Indian Society and Economy in the 18th Century

India in the 18th century was not a land of ruin and anarchy. It was a period of political change, with regional states, thriving trade, and a rich culture, but with growing weaknesses in the economy and the state.

Society

• Caste and religion shaped everyday life. Hindu society was divided by caste, and Muslims were divided into Ashraf and Ajlaf groups and sects.
• Women faced practices such as child marriage, sati (in some regions) and purdah.
• Joint family and village communities were the base of society.

Economy

• Agriculture was the mainstay. Crops included wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton, indigo and opium. Peasants paid a large share of the produce as revenue.
• Trade and crafts: Bengal's muslin, Gujarat's cotton cloth, Kashmir's shawls, Banaras silk and Indian shipbuilding were famous. Bankers like the Jagat Seths of Bengal and Nagar Seths controlled credit.
• Towns: Old imperial cities such as Delhi, Agra and Lahore declined. New regional capitals rose: Lucknow, Hyderabad, Poona, Seringapatam, Murshidabad, Baroda, Jaipur, Tanjore.

Education and culture

• Education was in tols, pathshalas, maktabs and madrasas. William Adam's survey of Bengal and Bihar (1835 to 1838) found about a lakh of village schools.
• Literature: Urdu poetry (Mir Taqi Mir, Sauda) flourished in Delhi and Lucknow. Bengali had Mangal Kavya and Bharatchandra Ray.
• Music: The Carnatic music trinity, Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri, lived in this age.
• Art: Mughal painting declined, but Pahari and Kangra schools, and the Company School later, rose.
• Religious thinkers: Shah Waliullah (1703 to 1762) of Delhi worked to reform Muslim society.

Why India was weak in this period

1. No strong centre, with regional states fighting each other.
2. Old weapons and tactics against better-organised European armies.
3. No sense of a common national identity.
4. Poor naval power.