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Peasants, Zamindars And The State
Write a short note on Mughal Umaras and kingship.
(i) Umaras were the ruling class of Mughal Empire. This class advised the emperor to run the administration.
(ii) Umaras in the Mughal period were not so powerful as of Sultanate period. They never tried to occupy the throne.
(iii) Only the Umara, Mahabat Khan had imprisoned Jahangir.
(iv) In Akbar’s time Salim, in Jahangir’s time Khurram and Khusrau, in Shahjahan’s time Aurangzeb, Shuja, Murad; in Aurangzeb’s time prince Akbar, revolted and a class of Umaras helped them.
(v) The aim of Umaras in Mughal period had been to provide stability to the Mughal emperor and the empire.
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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.
How did the zamindars derive their power during the Mughal period? Mention any two ways.
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