Discuss the extent to which Bernier’s account enables historians to reconstruct contemporary rural society.
The assessment of Bernier about the rural society of India was not correct. It was misleading and far from truth. But there is aso some truth in his descriptions which is evident from the following:
(i) Bernier has stated that in the Mughal Empire, the emperor owned all the land and distributed it among his nobles. It had a disastrous impact on the Indian economy and society.
(ii) Bernier did not consider the system of the crown ownership of land as good. Because of this, the land-holders could not pass on their land to their children. They could also not make any long-term investments. As there was no private property in land, there was not an improved class of landlords. This system ruined the whole agriculture. It also led to the oppression of the peasants. It also lowered the living standards of all sections of society.
(iii) The Bernier’s view of Indian society had the following features:
(a) It had impoverished people. The rich people constituted a small minority.
(b) It had only the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich. It had no middle class.
(c) The Mughal king was the king of beggars and barbarians.
(d) All the cities and towns were ruined. They had contaminated air.
Thus, Bernier’s descriptions of the Indian rural society brought out many social and economic differences. There were big zamindars. There were also landless labourers who were despised as the untouchables.
