Against Feudalism

Historians and economists have propounded various theories of 'feudalism' and 'semi-feudalism' in order to explain social formations in India. The theory of 'Indian Feudalism' has two versions, the Universalist and the Particularist. This paper offers a critique of both these versions and argues that a theory of social formations derived from European experience has little relevance to Indian conditions. Indeed, there are no corresponding Indian equivalents in practice to many essential components of Euro- pean feudalism like vassalage, serfdom, fealty, etc.