Mughal administratiohn

History

1. First BA History Subject: History Title of the Paper: History of India(From 900 AD to 1707 AD) Second Semester Fifth Unit- MUGHAL ADMINISTRATION Dr.T.Kaliappan Associate Professor of History Vivekanada College Tiruvedakam West, 625234 25-04-2020

2. MUGHAL ADMINISTRATION Akbar was the first Mughal ruler who laid the foundation of government and administration in India.

3. Main elements and structure of Mughal administration

4. The King The Mughal emperors being despots concentrated the entire powers in their own hands. The emperor was not only the head of the State but also the law-maker, the head of Justice, the Chief executive and the Chief Commander of the imperial forces. The power of Ulemas was eliminated during the reign of Akbar The Mughal Kings were Benevolent despot. The ministers were appointed by the emperor and they were assisted the Kind in day to day affairs

5. Council of Ministers Wazir or Vakil : (The Prime Minister) was the most dignified and powerful of the Ministers and had the right of appointment and dismissal of other ministers. He was not only in charge of Finance and Revenue departments but also acted as Chief adviser and most confidant of the emperor. He acted as mediator between the emperor and the officers Imperial Diwan : Finance Minister – He had complete control over the royal treasury.

6. Mir Bakhshi or Pay Master: He was the minister in charge of the military department. His chief duty was the recruitment of soldiers, maintenance of service records of the government officers, branding of horses and he looked after the training and payment of salaries of royal officers and officials. Mir Bakshi being a prominent officer for payments of the Mansabdars .

7. Sadr -us- Sadur (Chief Sadr ): Sadr -us- Sadur was the fourth prominent minister of the central administration who was the in charge of religious department. He was the guardian of Islamic law. He also used to collect religious taxes Jaziya and Jakat from Hindus and Muslims respectively. Khan- i - Saman was the head of the Imperial household. Generally this post was given to the most confident person of the emperor. Qazi-ul-Quzat He was the head of the Justice department.

8. Muhtasib : He was an officer who looked after the moral development of the people. This officer generally walked in the town along with police or army men in order to destroy the centers of liquor and gambling. He also used to control markets and checked the weights and measures.

9. Other ministers: Daroga-i-Dak Chauki – Head of the spy department Daroga-i-Topkhana – was in charge of royal artillery Mir- i -Bahr – was in charge of the forests Daroga-i-Taksal - in charge of Mint

10. Provincial Administration: The country divided in to number of provinces Akbar divided his empire in to fifteen provinces The number of provinces reached 21 during the regime of Aurangazeb The Subedar was in charge of provincial administration. The provinces were divided in to Sarkars (districts), Parganas ( Tahsils ) and villages

11.   Officers in a province: Diwan – was in charge of revenue administration Bakshi – in charge of the army of the province The waqa-i-Newis – He recorded all the events of the province Qazi – Justice Kotwal – Police officer

12. Farijdar – Military head of the Sarkar (district) Sarkars were further divided in to parganas . Administration of Pargana Shiqdar – Military officer Amil - Finance officer Fotadar – The treasurer Qanugo – Head of the Village

13. Main source of in come of the empire Khams (booty), trade tax, Mint, Salt tax, unclaimed property, income from various industries and presents from nobles. Zakat from Muslims Jaziya -poll tax from Hindus Land tax

14. Revenue administration Raja Todar Mal was a successful Diwan and made some significant changes in revenue system. He measured the entire area of cultivatable land, and classified land on the basis of quality and fixed the state revenue. Raja Todar Mal

15. Military Administration The Army was the hub of Mughal administration. Mansabdary system: The Mughal army was based on Mansabdari system. This system was introduced by Akbar.

16. Meaning of the Mansabdari system: The “ Mansap ” is an Arabic word meaning rank or position or status of a person. Thus Mansabdari was a system in which the rank of government officials was determined. The Mansabs were from 10 to 10,000 soldiers in the beginning but later they were enhanced up to 50,000. Generally Mansabs above 5000 soldiers were reserved for the princes. The members of the royal family were awarded Mansabs up to 40,000 and 50,000 Akbar introduced the rank of “ Zat ” and “ Sawar ” in the Mansabdari system.

17. Method of Recruitment The emperor was in charge of all recruitment of Imperial officers. Salary structure – normally cash salaries were given to the Mansabdars and they were paid very highly.

18. Different categories of soldiers: Ahadi Soldiers : They were the personal soldiers of the emperor. Diwan and Bakshi looked after their appointment, training and discipline on behalf of the emperor. They were nicely paid from the imperial treasury. They were completely loyal to the Emperor. Dakhili Soldiers : They were also recruited on behalf of the emperor but kept in the charge of Mansabdars and formed a part of Mughal army. Permanent army: Mughal emperor had a powerful permanent army.

19. Army Units; The army was divided in to the following five units; Cavalry: It had two types of Horsemen; “ Bargir ” were those soldier who received horses, arms, dress etc., from the state Siledar : were those soldiers who brought their own horses and arms . Infantry: Infantry was organized in to two units namely; Bandukshi (Riflemen) and Sam Shirbaz – ( Swordmen ) War elephants: the elephants were used for fighting as well as for carrying load.

20. Artillery: Artillery was equally a significant part of the Mughal army. Babur was the first Mughal ruler who made use of gun powder. Navy: The Navy of the Mughals was very weak as compared with the Europeans.

21. Law and Justice: The Quran, the Hadis (the tradition) and Ijma (consensus of opinion) were the basis of their law and justice. It proved useful to Muslims only – Hindus were treated improperly. The Emperor was the highest authority in Law and Justice. Chief Qazi was next the Emperor and he used to dispense Justice in the Capital. Diwan , Amalguzar , Anil etc., dealt with revenue disputes but Subedar , Faujdar and Kotwals looked after criminal cases and settled them. The village panchayat were authorized to settle disputes pertaining to their own villages.