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Introduction

The history of slavery in India (or the Indian subcontinent) is complicated by the presence of factors which relate to (a) definition (b) ideology and religions (c) difficulties in obtaining and interpreting written sources (d) socio-economic and political consequences. If current scholarly interpretations of various literary sources are accepted, then slavery as forced appropriation of labour, skill or sexual gratification appears to have existed in various forms from the pre-500 BCE period. In the early period (500BCE-500 CE), where we first have significant amount of written records mainly in the form of literature and legal or policy texts, we find features of slavery as practised to have significant differences from contemporary slave-economies such as that of Greece and Rome - such as the absence of records of regular slave markets, or legal strictures restricting abuse and exploitation of slaves.(1,3)

Early period - 500 BCE to 500 CE

Early medieval period - 500 CE to 1200 CE

Medhatithi(1) observes that 'the captive of war' mentioned by Manu (VIII. 415) does not refer to the ksatriya made captive in war but to the slave who after the defeat of his owner is brought over and enslaved by the captor. Sometimes feudal invasions resulted in the abduction or enslavement of the people in the invaded territories.
Lekhapaddhati(2) mentions girls to have been brought from raids on other countries and sold into slavery. The fact that out of the four documents on slavery the Lekhapaddhati assigns two to this type indicates the frequency of such a practice. In one document a certain Rana sri Pratapasimha is said to have brought the girl in question from an attack made on a foreign state(2).
In the second document a certain rajaputra is said to have captured the girl when fighting in the service of mahamandalesvara ranaka sri Viradhavaladeva in his attack on Maharastra(2), when many people were sold into slavery. The document does not record proper names of the buyers and sellers but uses the expression 'so and so' implying that several general drafts were made so that the names of the buyers and sellers could be entered when the sale was finalised.
General economic condition of the people deteriorated and was one of the factors contributing towards slavery. Medhatithi, comments on the practice of the debtor being made to repay the debt by selling himself, observes that it is an instance of local and king-made laws which are contrary to the Smrtis and therefore are not to be obeyed(1). One of the documents in the Lekhapaddhati concerns a destitute girl selling herself as a slave(2). Pesonal names of the slave and the purchaser are omitted indicating that such transactions were quite common. During famines, which are frequent during this period, offereing oneself up for slavery was an acceptable means of survival. Natural calamities, feudal plundering and frequent Turko-Afghan and Arab raids also impoverished the people. Lekhapaddhati recognised these factors in a document which describes how as a result of a Muslim invasion and plunder a famine visited a village and it was abandoned; a girl unable to support herself from begging had to request people to accept her as a slave(2).

Late Medieval period : 1200 CE to 1800 CE

Modern period: 1800 CE to 2000 CE

References
Manusmrti with the Manubhasya of Medhatithi. Ed. G. Jha. Calcutta, 1932-39. Tr. G. Jha. Calcutta, 1922-29. Ed. with the commentary of Kulluka (Manvarthamuktavati). Ed. N. R. Acharya. Bombay, 1946.
Lekhapaddhati. Ed. C. D. Dalal and G. K. Shrigondekar. Baroda, 1925.
Arthasastra, Ed. and tr., R.D. Shyamasastry

--Dikgaj 04:35, 28 May 2007 (UTC)