Tribal people were found in almost every region of the subcontinent. Contemporary historians and travellers give little information about the tribes because the tribal people mostly did not keep written records.
They preserved their customs and oral traditions which were passed on from generation to generation and these were used to write their histories

(i) Nomadic pastoralists moved over long distances along with their animals.
(ii) They lived on milk and other pastoral products.
(iii) They also exchanged wool, ghee, etc. with settled agriculturists, for grain, cloth, utensils and other products.
(iv) They bought and sold these goods as they moved from one place to another. They carried them on the back of their animals.

(i) Along with the rise of Rajputs, many tribes became part of caste system with the help of Brahmanas.
(ii) Only the leading tribes could join the ruling class. Majority of them joined lower jatis.
(iii) Various dominant tribes of Punjab, Sind and North- West Frontier adopted Islam and rejected the caste system. The unequal social order of orthodox Hinduism wasn't acceptable to them.

(i)The administrative system of the Gonds kingdom was centralized.
(ii) The kingdom was divided into garhs. Each garh was controlled by a particular Gond clan.
(iii) This was again divided into units of 84 villages called chaurasi. The chaurasi was subdivided into barhots which were made up of 12 villages each.

(i) Garha Katanga was a rich state and earned much wealth by trapping and exporting wild elephants to other kingdoms.
(ii) When the Mughals defeated the Gonds, they captured huge booty of precious coins and elephants.
(iii) They annexed part of the kingdom and granted the rest to Chandra Shah, an uncle of Bir Narain.
(iv) Despite the fall of Garha Katanga, the Gond kingdoms survived for some time.
(v) However, they became much weaker and later struggled unsuccessfully against the stronger Bundelas and Marathas.

At present, the peasants produce food grains in the villages. They themselves carry the grains in Auto rickshaw or mini trucks to the nearby town. Nowadays, small grain merchants wander from house to house in villages to ask for the sell of any type of foodgrains. In many ways, the present peasants are different from the former Banjaras. Now, we have motor operated mode of transport which replaced the oxen or camels. Now, we can see the transporters who carry the foodgrains to different cities or towns. Many peasants themselves sell their produces but it was not so in the past. People now are relied on modern mode of transport. Banjaras are not travelling in tanda or groups. They are replaced by small merchants of near by villages or towns.

Rani Durgawati was born in the family of famous Rajput Chandel Emperor Keerat Rai of Mohoba in 1524. Her father was Salbahan, the Chandel Rajput raja. In 1542, she was married to Dalpat Shah, the eldest son of king Sang ram Shah of Garha Katanga. The Chandel and Gond dynasties were allied because of this marriage. Rani gave birth to a son. When her son was five years old, her husband died. Rani took the reigns of the Gond Kingdom in her hand. In 1565, the Mughals under Asaf Khan attacked her kingdom. Rani maintained that it was better to die respectfully than to live a disgraceful life. She fought bravely and died in the battle field. Her son, too died fighting with the Mughals.

The emergence of large states changed the basics of Gond society. Their basically equal society gradually got divided into unequal social classes. Brahmanas received land grants from the Gond rajas and became more influential. The Gond chiefs now wished to be recognised as rajputs. So Aman Das, the Gond raja of Garha Katanga, assumed the title of Sang ram Shah. His son Dalpat, married princess Durgawati, the daughter of Salbahan, the Chandel rajput raja of Mahoba.

Garha Katanga was a rich state. It earned wealth by trapping and exporting wild animals to other kingdoms. In 1565, the Mughal forces under Asaf Khan attacked this state.
The Mughal forces were resisted by Rani Durgawati and thereafter by her son. The Mughals annexed part of Garha Katanga. By defeating the Gonds the Mughals looted huge quantity of precious coins and large numbers of elephants. From this fact, we can assume that Garha Katanga is a rich state.

The tribes were the societies who did not follow the social rules and rituals prescribed by the Brahmanas nor were they divided into numerous unequal classes. The area and influence of a tribe varied at different points of time. They loved to settle away from towns and civilisation and usually lived in forests, hills, deserts and places difficult of reach.The tribes retained their freedom and preserved their separate culture in various ways.

The students should attempt on their own.

i) The Banjaras were very important for the economy. They were trader-nomads and controlled trade and commerce. They played an important role in the transportation of grains to the city markets.
ii) They usually bought grain where it was cheaply available and carried it to places where it was dearer. They even transported foodgrain for the Mughal towns and during military campaigns.

The changes in Varna based society took place on the basis of the following steps
In almost the entire subcontinent, society was already divided on the basis of Varna.
1. Rules prescribed by the Brahmanas were accepted by the rulers of large kingdoms.
2. The difference between the high and low and between the rich and the poor, increased.
3. This further divided hierarchy between social classes.
4. With the growth of economy and the needs of society, people with new skills were required.
5. Smaller castes or jatis emerged within varnas.
6. New cases among the Brahmanas emerged. Specialised artisans like-smiths, carpenters and masons were also recognised as separate jatis by the Brahmanas.

The nomadic pastoralists exchanged milk, wool, ghee, etc with settled agriculturists for grain, cloth, utensils and other products.

The Ahoms built a large state and used firearms as early as the 1530s. In 1662, the Mughals under Mir Jumla attacked the Ahom kingdom. The Ahom state was large and big source of revenue. The land were fertile and produced a variety of crops. This is why the Mughals wanted to conquer the land of the Ahoms.