DEPARTMENT OF UILS (LAW)

B.A LL.B 2nd SEM

SUBJECT :HISTORY-II
from: Assistant Prof.
Vishal Sood
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• Assignment of a piece of land to an individual for the purpose of

collection of revenue in lieu of cash salary is an age-old practice in India.
• In the Delhi Sultanate period such assignments were called Iqtas and
the holders Iqtadars.
• The Mughal emperors also implemented this system and the areas
assigned were called Jagirs and their holders, Jagirdars. It is to be
remembered in this connection that it is not land that was assigned but
the right to collect revenue or income from the piece of land..

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• The framework of the Mughal Jagirdari system began during the reign of
Akbar and in course of time it underwent modifications.

• Babur and Humayun continued the collection of revenue from the assigned
territories through Wajahdars by fixing ‘wajah’.

• In the time of Akbar, the territory was broadly divided as Khalisa and Jagir.

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• The revenue of Khalisa territory was collected and deposited in the imperial
treasury. Depending on the rank the Jagirdar was assigned the collection of
revenue in lieu of salary in cash. The maximum area of the territory was
assigned to Mansabdars on the basis of their rank. The estimated revenue
from the territory was called ‘jama ojamadari’ as it was calculated in ‘dam’.
• Dam is a small copper coin. Generally, the jama included land revenue, in-
land transit duties, port customs and other taxes too. This is also known as
‘sair jihat’ and ‘hasil’ or the amount of revenue actually collected. There were
various types of Jagirs or revenue assignments.

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 • They are:
• (1) Jagirs, which were given in lieu of pay known as Jagir Tankha,
• (2) Jagirs given to an individual on certain conditions called Mashrut
Jagirs,
• (3) Jagirs with no involvement of obligations of service and were
independent of rank known as Inam Jagirs, and
• (4) Jagirs, assigned to Zamindars in their home lands called Watan Jagirs.

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• Of these varieties, Tankha Jagirs were transferable for every three or four years.
Watan Jagirs were hered­itary Jagirs and non-transferable. Yet, all these types of
Jagirs were liable for conversion. Thus, the Jagirdars were allowed to collect only
the stipulated amount fixed by the king.
• The Jagirdar collected the revenue through his own officials like Karkun, Amir and
Fotedar. The imperial bureaucracy kept a vigilant watch over the Jagirdars. The
Diwan of the Suba saw to it that the Jagirdars never harassed the peasants for
excess payment. From the 20th year of the reign of Akbar, an Amir was posted in
the Subha to see that the Jagirdars strictly implemented the royal orders.

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• In times of difficulty, the Jagirdar took the help of faujdar for the collection of
revenue. During the later period of Aurangzeb’s reign, there arose a crisis in
Jagirdari system and this in turn led to a crisis in the Mughal Empire.
• We also come across the term Zamindars besides Mansabdars and Jagirdars
in the official Mughal records. In the Mughal period, the term was used in a
very wide sense. It meant the petty land holders in the villages and
descendants of old ruling families and the Rajputs and other auton­omous
chiefs who exercised administrative authority in their areas. They also
maintained armed forces and forts depending on their status.

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• The Zamindars were the local elite or rural aristocracy who exercised
authority in their areas. The Mansabdari and the Jagirdari were the two
main institutions created by Akbar to consolidate and expand his
empire which embraced both civil and military sectors of adminis­
tration. Thus the Mansabdars, Jagirdars and Zamindars were a part of
the Mughal nobility which acted as a prop of the Mughal administrative
structure created by Akbar and nurtured by his successors.

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• It is of great interest to note as observed by J.F. Richards, “the structure

created by Akbar and his adminis­tration survived with surprisingly little
change until the early years of the 18th century. Imposed and backed by
the overwhelming Mughal power, this structure included beneath the
tough defense of rural life and reshaped the economy, culture and
society of Mughal India”.

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 Thanks
Queries are welcome

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