Indian Epigraphy c18: Appendix II. Interest in Epigraphic Studies
Indian Epigraphy c18
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Appendix II. Interest in Epigraphic Studies
c18.2
We have referred to this subject in Chapter I of the present work.¹ In his recently published *Indian Archaeology Today*, 1962, p. 109, H. D. Sankalia says, “There are very few scholars who can read the ancient Brāhmī script.........Possibly epigraphy is a difficult subject and so people are not interested in it.” This appears to be correct though it is unintelligible why ‘the ancient Brāhmī script’ has been singled out. Moreover, at the same time, Sankalia also observes, “Scholars as well as students do not get an opportunity to decipher inscriptions. The one reason is that, unlike the earlier volumes of the *Epigraphia Indica*, the recent volumes of this journal published by the Government of India are dominated by one person, viz. the Editor. It was formerly the practice of the Department of Epigraphy to send out inscriptions to other scholars in different parts of India and even outside. This has now been stopped and the result is that interest in the subject is fast decreasing, and I am afraid that, if this policy persist, then within 10 years there will be no scholars in India...... who will know anything of epigraphy.”
c18.3
¹ See above, p. 11, note 1.
c18.4
These views are, we are afraid, based entirely on misunderstanding. In the first place, the knowledge of epigraphy and palaeography has to be acquired by an intensive study of numerous published inscriptions. A few inscriptions received from the Epigraphical Branch of the Archaeological Survey of India are not enough to make one an epigraphist. Secondly, the practice of sending impressions of inscriptions to students and scholars in India and abroad has certainly not been discontinued. The Editor of the *Epigraphia Indica*, referred to by Sankalia, is known to have sent out many records to people in India and outside. But very few of them succeeded in completing their papers and submitting them for publication. Most of these scholars failed to submit their articles even after continuous goading for years. The few articles that were received were published in the *Epigraphia Indica* after revision. The Editor is also known to have encouraged many persons by making them joint authors of articles written by himself.¹
c18.5
¹ Cf. *Ep. Ind.*, Vol. XXXIII, p. 269, note 1.
c18.6
Due to the dearth of articles worthy of publication, the *Epigraphia Indica* was suffering from chronic arrears for a long time. As is well known, the said Editor succeeded in bringing it up to date. He may probably be pardoned if he was compelled by circumstances to write too many articles for that purpose.²
c18.7
² Cf. ibid., XXXIV, Appendix, p. v, note 8. We have often emphasised on the difficult nature of epigraphical research so little understood in our country (ibid., Vol. XXXIV, p. 209, note 3). A mutilated record cannot be read all at once, and the reading of a damaged passage baffling the decipherer for fifty times may occur to him in his fiftyfirst attempt or may not occur to him but to someone else (*JAS*, Letters, Vol. XVII, 1951, p. 84).
c18.8
The *fraternities* of the Middle Ages, which were so numerous and so varied in their objects, were not all of the same origin. Some were religious, some social, some charitable, and some industrial. The religious guilds, or *gilds*, as they were often called, were associations of laymen for the purpose of performing religious duties, such as the maintenance of a chaplain, the celebration of masses, or the support of a hospital. The social guilds were formed for the purpose of mutual aid and good fellowship, and often included in their objects the relief of the poor, the sick, and the aged. The charitable guilds were established for the purpose of supporting hospitals, almshouses, and other institutions of mercy. The industrial guilds, or *craft guilds*, were associations of men engaged in the same trade or industry, and were formed for the purpose of regulating the trade, protecting the interests of the members, and maintaining the quality of their work.
c18.9
The craft guilds, which became so powerful in the later Middle Ages, were the successors of the earlier *collegia* of the Roman Empire. The *collegia* were associations of artisans and tradesmen, which were recognized by the state and had a legal existence. When the Roman Empire fell, these associations were largely destroyed, but the idea of association for mutual protection and the regulation of trade survived. In the early Middle Ages, the *gilds* began to reappear, and by the twelfth century they were firmly established in many of the cities of Europe.
c18.10
The craft guilds were organized on a democratic basis, and every member had a voice in the management of the guild's affairs. The officers were elected by the members, and the rules and regulations were made by the guild as a whole. The guilds had the power to fix prices, to regulate the hours of labor, and to determine the conditions of apprenticeship. They also had the power to punish members who violated the rules, and to expel those who were guilty of serious offenses. The guilds were thus a powerful force in the economic life of the Middle Ages, and they played an important part in the development of the modern industrial system.
c18.11
The decline of the craft guilds began in the sixteenth century, when the rise of the factory system and the growth of international trade made it difficult for the small, local guilds to compete with the larger and more efficient industrial organizations. The guilds were also weakened by the growth of the power of the state, which began to regulate trade and industry directly, and by the rise of the capitalist class, which sought to break the power of the guilds and to establish a system of free competition. By the end of the eighteenth century, the craft guilds had largely disappeared, but their influence lived on in the trade unions and other labor organizations of the modern world.