Peasants, Zamindars and the State — Agrarian Society and the Mughal Empire (c. sixteenth-seventeenth centuries) — Class 12 History

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries about 85 per cent of Indians lived in villages, where peasants, zamindars and the Mughal state were linked through agricultural production. The chapter relies heavily on the Ain-i-Akbari, compiled by Abu'l Fazl, along with revenue records and regional sources. The basic unit was the village, worked by peasants (raiyat) who grew a wide range of crops — food grains, and cash crops such as cotton, sugarcane and indigo — using monsoon and irrigation. Peasants were not all alike: some held more land and resources than others. The village had its own officials, panchayats and artisans, and caste and gender shaped who did what work; women played an essential role in production though they faced many restrictions. Zamindars were a privileged rural class who held extensive lands, controlled armed retainers and collected revenue, often passing it to the state while keeping a share. The Mughal state, which drew most of its income from the land, built an elaborate revenue system under Akbar; revenue was assessed (jama) and collected (hasil), sometimes in cash. The Ain-i-Akbari documents provinces, prices, administration and the imperial household, though it presents an official, idealised view. Trade, money and markets reached into villages as crops were sold, linking the countryside to towns and even global commerce.