12 NCERT CBSE History
Peasants, Zamindars and the State:
Agrararian
Society and the Mughal Empire
Peasants, Zamindars, and the State: Agrarian Society in Mughal India (16th-17th Centuries)
High School History | Comprehensive Assessment & Review Worksheet
Lesson Summary & Overview
This lesson explores the intricate structure of **agrarian society** in **Mughal India** during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, focusing on the dynamic relationships between **peasants**, **zamindars**, and the **state**. Approximately 85% of India's population resided in villages, engaged in **agricultural production**, which formed the economic backbone of the empire. Key concepts like **raiyat**, **khud-kashta**, and **pahi-kashta** define different categories of cultivators, whose lives were shaped by seasonal tasks, innovative **irrigation technologies** like the Persian wheel, and a diverse range of crops including essential staples (**kharif** and **rabi** cycles) and lucrative **cash crops** (**jins-i kamil**). The lesson highlights how trade, money, and markets increasingly linked rural areas with towns, contributing to economic expansion.
The social fabric of the village community was complex, comprising cultivators, the **panchayat**, and the **village headman (muqaddam/mandal)**. Deep **caste inequities** created a heterogeneous group of cultivators, with some relegated to menial tasks. The **panchayat** played a crucial role in upholding caste boundaries, arbitrating disputes, and managing village funds, often acting as a court of appeal against state officials or zamindars. **Village artisans** were integral, compensated through shares of harvest, land allotments (**miras/watan**), or cash, indicating intricate exchange networks. The position of **women in agrarian society** is also examined, emphasizing their vital role in agricultural labor and craft production, alongside unique social customs like bride-price and their limited, yet significant, property rights.
Beyond settled agriculture, vast **forest areas** were inhabited by **jangli** (forest dwellers) whose livelihoods involved gathering, hunting, and shifting cultivation. The Mughal state interacted with these communities, often demanding tribute (**peshkash**) and viewing forests as places of refuge for rebels. The powerful **zamindars**, landed proprietors with social and economic privileges, formed the apex of rural society. They controlled extensive **milkiyat** lands, collected revenue for the state, and maintained military contingents. The **Mughal land revenue system** involved detailed assessment (**jama**) and collection (**hasil**) processes, with land classified based on fertility and cultivation frequency (e.g., **polaj**, **parauti**, **chachar**, **banjar**). Finally, the lesson discusses the significant **flow of silver** into India, which stabilized metal currency and facilitated the state's ability to collect taxes in cash, thereby boosting trade and economic prosperity during this period.
Theme Analysis & Strategy
Main ThemeAgrarian Society and State-Peasant Relations in Mughal India
Subject CategoryHistory
Key Concepts
Question FocusFocus on understanding the interconnectedness of social, economic, and political structures within Mughal agrarian society. Emphasize definitions of key terms, roles of different groups, and the state's administrative mechanisms.
What percentage of India's population lived in its villages during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, according to the text?
Hint: Look at the very first paragraph of the document.
Answer
About 85 per cent
Explanation
The document states, 'During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries about 85 per cent of the population of India lived in its villages.'
What was the primary objective of the Mughal state's involvement in rural society?
Hint: Consider the state's main source of income mentioned early in the text.
Answer
To ensure cultivation took place and collect regular taxes from produce.
Explanation
The text states, 'Most important among these was the Mughal state, which derived the bulk of its income from agricultural production. Agents of the state... sought to control rural society so as to ensure that cultivation took place and the state got its regular share of taxes from the produce.'
Which chronicle authored by Akbar’s court historian Abu’l Fazl is a major source for understanding agrarian history of the Mughal period?
Hint: The text explicitly names Akbar's court historian and his work.
Answer
Ain-i Akbari
Explanation
The document identifies the 'Ain-i Akbari (in short the Ain) authored by Akbar’s court historian Abu’l Fazl' as one of the most important chronicles for agrarian history.
What perspective does the Ain-i Akbari primarily offer regarding peasants?
Hint: The text mentions the 'central purpose' of the Ain and what it sought to present.
Answer
A view from the top, emphasizing the strong ruling class.
Explanation
The text states, 'The central purpose of the Ain was to present a vision of Akbar’s empire where social harmony was provided by a strong ruling class... whatever we learn from the Ain about peasants remains a view from the top.'
Which term was most frequently used in Indo-Persian sources of the Mughal period to denote a peasant?
Hint: Look for the specific term highlighted in italics when discussing peasants and their lands.
Answer
Raiyat
Explanation
The text explicitly states: 'The term which Indo-Persian sources of the Mughal period most frequently used to denote a peasant was raiyat (plural, riaya) or muzarian.'
What distinguished 'khud-kashta' peasants from 'pahi-kashta' peasants in seventeenth-century sources?
Hint: The text defines both terms based on their residency and cultivation practices.
Answer
Khud-kashta were resident cultivators, while pahi-kashta were non-resident cultivators.
Explanation
The text clarifies: 'Sources of the seventeenth century refer to two kinds of peasants – khud-kashta and pahi-kashta. The former were residents of the village in which they held their lands. The latter were non-resident cultivators who belonged to some other village, but cultivated lands elsewhere on a contractual basis.'
What principle was cultivation based on, according to the text?
Hint: The text discusses how peasant lands were treated in terms of sale and purchase.
Answer
Individual ownership
Explanation
The text states, 'Cultivation was based on the principle of individual ownership. Peasant lands were bought and sold in the same way as the lands of other property owners.'
Which three factors accounted for the constant expansion of agriculture in Mughal India?
Hint: Look at the beginning of the 'Irrigation and technology' section.
Answer
Abundance of land, available labour, and mobility of peasants.
Explanation
The text lists: 'The abundance of land, available labour and the mobility of peasants were three factors that accounted for the constant expansion of agriculture.'
Which Mughal emperor described the rapid depopulation and establishment of hamlets and villages in Hindustan in his memoirs, the 'Babur Nama'?
Hint: The memoirs are explicitly named after an emperor.
Answer
Babur
Explanation
The section 'Peasants on the move' states: 'This was a feature of agrarian society which struck a keen observer like Babur, the first Mughal emperor, forcefully enough for him to write about it in the Babur Nama, his memoirs.'
Based on Babur's observations in the 'Babur Nama', what was a common irrigation device used in Lahore and Dipalpur?
Hint: Refer to 'Source 2' and the description of irrigation devices.
Answer
Persian wheel
Explanation
Source 2, an excerpt from the Babur Nama, describes: 'In Lahore, Dipalpur (both in present-day Pakistan) and those other parts, people water by means of a wheel.' This description matches the Persian wheel.
What were the two major seasonal cycles around which agriculture was organized in Mughal India?
Hint: The section 'An abundance of crops' explicitly names these cycles.
Answer
Kharif (autumn) and Rabi (spring)
Explanation
The text states: 'Agriculture was organised around two major seasonal cycles, the kharif (autumn) and the rabi (spring).'
What does the term 'jins-i kamil' (perfect crops) refer to in the context of Mughal agriculture?
Hint: The text explains why the Mughal state encouraged the cultivation of these specific crops.
Answer
Crops that brought in more revenue for the state.
Explanation
The text mentions 'jins-i kamil' and clarifies: 'The Mughal state also encouraged peasants to cultivate such crops as they brought in more revenue. Crops such as cotton and sugarcane were jins-i kamil par excellence.'
Which new crop, introduced via Africa and Spain, became a major crop of western India by the seventeenth century?
Hint: The text lists several new crops and their origins.
Answer
Maize (makka)
Explanation
The text states: 'Maize (makka), for example, was introduced into India via Africa and Spain and by the seventeenth century it was being listed as one of the major crops of western India.'
What were the three main constituents of the collective village community in Mughal society?
Hint: This information is provided at the beginning of the 'The Village Community' section.
Answer
Cultivators, the panchayat, and the village headman.
Explanation
The text clearly states: 'There were three constituents of this community – the cultivators, the panchayat, and the village headman (muqaddam or mandal).'
Despite the abundance of cultivable land, what factor primarily relegated certain caste groups to poverty in Mughal rural society?
Hint: The 'Caste and the rural milieu' section discusses the constraints faced by certain groups.
Answer
Their position in the caste hierarchy, assigning them menial tasks.
Explanation
The text explains: 'Despite the abundance of cultivable land, certain caste groups were assigned menial tasks and thus relegated to poverty... constrained by their position in the caste hierarchy, much like the Dalits of modern India.'
What was the headman of the village panchayat known as?
Hint: This is a direct definition provided in the section on 'Panchayats and headmen'.
Answer
Muqaddam or Mandal
Explanation
The text states: 'The panchayat was headed by a headman known as muqaddam or mandal.'
Which of the following was NOT a primary function of the village panchayat?
Hint: Review the listed duties and responsibilities of the panchayat. While they dealt with revenue officials, their role was not direct collection.
Answer
Directly collecting land revenue for the Mughal state.
Explanation
The text details panchayat functions as supervising accounts, upholding caste boundaries, levying fines, and managing community welfare. While they entertained revenue officials, the direct collection of state revenue was primarily handled by state agents like amil-guzars, not the panchayat itself as a primary function.
What drastic form of resistance did peasants sometimes resort to when reconciliation failed in disputes over excessive revenue demands?
Hint: The text describes a specific action taken by peasants, made effective by the availability of land and competition for labor.
Answer
Deserting the village to cultivate uncultivated land elsewhere.
Explanation
The text states: 'In cases where reconciliation failed, peasants took recourse to more drastic forms of resistance, such as deserting the village. The relatively easy availability of uncultivated land and the competition over labour resources made this an effective weapon in the hands of cultivators.'
What term, though not in vogue in the 16th and 17th centuries, was later used to describe the system where artisans were remunerated by peasant households for services?
Hint: The text specifically mentions this term in relation to artisan compensation.
Answer
Jajmani system
Explanation
The text describes: 'Another variant of this was a system where artisans and individual peasant households entered into a mutually negotiated system of remuneration, most of the time goods for services... This later came to be described as the jajmani system, though the term was not in vogue in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.'
What did British officials in the nineteenth century metaphorically call the village, viewing it as a collective of fraternal partners?
Hint: The section heading itself uses this phrase.
Answer
A 'little republic'
Explanation
The text states: 'Some British officials in the nineteenth century saw the village as a 'little republic' made up of fraternal partners sharing resources and labour in a collective.'
In medieval Indian agriculture, which of the following tasks were typically performed by women?
Hint: The text describes a division of labor between men and women in the fields.
Answer
Sowing, weeding, threshing, and winnowing.
Explanation
The text specifies: 'Men tilled and ploughed, while women sowed, weeded, threshed and winnowed the harvest.'
What social custom was prevalent in many rural peasant and artisan communities regarding marriage, distinct from elite groups?
Hint: The text contrasts rural customs with those of elite groups concerning marriage payments.
Answer
Payment of bride-price to the bride’s family.
Explanation
The text notes: 'Marriages in many rural communities required the payment of bride-price rather than dowry to the bride’s family. Remarriage was considered legitimate both among divorced and widowed women.'
What term was used in contemporary texts to refer to forest dwellers during the Mughal period?
Hint: The 'Forests and Tribes' section introduces this specific term.
Answer
Jangli
Explanation
The text states: 'Forest dwellers were termed jangli in contemporary texts.'
How did the Mughal state generally perceive forests, according to the text?
Hint: Babur's quote in this section reveals the state's perception.
Answer
As subversive places, offering refuge (mawas) for troublemakers.
Explanation
The text explains: 'For the state, the forest was a subversive place – a place of refuge (mawas) for troublemakers. Once again, we turn to Babur who says that jungles provided a good defence “behind which the people of the pargana become stubbornly rebellious and pay no taxes”.'
What form of tribute (peshkash) was often levied from forest people by the state, especially for military purposes?
Hint: The text directly mentions what the state required for its army from forest dwellers.
Answer
A supply of elephants.
Explanation
The text states: 'For instance, the state required elephants for the army. So the peshkash levied from forest people often included a supply of elephants.'
What was 'milkiyat' in the context of zamindars' lands?
Hint: The text defines 'milkiyat' explicitly and describes its use.
Answer
Extensive personal lands cultivated for private use.
Explanation
The text explains: 'The zamindars held extensive personal lands termed milkiyat, meaning property. Milkiyat lands were cultivated for the private use of zamindars, often with the help of hired or servile labour.'
Which of the following was NOT a primary source of power for zamindars in Mughal India?
Hint: Review the section on 'The Zamindars' and their listed sources of power. Mansabdars were a separate administrative category.
Answer
Direct appointment by the emperor as mansabdars.
Explanation
The text lists milkiyat, revenue collection, and military resources as sources of zamindar power. While some zamindars might have held mansabs, direct appointment as mansabdars was not a defining primary source of power for the class of zamindars as described, rather a separate administrative system.
What was the economic mainstay of the Mughal Empire?
Hint: The first sentence of the 'Land Revenue System' section provides this information.
Answer
Revenue from the land.
Explanation
The text explicitly states: 'Revenue from the land was the economic mainstay of the Mughal Empire.'
In the Mughal land revenue system, what was 'jama'?
Hint: The text defines 'jama' in contrast to 'hasil'.
Answer
The amount of revenue assessed.
Explanation
The text clarifies: 'The jama was the amount assessed, as opposed to hasil, the amount collected.'
According to the Ain-i Akbari, what type of land was 'Polaj'?
Hint: Refer to 'Source 5' for Akbar's classification of lands.
Answer
Land annually cultivated for each crop in succession and never left fallow.
Explanation
Source 5 states: 'Polaj is land which is annually cultivated for each crop in succession and is never allowed to lie fallow.'
If a revenue collector (amil-guzar) chose 'kankut' for assessing revenue, what method would they be using?
Hint: Source 7 describes different methods of collecting revenue in kind.
Answer
Estimating the produce of crops while still standing.
Explanation
Source 7 explains: 'First, kankut : in the Hindi language kan signifies grain, and kut, estimates… If any doubts arise, the crops should be cut and estimated in three lots, the good, the middling, and the inferior, and the hesitation removed.' This means estimating standing crops.
What was the significant impact of the expansion of Asia's trade with Europe on India during the 16th-18th centuries?
Hint: The section 'The Flow of Silver' discusses the consequences of increased trade.
Answer
A remarkable stability in the availability of metal currency, particularly silver rupya.
Explanation
The text states: 'An expanding trade brought in huge amounts of silver bullion into Asia to pay for goods procured from India, and a large part of that bullion gravitated towards India... As a result, the period between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries was also marked by a remarkable stability in the availability of metal currency, particularly the silver rupya in India.'
Besides cultivating crops, what other contribution did peasants make to production activities?
Hint: Look at the description of peasants' labor contributions beyond basic tilling.
Answer
Producing agro-based goods like sugar and oil.
Explanation
The text mentions: 'Further, they contributed their labour to the production of agro-based goods such as sugar and oil.'
Why is it important to consider varied topography when discussing agrarian society in Mughal India?
Hint: The text describes different types of land and their agricultural potential.
Answer
It affected the cultivability of land, with dry/hilly regions differing from fertile expanses.
Explanation
The text states: 'Several kinds of areas such as large tracts of dry land or hilly regions were not cultivable in the same way as the more fertile expanses of land. In addition, forest areas made up a substantial proportion of territory. We need to keep this varied topography in mind when discussing agrarian society.'
Who authored the Ain-i Akbari?
Hint: The text explicitly states the author and his relation to Akbar.
Answer
Abu’l Fazl
Explanation
The text identifies the 'Ain-i Akbari... authored by Akbar’s court historian Abu’l Fazl.'
Why might a person become a 'pahi-kashta' peasant?
Hint: The text provides examples of both voluntary and forced reasons for becoming a pahi-kashta.
Answer
Out of choice for more favorable revenue terms or compulsion due to economic distress.
Explanation
The text states: 'People became pahi-kashta either out of choice – for example, when terms of revenue in a distant village were more favourable – or out of compulsion – for example, forced by economic distress after a famine.'
Which crops were the most frequently cultivated basic staples, as the primary purpose of agriculture was to feed people?
Hint: The text explicitly lists these as basic staples.
Answer
Rice, wheat, or millets.
Explanation
The text states: 'Since the primary purpose of agriculture is to feed people, basic staples such as rice, wheat or millets were the most frequently cultivated crops.'
What was an important outcome of varied and flexible forms of agricultural production during the Mughal period?
Hint: The 'Agricultural prosperity and population growth' box provides this information.
Answer
A slow demographic growth, despite periodic disruptions.
Explanation
The box 'Agricultural prosperity and population growth' states: 'One important outcome of such varied and flexible forms of agricultural production was a slow demographic growth. Despite periodic disruptions caused by famines and epidemics, India’s population increased... by about 50 million people between 1600 and 1800.'
In Muslim communities, what were 'halalkhoran'?
Hint: The text describes their social position in relation to the village boundaries.
Answer
Scavengers
Explanation
The text notes: 'In Muslim communities menials like the halalkhoran (scavengers) were housed outside the boundaries of the village.'
How was the village headman (muqaddam or mandal) typically chosen?
Hint: The text describes the process of selection and confirmation for the headman.
Answer
Through consensus of the village elders, ratified by the zamindar.
Explanation
The text states: 'Some sources suggest that the headman was chosen through the consensus of the village elders, and that this choice had to be ratified by the zamindar.'
What severe punishment could the village panchayat inflict, leading to a person becoming an outcaste and losing their profession?
Hint: The text describes a 'drastic step' taken by panchayats for violating caste norms.
Answer
Expulsion from the community for a limited period.
Explanation
The text explains: 'Panchayats also had the authority to levy fines and inflict more serious forms of punishment like expulsion from the community. The latter was a drastic step and was in most cases meted out for a limited period. It meant that a person forced to leave the village became an outcaste and lost his right to practise his profession.'
In Maharashtra, what were the artisans' hereditary holdings of land called?
Hint: The text specifically names these terms for hereditary artisan land in Maharashtra.
Answer
Miras or Watan
Explanation
The text states: 'In Maharashtra such lands became the artisans’ miras or watan – their hereditary holding.'
What evidence suggests that the concept of a 'little republic' for villages was not entirely accurate, indicating a developed cash nexus?
Hint: The text discusses the presence of money and markets in villages.
Answer
Revenue was assessed and collected in cash, and artisans received wages in cash.
Explanation
The text counters the 'little republic' idea by stating: 'More importantly, a cash nexus had already developed through trade between villages and towns. In the Mughal heartland too, revenue was assessed and collected in cash. Artisans producing for the export market (for example, weavers) received their advances or wages in cash.'
Among the landed gentry, what right did women, including widows, possess regarding property?
Hint: The text provides specific examples from Punjab and Bengal.
Answer
The right to inherit and actively participate in the rural land market as sellers.
Explanation
The text states: 'Amongst the landed gentry, women had the right to inherit property. Instances from the Punjab show that women, including widows, actively participated in the rural land market as sellers of property inherited by them. Hindu and Muslim women inherited zamindaris which they were free to sell or mortgage.'
What were the two types of forest areas mentioned in the text?
Hint: Look at the beginning of the 'Forests and Tribes' section for these terms.
Answer
Dense forest (jangal) and scrubland (kharbanda).
Explanation
The text states: 'huge swathes of forests – dense forest (jangal) or scrubland (kharbandi) – existed all over eastern India, central India, northern India...'
What activities constituted the livelihood of 'jangli' people?
Hint: The text defines 'jangli' by describing their economic activities.
Answer
Gathering forest produce, hunting, and shifting agriculture.
Explanation
The text clarifies that 'jangli' 'described those whose livelihood came from the gathering of forest produce, hunting and shifting agriculture.'
What term refers to the markets established by zamindars where peasants also came to sell their produce?
Hint: The text mentions these markets in the context of zamindars' economic activities.
Answer
Haats
Explanation
The text states: 'There is evidence to show that zamindars often established markets (haats) to which peasants also came to sell their produce.'
Despite being an exploitative class, what element characterized the relationship between zamindars and the peasantry?
Hint: The text provides two aspects reinforcing this view, including the stance of Bhakti saints and peasant uprisings.
Answer
Reciprocity, paternalism, and patronage.
Explanation
The text states: 'Although there can be little doubt that zamindars were an exploitative class, their relationship with the peasantry had an element of reciprocity, paternalism and patronage.'
What was the administrative apparatus (mansabdari) at the apex of the Mughal system responsible for?
Hint: The 'mansabdari system' box provides a direct definition.
Answer
Looking after the civil and military affairs of the state.
Explanation
The 'mansabdari system' box states: 'The Mughal administrative system had at its apex a military-cum-bureaucratic apparatus (mansabdari) which was responsible for looking after the civil and military affairs of the state.'
According to Giovanni Careri's account (based on Bernier), what was a remarkable observation about the wealth of the Mughal Empire?
Hint: Refer to the 'How silver came to India' excerpt from Giovanni Careri.
Answer
All the gold and silver circulating throughout the world eventually centered there.
Explanation
The excerpt from Giovanni Careri's account states: 'That the Reader may form some idea of the Wealth of this (Mughal) Empire, he is to observe that all the Gold and Silver, which circulates throughout the World at last Centres here.'
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