Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c7.s2.t1.16

c7.s2.t1.16

The city was divided into separate quarters for various social groups. In keeping with the social ideas of the day some classes of people, for instance, the scavengers, the leather-dressers and the very poorest beggars and wretches, were segregated from the rest of the population and were made to live on the outskirts of the towns. The rest of the population divided itself into religious, racial and even occupational groups. For instance, Muslims and Hindus had separate quarters; nobles and common people lived in distinct parts of the city; among the common people various trades and castes lived in their own quarters. All these quarters were designed to be as complete and self-sufficient as possible; in fact, some of them developed all the features of a big town and were provided with all the social amenities of a city on a smaller scale.⁵