort Radha.
The geographical focus of Bengali Vaishnavism is Nadiya
district, especially the town of Navadvipa, which has
some of the largest and best known communities. The
Vaishnavite movement arose in the AD 11th and 12th
centuries in Bengal.
The 2 offshoots of Gaudiya (also Chaitanya)
Vaishnavism are : Sahajiya or Tantiro Vaishnavism and
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
(ISKCON) or Hare Krishna.
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Shahna-i-Mandi
Ala-ud-din Khalji’s measures did not remain confined to
rural economy, but extended to the urban market as well.
He is credited for issuing a set of 7 regulations, which
came to be known as market control measures. He fixed
the prices of all commodities from grain to cloth, slaves,
cattle etc. A controller of market, Shahna-i-mandi, Barid
(intelligence officers) and Minhiyan (secret spies) were
appointed. The grain merchants were placed under the
Shahna-i-mandi and sureties were taken from him. All grain
carriers (the caravan) of the kingdom were brought into a
single corporation (yak wujud), under the charge of
Shahna-i-mandi.
Jangama
Jangama are the Shaivite order of wandering religious
mendicants. They are the priests or gurus of the Shaivite,
sect of the Lingayats. The word Jangam is derived from the
emblem (linga) of Lord Shiva. They migrated from
Karnataka in order to propagate the Shaivite cult as to act
as priests for those, who do not avail the services of
Brahmanas for performing religious rites.
Dyarchy
It is a system of Double-Government introduced by the
Government of India Act (1919), for the provinces of
British India. It marked the first introduction of the
democratic principle into the executive branch of the
British administration of India. Though much criticised,
it signified a break through in British Indian Government
and was the forerunner of India’s full provincial
autonomy (1935) and independence. Dyarchy was
introduced as a constitutional reform by Edwin Samuel
Montagu (Secretary of State for India, 1917-22) and
Lord Chelmsford (Viceroy of India, 1916-21).
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept, in which a group of
members are bound together by covenant with a
governing representative head. The term federalism is also
used to describe a system of the government, in which
sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central
governing authority and constituent political units, (such
as states or provinces).
Federalism is a system based upon democratic rules and
institutions, in which the power to govern is shared
between National and Provincial/State Governments
creating, what is called a Federation. The Government of
India is organised along federalist lines.

Utilitarianism
It is a theory in normative ethics holding, that the proper
course of action is the one, that maximises overall
happiness. It is now generally taken to be a form of
consequentialism, although, when Anscombe first
introduced that term, it was to distinguish between
‘old-fashioned’ utilitarianism and consequentialism.
Filtration Theory
According to this theory, education is to be filtered to the
common people. Drop by drop, the education should go
to the common public so that, at due time it may take the
form of a vast stream. The company government needed
various types of workers to run the government.
They wanted to have cheap servants, who work in
different capacities. This aim could be fulfilled only by
the educated higher class of people of India, so they
started the policy of education of higher class. The British
rules felt, that the educated Indians could then set an
example to the lower classes.
Forward Policy
On 2nd November, 1961, the Indian Government issued
a directive for the implementation of what is called the
Forward Policy. This directive was passed on by the army
headquarter to the area commanders concerned. The
premise of the Forward Policy was based on the
assurances of the Civil Intelligence Bureau, whose views
were shared by the chief of the general staff. The aim of
the Forward Policy were to create outposts behind
advancing Chinese troops to interdict their supplies,
forcing them North of the disputed line. In 1959, India
started sending Indian troops and border patrols into
disputed areas.
Doctrine of Lapse
This doctrine was an annexation policy devised by Lord
Dalhousie, who was the Governor-General of the East
India Company in India between 1848 and 1856.
According to the doctrine, any princely state or territory
under the direct influence (paramountcy) of the British
East India Company as a Vassal state under the British
subsidiary system, would automatically be annexed, if the
ruler was manifestly incompetent or died without a direct heir.
The latter supplanted the long established right of an
Indian sovereign without an heir to choose a successor.
The doctrine and its application were widely regarded by
Indians as illegitimate.
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Concepts, Ideas and Terms 9
Satyagraha
Soul Force or Truth-Force, Satyagraha is a particular
philosophy and practice within the broader overall
category known as non-violent resistance or civil
resistance.
The term Satyagraha was coined and developed by
Mahatma Gandhi. He deployed Satyagraha in the Indian
Independence Movement and also during his earlier
struggles in South Africa.
Swadeshi
Mahatma Gandhi was a champion of swadeshi or home
economy. Gandhi’s vision of a free India was not a
nation-state but a confederation of self-governing,
self-reliant and self-employed, people living in village
communities, deriving their right livelihood from their
own produce.
Swadeshi means local-self sufficiency and the Swadeshi
Movement, part of the Indian Independence Movement
and the developing Indian nationalism was an economic
strategy aimed at removing the British Empire from
power and improving economic conditions in India by
following the principles of swadeshi. Strategies of the
Swadeshi Movement involved boycotting British
products and the revival of domestic products and
production processes.
Orientalism
It is a term used by art historians, literary and cultural
studies scholars for the initiation and depiction of aspects
of middle Eastern and East Asian cultures by American
and European writers, designers and artists.
De-Industrialisation
The urban industry of India, at the beginning of the 19th
century, was mainly in the nature of handicrafts,
producing fine textiles or other luxury products for the
aristocracy. In handicraft, Indian urban industry had
reached a high water-mark of excellence and enjoyed a
worldwide reputation.
The urban industry occupied a favourable and important
position in India’s economic activity. Inspite of this, we
were confronted with the problem of rapid decline, both
in artistic excellence and economic importance of these
handicrafts, a decline which began as early as end of
18th century and became very marked by the mid of
19th century. This process came to be known as
de-industrialisation.
10 UGC NET Tutor History
Revivalism
All political discourse that we can distinguish in Indian
public life today can be traced back to India’s struggle for
independence. The revivalist discourse, which gained
considerable political ground in the 80’s can be traced
back to the philosophical, religious and social
movements, that originated in the latter half of the 19th
century as part of a quest for India’s independence from
British rule.
Communalism
India is a vast country, where people belonging to many
religions live. Some of the important religions practiced
by its people are Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism,
Jainism, Christianity and Zorastrianism. By communalism,
we mean the opposition of religious communities to each
other. It means to distinguish people on the basis of
religion. In India, the origin and growth of communalism
can be traced to the pre-Independence days and the
policy of the divide and rule by the British rulers.
Subsidiary Alliance
The doctrine of subsidiary alliance was introduced by
Marques Wellesley, British Governor-General of India
from 1798 to 1805. Early in his governorship, Wellesley
adopted a policy of non-intervention in the princely
states, but he later adopted the policy of forming
subsidiary alliances. Under this doctrine, Indian rulers
under British protection surrendered control of their
foreign affairs to the British. Most disbanded their native
armies, instead maintaining British troops within their
states to protect them from attack.
Mercantilism
The first phase of British rule can be termed as
exploitation by merchants in the context of mercantilism.
The main objective of the East India Company was to buy
as much as Indian goods as possible at the cheapest
possible price. Mercantilism is the economic doctrine, in
which government control of foreign trade is of
paramount importance ensuring the prosperity and
military security of the state.
Economic Nationalism
It is a term used to describe policies, which emphasise
domestic control of the economy, labour and capital
formation, even if this requires the imposition of tariffs
and other restrictions on the movement of labour, goods
and capital. It opposes globalisation in many cases or
atleast it questions the benefits of unrestricted free trade.
8
Indian Renaissance
Indian Renaissance occurred after the emergence of the
British forces, when a mass religious awakening took
place. The foremost reformists had undertaken the task
with a lot of eagerness and enthusiasm.
Renaissance stands for rebirth and Indian renaissance
refers to that period, which was marked by the quest of
knowledge and development of science and arts.
Economic Drain
To find out the real cause of poverty in India, more than
100 years ago Dadabhai Naoroji developed explicitly a
drain theory and according to him this economic drain by
the alien ruler has a bleeding drain inherent in the built-in
mechanism, that extracted a large part of the revenue in
the form of an export surplus from India and transfered it
to England and other European countries.
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance,
acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by
people from another territory.
Provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India,
still earlier presidency towns and collectively British
India, were the administrative units under the tenancy or
the sovereignty of either the East India Company or the
British crown between 1612 and 1947.
Paramountcy
The doctrine of paramountcy is the legal principle, that
reconciles contradicting or conflicting laws in a federalist
state. Where both the Central Government and the
Provincial or State Governments have the power to create
laws in relation to the same matters, the law of one
government will be given priority over the other, through
the doctrine.
Evangelicalism
It is a Protestant Christian Movement, which began in
the 17th century and became an organised movement
with the emergence (around 1730) of the methodists in
England and the pietists among lutherans in Germany and
Scandinavia. It is a religious movement, that
de-emphasises the pietism of the individual, requiring
him/her to meet certain active commitments.
Bhudan/Bhoodan Movement
Bhudan or Bhoodan literally means land-gift. The
Bhoodan Movement was a Voluntary Land Reform

Movement in India started by Acharya Vinoba Bhave in
1951, started at Poochampally village, now known as
Bhoodan Poochampally. The movement was an
attempt at land reform and it intended to solve the land
problem in the country in a noble way by making land
available to the most disadvantaged class of Indian
society by distribution of land by voluntary donations.
Panchsheel
The five principles of peaceful co-existence known in
India as the Panchsheel (Panch five, Sheel : virtues) are a
set of principles to govern relations between states. Their
first formal codification in treaty form was an agreement
between China and India in 1954. They were inunciated
in the Preamble to the ‘Agreement(with exchange of
notes) on trade and intercourse, between Tibet region of
China and India’, which was signed at Peking on 29th
April, 1954.
This agreement stated 5 principles
1. Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and
sovereignty.
2. Mutual non-agression.
3. Mutual non-interference in each other’s internal
affairs.
4. Equality and mutual benefit.
5. Peaceful co-existence.
Mixed Economy
Mixed economy implies demarcation and harmonisation
of the public and private sectors. In it, free functioning of
the market mechanism is not permitted and the
government intervenes or regulates the private sector in
such a way, that the 2 sectors become mutually
reinforcing. A mixed economy represents and achievable
balance between individual initiative and social goals.
Planning and market mechanisms are so adjusted, that
each is used for realising the objectives of the economy, to
which it is most suited. In India, the concept of mixed
Concepts, Ideas and Terms 11
economy evolved, so, that both the private and public
sectors could contribute to the process of growth.
Indian Left
In general, the left-wing tends to uphold a secular society,
egalitarian and multi-cultural. Depending on the balance
of all these factors, the political left is divided into many
branches ideologically. Left front is an alliance of Indian
leftist parties. In West Bengal and Tripura, there are state
level committees of the left front. In West Bengal, some
of the left front parties are the Communist Party of India
(Marxist), the CPI, All India Forward Bloc; in Tripura it
is-CPI (M), CPI , RSP and AIFB; in Kerala- CPI (M), CPI,
RSP and AIFB, in Maharashtra— parties such as Peasant
and Workers Party of India, Kamgar Aghadi and allies of
the left front.
Hindu Code Bills
Following independence for India, the post-colonial
government led by Jawaharlal Nehru, completed the
codification and reform of Hindu Personal Law, a process,
that had begun by the British. Accounting to the British
policy of non-interference, reform of personal law should
have arisen from a demand from the Hindu community.
This was not the case, as there was significant opposition
from various Hindu politicians, organisations and
devotees, who saw themselves unjustly singled out as the
sole religious community, whose laws were to be
reformed. However, the administration saw such
codification as necessary in order to unify the Hindu
community, which ideally would be a first step towards
unifying the nation.
They succeeded in passing 4 Hindu code Bills which were
1. The Hindu Marriage Act, (1955)
2. The Hindu Succession Act, (1956)
3. Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, (1956)
4. Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, (1956)