How did the village panchayat regulate the rural society in the Mughal period? Explain.

OR

How do we come to know about the rural society of the Mughal period? Which technologies were used by the peasants during this period? Explain.

The village panchayat regulated the rural society in the Mughal period in the following ways:

1. The village Panchayat was an assembly of elderly people who possessed hereditary landed properties.

2. The panchayat represented various castes and communities in the village. However, it was dominated by the Brahmanas and the Kshatriyas.

3. The menial-cum-agricultural workers were not represented in the panchayat.

4. The Panchayat was headed by a headman known as muqaddam or Mandal who was chosen by consensus by the elders of the village. This was ratified by the zamindar.

6. The Headman held office as long as he enjoyed the confidence of the village elders, failing which they could be dismissed by them.

OR

1. According to various travel accounts, it is evident that most of the population during the Mughal rule was peasants, and the elites occupying the land.

2. However the society also occupied people from fields other than agriculture.

3. There were-

I. Khud- kasht- who owned lands and paid concessional taxes as well.

II. pahi kasht- who cultivated the rented lands.

III. muzaria- those who were from the village but did not own any land or rented it.

Technologies used by peasants during that time were-

1. Agrarian reforms that started by Sher Shah and continued till Akbar.

2. Introduction of the new cash crops like maize and tobacco.

3. Introduction of the zabt system

4. cadastral surveying by Mughals to assess the land under cultivation.

5. Introduction of new techniques of cultivation like mulberry cultivation or silk rearing.

6. Growth of Indian crops like cotton, sugar, fruits that spread across the world.