Twilight of the Sultanate c17.s4.4

c17.s4.4

The commoners can be divided into two major sections—Hindus and Musalmāns. The Hindus were divided into many castes and sub-castes, and the system had unconsciously permeated into the Muslim society also.⁴⁸ But caste distinctions were more prominent in the villages than in the cities. Among the Hindus, the highest caste was that of the Brahmans. In the post-Vedic period, their superiority had been challenged by the other classes, especially the Kshatriyas, who alone perhaps could stand up to them, but deliberate rewriting of books and use of the system of education for the purpose, had re-established Brahmanical superiority. In law as well as in practice the Brahmans enjoyed all kinds of privileges.⁴⁹ For the Brahmans, therefore, life in ancient India was a golden age, and so they have made it out to be. One of the reasons why ancient Indian times look so glorious is because only the Brahmans, who were enjoying the best of time, have written about them. We do not have the Shudra version or the Vaishya version of the story of the ancient times to have a complete picture of the age. Brahmanical superiority continued right up to the coming of the Muslims.