Peasants, Zamindars and the State

AGRARIAN SOCIETY AND THE MUGHAL EMPIRE (C. SIXTEENTH-SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES)

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, approximately 85% of India's population lived in villages. The agrarian society was composed of peasants who cultivated the land and landed elites who owned or controlled land. Both groups were involved in agricultural production and claimed rights to a share of the produce, creating a complex web of cooperation, competition, and conflict. These relationships collectively formed rural society. The Mughal state was a major external agency influencing rural society. It derived most of its income from agricultural production. To ensure continuous cultivation and regular tax collection, the state deployed agents such as revenue assessors, collectors, and record keepers who sought to control rural society. Since many crops were grown for sale, trade and markets linked villages with towns, introducing money and commercial transactions into rural life. Agriculture was the backbone of the Mughal economy and society, and the state’s interest in revenue collection shaped the nature of agrarian relations. The rural population was diverse, including settled peasants, non-resident cultivators, artisans, and zamindars (landed elites). The Mughal state’s policies and administrative mechanisms aimed to regulate these groups to maintain social order and maximize revenue.

• About 85% of India's population lived in villages during the 16th-17th centuries.
• Agrarian society included peasants and landed elites with competing and cooperative relationships.
• The Mughal state derived most revenue from agriculture and controlled rural society through officials.
• Trade and markets connected villages to towns, introducing money into rural economies.
• State agents ensured cultivation and tax collection to sustain imperial income.
• Agrarian relations were shaped by social hierarchy and state interests.
• 📌 Agrarian society: social and economic relations based on agriculture.
• 📌 Zamindars: landed elites who owned or controlled land and collected revenue.
• 📌 Mughal state: imperial authority deriving income from land revenue.

1. PEASANTS AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

The village was the fundamental unit of agrarian society, inhabited primarily by peasants who performed various seasonal agricultural tasks such as tilling, sowing, and harvesting. Peasants also contributed labor to agro-based industries like sugar and oil production. Rural India was geographically diverse, including fertile plains, dry lands, hilly regions, and extensive forests. This diversity influenced agricultural practices and the nature of rural society. Our understanding of agrarian society in this period comes mainly from Mughal court chronicles like the Ain-i Akbari by Abu'l Fazl, which recorded state arrangements for cultivation and revenue collection. These sources present a top-down perspective but are supplemented by regional records and East India Company documents that reveal conflicts and peasants' views on fairness. Peasants were known by terms such as raiyat, muzarian, kisan, or asami. Two categories existed: khud-kashta (resident cultivators) and pahi-kashta (non-resident cultivators who cultivated lands elsewhere on contract). Peasants typically owned small holdings, often less than six acres, and land was individually owned and transferable. Irrigation and agricultural technology were important for productivity. Monsoons were crucial, but artificial irrigation systems like Persian wheels and bucket wheels were used to water crops. Tools such as wooden ploughs with iron tips and seed drills pulled by oxen were common. Agriculture was organized around two main cropping seasons: kharif (autumn) and rabi (spring), with some areas producing three crops annually. A wide variety of crops were grown, including staples like rice and wheat, and cash crops such as cotton and sugarcane. Several new crops like maize, tomatoes, and chillies were introduced from the New World during this period. Population growth was steady, increasing by about 33% between 1600 and 1800, supported by agricultural expansion and irrigation projects.

• Villages were the basic unit of agricultural society, inhabited by peasants.
• Peasants performed seasonal agricultural tasks and contributed labor to agro-based industries.
• Sources like Ain-i Akbari provide a top-down view of agrarian society.
• Peasants were categorized as resident (khud-kashta) or non-resident (pahi-kashta) cultivators.
• Land was individually owned, bought, and sold by peasants.
• Irrigation technologies like Persian wheels and bucket wheels were used alongside monsoon rains.
• Agriculture was based on kharif and rabi cropping seasons, with some areas producing three crops annually.
• New crops from the Americas were introduced in the seventeenth century.