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Peasants, Zamindars And The State
What were the causes of increasing exploitation of the peasantry in the 17th century?
India is an agricultural country but the peasants have always been exploited. They were never given any relief. A person who fed others himself remained under-fed.
Causes of Exploitation of the Peasantry:
(i) The Jagirdari system : The jagirdars who themselves led a luxurious life overburdened the peasants with heavy taxes. They had nothing to do with the land reforms or the misery of the peasants. The peasants had to do forced labour to please them. In case they didn’t oblige them they had to lose their land.
(ii) Paying no attention towards agriculture : The government only bothered about the land revenue. To make arrangements peasants was not the headache of the government. Even if the crops were destroyed owing to a dry spell or floods, the peasants had to pay the full land-revenue.
(iii) Heavy taxes on land : Generally the government realized fifty per cent of the total produce as the state share. Before the 17th century, the peasants paid as tax but it did not include the jagirdar’s taxes or local taxes.
(iv) No new implements and techniques : The government never bothered to supply new implements or even new techniques to the peasants.
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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.
What was Jati Panchayat? State any two of its functions.
Why had an artificial system of irrigation to be devised in India during sixteenth and seventeenth centuries ? Mention one such system.
Define the following terms : Polaj and Parati lands.
Why were women considered an important resource in agrarian society? Mention two reasons.
Mention two factors for enjoying social and economic privileges by the zamindars in the Mughal India.
Define the following terms : Chachar and Banjar.
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