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The Second battle of Panipat and Akbar - Part 2
4.0 ADMINISTRATION UNDER AKBAR
4.1 The Mansab system
Mansab (or rank) under the Mughals indicated the position of its holder (mansabdar) in the official hierarchy. Apart from determining the status of its holder, it also fixed his pay and the number of troops with horses and equipment to be maintained by him. The mansab system under the Mughals was a system in which the peerage, and the civil and military administrations were all rolled into one complex whole. Under the system, mansabs (ranks) in terms of numbers were assigned to nobles and commanders, who were also placed in important administrative positions. Thus, the Mughal mansab system included all public services (such as military, civil and financial), except the judiciary.
4.1.1 Main features under Akbar
Dagh and Chahra: Dagh (branding of horses) and chahra or tashiha (descriptive roll of soldiers) were meant to decrease the possibility of fraud and to fix rank according to the size of the contingent maintained (maratib) and also to check evasion of military obligation. They were introduced in the 18th regnal year of Akbar's reign (1574). Henceforth, correlation between the mansabdar’s rank and the number of horsemen maintained by him came into effect.
Zat and Sawar: The mansab system under Akbar came to be represented by the dual rank of zat and sawar from the 41st regnal year (1597). The former determined the personal pay and status in the official hierarchy. The latter determined the number of horsemen to be maintained and the salary for the maintenance of those horsemen. Based on this the personnel were divided into three categories:
- Those who had sawar ranks equivalent to their zat ranks;
- Those whose sawar ranks were less than their zat ranks but not lesser than half of their zat ranks;
- Those whose sawar ranks were less than half of their zat ranks.
Other features
- Direct subordination of mansabdars to the emperor (hence contingents of big mansabdars were not formed by adding those of the smaller ones);
- Grant of mansabs of 5,000 and above only to the princes and members of the royal family;
- mansab was not hereditary, but based on merit;
- sawar rank was always normally either equal to or lower than the zat rank; sawar rank was always preceded by the zat rank, the latter being more important than the former.
4.2 The Jagir system
Jagir or tuyul was a unit of land, whose revenues were assigned to a mansabdar in lieu of his salary. The jagirs assigned in lieu of salary were known as tankhwah jagirs. Besides, there were the watan jagirs (hereditary possessions) of the autonomous chiefs, who, if in Mughal service, were also granted the former type of jagirs in the imperial territory. It is shown that in 1647 about 60 per cent of the total jama of the empire was assigned to 445 mansabdars of 500 rank and above. Under the Mughals, apart from the jagir lands, whose revenues went to pay the salaries of the mansabdars for their services to the state, there were also the khalisa lands, whose revenues were earmarked for the maintenance of the imperial court and the personal expenditure of the emperor. Hence the jagir of the Mughal times was similar to the iqta of the Delhi sultanate.
Like the iqta, the assignment of a jagir to a mansabdar did not confer any hereditary rights to that jagir on the mansabdar. He could enjoy the revenues of the jagir only as long as he held the mansab or official rank and rendered services to the state. In other words, the jagirdars (holders of jagirs) owed their position to the Mughal emperor, there being no practical difference between the state and the emperor in Mughal times. The Mughal emperors jealously guarded their privileged position against any hereditary claims to the jagirs by the jagirdars by following the policy of frequent transfer of jagirs of the jagirdars.
Thus, the jagir system was closely related to the mansab system. In fact it was a subsidiary system of the all-in-one mansab system. We should note here that all jagirdars were mansabdars, but not all mansabdars were jagirdars, because some mansabdars were paid in cash and not through the assignment of jagirs.
4.2.1 Jagirdari crisis
In a narrow sense, jagirdari crisis means crisis in the jagir system resulting in the attempt of the nobles to confer the most profitable jagirs for themselves. But in the broader sense it means a crisis in the economic and social relations of medieval Mughal India, more specifically in the agrarian relations and the administrative superstructure reared uponihese relations. The following were the causes for this crisis:
- The nature of medieval India society, which limited agricultural growth, and whose delicate balance was liable to be upset on a number of counts such as serious struggle for power at the centre, disaffection in the nobility, etc.
- The breakdown of the Mughal administrative system, and the weaknesses of the later Mughals.
- The growth in the size and demands of the ruling class, viz. the nobility and their dependents, both of whom subsisted on the revenue resources of the empire. The number of mansabdars increased from around 2000 in 1605 to almost 12,000 by 1675.
- The expansion of the khalisa lands by both Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb in order to meet the growing administrative expenses as also the cost of the wars which were a continuous feature of Aurangzeb's reign.
- Opposition and revolts of the zamindars and the peasants against the illegal exactions of the nobles.
5.0 POLITICAL IDEALS
5.1 Theory of Kingship
Abul Fazl, one of the nine gems of Akbar’s court - introduced a new dimension to the Mughal theory of kingship. To him, the institution of kingship, rather than the individual who held the office, was endowed with the farri-i-zads (divine effulgence). His padshah or shahanshah (king of kings) was a unique personality and was the viceregent of God on earth. Another important scholar on this subject was Shaikh Abdul Haqq Dihlawi who wrote the Nuriyya-i-Sultaniyya, a treatise covering all aspects of this subject, during Jahangir's reign.
5.2 Complete sovereignty
It was the complete independence of the sovereign or the king, both internally and externally. Internally, every institution and person was subordinate to the king. Externally, the Mughal sovereign did not recognise any superior authority like the caliph, which was done by the Delhi Sultans.
5.3 Imperialism
The Mughals desired to bring under their imperial rule not only the whole of India but also territories outside India such as Afghanistan, Central Asia, etc.
5.4 Dynastic loyalties
The Mughal administration was reared on dynastic loyalties. Though in theory administrative posts were open to all, in practice mostly those persons having royal origins were taken into administration. The government servants owed loyalty to the dynasties rather than to the institutions.
5.5 Central administration
The form of Mughal government was despotic monarchy. The king was the head of the executive, legislature, judiciary and the army. His main duty was benevolence towards the subjects. The royal uzuk (small signet ring) was affixed to farmans granting senior appointments, titles, jagirs, etc. The only limits on the autocracy of the king were the nobility and the ulema. Though in theory the nobles owed their position to the king, in practice the king could not easily ignore the strength of the nobility.
Vakil: Representative of the king and hence exercised all powers on behalf and in the name of the king; decline of the powers of this office after Bairam Khan, and continuation of this post was mainly as a decorative one.
Wazir or Diwan: In his capacity as diwan-i-kull (principal diwan), he was the head of the revenue department. When there was no vakil, he acted as the P.M. as well and hence called the wazir.
Mir Bakshi: Head of the military department, and also became the paymaster general after the introduction of the mansab system. With the growth of the mansab system and the expansion of the empire, he became as powerful, if not more than, as the wazir, thus acting as a check on the latter.
Sadr-US-Sudur: Head of the ecclesiastical department, hence regulated the religious policy of the state; was also in charge of public charities and endowments; combination of the office of the chief sadr and the chief qazi (qazi-ul-qllzat), and hence head of the department of justice also. The Mughal counter-part of the Delhi Sultanate's secular judge (amir-i-dad) was responsible for implementing the qazis' decisions. There were also the mllhtasibs and muftis, who continued as subordinate officers of the qazis.
Khan-i-Saman: Head of the royal household and the royal karkhanas or buyutats (workshops). He gradually ascended to prominence at the centre. Initially he looked after only the royal household, while diwan-i-buyutat looked after the workshops. But later he was made senior to the latter, thus bringing the Iatter's charge also under his supervision.
Others: Apart from the above, there were many other ministers and officers at the centre, though not as important as the above. They were: diwan-i-khalisa (in-charge of crown lands), diwan-i-tan (incharge of jagirs), mushrif-i-mumalik (accountant-general), mustauf-i-mumalik (auditor-general), daroga-i-dak chauki (postmaster-general), mir-i-arz (in-charge of petitions), mir-i-mal (incharge of privy purse), mir-i-tozak (in-charge of ceremonies), mir bahri (incharge of ships and boats), mir manzil (in-charge of quarters), mir atish or daroga-i~topkhana (head of artillery).
Besides, certain other officials worked in various parts of the empire under the supervision of their respective heads at the centre. They were: muhtasibs (enforced public morals), waqia navis (news reporters), khufia navis (secret letter writers), harkaras (spies and special couriers), etc.
Some elite or crack troops, called ahadis, were maintained directly by the emperors without placing them under the mansabdars. Their equipment was of high standard and each had to muster five horses. They were placed under a separate diwan and bakshi.
6.0 Provincial Administration
The empire was systematically organised into different provinces or subas by Akbar. Their number was 15 at the time of the death of Akbar, rose to 19 under Shah Jahan, and 21 under Aurangzeb. Akbar established a uniform pattern of administration in all the provinces.
Important officials: The governor was known as subedar or sipah-salar, and also some times asnayim. His functions included maintenance of law and order, enforcement of imperial decrees, administration of criminal justice, etc. The provincial diwan was incharge of revenue administration of the province. His responsibilities were similar to those of the central diwan (diwan-i-kult). He acted as a check on the subedar and was directly responsible to the central diwan. The bakshi was directly responsible to the mir bakshi, and discharged duties similar to those of the latter. Other provincial officials were qazi, sadr, muhtasib, etc.
6.1 Local administration
There was a division of a province into sarkars. The sarkar was further divided into paraganas, which consisted of a group of villages. The administration of the sarkars and paraganas was more or less on the lines laid down by Sher Shah. Only a few changes were made by the Mughals in this respect.
Groups of villages which had been combined for fiscal purposes only were known as the mahals. Further, the provinces were also subdivided into smaller units, known as fawjdaris, for administrative convenience. A fawjdar was responsible for a number of paraganas but not usually an entire sarkar. The fawjdaris were composed of smaller units known as thanas or military outposts, controlled by thanedars. The fawjdars performed military, police and judicial functions and also helped in revenue administration. They were required to deal with any rebellions by the jagirdars, zamindars and amils.
Relationship between Centre and Provinces: The centre appointed the officials of the provinces, sarkars and paraganas, and hence they were directly responsible to the centre. Further the centre could frequently transfer the provincial and local officials in order to prevent them from acquiring local roots and interests. Frequent tours were undertaken by the central officers and the emperor himself in order to make the local officials function properly.
Further, horsemen as well as dispatch runners transmitted news and reports expeditiously from different parts of the empire. According to Ibn Battutah, the horse-post, called uluq, used royal horses stationed at four mile intervals. The foot-post, which was called dawa, had three stations per mile. Between the two, the human runner travelled faster than the horseman. Despite all the above precautions, the control of the centre above the provinces and local units was not always very effective, particularly during the reign of weak rulers.
7.0 REVENUE ADMINISTRATION
Up to Akbar's 8th regnal year, Sher Shah's system continued to be the basis with some modifications to meet the growing need for granting jagirs. A series of experiments were made till Akbar's 24th regnal year, after which the land revenue administration was stabilised.
Land ownership: Proprietorship (i.e. hereditary rights only) of peasants on soil was recognised. Abul Fazl, for instance, says: “Field belongs to him who clears away timber.” King, zamindars and jagirdars had only the superior rights over the revenue.
Methods of calculation: Central government usually fixed rates annually according to yield which fluctuated. Akbar, however, wanted a uniform system of assessment through which he could make an accurate estimate of crops, so that there would be minimum chances of oppression by officers and less fraud by the cultivators. Some of the prevailing methods were-
Batai or Galla-Baksh: In this sharing was done in different ways. Firstly, after the harvest of the crop, government claim was taken by directly going to the fields. Secondly, after the harvest, crop was divided into equal heaps and specified heaps were taken by the government officer. Thirdly, before the harvest itself, the standing crop was surveyed and state share fixed by making a line of demarcation.
Kankut: Cultivator and official arrived at a general estimate of produce of the whole area on the basis of sample survey by mutual agreement.
Nasaq: In this method the revenue payable by the cultivator was estimated on the basis of past experience.
Measurement: Introduced by Ala-ud-din Khalii and followed by Sher Shah also; system of dividing land into 3 categories-good, bad and middling.
8.0 Akbar's Experiments
Zabti or Bandobast System: Under this system a new jama was prepared. Raja Todar Mal (a Khattri) found the Ajama figures unreliable and hence collected correct figures from the qanungos and in the 15th regnal year the new jama came into force.
The karori experiment was begun by Akbar with the extension of khalisa land, so as to provide facilities to revenue department to collect extensive data. Khalisa land was divided into circles, each yielding revenue of one karor. That is why it is known as the karori experiment. Each circle was placed under a revenue official called karori. Aim was to make as extensive a measurement as possible, then use it as a basis for compiling a new general assessment.
Instead of a rope, a tanab made of bamboo sticks joined by iron rings, came to be used for measuring land in 1575. Measurement was not possible in all subahs of the empire. That is why in some subahs the old systems, viz. batai, kankut, etc. continued. Thus wherever possible measurement was undertaken and sufficient information was acquired. All these measures were part of a new system of revenue calculation, called the zabti or bandobast system.
Dahsala system: On the basis of the above zabti system fresh reforms were undertaken by Todar Mal. These reforms, collectively known as Ain-i-Dahsala, were completed in 1580. Under this system land was classified into four categories, viz. polaj annually cultivated, parauti left fallow for a short period (1 or 2 years), chachar left fallow for 3 to 4 years, and banjar uncultivated for 5 years or more.
In 1588 Todar Mal introduced a uniform unit of measurement, llahi gaz, which is a medium gaz of 41 digits (33 inches). Further as Abul Fazl mentioned, according to Ain-i-Dahsala, a 10-years state of every paragana was ascertained in regard to the category of cultivation and level of prices. The aim was to introduce a permanent juma (dastur ul-amal) and remove difficulties and delays associated with yearly sanction. So in the 24th regnal year final dasturs giving cash rates per bigha were prepared for different localities. Average cash rate of previous 10 years harvest was derived, and cash rate was fixed once for all. Dasturs for cash crops were fixed separately.
Mode of payment: Payment was made generally in cash, though there were some exceptions. For example, in Kashmir and Orissa it was in kind. Cash payment was a source of great hardships to the peasants. They had to immediately dispose of the harvested crop even when the prices were very low, since revenue was to be paid in cash. Hence there was greater demand for money, which in turn increased the hold of baniyas on the peasants.
8.1 Machinery for collection
- There was the patwari at the village level. He kept a bahi, i.e. a register containing information about cultivators, their lands and assessed revenue. It was the most important document and served as evidence in settling disputes. The village headmen, who assisted pargana revenue collectors in their task, received two-and-a half per cent of the tax as remuneration.
- There were the qanungos at the pargana level. The post of qanungo was a hereditary office. He maintained records. In Deccan and Gujarat, this officer was known as desai. He was also responsible for advance of takkavi loans to peasants and assessment of revenue.
- At the sarkar (district) level, amil or amalguzar was assisted by the karkun (accountant) and khazanadar (treasurer).
All these officials worked under the supervision of the provincial diwan, who was directly under the diwan at the centre.
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