Explain why Abdur Razzak, a Persian Ambassador, was greatly impressed by the fortification of Vijayanagara Empire during the 15th century.

OR

Explain the ways through which Mughal village Panchayats and village headmen regulated rural society.

Abdur Razzak, a Persian ambassador was greatly impressed by the fortification of Vijayanagara Empire.

(i) They encircled not only the city but also the agricultural hinterland and forests.

(ii) The outermost wall linked the hills surrounding the city.

(iii) The massive masonry construction was slightly tapered.

(iv) No mortar or cementing agent was employed anywhere in the construction.

(v) The stone blocks were wedge shaped, which held them in place, and the inner portion of the walls was of earth packed with rubble.

(vi) Square or rectangular bastions projected outwards.

(vii) Most significant was its enclosed agricultural tracts.

(viii) He noted that' between the first, second and the third walls there are cultivated fields, gardens and houses'.

(ix) There were large granaries within fortified areas.

(x) A second line of fortification went round the inner core of the urban complex, and a third line surrounded the royal centre, within which each set of major buildings was surrounded by walls.

OR

Mughal village Panchayats and headmen regulated the rural society:

(i) The village panchayat was an assembly of elders, usually important people of the village with hereditary rights over their property.

(ii) In mixed-caste villages, the panchayat was usually a heterogeneous body.

(iii) The decisions made by these panchayats were binding on the members.

(iv) The panchayat derived its funds from contributions made by individuals to a common financial pool.

(v) Often these funds were also deployed in construction of a bund or digging a canal which peasants usually could not afford to do on their own.

(vi) One important function of the panchayat was to ensure that caste boundaries among the various communities inhabiting the village were upheld.

(vii) Panchayats also had the authority to levy fines and inflict more serious forms of punishment like expulsions from the community.

(viii) The jati panchayats wielded considerable power in rural society and arbitrated civil disputes between members of different castes.

(ix) Village panchayat was regarded as the court of appeal that would ensure that the state carried out its moral obligations and guaranteed justice.

(x) The decision of the panchayat in conflicts between “lower-caste” peasants and state officials or the local zamindar could vary from case to case.