Civil Services Prep

Prelims 2019 · Ancient History · Question 60

With reference to forced labour (Vishti) in India during the Gupta period, which one of the following statements is correct?

  1. It was considered a source of income for the State, a sort of tax paid by the people.
  2. It was totally absent in the Madhya Pradesh and Kathiawar region of the Gupta Empire.
  3. The forced labourer was entitled to weekly wages.
  4. The eldest son of the labourer was sent as the forced labourer.

Answer

It was considered a source of income for the State, a sort of tax paid by the people.

(a) Correct. Vishti in the Gupta period meant compulsory unpaid labour exacted by the state or local authorities; historians note it functioned like a levy/tax in labour form, hence a source of income/service for the State.

(b) Incorrect. Vishti is attested in inscriptions from western and central India, including regions like Madhya Pradesh and Kathiawar; it was not absent there.

(c) Incorrect. Forced labour by definition was unpaid compulsory service, not weekly wage labour.

(d) Incorrect. There is no standard Gupta-period rule that the eldest son had to be sent as the forced labourer.

Answer: (a)

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