The central feature of the agrarian system under the Mughals was the distance from the peasant of his surplus produce (produce over and above the subsistence level) in the form of land revenue which was the main source of state’s income. The process of land revenue collection has two stages
- Assessment (tashkhis/jama
- Actual collection (hasil)
Assessment was made to fix the state demand. On the basis of this demand, actual collection was done separately for kharif and rabi crops
METHODS OF LAND REVENUE ASSESSMENT
A few commonly used methods were
- GHALLA BAKSHI OR BHAOLI OR BATAI
This was a simple method of crop sharing in which the produce was arranged into heaps and divided into three shares areas it was called bhaoli and batai
The Ain-i-Akbari notes three types of crop sharing
- Division of crop at the threshing floor after the grain was obtained. This was done in the presence of both the parties in accordance with agreement.
- Khet batai The share was decided when the crop was still standing in the fields and a division of the field was marked.
- Lang batai The crop was cut and stacked in heaps without separating grain and a division of crop in this form was made.
KANKUT/DAMBANDI
The word kankut is derived from the words kan and kut. Kan, denotes grain while kut means to estimate or appraisal. Similarly, dam means grain while bandi is fixing or determining anything.
It was a system where the grain yield (or productivity) was estimated. In kankut, at first, the field was measured either by means of a rope or by pacing. After this, the per bigha productivity from good, middling and bad lands was estimated and the revenue demand was fixed accordingly.
NASAQ
Where past assessment determined the present, a rough calculation was made on the basis of past revenue receipts of peasants. Todar Mal collected the accounts of the Qanungo and in some places ascertained their accuracy by local enquiries.
From these accounts, he prepared the rent roll of the Suba. The Nasaq system did not depend upon survey or seasonal records of produce. It resembled the Zamindari settlement
ZABTI
In Mughal India, it was the most important method of assessment. The origin of this practice is traced to Sher Shah. During Akbar’s reign, the system was revised a number of times before it took the final shape.
Sher Shah had established a rai or per F bigha yield for lands which were under continuous cultivation (polaj), or those land which very rarely allowed to lie fallow (parauti). The rai was based on three rates, representing good, middling and low yields and one third of the sum of these was appropriated as land revenue.
Akbar adopted Sher Shah’s Akbar introduced his so-called karori experiment and appointed karoris all over North India in 1574-75 AD. The entire jagir was converted into khalisa. On the basis of the information provided by the karoris regarding the actual produce, local prices, productivity etc in 1580 AD.
Akbar instituted a new system arindhaal, where the average produce of different crops as well as the average prices prevailing over the last 10 years were calculated.
One third of the average produce was the state’s minimum share. Under the karori experiment, measurement of all provinces took place. Bamboo rods with iron rings called tanab were used instead of hempen ropes.
On the basis of productivity and prices prevailing in different regions, they were divided for revenue purposes into dastur circles. The rates of assessment in cash for each crop in every dastur was decided and the demand was fixed accordingly.
FEATURES OF ZABTI SYSTEM
The main features of the Zabti system as it finally came into operation under Akbar were
- Measurement of land was essential.
- Fixed cash revenue rates known as dastur for each crop.
- All the collection was made in cash. From an administrative point of view, Zabti system had same merits.
- Measurement could always be rechecked.
- Due to fixed dasturs, local officials I could not use their discretion.
- With fixing the permanent dasturs, the uncertainties and fluctuation in levying the land revenue demand were greatly reduced.
There were some limitations of this system as well
- It could not be applied, if the quality of the soil was not uniform.
- If the yield was uncertain, this method was disadvantageous to peasants because risks were borne by them alone.
- This was an expensive method as a cess of one dam per bigha known as zabitana, was given to meet the costs towards the maintenance of the measuring party.
- Much fraud could be practiced in recording the measurement.
Zabti system was adopted only in the core regions of the empire. The main provinces covered under Zabti were Delhi, Allahabad, Awadh, Agra, Lahore and Multan. Even in these provinces, other methods of assessment were also practiced, depending on the circumstances of the area.
REVENUE FARMING
Ijara system or revenue farming was another feature of the Revenue system of that time. Though as a rule, Mughals disapproved of this practice, but in reality certain villages were sometimes farmed out.
Generally in these villages, when peasant did not have resources available for undertaking cultivation or where owing to some calamity cultivation could not be done, they farmed out on ijara.
The revenue officials or their relatives were not supposed to take land on ijara. It was expected that revenue farmers would not extract more than the stipulated land revenue from the peasants. But, this was hardly the case in actual practice.
The practice of ijara, it seems, could not have been very common in the Zabti provinces, Gujarat and the Mughal Dakhin. In the khalisa lands too, this practice was very rare.
However, in the jagir lands, it became a common feature. Revenue assignees (jagirdars) farmed out their assignments in lieu of a lumpsum payment, generally to the highest bidders. Sometimes, jagirdars sub-assigned part of their jagirs to his subordinate/troopers. During the 18th century, Ijara system became a common form of revenue assessment and collection.
MODE OF PAYMENT
In the Mughal period, the peasant under Zabti system had to pay revenue in cash. However, under crop sharing and hang out, commutation into cash was permitted at market prices.
COLLECTION OF LAND REVENUE
Under Ghalla Bakshi, the state’s share was seized directly from the field. In other systems, the state collected its share at the time of harvesting.
In the kharif season, the harvesting of different crops was done at different times and the revenue was accordingly to be collected in three stages depending on the types of crop. The rabi harvest was gathered within a very short period. Usually, the revenue was deposited in the treasury through the amil or revenue collector. Akbar encouraged the peasants to pay directly. Todar Mal recommended that the peasants of trusted villages, within the time limit, could deposit their revenue in the treasury themselves and could obtain receipt. The village accountant, patwari made endorsement in his register to establish the amount paid.
LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION
- Officials and agents of jagirdars
- Permanent local officials, many of whom were hereditary. They were generally not affected by the frequent transfers of the jagirdars
- Imperial officials to help and control the jagirdars at the rural level. There were many revenue officials
Karori In 1574-75 AD, the office of karori was created. He was incharge of both assessment and collection of the revenue. An important change took place during. Shahjahan’s reign. Now, amins were appointed in every mahal and they were given the work of assessment. After this change, karori (or amil) remained concerned chiefly with collection of revenue, which amin had assessed
Amin The next important revenue official was amin. His main function was to assess the revenue
Qanungo He was the local revenue official of the pargana and generally belonged to one of the accountant castes. It was a hereditary post, but an imperial order was essential for the nomination of each new person. The qanungo was paid 1% of the total revenue as remuneration, but Akbar started paying them salaries
Chaudhari He was also important revenue official like the mainly concerned with the collection.
Shiqqdar Under Sher Shah, he was the incharge of revenue collection and maintained law and order. In Akbar’s later period, he seems to be a subordinate official under the karori.
Muqaddam and Patwari They were village level officials. The former was the village headman. In lieu of his services, he was allowed 2.5% of the total revenue collected by him. The patwari was to maintain records of the village land, the holdings of the individual cultivators, variety of crops grown and details about fallow land