Social Science SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS(3 Mark)

The Zamindars in the Mughal administration were basically the local headmen of villages or powerful chieftains.
Role of the zamindar in Mughal administration are:

1. Zamidars were appointed by rulers.
2. They acted as intermediaries between the rulers and the peasants.
3. They were responsible for collecting revenue from the peasants.

About Babur:

1. Babur, the first Mughal emperor (1526-1530), succeeded to the throne of Ferghana in 1494 when he was only 12 years old.
2. He was forced to leave his ancestral throne due to the invasion of another Mongol group, the Uzbegs.
3. After years of wandering he seized Kabul in 1504. In 1526 he defeated the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi, at Panipat and captured Delhi and Agra.

The Mughals stressed on their Timrid rather than their Mongol descent because the memory of Mongol lord Genghiz Khan was associated with the massacre of a vast number of people. It was also linked with the Uzbegs, their Mongol competitors. On the flip side, the Mughals took pride in the fact that Timur, their great ancestor, had captured the city of Delhi in 1398.

Sulh-i-Kur is an Arabic term literally meaning ‘peace with all’, drawn from a sufi mystic principle. As applied by the third mughal emperor of India, Akbar, it described a peaceful and harmonious relationship among different religions. Main features of Sulh-iKur were-

1. Sulh-i-Kur was based on the idea of tolerance which did not discriminate between the people of different regions.
2. It focused on ethical approaches like honesty, justice, peace, etc.

It was the policy of the Mughal rulers to campaign constantly against rulers who were not ready to accept their authority. However, when the Mughal became powerful, many other rulers joined them willingly. There were several Rajputs who married their daughters into Mughal families in order to gain high position. But at the same time many resisted the Mughals. The Sisodiya Rajputs refused to accept Mughal authority for a long time. However, when they got defeat, the Mughals did not treat them badly. They honoured them by giving them their lands Le. watan back as assignments, Le. watan jagir. Thus the Mughals never humiliated their opponents even though they defeated them. This unique quality of theirs enabled them to extend their influence over many kings and chieftains.

• Aurangzeb was a cruel ruel who wanted to impose shariya;aw of islam in his entire empire.
• He re-imposed Jazia tax on non-muslims.
• His policies were ready to embrace and reached its zenith during his reign.

Akbar’s revenue minister, Todar Mal, carried out a careful survey of crop yields, prices and areas cultivated for a 10-year period, 1570-1580. On the basis of this data, tax was fixed on each crop in cash. Each province was divided into revenue circles with its own schedule of revenue rates for individual crops. This revenue system was known as zabt. It was prevalent in those areas where Mughal administrators could survey the land and keep very careful accounts.

Akbarnama is the history of the reign of Akbar. It was written by one of Akbar’s close friends and courtiers Abul Fazal. Akbarnama is divided into three parts. The first volume dealt with Akbar’s ancestors and the second recorded the events of Akbar’s reign. Ain-e-Akbari is the third volume. It dealt with Akbar’s administration; household, army, revenues and the geography of his empire.

I live in Delhi. It was the capital of the Mughal Empire. The Empire changed the face of the city. We see the Red Fort, Chandni Chowk, Jama Masjid, Humayun’s tomb, the Mughal garden etc. in the city. These were the contributions of the Mughal emperors who made the city so rich and colourful.

The idea of Sulh-i Kul was introduced by Akbar, the Great. Sulh-i Kul meant universal peace.Its main features are given below:
The idea of Sul-i Kul was based on the idea of tolerance which did not discriminate between the people of different religions in Akbar's realm. It focused on a system of ethics- honesty, justice, peace. These values were universally applicable.

In Akbar’s reign these jagirs were carefully assessed so that their revenues were roughly equal to the salary of the mansabdar. By Aurangzeb’s reign this was no longer the case and the actual revenue collected was often less than the granted sum. There was also a huge increase in the number of mansabdars, which meant a long wait before they received a jagir. These and other factors created a shortage in the number of jagirs. As a result, many jagirdars tried to extract as much revenue as possible while they had a jagir. Aurangzeb was unable to control these developments in the last years of his reign and the peasantry therefore suffered tremendously.

When Akbar was crowned in 1556 A.D. the Mughal Empire was scattered. He established a vast kingdom by conquering other kingdoms.

• He captured Gwalior, Ajmer, Jaunpur and Malwa. He also succeeded in capturing the famous forts of Ranthambhor and Chittor.
• Military campaigns in Gujarat were followed by campaigns in the east in Bihar, Bengal and Orissa. Akbar's armies also conquered Kabul, Sind and Baluchistan.
• From 1595 to 1601 the Mughal forces remained busy in the annexation of Berar, Khandesh and parts of Ahmadnagar.

Mughal campaigns continued in the Deccan under Shah Jahan. The Afghan noble Khan Jahan Lodi rebelled and was defeated. Campaigns were launched against Ahmadnagar; the Bundelas were defeated and Orchha seized. In the north-west, the campaign to seize Balkh from the Uzbegs was unsuccessful and Qandahar was lost to the Safavids. In 1632 Ahmadnagar was finally annexed and the Bijapur forces sued for peace.

In contrast to their predecessors, the Mughals created an empire and accomplished what had hitherto seemed possible for only short periods of time. From the latter half of the sixteenth century they expanded their kingdom from Agra and Delhi, until in the seventeenth century they controlled nearly all of the subcontinent. They imposed structures of administration and ideas of governance that outlasted their rule, leaving a political legacy that succeeding rulers of the subcontinent could not ignore.

Mughal rulers campaigned constantly against rulers who refused to accept their authority. But as the Mughal became powerful, many other rulers also joined them voluntarily. The careful balance between defeating but not humiliating their opponents enabled the Mughals to extend their influence over many kings and chieftains. In this way, we can say that the relations of the Mughals were better with the other rulers of that era.

Akbar's liberal religious views and his marriage with the Rajput princess influenced his religious outlook. He used to hold talks with the leaders of various religions. He also built a building called Ibadat Khana at Agra to hold discussions with the religious leaders. Views were exchanged freely. He also introduced the policy of sulh-i kul. This idea of tolerance focused on honesty, justice, and peace that were universally applicable. Akbar found that all religions taught similar ideology. Thus he incorporated the principles of all the religions to found a new faith which he named Din-i-Illahi did not attract many converts and it perished with the death of Akbar.

1. In Fatehpur Sikri, there was a room called the Ibadat Khana where religious meetings were held by Akbar.
2. There he used to call a huge gathering which included the Ulema, Brahmins, Jesuit priests and Zoroastrians.
3. On his interaction with these religious leaders, Akbar realised that religious scholars who gave more importance to rituals and dogmas were bigots.
4. Therefore, Akbar gave the idea of sulh-i-kul or universal peace.

The Mughal created a huge empire and accomplished what had hitherto seemed possible for only short period of time. In the 17th century, they controlled nearly all the subcontinents. They imposed structures of administration and idea of governance that outlasted their rule.

Akbar was 13 years old when he became emperor. His reign can be divided into three periods.

1. 1556-1570: Akbar became independent of the regent Bairam Khan and other members of his domestic staff. Military campaigns were launched against the Suris and other Afghans, against the neighbouring kingdoms of Malwa and Gondwana, and to suppress the revolt of his half-brother Mirza Hakim and the Uzbegs. In 1568 the Sisodiya capital of Chittor was seized and in 1569 Ranthambhor.
2. 1570-1585: Military campaigns in Gujarat were followed by campaigns in the east in Bihar, Bengal and Orissa. These campaigns were complicated by the 1579-1580 revolt in support of Mirza Hakim.
3. 1585-1605: Expansion of Akbar’s empire. Campaigns were launched in the north-west. Qandahar was seized from the Safavids, Kashmir was annexed, as also Kabul, after the death of Mirza Hakim. Campaigns in the Deccan started and Berar, Khandesh and parts of Ahmadnagar were annexed.

Peasants are as important today as they were during the Mughal Empire. They cultivate land and grow crops without which we cannot survive. They pay land revenue to the government which is used in various development work. We cannot think of a sound economy without them. They are the backbone of the country.

Todar Mai was Akbar's revenue minister. He carried out a careful survey of crop yields, prices and areas cultivated for a 10-year period, 1570-1580. On the basis of this data, tax was fixed on each crop in cash.
Each province was divided into revenue circles with its own schedule of revenue rates for individual crops. This revenue system came to be known as zabt. This system was prevalent in those areas where Mughal administrators could survey the land and keep careful accounts.

Rajputs were the most powerful rivals of Mughals in north India. Knowing this Akbar adopted a special policy to handle the Rajputs. He was a far sighted ruler who knew that there could be no permanent Mughal rule in India without the support of the Rajputs. Akbar wanted to be friendly with these Rajputs states instead of subjugating. For this he adopted all possible measures like matrimonial alliances and assigning higher posts to Rajput chiefs. This made his position stronger and they became his loyal Comrades.

The Mughals recruited diverse bodies of people in order to run the empire smoothly. Those who joined Mughal service were enrolled as mansabdars.
The term mansabdar referred to an individual holding a mansab, meaning a position or rank. It was a grading system used by the Mughals to fix rank, salary and military responsibilities.
The mansabdars were assigned to military responsibilities. For this they maintained a specified number of sowar or cavalrymen. The mansabdar brought his cavalrymen for review, got them registered, their horses branded and then received money to pay them as salary.

As the empire expanded to encompass different regions the Mughals recruited diverse bodies of people. From a small nucleus of Turkish nobles (Turanis) they expanded to include Iranians, Indian Muslims, Afghans, Rajputs, Marathas and other groups. Those who joined Mughal service were enrolled as mansabdars.

• 1556-1570. Akbar became independent of the regent Bairam Khan and other members of his domestic staff. He launched military campaigns against the Suris and other Afghans, against the neighbouring kingdoms of Malwa and Gondwana to suppress the revolt of his half brother Mirza Hakim and the Uzbegs. In the year 1568, he seized the Sisodiya Capital of Chittor and in 1569 Ranthambhor.
• 1570-1585. Military campaigns in Gujarat were followed by campaigns in the east in Bihar, Bengal and Orissa. These campaigns were complicated by the 1579-1580 revolt in support of Mirza Hakim.
• 1585-1605. During this period Akbar expanded his empire. He launched, campaigns in the north-west. Qandahar was seized from the Safavids and Kashmir was annexed. Kabul was seized after the death of Mirza Hakim. Afterwards, Akbar started his campaigns in the Deccan and soon he annexed Berar, Khandesh and parts of Ahmadnagar.

The term 'mansabdar' refers to an individual who holds a mansab, meaning a 'position or rank'. It was a grading system used by the Mughals to fix the rank, salary and military responsibilities. Rank and salary were determined by a numerical value called 'zat'. The higher the 'zat', the more prestigious was the noble's position in court and was larger his salary. 'Mansabdars' received their salaries as revenue assignments called 'jagirs' which were somewhat like iqtas.

In 1570's at Fatehpur Sikri Akbar started discussions on religion with people of different faiths. There were ulemas, Brahmanas, Jesuit Catholic priests and Zoroastrians.

• These discussions took place in Ibadat Khana. These were about social and religious customs.
• These interactions made him realise that religious scholars are bigots. They emphasize rituals and dogma.
• Their teachings create divisions in society. This led to the idea of Sulh-i-Kul or 'Universal peace'.

Akbar ascended the throne in 1556 A.D. He was a great ruler who took various steps to consolidate his empire. He founded an empire that was truly secular in character. Being a great warrior and conqueror Akbar extended his boundaries by conquering Gujarat, Bengal, Kashmir, Sind, Central India, Deccan states, and many other states.He followed the policy of religious tolerance and established friendly relations with the Rajputs in particular and the Hindus in general.He organized his administration on sound footing and took various steps for the welfare of his subjects.

Mughal Empire in the Seventeenth Century and After:

1. The administrative and military efficiency of the Mughal Empire led to great economic and commercial prosperity. International travellers described it as the fabled land of wealth. But these same visitors were also appalled at the state of poverty that existed side by side with the greatest opulence.
2. The Mughal emperors and their mansabdars spent a great deal of their income on salaries and goods. This expenditure benefited the artisans and peasantry who supplied them with goods and produce. But the scale of revenue collection left very little for investment in the hands of the primary producers – the peasant and the artisan.
3. The enormous wealth and resources commanded by the Mughal elite made them an extremely powerful group of people in the late seventeenth century. As the authority of the Mughal emperor slowly declined, his servants emerged as powerful centres of power in the regions. They constituted new dynasties and held command of provinces like Hyderabad and Awadh. Although they continued to recognise the Mughal emperor in Delhi as their master, by the eighteenth century the provinces of the empire had consolidated their independent political identities.

• He introduced new coins of copper and silver namely jital and rupiya.
• He brought land under taxation based on its fertility.
• He built the grand trunk road Bengal to multan smooth movement of goods and his army.
• He erected Kos Minar after regular interval of distance of one kos to maintain flow of information about activities of his enemies.

Abul Fazl wrote a three-volume history of Akbar’s reign, titled Akbar Nama. The first volume dealt with Akbar’s ancestors and the second volume recorded the events of Akbar’s reign. The third volume is the Ain-i Akbari. It deals with Akbar’s administration, household, army, the revenues and the geography of his empire. It also provides rich details about the traditions and culture of the people living in India. The most interesting aspect about the Ain-i Akbari is its rich statistical details about things as diverse as crops, yields, prices, wages and revenues.

A jagir was a revenue assignment given as salary to the mansabdars. The mansabdars had to collect revenue from their jagir. However, they were forbidden from residing in it. The revenue was collected for the mansabdars by their servants while the mansabdars themselves served in some other part of the country.

1. After the death of Aurangzeb, the last thirteen rulers of the Mughal dynasty, generally called the Later Mughal Emperors came to the throne.
2. They were weak sovereigns whose dominions progressively declined throughout the eighteenth century, a process which was hastened by the invasions of Nadir Shah in 1739 and Ahmad Shah Abdali from 1751 to 1767.
3. Regional powers asserted independence.
4. The last nominal Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar II, was formally deposed by the British in 1858 for his alleged interest in the uprising of 1857 and exiled to Rangoon where he died in 1862

Mughals were the descendants of two of great rulers. From their maternal side Genghis Khan ruler was their ancestor. From their father’s side Timur, ruler of modem day Turkey was their ancestor.

Babur was the first Mughal Emperor in India (1526-1530). At the age of 12 he was forced to leave his ancestral home Ferghana due to Uzbeg's attacks.

• In 1526 he defeated Ibrahim Lodi at the battle of Panipat and captured Delhi and Agra.
• In 1527 he defeated Rana Sanga at Khanua.
• In 1528 he defeated Rajputs at Chanderi and strengthened his control over Delhi and Agra.

Land revenue was the main source of income to the Mughal rulers. Revenue on each crop was fixed in cash. Each province was divided into revenue circles, with its own schedule of revenue rates for individual crops. This revenue system was known as 'zabt'. In most places, the headman or the local chieftain collected revenue from these peasants and deposited it in the royal treasury. The Mughals called these intermediaries, whether they were local headmen of villages or powerful chieftains, as zamindars.

• With the expansion of Mughal empire, the Mughals recruited diverse bodies of people.
• From a small nucleus of Turkish nobles (Turanis) they expanded to include Iranians, Indian Muslims, Afghans, Rajputs, Marathas and other groups.
• Those who joined Mughal service were enrolled as mansabdars.

Abul Fazl, one of Akbar’s close friends and courtiers, wrote a three-volume history of the reign of Akbar. It was titled as Akbar Nama. The first volume dealt with Akbar's ancestors and the second volume recorded the events of Akbar's reign. Ain-i Akbari is the third volume. It deals with Akbar's administration, household, army, the revenues and the geography of his empire. The book also provides details about the traditions and cultures of the people living in India. The most interesting aspect about Ain-i Akbari is its rich statistical details about things as diverse as crops, yields, prices, wages and revenues.

1. Akbarnama- Biography of Akbar by Abul Fazal.
2. Shahinshah- The Emperor.
3. Sulh-i-kul- Peace & Harmony.
4. Mansabdar- Military Governer.
5. Sarkar- The province under Mughals.
6. Imperial- Pertaining to the emperor.

Humayun was the second Mughal Emperor of India. He ascended the throne in 1530 AD. Humayun divided his inheritance according to the will of his father and equally distributed the province among his brothers. The ambitions of his brother Mirza Kamran weakened Humayun's cause against Afghan competitors. He was defeated by 'Shah Suri' at Chausa in 1529 A.D. and at Kanauj in 1540 A.D.which forced him to flee to Iran. He received the help from Safavid Shah to capture Delhi again in 1555 A.D. He died in the same year.

1. The Sisodiya Rajputs refused to accept Mughal authority for a long time.
2. Once defeated, however they were treated honourably by Mughals and their lands (watan) were given back.
3. The careful balance between defeating but not humiliating their opponents enabled the Mughals to extend their influence over many kings and chieftains.

The central provinces under Mughal control were as follows:

1. Delhi
2. Agra
3. Panipat
4. Sindh
5. Kabul
6. Mewar
7. Marwar
8. Chittor
9. Ranthambor
10. Gujarat
11. Bihar
12. Bengal
13. Orissa
14. Deccan.

Shah Jahan became the ruler in 1627 A.D. Mughal campaigns continued in the Deccan under Shah Jahan. He faced rebellions of Afghan noble Khan Jahan Lodi who was defeated by him. He failed in his central Asian campaigns .The campaign to seize Balkh from the Uzbegs was unsuccessful and Qandahar was lost to the Safavids. He led various campaigns against the three Deccan states. Ahmadnagar was taken in 1633 A.D. Bijapur was submitted in 1636 A.D. and Golconda in 1665 A.D.

Unlike their predecessors, the Mughals created a huge empire and accomplished what had hitherto seemed possible for only short periods of time. From the latter half of the 16th century they expanded their kingdom from Agra and Delhi until in the 17th century they controlled nearly all the subcontinent. They imposed structures of administrations and ideas of governance that outlasted their rule, leaving a political legacy that succeeding rulers of the subcontinent could not overlook.

• The idea of tolerance did not discriminate between people of different religions r in his realm.
• It focused on a system of ethics– honesty, justice, peace– that was universally applicable.
• Abul Fazl helped Akbar in framing a vision of governance around this idea of Sulh-i kul.
• This principle of governance was followed by both Jahangir and Shah Jahan also.

Zabt was prevalent in those areas where Mughal administrators could survey the land and keep very careful accounts. This was not possible in provinces like Gujarat and Bengal.

• In some areas the zamindars exercised a great deal of power.
• The exploitation by Mughal administrators could drive them to rebellion.
• Sometimes zamindars and peasants of the same caste allied in rebelling against Mughal authority.
• These peasant revolts challenged the stability of the Mughal Empire from the end of the seventeenth century.

Turkish Nobles, Indian Muslims, Afghans and Rajputs joined the Mughal services as mansabdars. Amansabdar refers to an individual who holds a mansab, meaning a rank or a position used by the Mughals to fix rank, salary and military responsibility of the individual. His military responsibility required him to maintain a specified number of sawar or cavalrymen. His salary was determined by the numerical value ofzat. The higher the numerical value of zat, the higher was his salary and position in court.Mansabdars received their salaries as revenue assignments called Jagirs. They did not actually reside in their Jagirs but appointed servants to collect revenues from the people. They even got paid on the quality of horses that they maintained.

Mansabdars, recruited by the Mughals to discharge Mughal services, received their salaries as revenue assignments known as jagirs. But most mansabdars did pot actually reside in or administer their jagirs. They only had rights to the revenue of their assignments which was collected for them by their servants while they served in some other part of the country. Akbar managed to carefully assess these jagirs so that their revenues were roughly equal to the salary of the mansabdar. But Aurangzeb failed to do this. During his reign the actual revenue collected was often less than the granted sum. There was also a huge increase in the number of mansabdars, which meant a long wait before they received a jagir. These created a shortage in the number of jagirs. As a result, many jagirdars tried to extract as much revenue as possible while they had a jagir. As Aurangzeb could not control these developments, the peasantry suffered a lot. They had to give the revenue under all circumstances which made their life miserable.

Akbar's administrative policies were mentioned in Abul Fazl's book the Akbar Nama, particularly in its third and last volume, the Ain-i Akbari In the book Abul Fazl explained that the empire was divided into provinces known as Subas, governed by a Subadar. The Subadar carried out both political and military functions. Each province also had a financial officer or Diwan. For the maintenance of peace and order in his province, the Subadar was supported by several officers, for example

• The military paymaster also known as Bakhshl.
• The minister in charge of religious and charitable patronage or.
• Military commanders called Faigdars, and.
• The town police commander called Akbar's nobles commanded huge armies and had access to large amounts of revenue.

Akbar wanted to govern his empire peacefully. Hence he gave utmost importance to the idea of tolerance because it did not discriminate between people of different religions in his realm. He held religions discussions with the Ulama, Brahmanas, Jesuit priests who were Roman Catholics and Zoroastrians and came to the conclusion that the idea of sulh-i kul or 'universal peace' would work effectively. This idea focused on a system of ethics, honesty, justice and peace. These values were universally accepted.

Thus, Akbar's administrative policies were based on considerate ideas,

• Akbar's revenue minister, Todarmal, carried out a careful survey of crop yields, prices and areas cultivated for a ten-year period, 1570-1580.
• On the basis of this data, tax was fixed on each crop in cash.
• Each province was divided into revenue circles with its own schedule of revenue rates for individual crops.
• This revenue system was known as zabt.