It is important for students to note that Sharma's thesis has been debated.
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Author: Ram Sharan Sharma (R.S. Sharma) Publisher: Orient Longman (now Orient BlackSwan) Subject: Indian History / Feudalism / Sociology
For UPSC aspirants, history students, and researchers, having the PDF of R.S. Sharma’s works (specifically his seminal book Early Medieval Indian Society: A Study in Feudalisation or his NCERT texts) is vital for several reasons: It is important for students to note that
The book is generally organized around the following themes:
R.S. Sharma is widely considered the father of the "Indian Feudalism" debate. In this book (and his earlier work, Light on Early Medieval India), he argues that the period from roughly c. 600 AD to 1200 AD was not merely a "Dark Age" but a distinct epoch characterized by the feudalization of society.
His central thesis is that the breakdown of centralized authority, the fragmentation of political power, and the decline of long-distance trade led to a society where land grants replaced cash salaries, and a hierarchical, agrarian-based social structure emerged. Light on Early Medieval India )
The period saw the weakening of central authority. The king could no longer pay his officials in cash (due to the scarcity of coins). Instead, land grants became the norm. This gave rise to the Samantas (feudal intermediaries).