14.9 Mughal Society

. Mughal Society The population of India is estimated to have been around crores in the th century and crores in the th century. Large areas of land were under forest cover and the area under cultivation would have been much less. As agriculture was the prime occupation of the society the village community was the chief institution of social organisation. Though the nature, composition and governance of village differed from place to place there were certain similarities in the village administration. The Muqaddam, privileged headman of the village, formed the Panch (Panchayat), an administrative organ of the village. The Panch was responsible for collection and maintenance of accounts at the village level. The Panch allotted the unoccupied lands of the village to artisans, menials and servants for their service to the village. The middle class consisted of small Mansabdars, petty shopkeepers, hakims (doctors), musicians, artists, petty officials of Mughal administration. There was a salaried class, and received grants called Madad-i-Mash from the Mughal emperor, local rulers and zamindars. This section often became part of the rural gentry and a link between the village and the town. Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Lahore, Ahmadabad, Dacca and Multan were important cities of the empire which could be ranked along with contemporary European cities like London and Paris. The inequality in the standard of life amongst the privileged and the underprivileged classes was clear. Among the lower strata of society, the men wore just a langota and the women a sari. Footwear was not common. The poor lived in houses made of mud and their diet consisted of wheat chapatis with pulses and vegetables. On the contrary the Mughal privileged class consisting of zamindars and nobles led an ostentatious life. The nobles were Mansabdars who received jagirs or land grants as payment according to their ranks. The jagirdars were exploitative and oppressive principal rival to the throne, Dara Shukoh. Guru Tegh Bahadur, was killed at Aurangzeb’s command. Aurangzeb sent a formidable army under his son Akbar to subdue the rebellious Rajput kings, but the emperor had not reckoned with