A Study of The Paradigm Shift in The Land Ownership and The Provision of Land Grants in Ancient India

Abstract

The present research paper deals with the concept and the dynamics of land ownership and the provisions of land grants in Ancient India. The theoretical concept of the ownership of the land and the land grant underwent tremendous changes and transformation in this period. The private ownership of land with rights of alienation in Ancient India secured through land grants was mainly religious in nature and were enjoyed by the priestly class. In course of time the private ownership of the land became an important constituent of the social structure. However, this was not applicable for all the landholding classes. The other sort of assignees was under the strict control of the rulers. Their land was liable to be confiscated and transferred. In the later Gupta age land and the proprietary rights in the land grew in importance and was at the helm of all social, cultural, religious, economic and political activities till the establishment of Delhi Sultanate. The land grants were given to officers and religious groups and establishments in exchange of services rendered to the state which are indicatives of economic crisis in the period on the one hand and on the other denotes that land in this period was a medium of social mobilization and social position. The society became more stratified and complicated. The primary and the secondary sources used in this paper are immense and varied in volume and content. Epigraphs, inscriptions, coins, cowries, texts all have been used to prepare a monograph to shed light on this important aspect which in many ways shaped the social, political, religious and economic history of the country.