Theme 9: Peasants, Zamindars and State

What are the problems in using the Ain as a source for reconstructing agrarian history? How do historians deal with this situation? (a) The Ain-i-Akbari had provided invaluable information for reconstructing the agrarian history of the Mughals. However, the Ain has its own limitations. (b) Numerous errors in totaling 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 Am have been acquired from data pertaining to the capital Agra and its surroundings. 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. Records of the East India Company have also supplemented these.

To what extent is it possible to characterize agricultural production in the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries as subsistence agriculture? Give reasons for your answer

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

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

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

Cash crops were grown included many varieties of oil seeds including mustard and lentils. Thus, an average peasant grew both commercial and subsistence crops.

Describe the role played by women in Agricultural Production. (CBSE2O12)

Ans.

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 labor and resources of the entire household.

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

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.

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.

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.

Discuss, with examples, the significance of monetary transaction during the period under consideration. Axis. The political stability of the Mughal, Ming (China), Safavid (Iran) and Ottoman (Turkey) empires led to increase in the overland trade from China to the Mediterranean Sea. Discovery of new lands also gave impetus to Asia’s trade with Europe. As a result enormous amount of silver entered India, as payment for goods bought from India. This benefitted India, as she did not have enough resources of silver. Therefore, from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, there were sufficient reserves of silver in India and the silver rupiah was available readily. 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. Giovanni Careri’s account gives us an idea of the phenomenal amounts of cash and commodity transactions, which took place in seventeenth century India.

Examine the evidence tha gests that land revenue was important for the Mughal fiscal system.

The mainstay of the Mughal economy was the revenue acquired from land this was used to pay salaries and defray various administrative expenses. 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. This apparatus included revenue official 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. Land revenue arrangements consisted of two stages assessment 1.the Demand of the state (jama) and 2. The 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 to maximize profits. 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.