Peasants, Zamindars and the State: Agrarian Society and the Mughal Empire

About 85% of India’s population lived

About 85% of India’s population lived in villages during the 16th and 17th centuries. Peasants performed all major seasonal tasks such as ploughing, s

Khud

Khud-kashta were resident cultivators of the village in which they held land. Pahi-kashta were non-resident cultivators who cultivated land in another

Babur observed that much of Hindustan

Babur observed that much of Hindustan was level land and that cultivation depended on rain, wells, buckets, and wheel devices. The Persian wheel and b

Agriculture was organised around kharif

Agriculture was organised around kharif and rabi seasons. Areas receiving 40 inches or more rainfall annually were generally rice-producing zones, whi

The village panchayat was an assembly

The village panchayat was an assembly of elders with hereditary property rights and was usually a heterogeneous body in mixed-caste villages. The head