The History of Bengal (Vol. I: Hindu Period; Vol. II: Muslim Period 1200–1757) v1.c19.s2.1

v1.c19.s2.1

The most noteworthy fact concerning the economic life of ancient Bengal is the preponderance of rural settlements. From the commencement of the historical period, these seem to have always dominated the landscape of this province. The people established themselves in villages, and organised their lands—the fields, meadow and wood-lands—to serve their essential needs. A large number of these villages (grāmas) are mentioned in contemporary inscriptions, and although they varied considerably in size,¹ they seem to have been all alike in their close dependence on the utilization of the soil on which they stood. Broadly speaking, they appear also to have been of one uniform pattern. For, as far as available evidence indicates, they were usually of the ‘nucleated,’ not of the ‘single farm’ type. That is to say, the rural population lived in compact groups, and not in widely scattered habitations. Why it was so, it is difficult to say. It may be suggested, however, that the nucleated village is best adapted to an agrarian system in which cultivation prominently figures, whereas scattered settlements have their raison d'etre in an economic scheme where the emphasis is on pasture.