Rehearsal

Indian Civilization

UACA - 7/10/2018
Law history
Viviana Moya Arce
ORIGIN:

The Indian civilization is one of the oldest and largest in the world, which was made up of

different towns and smaller cities in a territory that extended across approximately one million

square kilometers.

It emerged about 4,000 years ago, around 2,500 BC. It was made up of a large number of towns

and cities, of which the most important were those of the Harappa and Morenjo-Daro peoples,

the first towns from which the rest of the towns were derived.

Rivers were of great importance to this civilization, which is why they were considered sacred.

This civilization was crossed by the Indus and Ganges rivers, which at certain times of the year

flooded the lands, fertilizing the fields. The strengthening of agriculture was the basis on which

urban planning developed around the Indus River. Its benefits are notable, which is why it was

worshiped as a divinity.

One of the best-known ancient Indian civilizations was that of the Indus Valley, it is considered

to have been an original civilization, spread throughout the northwest between 3300 and 1300

BC and is considered one of the largest and most advanced for its time, this civilization

collapsed at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC and its successor was the Vedic

civilization which witnessed important events and emergences, such as the composition of the

VEDAS, the oldest sacred texts of the Indo-Aryans.

DEVELOPMENT

POLITICAL ORGANIZATION

The political organization of the Indians is not so well known or detailed, but it is known that

they used the monarchy as a form of government, which was divided between several kings and

even different kingdoms, which even fought to preserve and extend their territory. However, it

did not always have the same political or social organization, even so the most important was

the monarchy, in which power was inherited among the family of the monarchs.

In India there was no national unity, but many independent kingdoms, under the authority of the

King.
 • The King was considered of divine origin.

• The Brahmins made up the upper caste, who collaborated with the King in the

administration of justice. They made up the priestly class.

• The feudal aristocracy was made up of lower-ranking officials, owners of large fiefs.

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION:

Hindu society is divided into four castes, it has been said that caste is “a group of people

traditionally dedicated to the same occupations, they owe their origin to the same human or

divine ancestor and are linked to the same trunk by rights, duties and determined opinions,

inherited from their tradition.” This group has received the name Jati, because one only

becomes part of it by birth.

To maintain and preserve the rules of the caste, the origin of the caste must be jealously

guarded.

The social organization of the Indians was quite marked and was divided into several castes,

mainly four castes that were the most important:

• The Brahmins: They were the ones who created and organized this system, they

occupied the top of the structure and for this they provided a theological basis in support

of their thesis. These were those in charge of the spiritual part of the town, they were a

type of priests who were in charge of reading and interpreting the holy writings in order

to give spiritual guidance to the town and carry out the different ceremonies and

religious rites.
• The Kshatriyas: In descending order, but placed in a still high position, since they form

the nobility, this caste, the temporal command and above all the organization of the State

and the militias are their primary functions, they represented the warriors who defended

the people and the monarch. In addition, they were in charge of the administrative part as

officials to ensure that the decrees and mandates of the monarch were carried out.

• The Vaishyas: involves farmers and merchants, these characters were dedicated to the

food side of the town, who worked to be able to supply the necessary things to the town

on behalf of the government.

• The Sudras: These represented the lowest caste, made up of peasants and townspeople

who dedicated themselves to living as subjects of the Indian kingdom and servants of the

other castes. They were very hardworking people and mainly it was a caste created of

indigenous people subjected to carry out these jobs, a kind of slaves. Nowadays, instead

of those original four castes, there is an immense number of new castes and subcastes,

this entire organization was maintained by a series of strict and invulnerable prohibitions

almost inconceivable, traveling or even sitting next to

An individual
 Social Organization: Castes of India
Mafer, caste or varna, correspond to a form of social stratification established, in a traditional
and prescriptive manner, by Hinduism in India, which classifies people within society into
several large groups .

BRAHMANS
Priests and/masters of religion

/ CHATRIAS \
rreros and
governs
/ VAISIAS .
Art: us, merchants and peasants

SUDRAS
Servants or slaves of the land

PARIAS
Outcasts
The word varna (in Sanskrit) means "color", since the lighter
the color of the skin, the higher the caste.
edisQuintana-CienclasSoclales
ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION

The economy of the Indians depended on a wide variety of jobs, among them we can mention

agriculture as the main means of life, managing to grow barley and wheat. In addition, pulses,

sesame, melons and dates were grown apart from rice in certain specific areas near the Ganges

rivers.

On the other hand, the Indians also lived from livestock, for which they domesticated a wide

variety of pack animals, including the ox, the elephant, the donkey, the camel, and the buffalo.

In addition, they developed the art of spinning, to make different kinds of textiles in wool and

cotton. In fact, even today cotton is considered one of the most important materials in the textile

industry.

They also learned to work metallurgy with materials such as copper for the construction of

weapons, in addition to tin and lead. They adorned themselves with ornaments made of gold,

silver, ivory and precious stones, which they also sold. Additionally, trade can be mentioned as

an important part of the economic progress of the entire Indian territory, through which it was

possible to take advantage of the export of valuable metal and mineral products, and also

agricultural products.

RELIGION:

Indian civilization is characterized by practicing Hinduism, Buddhism and Brahmanism, which

are often considered more philosophies than religions. These religious branches spread to

various parts of the world, including China, forming an important part in the worship of

millions of people.

Hinduism: It is based on the importance of behavior and how it affects our lives and the lives
of other people, the consequences are represented with what is known as Karma, which

supports the idea that everything we do in a life we will pay for. in the next. This is because

Hinduism believes in reincarnation, which is based on rebirth over and over again in different

bodies, beings and environments, all conditioned by the life and behavior we have led in the

previous one.

Brahmanism: It is the official and majority religion of India. It is characterized because they

believe in the reincarnation of the soul in another living being, it is forbidden to harm animals.

The cow is considered a sacred animal.

Buddhism: It was a doctrine created by Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha). It is based on what

should be man's highest aspiration: achieving the salvation of his soul through the state of

nirvana: a state of eternal happiness granted to the righteous. Mainly in the search for lasting

happiness through our behavior in the present, regardless of the past or the future. Its main deity

is Buddha, who managed to achieve full and perfect awakening, and then share his teachings

through what is known as The Four Noble Truths.

Hinduism has many variations and depending on the person and their character, different gods

are worshiped and a different lifestyle is led. But among the most prominent gods of Hinduism

we can mention the following:

• Brahma: This is considered the creator god of the universe and is part of the Trimurti trinity,

along with Vishnu and Shiva. He is the husband of the goddess of knowledge Saraswati and

also of Savitri , who is the daughter of the sun god. This god is represented with four heads,

four faces and four arms, where each mouth recites one of the four Vedas.THE 4 VEDAS: Veda

is the only source of knowledge that is possessed about India in the period 1,500 to 500 BC. C.
It is considered that they were written between the year 2,500 and 2,700 BC, although Hindus

assume a much more distant antiquity.

There are 4 Vedas, the composition of which is in some parts of extraordinary poetic beauty

such as the hymns to Usha (the dawn) and Vak (the word). The Vedas are: the Rik, the Yaju,

the Sama and the

Atharba.
The RigVeda (or Rik Veda: Veda: collection of hymns in verse, and Rik: Worship), is the

oldest and most important of the Vedas. It comprises 1028 (so far known) divided into 8 to 10

books, with prayers to the gods, instructions for rituals and poems about nature. The next in

antiquity and importance is the Atharba (which means "priest of fire") and it is where certain

pre-dictic trends are compiled, such as prayers to the untouchables, a large number of magical

formulas and mantras.

Later we find the SamaVeda is a selection of the poetic hymns and mantras of the Rik, and

other parts that are its own and original; This book has two parts: Purva"Archika (the first

worship) and Uttar"Archika (second worship), with verses of three gods: Agni (the fire), Indra

(the King of the gods) and Soma (Healing or energy plant ).

Finally there is the YajurVeda , the Yajana Veda: which deals with sacrifices (obligations

made to Agni or Fire), it is a writing specific to the activities of the priest. It has two parts, one

Krishna, called black, and the other Shukla, called white.

• Vishnu : He is the main god of Vishnuism, where he is represented as the creator, preserver

and destroyer, but who later gave rise to the god Brahma and Shiva. It is believed that he lives

in a paradise that is made up of precious stones and gold, called Vaikuntha.

• Shiva: He has the role of the destroyer god in the trimurti, but is considered the main god in

Shaivaism. He is represented as an ascetic god who lives on Mount Kailash, but at the same
time he is represented as a husband, owner of the family made up of his wife Párvati and his

children Ganesha and Kartikeia.

• Rama: Represents one of the most important and revered gods of India, who is given the

figure of a young man with blue skin and a bun on his head, characteristic of ascetics. In

addition, he carries a bow and arrow with which he promises to protect.

• Indra : This was considered one of the most important gods before Hinduism arrived. He is
the god of war, lightning, the visible sky, the storm and the atmosphere, which is why he is
represented with a sword with waves. In Hinduism he became an important god, the king of all
demigods, only surpassed by the Trimurti.
• Agni : He is the god of fire, who takes pleasure in sacrifices and acts as the messenger of the

other gods. Furthermore, he is an immortal god and is always young, renewed by fire every day,

represented with two heads.

 Brahma

Most important god of Brahmanism, new form

of
you Hinduism.
June to Vishnu and Shiva forms the Trimurti,
trinity of the most important gods.

He is the creator of the universe.

The followers of Brahmanism consider him the
supreme god, and believe that all other gods are
only manifestations of Brahma .
God gives wisdom and has four arms and four
heads from which the four vedas or sculptures
that underpin everything in Hinduism emerged .

Vishnu
• Two oconservator of the universe.
• Recast ten vees until establishing a new
one.
■ Prince Rama is the seventh reincarnation
and Krishna is the oclava.

JUDICIAL SYSTEM:

India, Crucible of legal systems

It is said that India is a melting pot of legal systems since a crucible is a vessel in which metal is

melted, and it is a comparison with the foundry that is done in the country of three different

legal systems.

In this system three legal systems are mixed:

•Brahman

•Islamic

•Common Law: product of the colonization of India by England.

Brahmanic Law •India was invaded by Germanic peoples, Aryans, who introduced the

Brahmanic religion.

•The sacred writings are the main source of Hindu law, the main ones are the Vedas, which are

the oldest writings of humanity. The Vedas are 4 books that are in the Quran and contain

mythological data and moral norms.

•The laws of Manú were the oldest legal works and in them law is confused with morality.
Sources of Brahmanical law

•They correspond to Islamic law

•Revelation (Veda)

•Tradition (Smrti)

•Interpretation of jurists (Nibandha)

Characteristics of this right

•The law changes from region to region and according to the customs of each of the regions.

•The husband predominates, for example, if the husband dies the wife must be cremated along

with him.

•Severe caste system, which was introduced thanks to the Indo-Germanic invasion. It divides

people into 4 classes and relates each class to a part of the body of the god Brahman.

•Polygamy.

•Child marriage.

•Sentence to suicide is a curious punishment used to make the sentence harsher.

Since Independence, Hindu law has undergone great changes. India's first constitution was

promulgated in 1950; In it, the caste system is rejected. In the Hindu Marriage Law of 1955,

polygamy was abolished, and the consent of the bride to marry was established, as well as a

minimum age for women to marry, this with the aim to prevent girls from being given in

marriage at a very early age; allows widows to remarry, a fact that was prohibited in the past.

The current trend in India is to replace the traditional concept of religious law (Hindu law and

Muslim law) with the Western concept of secular law, independent of religion. It comprises all

the laws of India which are of general application.

In its current form, Indian law is similar to Anglo-Saxon law: customs from time immemorial

and integrated by written rules.

The Hindu system is quite flexible and adapts to changes in living conditions, an example of

this is the rules of caste and widow fidelity.

Although it changes, it is still a system, because Hindu law, Islamic law and common law

continue to coexist.

Bibliography:

worldantique.net

universalhistory.com

History of law by Jorge E. Guier.