Omprakash Srivastav (Ed.

The Heritage
New Aspects

,tAp, LAMBERT
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Academic Publishing
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REFLECTIONS OF MUGHAL STATE APPARATUS ON AMBER

(1694-1744)

Sumbul Haleem Khan

With the submission at the Mughal court, the Amber Raja

became Mansabdar and his ancestral domain was treated as his
watan. As a Mughal chief, the Amber Raja had the autonomy to run
his watan as per his convenience and not necessarily as per
guidelines of Mughal administration. Jai Singh Sawai is known for
+
his diplomacy and innovative genius. In such a situation, it would
seem pertinent to investigate the extent of autonomy implemented in
the watan area by the Raja in the eighteenth century. Such a study
would make US gauge the reflections of imperial state apparatus on
other parts of Mughal Empire.
As far as the administrative pattern of Raja's watan was
concerned, the nature of studies so far pursued indicated broad
uniformity in the administrative pattern of the Mughal Empire at

.
Hid. .1._: -,------ _
 ｾ
larqe.' Regional micro level research confirmed the above studies

"''' and endorsed the case of uniforrnity."

The present paper makes a complete comparative appraisal of
the imperial state apparatus like Amber, Such a study is determined
on the basis of system of revenue assignments ,assertion of right of
sovereignty, revenue rates, mode of assessment, weights,
measures and currency, maintenance of revenue records.
Revenue assignment
Revenue assignments were made by the Raja from his own jagir on
the Mughal pattern. These assignment were in the form of jagirs
(sub-assignments), zamindaris as well as ijaras (sub-leases)."
ｾ
The jagirs at Amber too, were both conditional and
unconditional such. assignments were made to the local magnates
Bhomia, Chaudhuri, Patel etc. and Rajas own officials serving at the
imperial court." The assignments at pargana level were termed
alufati jagif The unconditional assignments were made to those
who had rendered an outstanding service (inam) or for charitable
purpose (punya udik).6
The difference between the Mughal and the Rajas assignment
system appears to be that Raja granted sub-assignment in lieu of
salary for a short term subject to renewal from time to time. It is rare

ｾ to find evidence if a sub assignee was assigned a jagir for a period

of three years; instead, the sanad had to be produced by the
assignee for inspection and confirmation every year. Failure to
produce sanad could lead to confiscation of jagir.
On the pattern of the Mughal jagirdari system an entire village
(dar -o-bast) could be assigned to a single assignee, a part i.e. one
fourth, one half or three fourth was assigned. The village could also
be held jointly (shirkat) by one or more than one assigns, while a
portion of it may be retained in Maharaja's Khalisa.' For example, in
2

'"

--------
 ),>-
1730 the salary assignment of village khijuria in pargana Chatsu, the
lies
salary assignment was shared by four persons:
So
1. Chain Singh Rs. 1000/- ｾ village
Lot
2. Daulat Singh Rs. 500/- ｾ village
. led
3. Hukumat Singh Rs. 300/- No share
t of
4. Sangram Singh Rs. 2500/- 1!z
hts,

Assessed Income-
The tan or assessed income from a sub-assigned village was
: ron
commuted on annual basis. For the purpose of payment of salary,
girs
the rulers of Amber introduced month-proportion, which was entirely
ｾ
different to Mughal month-proportion. Thus the arhsattas for different
and
parganas suggest that in the deed of grant of each jagir whether it
ates
was ten monthly (dah maha), eight monthly (ath maha) or six
the
monthly (chhe maha), the tan was entered, as also the qarar i.e. the
ned
stipulated number of months during which the quota of sawars and
lose
footmen required from a particular jagir was to be provided. This
i able
quota was calculated on an assessed income obtained by
multiplying the tan by twelve and dividing it by the number of
nent
stipulated (qarar) months."
u of
Assertion of right of sovereignty
rare
The Jaipur Rajas began to assert the right of sovereignty and
ｈｩｯｾ
to emphasize that the tenure of their assignees depended on service
the
and loyalty. A study of the contemporary evidence suggests, that in
e to
their turn, the jagirdars began in course of time to claim their tenure
by right of inheritance and could not be easily distodqed."
Ilage
Peshkash
one
The chiefs who accepted the sovereignty of the Mughals had
also
to submit peshkash at different occasions. The amount of the
ile a
payment was fixed. It could be paid in lump sum or in seasonal
Ie, in
3

.
..."''" ... ｾｰ -,-------------------------------
y lnstalments." Following the same tradition, the Raja also demanded

)\ peshkash as a mark of sovereignty from sub-assignees, sub-lessee.

new zamindars or the Patel, Patwari, other pargana officials or any
new incumbent to office.
The nature of information contained in the arhsatta and awarija
mutaJiba provide the amount of peshkash, which largely appears to
be a regular payment. Distinction, may, however, be made between
the peshkash paid annually to the state as a mark of submission to
the chief 11 and the amount of peshkash collected as a perquisite
under the Siwai Jamabancl." A sub-assignee had to pay both viz;
the peshkash as an insignia of submission and the additional
.,... amount, was paid in kind.13
Besides peshkash, jagirdars and other officials and non-
officials were required to pay nyota (at the time of the marriage of
the prince and 1.5% didhotra or one and a half) to the state. On the
other hand, the jagirdars, Chaudhuri Patel, Patwari, Qanungo,
Faujdar and other officials collected other customary cases to collect
from the raiyat, which is not within the scope of present study.
Similarly, on the Mughal pattern, these Rajput rulers did not
hesitate to fix nazr or bhent (presents) at the time of accession
(tika), marriage or festivals. In pargana Udehi, each member in the
village and qasba had to pay Rs. 2/- per house as nazr/ bhent to the
).-
Raja 14. The panch however, paid the amount at lower rate (see
Appendix A). It was exclusively the prerogative of the state to fix the
amount.
Army Organization
In the army organization, there is absence of the term mansab
in Amber, which presumably was the imperial prerogative; however,
the usage of hazari as a suffix to the name of military official is
found."
4

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ＧＩｾ
Deductions were charged from the salary of the assignee as in
'red
the case of Mughal mansabdars. In our region being termed as
ee,
mutaliba (state's financial claim), it included tafawat khurak ghora
any
(fodder for horse), tafawat ghairhazir (for absenting) masa'adat
(state loans) etc. Similar to the Mughal pattern deviation from these
uij«
could lead to resumption of assiqnment."
) to
Composition of nobility
sen
Mainly his clansmen for whom reason they are found
1 to
corroding the whole village set up constituted the framework of
site
Raja's nobility. Evidence indicating conscious placement of these
viz;
clans for larger chunks of land are replete."
.nal
ｾ
The numerical strength of the rest of the clans was in order to
check and balance the rising power of the Rajas own clansmen.
on-
Such a parallel is found in the Mughal Empire in the counter checks
ｾ of
imposed on Turani and Irani nobility.
the
The Revenue Administration
IgO,
The officials serving in the capacity of diwans, emins, ami/s,
lect
karkun belonged to such mercantile classes as the setis, bhayyas,
kayasthas, mahajan, etc. 1B Their role in acting as guarantor of
not
assignments exposed to them the weakness of landed elements.
.ion
The assignments made to them in lieu of remuneration expanded
the
through the acquisition of leases 19. The emergence of this class
the
)0- would thus seem as pronounced as in the other part of the Mughal
see
Empire.
the
As a Mughal jagirdar, the Raja followed the rules and
regulations sanctioned by the Mughal administration. He was
answerable to the Mughal state regarding the revenue
sab
administration. The practice of preparing the various dastur circles
Jer,
I is
appears to have continued until the end of the first half of the is"
century. A large number of dastur-ul-amal and amal dasturs

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 ｾ
fortunately have survived for the region of Eastern Rajasthan, which
ｳｾ give a detailed account of taxation system of Eastern Rajasthan as
also of the distant pargana having different dasturs. As a result, a
comparative study of the various dastur-circle prepared in Ain is
possible.
Revenue rates
The collection of land­revenue in cash was widely prevalent
under the Mughals. In many parganas in the dastur circles of
Akbarabad and Ajmer, the bulk of revenue was collected in kind,
and then converted into cash based on their current prices. The
dasturs therefore were prepared in similar fashion. Thus, there was
ｾ
schedule of cash rates applicable to one set of crops assessed
under zabt, which was distinct to rates imposed on jinsi crops. It may
also be noted that in Akbarabad and Ajmer qazi­i­Sikandari, which
was 2/3rd of qazi­I Ilahi was being used.
It is obvious from the dastur-ul amal of 1t h
and 18th centuries
that the land tax varied with the status of the peasants, a class that
was highly stratified during Mughal times.
Earlier researches have also deduced that the dasturs differed
considerably from revenue circle to revenue circle, and these of
Agra as compared to Ajmer were higher because they were near the
capital and effected by high prices of produce."
)...
The average collection of state revenue demand in dastur-
circles of eastern Rajasthan takes into consideration the tax payers
which included all categories of peasants, which comes to 44.51
(state) and 66.57 (peasant). Thus, the peasant in our region was in
a position to pay 10% over and above the tax on crops (mal). In
other words, he was left with a little more than half the produce,
which appears to be more realistic." It appears to be convincing that

(,

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....- the Mughal administration looked at half the produce not as the
rich
I as standard, but as the maximum.
Above study has indicated the deep­rooted influence of the
i t, a
'1 is Mughal revenue administration on the land revenue system." It was
indeed a part of the Mughal administration. The system of taxation,
method of assessment prevalent under the Mughals was widely

lent adopted by Jaipur ruler.

; i of Method of Assessment

ind, In the method of assessment, besides zabti, batai, jinsi,

i. The Kankut (kut) etc., the system of lata, latee, latai, and pr lat batai was

Nas very popular in Eastern Rajasthan. In case, the cultivator

..... complained of unfair increase or over estimation in assessment he
sed
nay had a choice to reap the harvest, and keep the grains in heaps

'iict: weigh it. In fact, lata was used at the time of realization when the
crop was ready for assessment. Whether lata was an independent

ries system of assessment or related with batai and jinsi, is however not

that clear.
Currency system

ired The Mughal currency was completely regulated by the

ｾ of Kacchawaha rulers in daily transaction etc. like silver rupee, copper

the paisa, copper tanka. Gold muhrwas also in vogue. 29 It was open to
take bullion to the mint and get it converted into specie with a certain
).-

.tur- discount'" Mughal Emperors were very particular to see that there

{ers should be uniformity in currency in all the regions. Thus, Kalyan Das

L51 informs us "that Mohammad Saeed Gurzbardar had left to see that

s in newly issued Alamgiri paisa should now be in prevalence replacing

I. In the old sikke. His spies are roaming allover, who so ever is found to

.rce, use the old paisa, and his head would be shaved and will be severly

that punished. You (pargana official) should take care in your pargana to

'\If

Ii...
.... implement the imperial policy. Everybody should use Alamgiri paisa
55 replacing the old one.,,31
However, the Mughals imposed their standard, currency on all
the regions yet in Rajasthan local currencies inherited from the
previous regimes continued. These were not minted in the imperial
court. As in Eastern Rajasthan dam (which was very different to
th
Mughal dam i.e. 1/40 of a rupee) or similarly dugani in Western
th
Rajasthan. The value of local dam was 1/50 of the taka (copper).
While the value of taka in relation to rupee varied from year to year
and pargana to pargana. 32 Price variations affected the baser metal
rather than gold or silver. The main supplies appear to have been
..... from the local copper mines like khetri and Bairath. In our region,
takas Aurangshahi/ Naurangsahi/ Alamgiri were Widely prevalent
while other takas of different value are also referred to.
Weights and Measures
Regarding the weights, used in this region, we have
fluctuations in the number of sers per man from one pargana to
another. The Akbari man survived curiously enough as a man of 30
sers and not, as original a man of 40 sers, each ser of 30 dam;
similarly, the Jahangiri man was preserved as a man of 36 sets'. the
standard man (Shahjaham) was of 40 sets'."
It seems that the area figures in our records are given in
ｾ
bigha-i daftari. The bigha based on it was two­third of the gaz-i I/ahi.
The length of the dori consisted of 75 hath (i.e. kacchi dori and 95
hath (pakki don). The ratio accords closely with that borne by bigha
daftari to bigha 'l/ahi. 34
Maintenance of official records
The impact of the Mughal administration is found even in the
local records maintained by Maharaja's office, which were based on
Persian terminology. This is obvious since the Mughal administration

.
8

_ _ _1_I11III.-
was always keen to obtain detailed information of every region, its
crops, extent of cultivation, agricultural and non­agricultural
production. prices etc. for the purpose of consolidation of statistical
details 35.Thus, dastur-ul amal, taqsim, raqbabandi, yaddasht,
muwazana, nirkhbazar, parwana, arzdasht etc. though initially
written in Hindi were commuted to Persianized Rajasthani. Even, in
the latter half of 18th century, the linguistic impact of Persian could
much more be felt as compared to Marathi? Further, the use of Hijri
era along with Vikrami Samvat on the documents was adhered.
To conclude one is struck by the fact that Sawai Jai Singh
could have deviated from the norms of the Mughal state apparatus
but he preferred to enlarge his authority by the use of, and within the
limits of, the traditional framework the Empire. The above study
helps us understand the fact that Amber should be treated as
integral part of the Mughal empire and rich nature of official records
maintained thereof can enrich ones understanding on the Mughal
empire. Since this rich expanse of archival data is extant for the
Jaipur state exploring our records would overcome any paucity of
such intricate data on Mughal Empire.

l)
 NOTES AND REFERENCES
1. W.H. Moreland: The Agrarian system of Muslim India; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian
System of Mughal India, op.cit., Noman Ahmad Siddiqui, Land Revenue
Administration under the Mughals.
2. S.P. Gupta; Agrarian System of Eastern Rajasthan
3. Arhsattas of different parganas wherein the classification of villages, sub-
assignments and the farmed out revenue is provided.
4. Bhomia is found to be synonymous to zamindars see S.P. Gupta and Shireen
Moosvi: Bhomi in the Territory of Amber, 1650­1760, PIHC, 1970. Also B.L.
Bhadani, The Allodia proprietors? The Bhumias of Marwas IHR, Vol VI, No. 1­2,
July 1979­January 1980.
5. Alufati jagir was given to Rajas officials in lieu of salary. Cf, V.S Bhatnagar Life
and Times of Sawai Jai Singh 1688­1743 p 305, who erroneously defines Alufali
jagir as assignment made to women.
6. See Arhsatta pargana Chatsu 1730. Total number of mauzas in Raja's jagir.
336
Puniya Alufati jagir Raja's Khalisa
19.50 88.75 227.75
Puniya Udik Inam
16.50 1
7. For details, see my article; 'Relations of rulers of Ambers with their sub-assignees
1650-1750'; PIHC, Gorakhpur, 1990.
8. Arhsattas of different years.
9. Chitthis of different years
10 Ibid Also. see Lakhtang documents for a number of years.
11. It is discemible from the following table based on Awarija Mutaliba pargana
Bahatri 1676 that there was a certain assumed income fraction over and above
which enhanced the amount of peshkash. It is also inferable that the Raja
extorted the said amount irrespective of clannish affiliations
CLAN­WISE PAYMENT OF PESHKASH TO THE RAJA
CLAN PESHKASH (Rs)
f­{iajawat 1922
, Kumbhawat 525
Banbirpota 468
Syombhpota 355
Hamirde 218.11
I Chauhan 161
Bhati 143.07
Naruka 135
Dhirawat 108.06
Solankhi 82
I Rajghar 58.15
Pariwar 13.12
Kavasth 8
Kurnbharu X
Somesarpota X
Gehlot X
Barguiar X
Chandel X
Rathor X
... Tunwar
X
Jadam X
Jatu X
Sodha X
Sikarwal X
!O
 5

Siscdia X
Brahman X
1I
Banya X
Charan X
Musalman X
Mina x

12 Pargana-viise collection of Peshkesh from the Khent and Rabi harvests, See
ｾ Appendix A at the end of the chapter
I 13 For details of items Offered as Peshkash, See Appendix B of the chapter.
! 14 Yaddasht Nazr Bhent Tika of Shivji, Pargana Toda Bhiv (Bhim), VS 1802/1745.
ｾ 15 Chehra documents V.S. 1788/1731, see the details of Bhairav Das Hazari

!• 16.
17.
Awarija rnutaliba, pargana Bahatri, 1733/1676.
Awarija Mutaliba, pargana Bahatri 1676.
ｾｬ
tf
;{
18 See the detailed list of these officials provided in Agrarian System of Eastern
Rajasthan, pp 187­210.
ｾ
19 Undated. Likhtang document

I 20.
21
SP Gupta. Magnitude of land Revenue Demand, PIHC, Calcutta, 1991.
Ibid.

I
I
;
ｾ
22.
23.
24

25
Ibid.
Arzdasht Miti Sawan Sudi 6, Vs 1768/1711.
See Silver value of gold (rupee for muhr) and silver value of copper (takas per
rupee) in SF Gupta Agrarian System op cit, Appendix A & B, pp. 313­316
Arhsatta khazana and potdar for different parganas.
i 26. Chitthi Miti Phalgun Sudi, V.S 1721/1664.
I
ｾ
27.
28.
Agranan System, op cit. Appendix B­2 p. 313­16.
Ibid.
ｾ 29. Ibid.
i 30. Chitthi, Mitl, Phalgun Vadi 10, VS 1721/1664. From Shobha Chand Akbey Raj

I
(pargana officials) to diwan Sri Kalyan Das that "Padshah ji ordered to prepare
taqsim. So prepare it for ten years VVhatever is recorded about mal of six and
seven months, the same should be specified If there is any famine year, then
write scarcitv. If anybody else writes to you about taqsim, tell him that it has been
sent to Maharaja Kunwarji, console him, and inform me accordingly. You prepare
J taqsim includinq hijari year 1068. Gopi Nath qanungo has said that he has

J.- submitted it In the kachehri of the Emperor (Padshah Ji) for three years beginning
from 1069 to 1071 and seven years of the preceding years."

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