Administrative and Economic institutions Architecture and Industries Trade and Commerce

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Administrative and Economic institutions Architecture and Industries Trade and Commerce

I. Land Revenue Reforms (Sher Shah Suri and Mughals)

The land revenue system formed the core financial backbone of the state, serving as the primary source of imperial income.

A. Reforms of Sher Shah Suri (1540–1545 AD)

Sher Shah Suri introduced systematic land reforms that provided the basis for the more detailed agrarian measures later adopted by Akbar.

  1. Measurement and Classification: Sher Shah mandated the physical measurement of sown land. Land was classified into three categories: good, middling, and bad.
  2. State Share and Collection: A crop rate (ray) was drawn up, fixing the state’s share at generally one-third (1/3) of the average produce. Sher Shah preferred revenue collection in cash but allowed payment in kind (except for perishable articles, which had to be paid in cash).
  3. Direct Relationship (Ryotwari): Sher Shah largely aimed for a direct relationship with the cultivators (Ryotwari system), eliminating intermediaries for assessment and collection in most places. However, the Jagirdari system continued in provinces like Multan, Malwa, and Rajasthan.
  4. Documentation and Charges: Peasants were given a patta (title deed detailing the land and revenue rate) and were required to sign a qubuliyat (deed of agreement promising to pay their dues). Specific fees (abwabs) levied included jaribana (surveyor’s fee) and muhasilana (tax-collector’s fee).
  5. Peasant Welfare: Revenue officials were instructed to be lenient during measurement but strict during collection. Sher Shah took measures for peasant welfare and compensated cultivators if crops were damaged during wartime.

B. Mughal Reforms (The Dahsala or Zabti System)

The agrarian system under the Mughals relied primarily on the alienation of the peasant’s surplus produce as land revenue.

  1. Development and Implementation: The Dahsala or Zabti System was implemented during Akbar’s reign in 1580–82 by his finance minister, Raja Todarmal. Todar Mal, who had served under Sher Shah Suri, introduced this system to solve issues arising from annual price fixing. It became the most important method of assessment during the Mughal period.
  2. Calculation and Assessment: The system calculated revenue based on the average produce and average prices prevailing over the previous ten years. The state’s share (Mal) was fixed at one-third (1/3) of this average produce, calculated in Rupees per Bigha.
  3. Monetary System: The system required land taxes to be paid in cash. This cash payment forced peasants into market networks. Conversion from kind to cash was facilitated by a separate schedule of cash revenue rates, the Dastur-i-amal, specific to each revenue circle (dastur).
  4. Standardization: Measurement utilized the standardized gaz-i-llahi (41 fingers or 29-32 inches) and the iron-ringed measuring rope (Tenab). The system standardized the revenue process, helping to reduce corruption and arbitrariness.
  5. Scope and Evolution: Zabti was standard in major provinces like Lahore, Agra, Awadh, Multan, Delhi, and Gujarat. It was introduced in the Deccan during Shah Jahan’s reign by Murshid Quli Khan. By the time of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, the state demand was often increased drastically, sometimes reaching one-half of the produce.

II. Administrative and Economic Institutions

A. Central Administration (Mughals)

The Mughal government, largely refined by Akbar, was a highly centralized bureaucracy. The administrative structure built upon the foundation laid by Sher Shah Suri.

  1. The Emperor: The ruler was the ultimate authority, and the Emperor’s word was law.
  2. Four Key Ministries:
    • Diwan-i-Kul (Finance Minister): Responsible for collecting revenue, controlling imperial finances, calculating tax revenues, and distributing assignments. He controlled Khalisa (Crown), Jagir, and Inam lands.
    • Mir Bakhshi (Military Minister): Headed the army/intelligence ministry, responsible for military organization, the mansabdari system, messenger services, and checking the muster-roll (chehra) and branding of horses (dagh).
    • Sadr-us-Sudur (Law/Religious Patronage): Head of the ecclesiastical department, ensuring the protection of Shariat law and managing charitable grants (suyurghal) and stipends.
    • Mir Saman: Managed the imperial household and public works.
  3. Currency System: The Mughals adopted and refined the tri-metallic currency system introduced by Sher Shah Suri, ensuring high purity and uniformity in gold, silver, and copper coins. The silver coin (Rupee) was the base of the fiscal and monetary system.

B. Mansabdari and Jagirdari Systems

  1. Mansabdari System: This hierarchical grading system, developed by Akbar, defined an individual’s rank, salary, and military responsibilities. It used a dual ranking structure: Zat (personal status and salary) and Sawar (the number of horsemen maintained). Jahangir introduced the Du-Aspah Sih-Aspah System, allowing selected nobles to maintain double or triple the contingent without changing their Zat rank.
  2. Jagirdari System: This was an integral part of the Mansabdari system. Mansabdars were paid through the assignment of land revenue (Jagir) in lieu of a cash salary. The assignment granted the right to collect revenue, not ownership of the land itself. The system paralleled the earlier Iqta system of the Delhi Sultanate.
  3. Jagirdari Crisis: By the late 17th century, under Aurangzeb, the number of mansabdars increased significantly, leading to a serious shortage of paibaqi land (earmarked for jagirs). This economic crisis, sometimes attributed to the Mughal government’s tendency to extract the maximum surplus from the jagirs, ruptured the relationship between the aristocracy and the emperor.

III. Architecture and Industries

A. Architecture

Mughal architecture, evolving from Indo-Islamic traditions established during the Sultanate, was marked by sophisticated planning and monumental scale.

  1. Sultanate Legacy: Mughal architecture was a continuous phase of Islamic architecture, retaining key features like arches, domes, minarets, and the use of Quranic verses, lime, and red/yellow sandstone. Sher Shah Suri’s mausoleum at Sasaram and his mosque in the old fort at Delhi are considered architectural marvels and mark the starting point of the new phase.
  2. Mughal Features: The Mughals built magnificent forts, palaces, gates, and mosques. The use of running water in palaces and pleasure resorts (like the Shalimar Gardens in Kashmir) was a special feature.
  3. Key Monuments:
    • Akbar built the massive fort at Agra in red sandstone.
    • Shah Jahan achieved the climax of fort-building with the Red Fort in Delhi.
    • Aurangzeb constructed the elegant Pearl Mosque (Moti Masjid) in Delhi, built of black and white marble.
  4. Building Industry: The extensive construction projects in capital cities like Delhi and Agra supported large numbers of skilled and unskilled laborers. Stone-cutting was a highly developed art; for instance, Babur employed 1,491 stone-cutters daily, 600 of whom were from Agra alone.

B. Industries

The Mughal Empire supported a vast economic system described as a form of proto-industrialization. India produced about 28% of the world’s industrial output up until the 18th century, primarily through significant exports in textiles, shipbuilding, and steel.

  1. Textiles: Textile production was the most important industry. The industry experienced a boom from the turn of the 17th century due to long-term peace, extension of cotton cultivation, and stable commercial highways.
    • Cotton Goods: Agra, Benaras (noted since antiquity), and Patna were major centers for cotton fabrics and coarse muslins.
    • Luxury Goods: Lahore specialized in shawl weaving, carpets, brocades, and painted stuffs.
  2. Royal Karkhanas (Workshops): Akbar actively encouraged industrial development, expanding silk weaving in Lahore, Agra, and Fatehpur Sikri. The emperors controlled a large number of royal workshops that turned out articles for the court and army. Akbar established factories and imported master weavers from Persia, Kashmir, and Turkistan.
  3. Shipbuilding and Metallurgy: Key industries included shipbuilding and steel. Both Akbar and Aurangzeb invested in the manufacture of guns, including mobile guns. Shah Jahan launched a program to build sea-going vessels (four to six ships annually) for voyages to West Asia, enabling Indian shipyards to produce ships based on European models. Iron was plentiful and indispensable for producing armor and weapons.
  4. Cash Crops and Processing: The Mughals encouraged the cultivation of valuable crops like cotton, sugarcane, indigo, opium, and oil seeds. Sugar, especially the excellent variety produced around Agra, was an important industry. Paper was almost an entirely urban industry essential for the functioning of the state bureaucracy.

IV. Trade and Commerce

Trade played a pivotal role in the Mughal economic system, facilitated by the empire’s location at the crossroads connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe.

  1. Economic Integration and Centers: The political integration of the country under Mughal rule helped foster economic interaction and trade networks on an unprecedented scale. Cities like Agra, Lahore, and Delhi emerged as bustling centers of commerce. Lahore acted as an entrepot for Central Asian merchants. Bengal Subah was the empire’s wealthiest province.
  2. Infrastructure and Security: The Mughals actively promoted trade by building and maintaining an extensive road system. Sher Shah Suri’s construction of four major highways (e.g., Sonargaon to Attock) and approximately 1,700 sarais (fortified inns) made communications easier and were called the “arteries of the empire“. These sarais often developed into market towns (qasbas). Safety on the roads was generally satisfactory and could be covered by insurance.
  3. Commercial Classes: Specialized trading classes like seth, bohra, and banjaras facilitated long-distance and local trade. Wealthy merchants (saudagars and khattris) owned immense wealth. Sarafs (money changers/bankers) played a crucial role, not only handling coinage but also making remittances via letters of exchange (hundis).
  4. State Policies on Trade:
    • Mughal emperors, including Akbar and Jahangir, showed interest in foreign seaborne trade and diplomatic ties with foreign powers.
    • Akbar remitted transit duties on the routes connecting Central Asia via Kabul and Qandahar, emphasizing the value of this overland trade.
    • The state generally levied a uniform tax on goods at the point of entry into the empire. Road cesses (rahdari) were declared illegal, although sometimes collected by local rajas.
    • The state was considerate of the interests of merchants, and laws were passed to protect their property.

The foundation of these institutions and robust economic activity led to Mughal India’s share of the world’s economy being the largest globally by 1600 CE. The systematic administration and standardized land revenue (Zabti) acted like a complex hydraulic system, drawing surplus (tax) from the vast agrarian base (2/3 of revenue collected in cash) to fuel the consumption and production engines (industries and cities), thereby sustaining the centralized imperial structure.

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