pyq/2025/history-optional-i/4

(a) "The dynamics of social mobility in early medieval India were shaped by a complex interplay of caste hierarchies, religious legitimation, economic transformation and political patronage." Critically assess how these factors collectively reconfigured the structure of early medieval Indian society. (15)

(b) Discuss the circumstances which led to the conflict between the Pallavas and the Chalukyas and mention how this rivalry shaped the power dynamics in South India. (15)

(c) Critically evaluate the major stages in the development of art and literature in early medieval India and explain how these stages reflected the broader changes in society and patterns of patronage during the period. (20)