Lesson 3: Akabr’s reforms

Objective potion

Fill in the blanks with the correct choices from the word bank:
Cows – majority – copper – Persian – communion – Afghan – Hindu –Mongol –
4 – paradise – jagir –– parade – mansabdari – governor –bartering – gold –
silver – middle – nationalist

1. Akbar tried to establish a real Indian culture, rather than imposing an alien
culture on the local inhabitants as the earlier _Mongol__, __ Persian __and
__ Afghan __invaders had done in the past.
2. There were ______4_____ main aspects of Akbar’s reform programme.
3. Akbar abolished the ___ jagir _____system of the army and instead
introduced the _ mansabdari _system of the ranking of nobles.
4. Akbar’s army had to ___ parade ____before him to show that they were
ready for battle.
5. Tax officials were responsible directly to emperor and not the _ governor _.
6. As money gradually began to replace __ bartering ___, Akbar had mints
built to make coins made out of ___ gold __, __ silver ___and__ copper __.
7. Banks and moneylenders were largely run by ___ Hindu ___merchants and
allowed for a strong Hindu ___ middle __ class to evolve.
8. To make the Hindus happy Akbar forbade the killing of ___cows____.
9. Akbar felt that all religions were trying to achieve the same end for their
followers, to reach __ paradise __and bring about __ communion ___with
God.
10. Akbar’s reforms encouraged __ nationalist ___ feelings in the Hindus as
they began to believe that their __ majority ___ status entitled them to
rule the country.
Choose the best answer:
1. Which sentence best describes Akbar’s model of tax revenue generation?
a. Increased taxes on crops along with officials to help people grow
more crops
b. Increased taxes on trade
c. Reintroduction of Jizya tax
d. None of the above
2. Which one of these options was one of Akbar’s religious reforms?
a. Akbar encouraged Muslims to marry only Muslims
b. Akbar encouraged Muslims to marry Hindu women
c. Akbar re-imposed Islamic jizya tax
d. All of the above
3. Which one of these is NOT one of the consequences of Akbar’s reforms
a. Rise of Hindu nationalism
b. Muslims desire to have a more traditional Islamic ruler
c. Increased conversions from Hinduism to Islam
d. All of the above
4. Which one of these is one of the things Akbar did to please the Muslims:
a. Abolished jizya
b. Abolished Hindu pilgrim tax
c. Forbade killing of cows
d. Abolished compulsory suttee
5. Which one of these is not one of the features of Akbar’s Din-i-Ilahi?
a. People have to bow down before Allah and Akbar
b. Akbar’s statements about religion always right if supported by Quran
c. Akbar was Allah’s representative on Earth
d. People should only bow down to Allah
Correct the false statement:
1. Akbar never had an efficient, well-trained army ready to go to war at a
moment’s notice.

always

2. Each of Akbar’s provinces was under a jagirdar.

governor

3. The jagir system ensured a well-trained army.

mansabdari

4. The taxes under Akbar were based largely on trade goods and gold.

land and crops

5. The people were taxed one half of the value of the crops by Akbar.

one-third

Match the following:

Column A Column B Column C
Akbar’s new religion 1. Abolishing jizya tax 4
Mansabdari 2. Akbar had coins made here 3
Mints 3. Akbar’s administrative ranking 2
system
Hall of Worship 4. Din-i-Ilahi 5
Appeasment of 5. Fatehpur Sikri 1
Hindus
Give one word or one phrase answers:
1. What do you call the system where senior army official are paid by land
grants? Jagirdari system
2. How many provinces did Akbar divide his empire into? 15
3. What do you call the place where all the money belonging to a country or
empire is kept? Treasury
4. What do you call the place where money is printed or coins are made?Mint
5. Which special tax meant for non-Muslims was abolished by Akbar? Jizya

Subjective portion

Give short answers:

1. Describe the justice system introduced by Akbar.

Akbar appointed judges who dealt with criminal cases. For civil cases, Muslims
were tried by Shariah Law and Hindus by juries of their own caste.

2. What did Akbar do to prevent rebellions?

Tax officials responded directly to the emperor and not to the governor. This
meant that the governors did not have the money and the tax officials did not
have the soldiers to start a rebellion. Officials were also transferred from time
to time to prevent them from establishing a power base in any one region.

2. What did Akbar do to increase tax revenues? List any 2 things.

Any 2:
1. Fields were re-measured and the crops of each area were recorded by name.
2. Tax officials acted as advisors to farmer and encouraged them to grow high
value crops like sugar, cotton, maize and indigo because increased profits
meant more taxes for the government.
3. What did Akbar do to increase trade? List any 2 things.
1. He built new roads with trees, rest houses and wells.
2. He built new mints to make gold, silver and copper coins as money begun
replacing bartering.

Glossary

1. Corruption

The unfair or dishonest use of public resources or money, usually by

government officials, for personal benefit.

2. Hall of Worship

A place in Akbar’s new capital Fatehpur Sikri where Akbar met scholars Muslim
scholars to discuss the Quran and the Islamic faith. Later he would meet scholars
and religious leaders of Hinduism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Judaism.

Detailed Questions:
1. Compare and contrast the policies Akbar introduced to appease the Hindus
and Muslims.

Policies to appease Hindus:

1. Made Hindu nobles, generals and officials in his empire.

2. Abolished Hindu pilgrimage tax.
3. Abolished jizya tax.
4. Made the destruction of Hindu temples illegal.
5. Banned the killing of cows.
6. Encouraged Muslim men to marry Hindu women.
7. Discouraged the use of Arabic.

Policies made to appease Muslims:

1. Lowered land taxes

2. Stopped child marriages
 3. Discouraged animal sacrifices
4. Stopped the killing of baby girls
5. Abolished compulsory suttee

2. What was Din-i-Ilahi and what was the reaction of the people towards it?

In 1582 Akbar begun a new religion called Din-i-Ilahi which he said contained the
best teachings of all other religions. Allah, the Prophet and the Quran were still
foundations of the new faith but the Akbar said he was Allah’s representative on
Earth. As Allah’s representative the people of all ranks had to bow down on the
ground before him. Naturally, all of this made the Muslims very angry because
according to Islam people should only bow down before Allah. Only a few
courtiers joined Akbar’s new religion and Akbar himself returned to Islam 10
years later.

3. Describe the mansabdari system.

Under the mansabdari system the nobles were given ranks. They were all paid
to recruit, equip, train and command a certain number of soldiers. The lowest
noble had to keep a force of ten trained men; chiefs and important nobles
maintained up to 5000 soldiers, while royal princes maintained up to 10,000
soldiers. Every year they had to parade before the emperor to show that they
were ready for battle. By this means, Akbar always had a well-trained army
ready to go war at a moment’s notice.

ACTIVITY:
Crescent: Islam
Cross: Christianity
6-sided star: Judaism
Idol with multiple hands: Hinduism
Fire: Zoroastrianism