Get summaries, questions, answers, solutions, notes, extras, PDF and guide of Class 12 (second year) History textbook, chapter 8 Peasants, Zamindars and State which is part of the syllabus of students studying under AHSEC/ASSEB (Assam Board). These solutions, however, should only be treated as references and can be modified/changed.
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Summary
The chapter describes life in rural India during the Mughal period, focusing on peasants, landlords, and the state. Most people lived in villages and worked in agriculture. Farmers grew crops for food and trade, while landlords, called zamindars, collected taxes and controlled land. The Mughal state depended on revenue from agriculture, and officials ensured that farming continued and taxes were paid.
Farmers worked hard throughout the year. They ploughed the land, sowed seeds, and harvested crops. Some also made goods like sugar and oil. Villages were not all the same. Some had fertile land, while others were dry or covered in forests. People used irrigation systems, such as wells and canals, to bring water to their fields. Farmers grew different crops in different seasons. Basic crops like rice and wheat were important, but cash crops like cotton and sugarcane brought higher income. New crops like maize, tomatoes, and chillies also reached India.
Village life was structured with different groups playing roles. The village council, or panchayat, settled disputes and made decisions. The headman managed village affairs. Farmers, artisans, and labourers exchanged goods and services. Artisans like potters and blacksmiths helped the village function. Some were paid with crops or land, while others received money.
Caste played a big role in rural life. Some groups were assigned low-status jobs and remained poor. Higher castes controlled land and wealth. Women worked alongside men in farming and crafts. They also had household responsibilities. Some women inherited land, but most had limited rights. In some villages, they could remarry, and bride price was common instead of dowry. However, women were expected to follow strict social rules.
Forests were important to many communities. Some people lived by hunting, gathering, and shifting cultivation. The Mughal rulers saw forests as places of danger and tried to control them. They used forest resources like elephants for their army. Some tribal chiefs became landlords or kings by clearing land for farming. Trade connected forests with towns, as people exchanged goods like honey, wax, and medicinal plants.
Zamindars were powerful figures in rural society. They owned land, collected taxes, and sometimes had their own armies. Some gained power by taking land from weaker people, while others bought land from the state. Zamindars played a key role in expanding agriculture by helping farmers settle in new areas. Although they could be harsh, they also protected farmers in conflicts with state officials.
The Mughal state had a well-organised tax system. It measured land and set taxes based on production. Farmers usually paid in cash, but sometimes in crops. Officials kept records and ensured taxes were collected. This system helped the empire maintain power and wealth. Silver from trade with Europe and Asia flowed into India, strengthening its economy.
A key source for understanding Mughal agrarian society is the Ain-i Akbari, written by Abu’l Fazl, an official of Emperor Akbar. It describes the empire’s administration, economy, and society. It gives details about villages, crops, taxes, and social customs. However, it presents the perspective of the ruling class rather than the common people.
Textbook solutions
Answer in 100-150 words
1. What are the problems in using the Ain as a source for reconstructing agrarian history? How do historians deal with this situation?
Answer: The Ain-i Akbari provides valuable quantitative information about the agrarian society of the Mughal period, but it has several limitations. The text presents a view from the top, focusing on the Mughal administration’s perspective rather than the peasants’ experiences. It was created to glorify Akbar’s rule, which means it may exaggerate state control and stability. There are also errors in numerical data due to miscalculations or transcription mistakes. Additionally, information is unevenly distributed across regions; for instance, caste composition details are missing for Bengal and Orissa. Prices and wages were primarily recorded from areas around Agra, limiting their relevance for the entire empire. Despite these limitations, historians supplement the Ain with other sources, such as revenue records from Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, as well as East India Company records. These sources provide alternative insights into agrarian relations and conflicts, helping to balance the top-down perspective of the Ain.
2. To what extent is it possible to characterise agricultural production in the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries as subsistence agriculture? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: Agriculture in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was not purely subsistence-based. While basic staples such as rice, wheat, and millets were widely cultivated to sustain the population, agricultural production also included cash crops like cotton, sugarcane, and oilseeds, which were grown for trade. The Mughal state encouraged the cultivation of high-value crops (jins-i kamil) to maximize revenue. The presence of markets and trade connections between villages and towns further indicates that agricultural production was linked to commerce. Peasants also engaged in the production of agro-based goods such as sugar and oil. Thus, while subsistence farming was an essential part of agrarian life, commercial production was closely intertwined with it.
3. Describe the role played by women in agricultural production.
Answer: Women played a significant role in agricultural production, working alongside men in the fields. While men were responsible for tilling and ploughing, women performed tasks such as sowing, weeding, threshing, and winnowing the harvest. Artisanal activities, including spinning yarn, sifting and kneading clay for pottery, and embroidery, also depended on female labor. The commercialization of agricultural products increased the demand for women’s work. Women were considered vital in agrarian society not only for their labor but also for their role as child bearers in a labor-intensive economy. High mortality rates among women led to social customs like bride-price instead of dowry and the acceptance of remarriage among certain communities. Women had limited rights, but some, especially in landed families, inherited property and actively participated in land transactions. Despite their contributions, they faced strict control and discrimination, with societal norms restricting their mobility and rights.
4. Discuss, with examples, the significance of monetary transactions during the period under consideration.
Answer: The Mughal Empire witnessed a significant expansion of trade, which brought in huge amounts of silver bullion into India. This influx of silver facilitated an increase in the minting of coins and the circulation of money. The use of a stable silver currency, particularly the rupya, enabled the Mughal state to collect taxes in cash rather than kind. Revenue collection in cash further contributed to the monetization of the economy. Artisans producing for export markets, such as weavers, were paid in cash, and commercial crops like cotton, sugarcane, and indigo were cultivated for profit. European traders, including the Dutch, English, and Portuguese, paid for Indian goods in silver, further integrating India into the global economy. The presence of money changers, or shroffs, in even small villages highlights the widespread nature of monetary transactions during this period.
5. Examine the evidence that suggests that land revenue was important for the Mughal fiscal system.
Answer: Revenue from the land was the economic mainstay of the Mughal Empire. It was vital for the state to create an administrative apparatus to ensure control over agricultural production and to fix and collect revenue from across the empire. The office of the diwan was responsible for supervising the fiscal system of the empire. Revenue officials and record keepers penetrated the agricultural domain and became decisive agents in shaping agrarian relations. The land revenue arrangements consisted of two stages—assessment and collection. The jama was the amount assessed, and the hasil was the amount collected. Akbar’s revenue system tried to maximize claims while keeping in mind the welfare of the peasantry. The Ain-i-Akbari meticulously recorded the arrangements made by the state to ensure cultivation, enable revenue collection, and regulate relations between the state and rural magnates. These measures demonstrate the centrality of land revenue in the Mughal fiscal system.
Short essay-type answers
6. To what extent do you think caste was a factor in influencing social and economic relations in agrarian society?
Answer: Caste played a crucial role in shaping social and economic relations in agrarian society during the Mughal period. The village community was marked by deep inequities based on caste distinctions. Cultivators belonged to various caste groups, and certain castes were relegated to menial tasks, which resulted in their economic deprivation. Many of these groups, comparable to the Dalits of modern India, comprised a large section of the village population but had the least resources and were constrained by their low position in the caste hierarchy.
In Muslim communities, menial workers like the halalkhoran (scavengers) were housed outside village boundaries, and the mallahzadas (sons of boatmen) in Bihar had a status comparable to slaves. Caste, poverty, and social status were closely linked at the lower levels of society, though such correlations were not as rigid at intermediate levels. For instance, Rajputs were sometimes mentioned as peasants in seventeenth-century Marwar, alongside Jats, who were accorded a lower status in the caste hierarchy. Other groups, such as Ahirs, Gujars, and Malis, rose in social ranking due to their economic success in cattle rearing and horticulture. In eastern India, intermediate pastoral and fishing castes like the Sadgops and Kaivartas also gained peasant status.
The caste system influenced not only economic roles but also social governance. The village panchayat was an assembly of elders, often representing different castes, but village menials and agricultural laborers had little or no representation. The panchayat ensured that caste boundaries were upheld, overseeing social conduct, including marriages. In cases of violations, individuals could face expulsion from the village, effectively making them outcastes.
Caste distinctions also extended to taxation and labor exploitation. Lower caste groups often filed petitions against excessive taxation and forced labor imposed by elite groups. While panchayats sometimes mediated disputes, many lower-caste villagers remained vulnerable to exploitation. The rigid caste hierarchy thus played a defining role in structuring agrarian society, affecting access to land, labor, governance, and economic opportunities.
7. How were the lives of forest dwellers transformed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?
Answer: The forest dwellers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries lived beyond settled villages and depended on gathering forest produce, hunting, and shifting agriculture. These activities were largely seasonal, ensuring their mobility. For instance, the Bhils collected forest produce in spring, fished in summer, cultivated during the monsoon, and hunted in autumn and winter. However, their lives were transformed due to external forces, particularly the state and commercial agriculture.
The Mughal state viewed forests as places of refuge for rebels and sought to exert control over them. The demand for elephants in the Mughal army led to the collection of these animals as tribute from forest dwellers. Hunting expeditions by emperors symbolized state authority over both forests and their inhabitants. Additionally, the expansion of agriculture led to deforestation. Poets like Mukundaram Chakrabarti described how large groups of people, including outsiders, cleared forests to establish new settlements. These clearances disrupted the traditional livelihoods of forest communities.
Trade also changed the lives of forest dwellers. Forest products such as honey, beeswax, and gum lac became significant commodities in domestic and overseas trade. Some tribes engaged in overland trade between India and Afghanistan, while others participated in the town-country trade in regions like Punjab.
Social changes accompanied these economic transformations. Tribal chiefs gradually became zamindars and even kings, which required them to maintain armies. Some groups, such as the Ahoms of Assam, institutionalized military service in exchange for land. Cultural influences, including those from sufi saints, also began to spread among forest communities.
Thus, the expansion of the state, commerce, and agriculture deeply impacted forest dwellers, leading to both economic opportunities and disruptions to their traditional way of life.
8. Examine the Role Played by Zamindars in Mughal India
Answer: The zamindars in Mughal India were landed proprietors who played a significant role in the agrarian structure of the empire. They enjoyed certain social and economic privileges due to their superior status in rural society. Caste was one of the factors that contributed to their elevated status, while another was the services (khidmat) they performed for the state.
Zamindars held extensive personal lands known as milkiyat, meaning property, which they cultivated for their private use with the help of hired or servile labor. They had the authority to sell, bequeath, or mortgage these lands at will. In addition to their landholdings, they were often responsible for collecting revenue on behalf of the state and were financially compensated for this service. Many zamindars also had their own military resources, including fortresses (qilachas) and armed contingents consisting of cavalry, artillery, and infantry.
The zamindars occupied the apex of the social hierarchy in rural Mughal society. Historical sources suggest that many zamindaris originated through conquest, where powerful military chieftains dispossessed weaker individuals. However, the state regulated such acquisitions and confirmed them through imperial orders (sanads). Apart from conquests, zamindars consolidated their hold by colonizing new lands, acquiring rights through state orders, or purchasing land. This process allowed individuals from relatively lower castes to rise to the rank of zamindars, as zamindaris were frequently bought and sold.
Zamindars played a crucial role in agricultural expansion by facilitating the settlement of cultivators and providing them with the means of cultivation, including cash loans. They also contributed to the monetization of the rural economy by engaging in the sale of produce from their milkiyat lands and establishing markets (haats) where peasants could sell their produce.
Despite their exploitative nature, zamindars maintained a reciprocal relationship with the peasantry, which involved elements of patronage and paternalism. Unlike the revenue officials of the state, zamindars were not typically portrayed as oppressors by bhakti saints. Additionally, during agrarian uprisings in the seventeenth century, zamindars often received support from peasants in their struggles against the state.
9. Discuss the ways in which panchayats and village headmen regulated rural society.
Answer: The village panchayat was an assembly of elders, usually important people of the village with hereditary rights over their property. In mixed-caste villages, the panchayat was a heterogeneous body. It represented various castes and communities, though village menial workers were unlikely to be included. The decisions made by these panchayats were binding on the members.
The panchayat was headed by a headman known as muqaddam or mandal. Some sources suggest that the headman was chosen through the consensus of village elders and had to be ratified by the zamindar. Headmen held office as long as they enjoyed the confidence of the village elders and could be dismissed if they failed in their duties. The headman supervised the preparation of village accounts, assisted by the village accountant or patwari.
The panchayat derived funds from contributions made by individuals to a common financial pool. These funds were used to entertain visiting revenue officials, meet community welfare expenses, and finance construction projects such as bunds and canals. These initiatives were crucial as individual peasants could not afford them on their own.
One of the key roles of the panchayat was to ensure that caste boundaries among the various communities were upheld. In eastern India, marriages took place in the presence of the mandal. The village headman oversaw the conduct of the members of the community, ensuring adherence to caste norms.
Panchayats also had the authority to levy fines and enforce punishments like expulsion from the community. Expulsion was a drastic measure, making the person an outcaste and depriving them of their right to practice their profession.
Each caste or jati had its own jati panchayat, which held significant authority. These panchayats arbitrated disputes, mediated land claims, oversaw marriages, and determined ritual precedence in village functions. The state generally respected their decisions.
Village panchayats also acted as courts of appeal. Archival records from Rajasthan and Maharashtra contain petitions against excessive taxation and forced labor imposed by elite groups. These petitions were often made collectively by caste groups or communities. The panchayats sought to ensure that state officials and local zamindars adhered to moral obligations and delivered justice.
In cases of disputes between peasants and zamindars or state officials, the panchayat often sought compromise. If reconciliation failed, peasants sometimes resorted to drastic measures such as deserting the village, using the availability of uncultivated land as leverage against exploitative demands.
Extras
Additional questions and answers
1. Define raiyat.
Answer: The term which Indo-Persian sources of the Mughal period most frequently used to denote a peasant was raiyat (plural, riaya).
56. Discuss the role of zamindars as intermediaries between peasants and the Mughal state.
Answer: Zamindars in Mughal India were landed proprietors who lived off agriculture but did not directly participate in the processes of production. They held extensive personal lands (milkiyat) and enjoyed social and economic privileges due to their superior status, often linked to caste and the performance of certain services (khidmat) for the state.
A key aspect of their intermediary role was revenue collection. Zamindars often collected revenue on behalf of the state, a service for which they were compensated financially. This function placed them between the peasant cultivators and the state’s revenue apparatus. The Ain-i Akbari meticulously recorded arrangements made by the state to regulate the relationship between itself and these rural magnates.
Zamindars also played a role in agricultural expansion. They spearheaded the colonisation of agricultural land and helped in settling cultivators by providing them with the means of cultivation, including cash loans. They often established local markets (haats) facilitating trade for peasants.
Their relationship with the peasantry was complex, having elements of exploitation but also reciprocity, paternalism, and patronage. Bhakti saints, who condemned oppression, usually targeted the state revenue official rather than the zamindar. In many agrarian uprisings during the seventeenth century, zamindars often received the support of the peasantry in their struggles against the state, suggesting a degree of alignment or shared interest against state demands at times.
Their power was not solely derived from land or revenue collection; most zamindars possessed military resources, including fortresses (qilachas) and armed contingents of cavalry, artillery, and infantry, further solidifying their position in the rural hierarchy and their capacity to act as intermediaries, sometimes mediating conflicts or representing local interests, while at other times enforcing state demands or their own.
Additional MCQs
1. What percentage of India’s population lived in villages during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?
A. 65%
B. 75%
C. 85%
D. 95%
Answer: C. 85%
56. Who composed the Bengali poem ‘Chandimangala’ about forest clearance?
A. Mukundaram Chakrabarti
B. Abu’l Fazl
C. Babur
D. Nadir Shah
Answer: A. Mukundaram Chakrabarti
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