Discuss the major features of Mughal provincial administration. How did the centre control the provinces?

Main features of Mughal provincial administration-

• The Mughal state was divided into different provinces called 'subas'. The head of each suba was called subedar and he reported directly to the emperor. These subas also contained subordinates from corresponding ministers ( Diwan, Bakshi, Sadar).

• The subas were further divided into various ‘sarkaars'. Jurisdiction of these subas overlapped with that of a faujadr's. These faujdars were given heavy cavalry and soldiers to enforce kings law.

• Sarkars were divided into Parganas ( subdistricts ), which were administered by three semi-hereditary officers, kanugo, Chaudhary, and qazi.

• Apart from these, there were a large supporting staff of clerks, accountants and messengers in each department. These department also had other technically qualified staff for diverse purposes. Persian was the main language of administration but local languages were used at village levels.

Control of Provinces -

Different sources of Mughal chronicles state that the centre controlled the entire administration down to village level. But in an empire as large as the Mughal, this was a tedious task and there were sometimes conflicts between local zamindars or local magnates and representatives of the Emperor. Some of these conflicts were over authority of land or over sharing of resources.