The purpose of this study is to offer what may be perceived as a new interpretation of the social history of medieval India which aims to explain the causes of Indias failure to move forward from an agricultural-feudal society to an industrial-capitalist one in the late medieval period, when Europe successfully made the same transition. In other words, this book is intended to be a contribution to the long and inconclusive transition debate among historians regarding Indias failure and Europes success in achieving the transition from feudalism to capitalism.