The correct option is (b).
Explanation
Reconstructing the history of tribal societies in medieval India poses a unique challenge to historians due to the nature of available sources. Unlike settled agricultural societies or dynastic empires, tribal communities functioned on different social and cultural norms regarding record-keeping.
Statement-wise Analysis:
- Statement 1 is Incorrect: Tribal people in the medieval period did not keep written records. Their societies were largely non-literate in the administrative sense, and they did not maintain archives or chronicles like the imperial courts.
- Statement 2 is Correct: Contemporary historians and travellers provided very scanty information about tribes. Most medieval chronicles were court-centric, focusing on rulers, wars, and administration of settled regions, often overlooking forest dwellers or nomadic groups unless they came into direct conflict or alliance with the state.
- Statement 3 is Correct: Despite the lack of written documents, tribal people preserved rich customs and oral traditions. These were passed down from generation to generation through songs, stories, and rituals, serving as the repository of their collective memory.
- Statement 4 is Correct: Present-day historians have started using these oral traditions to write tribal histories. By analyzing folklore, ballads, and oral narratives, modern scholars reconstruct the social and cultural past of these communities to fill the gaps left by conventional written sources.
Key Takeaway:
Tribal history in medieval India is characterized by an absence of written records and a reliance on oral traditions, which modern historians now utilize to reconstruct their past.