The system of collecting revenue system under Mughal administration, which establishment was grossly the work of Akbar, can be classified under two heads;

• Imperial or central and
• Provincial

To some extent it followed the Sur example of administrative organization.

Provincial Revenue under Mughal

The provincial revenue was deduced from several minor taxes and duties levied on “trades and occupations, on production and consumption, on various incidents of social life and most of all on transport.” These revenues were obtained and spent solely by the provincial financial authorities and imperial financial authorities did not interfere in these matters.

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Imperial or Central Revenue System under Mughal

The chief sources of imperial or central revenue system under mughal included land revenue – the most important source of State income as it had been in the past-, mint, customs, inheritance, plunder and indemnities, presents (gift), monopolies and the poll-tax.

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Land Revenue System under Mughal

During the period of disorders and confusion after the reigns of Sher Shah and Islam Shah the prominent experiments of revenue system of Surs were nullified. However, Akbar, who had inherited the old system of government and the time-tested customs and procedures, after acquiring the throne, found that there were three types of land in the country namely the Khalsa or crown-lands, the Jagir lands and the Sayurghat lands. Out of these lands the Jagir lands were supervised by some nobles who obtained the local revenues out of which they provided a portion of these collected revenues to the imperial exchequer and kept the rest for themselves. Sayurghat lands were allotted on free tenure.

Akbar, after establishing his freedom completely from Bairam Khan and that of ladies of the haram, understood the importance of reframing the financial system of his growing empire, which were entirely in a confused condition.

Resutedly, a revised assessment was prepared in 1570- 1571 by Muzaffar Khan, who was assisted by Raja Todar Malla in this task. This assessment was ‘based on estimates framed by the local Qanungoes and checked by ten superior Qanungoes at headquarter.’ After the annexation of Gujarat, Todar Mall carried there a regular survey of the land and the assessment was prepared “with reference to the area and quality of the land”.

Akbar in 1575-76 abolished the old revenue areas and divided the whole of the Empire, baring the provinces of Bengal, Gujarat and Bihar, into a large number of units. Each unit yielded one Kror (crore) a year. For each unit an officer designated as Krori was appointed who got the duty of not only of collecting the revenues but also encouraging cultivation.

However, this experiment of Akbar proved disastrous as the Kroris soon engaged themselves in rampant corruption and their cruelty resulted in great misery for peasants. Resultedly Akbar was forced to abolish the – offices of Kroris and the revenue divisions of the past were reinstated. But, at least till the reign of Shah Jahan, the title of Kroris remained in vogue.

When Todar Mall was made the Diwan-i-Ashraf in 1582, some important reforms in the revenue system under mughal came into existence. He established a ‘regulation’ or standard system of revenue collection. The main characteristics of this system were:

(a) Survey and measurement of land,

(b) Classification of land, and

(c) Fixation of rates.

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Measurement of Lands

For the measurement of lands, in order to assure a content measure, the old units were changed by the Ilahi Gaz or yard (about thirty three inches), Tanab or tent rope, and jarib of bamboos connected by iron rings.

Land was divided into four classes according to “the continuity or discontinuity of cultivation”:

(1) Polaj– under this category came the lands that could be cultivated annually,

(2) Paraudi – under this category fell the lands that were kept uncultivated for some time to get their productive capacity back,

(3) Chachar – under this category came the lands that were kept uncultivated for three or four years, and

(4) Banjar – under this category fell the lands that were kept uncultivated for five years or longer.

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Rayotwari System

The revenue of the state was fixed at one- third of the actual produce, which the ryots were permitted to pay either in cash or in kind. The cash rate fluctuated according to crops. This system came to be known as Rayotwari System, and was applied to Northern India, Gujarat and, to some extent, to the Deccan.

The Empire was separated, for the purpose of administration and revenue collection, into Subahs;  these Subhas were subdivided into Sarkars; each of the Sarkars consisted of a number of Paragana. Each paragana was a cluster of several villages. The revenue collector, the amalgujar, of a district got the assistance of a large subordinate staff.

The village headman, Muqaddam, and the village Patwari were servants of the village community but they were not the servants of the State. Apart from these official there were the Qanungo who had to keep records of revenue that the village had to pay; the Potdar (district treasurer); and the Bitikchi (accountant).

These officers had got a clear instruction of collecting revenue with due care and caution and “not to extend the hand of demand out of season”.

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History is replete with cruel ironies. One of them concerns the great Mohammad Ali Jinnah who started his political career in the Indian National Congress and worked for more than a decade for Hindu-Muslim brotherhood, but ended up as the Governor-General of Pakistan, formed on the basis of the two-nation theory advocating that the Muslims were a separate nation as distinct from the Hindus.

Whether he subscribed to this theory truly or not, he attempted to make use of this as a counterpoise to the Congress leader’s, especially Gandhiji’s, popularity with the masses. When he left New Delhi to assume the august office of the Governor-General of the Dominion of Pakistan, he did not look as happy as he should have been. Throwing his last glance at Delhi before his plane finally took off, he murmured, “I suppose this is the last time I’ll be looking at Delhi.” These words proved prophetic as he died a year later on September 11, 1948.

During his flight to Karachi, his companions did not see any flush of brightness or emotion on his face. He had been as cold and blunt as he had been for about last two decades after the death of his beloved wife, Ruttie, in February 1929. The cries of Pakistan Zindabad and Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad by the great mass of humanity, who had gathered at the airport to greet him, did not lift up his drooping spirits.

He rode through the streets of Karachi with extraordinary impassivity. Only as he walked slowly up the steps of the Government House, his future official residence, his face seemed to glow for just an instant. Pausing to catch his breath at the top of the stairs, he whispered to his ADC, Syed Ahsan, “I never expected to see Pakistan in my lifetime.” Perhaps, he never wanted it seriously and when it suddenly came, it was a great shock. Then who created Pakistan? It was most probably the British bureaucracy which embarked upon the slow and steady rise of communalism, running as a close parallel to the gathering momentum of nationalism, must be traced to the close of the nineteenth century.

This destructive force was bound to pose a big threat not only to the national movement but the very unity of India, a concept which brought leaders of stature together and which they wanted to achieve through the trials and sacrifices of the freedom struggle.

Thus, the concept of Pakistan was not a new-fangled one but was being nurtured in the subconsciousness of leaders of the Muslim League and of those of the ilk who subscribed to the theory of a theocratic nation—a nation built on the basis of religion. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the first Governor-General of Pakistan, was, in fact, presiding over a dream come true, nurtured assiduously in the minds,

Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the first Governor-General of Pakistan, was, in fact, presiding over a dream come true, nurtured assiduously in the minds, words, and deeds of Muslims who felt they would be better off if they could carve out of the subcontinent a state where Muslim subjects would be ruled by Muslim rulers.

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At the root of communal politics was the growing intolerance that stoked fires of fear, mutual mistrust, and hatred, triggering off frequent Hindu-Muslim riots. Destructive emotions were whipped up that the two communities cannot live together. In fact, communalism was a totally modern phenomenon with roots in the modern colonial, socio-economic and political structure.

It is tragic that Hindus and Muslims who had fought, shoulder to shoulder, during the revolt of 1857 should fall apart during the second phase of independence. After the suppression of the Revolt, the British took on the Muslims, persecuting and killing them, regarding them as the enemies of the Empire. But their attitude suddenly changed two decades later when they found that the growing nationalism, with Hindus and Muslims fighting for a common cause, would wreck the base of the Empire sooner than later.

So the crafty rulers sought to divide the people along religious lines, encouraging communal and separatist tendencies. Through this “Divide and Rule” policy, they sought to masquerade as the “champions” of the Muslims, winning over the upper strata among them. The relative backwardness of the Muslims in education and trade and ‘ industry also played no small part in fostering communalism. The small number of Muslim intellectuals, reactionary big landlords and zamindars wielded an unhealthy influence over the majority of Muslims swaying them the way they liked.

In the course of time, Hindu communalism also tried to vie with Muslim communalism, each championing Hindu nationalism, and Muslim nationalism. Little did people realize that the future of Hindus and Muslims hinged on their working together for the common objective of solving their political, social and economic problems through independence from the British yoke.

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As the divide between the two communities became wider, it was only a matter of time before they would part their ways for good. There were several steps to the finale of a tragedy spawned by communal virus—separate electorates in 1906 and the formation of the Muslim League on December 30, 1906. When nationalist Muslims like Maulana Azad, M. A. Ansari, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and others appealed for unity, Jinnah emerged as the undisputed leader of communalist Muslims.

Jinnah vented his ill-feelings against the Hindu leaders at the Calcutta conference in December 1928 when he asked for the separate electorate, reservations and other safeguards for his community. He went on dinning into the ears of all that the Muslim minority was in danger of being engulfed by the Hindu majority. Hindu communal organizations, like the Hindu Mahasabha, also played no small part in driving a wedge between the Hindus and the Muslims.

The emergence of Pakistan and the subsequent carnage after Partition was the logical culmination of the swelling tide of the communal wave sweeping across the subcontinent for over half a century.

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In the eighteenth century as the Mighty Mughal Empire was crumbling in pieces and the later Mughal emperors were reduced to remain emperors only in name, the Maratha chiefs became the strongest rulers in the country. It was so the British had to put up their fight primarily against Maratha nationalism for the sovereignty of India.

The territory, that was the bone of contention, which included the modern state of Bombay, Konkan, Khandesh, Berar, Part of Madhya Pradesh and nearly one-third of Hyderabad, was called Maratha-Vad. Later it came to be known as Maharashtra. Marathas established their power within this territory and the people of this region spoke Marathi.

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Causes behind Rise of Marathas

The rise of Maratha Nationalism can be traced from the efforts of entire Maratha people instead of any one individual or a particular group or of some transient circumstances.

On the basis of unity of their language, literature, community and homeland, the Marathas sowed the seeds of Maratha nationalism and wished to carve out an independent state of their own.

The growth of Maratha nationalism coincided with completion of Muslim conquest of Indian subcontinent. It went to the credit of Maratha nationalism that in the South an independent State of the Hindus was formed.

With the time the Marathas, gradually, evolved such strong spirit of nationalism through which they made themselves the most powerful group of people in India.

It has been widely acclaimed by contemporary historians that it was the influence and the strength of this Maratha nationalism that tempted and inspired Maratha leaders to create Hindu-Pad-Padshahi in India by taking over the power the emperor of Delhi and bringing India under one rule. So it can be safety ascertained that the history of the rise of Maratha Nationalism is the story of the rise and growth of an organized group of people belonging to the territory of Maharashtra.

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Factors contributing in the Rise of Maratha Nationalism

Different factors played their parts in the rise of Maratha nationalism and in turn political power of the Marathas. In the rise of Maratha Nationalism the geographical conditions of Maharashtra played a very prominent part; large part of Maharashtra is plateau where a human being has to struggle her or his survival. These conditions of hardship made the people of the contended territory courageous and robust.

Not only this, the Plateau also catered every facility defence that consisted of the construction of forts at every hill-top, making it difficult for foreign invaders to get suppliers apart from the difficulty of movement with large armies in an unknown land. And lastly, as Maharashtra was/is situated in the middle of the India subcontinent, it was easy for Marathas to expand their power both towards the South and the North.

Economic conditions of Maharashtra was also helpful in the advancement of the goal of Marathas as the people, in general, of Maharashtra did not Suffer economic disparities among themselves because there dearth of people who could be accepted as rich. So in the near absence of such an exploiter’s class, Marathas enjoyed economic equality to a great extend.

As there was no explicit division of the Maratha Nationalism society into the rich and the poor, it provided them self-respect and unity. Moreover, the credit goes to the Maratha society as a whole that did not became victim of a life of indulgence and luxuries.

Marathas did not suffer from any serious divisions from the social point of view also. The people of Maharashtra had witnessed social and religious awakening before the political awakening. The saints of the Bhakti Cult, during 15^th and 16^th century, preached social equality. Many of these saints belonged to Maharashtra.

Saints like Tukaram, Ek Nath, Ram Das and Vaman Pandit were accepted as soul of this social and religious awakening that was terminating into ‘social equality’.

The most important thing that happened to this ‘awakening’ that it did not remain limited to a particular section or class of the society but became prevalent among the common people of the society as a whole.

Since the saints, the torch bearer of this movement of social awakening, preached against Brahamanas, caste system, rituals and stark discrimination between low-born and high-born, this movement of social awakening created a mass awakening that ultimately united and strengthened the Maratha society as a whole.

Marathi language also contributed towards the growth of Maratha nationalism as it was a simple and language of people that eventually strengthened the bonds of unity and equality among the people of Maharashtra.

In the South the balance of power between Hindus and the Muslims also assisted the Marathas in attaining and establishing their political strength. However, in northern India the Muslims had virtually broken the Hindus’ resistance power, a feat they could never have achieved in the South.

This balance or power in the South made Hindus safeguard their traditions, temples and self-respect that enhanced their love of their society and religion in the South. As the Hindus of the region did not feel disrespect and disheartened, they had evolved the capacity and strength to fight back the Muslims. This had been the reason behind the fact that Muslim rulers of the South had to take steps to take assistance of Hindus in their administration.

According to a well known historian Grant Duff “prior to the rise of Shivaji, there were at least eight Maratha families, who yielded extensive influence in the politics of the Deccan”.

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Prior to the Rise of Shivaji

Shahji Bhosle, the father of Shivaji, was one of the nobles of Ahmadnagar, who were kingmakers also. He did enjoy great respect at Bijapur Court when he later accepted its services.

The Aurangzeb factor contributed immensely in the rise of Maratha nationalism and power as Aurangzeb attempted to capture the entire Deccan, apart from his negligence towards the affairs of the Deccan during early period of his reign, that provoked the resistence of the Marathas for the security of their Jagirs and Vatans (homelands) that resulted in the inclusion of people of all sections in the Maratha army that helped greatly towards the consolidation of Maratha nationalism.

Conclusion

It can be said that prior to the rise of Shivaji on the political canvas of the South, a stage was set that provided firm base to the rise of the Maratha nationalism and there by Marathas.

However, there remained a serious lacuna in the form that there was no one who could exploit those conditions to build up the fortunes of the Maratha people and none had thought of setting up an independent kingdom of the Hindus. It was Shivaji who filled up this schism by successfully building up the Maratha nation and establishing an independent kingdom of the Hindus in the South.

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