1919.] The Rajput Kingdoms of Mediaeval Chhattisgarh. 231 
beginning of the 15th century when the Haihayas conquered 
“18 Strongholds of Adversaries’’ we seem to see society in a 
stage of disintegration which is only compatible with the ex- 
istence of genuine tribal conditions. Certainly we hear nothing 
of any centralized opposition to the Haihaya invaders. In any 
case even if centralized control had at any time been imposed 
on ancient Chhattisgarh, the bonds of that authority seem to 
have been broken and the country seems to have gat si into 
its more primitive units at the time when the Haihayas came. 
. In order to appreciate what this Rajput ‘conquest 
meant we must first disabuse our minds of the popular view 
which regards the Aryans as fair-skinned, highly civilized 
invaders over-running a gies peopled by black-faced and 
squat-nosed barbarians. The more we get to know of mediae- 
val history the more we have reason to minimize the diver- 
gence in political, social and intellectual capacity between 
the Aryan and non-Aryan peoples. The Aryan had praia aie 
a monarchical form of rule which, so far as we can learn, was 
to ben: But in many respec s the non-Aryan social and 
political organization, though endear developed, bore a 
remarkable resemblance to the Aryan; and when the two 
60. 
Powell’s account of Aryan and non-Aryan customs. As regards 
the Aryans he tells us (Village Community, page 193) that 
rekdirg of the Hindus and the Hinduized re ag in the Sambalpur 
tra 
contrary to the view held by Mr. Howitt. In an article 
on shee ne Karly Caeihs of Northern pager yes h he claims to base his 
vidian custom on ‘‘ a careful examination of the internal 
u am trying : 
Mr. Hewitt has not much to say beyond adm Seed that the Dravidians 
(by which he means the Rajput — readily piandek with the in- 
digenous peoples whom he calls Kolar 
