THE TAMIL NADU NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL

HISTORY PROJECT
ON
ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES OF AKBAR
SUBMITTED TO
Prof. BIJU JOSEPH
VISITING FACULTY, HISTORY

SUBMITTED BY
VEDAVALLI.S
REGISTER NO : BA0140073
ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES OF AKBAR Page 1
 CERTIFICATE OF THE SUPERVISOR
This is to certify that the work incorporated in this minor project report
ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES OF AKBAR is a project work carried out by
bearing, under my guidance and supervision for the award of the Degree of
B.A.,LL.B(Hons.) of The Tamil Nadu National Law School, Thiruchirappalli.

________________________

(Signature of the Supervisor)

Prof. Biju Joseph

Visiting Faculty,
History

The Tamil Nadu National Law

School ,Thiruchirappalli.

ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES OF AKBAR Page 2

 DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the project work entitled “ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES
OF AKBAR” submitted to the Tamil Nadu National Law School, Thiruchirappalli,
is a record of an original work done by me under the guidance of Prof. Biju Joseph,
Visiting Faculty for History, and this project work is submitted in the partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of B.A.,LL.B(Hons.) .
The results embodied in this thesis have not been submitted to any other University
or Institute for the award of any degree or diploma.

Date : 1st May 2015 ____________________

S.Vedavalli

Register No : BA0140073

ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES OF AKBAR Page 3

 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction -5
Objective of the Study -6
Review of Literature -6
Early years of Akbar -7
Administration of Akbar -8
Political government - 10
Taxation - 12
Military Administration - 13
Religious policies - 16
Ain-i-Akbari - 18
Judicial System - 20
Conclusion - 21
Bibliography - 22

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 INTRODUCTION
The Mughals ruled in India for around 200 years. The Mughal
Emperors built an empire and laid the foundations of administration system upon
which the British built further. The Mughal period is reckoned with reference to the
invasion and conquest of India by Babur in 1526 till the death of Aurangzeb in
1707, even though the last of the Mughals was Bahadur Shah who was emperor
during the early British years in India. He ended up as an exile in Burma.

Sher Shah, who ruled for a short while from 1540 to 1545, is
remembered for providing “an administrative blueprint from which Akbar and his
ministers later profited”. Akbar repaired, improved, organized and perfected every
single department of the state with admirable skill and expedition. He bequeathed
to his successors the legacy of a well-organized administrative structure and
traditions of a just and tolerant policy as the essential conditions of a durable and
good government.

Policy-making was retained with the Mughal emperor. Provincial

governments were allowed initiative and decision-making in matters of local
interest. Mughal Emperors maintained contact with all parts of his kingdom,
through systematic touring. However, the emperor who can lay claim to having
attempted and established systems in the executive, judicial and religious spheres,
in a conscious and deliberate manner, is Akbar. The long duration of his reign,
from 1556 to 1605, contributed to achieving this.

Akbar had a majestic and imperial approach in all that he did. He was
strict yet generous. He was well-informed on almost every aspect of Mughal
Administration System. The magic of his magnetic leadership and imagination
motivated his lieutenants to give of their best. He chose men of learning and
culture as his diwans but changed them often to ensure that no one became too
powerful.

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 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study are :

 To understand the important conditions during the Medieval Indian period.

 To know how Akbar’s Administrative policies were efficient in spite of the
fact that he was illiterate.
 To gain knowledge about the important regulations of Akbar.
 To understand the taxation system during Akbar’s reign.
 To know the military reforms undertook by Akbar.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
 Ain-i-Akbari by Abul Fazl :
 I have referred to certain important ains(regulations) mentioned
in the book.

 Article : Akbar and the Mughal State: The Quest for Legitimization in
Hindustan by Christopher P. Holland :
 In this article Holland has mainly focused Akbar’s quest for
legitimization of Mughal Rule in India. I have referred to the
Administration of Akbar and understood many policies from
this article.
 Socio-Cultural and Economic History of Medieval India by Dr. Ganewar
Nayak :
 In this book the entire history of Mughal period is described by
the author. It is based on survey of many other works of
historians. References to Akbar’s life, his religious policies are
made.

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 EARLY YEARS OF AKBAR
Jalal-ud-din Muhammed Akbar , known as the Akbar the great, (1542-
1605) was Mughal Emperor from 1556 until his death. Akbar was born on October
15, 1542, in Umarkot in Sindh. He was third and greatest ruler of the Mughal
dynasty in India. He was only a boy when, in January of the year 1556, his weak
and incompetent father Humayun died in an accidental fall. Akbar was proclaimed
emperor in 1556 under the tutelage of his father’s (Humayun) trusted military
commander, Bairam Khan. At his succession Akbar was only thirteen-strong-
willed, impulsive, and untrained. He had rejected all efforts to educate him. He
remained illiterate, the only Mughal Emperor to do so.

A strong personality and successful general, Akbar gradually enlarged

the Mughal Empire to nearly all of the Indian sub-continent north of Godavari
River. His supremacy and influence however extended over the entire country
because of Moghul military, political cultural and economic dominance. To unify
vast empire, Akbar established a centralized system of administration through the
empire and adopted a policy of conciliating conquered rulers through matrimony
and diplomacy. In order to preserve peace and order in a religiously and culturally
diverse empire, he adopted policies that own him the support of his non-Muslim
subjects.

By 1560, Akbar took the complete reign of the empire into his own
hands. Akbar’s was an apotheosis of rule in the Indo-Pak subcontinent. The British
who came few decades later found Akbar’s system of administration as their
precursor. His religious policies, however, is the subject of controversies among
the historians of the Mughal rule.

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 ADMINISTRATION OF AKBAR
The Administrative System of Akbar holds a significant place in Indian
History. Emperor Akbar’s administration system was built on systematic imperial
policies which survived several generations. The wide and sweeping conquests of
Mughal emperor Akbar are an eloquent testimony to his extraordinary military
talents. But it would be a mistake to look upon Akbar as a mere conqueror. He was
even greater as an administrator. The administrative machinery of the Mughals,
which functioned throughout the Mughal rule, was introduced by Akbar. That is
why by Mughal Administration means Akbar’s administration. Akbar was not only
a brave soldier, a successful leader and a great religious reformer but also a great
administrator.

Babur laid the foundation of the Mughal rule in India. But be died before he
could consolidate. Humayun was unequal to the task he was called upon to fulfill.
Akbar was required to build a new, and he built to last. Historians have rightly
accorded him the distinction of being regarded as the architect of the Mughal
Empire of India. Like all rulers of his age Akbar was a despot, but he did not abuse
his position for personal welfare. The administration of Akbar was based on the
principles of the moral and material welfare of people. He extended equal
treatment to all classes of his subject irrespective of the faiths they professed. He
pursued a liberal and benevolent policy and believed that the end of government
was to promote the welfare of the governed.

Akbar inherited a composition of government based on the experience of

the Delhi Sultanate. Babur and Humayun had no time to modify the system, a new
momentum to it being given by Shershah. The system Akbar devised had some
novel features. The functions and responsibilities of the various departments were
carefully laid down so that they did not encroach on each other and at the same
time balanced and supported each other. Thus, a system of checks and balances
was devised. In this way, Akbar infused new life into the system.

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 King Akbar made sincere efforts to bring order and discipline in the
work of government. He introduced the system of paying his officers in cash
instead of granting them jagir as was the past. He thoroughly reorganized the
revenue administration system with the help of Raja Todar Mal. He made a
thorough and minute survey of all lands and classified those under three heads
according to their fertility. He fixed the revenue at one-third of the gross produce
and allowed it to be paid either in kind or in cash. His revenue settlement was
modeled on that of Sher Shah and it brought lasting benefits to his people.

The Mughal government of Akbar was divided divided into fifteen

administrative units known as Subhas, viz., Delhi, Agra, Ajmer, Lahore, Kabul,
Multan, Ahmedabad, Ahmednagar, Malwa, Khandesh, Berar, Allahabad, Oudh,
Bihar and Bengal. He placed a governor named Subahdar in charge of each Subah.
He was to be held responsible to the Emperor for the maintenance of peace and
order within the Subah. Each Subah was again divided into a number of small
administrative units known as Sarkars. The officer in charge of a Sarkar was
known as Faujdar. Both in the centre and in the provinces there was an elaborate
staff of bureaucratic officials. The most prominent among them were the Dewar, in
charge of revenue department, the Bakshi in charge of pay department, the Mir
Babar in charge of shipping, ports and ferries, the Wakia Navis in charge of the
Record Department, and Sadar, in charge of the Ecclesiastical Affairs.

The military administration of Akbar is also praiseworthy. Mughal Akbar

reformed the existing military organization by introducing regular gradation of
military officers called Mansabdars. They were divided into 33 grades. They
received fixed pay from the state and were required to render such military duties
as were entrusted to them from time to time.

Akbar realized that India being the common land of the Hindu and the
Muslim alike, the policy of Government should be directed towards securing the
goodwill of all classes of hi subjects. He acted up to this principle and succeeded in
evolving what may be called a nation-state in India. He introduced various reforms
in all the branches of the administration, whether central, provincial, revenue,
military or judicial.

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 POLITICAL GOVERNMENT
Central Administration:
Akbar's system of central government was based on the system that had
evolved since the Delhi Sultanate, but the functions of various departments were
carefully reorganized by laying down detailed regulations for their functioning.
Akbar was the overall in-charge of the central government. All the executive,
judicial and legislative powers of the state were combined in him. There were no
limitations on his despotism and his word was law. But Akbar had always the
welfare of his people in his mind and so his was a benevolent despotism. He
himself supervised all the branches of his administration and worked hard to
discharge his manifold duties. He would hold an open court, listen to the
complaints of his subjects and try to pacify them.

Akbar was, however, assisted by a number of ministers in the

administration. Among others, the most important ministers were –

 the Vakil, who maintained a general control over all the central departments
and acted as the chief adviser of the King;
 Diwan, who was in-charge of finance and revenue;
 Mir Bakshi, who maintained the records of all the Mansabdars and
distributed pay among the high officials;
 Sadar-i-Sadur, who acted as a religious adviser to the king, disbursed royal
charity and discharged the function of the Chief Justice of the empire.

Beside these four ministers, there were other ministers of lower rank-

 Khan-i-Saman, who was in-charge of the royal household;

 Muhtasib, who saw that the people (Muslims) led a highly moral life
according to the Muslim law; and
 Daroga-i-Dak Chowki, an officer who was in-charge of the postal and
intelligence department.

ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES OF AKBAR Page 10

Provincial Administration:
Akbar divided his vast empire into fifteen (15) Subas or provinces. In each
suba or province there was a Subedar, a Diwan, a Bakshi, a Sadr, a Qazi, a
Kotwal, a Mir Bahr and Waqa-i-Nawis.1

 The Subedar or Governor was the head of the provincial administration. He

enjoyed vast powers and was in-charge of the provincial military, police,
judiciary and the executive.
 The (provincial) Diwan was in-charge of the provincial finance and all bills
of payments were signed by him.
 The Bakshi looked after the management of the provincial army.
 The Sadr was in-charge of the judicial charity department.
 The Qazi was in-charge of the judicial department of his province. He
supervised the work of Qazis in the districts and towns.
 The Kotwal was the supreme administrator of all the ‘thanas’ of the province
and was responsible for the maintenance of law and order in all the cities.
 The Mir Bahr was in-charge of customs and taxation department.
 The Waqa-i-Nawis was in-charge of the secret service of the province.

The provinces were further divided into Sarkars and Sarkars into
Parganas. The head of the Sarkar was Faujdar who kept his own small force and
maintained law and order in his area. He was assisted by a number of other
officials who collected the revenue, maintained the accounts and deposited the
money into the state treasury. The head of the Parganas was called Shikdar whose
functions were the same as those of the Faujdar in a Sarkar. Each Pargana
comprised several villages. Each village was under the charge of a Muqaddam, a
Patwari and a Chowkidar who carried on the work of administration with the
help of the village panchayat.

1
http://www.trcollege.net/

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 TAXATION
In 1574 Akbar revised his tax system, separating revenue collection from military
administration. Each subah, or governor, was responsible for maintaining order in
his region, while a separate tax collector collected property taxes and sent them to
the capital. This created checks and balances in each region, since the individuals
with the money had no troops, and the troops had no money, and all were
dependent on the central government. The central government then doled out fixed
salaries to both military and civilian personnel according to rank.2

The first finance minister of Akbar was Muzaffar Khan. Todar Mal, Muzaffar
Khan and Shah Mansur were the three most notable finance ministers of Akbar and
all the three were skilled financiers and first-rate administrators. The Diwan or
finance minister was assisted by Diwan-i-Khalsa, who was in charge of Khalsa
(crown or reserved) lands; Diwan-i-Jagirs, who was in charge of the lands that
were given in lieu of service or as free grants (sayurghal); Sahib-i-Taujih, who was
in charge of military accounts; and Diwan-i-Bayutut, whose duty was to supervise
the accounts of various workshops attached to the court.

The Mir Bakhshi or Pay-Master General ranked next to the imperial Diwan. His
office corresponded to the Diwan-i-Ariz of the Sultanate period. The Mir Bakhshi
was required to maintain a register in which names, ranks and salaries of
mansabdars were recorded. All orders of appointment to mansabs of all ranks were
passed through his office. One of his most important duties was to prepare a list of
guards who had to keep watch around the royal palace.

Land Revenue Administration:

Land Revenue was the chief sources of income of the Government. So,
Akbar paid special attention towards the organization of the land revenue
administration. With the help of his Diwan (Revenue Minister), Raja Todar Mal,
Akbar introduced many reforms in his revenue department. First of all, the land
was measured into ‘bighas’, secondly, all the cultivated land was classified into
four divisions – Polaj, Parauti, Chachar and Banjar. The Polaj land was always

2
"Akbar the Great." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.

ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES OF AKBAR Page 12

cultivated and was never allowed to fallow; the Parauti land was allowed to fallow
for a year or two to recover its strength; the Chachar land had to be left
uncultivated for three or four years and Banjar land had to be left fallow for five
years or more. Thirdly, the total produce of each land was determined separately.
Fourthly, the share of the state was fixed at one-third of the total produce. Land
revenue was paid in cash or in kind, but cash payment was preferred. Loans with
small interest were advanced to the cultivators. In case of famine, drought or
another unexpected calamity, remission was granted and even loans were advanced
for purchase of seeds and animals. The revenue collectors were asked to be
friendly towards the cultivators and not to oppress them on every account. As a
result of these measures the revenue of the state greatly increased, the cultivators
became better off and the country became prosperous. The abundance of food also
made the life of the common man better and happier than before.

MILITARY ADMINISTRATION
Akbar paid much attention towards the organization, equipment and discipline of
the army. Akbar was an ambitious and noble commander who built the largest
army ever in the history of the Mughal empire. By the end of the 16th century, a
Mughal army in the field resembled a city on the move. For efficient military
administration he introduced a new system known as the Mansabdari System.

Mansabdari System:
The Mansabdari System was yet another achievement of Mughal Administration
System. During the rule of the Mughals, every activity of the state administration
was centred round the emperor. The Mughals developed ‘nobility’ (mansabdars) to
look after administration, but took steps to ensure that there was always an element
of insecurity in their position, so that the monarch could control them. The emperor
alone could confer, decrease, increase and resume the mansabs. Mansab was the
grant to every official, of the rights to enjoy a jagir. The term jagir meant revenue
assignments (not land itself) for services rendered (instead of a cash salary). The
jagirdari system did not affect the land rights of the cultivators or the hereditary
rights of the middlemen or zamindars. The mansabdar collected revenue from his

ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES OF AKBAR Page 13

jagir through zamindars who collected dues from the cultivators. Frequent transfers
of jagirs were made. When a mansabdar died, his entire personal property was
taken over by the State and after deducting what he owed to the State, the balance
would be returned to his heirs. There could be no hereditary claim over the
mansabs. Nobles received salaries in cash also. The nobles had to place their entire
time and service at the disposal of the emperor.

The Mansabdars had to maintain soldiers according to his grade or rank. There
were thirty three grades of these Mansabdars who maintained soldiers ranging
from 10 to 10,000. They were paid salaries in cash and the system of assignments
of lands was discouraged. They were directly under the charge of the emperor and
were promoted, degrade or dismissed at his will. He also revived the practice of
taking the descriptive rolls of the soldiers and branding the horses.3

A large number of troops were, no doubt, supplied by these Mansabdars but Akbar
had maintained a standing army of his own. The Mughal army consisted of
infantry, cavalry, artillery, elephants, and navy. The cavalry was the most
important wing of the army and special attention was paid towards its organization
and equipment.

The military organization of Akbar had no doubt certain defects (e.g., The
Mansabdars cheated the government, the soldiers were more loyal to the chiefs
than to the emperor, the practice of payment through the Mansabdars was
precarious and often led to abuses, efficiency of one unit to unit, etc.) but still
under Akbar it worked well because of his uncommon ability as a leader and an
administrator, great vigilance and discipline.

Merits : Mansabdari system was a progressive system adopted by Akbar for the
reorganization of the army. No other Indian ruler had ever thought and planned on
such lines as followed by Akbar. He tried to establish a link between chieftainship
and feudalism through Mansabdari. Some of the Mansabdars were given liberty to
recruit their soldiers from their own tribe and religion but they had to owe
unconditional allegiance to the central government. The system of Mansabdari
freed the emperor from the grips of the feudal lords as it put an end to the Jagirdari
system. The post of a Mansabdar was not hereditary; hence every new Mansabdar

3
Mughal Administration System in India by Kavita Pandey, Web. Important India

ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES OF AKBAR Page 14

received his Mansab from the emperor. His promotion and demotion also
depended on the mercy of the emperor; hence he had to be faithful and devoted to
the emperor, failing which he was deprived of all the privileges by the Emperor. It
lessened the chances of revolt in the empire. Akbar also sought the help of his
hereditary martial elements and brave citizens to join the royal army and he, thus,
contributed to the political unification of the country.

Demerits : As most of the Mansabdars were foreigners they did not have any love
towards Indian empire, hence Akbar failed to organize a national army with the
help of these Mansabdars. Moreover, as the soldiers were recruited by the
Mansabdars and they received their salary and promotion from the Mansabdars,
they remained loyal to their masters instead of the Mughal emperors.

The Central army remained weak as the soldiers of the Mansabdars had
different training of arms and discipline with their Mansabdars. They failed to
coordinate with the royal army at the time of peril. As no systematic training was
imparted to the soldiers by the central government before waging wars, their
fitness remained always in doubt and their weapons and standards remained poles
apart from one another.

With the passage of time the Mughal army began to deteriorate, the high
officers of the army began to take their wives and concubines with them to the
battlefield which affected the power and speed of the army otherwise.

The Mansabdari system created some malpractices in the army system. As

the solders received their salaries through Mansabdars, they embezzled a lot of
amount in transaction. Moreover, these Mansabdars horses and thus they amassed
a huge amount.

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 RELIGIOUS POLICIES
Religious policy of Akbar was that of complete toleration. His policy was based
on the principle of universal peace. Akbar was the first among the emperors of
Delhi who pursued such a policy. It was Akbar, who, from the very beginning of
his reign, gradually accepted a policy of dynamic toleration and active sympathy
for religious and spiritual movements. Various factors were responsible for the
liberal views and policies of religious toleration of Akbar.

Akbar became unhappy with the increasing criticism of his relaxed attitude
regarding non-Muslims in his government. Akbar's attitude was undoubtedly
related to his vision of an empire with a diversity of faiths and cultures. Akbar's ire
also reflected a hardening of his iron will and his fiercely individualistic
personality. The establishment of a new religion, Din-i llahi (Divine Faith), was a
result of Akbar's consistent confrontations with his orthodox opponents.

Akbar was keen to know the truth of religion. He used to remember God,
came in contact with saints and went on pilgrimage to Ajmer several times at the
mausoleum of Sufi saint Shaikh Muin- ud-din Chishti. He also respected very
much Shaikh Salim Chishi of Fatehpur Sikri. In 1575 A.D., he constructed Ibadat
Khana, (House of worship) at Fatehpur Sikri in which regular discussion on
religion took place. He wanted to ensure religious peace and security to the
Empire. His abolition of pilgrimage tax and Jizya, construction of the Ibadat Khana
etc. were all done with this purpose. Akbar's policy of religious toleration was
based on his final belief that there is truth in every religion. To put into practice, he
formed certain regulations such as people of all faiths i.e. Muslims, Hindus,
Christians, and Jains were allowed to construct buildings for purpose of their
worship, to propagate their faith peacefully and celebrate their religious fairs and
festivals; state services were open to people of all faith; uniform taxation system
was applied to all citizens and no social distinction was to be observed among the
people on the basis of differences of their religion.

Akbar personally observed certain practices. He celebrated all festivals of the

Hindus and the Muslims alike at the court. He stopped eating beef, reduced non-
vegetarian diet, kept fire burning in his palace for twenty-four hours, stopped going

ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES OF AKBAR Page 16

on hunting and tried to stop unnecessary killing of birds. Akbar provided equal
protection to all religions and the made no distinction between his subjects in any
field on the basis of religion.4

Jizyah:
Under Islamic law, jizya or jizyah is a per capita tax levied on a section of an
Islamic state's non-Muslim subjects, who meet certain criteria. The tax is and was
to be levied on able-bodied adult males of military age (but with specific
exemptions). From the point of view of the Muslim rulers, jizya was a material
proof of the non-Muslims' acceptance of subjection to the state and its laws. In
return, non-Muslim subjects are permitted to practice their faith, to enjoy a
measure of communal autonomy, to be entitled to the Muslim state's protection
from outside aggression, and to be exempted from military service and from the
zakat tax levied upon Muslim citizens. The Hindus hated and evaded jizya.

In 1564, Akbar abolished Jizya which was levied from the Hindus. This was hated
by the Hindus because it was a symbol of their inferiority and involved a lot of
humiliation. When Jizya was levied, the Muslims alone were the true citizens of
the state, but after its abolition, both Hindus and Muslims became equal citizens of
the state.

In 1563, Akbar abolished the pilgrimage tax. He was opposed to the policy of
taxing people while they were performing their religious duties. All restrictions on
the building of places of worship were removed. The result was that a large
number of temples were built all over the country. Akbar set up a large number a
Translation Department for translating the religious books of the Hindus into
Persian.

4
Religious Policy of Akbar, Web, IndiaNetzone.

ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES OF AKBAR Page 17

 AIN-I-AKBARI
Akbar ordered one of his close friends and courtiers, Abul Fazl, to write a
history of his reign. Abul Fazl wrote a three-volume history of Akbar’s reign, titled
Akbar Nama. The first volume dealt with Akbar’s ancestors and the second volume
recorded the events of Akbar’s reign. The third volume is the Ain-i-Akbari. The
Ain-i-Akbari or the "Constitution of Akbar", is a 16th-century, detailed document
recording the administration of emperor Akbar's empire. It deals with Akbar’s
administration, household, army, the revenues and the geography of his empire. It
also provides rich details about the traditions and culture of the people living in
India. The most interesting aspect about the Ain-i Akbari is its rich statistical
details about things as diverse as crops, yields, prices, wages and revenues.

The Ain-i-Akbari is itself divided into five books. The first book deals with
the imperial household, and the second with the servants of the emperor, the
military and civil services. The third book deals with the imperial administration,
containing the regulations for the judicial and executive departments. The fourth
book contains information about Hindu philosophy, science, social customs and
literature. The fifth book contains sayings of Akbar, along with an account of the
ancestry and biography of the author.

Important Ains:
The Muster of Man(Ain 76 Book 1 ):

The business which Akbar Majesty transacts is multifarious. A large no. of men
were appointed on the days assembly of expenditure was announced. Their merits
are inquired into and the coin of knowledge passes the current. Some pray his
majesty to remove religious doubt; other again seek his advice for settling a
worldly matter; other want medicines for their cure. Like these many other requests
were made. The salaries of large no. of men from Iran, Turkey, Europe, Hindustan
and Kashmir are fixed in a manner described below, and the men themselves are
taken before His Majesty by the paymasters. Formerly it had been custom for man
to come with horses and accoutrements; but now only men appointed to the post of
Ahadi were allowed to bring horses. The salary is proposed by the officer who
bring them, which is then increased or decreased, though it is generally increased;
ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES OF AKBAR Page 18
for the market of His Majesty is never dull. The number of men brought before His
Majesty depends on number of men available. Every Monday all such horsemen
are mustered as were left from the preceding week. With the view of increasing
army and zeal of officers, His Majesty gives to each who brings horsemen, a
present of two dams for each horsemen.5

Regulation regarding education(Ain 25 Book 2):

His Majesty orders that every school boy must learn to write the letters of the
alphabet first and then learn to trace their several forms. he ought to learn the shape
and name of each letter, which may be done on two days, after which the boy
should proceed to write joined letter. They may be practised for a week after which
boy should learn some prose and poetry by heart, and then commit to memory
some verses to the praise of God, or moral sentences, each written separately. Care
is to be taken that he learns everything by himself but the teacher must assist him a
little.6

5
https://archive.org/details/AbuAl-fazlsAin-iAkbariInPersianVol1Part1of2
6
https://archive.org/details/AbuAl-fazlsAin-iAkbariInPersianVol1Part2of2

ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES OF AKBAR Page 19

 JUDICIAL SYSTEM
The Mughal Judicial System was robust and operated effectively. The emperor was
supreme in all matters of justice. At the imperial level was the emperor’s court –
the court of final appeal. It tried both civil and criminal cases, and had appellate
and revisional powers.

The Mughal judicial system was based on the principle of the Arab
jurisprudence. Defending upon their nature, the cases were heard at different
levels. The Qazi-ul-quzftt, the chief judicial officer, was assisted by Mufti, who
would be a scholar of the Arab jurisprudence. In the Mughal period, judicial cases
were classified into the following four categories: (i) religious cases, (ii) diwani
cases, (iii) fauzdari, and (iv) goods-related cases. Religious cases were dealt with
by the office of the qazi and were related with the interpretation of Shariat. Diwani
cases were also neard by the qazi. Criminal cases were dealt with by the subahdar,
fauzdar and shiqdar. These officials had their own courts. Cases related to goods
were heard in the courts of amil. It is clear that the qazi heard only diwani and
religious cases.

Akbar introduced various reforms in the administration of justice. Before

him almost all the cases were decided according to the Islamic law. But now, for
the first time, Hindu law was administered in deciding the cases where the parties
Hindus, but Islamic law continued to function where the parties involved were
Muslims. The king was the highest court of appeal. Capital punishment was given
only in extreme cases and that too by the emperor alone.

ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES OF AKBAR Page 20

 CONCLUSION
Akbar's administration outlived his horribly inefficient successors,
Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurangazeb, who seemingly tried to destroy the system
their brilliant forefather created. Jahangir and Shah Jahan allowed personal greed
to overwhelm their rule and, by the end of the latter's reign, the imperial coffers
were almost empty. Aurangazeb was the worst ruler who most damaged Akbar’s
system because he attempted to return the rule of Hindustan back to that of a
fundamentalist Muslim vision, where the empire was run by the mullahs' judgment.
His vehement, yet futile, attempts to secure the status of Hindus as inferior people
were no match for the legitimacy Akbar had created one hundred years earlier.
Akbar was so successful at creating an efficient method for rule in Hindustan that
even after the Mughal Empire's collapse, Mughal rule was still legitimate in the
eyes of the peasants.

During the War of 1857, after which the British government formally took
control over the Indian subcontinent, a British officer killed off the sons of the last
Mughal and exiled the current ruler to Burma, despite the fact that these Mughals
possessed little to no actual power. By the late nineteenth century, the British
began to realize the magnitude of Akbar's achievement insofar as his rule appealed
to both Hindu and Muslim, but by then it was too late. They had gone too far down
the road of rule by force and fear, leaving the rule by divide to become the order of
that day. As a result, the British found that their rule never acquired what Akbar
had made central to Mughal society and without which no empire can long survive:
legitimacy.7

From the above account it is quite clear that Akbar was a great
administrator and the administrative machinery that he set up continued to function
throughout the Mughal period.

7
Akbar and the Mughal State: The Quest for Legitimization in Hindustan by
Christopher P. Holland

ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES OF AKBAR Page 21

 BIBLIOGRAPHY
1) Abu ‘L-Fazl. Akbarnama. Trans. H. Beveridge. Vol. I, II, III. Delhi: Low
Price Publications, 1989.
2) Abu ‘L-Fazl. The AIn-I Akbari. Trans. H. Blochman. Ed. S.L. Goomer.
Delhi: Naresh. C. Jain, 1871.
3) Socio-Cultural and Economic History of Medieval India by Dr. Ganeswar
Nayak, Textbook for M.A. History, SKCG College Paralakhemundi.
4) Akbar and the Mughal State: The Quest for Legitimization in Hindustan by
Christopher P. Holland, May 2005.

WEBLIOGRAPHY
1) http://www.importantindia.com/
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/
3) https://www.academia.edu
4) http://www.preservearticles.com/
5) http://hssthistory.blogspot.in/
6) http://www.cssforum.com.pk/
7) http://www.indianetzone.com/

ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES OF AKBAR Page 22