PEASANTS, ZAMINDARS AND THE STATE: AGRARIAN SOCIETY AND THE MUGHAL EMPIRE (C. SIXTEENTH-SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES)

1. PEASANTS AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

1.1 Looking for sources

• Main sources: Mughal court chronicles (especially Ain-i Akbari) and documents
• Regional revenue records from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan
• East India Company records for eastern India
• View from top (state perspective) supplemented by regional sources showing conflicts

1.2 Peasants and their lands

• Terms for peasants: raiyat/muzarian, kisan/asami
• Two types:
  • Khud-kashta: resident cultivators
  • Pahi-kashta: non-resident cultivators (by choice or compulsion)
• Average landholding: 5-10 acres considered affluent
• Individual ownership with lands bought/sold like other property

1.3 Irrigation and technology

• Factors for agricultural expansion: abundant land, available labor, peasant mobility
• Staple crops: rice (40+ inches rainfall), wheat, millets
• Irrigation methods:
  • Persian wheel (Lahore region)
  • Bucket system (Agra region)
• State support: digging/repairing canals (e.g., Shah Jahan's shahnahr in Punjab)
• Technology: wooden plough with iron tip, seed drills, broadcasting method

1.4 An abundance of crops

• Two major cycles: kharif (autumn) and rabi (spring)
• Some areas produced three crops annually
• Variety: Agra (39 crops), Delhi (43), Bengal (50 rice varieties)
• Cash crops (jins-i kamil): cotton, sugarcane, oilseeds, lentils
• New crops introduced in 17th century: maize, tomatoes, potatoes, chillies, pineapple, papaya
• Tobacco spread rapidly despite initial bans

2. THE VILLAGE COMMUNITY

2.1 Caste and the rural milieu

• Highly heterogeneous with deep inequities
• Menials/agricultural laborers (majur) at bottom, often Dalit equivalents
• Muslim menials: halalkhoran (scavengers), mallahzadas (boatmen's sons)
• Some caste mobility: Gauravas (Vrindavan) sought Rajput status
• Pastoral/fishing castes (Sadgops, Kaivartas) rose to peasant status in east

2.2 Panchayats and headmen

• Assembly of elders representing various castes (excluding lowest groups)
• Headed by muqaddam/mandal (chosen by elders, ratified by zamindar)
• Functions:
  • Supervise village accounts (with patwari)
  • Community welfare (flood relief, canal construction)
  • Uphold caste boundaries (oversee marriages)
  • Levy fines/punishments (including temporary expulsion)
• Funded by common pool contributions
• Jati panchayats for caste-specific matters

2.3 Village artisans

• 25% of village households in some areas
• Fluid peasant-artisan roles (craft work during agricultural lulls)
• Remuneration methods:
  • Share of harvest or land allotment (miras/watan in Maharashtra)
  • Goods-for-services exchange (proto-jajmani system)
  • Cash payments also known

2.4 A "little republic"?

• Not egalitarian - deep inequities based on caste/gender
• Powerful individuals dominated village affairs
• Cash nexus developed through trade with towns
• Revenue collected in cash in Mughal heartland
• Artisans producing for export paid in cash

3. WOMEN IN AGRARIAN SOCIETY

• Worked shoulder-to-shoulder with men: sowing, weeding, threshing, winnowing
• Menstruation taboos: couldn't touch plough (west) or betel groves (Bengal)
• Artisanal tasks: spinning, pottery, embroidery
• High female mortality due to malnutrition, childbirth
• Social customs:
  • Bride-price (not dowry) in many communities
  • Remarriage allowed for divorced/widowed women
• Strict control by male family/community members
• Property rights:
  • Could inherit/sell property (seen in Punjab land records)
  • Some women zamindars (e.g., Rajshahi in 18th century Bengal)

4. FORESTS AND TRIBES

4.1 Beyond settled villages

• 40% forest cover estimated (jangal/kharbandi)
• Forest dwellers (jangli) had seasonal livelihood patterns:
  • Spring: forest produce
  • Summer: fishing
  • Monsoon: cultivation
  • Autumn/winter: hunting
• State viewed forests as rebellious spaces (mawas)

4.2 Inroads into forests

• State demands: elephants for army (as peshkash)
• Hunting symbolized imperial justice and connection with subjects
• Commercial agriculture expanded into forest areas
• Forest products trade: honey, beeswax, gum lac (major export)
• Tribal chiefs became zamindars/kings (e.g., Ahom kings' paiks)
• Sufi pirs facilitated Islam's spread in newly colonized areas

5. THE ZAMINDARS

• Landed proprietors with social/economic privileges
• Status from caste and state services (khidmat)
• Personal lands (milkiyat) cultivated with hired/servile labor
• Powers:
  • Revenue collection for state (for compensation)
  • Military resources (forts, cavalry, infantry, artillery)
• Dominant castes: Brahmana-Rajput combine, some Muslim and intermediate castes
• Consolidation methods:
  • Conquest (with state sanction)
  • Colonization of new lands
  • Purchase/transfer of rights
• Economic roles:
  • Provided cultivation means/loans to settlers
  • Established markets (haats)
  • Accelerated monetization
• Relationship with peasants: exploitative but with reciprocity/paternalism
• Supported peasants in uprisings against state

6. LAND REVENUE SYSTEM

• Economic mainstay of Mughal Empire
• Administered by diwan's office (daftar)
• Two stages: assessment (jama) and collection (hasil)
• Payment options: cash preferred but kind accepted
• Land measurement efforts (continued under Aurangzeb)
• Land classification:
  • Polaj: annually cultivated
  • Parauti: temporarily fallow
  • Chachar: fallow 3-4 years
  • Banjar: uncultivated 5+ years
• Revenue rates: 1/3 of medium produce

7. THE FLOW OF SILVER

• Mughal Empire among large territorial empires (with Ming, Safavid, Ottoman)
• Political stability enabled vibrant overland trade networks
• New World discoveries expanded India-Europe trade
• Huge silver inflows to Asia (especially India which lacked silver mines)
• Resulted in:
  • Stable silver currency (rupya)
  • Expanded minting and money circulation
  • State ability to collect taxes in cash

8. THE AIN-I AKBARI OF ABU'L FAZL ALLAMI

• Completed 1598 (42nd regnal year of Akbar)
• Third book of Akbar Nama project
• Compendium of imperial regulations and empire gazetteer
• Five books (daftars):
  1. Manzil-abadi: imperial household
  2. Sipah-abadi: military/civil administration
  3. Mulk-abadi: fiscal system and provinces
  4. Religious/literary traditions
  5. Akbar's "auspicious sayings"
• Quantitative data on provinces:
  • Measured area, assessed revenue (jama)
  • Revenue grants (suyurghal)
  • Zamindars and their caste/troops
• Sources: official papers, oral testimonies (cross-checked), imperial orders
• Limitations:
  • Arithmetic/transcription errors
  • Skewed data (e.g., missing caste info for Bengal/Orissa)
  • Price/wage data mainly from Agra region
• Significance: Break from traditional chronicles by focusing on people/economy