THE MUGHAL AGE 

Major Offices

Wazir

The central Asian tradition of having an all-powerful Wazir, in charge of various heads of departments, was the principal link between the ruler and the administration. Akbar reorganized the central machinery of administration on the basis of the division of power between various departments with enough checks and balances.

The institution of Wizarat (or Wikalat) was present during the Delhi Sultanate which lost its position during the period of Afghan rulers.

The position of the wazir was revived under Babur and Humayun.

Bairam Khan (1556-60), regent of Akbar and with office of wakil-wazir had unlimited powers.

To curb the powers of wazir, Akbar took away the financial powers.

Diwan-i-Kul

Diwan-i Kul was the chief diwan and was responsible for revenue and finances.

The diwan used to inspect all transaction and payments in all departments and supervised the provincial diwans.

The entire revenue collection and expenditure of the empire was under his charge. 

Mir Bakshi

Mir Bakshi looked after all matters pertaining to the military administration.

Recommendations for appointment to mansabs, their salary papers or for promotions, etc. were made to the emperor through him.

He kept a strict watch over proper maintenance of the sanctioned size of armed contingents and war equipage by the mansabdars.

Sadr us Sudur

The Sadr us Sudur was the head of the ecclesiastical department and his chief duty was to protect the laws of the Shariat.

The office of the Sadr used to distribute allowances and stipends to the eligible persons and religious institutions.

The promulgation of Mahzar in 1580 restricted his authority.

According to Mahzar, Emperor’s view was to prevail in case of conflicting views among religious scholars.

Chief Qazi

Though the emperor was the highest judge in the empire, he was assisted by the chief qazi at the capital.

The qazi tried all cases in matters of religious disputes according to the Islamic law.

Large towns and cities had their own qazis.

Mufti was an authority on the Quranic law and advised and assisted the Qazi.

Mir Saman

The Mir Saman was the officer in-charge of the royal Karkhanas. 

He was responsible for all kinds of purchases and their storage for the royal household. 

Provincial Administration

The Mughals formalized a new territorial unit called Suba. Akbar divided the empire into 15 subas. These were Bengal, Bihar, Allahabad, Awadh, Agra, Delhi, Lahore, Multan, Kabul, Ajmer, Malwa, Gujarat, Ahmednagar, Bearar and Khandesh. Later provinces increased to twenty.

The provincial administration was a replica of Central Government. A Subedar (governor), Diwan, Bakshi, Sadr, Qazi and Waqia Navis (intelligence officer) were appointed to each of the provinces to ensure principle of checks and balances to be extended to the provinces.

Diwan was also expected to increase the area under cultivation. In many cases taqavi (advance loans) were given to peasants through his office.

The port administration was independent of the provincial authority. The governor of the port was called Mutasaddi, directly appointed by the Emperor.

Local Administration

The Mughals retained many features of the administrative system of the Sultanate and Shershah and hardly any changes were made by Akbar in the organization of local government.

Under Shershah the administrative units of Pargana (a group of villages), sarkar (a group of parganas) were placed under specific offices. The chief officers of the Sarkar were the ‘faujdar’ being in charge of law and order.

The Subas were divided into Sarkars, which itself were divided into Parganas.

The village was the smallest unit of administration.

At the level of Sarkar, there were two important functionaries, the Faujdar (law and order) and the Amalguzar (revenue).

Faujdari was an administrative division whereas Sarkar was a territorial and revenue division.

At the level of Pragana, the Shiqdar (executive officer) assisted the Amils in the task of revenue collection.

The Quanungo kept all the records of land in the pargana.

The Kotwals were appointed mainly in towns by the imperial government and were incharge of law and order.

The Muqaddam was the village head man and the Patwari looked after the village revenue records.

The services of the Zamindars were utilized for the maintenance of law and order in their areas as well as in the collection of revenue.

The forts were placed under an officer called Qiladar. He was in charge of the general administration of the fort.

Military

The Mughal army was modelled on Mongol system. An officer called the hazari commanded a unit of artillery of thousand men.

Babur began the use of artillery on a large scale in India and his successors continued the practice with success. 

Elephants were widely used by the Mughals. These were useful in breaking the enemies’ military formations. They were used to opening gates of palaces or forts and for transporting goods (beasts of burden). However, Cavalry (mounted archers) was the basis of army.

The navy of the Mughals was more useful for river warfare. In lower Bengal there was a flotilla of war boats carrying artillery up and down the river.

Foreigners (Europeans and others) were employed in the Mughal navy.

Land Revenue System of Sher Shah Suri

The devised the system where state kept direct relations with the peasants for the assessment and collection of the land revenue (however, in areas like Multan, Malwa and Rajasthan Jagirdari system continued).

All cultivable land was divided into three categories on the basis of production, ie good, middle and bad.

The land was measured according to a uniform system using a unit called Sikandari Gaj. (Sikandari Gaj was introduced by Sikandar Lodi and it was equivalent to 39 inches).

The state preferred to collect revenue in the form of cash and for that purpose the prices of every variety of cereals were fixed at different places.

The peasants were given the facility to pay their revenue in installments in a year according to crop seasons.

The peasants were given patta (title deeds) by the state specifying the revenue which they had to pay and were asked to sign deeds of agreement signifying their acceptance to pay the required revenue. Under Patta system, the area sown, types of crops cultivated and revenue share was duly written on paper.

The Qabuliyat system involved a deed agreement between the peasant and the government. Qabuliyat system aimed at discouraging the Jagir system.

The peasants had also to pay two more taxes, named the surveyor's fee of 2.5% called Jaribana and the tax-collector's fee of 5% called Muhasilans, to the state.

Rai system was used to fix the rate, in which cultivated area was measured, and a Dastur (central schedule) was created fixing the dues of peasants, crop wise on the basis of the productivity of the land, ie an average of the produce was estimated in each case and then the cultivators were asked to pay to the state.

The revenue administration of Sher Shah also suffered from certain defects.

- The peasants who possessed middle and bad quality of land had to pay more as compared to the owners of good quality land under this system.

- The annual settlement of the revenue was inconvenient both to the peasants and state officials.

- There was corruption in the revenue department and Sher Shah failed to uproot it.

- The assessment was done on the produce of one year, in case of good monsoon of that year peasant suffers, in bad monsoon state suffers. 

Land Revenue System of Akbar

For political as well as fiscal purposes Akbar had divided his empire into 15 Subahs, 187 Sarkars and 3367 Mahals.

He ordered a standardization of measurement unit and the so called Ilahi Gaj was made the unit of land measurement. This Ilahi Gaj was 29-32 inches, therefore, shorter than the Sikandari Gaj (Gaj as measurement of land finds its origin during Sikandar Lodi’s times).

For Paimaish (land measurement), a rope called Tenab was used which was subject to variation in its length due to dryness or humidity, Akbar made reforms in Tenab also. Akbar ordered the Tenab to be made of pieces of Bamboo joined together with iron rings. 

A further change was to fix definite measurement to Bigha of land. A Bigha was made of 3600 Ilahi Gaj, which is roughly half of modern acre. Several Bighas made a Mahal.

Akbar followed the system and to make a comparative estimate of the produce of lands and fixed different revenues for each of them.

- Polaj- the ideal and best type of land throughout the empire. This land was cultivated always and was never allowed to lie fallow.

- Parauti- the land kept out of cultivation temporarily to recoup its lost fertility.

- Chachar- land allowed to lie fallow for three or four years and then resumed under cultivation.

- Banjar- worst kind of land that was left out of cultivation for five years or more.

The best lands, Polaj and Parauti were subdivided into three categories good, middle and bad. Average produce of these three categories, called Mahsul was taken as a normal produce per Bigha.

One third of this Mahsul (average produce) was fixed as state’s share. The Parauti land also was liable to pay the Polaj rate (one third of Mahsul) when cultivated. Chachar land was allowed to pay a concessional rate until it was cultivated again to be liable to pay the Polaj rate. Banjar lands was made tax free for first five years of cultivation.

The peasants were given option to pay either in cash or kind, whichever was convenient to them. For cash payment, the rate list was called Dastur.

However, the basis of land classification by Akbar was on the continuity or discontinuity of the cultivation. He had not taken account the soil qualities (clay, loam, irrigated, unirrigated etc) for ascertaining the produce as done by British Empire later.

Akbar adopted Sher shah’s Rai system, where the state’s share was fixed one-third of the produce under the Dastur to be paid in cash. The peasant’s tax was based on annual system of collecting prices and settlements of revenues for the previous years.

But there were several problems with this arrangement.

- The prices of crops could not reasonably be applied to the whole empire. Prices were lower in rural areas which were far away from the urban centres.

- The cultivators found it difficult to pay in cash at the official rate.

- This system was affected by corruption of the revenue collectors, particularly among the Karoris.

- Fixing prices every year and doing settlements of revenues of previous years was a cumbersome practice.

Improvements on existing system

Therefore, Akbar ordered that the settlement should be concluded for past 10 years (1570 to 1579) and a decennial average was fixed as demand of the revenue. This was the so called Ain e Dahsala, implemented by Raja Todarmal.

A further improvement was made in form of Zabti system, under which Parganas having same type of productivity and similar prices were grouped into separate Dasturs (assessment circles). Thus, the peasant was required to pay on the basis of local produce as well as local prices. Therefore, as soon as the area sown by the peasant had been measured, the peasant as well as the state knew what the dues were.

The peasant was given remission in the land revenue, if crops failed on account of drought, floods etc. Akbar introduced this system in the area from Lahore to Allahabad, and in Malwa and Gujarat.

Determination of Rai

Among already existing systems, the most common and, perhaps, the oldest was called Batai or Galla bakhshi or Bhaoli (khet batai or lang batai) The produce was divided between the peasants and the state in fixed proportion. The crop was divided after it had been thrashed or while it was standing in the field. This system was considered a very fair one, but it needed large number of honest officials.

Another system which was widely used was Nasaq. Some modern historians think that it was merely a system of computing the peasant’s dues, not a different system of assessment. In this a rough assessment was made on the basis of the past revenue receipts of the peasant, therefore, do not require actual measurement of the land and the area was ascertained from past records.

One more system was prevalent, called Kankut or Dambandi. Kan- grain, kat- estimate or appraisal, dam-grain while bandi- fixing. In this system revenue officials decided Rai on the basis of an estimate. The whole land was measured, either by using the jarib or pacing it, and the standing crops estimated by inspection. Unlike Nasaq, it was a fresh estimate and past errors can be rectified.

Mansabdari System

Mansab is an Arabic word meaning office, rank, or dignity. Mansab was the measure of status of a Mughal official which determined rank, salary and office. The system was instituted by Akbar in 1577 A.D.

Based on the Mongols system of decimal organization of army, this system amalgamates nobility, bureaucracy and the army into one.

Every officer was assigned a Mansab (rank) the lowest being 10 and the highest being 10,000.

The ranks were divided into two, Zat and Sawar.

Zat was the personal rank and fixed the person’s status, and also the salary due to him. Sawar indicated the number of cavalrymen (Sawars) an officer was required to maintain.

Each Mansabdar was assigned an area that was officially estimated to yield revenue equivalent to his salary. The land so assigned was Jagir.

A Jagirdar had no permanent rights in the assignment. He merely had the right to collect land revenue on behalf of the state. Moreover, he was liable to transfers. It was also imperative was Mansabs were revised from time to time calling for change in Jagirs.

Only Vatan Jagirs (Jagirs of Rajputs) were inheritable and non-transferable.

Du-aspa Sihaspa System- Jahangir introduced a system whereby a Mansabdar holding this rank had to maintain, and was paid for, double the quota of troops indicated by his Sawar rank.

Introduction of Al Tamgah (inheritable) Jagirs- The jagirs were never officially inheritable, though under normal circumstances it was conferred upon the sons. Jahangir assigned the Al Tamgah jagirs which were officially inheritable. Although these were not on a very large scale, however, such jagirs increases the decentralization and such jagirdars act as hindrance against the authority of King over the state.

Shahjahan increased the number of mansabdars (Akbar had 123, Jahangir had 443 and Shahjahan had 518 Mansabdars). However, he reduced the salaries of mansabdars. The reduction in salary was accompanied by a corresponding decrease in sawar obligations.

The number of sawars was reduced to cut the salaries of mansabdars, which is called Month Scale, was introduced by Shah Jahan. The salaries of Mansabdars were put on month scale, ie 10 months, 8 months and 6 months or even less, and their obligations of maintenance of Sawars were brought down accordingly.

The formal acceptance between Jama and Hasil- Ever since the time of Akbar, there was indeed a difference between the assessed income (jama) and actual income (hasil), however, it was seen as an aberration and lack of administration under Jagirdar. During Shah Jehan, such deviations grew so common that it was officially recognized. 

Zagirdari

The empire was divided into numerous jagir which was distributed among Jagirdars (nobility).

The remaining land was put under the direct supervision of the sultan maintained by his officials and came to be called khalisa varied from one emperor to another.

A large majority of Jagirdars comprised of the immigrants (Turanis, Afghans, Iranis etc) while a majority was recruited from the local intelligentsia and petty bureaucrats (Shiakhzadas and Khatris).

Only a small portion of the mansab holders came from zaminder elements e.g. Rajpits, Baluch and Ghakkar chiefs.

A jagirdar had no permanent right in his assignment given the provision of regular transfer of Jagirdars.

Also, his claims were confined to the authorized land revenue and taxes.

Qazi and Fauzdar, both of them were imperial appointee who divided the jagirdar of judicial and police powers respectively in many areas.

Nonetheless, Jagirdars wielded enough power over smaller zamindars and peasants in his capacity of an imperial officer.

In the 17th century, Jagirdars came to exploit the peasantry for securing more and more revenue as insecure of their stay and devoid of any stake in preserving and promoting agriculture.

Such tendency led to deepening of conflict between Mughal ruling class and the two groups of zamindars and the peasantry.

Madad-i-mash grant (also known as suyurghal) were the grants primarily patronized the Muslim theological and the scholarly class who had an ideological significance.

The term Zamindar also underwent significant evolution in its connotation. In the 14th century it referred to the chief of a territory while Akbar’s time onward it referred to any person with a hereditary claim to a direct share in the peasant’s produce.

In 17th century, it came to replace or alternate with a large number of local terms for different kinds e.g. khoti and muqaddums in doab, bhomi in Rajasthan, satrahi and biswi in Awadh.

However, the zamindars also lavied certain cesses above the land revenue assessment, e.g. In Rajasthan, the Bhomia levied a tax called bhom upon peasantry. Similarly, there are references to house tax, tax on forest etc being extracted by the zamindars from peasantry in various regions.

They can be regarded as a semi military class given their armed retainers and garhi (fort).

There are instances of selling of zamindari rights, which suggests the high degree of monetization of Mughal economy. 

One should not be under the impression that zamindari rights covered whole of the area as the existence of Raiyaiti (peasants hold villages) negates such an assumption.

According to Satish Chandra, Indian village was highly segmented both socially and economically with a lot of inequality in terms of the distribution of land though there was a plenty of waste land.

Two kinds of peasants are described in this time

- The khud-kashta- residents of the village in which they held theirlands.

- The pahi-kashta- non-resident cultivators who belonged to some other village, but cultivated lands elsewhere on a contractual basis.

One can infer from such disparity that while the elite led a life of prosperity, the majority of population led a life of extreme poverty.

Economy

A striking feature of the economic and social situations during the time was the glaring disparity between the luxurious life style of the ruling classes, on the one hand, and acute poverty and want of the people, the peasants, the artisans and the labourers on the other. 

Babur was struck by the scanty clothes worn by the common people. He observed that “peasants and people of low standing go about naked”. Similar remarks have been made by other foreign travellers.

The nobility, along with the landed gentry, the zamindars, formed what may be called the ruling class in medieval India. Most of them were foreigners such as Turks and Afghans.

There was tussle between them throughout this period. However, many of them settled down in India and made it their permanent home. They assimilated themselves into the Indian society and culture, however, at the same time they retained some of their personal traits.

From the time of Akbar, the Hindus, particularly the Rajputs were included in the nobility. For example, mention may be made about Raja Man Singh, Raja Birbal and Raja Todar Mal. Later, the Marathas also joined the Mughal service and rose to the position of nobles.

While the wealthy people wore silk and cotton clothes, the poor people wore the minimum cloths. They suffer from insufficient clothing even during the winter. Nikitin observed that the people of Deccan were bare-footed.

Rice, millets and pulses were the staple food of the common people. Fish was popular on the coastal region. While ghee and oil were cheaper, salt and sugar were more expensive.

As plenty of cattle were kept by the rural people, milk and milk products were available in plenty.

Trade

The Indian trading classes were large in numbers and spread throughout the country. They were well organized and highly professional.

Seth and bohra traders specialized in long distance trade while local traders were called banik or baniya.

Another class of traders was known as banjaras, who specialized in carrying bulk goods. The banjaras used to move to long distances with their goods on the back of oxen.

The trading community did not belong to one caste or religion. The Gujarathi merchants included the Hindus, Jains and Muslims. Multanis, Khatris and Afghanis conducted trade with central Asia.

In south India, the Chettis on the Coramandal coast and the Muslim merchants of Malabar were the most important trading communities.

Bengal exported sugar, rice as well as delicate muslin and silk.

The Coramandal coast became a centre of textile production.

Gujarat was an entry point of foreign goods. From there, fine textiles and silk were taken to north India.

The major imports into India were certain metals such as tin and copper, war horses and luxury items such as ivory.

The balance of trade was maintained by the import of gold and silver.

The growth of foreign trade resulted in the increased import of gold and silver in the seventeenth century.

The Dutch and English traders who came to Gujarat during the seventeenth century, found that Indian traders were alert and brisk.

Urban centres

Being predominantly an agrarian village oriented Economic system, the urban population of Mughal India possessed an economic and cultural significance.

The largest were the thriving centers of manufacturing and marketing, banking and entrepreneurial activities, intersection in a network of communications by land and water which crossed and re-crossed the sub-continent.

Similarly in a contracted network of regional or sub regional markets, smaller urban centers performed a more modest role in relation to the local commerce.

The cities and towns of the continent were the repositories of high culture and learning. 

One can categorize the towns and cities in four major categories on the basis of their function.

Administrative centres like Delhi, Lahore, and later Hyderabad and Fyzabad.

Commercial and Manufacturing centres, like, Patna and Ahmedabad.

Pilgrimage centers involved with trade and craft activities, like Benaras or Mathura.

Centers of distinct manufacturing technique, craft skill or local commodity which ensured their ongoing prosperity, like Bayana (for indigo) and Khairabad and Daryabad in Awadh (For textiles).

The activities of most of these urban towns were not sustained only by the agrarian economy of India. In fact the urban centers were highly boosted by the prevailing inland and overseas trade in the Indian sub- continent.

The efficient system of city government under the Mughals encouraged trade. The pivot of urban administration was the kotwal, the city governor. Akbar had decreed (probably following Sher Shah Suri's example of fixing the responsibility on village chiefs for highway robberies in their territory) that the kotwal was to either recover stolen goods or be held responsible for their loss.

The economy of the urban centers was highly doubled with the coming of the Europeans.

Exports- Textiles, especially various kinds of cotton fabrics, indigo, raw silk, salt petre, pepper, opium and various kinds of drugs and miscellaneous goods.

Imports- Bullion, horses, metals, perfumes, drugs, China goods especially porcelain and silk, African slaves and European wines.

India, from the days of the Arab trade, was known for her rich trade. However, with the coming of the Europeans, the Indian institutional economy became richer.

The most important Indian silks handled by the trading companies were the Bengal taffetas, which before 1700 occupied a major position in the textile exports from the region.

Bengal Muslins and Coromandel chintz were in wide demand for aristocratic fashion wear.

Cairo based mercantile organization called the karim, the Gujarati Banias, and the European traders were deeply involved with the trade in the Indian Ocean.

The Portuguese by the first part of the 16th century became the master in the Indian Ocean due to its naval supremacy and its strict outpost in the Indian Ocean. Due to its Kartaz system, the Portuguese made a lot of profit stretching from India to China to Indonesia and this also boosted the economy of India.

By the 17th century the naval superiority of the Dutch and the English largely replaced and took over the inter-Asian trade previously carried on by the

During the 18th century, India’s foreign trade underwent a considerable expansion as a result of the tripartite participation of the Dutch, English, and the French.

The commercial organization of the north European trading companies in India rested on a common structural form throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Its main feature was a head settlement or factory situated at or near some major Indian port with subordinate stations in the interior where many of the export goods were produced.

Coinage

The standard gold coin of the Mughals was the Muhar (170 to 175 grains), the equivalent of nine rupees in Abul Fazl’s time.

Half and quarter muhars are known to have been issued by several emperors, and a very few smaller pieces, also.

Rupee, adopted from Sher Shah’s currency, is the most famous of all Mughal coins. 

In addition to the regular gold and silver currency, special small pieces were occasionally struck for largess. The commonest of these is the Nisar, struck in silver by Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb.

Jahangir issued similar pieces, which he called nur afshan and khair qabul.

The Mughal copper coinage is based on dam of Sher Shah which with its half, quarter and eighth, continued to be struck until the fifth year of Aurangzeb.

Mughals maintained the high standard and purity of its gold and silver for three hundred years. Considering its variety, the number of its mints, the artistic merit of some of its series, the influence it exerted on contemporary and subsequent coinages, and the importance of its standard coin, the rupee, in the commerce of today, the Mughal currency surely deserves to rank as one of the great coinages of the world.

Society

As a result of continuous immigration from the Muslim countries of central and West Asia the Muslim population retained the mixed character which it had acquired during the previous centuries.

In coastal regions the immigrants were primarily traders, hailing originally form Arabia and the Persian Gulf. As a result of their regular or irregular unions with the local Hindus or converts a number of Muslim communities of mixed origin had come into existence, eg the Navayats of western India, the Mappillas or Moplabar, and the Labbais of the Coromandel cost.

There were also a considerable number of Muslims of Abyssinian origin, most of whose ancestors were originally imported as slaves.

As large parts of Afghanistan formed an integral part of the Mughal Empire, Afghans living in India could hardly be placed in the category of immigrants.

The Turanis (Central Asians) and the Afghans were Sunnis and the Persians (Iranians) were Shias. There was much rivalry for political prominence and social promotion among these Muslims of diverse origins.

Hindu society in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was characterised by conflicting trends of liberalism and catholicity on the one hand and exclusiveness and conservatism on the other.

Some of the Vaishnava and Tantric teachers recognized, to some extent, the religious and social rights of women as also of the Sudras.

Some non-Brahmin followers of Chaitanya become spiritual perceptors (gurus) not only of the three lower castes but also of Brahmins. In Maharashtra Tukaram, a Sudra, and Madhavdev, who was Kayastha, had Brahmin disciples.

However the Brahmin authors of the nibandhas tried to maintain the integrity of the ancient socio-religious system (Varnasrama dharma) by regulating the life and conduct of all classes of Hindus in the minutest details in conformity with traditional caste rules.

Some writers of the Smriti nibandhas had royal patrons and their injunction carried political sanction. One of them, Keshava Pandit, was judge under the Maratha King Sambhaji.

But there were eminent authors like Raghunandan and Ramnath of Bengal, Pitambar of Kamrup and Kamalakar Bhatta of Maharashtra whose authority was accepted by the Hindu society even though it was not backed by royal patronage. Their influence effectively counteracted the liberal trends. They raised their voice against the usurping of the privileges of the Brahmins by the lower castes.

Women

Strict veiling of women was the common practice among the Muslim in their native land. Naturally in a foreign country like India, greater stress was laid upon it. 

The Hindus adopted purdah as a protective measure. The tendency to imitate the ruling class was another factor which operated in favour of introducing purdah among the Hindu families. In some form this practise began in elite sections before the arrival of muslims.

Seclusion thus became a sign of respect and was strictly observed among the high-class families of both communities.

In the Vijayanagar Empire, purdah was confined only to the members of the royal household. No such coercive purdah system was observed among the Hindu middle class and certainly not among the Hindu masses.

The custom, in those days, did not allow girls to remain in their parents’ home for more than six to eight years after birth, ie pre puberty marriage.

Dowry was demanded while in some castes and localities the bride-price was also known to be prevalent.

Monogamy seems to have been the rule among the lower strata of society in both communities during the medieval period.

In spite of the decision of ulema in the Ibadat Khana in Adbar’s times, that a man might marry any number of wives by mutah but only four by nikah. Akbar had issued definite orders that a man of ordinary means should not possess more than one wife unless the first proved to be barren.

Polygamy was the privilege of the rich.

Divorce and remarriage, common among Muslims, were prohibited for Hindu women.

Widow-remarriage, except amongst the lower caste people, had completely disappeared in Hindu society during the medieval age.

The custom of sati was prevalent in eastern India and among Rajputs.

Some of the Delhi Sultans did try to discourage the custom of sati. Muhammad Tughluq was, in all probability, the first medieval ruler who place restrictions on sati. Though Akbar did not forbid the sati altogether, he had issued definite orders to the kotwals that they should not allow a woman to be burnt against her inclination. Aurangzeb was the only Mughal who issued definite orders (1664) forbidding sati in his realm altogether.

Though sati was only voluntary in the south and not enjoined upon widows, it is difficult to account for its wide popularity in the Vijayanagar Empire, whose rules do not seem to have put up any restriction on its observance.

Mehr, or entente nuptial settlement, was another safeguard for Muslim women whereas a Hindu woman had no right to the property of her husband’s parents.

A Hindu woman was only entitled to maintenance and residence expenses besides movable property like ornaments, jewellery, etc. Thus, from the legal point of view, women were reduced to a position of dependency in every sphere of life.

The women in the south under the Cholas (8 th to 13 th century), however, had the right to inherit property.

Language and Literature

Persian language became widespread as wel as court language in the Mughal Empire by the time of Akbar’s reign.

Abul Fazl was a great scholar and historian of his period. He set a style of prose writing and it was followed by many generations. He authored historical works like Ain-i-Akbari and Akabar Nama authored by Abul Fazl.

Akbar had Navratna in his court, who were 9 great men of various fields.

Leading poet of this period was Abul Faizi. The translation of Mahabharata into the Persian language was done under his supervision. 

Jahangir patronized many scholars like Ghiyas Beg, Naqib Khan and Niamatullah. His autobiography Humayun nama was written by his sister Gulbadan Begum.

Shah Jahan also patronized many writers and historians like Abdul Hamid Lahori, author of Padshah Nama and Inayat Khan who wrote Shah Jahan Nama.

Shah Jahan’s son Dara Shikoh translated the Bhagavat Gita and Upanishads into the Persian language.

The literature of Bhakti and Sufi movement reached its peak during this time.

Regional languages such as Bengali, Oriya, Rajasthani and Gujarathi had also developed during this period.

Many devotional works including the Ramayana and Mahabharata were translated into regional languages.

The most influential Hindi poet in Hinduism was Tulsidas, who wrote the Hindi version of the Ramayana, the Ramcharitmanas (Awadhi dialect)

Music

Music also developed under the Mughals. Akbar patronized Tansen of Gwalior, who composed many ragas. Jahangir and Shah Jahan were also fond of music.

Raja Mansingh is said to have played an important role in the perfection of the Dhrupad style of North Indian Music.

In the south a system of ragas known as the Janaka and Janya ragas existed during this period.

By the 18th century several new forms of music like Tarana, Dadra and Ghazal had come into existence.

Religious policy

Historians and thinkers have given conflicting views regarding the religious policy followed by the Mughal rulers.

Babur

The following instances indicate that Babur was not liberal in his religious outlook:

He declared the battle against Rana Sanga of Mewar as Jihad’ and assumed the title of Ghazi after his

victory at Khanwa in 1527.

Babur again fought a ‘holy war’ against Medini Rai of Chanderi.

He discriminated against the Hindu traders when he abolished some duties for all Muslim traders.

However, some of the historians think that all these acts were done on political considerations and not on religious considerations.

Babur had to infuse a new spirit among his soldiers when he realised that they had to face stiff opposition from the brave Rajput’s. 

Humayun

Humayun was not a bitter persecutor of the Hindus and was engaged in a fight with many Rajput ruler at the same time.

Humayun wanted to crush the power of Bahadur Shah of Gujarat who had annexed Malwa.

Humayun found an opportunity to overpower Bahadur Shah when he was engaged in war with Mewar, but he didn’t. Some historians blame it to his lethargy and others to his wish of not attacking a muslim ruler. 

Akbar

Akbar is known for his liberal ideas and liberal religious policy. He adopted a policy of mutual understanding and reconciliation among followers of different faiths and equality of all religions and to harmonize the relations.

He founded a new religion known as Din-i-Ilahi, based on the common points of all religions. Of course, in this endeavour he was not successful.

The sixteenth century was a century of religious revival in the history of the world. The grand currents of the reformation compare favourably with the staging up of a new life in India. India experienced an awakening that quickened her progress and virtualized her national life.

He emphasised truth in every religion.

He took following steps for him aim

- Equal treatment with subjects of all faiths.

- Abolition of Jazia and other taxes imposed on the Hindus.

- Employment of Hindus at higher posts.

- Freedom of worship to all.

- Founding a new religion based on the common points of all religions.

It is worth remembering that at a time when Europe was plunged into strife of warring sects, when Roman Catholics were burning Protestants at the stake, and Protestants were executing Roman Catholics, Akbar guaranteed peace not only to ‘warring sects’ but to different religions. Jahangir

The Hindus were not burdened with extra taxes but there are examples which point out that his treatment with the Hindus was not fair.

He punished Hindus of Rajuri in the state of Kashmir because they used to marry Muslim girls.

He got a cow killed after his conquest of the Kangra fort.

He threw away the idol of god Varaha at Ajmer into a pond.

Jahangir closed Christian churches when he was at war with the Portuguese.

The most important action of his fanaticism was that he executed the fifth Sikh Guru Arjun Dev, although a political murder, it flamed the martial sentiments into a bhakti sect.

He ordered the expulsion of all Jains from Gujarat as he suspected that they helped Khusru.

On the other hand, he opened higher services for Non-Muslims. Some historians even claimed that he made practically no difference between the Hindus and the Mohammadans or the Christian subjects.

Shah Jahan

According to Khafi Khan, Shah Jahan, issued an order prohibiting employment of Hindus in services.

He had established a separate department for securing conversion to Islam.

Temples in Banaras, Allahabad, Gujarat and Kashmir were broken during his reign.

He ordered that those Hindus who embraced Islam would get their share from the property of their father immediately.

The war captives were converted to Islam in large numbers.

Culprits who accepted Islam were left free. Christians were persecuted after the capture of Hooghly.

According to S.R. Sharma, he embarked upon a campaign of complete destruction of the new temples of the Hindus. 

Aurangzeb

Aurangzeb completely reversed the religious policy of Akbar and followed a policy of persecuting people of all faiths other than Sunnis.

He established a separate department for the destruction of temples. All important temples of north India including the Vishwanath Temple of Banaras, Keshav Dev Temple at Mathura etc. were destroyed during his period. Mosques were raised the sites of temples. Images of Hindu gods and goddesses were broken and used for the construction of mosques.

He commissioned the compilation of Fatawa e Alamgiri (or Fatawa e Hindiya) based on Sunni Hanafi Sharia law, by over 500 experts in Islamic jurisprudence from around the world. It highlights the Sunni orthodox view of Aurangzeb and his religious impositions over his state, where the dominance of Ulema class reached its peak under Mughal Empire. Although, in earlier part of reign he did ordered that Zawabit (secular decreses) may supersede the Sharia.

Several taxes including Jazia were re-imposed on the Hindus.

Various kinds of temptations were offered to Hindus to embrace Islam.

Restrictions were imposed on the public celebration of Hindu festivals and fairs.

However, the number of Hindus employed by the Emperor's administration in Mughal history, is the highest during Aurangzeb's reign. Hindus rose to represent 31.6% of Mughal nobility, the highest in the Mughal era.

The execution of the 9 th Sikh Guru Teg Bahadur on his refusal to embrace Islam is the most glaring example of the bigotry of Aurangzeb.

During his reign, two sons of the 10 th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh were buried alive. Guru Gobind Singh wrote him a defiant letter in Persian, titled Zafarnama.

He was at constant warfare with Marathas, however, he also gave them offices in bureaucracy in large numbers.

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