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Peasants, Zamindars And The State
How did the panchayat ensure that caste -system should not be violated?
During the Mughal period, the village panchayat was an assembly of elders. But in mixed-caste villages, it was usually a heterogeneous body. But the decisions of the panchayats were binding on all the members.
Each panchayat had a headman who was known as Muqaddam or Mandal. He held his office till he enjoyed the confidence of the village elders. The main function of the Panchayat was to uphold and ensure that all the people lived within caste boundaries. In many parts of eastern India, all the marriages were held in the presence of the Mandal. In other words, the panchayats played a significant role in the prevention of caste-based offences. It could even expel anyone from the community. It could also impose fines.
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Describe the role played by women in agricultural production.
Discuss, with examples, the significance of monetary transactions during the period under consideration.
Examine the evidence that suggests that land revenue was important for the Mughal fiscal system.
To what extent do you think caste was a factor in influencing social and economic relations in agrarian society?
How were the lives of forest dwellers transformed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?
Examine the role played by zamindars in Mughal India.
Discuss the ways in which panchayats and village headmen regulated rural society.
On an outline map of the world, mark the areas which had economic links with the Mughal Empire, and trace out possible routes of communication.
Visit a neighbouring village. Find out how many people live there, which crops are grown, which animals are raised, which artisanal groups reside
there, whether women own land, how the local panchayat functions. Compare this information with what you have learnt about the sixteenth-
seventeenth centuries, noting similarities and differences. Explain both the changes and the continuities that you find.
How were the village artisans compensated by the villagers for their services? Write about any one.
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