Theme 8
Peasants, Zamindars and the State
Sources to reconstruct the agrarian history of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
1. Chronicles and documents from the Mughal court
One of the most important chronicles was the Ain-i Akbari authored by Akbar’s court
historian Abu’lFazl. This text meticulously recorded the arrangements made by the state to
ensure cultivation, to enable the collection of revenue by the agencies of the state and to
regulate the relationship between the state and rural magnates, the zamindars.
2. The detailed revenue records from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan dating from the
17th and 18thcenturies.
3. The extensive records of the East India Company provide us with useful descriptions
of agrarian relations in eastern India.
All these sources record instances of conflicts between peasants, zamindars and the state.
They give us an insight into peasants’ perception of and their expectations of fairness
from the state.
Various Terms used for describing peasants
The term which Indo-Persian sources of the Mughal period most frequently used to
denote a peasant was raiyat or muzarian. In addition, we also encounter the terms kisan
or asami
Sources of the seventeenth century refer to two kinds of peasants – khud-kashta and
pahi-kashta.
The khud-kashta were residents of the village in which they held their lands.
The pahi-kashta were non-resident cultivators who belonged to some other village, but
cultivated lands elsewhere on a contractual basis.
People became pahi-kashta either out of choice or out of compulsion.
When terms of revenue in a distant village were more favourable peasants moved to other
villages. Sometimes they were forced by economic distress after a famine.
Possessions of peasants
Average peasant of north India possessed a pair of bulls and one plough. Others
possessed two pairs of bulls and two ploughs; most possessed even less. In Gujarat
peasants possessing about six acres of land were considered to be affluent. In Bengal, five
acres was the upper limit of an average peasant farm. Cultivation was based on the
principle of individual ownership.
Hsslive.in 1 Sujith K HSST History GVHSS Kayyoor, Kasargod
, Irrigation and technology used by the peasants
There were three factors that contributed for the expansion of agriculture.
Abundance of land,
Available labour
Mobility of peasants.
Since the primary purpose of agriculture is to feed people, basic staples such as rice, wheat or
millets were the most frequently cultivated crops. Monsoons remained the backbone of
Indian agriculture. But there were crops which required additional water. Artificial systems
of irrigation had to be devised for this.
In northern India the state undertook digging of new canals and also repaired old ones like
the shahnahr in the Punjab during Shah Jahan’s reign.
Though agriculture was labour intensive, peasants did use technologies that often harnessed
cattle energy.
One example was the wooden plough, which was light and easily assembled with an iron tip
or coulter.
A drill, pulled by a pair of giant oxen, was used to plant seeds, but broadcasting of seed was
the most prevalent method.
Hoeing and weeding were done simultaneously using a narrow iron blade with a small
wooden handle.
Agricultural production in the 16th and 17th centuries: Seasonal cycles and crops
Agriculture was organised around two major seasonal cycles, the kharif and the rabi. This
would mean that most regions produced a minimum of two crops a year whereas some,
where rainfall or irrigation assured a continuous supply of water, even gave three crops.
In the Mughal provinces of Agra produced 39 varieties of crops and Delhi produced 43 over
the two seasons.
Bengal produced 50 varieties of rice alone. However, the focus on the cultivation was basic
staples such as rice, wheat, pulses and vegetables etc.
The Mughal state also encouraged peasants to cultivate cash crops such as cotton, oilseeds
and sugarcane which brought more revenue
During the seventeenth century several new crops from different parts of the world reached
the Indian subcontinent. Maize (makka) was introduced into India via Africa and Spain and
by the seventeenth century it was being listed as one of the major crops of western India.
Vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes and chillies were introduced from the New World at this
time, as were fruits like the pineapple and the papaya.
Hsslive.in 2 Sujith K HSST History GVHSS Kayyoor, Kasargod
Peasants, Zamindars and the State
Sources to reconstruct the agrarian history of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
1. Chronicles and documents from the Mughal court
One of the most important chronicles was the Ain-i Akbari authored by Akbar’s court
historian Abu’lFazl. This text meticulously recorded the arrangements made by the state to
ensure cultivation, to enable the collection of revenue by the agencies of the state and to
regulate the relationship between the state and rural magnates, the zamindars.
2. The detailed revenue records from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan dating from the
17th and 18thcenturies.
3. The extensive records of the East India Company provide us with useful descriptions
of agrarian relations in eastern India.
All these sources record instances of conflicts between peasants, zamindars and the state.
They give us an insight into peasants’ perception of and their expectations of fairness
from the state.
Various Terms used for describing peasants
The term which Indo-Persian sources of the Mughal period most frequently used to
denote a peasant was raiyat or muzarian. In addition, we also encounter the terms kisan
or asami
Sources of the seventeenth century refer to two kinds of peasants – khud-kashta and
pahi-kashta.
The khud-kashta were residents of the village in which they held their lands.
The pahi-kashta were non-resident cultivators who belonged to some other village, but
cultivated lands elsewhere on a contractual basis.
People became pahi-kashta either out of choice or out of compulsion.
When terms of revenue in a distant village were more favourable peasants moved to other
villages. Sometimes they were forced by economic distress after a famine.
Possessions of peasants
Average peasant of north India possessed a pair of bulls and one plough. Others
possessed two pairs of bulls and two ploughs; most possessed even less. In Gujarat
peasants possessing about six acres of land were considered to be affluent. In Bengal, five
acres was the upper limit of an average peasant farm. Cultivation was based on the
principle of individual ownership.
Hsslive.in 1 Sujith K HSST History GVHSS Kayyoor, Kasargod
, Irrigation and technology used by the peasants
There were three factors that contributed for the expansion of agriculture.
Abundance of land,
Available labour
Mobility of peasants.
Since the primary purpose of agriculture is to feed people, basic staples such as rice, wheat or
millets were the most frequently cultivated crops. Monsoons remained the backbone of
Indian agriculture. But there were crops which required additional water. Artificial systems
of irrigation had to be devised for this.
In northern India the state undertook digging of new canals and also repaired old ones like
the shahnahr in the Punjab during Shah Jahan’s reign.
Though agriculture was labour intensive, peasants did use technologies that often harnessed
cattle energy.
One example was the wooden plough, which was light and easily assembled with an iron tip
or coulter.
A drill, pulled by a pair of giant oxen, was used to plant seeds, but broadcasting of seed was
the most prevalent method.
Hoeing and weeding were done simultaneously using a narrow iron blade with a small
wooden handle.
Agricultural production in the 16th and 17th centuries: Seasonal cycles and crops
Agriculture was organised around two major seasonal cycles, the kharif and the rabi. This
would mean that most regions produced a minimum of two crops a year whereas some,
where rainfall or irrigation assured a continuous supply of water, even gave three crops.
In the Mughal provinces of Agra produced 39 varieties of crops and Delhi produced 43 over
the two seasons.
Bengal produced 50 varieties of rice alone. However, the focus on the cultivation was basic
staples such as rice, wheat, pulses and vegetables etc.
The Mughal state also encouraged peasants to cultivate cash crops such as cotton, oilseeds
and sugarcane which brought more revenue
During the seventeenth century several new crops from different parts of the world reached
the Indian subcontinent. Maize (makka) was introduced into India via Africa and Spain and
by the seventeenth century it was being listed as one of the major crops of western India.
Vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes and chillies were introduced from the New World at this
time, as were fruits like the pineapple and the papaya.
Hsslive.in 2 Sujith K HSST History GVHSS Kayyoor, Kasargod
