Village Economy in Traditional India: A Simplified Model

Abstract

Traditional village India existed in Moghul and Maratha days just prior to the establishment of British control in the mid-19th century. The subsequent decline of the great Indian kingdoms by no means signaled an abrupt end to customary village organization. Some villages were quickly influenced by expanding commerce, the revision of land tenure laws, and other products of Western contact; but more remote villages were affected only later. Even today many villages display an essentially traditional framework. Our purpose in this essay is to present a simplified model of the traditional Indian village and its economy. While recognizing the complexity and heterogeneity of the reality depicted, we feel that such a simple, generalized description of early Indian society has at least three potential uses: (1) as a baseline for studies of social change; (2) as a way of throwing into relief unusual or special features of individual villages and regions; and (3) as an introduction to traditional Indian life for s...