Indian feudalism

Indian feudalism refers to the feudal society that made up India's social structure until the Mughal Dynasty in the 16th century. The Guptas and the Kushans played a major role in the introduction and practice of feudalism in India, and are examples of the decline of an empire caused by feudalism.

Quotes

• [Karashima] cautions against the ‘mechanical application of the concept of feudalism in the South Indian context as has been done by scholars like D.N. Jha.’ He points out the many fallacies in their argument and observes that the number of villages granted by rulers to Brahmins and temples was decisively in minority and also says ‘it seems too hasty to take royal grants of villages as an evidence for a prevalence of feudalism or serfdom, unless we study the conditions of the non-grant villages’.
  • From a book review by K.V. Raman, History and Society in South India— The Cholas to Vijayanagar: Noboru Karashima; Oxford University Press, New Delhi, published Tuesday, Apr 09, 2002 in The Hindu <http://www.hinduonnet.com/br/stories/2002040900090200.htm>