Economic condition of 6th century AD

Agriculture was the main occupation of the people. The main growing crops can be mentioned as wheat barley, rice and sugarcane. An official known as 'grambhojak' realized agriculture tax , which varied from 1/12 to 1/6of the produce.Farmers were the owner of the lands.
Besides agriculture Budhist text mention other occupations, such as vaidya, jyotish, purohita, navik, sailors, or rajak or Washer man , sud, or sweetment seller, napit or barber, etc. Cotton industry flourished between this period. Other  professions were those of goldsmith, ironsmith, makers of pottery, iron makers,shoemakers etc. The merchants had organized themselves into shrenis, was called "pramukh". The system of adoption of professions was hereditary.   Commerce;  Bullock carts were used for transporting goods from  one place to another. As remarked by rhys davids, "There  were merchants who conveyed their goods either up and down the great rivers along the coasts in boats, as right across country in carts travelling in caravans. The caravans, long line of small two-wheeled carts each drawn by two bullocks were a distinct feature of the times." Thus land as well as rivers was used for transporting goods from one place to another. Octroi taxes were leviedand realised some definite and fixed places.
Another significant feature of this period was the begining of the use of coins in business.The main coin used to be was "akahapan" or "karshapatf" which was made of copper and weighed 146 grains as well.                                                                                                                                 

Medieval History of India and growth of feudalism

The medieval era in India starts approximately with the rise of the Rajputs. The Rajputs were an image of feudalis and chivalry. Though they were devoted warriors, the Rajputs fought among themselves and weakened  The medieval history of India is largely dominated by incidents of foreign rule and invasion due to lack of stability of Indian rulers.This was the main reason that attracted invaders from outside India to come here and establish their kingdoms. The Indian medieval history is full of such incidents where you find foreign rulers coming here and ruling India.The weakening of the Rajputs attracted the Turks who invaded India on every given opportunity. Turks were not just interested in the wealth of India but wanted to establish their empires and take over their kingdoms. 

Growth of Feudalistic relations

During Kushan and Gupta age agricultural system had developed enormously. Gradually the wetlands were converted to agricultural one. Manusanghita noted that those who could cultivate wetlands or made lands for cultivation by cutting woods would be given that land.
In Gupta age land records were being made and exchange of land against money was recorded.All the lands within the kingdom were occupied by either of the owners and no land was free. Donation of land to a particular person gradually increased. In ancient times, land was given to Govt officials for a temporary period but later on the time period was gradually increasing. Some donation of lands became a permanent feature. As a result the social relation within the village was changing.
Soviet geologists considered  the period of 7th to 18th century as  the age of Feudalistic society. Though there was difference of opinion.
The genesis of feudalism in the Indian society was marked from 330 AD. Feudalism refers to a special type of land tenure by which a system of private government based on land.Feudalism became prosperous with initiation of agricultural economy. Although feudalism was in vogue in the post Mauryan and in the Sattabahana Period, yet it was strengthened in the Pala-Pratihara period. After the decline of Harshavardhana, the trade in northern India was completely shattered. The decline of the trade resulted in the growth of landed economy. The economy in the Pala-Pratihara period was an agricultural period was an agricultural economy, when the feudalism was initiated in northern India.The trend of feudalism set in the Pala-Pratihara period was deteriorated in the Rajput period. Hence in the Rajput feudalsim the the condition of the common peoplewas miserable.
Pala-Pratihara-Rashtrakuta Feudalism :    The Pala-Pratihara-Rashtrakut feudalism was marked by the growth of landed intermediaries. These intermediaries were called feudal lords. They extended their landed area by resumption of the ownerless properties and by taking away agrarian rights of the farmeras. Serfdom was one of the significant features of the Pala-Pratihara-rashtrakuta feudalism and the freedom of the farmers was curbed.
Rajput Feudalism : Post Pratihara feudalism - The feudalism initiated in the Pala-Pratihara domain was strenthened in the post Pratihara or the Rajput period. The laws became strict and the tenant farmers even lost the security of their tenure in the land. the economic condition deteriorated.

Trade and Cultural Colonization of India

From times immmmemorial the people of India, since the age of Neolithic people, had good relation with other parts of the world and they emigrated in large numbers , both by land and sea , and settled in Indo-China and the Indian Archipelago. When a high degree of civilisation flourished in Indus valley, there was undoubtedly a familiar relations with the countries of Western and central Asia.both the races Aryans and Dravidians had come from outside India and settled permanently had trade relations with Babylonia, Syria nad Egypt.

Towards the later half of the first century, a greek sailor, living in Egypt, undertook avoyage to India along the coast of the Red sea and the Arabian sea , and recorded a minute account of his experiences in abook called The periplus of the Erythrean Sea .  It is further proved by the Indian missions sent Roman emperors . The trade to Roman and other western countries was carried through the important port of Alexandria where goods carried by the sea upto the canals of the Nile through Mediterian coast which ran through Persia, and along the shores of the Caspian, to Syria and Asia minor.During Ashoka religious expeditions  took place throughout Central asia, and S-E Asia. A map with the areas of expansion is given above. 

Economic, Political and Social development of ancient India

In vedic age people had their livelihood in Agriculture and in Livestock. Use of iron was known to them. They had carriages driven by oxen  or horses. Ownership of land was gradually became practice among the Aryans. Due to this reason inequality between two sections of people broadened. Introduction of slave system also proved the inequality between two sections of people and gradually the society in vedic age was divided in classes.
The Aryan tribes lived in a society called 'Gana' of which the head waas called Ganapati. This 'ganapati' , at the beginning , was determined by election in a meeting place of all the persons of that section  people (Gana). The female members were not allowed to remain present.
At first these groups were small but gradually they became larger based on the capability of 'ganapati' who were called 'king' at that time.
In veedic religion, people believed in the existence of a number of gods.

The Vedas are the oldest written literature written in Sanskrit language.The vedic literatures not only gave rise to literary activities they also gave ideas of scientific knowledge. 
In Maurya period the share of the crops to be given to the king by the cultivators was, generally, 1/6th of the production which might vary on the basis of the natural phenomenon.
Cities came into being during Maurya period. it is known fro the report given by Maghasthinis that there were 570 forts in the capital.
Guilds, cooperatives etc of the artisans began to form during this time. Traders also formed their own organisations.
The total land of the country during Maurya period was divided into three categories.1. Private land, 2. community land,3. Land occuppied by the king. 'The society was notly the caretaker of the individual or community property but also it was the savier of the community.' Karl Marx.
At this period there were many wage labourers.

Marxian interpretation of social development of ancient India

Marx and Engels' studied the way of development of human society from its primitive stage of communism upto the modern times of 19th century and came to three conclusions. 1. the history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggles, 2. the development of human society depends on the relation between the existing productive forces and the productive relations, 3. the status quo of the existing society is maintained till the relation between the two forces can accommodate the expansion of the productive forces gradually developing within the present society due to scientific discoveries upto the current age.

They have not only explained the development of human society upto the present stage, they have discovered the ways and means of attaining the ideal society of human being.'The success of one is the precondition of the success of the other'.

They concluded that 'the history of all the hithrto existing societies is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebian, lord and serf, guild master and journey man, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended , either in a revolutionary re-constitution  of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes.

So far as the documents revealed after excavation of Mohenjodaro-Harappa civilisation, it was found that in Indus Valley civilisation the division of classes existed. Those who had different opinions, would have no prove of documents. 

In the Indus valley civilisation excavations proved the existence of unequal status between different members of the societies.The rich persons lived in multistoried building where as the poor people lived in small thatched rooms. Even the graveyards showed the difference between a rich and a poor person. In the cities of Harappa age there were slaves. The class division in the time of Aryans had seeds in the Harappa civilisation.       

Late Middle Kingdom - The Classical age

The classical age in India beganwith the Gupta Empireand the resurgence of the north during Harsha's conquests around the 7th century CE, ended with the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire in the south inthe 13th century, due to the presure from the invaders to the north.This period produced some of India's finest art, considered the epitome of classical development, and the development of the main spiritual and philosophical systems which continued to be in Hinduism and Buddhism and Jainism.King Harsha of Kannauj succeeded in re-uniting northern India during reign in 7th century, after the collapse of the Gupta dynasty. His kingdom collapsed after his death.
From the 7th to 9th century, three dynasties contested for control of northern India; the Gurjara Pratiharas of Malwa, the Palas od Bengal, and the the Rastrakutas of the deccan. the Sen dynasty would later assume control of the Pala empireand the Gurjara Pratiharas fragmented into different into various states, a series of kingdoms which managed to survive in some form for almost a millennium , until Indian Independence from British.