INDIA UNDER THE MUGHALS : Medieval Indian History

Mughal Nobility

The nobles of the Mughal period formed a privileged class. Most of them were foreigners such as Turks and Afghan many of them settled down in India and made it their permanent home.

The emperor encouraged new elements to join his service, and Iranians came to form an important block of the Mughal nobility.

Akbar also looked for new men of Indian background. Indian Afghans, being the principal opponents of the Mughals, were obviously to be kept at a distance, but the Sayyids of Baraha, the Bukhārī Sayyids, and the Kambūs among the Indian Muslims were specially favoured for high military and civil positions.

The Mughal nobility came to comprise mainly the Central Asians (Tūrānīs), Iranians (Irānīs), Afghans, Indian Muslims of diverse subgroups, and Rajputs.

Both historical circumstances and a planned imperial policy contributed to the integration of this complex and heterogeneous ruling class into a single imperial service. The emperor saw to it that no single ethnic or religious group was large enough to challenge his supreme authority.

Rural Masses

The rural masses wore the minimum cloths to avoid cold in winter. But in summer they suffered from hot weather. A small amount of cloth was wrapped around the waist.

Nikitin observed that the people of Deccan were bare-footed. It might be due to high cost of leather. Rice, millets and pulses were the staple food of the common people.

Fish was popular on the coastal region. While ghee and oil were cheaper, salt and sugar were more expensive.

As plenty of cattle were kept by the rural people, milk and milk products were available in plenty.

Agriculture

Agriculture was the backbone of the Indian economy during the Mughal period. An estimate claims that the population of India at the beginning of the seventeenth century was about 125 million.

Under the Mughals, the system of land-tenure introduced by Sher Shah Suri was continued. The system of patti became the common type of land-holding in Bengal and Bihar.

As plenty of land was available for cultivation, agriculture was prosperous. A large variety of crops such as wheat, rice, gram, barley, pulses were cultivated. Commercial crops such as cotton, indigo, sugarcane and oil-seeds were also cultivated.

During the seventeenth century two new crops, namely, tobacco and maize were added. Potato and red chillies came later in the eighteenth century.

But, no new agricultural technique was introduced during this period. However, India was able to export food items like rice and sugar to the neighbouring countries.

Growth of Trade

Indian traders had a prosperous time under the Mughals. This is mainly because the Mughal empire was a great example of a centralized state which brought great stability and order after a period of regional anarchy and confusion.

They were well organized and highly professional. Seth, bohra traders specialized in long distance trade while local traders were called banik.

Another class of traders was known as banjaras, who specialized in carrying bulk goods. The banjaras used to move to long distances with their goods on the back of oxen.

Bulk goods were also taken through rivers on boats. The trading community did not belong to one caste or religion. The Gujarathi merchants included the Hindus, Jains and Muslims.

In Rajasthan, Oswals, Maheshwaris and Agarwals came to be called the Marwaris. Multanis, Khatris and Afghanis conducted trade with central Asia.

In south India, the Chettis on the Coramandal coast and the Muslim merchants of Malabar were the most important trading communities. Indigo and food grains were exported from north India through Gujarat.

Art and Architecture

The architecture of the Mughals in India is a combination of Persian, Afghan and Indian architecture. The major features were the mosques, tombs and forts.

The Mughals were fond of laying gardens with running water. Some of the Mughal gardens such as the Nishat Bagh in Kashmir, the Shalimar Bagh at Lahore and the Pinjore garden in the Punjab have survived even today.

During the reign of Sher Shah, the mausoleum at Sasaram in Bihar and the Purana Qila near Delhi were built.  These two monuments are considered as the architectural marvels of medieval India.

Large scale construction of buildings started with the advent of Akbar. He built many forts and the most famous one was the Agra Fort. It was built in red sandstone.

His other forts are at Lahore and Allahabad. The climax of fort-building reached its climax during the reign of Shah Jahan. The famous Red Fort at Delhi with its Rang Mahal, Diwan-i-Am and Diwan-i-Khas was his creation.

Akbar also built a palace-cum-fort complex at Fatepur Sikri (City of Victory), 36 kilometres from Agra. Many buildings in Gujarathi and Bengali styles are found in this complex.

Gujarathi style buildings were probably built for his Rajput wives. The most magnificent building in it is the Jama Masjid and the gateway to it called Buland Darwaza or the Lofty Gate.

The height of the gateway is 176 feet. It was built to commemorate Akbar’s victory over Gujarat. Other important buildings at Fatepur Sikri are Jodh Bai’s palace and Panch Mahal with five storeys.

Paintings and Music

The Mughal painting achieved remarkable heights under Akbar. He was the only one among the Mughal emperors who took personal interest in its development and organization. The foundation for the Mughal painting was laid by Humayun when he was staying in Persia.

Humayun brought with him two painters – Mir Sayyid Ali and Abdal Samad to India. These two painters became famous during Akbar’s reign.

Akbar commissioned the illustrations of several literary and religious texts. He invited a large number of painters from different parts of the country to his court.

Both Hindus and Muslims joined in this work. Baswan, Miskina and Daswant attained great positions as Akabar’s court artists.

Illustrations of Persian versions of Mahabharata and Ramayana were produced in miniature form. Many other Indian fables became the miniature paintings in the Art Studio established by Akbar.

Historical works such as Akbar Nama also remained the main themes of Mughal paintings. The most important work is Hamznama, which consisted 1200 paintings. Indian colours such as peacock blue, Indian red began to be used.

Language and Literature

Abul Fazl was a prominent figure in the Mughal Empire under the reign of Akbar the Great. He wrote one of the most detailed and comprehensive works on Akbar’s life.

Many historical works were written during this period. They include Ain-i-Akbari and Akabar Nama authored by Abul Fazl.

The leading poet of that period was his brother Abul Faizi. The translation of Mahabharata into the Persian language was done under his supervision. Utbi and Naziri were the two other leading Persian poets.

Jahangir’s autobiography, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri was famous for its style. He also patronized many scholars like Ghiyas Beg, Naqib Khan and Niamatullah.

Shah Jahan also patronized many writers and historians like Abdul Hamid Lahori, author of Padshah Nama and Inayat Khan who wrote Shah Jahan Nama.

His son Dara Shikoh translated the Bhagavat Gita and Upanishads into the Persian language. The most influential Hindi poet was Tulsidas, who wrote the Hindi version of the Ramayana, the Ramcharitmanas.