(Online Course) History for IAS Mains: Mughal Economy - Agriculture

Agriculture

Though agriculture was labour intensive, peasants did use technologies that often harnessed cattle energy. One example was the wooden plough, which was light -and easily assembled with an iron tip or coulter. It therefore did not make deep furrows, which preserved the moisture better during the intensely hot months. A drill, pulled by a pair of giant oxen, was used to plant seeds, but broadcasting of seed was the most prevaleni method. Hoeing and weeding were done simultaneously using a narrow iron blade with a small wooden handle.

Agriculture was organised 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 and 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.

Zamindars in the Mughal Empire have been classified by scholars into three broad categories: (i) the autonomous chieftians, (ii) the intermediary zamindars, and (iii) the primary zamindars. Medieval records abound with references to zamindaran-j-zor-talab, that is, zamindars who paid revenue only, when it was forcibly demanded. Peter Mundy in 1632 saw in the present-day Kanpur district, “labourers with their guns, swords, and bucklers lying on them whilst they ploughed the ground”.

William Finch, who visited India between 1608 and 1611, says that from November to the end of March, the Emperor hunted around Agra and sent the men captured to Kabul to be bartered for horses. Peter

Mundy, travelling from Agra to Patna in 1632, reported another exploit of the amir. During the four days of his passage through this area, he saw two hundred minars on pillars on which about seven thousand heads were fixed with mortar. The trading community in India was large and varied. Among the principal merchants were Jams and Bohra Muslims in Gujarat; Oswals, Maheshwaris and Aggarwals in Rajasthan; Chettis on the Coromandel Coast, and Muslim merchants in Malabar.

Peasants

GhallaBaqshi: Assesment by the division of crops (in Thatta, Kabul and Kashmir).Apart from land revenue (charged 1/3 to ½) the state being a military state, also depended upon benefits of conquest. However, much of its revenue was wasted in ostentation and wars. Another method, muqtai’ was prevalent in Bengal. Zabti: A standardized method of collection based on rates of crops determined alter 10 years assessment Todar Mai pioneered it. It required annual measurement of land and where it was not possible Nasaq was prevalent. There were several methods of revenue collection in practice viz. Kankut (estimate). Rai (yield per unit area) and ‘zabt’ (based on the yields of crops). Madad-i-maash or Suyur ghal/inam were land grants to people of favour/religious assignment.

Crop Sharing

The method most favourable to peasants was the batai or crop sharing, which distributed the risks of cultivation between the cultivator and the state. Under this method, the crop was divided between the peasant and the state either when it was standing in the field, or after it had been cut or when it was on the threshing floor. In the hast-o-bud system, officials inspected the village, estimated the total produced and fixed the revenue demand. Sometimes the number of Toughs was taken into account to assess the total produce of the area. Under the kankut system, the land was first measured and the yield per unit for each crop estimated. This was then applied to the area under cultivation.

In the nasaq system, previous assessments were used for calculating the Avenue due to the state. The zabt system enforced by Sher Shah from Lahore to Awadh was initially adopted by Akbar as well. A flesh jama was prepared in the eleventh year of Akbar’s reign (1566-67). The Jama-i-dah-sala (jama of ten years) was compiled in the twenty’ - fourth regnal year (1579-80). To begin with, a new rai was prepared for every locality, based on the actual rates of harvest of the previous ten years, in order to determine the average produce. The cash rates of the previous ten years were also tabulated and final dasturs composed on the basis of the average price. Foreigners in India

Other Occupations

The Sericulture in Bengal experienced a similar growth pattern. There were also noteworthy developments in horticulture. The technique of grafting was used to improve the quality of fruits. The famous Alphonso mangoes were produced by this method. Among the new fruits cultivated were pineapples, papayas and cashew nuts, all of which came from the New World. The overland trade to Central Asia was mainly controlled by Multanis and Afghans. Cotton textiles, produced in almost all parts of the country for local use as well as export, were the principal non-agricultural manufacture.

Coarse white striped and checked cotton cloth woven in the village of Gujarat draped huge sections of the population in the Middle East. High quality cotton woven in south India and Bengal enjoyed a monopoly market in the Middle East, South East Asia, Far East, and after the sixteenth century, Europe. Dacca, the provincial capital of Bengal till the early eighteenth century, produced very fine cotton muslin called ab-i-rawan (flowing water). Sugar was produced mainly in Bengal, Agra, Multan and Orissa. India was self-sufficient in iron, which was mainly produced in Bengal, Allahabad, Agra, Berar, Gujarat and Delhi. Patna was regarded the best source of saltpeter which was used in the production of gunpowder. Bijapur and Golconda were famous for their diamond mines.

Trade & Commerce

The Portuguese, being the first to land, established hegemony over the spice trade. It was estimated in 1621 that about 7 million pounds of pepper was imported annually into Europe. Other Indian commodities sold abroad included indigo, which remained a major item of export till the nineteenth century. According to the available data, in the century after 1660, the Dutch and English companies together brought in over 34 tonnes of silver and nearly half a tonne of gold every year to India.

 In 1606, the Dutch succeeded in obtaining a farman from the Sultan of Golconda, permitting them to establish a factory at Masulipatam and, granting them a much lower rate of duty. The English established their factory at Surat in 1612. They sent an embassy headed by Thomas Roe to Jahangir’s court. As a consequence, the English company was permitted to set up trading centres at Agra, Burhanpur, Patna and other important cities. Bayana was renowned for its indigo, while Khairabad and Daryabad in Awadh were famous for their textiles.

Currency

The Mughal Empire had a tri-metallic currency with a high level of uniformity and purity. It was under Akbar that the currency system fully matured. The basic coin, the rupaya (rupee), under Akbar weighed 178 grams troy, in which the alloy was restricted to about four per cent. This became the main coinage for commercial transactions; copper coins being used for small dealings. In 1595, as many as 42 mints were issuing copper coins, 14 the rupaya and four the gold muhars.

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