Dr. G.P. Singh has collected a good deal of material relating to the origin, society, economy, political organisation and cultural aspects of the Kiratas in earlier times. He has also tried to reconstruct their history from the beginning to medieval times and assessed their contribution to the making of the history and culture of India. I hope that this book will provide a wealth of data to scholars and prepare the ground for further studies of this type.
The present work is primarily based on my researches, carried out during the last one decade. The idea of undertaking research on the Kiratas struck my mind in course of my general study of ancient Indian and Classical (Greek & Roman) literature and other historical and semi-historical records in which they find only incidental reflection. At the same time, my deep interest in the tribal history and culture of ancient India inspired me to take up research in this subject.
The research in the tield of historical study of ethnography of ancient India is still in its infancy. The duty of a historian is to investigate into both, the higher and the lower civilization, because the latter constitutes the bedrock of the former. The Aryans representing the higher grade of culture and the non-Aryan primitive tribes representing the so-called lower grade of culture were the twin-pillars of the edifice of ancient Indian history and civilization. The history and culture of the Aryans have been sufficiently highlighted by different scholars in their respective works, but that of the primitive tribes still await proper historical evaluation.
History has got many definitions and applications. It is also the record of the life and culture of men living in the primitive societies in different geographical, social and cultural environments, of the changes, which those societies have passed through and ideas, which were formulated at different stages by different racial groups and of the general material and cultural conditions. It is not of much concern for us whether the process was dialectical or dynamic one.
India of ancient times was, no doubt, an ethnological museum. Through the study of histories and cultures of different primitive races, we can discover different patterns of settlements, interrelations of Aryan and non-Aryan Social groups trends of socio-economic formations, social transformations, cultural patterns and the trends of evolution of religion, philosophy, art and culture in the early period. Such studies also help us to ascertain the quantum of share contributed by each group to the making of Ancient Indian history and culture, which is not the creation of one, but many.
Primitive Indian culture maintained in valleys, high ranges of mountains, fastnesses of hills and dense impenetrable forests still needs fair treatment at the hands of historians. These secured places offered shelter to those wild primitive tribes, who were driven away from the plains by more civilized ones. Many of them have become extinct now, but many do exist in different parts of India keeping their primitive characteristics almost intact.
The task of historical reconstruction of ancient past, in whichever form it may be, is difficult in itself, but it is made still more so, because of the meagreness and the untrustworthiness of the materials in certain respect. However, one has to chart for himself a new path in Indian history into who’s past he is inquiring.
The difficulties, which I encountered in having access to the materials available in different categories of sources, as well as, in their collection, took me many toiling years to complete the work though late enough.
An interdisciplinary approach to the study of the subject has been adopted. And, hence, reliance has been placed on the combined testimony of historical, archaeological ethnological data.
In spite of the fact, that for the first time I am presenting before the readers a comprehensive historical account of the subject based on almost all the available evidences, I do not lay any claim to originality.
Hindu (935)
Agriculture (118)
Ancient (1086)
Archaeology (753)
Architecture (563)
Art & Culture (910)
Biography (702)
Buddhist (544)
Cookery (167)
Emperor & Queen (565)
Islam (242)
Jainism (307)
Literary (896)
Mahatma Gandhi (372)
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Manage Wishlist