New Beginnings Cities and States Class 7 Notes Social Science Chapter 4

Students read RBSE Class 7 SST Notes Chapter 4 New Beginnings Cities and States Class 7 Notes before attending weekly tests.

Class 7 New Beginnings Cities and States Notes

Class 7 SST Chapter 4 New Beginnings Cities and States Notes

Class 7 SST Chapter 4 Notes – New Beginnings Cities and States Notes Class 7

→ Introduction : India’s Second Urbanisation-

1. The Indus Valley Civilisation was called as India’s ‘First Urbanisation’.
2. After the decline of the Harappan Civilisation around the early 2nd millennium BCE, urban life in India disappeared.
3. However, in the 1st millennium BCE, a new phase of urban growth began in the fertile Gangetic plains.
4. This new phase is known as India’s ‘Second Urbanisation’.

→ Janapadas and Mahâjanapadas-

1. By the end of 2nd millennium BCE, the people of northern India had reorganised themselves into clans or groups.
2. The region they settled in was called Janapada, meaning “where the people have set foot”
3. By the 8th or 7th century BCE, some Janapadas merged to form larger units called Mahajanapadas.
4. Ancient texts mention 16 Mahajanapadas.
5. Among the powerful Mahajanapadas were Magadha, Kosala, Vatsa, and Avanti.

→ Early Democratic Traditions-

1. Each janapada had an assembly or council, called sabha or samiti where elders discussed matters related to the clan.
2. The raja was not expected to rule independently.
3. Some texts mention that an incompetent king could even be removed by the assembly, although this was not a permanent rule.

→ Types of Governance in Mahajanapadas-
(1) Monarchies — The raja was the ultimate authority, supported by assembly of elders and ministers.
(i) The position of raja was hereditary.
(ii) Magadha, Kosala, Avanti are examples.

(2) Ganas or Sanghas — Sabha or Samiti had more powers and took important decisions.
(i) These ganas or sanghas were not monarchies.
(ii) Example — Vajji, Malla.

→ More Innovations-

1. The age of Janapadas and Mahajanapadas brought big changes to Indian society.
2. Late vedic, Buddhist, Jain teachings spread through scholars, monks, nuns travelling across India or people on pilgrimages.
3. Indian art also underwent a renewal.
4. In second urbanization a major shift in technology involved iron metallurgy.
5. Iron made better weapons than bronze.
6. Due to this, some mahajanapadas fought wars, though how frequent or how intense it was, is impossible to tell.
7. Such military campaigns gave rise to new kingdoms and empires.
8. Another innovation was the first use of coins in India.
9. Early coins were made of silver with symbols stamped on them. They were called punch-marked coins.

→ The Varna-Jâti System — In India, the society was organised in a two-fold system :

1. Jati — It was a group or community of people with a specific professional occupation closely tied to their livelihood. A jati would get further subdivided into sub-jatis. These sub-jatis had developed customs and traditions of its own.
2. Varna — This concept emerged from Vedic texts. There were four varnas— Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras.

→ Developments Elsewhere in India-

1. In the 1st millennium BCE, important communication routes opened up for purpose of trade, pilgrimage, military campaigns etc.
2. Two routes became widely used and are often mentioned in the literature; the Uttarapatha and the Dakshinapatha.
3. The first connected the north west regions to the Ganga plains, all the way to eastern India.
4. The second started from Kaushambi (near Prayagraj), then a capital of one of the Mahajanapadas and crossed the Vindhya Range of hills to proceed all the way south.
5. Many lateral roads also connected with other parts of India.
6. In the eastern region, major cities emerged such as Shishupalgarh which was the capital of the Kalinga region.
7. In the subcontinent’s southern regions, cities began emerging from about 400 BCE.
8. Around this time, three kingdoms emerged—the Cholas, the Cheras and the Pandyas.
9. The southern regions are rich in resources such as precious and semi precious stones, gold and spices they profitably traded not only with the rest of India but also with kingdoms and empire overseas.
10. By 300 or 200 BCE almost the entire subcontinent including regions in the northeast was one vibrant interconnected land.