Rural Society and Rural Economy in the Ganga Valley during the Gahadavalas

The study of social and economic history of the early medieval period goes back to the writings of D.D. Kosambi and R.S. Sharma in the mid-1950s and 1960s. The discussion of feudalism as a useful framework of analysis for the said period ushered in a trend which was followed by several historians in different parts of the country. M.G.S. Narayanan in the case of south India, R.N. Nandi on Karnataka and Suvira Jaiswal on the caste system are some of the names that easily come to mind. In the context of north India, Pushpa Niyogi, B.P. Majumdar and Lallanji Gopal made significant contributions to our understanding of Brahmanical settlements, revenue terms and overall patterns of social and economic development in the post-Gupta centuries.