Themes In Indian History Ii Chapter 8 Peasants, Zamindars And The State

(a) The Ain-i-Akbari had provided invaluable information for reconstructing the agrarian history of the Mughals. But the Ain has its own limitations.

(b)    Numerous errors in totalling have been detected. These are however minor and do not detract from the overall quantitative accuracy of the manuals. Another limitation is the skewed nature of the data. Data was not collected uniformly from all provinces for example information regarding the caste composition of the zamindars is not available for Bengal and Orissa.

(c)    Though the fiscal data from the subas is very detailed yet important parameters like wages and prices from these subas has not been properly documented. Moreover the detailed list of prices and wages found in the Ain have been acquired from data pertaining to the capital Agra and its surroudings. It is therefore of limited value for the rest of the country.

(d)    Historians have dealt with the situation by supplementing the account of the Ain by information got from the provinces.

(e)    These include detailed seventeenth-eighteenth century revenue records from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. These have been also supplemented by records of the East India Company.

(a) In India a great variety of crops were produced. Bengal alone produced 50 varieties of rice. But the focus on the cultivation of basic crops does not mean that only subsistence agriculture existed in medieval India.

(b)    The Mughal state encouraged peasants to cultivate crops which brought in revenue especially cotton and sugarcane.

(c)    Cotton was grown over a wide area including Central India and the Deccan plateau, whereas Bengal was famous for its sugar.

(d)    Cash crops were grown included many varieties of oil seeds including mustard and lentils.

(e)    Thus an average peasant grew both commercial and subsistence crops.

(a) Women worked shoulder to shoulder with men in the fields. While men tilled and ploughed the lands, the women sowed, weeded and threshed the harvest. Agricultural production at this time depended on the labour and resources of the entire household.

(b) Certain tasks like spinning yarn, kneading clay for pottery and embroidery were done only by women. In fact the peasant and artisan women worked not only in the fields but even went to their employer’s houses and even to the markets if necessary.

(c)    Women’s role in an agrarian society was of great importance as the children they produced provided the required labour. High mortality rates due to various factors led to a shortage of wives. This led to the system of bride-price given to the bride’s family.

(d)    Among the landed gentry, women had the right to inherit property. Women, including widows, participated in the rural land market selling property which they had inherited especially in Punjab.

(e)    Both Hindu and Muslim women inherited zamindaris which they were free to sell or mortgage. In eighteenth century Bengal had many women-zamindars. In fact, the Rajshahi zamindari which was one of the most famous of the time was headed by a woman.

(a) The political stability of the Mughal, Ming (China), Safavid (Iran) and Ottoman (Turkey) empires led to increased overland trade from China to the Mediterranean Sea.

(b) Discovery of new lands also gave an impetus to Asia’s trade with Europe. As a result enormous amount of silver entered India as payment for goods bought from India.

(c)    This benefitted India as she did not have enough resources of silver. Therefore from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries there was sufficient reserves of silver in India and the silver rupya was available readily.

(d)    This resulted in an unprecedented expansion in the minting of coins and circulation of money allowing the Mughal state to extract taxes and revenues in cash.

(e)    Giovanni Careri’s account gives us an idea of the phenomenal amounts of cash and commodity transactions which took place in seventeenth century India.

(a) The mainstay of the Mughal economy was the revenue acquired from land. This was used to pay salaries and defray various administrative expenses.

(b)    Its importance can be seen by the fact that an elaborate administrative apparatus was created to ensure control over agricultural production and to collect revenue from the length and breadth of the empire.

(c)    This apparatus included revenue officials and record keepers. The Mughal state first acquired specific information regarding the extent of agricultural lands and their produce before fixing the burden of taxes.

(d)    Land revenue arrangements consisted of two stages assessment (jama) and actual collection (hasil). Cultivators were given the choice to pay in cash or kind though the state preferred cash. While fixing the land revenue, attempts were made maximise profits.

(e) Both cultivated and cultivable lands were measured in each province. Efforts to measure lands continued under subsequent emperors like Aurangzeb. Yet not all areas could be measured successfully as huge areas of India were covered with forests.

(a) Cultivators were a highly heterogeneous group because they were divided on the basis of caste and other caste like distinctions. Thus among the peasants were many who worked as agricultural labourers.

(b)    A large proportion of the village people were constrained by their caste being regarded as the modem day Dalits. They were assigned menial tasks and thus were poverty-stricken.

(c)    Caste distinctions had also begun to permeate other communities as well. In Muslim communities menials like halkhoron (scavengers) lived outside the villages. A direct relation existed between caste, poverty and social status.

(d)    In Marwar in the seventeenth century, Rajputs are mentioned as peasants and equated with Jats who were given an inferior status in the caste hierarchy.

(e)    Castes like Ahirs, Gujjars and Malis reached an elevated status in the caste hierarchy because of immense profits generated by cattle-rearing and horticulture. In the eastern regions, the pastoral and fishing castes like the sadgops and Kaivartas acquired the status of peasants.

Transformation in the lives of forest dwellers (sixteenth and seventeenth centuries):

(a)    Forest dwellers having their own culture, way of life and occupation: Forest dwellers were termed jangli in contemporary texts. Being jangli, however, did not mean an absence of “civilisation”, as popular usage of the term today seems to connote. Rather, the term described those whose livelihood came from the gathering of forest produce, hunting and shifting agriculture.

(b)    Performance of seasonal activities : Different activities were largely season specific. Among the Bhils, for example, spring was reserved for collecting forest produce, summer for fishing, the monsoon months for cultivation, and autumn and winter for hunting. Such a sequence presumed and perpetuated mobility, which was a distinctive feature of tribes inhabiting in these forests.

(c)    A place of mawas or refuge : For the state, the forest was a subversive place-a place refuge (mawas) for troublemakers. Once again, we turn to Babur who says that jungles provided a good defence “behind which the people of the pargana become stubbornly rebellious and pay no taxes”.

(d)    Collection of elephants by the state or the rulers : External forces entered the forest in different ways. For instance, the state required elephants for the army. So the peshkash levied from forest people often included a supply of elephants.

(e)    Provision for providing justice by the emperor: In the Mughal political ideology, the hunt symbolised the overwhelming concern of the state to ensure justice to all its subjects, rich and poor. Regular hunting expeditions, so court historians tell us, enabled the emperor to travel across the extensive territories of his empire and personally attend to the grievances of its inhabitants. The hunt was a subject frequently painted by court artists. The painter resorted to the device of inserting a small scene somewhere in the picture that functioned as a symbol of a harmonious region.

(f)    Clearance of forest for agriculture settlements by the outsiders : The people from different areas outside of forest region entered for their economic self motifs. For examples, some people tried to clean forest and try to develops land for agriculture and to have dwelling units for agricultural settlements and different peoples definitely the tribal people took it a challenge. They fought against the outsiders but ultimately some outsiders got success with the help of rulers or other powerful groups of the people.

(g)    Development of trade : Trade development between the hill tribes and the plains also disturbed forests settlements.

The zamindars were that class of the people who did not directly participate in the processes of agricultural production. They enjoyed an elevated status in society.

(i)    The zamindars were the proprietors of their land. They considered their land as their property (milkiyat). They could sell, give and mortgage it. They enjoyed many social and economic privileges because of their superior status in society.

(ii)    The zamindars belonged to the upper caste. It added to their exalted status in society.

(iii)    The zamindars rendered certain services (khidmat) for the state. So they got respect and position in the state.

(iv)    The zamindars became very powerful because they collected revenue on bahalf of the state. They also got financial compensation for this work.

(v)    Another source for the power of zamindars in society was their control over the military resources. They kept a fortress as well as an armed unit comprising cavalry, artillery and infantry.

(vi)    The zamindars played an important role in inhabiting and developing the agricultural land. They helped in the settlements of farmers by lending them money and agricultural instruments. Because of the sale and purchase of land by the zamindars, the market became quite brisk. Besides the zamindars used to sell the crops grown on their land. There are evidences that the zamindars held bazaars where even the farmers came to sell their crops.

(vii)    If we observe social relations of villages of Mughal age, as a pyramid then zamindars were at the top i.e. their place was the highest.

(viii)    There is no doubt in the fact that the zamindars belonged to an exploitative class. But their relations with the farmers depended on their mutual togetherness and hereditary patronage. That’s why zamindars often got support of peasants in case of their revolt against the state.

Regulation of rural society by panchayats and headmen:

(i)    Meaning of Panchayat : The Village Panchayat was an assembly of elders, usually important people of the village with hereditary right over their property

(ii)    General composition and importance of panchayat decision : In mixed-caste villages, the panchayat was usually a heterogeneous body. An oligarchy, the panchayat represented various castes and communities in the village, though the village menial-cum-agricultural worker was unlikely to be represented there. The decisions made by these panchayats were binding on the members.

(iii)    Selection, dismisal and main functions of headman or muqaddam: The panchayat was headed by a headman known as muqaddam or mandal. Some sources suggest that the headman was chosen through the consensus of the village elders, and that this choice had to be ratified by the zamindar. Headman held office as long as they enjoyed the confidence of the village elders, failing which they could be dismissed by them. The cheif function of the headman was to supervise the preparation of village accounts, assisted by the accountant or patwari of the panchayat.

(iv)    Funding or sources of income of panchayat : The panchayat derives its funds from contributions made by individuals to a common financial pool.

(v)    Items of expenditure : These funds were used for defraying the costs of entertaining revenue officials who visited the village from time to time. Expenses for community welfare activities such as tiding over natural calamities (like floods), were also met from these funds. 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)    Various functions of panchayat : One important function of the panchayat was to ensure that caste boundaries among the various communities inhabiting the village were upheld, In eastern India all marriages were held in the presence of the mandal. In other words one of the duties of the village headman was to oversee the conduct of the members of the village community “chiefly to prevent any offence against their caste”.

(vii)    Imposing fines and expulsion from caste and community : Panchayat also had the authority to levy fines and inflict more serious forms of punishment like expulsion from the community. The later was a drastic step and was in most cases meted out for a limited period. It meant that a person forced to leave the village became an outcaste and lost his right t6 practise his profession. Such a measure was intended as a deterrent to violation of caste norms.

Hints:

Countries : Arab countries, Iran, Afghanistan, China, Central Asia, Western Asia, Italy, Portugal, France, Britain, Holland etc. had trade links with the Mughal Empire.

Possible Routes:

(a)    Sea route via Atlantic Ocean to Cape of Good Hope (South Africa), Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean.

(b)    Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal to China Sea.

(c) From Central Asia to Afghanistan through modem Pakistan upto Kerala or Goa by land route.

Note : Students draw map with the help of their class teacher.

Self-study.

Hints : There is a village panchayat in our village. Nearly four thousand people living in about 250 houses.

Crops : Wheat, gram, peas, barley, mustard, sugarcane, rice, pulses are grown in my village.

Animals : Cow, ox, buffalo, goats, sheep, pig, horses, camels are kept by different people.

Artisanal groups : Potters, Carpenters, Blacksmith, Goldsmith, Weavers, Basketmakers, Metal workers, Architects, Painters, Dyers, Mechanic, Electrician are living.

Women landowners : Nearly two hundred women are having their land, some of them are widows, unmarried, divorcee or having transformation of landownership after the death of their parents.

Local panchayat functions : Cleanliness and disposal of dirt and wastage, lighting of roads and streets, supply of clean drinking water, primary school, primary health care centre, small hospital for animals, construction work, small parks, streets, lane, small roads, maintenance of village wells, ponds, tanks etc.

Holding animals fairs and conducting Ramlila and Krishnalila during certain months. Maintaining register of records of births and deaths, making provision for pulse-polio and other tikkakaran, library is maintain and minor criminal and civil disputes are also settled by the help of the villagers.

Similarity and differences : Some functions are done by modem village panchayat like the panchayat of sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Their is a headman and some other members of the panchayat. Modem panchayat keeps land records like the panchayat of medieval India.

Differences : In modern panchayat adult citizens of village elect their representatives. These elected for five years. Some seats are reserved for S.C./S.T., OBC and 33 per cent seat reserve for women candidates. Such reservation was not in village panchayat of sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

The villagers used to pay giving food grains or agricultural products to the village artisans to compensate for their services. After the use of currency they used to pay through money also.

(a) The zamindars held extensive personal lands termed milkiyat, meaning property. Milkiyat lands were cultivated for the private use of Zamindars, often with the help of hired or servile labour.

(b) Zamindars also derived their power from the fact that they could often collect revenue on behalf of the state, a service for which they were compensated financially.

I. Jati Panchayat : In addition to the village panchayat each caste or jati in the village had its own jati panchayat under Mughals.

II. Functions : (1) Jati panchayats wielded considerable power in rural society. In Rajasthan jati panchayats arbitrated civil disputes between members of different castes.

(2) Jati panchayats mediated in contested claims on land, decided whether marriages were performed according to the norms laid down by a particular caste group, determined who had ritual precedence in village functions, and so on.

1. Monsoons remained the backbone of Indian agriculture, as they are even today. But there were crops which required additional water. Artificial systems of irrigation had to be devised for this.

2. Irrigation projects received state support as well. For example, in northern India the state undertook digging of new canals (nahar, nala) and also repaired old ones like the shahnahr in the Punjab during Shah Jahan’s reign.

Polaj : Polaj is land which is annually cultivated for each crop in succession and is never allowed to lie fallow.

Parati lands : Parati is land left out of cultivation for a time that it may recover its strength.

(i) Because women worked shoulder to shoulder with men in the fields.

(ii) Men tilled and ploughed the fields and on the other hand, women sowed, weeded, threshed and winnowed the harvest.

(i) Caste was one of the factors that accounted for elevated status of zamindars.

(ii) Zamindars performed certain services (khidmat) for the state.

Chachar : It was a type of land during Akbar’s reign. It is a land that has lain fallow for three to four years.
Banjar : It was also a type of land which was uncultivated for five years and more.

(i) The main purpose of Ain-i-Akbari was to record information about the people and society during the Mughal regime.

(ii) Another purpose of Ain-i-Akbari was to give detailed accounts of the organisation of the court, administration and army.

The panchayat during seventeenth century was headed by a head man known as muquaddam or mandal. Some sources suggest that the head man was chosen through the consensus of the village elders and that this choice had to be ratified by the zamindars.

The Maratha troops had always been employed as loose auxiliaries in the Bahmani Kingdom. These loose auxiliaries were called bargirs.

Circles were known as Dairas.

Khutba was prayer offered in praise of Allah (God). The head priest of Jama Masjid read it. But Akbar replaced the head priest for the purpose.

The lord achieving the highest rank (or mansab) was known as Amir-i-azam. Raja Man Singh and Mirza Koka were Amir-i-azams.

The Mughal emperors had a group of the footmen (priyadan). Many of them consisted of matchlock-bearers called banduqchi. They received salaries ranging between three and seven rupees a month.

For purposes of assigning jagirs, the revenue department had to maintain a register indicating the assessed income (jama) of various areas. The account, however was not indicated in rupees but in dams which was calculated at the rate of 40 dams to a rupees. This document was called the jamadami or assessed income based on dams.

Toman was a unit of army. The number of soldiers in a toman was ten thousands. Changez Khan was the first ruler, who organised his army on the decimal basis.

Milkiyat was extensive personal lands held by zamindars. It was used for cultivation for the private use of zamindars. It was cultivated often with the help of servile or hired labour. They were free to sell, mortgage these lands at will.

These means were as follows:

(i)    By settlements on new lands.

(ii)    By transferring of the land ownership.

(iii)    By the royal orders.

(iv) By purchasing the land.

(i) Bhakti saints clearly condemned caste based and other types of oppression. But they did not portray the zamindars as oppressors or exploiters of the peasantry class.

(ii) A number of agrarian uprisings took place in 17th century. Zamindars often got support of the peasantry in their struggle against the state.

The arrangements for collection of land revenue consisted of two stages : first assessment and then actual collection. The Jama was the amount assessed whereas the Hasil was the amount received or collected.

(i) Mughal empire in India

(ii)    Ming empire in China

(iii)    Safavid empire of Iran

(iv)    Ottoman empire in Turkey.

During the Mughal period, there was a great expansion of land and over-seas trade. In response to the many items that were exported from India, Asia had an inflow of a large quantity of silver. A large part of silver reached India. It was a creditable thing for India because it had no natural storage of silver. As a result, the main currency in India was made of silver between the 16th and 18th centuries. There was an economic stability in the country as the rupees of silver were available in abundance.

In the Mughal families, the king had wives, deputy wives, maid-servants and slaves.

(i)    Except wives, the Mughal families had many women slaves. They performed even minor jobs besides jobs requiring tact, wisdom and intelligence. There were also slaves Khawjasar. They were agents of women who had interest in trade. They also served as servants and bodyguards both inside and outside the family.

(ii)    After Noor Jahan, Mughal queens and princesses started having a control on financial matters. Jahan Ara and Roshan Ara, the daughters of Shah Jahan, got high salary just like high mansabdars. Besides Jahan Ara got revenue from the city of Surat. This port city was an important centre of trade.

(iii)    As the women had control over important financial resources, the important women of the Mughal family got constructed buildings and gardens. Jahan Ara took part in the architectural projects in the new capital of Shah Jahan at Shahjahanbad (Delhi). It also had a double-story caravan serai which had a vast compound and a beautiful garden.

(iv)    The design of Chandni Chowk, the main attraction of Shahjahanbad, was prepared by Jahan Ara.

(v)    We get a glimpse of the family life of the Mughals from Humayunama which was erected by Gulbadan. Begum Gulbadan was the daughter of Babur and the sister of Humayun. She could even write serials in Turkish and Arabic.

A large number of sculptors lived in the villages in the 16th and 17th centuries. From the Marathi documents and the British surveys, it is clear that in many villages, the sculptors amounted to 25% of the total population of the village.

Sometimes it was difficult to distinguish between the sculptors and the farmers. It was so because there were many groups which performed both the functions. The farmers also did many other jobs like designing of cloth, pottery and repair and making of agricultural instruments. Besides potters, iron-smiths, weavers and barbers also rendered their service to the village. They got either a piece of land or a part of crop for the service rendered by them. In the 18th century, the zamindars, the iron-smiths, the weaters and the gold-smiths of Bengal used to get daily allowance for food in respect of their services. It was called the Jajmani System.

Abul Fazl described the land revenue as remuneration of sovereignty because only by giving land revenue to the government, they were actually provided security by the government. They were free to work on their fields according to their wish. They were even free from the fear of any external aggrestion or internal revolt because then it was the duty of the government to provide them every type of security. If any land related problem would have come in front, then they were allowed to approach the concerned officials. This land revenue was the main source of state’s income with which army and security of the peasants could be-Hurintained.

Organisation:Village Panchayat was the assembly of elders of the village. Generally these elders were those important persons of village who had hereditary rights over their property. Panchayat was generally a heterogeneous body in mixed caste village. It was that oligarchy in which all the castes and communities of village were given representation. Decision of the panchayat was binding on all the members of the village.

Status of Headman:Headman of panchayat was known as Muqaddam or Mandal. Some sources suggest that headman was elected by mutual consent of village elders. This choice had to be approved by the zamindar. Headman could have “been remained in his office until he enjoyed the confidence of village elders unless he could be dismissed by them. His main function was to supervise the preparation of village accounts and he was assisted by Patwari of the village.

Expenditure of panchayat was being run from that financial pool or treasury which was contributed by every individual. It was known as common financial pool of panchayat.

Importance : (i) This pool was used for the cost of entertaining revenue officials who used to visit the village from time to time.

(ii)    This pool was used to pay salary to muqaddam and chowkidar.

(iii)    This pool was used to meet expenses for community welfare activities like flood or any other natural calamity.

(iv)    Often these funds were used for community works like construction of a bund or digging a canal which peasants were unable to afford on their own.

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.

(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.

Akbar made many reforms in the revenue system. He adopted different systems of assessment of the land tax.

Akbar first adopted Sher Shah’s system of assessment. In this system cultivated area was first measured and a central schedule was drawn up. Then on the basis of the productivity of land, cropwise revenue was fixed.

This system caused inconvenience to the peasants so he reverted to the system of annual assessment. Qanungos were required to report an actual produce, state of cultivation, local prices etc.

The emperor Akbar himself appointed the mansabdars. He was at liberty to increase or decrease the number of Sawars or the position of mansabdars. There were two categories of mansabdars namely : (a) Jaat (b) Sawar.

Jaat means that the rank, place and salary of the person has been fixed. But the rank Sawar denoted the number of horses. According to their ranks the mansabdars were classified into three categories. Only that person can be appointed as a mansabdar whose Jaat and Sawar ranks were at par.

1. The keeping of exact and detailed records was a major concern of the Mughal administration. The Mir Bakshi supervised the court writers (waqia nawis) who recorded all applications and documents presented to the court, and all imperial orders (farmans). In additional, agents (wakil) of nobles and regional rulers recorded the entire proceedings of the court under the heading “News from the Exalted Court” (Akhbarat-i Darbar-i-Mualla) with the date and time of the court session (pahar).

2. The akhbarat (अखबारात) contained all types of information such as attendance at the court, grant of offices and titles, diplomatic missions, presents (gifts) received, or the enquiries made by the emperor about the health of an officer. This information is significant for writing the history of the public and private lives of emperors and their nobles.

3.    News reports and important official documents travelled across the length and breadth of the regions under Mughal rule by imperial post. Round the clock relays of foot-runners, qasid, pathmar carried papers rolled up in bamboo containers.

4.    The Mughal rulers received reports from even distant provincial capitals within a few days.

5.    Agents of nobles posted outside of the capital and Rajput princes and tributary rulers all assiduously copied these annoucements and sent their contents (or sub-matters) by messengers (or halkaras) back to their masters.

Formation of Panchayats during sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

(i)    The village panchayat was an assembly of elders, usually important people of the village with hereditary rights over their property. In mixed-caste villages, the panchayat was usually a heterogeneous body. An oligarchy, the panchayat represented various castes and communities in the villages, though the village menial-cum-agricultural worker was unlikely to be represented there.

(ii)    Functions of the Panchayat : One important function of the panchayat was to ensure that caste boundaries among the various communities inhabiting the village were upheld. In eastern India all marriages were held in the presence of the mandal. In other words one of the duties of the village headman was to oversee the conduct of the members of the village community “chiefly to prevent any offence against their caste”.

(iii)    Authority of the Panchayat : The panchayat was headed by a headman known as Muqaddam or Mandal. Some sources suggest that the headman was chosen through the consensus of the village elders, and that this choice had to be ratified by the zamindar.

Panchayats also had the authority to levy fines and inflict more serious forms of punishment like expulsion from the community.

The origin, consolidation and the role of the zamindars:

(i)    Contemporary documents give an impression that conquest may have been the source of the origin of some zamindaris. The dispossession of weaker people by a powerful military chieftain was quite often a way of expanding a zamindari. It is, however, unlikely.

(ii)    More important were the slow processes of zamindari consolidation, which are also documented in sources. These involved colonisation of new lands, by transfer of rights, by order of the state and by purchase.

(iii)    A combination of factors also allowed the consolidation of clan-or lineage- based zamindaris. For example, the Rajputs and Jats adopted these strategies to consolidate their control over vast swathes of territory in northern India.
Generally zamindars are painted as an exploitative class.

(i)    The zamindars held extensive personal lands termed milkiyat, meaning property. Milkiyat lands were cultivated for the private use of zamindars, often with the help of hired or servile labour.

(ii)    Zamindars also derived their power from the fact that they could often collect revenue on behalf of the state, a service for which they were compensated financially.

(iii)    Zamindars spearheaded the colonization of agricultural land, and helped in settling cultivators by providing them with the means of cultivation, including cash loans.

(i) The decision of the panchayat in conflicts between lower-caste peasants and state officials or the local zamindars, could vary from case to case. In cases of excessive revenue demands, the panchayat after suggested compromise.

(ii)    In addition to the village panchayat each caste or jati in the villages had its own Jati Panchayat. These panchayats wielded considerable power in rural society. In Rajasthan Jati Panchayats arbitrated civil disputes between members of different castes. They mediated in contested claims on land, decided whether marriages were performed according to the norms laid down by a particular caste group, determined who had ritual precedence in village functions, and so on. In most cases, except in matters of criminal justice, the state respect the decisions of Jati Panchayats.

(iii)    Archival records from western India-notably Rajasthan and Maharashtra - contain petitions presented to the Panchayat complaining about extortionate taxation or the demand for unpaid labour (begar) imposed by the “superior” castes or officials of the state. These petitions were usually made by villagers, from the lowest ranks of rural society. Often petitions were made collectively as well, by a caste group or a community protesting against what they considered were morally illegitimate demands on the part of elite groups. These included excessive tax demands which, especially in times of drought or other disasters, endangered the peasants subsistence.

Agriculture was organized around two major seasonal cycles, the kharif (autumn) and the rabi (spring). This would mean that most regions, except those terrains that were the most arid or inhospitable, produced a minimum of two crops a year (do-fasla), whereas some , where rainfall or irrigation assured a continuous supply of water, even gave three crops. This ensured an enormous variety of produce. For instance, we are told in the Ain that the Mughal provinces of Agra produced 39 varieties of crops and Delhi produced 43 over the two seasons. Bengal produced 50 varieties of rice alone.

However, the focus on the cultivation of basic staples did not mean that agriculture in medieval India was only for subsistence. We often come across the term jins-i-kamil (literally, perfect crops) in our sources. The Mughal state also encouraged peasants to cultivate such crops as they bought in more revenue. Crops such as cotton and sugarcane were jins-i-kamil par excellence. Cotton was grown over great swathe of territory spread over central India and the Deccan plateau, whereas Bengal was famous for its sugar. Such cash crops would also include various sorts of oilseeds (for example, mustard) and lentils. This shows how subsistence and commercial productions were closely intertwined in an average peasant’s holding.

During the seventeenth century several new crops from different parts of the world reached the Indian subcontinent. Maize (makka), for example, was introduced into India via Africa and Spain and by the seventeenth century it was being listed as one of the major crops of western India. Vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes and chillies were introduced from the New World at this time, as were fruits like the pineapple and the papaya.

(i) During the time of Akbar the relations between the Central Government on one and and on the other side with jagirdars, zamindars and the peasants at large were quite good. In the Mughal period the peasants produce eatable and not eatable crops. Ain-i-Akbari gives a list of 16 crops of rabi, 25 crops of kharif and the rate of tax fixed on them has also been given.

(ii)    The peasants were allowed to choose between zabti and batai under certain conditions. Such a choice was given (generally) when the crops had been ruined due to natural climatical or adverse conditions.

(iii)    Under batai, the peasants were given choice of paying renue in cash or in kind, though the state preferred cash.

(iv)    In case of crops such as cotton, indigo, oilseeds, sugarcane, etc., the state demand was veriably in cash, hence, the crops were called-cash crops.

(v)    Akbar adopted many systems of revenue collection at different times. The main system he applied were zabti system, batai system, nasq system, the dehsala system and karori System.

(vi) Akbar was deeply interested in the improvement and extension of cultivation. He asked the ‘Amil’ to act like a father to the peasants. He was to advance money by way of loans (taccavi) to peasants for seeds, implements, animals, etc.l in times of need, and to recover them in easy instalments. He was to try and induce the peasants to plough as much land as possible and to sow superior quality crops.

(vii)    The zamindar had a hereditary right to take a share of the produce. The peasants, too, had a hierditary right to cultivate their land and could not be ejected as long as they paid the land revenue.

(viii)    Most of the land in the Mughal period was given as grants. Though the jagirs were granted for a temporary period, but Madadd-i-Mash and Saryugal were permanent grants. Jahangir started the Altamga grant on the pattern of central Asia . These grants could only be taken back by the orders of the emperory Altamga grants were given to Maulavis. The receivers of grants were in search of assuming the rights of zamindars.

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.

Ain-i-Akbari is a part of Abul Fazl’s Akbamama. In simple words we can say Ain-i-Akbari was written by a prominent historian of Akbar’s court.

There are three parts of Akbamama. The third part of Akbamama is Ain-i-Akbari which is called the soul (or real life of Akbarnama).

Historical Importance of Ain-i-Akbari : Ain-i-Akbari describes very clearly about the administrative system of Akbar. But the ornamental style of writing of Abul Fazl, using this style he had made efforts to give spiritual effects of the administrative system of Akbar on the mind of the reader, definitely make the book difficult and boring.

The writer of Ain-i-Akbari has tried to consult some Sanskrit scholars to give a more simple form as far as language of the book is concerned. He has referred Hindu as very liberal in their religious outlook and providing respect to their guests. He had lived to respect, seriousness, honesty and innocency in very direct and open manner. Like Al-Biruni he also excepts Hindus monotheist.

Abul Fazl has mention many causing of arising differences among the followers of different religions in India. For example he excepts one of the cause was diversity in languages. He says due to different languages people are sometime unable to understand the religious themes, rituals and traditions of the people of other religion. Secondly, he says due to incapability of the explanation of the religions also creat differences amongst the people of different religions. Thirdly, he says there is a lack of zeal among the different people to try to understand the teaching of different religions.

According to Abul Fazl the narrow minded as well as fanatic rulers also responsible because they take anti-people steps and follow anti-people policies against the people of other religion in the name of religion.

It is very clear if we study Akbarnama or Ain-i-Akbari that Abul Fazl has accepted Akbar, Mughal Emperor as his own ‘Hero’. He had praise the secular policy of Akbar. According to writer of Ain-i-Akbari the main aim of Akbar’s defend, conquests was to bring the maximum people under his liberal, tolerant, justice and peaceful administration and control to provide maximum political benefits to maximum people of lndia.

(i) The forest dwellers earned their livelihood from hunting and shifting agriculture. But all these activities were seasonal. For example, the Bhils collected forest produce in the spring, fished in the summer, cultivated land in the monsoon and hunted during autumn and winter. They had to observe a perpetual mobility.

(ii)    However the spread of commercial agriculture immensely affected the life of forest-dwellers. They exported forest products like honey, gum and beeswax. It encouraged an overseas export from India in the seventeenth century. They even captured and sold the elephants. The Lohanis of Punjab were engaged in overland trade between India and Afghanistan.

(iii)    The commercial agriculture also brought a considerable change in the social life of the forest-dwellers. Many tribal chiefs had become zamindars. A few of them had even become the kings. It was the royal monopoly of the Ahom kings to capture wild animals.

Meaning of Mansabdari system : Mansab is an Arabic word meaning rank or position. Whomsoever Akbar honoured whether he was a military or a civil official was given a mansab which entitled Trim to be termed a, Mansabdar.
These are main features of Mansabdari System as under:

(i)    Classification of Mansabdars : A Mansabdar could possess at least ten soldiers and at the most ten thousand soldiers. But the highest mansab was given exclusively to the people of blue blood or the princes.

(ii)    Appointment etc : The ruler himself appointed, promoted or demoted the mansabdars.

(iii)    Jaat and Sawar : Jaat was the rank whenever the position and monthly salary of the person was fixed. The Sawar rank was based on the number of horse riders. The mansabdars had three categories of first, second and third order and were based on the ranks of Sawars and Jaats.

(iv)    Good salary : The mansabdar got their salary according to their categories just as a mansabdar with one hundred Jaats got Rs.500/-p.m. whereas a mansabdar possessing five thousand Jaats got Rs. 30,000/- p.m. They led a luxurious life.

(v) Responsibilities and duties : It depended upon the emperor’s sweet will whether he appointed a mansabdar to perform military or civil duties or directed him to quell some rising revolt or to conquer some regions.

(vi) The custom of branding the horses : Akbar started the practice of branding the horses and writing the description rolls for indentification ‘huliya of the soldiers’. This made the soldiers disciplined and banned the corruption from Jagirdari system. The emperor inspected the soldiers in personal.

Merits of Mansabdari System:

(i)    Good on revolts : The mansabdar used to contact the emperor before disbursing the salaries to the soldiers every month. It was not certain that he might rebel like the jagirdars.

(ii)    Qualification as basis of ranks : The emperor used to give mansabs on the basis of qualifications. The mansab of the incapable personnel was decreased or their services were dispensed with.

(iii)    Ban on corruption : As soon as a mansabdar died his mansab was confiscated. Hence he could never intend to earn money through fraudulent means.

(iv)    Forceful army : The removal of mansabdari system by Akbar justified his wisdom. This stopped the financial loss of the empire and a forceful army was formed which was capable of meeting any challenge.

Demerits of Mansabdari System

(i)    Misuse of money : The mansabdars too became cunning. They produced and displayed the horses at the time of inspection by borrowing them from the adjoining neighbourhood. The administration had to undergo a heavy loss in it. The soldiers were not available at the opportune occasion. They had to face a heavy financial astringency.

(ii)    Loyalty of the soldiers : The soldiers held loyalty towards the mansabdars alone who they thought was their immediate boss and disbursing authority and not towards the emperor.

(iii)    Luxurious life : It was known to the mansabdars before hand that their mansab will be confiscated on their death. So they squandered the money like anything. They tried to acquire and enjoy all the commodities of luxury.

Role of Women in Agrarian Society : Men and women both performed certain specific roles in production process. Women had to work shoulder to shoulder with men in the fields. Men used to till the land and plough the land and women sowed, weeded, threshed and winnowed the harvest. With the development of small rural units and individual agriculture of peasants, labour and resources of entire household became the basis of production. Naturally gendered segregation was not possible between the home (for women) and the world (for men). Even then there was continuation of biases related to women’s biological functions. For example, menstruating women were not allowed to touch the plough or the wheel of potter in western India.

Artisanal works like sifting and kneading clay for pottery, spinning yam and embroidery were some of the works which depended upon female labour. The more commercialised the product, the greater the demand on women’s labour to produce it. Actually peasant, artisan women not only worked in the fields but they also went to houses of their employers and even to markets if required. Females were seen as an important source in agrarian society because they were child bearers in a society which was dependent on labour.

Status of women in society : The position of the women in society was of the mixed nature.

(i)    There was high mortality rate among women. That’s why married women were less in number. It helped in emergence of social customs in artisan and peasant society which were different from customs of elite groups. In many rural communities, male had to pay bride price instead of dowry to the bride’s family. Remarriage was legally sanctioned for both divorced and widowed women.

(ii)    According to popular traditions, male was head of the family. In this way, females remained under control of males and the family. If any female was coming under scanner of misconduct then she was strictly punished by the society.

(iii)    Amongst the landed gentry, women had the right to inherit property. We have found certain examples from Punjab which show that women (even widows also) actively participated in rural land market as sellers of property inherited by them. They were free to sell or mortgage their land.

kbar was a great and able ruler. He laid special emphasis on land revenue system. For this purpose he followed the policy initiated by Sher Shah Suri. But this policy had certain defects in it. That’s why Akbar began works from the start. Main features of his land revenue system are given below:
(i)    Following policy initiated by Sher Shah : In the beginning, Akbar followed the policy of land revenue initiated by Sher Shah. During the reign of Sher Shah, average value was determined by measuring agricultural land. It was determined on the average production of produce. Later on Akbar felt that it needed a lot of time to fix market price. It was also a cause of worry for peasants. That’s why Akbar again started policy of yearly assumption.
Determination of Tax : Akbar followed following policies for fixing land revenue:

(a)    Zabti System : This policy was the creation of Raja Todar Mal. Under this system of revenue, tax was fixed by measuring the land. This system was implemented in Gujarat, Lahore, Malwa, Allahabad etc.

(b)    Ten Years System : This system was a developed form of Zabti system. According to this, average of last ten years of production of crops and their value was taken out. One third of that average produce was taken as revenue. This revenue could have been taken in the form of cash or produce.

(c) Batai or Galla Bakshi System: In this system whole of the total produce was divided in the definite proportion among peasant and the state. Honest officials were required for the success of this system.

(d) Nasak or Kankut System : Record of agriculture tax was kept in this system.

(iii)    Measurement of Land : During the reign of Akbar, land was measured with a proper method. With this state the peasant came to know about how much they will have to pay and how much revenue will be collected for the state.

(iv)    Keeping in mind the fertility of the soil : Fertility of the soil was always kept in mind while determining land revenue. That land was called as ‘Polaj’ which was cultivated every year and that land was called as ‘Parauti’ which was not cultivated every year. All in all tax was fixed on the basis of the fertility and the produce.

(v) Facilities of Peasants : Special facilities were also given to peasants in case of famine or drought. They were given certain facilities in paying taxes in case of natural calamity. They were also given loans for tools, implements and animals.

Actually land revenue system of Akbar was prepared while keeping in mind the interests of the people.

(i)    From the northern mountains quantities of goods were carried on the backs of men, of stout ponies and of goats.

(ii)    (a) The sold items were gold, copper, lead, musk, tails of kutas cow (the yak), honey, chuk (an acid composed of orange juice and lemon boiled together), pomegranate seed, ginger and other articles.

(b) The hill people brought from plains the following items to take back (i) white and coloured cloths, (ii) amber,

(iii) salt, (iv) asafoetida, (v) ornaments,

(vi) glass and (vii) earthem ware.

(iii) The people of the forest areas had exchange knowledge with the people of the plains. They came to know several items and they provided knowledge of several types of forest produce to the people of plains.

The people of the both areas learnt new dialects and languages. The people of forest areas got knowledge about the style and ways of living of the cities and plains. They got knowledge about new diets, food items and use of different implements and tools.

(iv) The Mughal state intrude into forest areas for the following things :

(a)    The state wanted to extent its influence in these areas.

(b)    The items produced or collected from the forest areas were very useful. These items could be used for coins (such as gold, copper and lead), some produce or items could be used in Mughal royal households, for internal as well external trade.

(c)    The Mughal emperors and their princes were fond of hunting, fishing and touring the forests.

(i) (a) Indian farmer’s crops were all rain-grown.

(b) They make a tank or a well in their villages or towns.

(ii)    The settlers did not need have to build homes because they made huts of khas, grass and wood. These both articles were available in abounds or unlimited. Huts are made and straightaway there is a village or a town. They did not need build homes or set up walls.

(iii)    The two types of peasants in the villages were :

(a)    The permanent farmers of a large town inhabited for years and cultivate the lands permanently. They might free from their parental villages.

(b)    There were farmers or peasants, they might be called new settlers. They fixed their eyes on a place to settle. They did not need dig water course because their crops are rain-grown.

(iv)    Following are two factors that led to constant expansion of agriculture :

(a)    The population of Hindustan is unlimited and it swarms in, at different villages and towns. These places are set up in a moment.

(b)    Due to shifting of the peasants or settling at new places the constant expansion of agriculture took place.

Answers:

(i)    The following are the four methods to determine the land revenue:

(i) Kankut, (ii) batai, (iii) khet batai and (iv) lang batai.

(ii) There are two methods to pay the land revenue—cash and kind (production).

(iii) The best method for the farmers was kankut. The main reason for it was that the assessment of land on estimation yielded the best result. The other methods had a few flaws to some extent.

(iv)‘Jama’ was the amount fixed in lieu of the land revenue. ‘Hasil’ meant the amount received because sometimes it was not possible to receive all the amount. It often occurred whenever the crop was damaged due to some natural calamity.

Answers:

(i)    Kankut : Kankut was a simple system of collection of land revenue in the form of grain or a kind (not in cash). This was practice during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar. The term kankut can be explain in simple language. The first word it i.e. kan signifies grain and the second word i.e. kut means estimates.

(ii)    Batai or bhaoli was a simple system of land revenue collection. The crops are reaped and staged and divided by agreement in the present of parties (i.e. cultivator and landlord or Government official). Batai was also done by dividing farm (khet) i.e. the piece of land cultivated and sowed was divided. In fact the fields were divided generally after they were sown.

(iii)    Lang batai : Under this system after cutting the grain (harvesting), the heaps were formed. The heaps of the crops were divided among the parties. Each party use to takes his share home and turns into profits.

(iv)    I thinks the cash system of land revenue collection was better than kankut. The payment of land revenue in kind needed honest officials and also honesty on the part of cultivators.

The life of forest dwellers in the Mughal era:

(i)Forest dwellers were termed jangli in contemporary texts. Being jangli , however did not mean an absence of civilization . The term described those whose livelihood came from gathering forest produce , hunting and shifting agriculture.

(ii)These activities were largely season specific that perpetuated mobility which was a distinctive feature of tribes inhabiting these forests.

(iii)For the state, the forest was a  subversive place-a place of refuge for troublemakers.

(iv)External forces entered the forest in different ways . The state required elephants for the army so the peshkash levied from forest people often included a supply of elephants.

(v)The hunt symbolized the overwhelming concern of the state to ensure justice to all its subjects, rich and poor. The hunt was a subject frequently painted by courts artists.

(vi)The spread of commercial agriculture was an important external factor that impinged on the life of those who lived in forests.

(vii)Forest products-like honey , beeswax and gum lac- were in great demand and became major items of overseas export from India.

(viii)Elephants were captured and sold. Trade involved exchange through barter system as well. Some tribes, like the Lohanis in Punjab were involved in overland trade between India and Afghanishtan, and in the town-country trade in Punjab itself.

 The life of forest dwellers in the Mughal era:

 (i) Forest dwellers were termed jangli in contemporary texts. Being jangli, however did not mean an absence of civilization. The term described those whose livelihood came from gathering forest produce, hunting and shifting agriculture.

 (ii) These activities were largely season specific that perpetuated mobility which was a distinctive feature of tribes inhabiting these forests. For the state, the forest was a subversive place-a place of refuge for troublemakers.

 (iii) External forces entered the forest in different ways. The state required elephants for the army so the peshkash levied from forest people often included a supply of elephants.

 (iv) The hunt symbolized the overwhelming concern of the state to ensure justice to all its subjects, rich and poor. The hunt was a subject frequently painted by courts artists.

 (v) The spread of commercial agriculture was an important external factor that impinged on the life of those who lived in forests. Forest products-like honey, beeswax and gum lac- were in great demand and became major items of overseas export from India. 

The three factors that accounted for the constant expansion of agriculture during sixteenth and seventeenth centuries:

(i) Abundance of land.

(ii) Availability of labour.

(iii) Mobility of the peasants

Irrigation projects received state support as well. For example, in northern India the state undertook digging of new canals (nahr, nala) and also repaired old ones like the shahnahr in the Punjab during Shah Jahan’s reign.

Though agriculture was labour intensive, peasants did use technologies that often harnessed cattle energy. A drill, pulled by a pair of giant oxen, was used to plant seeds, but broadcasting of seed was the most prevalent method. Hoeing and weeding were done simultaneously using a narrow iron blade with a small wooden handle.

The impact of American Civil War of 1861 on Indian peasants:

(i) When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, a wave of panic spread through cotton circles in Britain.

(ii) As cotton prices soared, export merchants in Bombay were keen to secure as much cotton as possible to meet the British demand. So they gave advances to urban sahukars who in turn extended credit to those rural moneylenders who promised to secure the produce. When there is a boom in the market, credit flows easily for those who give out loans feel secure about recovering their money.

(iii) The ryots in the Deccan villages suddenly found access to seemingly limitless credit.

(iv) They were being given Rs 100 as advance for every acre they planted with cotton. Sahukars were more than willing to extend long-term loans.

(v) While the American crisis continued, cotton production in the Bombay Deccan expanded. Some rich peasants did gain, but for the large majority, cotton expansion meant heavier debt.

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

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

(iv) 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.

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

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

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

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

conflicts between “lower-caste” peasants and state officials or the local Zamindar could vary from case to case.

OR

Zamindars were landed proprietors who also enjoyed certain social and economic privileges by virtue of their superior status in rural society.

(i) Caste was one factor that accounted for the elevated status of Zamindars; another factor was that they performed certain services (khidmat) for the state.

(ii) The Zamindars held extensive personal lands termed milkiyat, meaning property. Milkiyat lands were cultivated for the private use of Zamindars, often with the help of hired or servile labour. The Zamindars could sell, bequeath or mortgage these lands at will.

(iii) Zamindars also derived their power from the fact that they could often collect revenue on behalf of the state, a service for which they were compensated financially. Control over military resources was another source of power. Most Zamindars had fortresses (qilachas) as well as an armed contingent comprising units of cavalry, artillery and infantry.

(iv) More important were the slow processes of zamindari consolidation, which are also documented in sources. These involved colonisation of new lands, by transfer of rights, by order of the state and by purchase.

(vi) These were the processes which perhaps permitted people belonging to the relatively “lower” castes to enter the rank of zamindars as zamindaris were bought and sold quite briskly in this period.

(vi) A combination of factors also allowed the consolidation of clan- or lineage-based zamindaris.

(vii) Although there can be little doubt that zamindars were an exploitative class, their relationship with the peasantry had an element of reciprocity, paternalism and patronage.

(viii)In a large number of agrarian uprisings which erupted in north India in the seventeenth century, zamindars often received the support of the peasantry in their struggle against the state.

The reasons for this failure were various:

(i) The initial demands were very high, this was because it was felt that if the demand was fixed for all time to come.

(ii) The high demand was imposed in the 1790s, a time when the prices of agricultural produce were depressed.

(iii) The revenue was invariable, regardless of the harvest, and had to be paid punctually.

(iv)The Permanent Settlement initially limited the power of Zamindar to collect rent from the ryot and manage his Zamindari.

The rise of the Jotedars:

(i) Jotedars had acquired vast ares of land-sometimes as much as several thousands acres. They controlled local trade as well as as moneylending, exercising immense power over the poorer cultivators of the region.

(ii) Unlike Zamindars, Jotedars were located in the villages and exercised direct control over a considerable section of poor villagers.

(iii) In fact, when the estates of the zamindrs were auctioned for failure to make revenue payments, jotedars were often amongst the purchasers.

(iv) They fiercely resisted efforts by zamindars to increase the jama of the village, prevented zamindari officials from executing their duties.

Reasons for the Zamindaris auctioned in Bengal
(i) The East India Company had fixed the revenue with the zamindars. The estates of those who failed to pay were to be auctioned to recover the revenue or accumulated arrears.
(ii) The initial demands of the revenue were very high.
(iii) The zamindars could not collect the rent due to agriculture depression.
(iv) Due to the Sunset Law (if the payment did not come in by the sunset of the specified date the zamindaris were liable to be auctioned.
(v) Company subdued the authority of zaminadars through collectors.
(vi) Jotedars deliberately delayed payments to the zamindars.
(vii) Peasants too delayed payments to the jotedars and the zamindars.
(viii) Zamindars because of their own reasons delayed payments.
(ANY TWO)