Land Revenue reforms of Sher Shah Suri and Mughals The land revenue system formed the core financial backbone of the medieval Indian empires, serving as the primary source of state income. The reforms implemented by Sher Shah Suri laid crucial groundwork that was later formalized and expanded by the Mughal Emperor Akbar.
I. Land Revenue Reforms of Sher Shah Suri (1540–1545 AD)
Sher Shah Suri’s short but impactful reign introduced a more systematic and rational land revenue structure that influenced the subsequent Mughal administration.
Key Features and Principles:
- Basis for Mughal System: Sher Shah’s measures provided a basis for the agrarian reforms adopted later by Akbar. Raja Todarmal, Akbar’s finance minister who developed the Dahsala system, had honed his skills under his first master, Sher Shah Suri. The Mughal practice of assessing revenue based on average produce can be traced back to Sher Shah’s reign.
- Measurement and Classification (Zabt): Sher Shah insisted on the physical measurement of the sown land. All cultivable land was systematically classified into three categories based on productivity: good, middling, and bad. The quality of land possessed by each cultivator was ascertained through this uniform system.
- Determination of State Share (Ray): A crop rate, known as ray, was drawn up to fix the state’s share of different crops. The state’s share was generally one-third (1/3) of the average produce. This average calculation method ensured that the powerful could not shift their tax burden onto the poor.
- Payment and Monetization: The state preferred collecting revenue in cash. The fixed crop rate could be converted into cash based on the prevailing market rates in different areas. However, cultivators were given the facility to pay in kind as well, except for revenue on perishable articles, which had to be paid in cash.
- Direct Relation (Ryotwari): Sher Shah largely eliminated intermediaries like zamindars and contractors, establishing a direct relationship with the cultivators (known as the Ryotwari system) in most regions for assessment and collection. However, the Jagirdari system continued in provinces like Multan, Malwa, and Rajasthan.
- Documentation: Peasants were issued a patta (title deed detailing the land and revenue rate) and were required to sign a qubuliyat (a deed of agreement promising to pay their dues).
- Additional Levies: Sher Shah levied two specific fees: jaribana (Surveyor’s fee, 2.5% of revenue) and muhasilana (tax-collector’s fee, 5% of revenue). He also imposed a cess of two and a half seers per bigha as a measure against natural calamities and famine.
- Peasant Welfare: Sher Shah emphasized the welfare of the peasantry and compensated peasants if their crops were destroyed during wartime. Revenue officials were instructed to be lenient during measurement but strict during collection.
II. Land Revenue Reforms of the Mughals (Akbar’s Zabti/Dahsala System)
The Mughal land revenue administration, particularly under Akbar, was a highly bureaucratic and centralized structure. The administration’s capacity for “fiscal extraction” was enhanced through systematic revenue collection.
1. The Dahsala or Zabti System
The most renowned Mughal revenue reform was the Dahsala System (also known as the Zabti System or Todar Mal’s Bandobast), implemented during Akbar’s reign in 1580–82.
- Architect: This system was primarily developed by Raja Todarmal, Akbar’s finance minister. Todar Mal introduced standard weights and measures, land survey, and a settlement system.
- Objective: The reform aimed to solve problems stemming from annual price fixing and yearly revenue settlements.
- Basis of Assessment: The revenue was calculated based on the average produce of various crops and the average prices prevailing over the previous ten years (Dahsala means ten years).
- State Demand: The state’s share (Mal) was fixed at one-third (1/3) of this average produce, calculated in Rupees per Bigha. The remaining two-thirds (Kharaj) was left for the cultivators. By the time of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, the state demand sometimes increased to one-half of the produce.
- Monetization and Pricing: The system involved converting the state’s demand from kind to cash using a detailed schedule of cash revenue rates for various crops, called the Dastur-i-amal. This schedule, unique to each revenue circle (dastur), ensured the peasant paid based on both local prices and local produce. This requirement for cash payment significantly helped the commercialization of the economy.
- Measurement: The Zabti system standardized the unit of measurement using the gaz-i-llahi (41 digits/33 inches) and used a measuring rope (Tenab) of bamboo joined by iron rings to prevent seasonal variation in length. Land assessment took into account both the regularity and productivity of cultivation.
- Scope and Continuation: This standardized system prevailed in the major provinces, including Delhi, Lahore, Agra, Awadh, Multan, Malwa, and Gujarat. It was later introduced in the Deccan during Shah Jahan’s reign by Murshid Quli Khan.
- Documentation and Land Rights: The patwari (village official) maintained records of crop patterns. Cultivators were given a patta (title deed) and signed a qubuliyat (deed of agreement). The peasants had a hereditary right to cultivate their land as long as they paid the land revenue.
2. Other Assessment Methods
While Zabti was preferred where administration was centralized, the Mughals also utilized other traditional methods:
- Ghalla-Bakshi (Batai): This was a crop-sharing method where the crop was divided between the peasants and the state, allowing both parties to share the risks of the season equally. However, this method was expensive for the state.
- Kankut (Estimation): This method involved estimating (appraisal) the value of the standing crops, often based on measurement and productivity estimates.
- Nasaq: This involved a rough calculation of the amount payable by the peasant based on their payment history. Some historians believe it was merely a method of computing past dues rather than a distinct assessment system. This method was used extensively during Aurangzeb’s later reign alongside Zabti.
3. Decline of the Agrarian System (Crisis)
Despite the system’s initial stability, the later Mughal administration faced challenges, leading to the Agrarian Crisis.
- The Mughals often fixed revenue at the highest possible rate, leading to the tendency to squeeze the maximum surplus from jagirs.
- This intense exploitation, combined with economic collapse and fiscal strain during Aurangzeb’s campaigns, led to peasants deserting their fields, though sometimes they were forced to carry on cultivation.
- Irfan Habib argues that the system of land revenue collection contained inherent faults that led to peasant protests, weakening the social and political fabric of the Empire.
- The strain on the agrarian economy contributed significantly to the Jagirdari Crisis, as resources diminished while the ruling class’s expectations and numbers grew.
Analogy: The relationship between Sher Shah’s early revenue measures and Akbar’s Dahsala system is like creating a sophisticated software program. Sher Shah provided the initial coding and framework (measurement, land classification, direct contact), while Akbar and Raja Todarmal took that code, debugged it, standardized it for wide application, and implemented it across the entire network, making it the highly successful and centralized Mughal operating system (Dahsala/Zabti) for revenue collection.