Role of Guilds and Artisans in the Indian Economy

The term Śreṇi (guild) in ancient India referred to organized associations of merchants, traders, and artisans, functioning as self-governing economic corporations. These guilds played a pivotal role in regulating production, quality control, pricing, trade routes, labour, and taxation, representing the backbone of India’s pre-industrial economy. Artisans (kārmika, śilpin) — the skilled craft workers — were the productive arm of these guilds, contributing to India’s global fame in textiles, metalwork, ivory, and jewellery.

Origin and Evolution of Guilds

Vedic and Pre-Mauryan Period (c. 1000–321 BCE)

  • Early references to professional communities appear in the Rigveda (terms like pani, karmakara for ....
Do You Want to Read More?
Subscribe Now
To get access to detailed content

Already a Member? Login here

Take Annual Subscription and get the following Advantage
The annual members of the Civil Services Chronicle can read the monthly content of the magazine as well as the Chronicle magazine archives.
Readers can study all the material since 2018 of the Civil Services Chronicle monthly issue in the form of Chronicle magazine archives.
Be an Annual Subscriber

Indian History