3.1 Agrarian Society and the Mughal Empire

Rural India during the 16th and 17th centuries

• About 85% of India’s population lived in villages during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
• The two major groups directly connected with agricultural production were:
  • Peasants
  • Landed elites
• Both claimed rights over a share of agricultural produce.
• Their relationships involved:
  • Cooperation
  • Competition
  • Conflict
• Together, these relationships constituted rural society or agrarian society.

Role of the Mughal State

The Mughal state depended heavily on agriculture because it derived the bulk of its income from agricultural production.

State officials entered rural society to:

• Ensure cultivation continued.
• Assess agricultural production.
• Collect land revenue.
• Maintain revenue records.
• Regulate relations with rural elites such as zamindars.

Agriculture was also increasingly connected with:

• Trade
• Money
• Markets
• Towns

Many crops were cultivated specifically for sale, linking villages with urban markets.

Exam Point:
The Mughal agrarian system was not merely a subsistence economy. Agricultural production was closely connected with commercialisation, taxation, trade and markets.
Page 196

3.2 Peasants and Agricultural Production

The village was the basic unit of agricultural society.

Peasants performed several seasonal activities throughout the year:

• Tilling the soil
• Sowing seeds
• Weeding
• Harvesting
• Processing agricultural produce

They also contributed labour to agro-based industries, including:

• Sugar production
• Oil production

Agrarian society was not uniform geographically. It included:

• Fertile agricultural regions
• Dry lands
• Hilly areas
• Forest regions

Therefore, agricultural practices differed according to local environmental conditions.

Page 196

3.3 Sources for Understanding Agrarian Society

A major difficulty faced by historians is that peasants generally did not leave written accounts about themselves.

Therefore, historians rely heavily on:

Major Sources

1. Mughal court chronicles
2. Revenue records
3. Ain-i Akbari
4. Revenue records from Gujarat
5. Revenue records from Maharashtra
6. Revenue records from Rajasthan
7. East India Company records concerning eastern India

Ain-i Akbari

The Ain-i Akbari was written by Abu’l Fazl, Akbar’s court historian.

It provides information about:

• Agricultural production
• Revenue arrangements
• State administration
• Rural magnates
• Zamindars
• Provinces
• Revenue rates
• Crops
• Social groups

However, the Ain presents a view from the top, because it was produced within the Mughal imperial system.

Limitation of the Ain

The Ain presented an idealised image of Akbar’s empire in which a strong ruling class maintained social harmony.

Therefore:

Information about peasants in the Ain reflects the perspective of the state and its ruling elite.

Historians therefore supplement the Ain with regional records and other sources.

Pages 197, 219–221

3.4 Peasants and Their Lands

Terms used for peasants

Mughal-period Indo-Persian sources used several terms for peasants:

• Raiyat – commonly used for peasant
• Riaya – plural of raiyat
• Muzarian
• Kisan
• Asami

Two types of peasants

The seventeenth-century sources identify two major categories:

1. Khud-kashta

• Resident cultivators.
• Lived in the village where they cultivated their lands.

2. Pahi-kashta

• Non-resident cultivators.
• Belonged to another village.
• Cultivated land elsewhere on a contractual basis.

People could become pahi-kashta:

• Voluntarily, if revenue conditions were more favourable elsewhere.
• Compulsorily, because of economic distress, such as after a famine.

Page 197–198

3.5 Size of Peasant Holdings

The average peasant possessed relatively limited agricultural resources.

In northern India:

• Most peasants possessed not more than a pair of bullocks and two ploughs.
• Many possessed even less.

Regional variations existed.

Gujarat

• Around 6 acres could be considered an affluent peasant holding.

Bengal

• Around 5 acres represented the upper limit of an average peasant farm.
• Around 10 acres could make one a rich asami.

Individual Ownership

Peasant lands were based on the principle of individual ownership.

Land could be:

• Bought
• Sold
• Transferred

Thus, peasant land was treated as property that could enter a market.

Page 198

3.6 Agricultural Expansion

Three major factors encouraged the expansion of agriculture:

1. Abundance of land
2. Availability of labour
3. Mobility of peasants

These factors enabled cultivation to spread into new areas.

Major Food Crops

Basic staples included:

• Rice
• Wheat
• Millets

Rainfall influenced crop patterns.

• Regions receiving around 40 inches or more of rainfall were generally rice-producing areas.
• Wheat and millets were associated with areas receiving progressively less rainfall.

Importance of the Monsoon

The monsoon was the backbone of Indian agriculture.

However, some crops required additional irrigation.

Therefore, peasants developed artificial irrigation systems.

Pages 198–199

3.7 Irrigation and Agricultural Technology

Agriculture depended primarily on rainfall, but irrigation was necessary for certain crops and regions.

State-supported irrigation

The Mughal state supported irrigation projects.

It:

• Dug new canals called nahr or nala.
• Repaired existing canals.
• Repaired the shahnahr in Punjab during Shah Jahan’s reign.

Persian Wheel

One important irrigation technology was the Persian wheel.

It used:

• A wheel
• Ropes
• Wooden strips
• Pitchers
• Bullock power

The pitchers lifted water from wells and emptied it into a trough, from where water was distributed.

Bucket Irrigation

In areas such as:

• Agra
• Chandwar
• Bayana

water could be lifted using buckets operated with the assistance of bullocks.

Page 199

3.8 Agricultural Implements

Agriculture was labour-intensive, but technology helped increase productivity.

Wooden Plough

• Light in weight.
• Easy to assemble.
• Usually fitted with an iron tip or coulter.
• Did not make very deep furrows.
• Helped preserve moisture during hot months.

Seed Drill

• Used to plant seeds.
• Pulled by a pair of large oxen.

Broadcasting

• The most common method of sowing seeds.
• Seeds were scattered over the cultivated land.

Hoe

• Used for hoeing and weeding.
• Consisted of a narrow iron blade attached to a small wooden handle.

Page 200

3.9 Abundance of Crops

Agriculture was organised around two major seasonal cycles:

Kharif

• Autumn crop season.

Rabi

• Spring crop season.

Most regions produced at least two crops a year, known as do-fasla.

Regions with sufficient rainfall or irrigation could produce three crops.

Variety of Crops

According to the Ain:

• Agra: 39 varieties of crops
• Delhi: 43 varieties
• Bengal: 50 varieties of rice alone

This demonstrates the remarkable diversity of Mughal-period agriculture.

Page 200

3.10 Subsistence and Commercial Agriculture

Medieval Indian agriculture was not purely subsistence agriculture.

The Mughal sources use the term jins-i kamil, meaning “perfect crops.”

These were crops that generated higher revenue for the state.

Important Cash/Commercial Crops

• Cotton
• Sugarcane
• Oilseeds
• Lentils

Regional Examples

• Cotton was widely cultivated across central India and the Deccan.
• Bengal was famous for sugar.

Thus, a typical peasant’s holding could combine:

• Food crops for consumption
• Commercial crops for sale

Important conclusion:
Subsistence and commercial agriculture existed side by side.

Page 200

3.11 Introduction of New Crops

Several crops from different parts of the world reached India during the seventeenth century.

Crops introduced into India

• Maize
• Tomato
• Potato
• Chillies
• Pineapple
• Papaya

Maize

Maize (makka) reached India through Africa and Spain.

By the seventeenth century, it had become an important crop in western India.

Page 200–201

3.12 Spread of Tobacco

Tobacco first arrived in the Deccan and subsequently spread to northern India.

Important facts:

• Akbar and his nobles encountered tobacco around 1604.
• Smoking tobacco became popular.
• It was consumed through hookahs and chillums.
• Jahangir attempted to ban tobacco.
• The ban was ineffective.
• By the end of the seventeenth century, tobacco had become an important:
  • Consumer product
  • Crop
  • Trade commodity

Page 200

3.13 Agricultural Prosperity and Population Growth

The flexibility and variety of agricultural production contributed to population growth.

Despite periodic:

• Famines
• Epidemics

India’s population increased by approximately:

• 50 million people between 1600 and 1800
• Approximately 33% increase over 200 years

Page 200

3.14 The Village Community

Agricultural production involved active participation by peasants.

At the same time, peasants were members of a collective village community.

The village community consisted of three major components:

1. Cultivators
2. Panchayat
3. Village headman

The headman was known as:

• Muqaddam
• Mandal

Page 201

3.15 Caste and Rural Society

The peasant population was socially heterogeneous.

Caste played an important role in determining:

• Social status
• Occupation
• Access to resources
• Economic position

Agricultural Labourers

Some people who worked on the land were:

• Menials
• Agricultural labourers
• Known as majur

Lower-status caste groups often possessed the fewest resources.

Muslim Communities

Some occupational groups were also socially marginalised.

For example:

• Halalkhoran – scavengers, often housed outside village boundaries.
• Mallahzadas – literally “sons of boatmen”, described in Bihar in a position comparable to slaves.

Page 201–202

3.16 Social Mobility among Rural Groups

Caste status was not always fixed.

Some groups improved their position because of profitable occupations.

Examples:

• Ahirs
• Gujars
• Malis

These groups benefited from:

• Cattle rearing
• Horticulture

In eastern India:

• Sadgops
• Kaivartas

gained the status of peasants.

In seventeenth-century Marwar:

• Rajputs were also recorded as peasants.
• Jats occupied a lower position in the caste hierarchy.

Page 202

3.17 Panchayats and Village Headmen

The village panchayat was an assembly of village elders.

Composition

• Usually consisted of important village people.
• Members often possessed hereditary property rights.
• In mixed-caste villages, it could include representatives from several castes and communities.
• However, village menials and agricultural labourers were generally unlikely to be represented.

The panchayat functioned as an oligarchic body.

Its decisions were binding on members.

Page 202

3.18 The Muqaddam or Mandal

The village headman was known as:

• Muqaddam
• Mandal

Selection

The headman could be selected through the consensus of village elders.

The choice could require ratification by the zamindar.

The headman could remain in office as long as he retained the confidence of village elders.

Main Function

The headman supervised:

• Village accounts
• Revenue-related records

He was assisted by the patwari, the village accountant.

Page 202

3.19 Functions of the Panchayat

The panchayat had several responsibilities.

Financial Functions

It collected contributions into a common financial pool.

The money could be used for:

• Entertaining visiting revenue officials
• Community welfare
• Relief during floods and other natural calamities
• Construction of bunds
• Digging canals

Social Functions

The panchayat helped enforce:

• Caste rules
• Social norms
• Community discipline

It could:

• Levy fines
• Impose punishments
• Expel individuals from the community

Expulsion meant that the person became an outcaste and could lose the right to practise their occupation.

Pages 202–203

3.20 Jati Panchayats

Apart from the village panchayat, individual jatis had their own panchayats.

These were known as jati panchayats.

They could:

• Settle civil disputes.
• Mediate land disputes.
• Regulate marriages.
• Determine ritual precedence.
• Enforce caste norms.

Except in criminal matters, the state generally respected their decisions.

Page 203

3.21 Peasant Resistance and Panchayat

Village panchayats could also receive complaints against:

• Excessive taxation
• Forced labour
• Revenue officials
• Powerful castes
• Zamindars

The petitioners often came from lower sections of rural society.

They believed that customary rights guaranteed them a basic minimum necessary for survival.

When revenue demands became excessive:

1. Panchayat could seek compromise.
2. If reconciliation failed, peasants could resist.
3. One important method was deserting the village.

The availability of uncultivated land made migration an effective form of resistance.

Pages 203–204

3.22 Village Artisans

Artisans formed an important part of village society.

They included:

• Potters
• Blacksmiths
• Carpenters
• Barbers
• Goldsmiths

In some villages, artisans constituted as much as 25% of households.

The distinction between peasants and artisans could be fluid.

Peasant families could also participate in:

• Dyeing
• Textile printing
• Baking
• Pottery
• Making agricultural tools
• Repairing implements

Agricultural periods of relatively low activity gave cultivators time to perform artisanal work.

Pages 204–205

3.23 Remuneration of Village Artisans

Artisans received payment for their specialised services.

Common forms included:

• Share of harvest
• Allotment of land
• Cultivable waste land
• Goods in exchange for services
• Cash payments

In Maharashtra, hereditary artisan holdings were called:

• Miras
• Watan

In Bengal, zamindars sometimes paid artisans such as blacksmiths, carpenters and goldsmiths:

• Small daily allowances
• Diet money

This system was later called the jajmani system, although the term was not in use during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Page 205

3.24 Was the Village a “Little Republic”?

Some nineteenth-century British officials described Indian villages as “little republics.”

They imagined villages as communities where people:

• Shared resources
• Shared labour
• Worked collectively

However, NCERT cautions against viewing villages as egalitarian communities.

Reality

Village society had:

• Individual ownership
• Caste inequalities
• Gender inequalities
• Powerful local groups
• Exploitation of weaker groups

Therefore, the village community was not socially equal.

At the same time, a cash nexus had already developed through:

• Village-town trade
• Cash revenue
• Commercial production
• Payments to artisans

Page 205–206

3.25 Women in Agrarian Society

Women played an essential role in agricultural production.

Men and women often worked shoulder to shoulder in the fields.

Men’s activities

• Tilling
• Ploughing

Women’s activities

• Sowing
• Weeding
• Threshing
• Winnowing

Thus, agricultural production depended upon the labour of the entire household.

Page 206

3.26 Women’s Artisanal Work

Women also contributed to non-agricultural production.

Their activities included:

• Spinning yarn
• Sifting clay
• Kneading clay
• Embroidery
• Other household-based crafts

The more commercialised a product became, the greater could be the demand for women’s labour.

Women could also work:

• In fields
• At employers’ houses
• In markets
• At construction sites

Pages 206–207

3.27 Social Position of Women

Women were considered important because agrarian society depended heavily on labour and reproduction.

However, women faced significant restrictions.

Marriage customs

In many rural communities:

• Bride-price was paid rather than dowry.
• Remarriage was accepted among many divorced and widowed women.

Patriarchal control

The household was generally headed by a male.

Women could face severe punishment if accused of infidelity.

Page 207

3.28 Women’s Petitions to Panchayats

Women sometimes approached village panchayats seeking justice.

Petitions from western India record complaints concerning:

• Husband’s infidelity
• Neglect of wife
• Neglect of children
• Failure of male household heads to provide for the family

However, women’s names were frequently omitted from official records.

They could instead be identified as:

• Mother of a man
• Sister of a man
• Wife of a man

Page 207

3.29 Women’s Property Rights

Women belonging to landed families could have property rights.

Evidence from Punjab indicates that:

• Women, including widows, could participate in the land market.
• They could sell inherited property.
• Hindu and Muslim women could inherit zamindaris.
• They could sell or mortgage these holdings.

Women could therefore exercise significant property rights despite the patriarchal nature of rural society.

Woman Zamindar

The famous Rajshahi zamindari in eighteenth-century Bengal was headed by a woman.

Page 207

3.30 Forests and Tribes

Rural India extended beyond settled agriculture.

Large forest regions existed in:

• Eastern India
• Central India
• Northern India
• Terai
• Jharkhand
• Western Ghats
• Deccan

Contemporary estimates suggest that around 40% of the territory may have been covered by forests.

Page 208

3.31 Forest Dwellers

Forest dwellers were described as jangli in contemporary sources.

The term did not necessarily mean uncivilised.

Their livelihoods included:

• Gathering forest produce
• Hunting
• Fishing
• Shifting cultivation

These activities followed seasonal cycles.

Example: Bhils

Among the Bhils:

• Spring → collection of forest produce
• Summer → fishing
• Monsoon → cultivation
• Autumn and winter → hunting

Mobility was therefore an important feature of tribal life.

Page 208

3.32 Forests and the Mughal State

For the Mughal state, forests could be viewed as places of refuge or mawas for rebels.

Babur observed that forests could provide protection to people who resisted Mughal authority and refused to pay taxes.

The state also entered forest regions for economic and military purposes.

Elephants

The Mughal state required elephants for its army.

Therefore, forest communities could be required to provide elephants as part of peshkash, a form of tribute.

Page 208

3.33 The Hunt and Mughal Political Ideology

Hunting had a political meaning in Mughal ideology.

The hunt symbolised the emperor’s concern for all subjects.

Through hunting expeditions, the emperor could:

• Travel across the empire.
• Meet inhabitants.
• Hear grievances.
• Demonstrate imperial authority.

Court paintings often depicted royal hunts.

Artists sometimes inserted a small scene symbolising a harmonious and just reign.

Page 209

3.34 Expansion of Agriculture into Forests

Forests were increasingly transformed as agriculture expanded.

The Bengali poem Chandimangala, composed by Mukundaram Chakrabarti, describes the clearing of forests by Kalaketu.

The process involved:

• Bringing outsiders into forest regions
• Distributing axes and other tools
• Clearing forests
• Establishing agricultural settlements
• Establishing markets

This demonstrates how forest regions were transformed through agricultural colonisation.

Page 209

3.35 Trade between Forest Tribes and Plains

Forest communities participated in trade with settled agricultural regions.

According to Abu’l Fazl’s account of Awadh, goods brought from the mountains included:

• Gold
• Copper
• Lead
• Musk
• Honey
• Ginger
• Long pepper
• Wax
• Woollen goods
• Wooden products
• Hawks
• Falcons
• Other forest products

In exchange, forest communities received goods such as:

• Cloth
• Salt
• Amber
• Asafoetida
• Ornaments
• Glassware
• Earthenware

Trade could take place through barter as well.

Page 210

3.36 Commercialisation and Forest Communities

Commercial agriculture affected forest dwellers.

Forest products with strong market demand included:

• Honey
• Beeswax
• Gum lac
• Elephants

Gum lac became an important overseas export from India during the seventeenth century.

Some tribes were also involved in long-distance trade.

For example:

• The Lohanis of Punjab participated in overland trade between India and Afghanistan.
• They also participated in town-country trade.

Pages 210–211

3.37 Tribal Chiefs and the Rise of Kingdoms

Tribal chiefs could acquire political power.

Some became:

• Zamindars
• Kings

To maintain power, they needed armies.

They could recruit soldiers from:

• Lineage groups
• Tribal communities

Sind

Some tribal armies included:

• 6,000 cavalry
• 7,000 infantry

Assam

The Ahom kings used paiks.

Paiks were people who performed military service in return for land.

The Ahom kings also declared the capture of wild elephants a royal monopoly.

Page 210–211

3.38 From Tribal to Monarchical Systems

The transition from tribal societies to monarchies had begun earlier but became more developed by the sixteenth century.

The Ain records tribal kingdoms in north-eastern India.

War was common.

For example:

• The Koch kings fought and subjugated neighbouring tribes through a long series of wars during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Cultural influences also entered forest regions.

Sufi saints or pirs may have played an important role in the gradual spread of Islam among agricultural communities in newly colonised regions.

Page 211

3.39 The Zamindars

Zamindars formed an important rural elite.

They:

• Lived off agriculture.
• Did not directly participate in agricultural production.
• Held landed property.
• Enjoyed social and economic privileges.

Their elevated status could result from:

• Caste
• Services performed for the state

Such services were known as khidmat.

Page 211

3.40 Milkiyat

Zamindars possessed extensive personal lands known as milkiyat.

Features of milkiyat

• They were private property.
• They were cultivated for the zamindar’s benefit.
• Cultivation could involve:
  • Hired labour
  • Servile labour
• Zamindars could:
  • Sell
  • Mortgage
  • Bequeath

  their milkiyat lands.

Page 211

3.41 Sources of Zamindar Power

Zamindars derived power from several sources.

1. Landownership

Their milkiyat lands provided economic strength.

2. Revenue collection

Some collected revenue for the Mughal state.

They received financial compensation for this service.

3. Military resources

Many zamindars possessed:

• Fortresses or qilachas
• Cavalry
• Infantry
• Artillery

Thus, zamindars could exercise considerable local authority.

Page 211

3.42 Zamindars as the Rural Elite

The zamindars represented the narrow apex of the rural social pyramid.

Their composition included:

• Brahmanas
• Rajputs
• Intermediate castes
• Muslims

Thus, zamindari was not restricted to a single caste or religious group.

Page 211–212

3.43 Formation and Consolidation of Zamindaris

Some zamindaris originated through conquest.

Powerful military chiefs could dispossess weaker people and expand their territory.

However, such expansion generally required recognition from the Mughal state through an imperial order or sanad.

Other methods of zamindari consolidation

• Colonisation of new land
• Transfer of rights
• State orders
• Purchase of land

Because zamindaris could be bought and sold, people from relatively lower castes could also rise into the zamindar class.

Page 212

3.44 Clan and Lineage-based Zamindaris

Certain groups consolidated zamindari power through clan and lineage networks.

Examples:

• Rajputs
• Jats

These groups expanded control over large territories in northern India.

In Bengal:

• Sadgops developed powerful zamindaris in central and south-western Bengal.

Page 212

3.45 Zamindars and Agricultural Expansion

Zamindars played an important role in expanding cultivation.

They:

• Colonised agricultural land.
• Settled cultivators.
• Provided resources needed for cultivation.
• Provided cash loans.

They also established markets called haats.

Peasants could bring their produce to these markets.

Thus, zamindars contributed to:

• Agricultural expansion
• Commercialisation
• Monetisation
• Market development

Page 212

3.46 Zamindars and Peasants: Exploitation and Reciprocity

Zamindars were undoubtedly an exploitative class.

However, their relationship with peasants was not always based solely on oppression.

It could also involve:

• Reciprocity
• Paternalism
• Patronage

Two points are important:

1. Bhakti saints criticised caste oppression but did not generally portray zamindars or moneylenders as the principal oppressors of peasants.
2. During several agrarian uprisings in seventeenth-century north India, peasants supported zamindars in their struggles against the Mughal state.

Therefore, relationships between zamindars and peasants were complex.

Pages 212–213

3.47 Military Strength of Zamindars

According to the Ain, the combined military strength of Mughal zamindars was approximately:

This demonstrates the considerable military resources controlled by zamindars.

Page 212

3.48 Land Revenue System

Land revenue was the economic mainstay of the Mughal Empire.

The state therefore needed an administrative system to:

• Measure land
• Determine agricultural production
• Assess revenue
• Collect taxes
• Maintain records

Diwan

The diwan supervised the fiscal system of the empire.

Revenue officials and record keepers entered rural society and influenced agrarian relations.

Page 213

3.49 Two Stages of Revenue Collection

Mughal land revenue administration involved two major stages:

1. Assessment

Determining how much revenue was due.

This amount was called:

Jama

2. Collection

The actual amount collected was called:

Hasil

Important distinction

Jama = assessed revenue

Hasil = collected revenue

This is an extremely important examination point.

Page 213

3.50 Cash or Kind Payment

Akbar instructed revenue collectors to encourage payment in cash, but payment in kind was also permitted.

The Mughal revenue system therefore had flexibility in methods of collection.

Revenue could be collected through:

• Cash
• Agricultural produce

Local conditions influenced how much of the assessed revenue could actually be realised.

Page 213

3.51 Measurement of Land

The Mughal state attempted to obtain detailed information about:

• Agricultural land
• Cultivated land
• Cultivable land
• Agricultural production
• Number of cultivators

The Ain recorded aggregates of cultivated and cultivable land during Akbar’s reign.

Efforts to measure land continued under later emperors.

In 1665, Aurangzeb instructed revenue officials to prepare annual records of cultivators in each village.

However, forests and other difficult areas remained largely outside systematic measurement.

Pages 213–214

3.52 Classification of Land under Akbar

Akbar’s land classification divided land according to how frequently it was cultivated.

The first two categories were further divided into:

• Good
• Middling
• Bad

The average produce was calculated and a portion was taken as the state’s share.

Page 214

3.53 The Mansabdari System and Revenue Assignments

The Mughal administrative system included the mansabdari system.

Mansabdars performed:

• Civil functions
• Military functions

They could receive:

• Naqdi – payment in cash
• Jagir – revenue assignment

Most mansabdars were paid through revenue assignments known as jagirs.

They were periodically transferred.

Page 214

3.54 Methods of Revenue Assessment and Collection

The Ain describes several methods of collecting revenue in kind.

1. Kankut

• Kan = grain
• Kut = estimation

Crops could be estimated.

If there was uncertainty, crops could be cut and estimated according to:

• Good
• Middling
• Inferior

2. Batai / Bhaoli

• Crops were reaped.
• They were stacked.
• The produce was divided by agreement.

3. Khet-batai

• Fields were divided after crops had been sown.

4. Lang-batai

• Grain was cut.
• It was placed in heaps.
• The heaps were divided between the parties.

Page 215

3.55 Was the Mughal Revenue System Flexible?

The system contained elements of flexibility because:

• Revenue could be paid in cash or kind.
• Different methods of assessment existed.
• Land was classified according to its condition and cultivation history.
• Local agricultural conditions affected actual collection.
• The state recognised the need to consider peasant welfare in revenue assessment.

However, the state also attempted to maximise its revenue claims.

Therefore, the Mughal system combined strict revenue demands with several flexible mechanisms of assessment and collection.

3.56 The Flow of Silver

The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries witnessed increasing global trade.

Major Asian empires included:

• Mughal Empire
• Ming China
• Safavid Iran
• Ottoman Turkey

Political stability encouraged:

• Overland trade
• Long-distance commerce
• Overseas trade

The voyages of discovery and opening of the New World greatly expanded trade between Asia and Europe.

Page 215

3.57 Silver and the Indian Economy

India lacked significant natural sources of silver.

However, large quantities of silver bullion entered Asia through international trade.

A substantial portion eventually reached India.

Effects of silver inflow

• Greater availability of silver currency
• Expansion of coin minting
• Increased circulation of money
• Greater monetisation
• Greater ability of the Mughal state to collect taxes in cash

The silver rupya became particularly important.

Page 216

3.58 Silver and International Trade

The account of Giovanni Careri, based partly on Bernier’s account, describes the movement of silver towards India.

Silver came through several international trade networks involving:

• America
• Europe
• Turkey
• Persia
• Arabia
• Red Sea
• Persian Gulf
• India
• Southeast Asia
• Japan

Indian commodities were purchased with money, contributing to the flow of silver into the subcontinent.

Pages 216–217

3.59 Importance of Monetary Transactions

The growing availability of silver contributed to the development of a money-based economy.

Cash became important in:

• Revenue collection
• Trade
• Payment of wages
• Commercial production
• Artisan production

The chapter therefore shows that Mughal India had extensive monetary transactions and commercial networks.

Pages 205–217

3.60 The Ain-i Akbari of Abu’l Fazl

The Ain-i Akbari was written by Abu’l Fazl Allami.

It was completed in:

1598

It was the result of a large imperial project of:

• Classification
• Information gathering
• Administration
• History writing

The Ain formed the third book of the Akbar Nama.

Page 217

3.61 Structure of the Ain-i Akbari

The Ain was organised into five books or daftars.

First Book – Manzil-abadi

Concerned with:

• Imperial household
• Its organisation
• Maintenance

Second Book – Sipah-abadi

Concerned with:

• Military administration
• Civil administration
• Imperial servants
• Mansabdars
• Learned people
• Poets
• Artists

Third Book – Mulk-abadi

Concerned primarily with:

• Fiscal administration
• Revenue
• Provinces
• Agricultural information

This is particularly important for studying agrarian relations.

Fourth and Fifth Books

Concerned with:

• Religious traditions
• Literary traditions
• Cultural traditions
• Akbar’s auspicious sayings

Pages 217–218

3.62 Quantitative Information in the Ain

The mulk-abadi section contains detailed information about the empire’s provinces.

It includes information concerning:

• Geography
• Topography
• Economy
• Measured land
• Revenue
• Zamindars
• Castes
• Military resources

The Ain organised information at different administrative levels:

Suba → Sarkar → Pargana/Mahal

It also included information on:

• Forts
• Measured land
• Cash revenue
• Revenue grants
• Zamindars
• Caste composition
• Cavalry
• Infantry
• Elephants

Page 218

3.63 How Abu’l Fazl Collected Information

Abu’l Fazl used multiple sources and methods.

He consulted:

• State servants
• Old members of important families
• Older people who remembered past events
• Younger informed individuals
• Provincial records
• Orders sent to provinces
• Record-office chronicles
• Imperial orders
• Reports of ministers
• Reports of high officials
• Notes and memoranda of knowledgeable people

He also used oral testimony and cross-checked information.

Page 219

3.64 Reliability of the Ain

The Ain was revised five times.

This indicates considerable effort to improve accuracy.

Abu’l Fazl:

• Cross-checked oral testimonies.
• Verified information.
• Recorded quantitative information carefully.
• Reproduced numerical data in words to reduce transcription errors.

However, historians have identified:

• Errors in totals
• Arithmetic mistakes
• Transcription mistakes

These were generally considered minor.

Page 220

3.65 Limitations of the Ain

The Ain has several limitations.

1. Uneven data

Information was not collected uniformly across all provinces.

2. Regional gaps

Detailed information on zamindar caste composition was not available for:

• Bengal
• Orissa

3. Prices and wages

Price and wage information was less comprehensive.

Much of the available data related to:

• Agra
• Areas around Agra

Therefore, it cannot automatically be applied to the entire empire.

4. Perspective from the centre

The Ain represents the empire primarily from the perspective of the Mughal centre.

Page 220

3.66 Historical Importance of the Ain

Despite its limitations, the Ain-i Akbari is an extraordinary historical document.

It provides information about:

• People
• Professions
• Trades
• Agriculture
• Revenue
• Administration
• Social groups
• Zamindars
• Imperial officials
• Provinces

It marked a major departure from earlier chronicles that concentrated mainly on:

• Wars
• Conquests
• Dynastic conflicts
• Political events

The Ain therefore became a benchmark for studying India around the beginning of the seventeenth century.

Pages 220–221

3.67 Important Historical Timeline

Page 221

A. Very Short Answer Questions

B. Short Answer Questions

1. Why is the Ain-i Akbari an important source for agrarian history?
   Page: 197, 217–221
2. Distinguish between khud-kashta and pahi-kashta peasants.
   Page: 197–198
3. Explain the importance of monsoons in Mughal agriculture.
   Page: 198–199
4. What irrigation technologies were used in northern India?
   Page: 199
5. Explain the meaning of jins-i kamil.
   Page: 200
6. Why can Mughal agriculture not be described only as subsistence agriculture?
   Page: 200
7. How did caste influence rural society?
   Pages: 201–202
8. What were the functions of the village panchayat?
   Pages: 202–204
9. What role did village artisans play?
   Pages: 204–205
10. Why is the description of the village as a “little republic” misleading?
    Pages: 205–206
11. Describe the role of women in agricultural production.
    Pages: 206–207
12. What property rights did women enjoy?
    Page: 207
13. How did commercialisation affect forest dwellers?
    Pages: 210–211
14. What were the sources of zamindar power?
    Pages: 211–212
15. Explain the relationship between zamindars and peasants.
    Pages: 212–213
16. Why was land revenue important to the Mughal Empire?
    Page: 213
17. Distinguish between jama and hasil.
    Page: 213
18. Explain Akbar’s classification of land.
    Page: 214
19. Describe the different methods of revenue collection.
    Page: 215
20. How did the inflow of silver affect the Mughal economy?
    Pages: 215–217

C. Long Answer Questions

1. What were the major features of agricultural production in Mughal India?
   Pages: 196–201
2. Explain the structure and functioning of the village community.
   Pages: 201–206
3. Discuss the role played by women in Mughal agrarian society.
   Pages: 206–207
4. How did forest dwellers interact with the state, markets and agricultural communities?
   Pages: 208–211
5. Examine the role of zamindars in Mughal rural society.
   Pages: 211–213
6. Explain the Mughal land revenue system.
   Pages: 213–215
7. Discuss the importance of cash and silver in the Mughal economy.
   Pages: 215–217
8. Examine the importance and limitations of the Ain-i Akbari as a historical source.
   Pages: 217–221
9. To what extent was caste a factor in shaping social and economic relations in agrarian society?
   Pages: 201–202
10. How did panchayats and village headmen regulate rural society?
    Pages: 202–204

1. What is the difference between jama and hasil?

Jama was the amount of revenue assessed, whereas hasil was the amount actually collected by the state.

Page: 213

2. What is the difference between khud-kashta and pahi-kashta?

Khud-kashta peasants were resident cultivators of their village, while pahi-kashta peasants were non-resident cultivators who cultivated land elsewhere on a contractual basis.

Pages: 197–198

3. Was Mughal agriculture only subsistence agriculture?

No. Although food crops were essential, peasants also cultivated commercial crops such as cotton and sugarcane. Subsistence and commercial production existed together.

Page: 200

4. Why is the Ain-i Akbari important?

It provides detailed quantitative and administrative information about Mughal India, including revenue, land, crops, zamindars, provinces, occupations and military resources.

Pages: 217–221

5. Why were zamindars important in Mughal rural society?

Zamindars possessed private lands, collected revenue, controlled military resources, helped expand cultivation and established markets. They were therefore powerful rural elites.

Pages: 211–213