Explain the role of women in the Mughal agrarian society.

OR

Explain the features of land revenue system of the Mughal Empire.

The women were an important part of agrarian society because they were the child-bearers in a society dependent on extensive-labour. But the mortality rate among women were very low due to malnutrition, frequent pregnancies, death during child birth. This created a shortage of wives. In this society there was a bride-price rather than the dowry given by the bride’s family, which was different as compared to the customs of elite groups. Remarriage was legitimise for women who were divorced or widowed.

The women were seen as an important reproductive force because of the fear of losing control over them was huge. The male were made the head of the families and women were required to abide by their orders. Women who engaged in infidelity were severely punished. There protests by the women as infidelity by males were not seen punishable and several males neglected the duties towards their wives and children. Among the landed gentry, women had the right to inherit properties, like in Punjab where widowed women often participated in selling and buying properties.

Women were seen as an important part of society but still they were not treated well.

OR

For the Mughal empire the land revenue was the economy mainstay. So, it was important to administrate this system. The apparatus included the office(daftar) or diwan who was responsible for supervising the fiscal system of the empire. The features of the revenue system was :

• Before fixing the burden of tax on people, the Mughal state tried to acquire specific information about the agricultural land in the empire and what did it produced.

• The land revenue system consisted of two stages – first assessment and then collection. The jama was the amount assessed as compared to the amount collected.

• Akbar also, insisted that while he strive to make the cultivators pay in cash, the option of payment in kind should also be made open

• While fixing revenue, the attempt of the state was to maximise these claims but these claims were often thwarted by the local conditions.

• Both cultivated and cultivable land were measured in every province.