Mughal Empire What was the role of the zamindar in Mughal administration?
Answer: All the intermediaries; whether they were local village headmen or powerful chieftains were called zamindars. The zamidars exercised great deal of power in some areas and their exploitation by Mughal administrators forced them to rebel against it. These revolts collectively by zamindars and peasants challenged the stability of the empire from the end of the 17th century.
Match Columns (c) Uzbeg Column I
Column II
(1) Mansab
(a) Marwar
(2) Mongol
(b) Governor
(3) Sisodiya Rajput (4) Rathor Rajput
(d) Mewar
(5) Nur Jahan
(e) Rank
(6) Subadar
(f) Jahangir
Answer: 1-e, 2-c, 3-d, 4-a, 5-f, 6-b
Fill in the blanks: 1. The
apital
of
Mi za
Haki ,
Ak a ’s
half
othe
as
_____.
Answer: Kabul
2. The five Deccan Sultanates were Berar, Khandesh, Ahmadnagar, _______ and _______. Answer: Bijapur and Golconda
3. If zat dete
i ed a
a sa da ’s
a k a d sala , sa a
i di ated his ______.
Answer: Military Responsibilities
4. A ul Fazl, Ak a ’s f ie d a d ou sello , helped Ak a f a e the idea of ______ so that he ould govern a society composed of many religions, cultures and castes. Answer: governance based on sulh-i kul
Answer the following questions 1. What
were
the
Central
provinces
under
the
control
of
the
Mughals?
Answer: Agra, Delhi, Chittor, Ranthambor, Qandahar, Kashmir, Kabul and Mewar.
2. What
was
the
relationship
between
the
mansabdar
and
the
jagir?
Answer: Mansabdars received their salaries as revenue assignments called jagirs. But the same mansabdar served in some other suba.
3. Ho e e the de ates ith the eligious s hola s i po ta t i the fo governance?
atio of Ak a ’s ideas of
Answer: The discussions with people of varied religious background helped him understand that the eligious s hola s e e i tole a t to a ds othe ’s eliefs. The e phasised ituals hi h were to be followed without any questioning. This led to the idea of sulh-i kul or universal peace; which was the fou datio of Ak a ’s ideas of go e a e.
4. Why did the Mughals emphasise their Timurid and not their Mongol descent? Answer: Their Mongol descent was associated with Genghis Khan who was remembered for the massacre of innumerable people. Since they we e p oud of Ti u ’s aptu e of Delhi, the emphasized their Timurid ancestry.
5. How important was the income from land revenue to the stability of the Mughal Empire? Answer: Since the tax on produce of peasantry was the main source of income of the Mughal rulers, it had a crucial impact on the stability of the empire.
6. Why was it important for the Mughals to recruit mansabdars from diverse backgrounds and not just Turanis and Iranis? Answer: Because the empire had expanded to encompass different regions and they had to respect the power and sentiments of other people.
7. Like the Mughal Empire, India today is also made up of many social and cultural units. Does this pose a challenge to national integration? Answer: As Jawaharlal Nehru said, India shows unity in diversity. India is a multicultural and multi-religious country. There can be some instances of clash of interests among various social groups but diversity is always good for a society. Thus, it can be said that diversity promotes national integration rather than being a challenge to national integration.
8. Peasants were vital for the economy of the Mughal Empire. Do you think that they are as important today? Has the gap between the rich and the poor changed a great deal from the period of the Mughals? Answer: Since India is an agrarian economy, peasants are very important for us even today. A large portion of the Indian population is still employed in agriculture. Agriculture contributes significantly to the GDP of the country. There is great gap between the income levels of the rich and the poor even in the present times.
What were the duties of mansabdars?
Answer: Their military responsibilities included maintaining a specified number of sawar or cavalrymen. Their duty towards cavalrymen is:
Bringing them for review Getting them registered Getting their horses branded and Paying their salary from the money received
Write in brief about Ain-I Akbari. Answer: Volu e III a out Ak a ’s eig itte A ul Fazl is the Ain-i Akbari. It deals with Ak a ’s ad i ist atio , household, a , the e e ues a d the geog aph of his e pi e. It also provides rich details about the traditions and culture of the people living in India. The most interesting aspect about it is its rich statistical details about things as diverse as crops, yields, prices, wages and revenues. How did the idea of sulh – I kul come into existence? Answer: He was interested in the religion and social customs of various people. His interaction with people of different faiths made him realize that religious scholars who emphasized ritual and dogma were often bigots. Divisions and disharmony amongst people was created by their teachings. Hence eventually this led Akbar to the idea of sulh-i kul or universal peace.
B iefl des i e Ak a ’s o les. Answer: They commanded large armies and had access to large amounts of revenue. Till they were loyal, the empire functioned very efficiently but by the end of the 17th century many nobles had built independent networks of their own. Their self-interest was responsible for weakening their loyalties to the empire.
W ite a ote o Au a gze ’s eig
ith efe e e to
a sa da s.
Answer: During the reign of Akbar, the jagirs were carefully assessed. This was done to ensure that their revenues e e oughl e ual to the sala of a sa da . But du i g Au a gze ’s eig , the actual revenue was less than the granted sum. The number of mansabdars increased exponentially. This meant they had to wait for long before they received a jagir. There was shortage of number of jagirs. As a result, many jagirdars tried to extract maximum possible revenue from their jagirs. Aurangzeb was unable to control these developmens and hence the peasants suffered a lot during the last years of his reign.
What were salient aspects of the Mughal Empire in the seventeenth century?
Answer: There was great economic and commercial prosperity in the Mughal Empire due to the administrative and military efficiency. There were contradictory conditions during that time; on one hand there was so much prosperity that international travellers called it the fabled land of wealth and on the other hand, the same visitors were appalled at the state of poverty that existed parallelly. A mere 5.6 % of the total number of mansabdars received 61.5 % of the total estimated revenue of the empire as salaries for themselves and their troopers. This glaring inequality was e ealed the do u e ts of the t e tieth ea of Shah Jaha ’s eig . The ajo e pe ditu e of the Mughal emperors was on salaries and goods. The poor peasants and artisans were struggling for survival.
Des i e the fi a ial aspe ts du i g Ak a ’s eig . Answer: Todar Mal, Ak a ’s e e ue i iste a ied out a a eful su e of op ields, p i es a d areas cultivated for a 10-year period i.e. from 1570 to 1580. Based on this data, tax was fixed on each crop in cash. Each province was divided into revenue circles with each circle having its own schedule of revenue rates for individual crops. This revenue system is called zabt. It was prevalent in the areas where Mughal administrators could survey the land and keep very careful accounts. In provinces such as Gujarat and Bengal this was not possible. The zamidars exercised great deal of power in some areas.
Who were the opponents of the Mughals? How did the Mughals behave with them?
Answer: For a long time the Sisodiya Rajputs refused to accept the authority of the Mughals. They were defeated by the Mughals but were not humiliated by them. They were given their lands (watan) back as assignments. The principle of defeating but not humiliating; followed by the Mughals was the main reason for enabling them to extend their influence over many kings and chieftains. But it was difficult to always keep the balance between defeating but not humiliating. For example we have an instance of Aurangazed insulting Shivaji when he came to accept Mughal authority.
