Maarg Manthan · Topic 7.6

Standard of Living in Medieval India

Medieval History › Medieval Society & Social Structure · Topic 7.6

Travellers described the wealth of the ruling classes and the poverty of peasants, artisans and labourers. Ordinary people wore little clothing and few shoes, lived in mud houses with cots and earthen pots, and ate rice, millet, pulses and chapatis with cheap ghee and oil, so they ate better than they dressed. Real wages changed little, famines were frequent, and the poor in towns earned two to three rupees a month.

5 min read · UPSC Prelims · History · Medieval Society & Social Structure

At a Glance

Clothing Scanty; langota and sari
Housing Mud houses, cots, mats, earthen utensils
Staple diet Rice, millet, pulses, chapatis
Wage Under Rs 2 to 3 a month
Hazard Frequent famines
Exam link UPSC Prelims, Medieval History: Medieval Society & Social Structure

Where Does It Fit?

This is the sixth topic of the category on medieval society and social structure. The previous topic covered servants and slaves, and this one summarises how people lived. The next topic covers the ruling classes. Previous topic: Servants and Slaves in Medieval Indian Society.

What Did Travellers Say?

In short: foreign visitors saw a land of wealth for the ruling classes and grinding poverty for the masses.

Many European traders and travellers left accounts of the Mughal period. In general they stressed the wealth and prosperity of India and the ostentatious life of the ruling classes on one hand, and on the other the grinding poverty of peasants, artisans and labourers. Babur wrote that peasants and people of low standing went about naked, and described the langota worn by men and the sari by women. Ralph Fitch found at Banaras that people went naked save a little cloth around the middle, and De Laet said labourers had insufficient clothing in winter. Fitch also noted that in winter men wore quilted cotton gowns and caps.

How Did Ordinary People Live?

Aspect	Detail
Footwear	Nikitin observed that the people of the Deccan went barefoot; Moreland found no mention of shoes north of the Narmada except in Bengal and put it down to the cost of leather
Housing	Mud houses little different from the present, with hardly any furniture except cots and bamboo mats and earthen utensils made by the village potter; copper and bell-metal vessels were costly
Staple diet	Rice, millet and pulses (khicheri); fish in Bengal and on the coasts; meat in the south; wheat or coarse chapatis with pulses and vegetables in the north
Meals	The main meal in the evening and parched pulses or grain in the day
Prices	Ghee and oil much cheaper than foodgrains, so they were a staple even for the poor; salt and sugar were costlier
Balance	People wore less and shoes were dear, but they ate better; more grazing land meant more cattle and milk products

What Did People Earn?

Income is hard to measure because money hardly entered village transactions and village artisans were paid in customary commodities. There was great inequality in villages: a peasant without ploughs and bullocks often tilled the land of zamindars or upper castes and barely survived. The landless and village artisans, often untouchables or kamin, suffered the most in frequent famines. Owner-cultivators (khudkasht) paid revenue at customary rates. In the cities the largest section was the poor: artisans, servants and slaves, soldiers and manual workers. The lowest servant earned under two rupees a month and most workers and foot soldiers began at under three. It was calculated that a man could feed his family on two rupees a month. The state demand could be nearly half the produce, leaving the ordinary peasant only enough to survive and unable to invest. Yet his life, fixed by seasons and custom with fairs, pilgrimages and ceremonies, was not without joy. The village structure is described in Rural Society Structure in Medieval India.

Did Living Standards Change?

The historian Moreland observed that real wages changed little over the period: workers had a more balanced diet but clothes, sugar and other things were dearer. He concluded that conditions had not worsened under British rule, but this has to be seen in a wider context, because in Europe there was a vast increase in wealth and rise in real wages while in India living standards stagnated, if not declined, under British rule. Under the Sultanate foodgrains were cheap for townspeople, with a family of a man, wife, servant and one or two children living on five tankas a month under Firuz. A noble’s income, on the other hand, ran to lakhs, the wazir of Muhammad Tughlaq had an income as large as that of the province of Iraq, and Khan-i-Jahan, the wazir of Firuz, drew 15 lakhs. As an analytical point, the gap between the lowest wage and the highest salary, rather than any single price, is the best measure of how unequal medieval society was. See Towns and Town Life in Medieval India and The Ruling Classes – Nobility and Rural Gentry.

Why Is This Topic Important?

Evidence How historians use traveller accounts
Details Wages, diet and clothing are asked
Inequality Masses versus elite

What Came Next?

The next topic describes the ruling classes, the nobility and the rural gentry. Next topic: The Ruling Classes – Nobility and Rural Gentry.

Key People and Terms

Langota Decency cloth worn by men
Khichri Rice and pulses dish
Taccavi Loan to peasants
Real wages Wages measured by purchasing power
Kamin Landless labourer
Moreland Historian of the period

Exam Corner

Points to Remember

Servants under two rupees; family fed on about two rupees.
Ghee and oil cheaper than foodgrains.
Salt and sugar dear.
People ate better than they dressed.
State share up to nearly half.

Do Not Confuse With

Real and money wages Purchasing power versus coin amount
Khudkasht and kamin Owner-cultivators versus landless labourers
Sultanate and Mughal wages Jitals and tankas versus rupees

Memory Hook

Little cloth, few shoes, mud walls, plain food, cheap ghee, dear salt.

Mains Angle

Questions on living standards ask for evidence and balance. These points add depth.

Sources Traveller impressions and prices
Contrasts Better food, poorer clothing
Inequality Elite versus masses

A Question You May Face

An original practice question, not a past paper question.

“Describe the standard of living of the common people in medieval India.”

How to Answer

Evidence Travellers’ accounts.
Details Clothing, housing, food.
Income Wages and famines.
Verdict Hard but not hopeless; unequal.

GS Relevance

Prelims: wages, diet and clothing under the Mughals. GS Paper 1: living conditions of the masses in medieval India.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did common people wear in medieval India?

Ordinary people wore very little. Babur noted the langota for men and the sari for women, and later travellers found people nearly naked in warm areas, though men wore quilted cotton gowns in winter. Shoes were costly.

What did people eat in medieval India?

Rice, millet and pulses formed the staple diet, with wheat or coarse chapatis and vegetables in north India, fish in Bengal and meat in the south. Ghee and oil were cheaper than foodgrains, while salt and sugar were dear.

What were the wages in Mughal India?

The lowest grade of servant earned under two rupees a month and most workers and foot soldiers began at under three. It was calculated that a man could feed his family on two rupees a month.

What did Moreland say about living standards?

Moreland observed that real wages changed little in the period: workers had a more balanced diet but clothes, sugar and similar goods were dearer. A wider comparison with Europe's rising wages, however, shows stagnation in India.

Why were famines so harmful in medieval India?

Famines were frequent, and the landless peasants, labourers and village artisans suffered the most because they had no land or stock to fall back on. Wars and recurring famines added to the hardships of the peasant.

PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis

1 Ghee and oil were cheaper than foodgrains in medieval India.

True

Salt and sugar were dearer.

2 Babur noted the langota worn by the common people.