Rethinking Indian Feudalism Through Assam

Historiographical Debates and Regional Divergences

Abstract

This paper revisits the longstanding historiographical debate on the applicability of the term “feudalism” to early medieval India, with a specific focus on the region of ancient Assam. Drawing on the contrasting perspectives of R. S. Sharma and Harbans Mukhia, two major figures in Indian Marxist historiography; the essay examines the theoretical, economic, and social implications of labeling Indian society as “feudal”. Sharma’s model, rooted in the Pirenne thesis, emphasizes land grants, the decline of trade, and the rise of a dependent peasantry, while Mukhia challenges the universality and analytical value of the term itself. These contrasting frameworks are tested against inscriptional and archaeological evidence from ancient Assam, including the Nidhanpur copper plates and Nagajuri-Khanikargaon Fragmentary Stone Inscription. The study argues that while certain surface features in Assam such as land grants to Brahmanas and hierarchical social organization appear to parallel broader Indian patterns, the retgion’s ecological; political and cultural context reveals critical divergences from the Sharma model. Ultimately, this paper suggests that feudalism, as a concept, requires contextual recalibration rather than mechanical application in regional historiography.