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Major Administrative Policies of Jahangir, Shahjahan and Aurangzeb

Major Administrative Policies of Jahangir, Shahjahan and Aurangzeb

Section titled “Major Administrative Policies of Jahangir, Shahjahan and Aurangzeb”

2020-04-26 19:31 :34

Jahangir’s Administrative Policies

Section titled “Jahangir’s Administrative Policies”

Chain of Justice

Section titled “Chain of Justice”
  • a golden chain several maunds heavy near Agra fort
  • where people seeking justice could come and ring the bells of the chain.
  • He put to death the attendant of Muqarrab Khan, governor of Gujarat and reduced his mansab by half after he was found to have outraged a widows daughter.

Issued 12 Rules of Conduct (Dastur Ul Amal)

Section titled “Issued 12 Rules of Conduct (Dastur Ul Amal)”
  • He abolished Tagma and Meerwahi which were toll taxes
  • Ordered the construction of sarais, mosques, wells etc on the sides of roads
  • Property of the dead to be passed to their legal heirs and if unclaimed to the state
  • He banned the manufacture of sale of intoxicants
  • Disallowed the mutilation of criminals’ hands
  • Land lords could not forcibly occupy the lands of farmers
  • Constructed Hospitals and appointed physicians Hakims in them
  • Animal slaughter was banned on 2 days of the week ie Thursday and Sunday
  • Sunday was held as special day
  • Reinstate mansabdars appointed under Akbar’s reign
  • Jagirs known as Aima and Madadgar was granted to religious and charitable institutions
  • Convicts who served long periods in jails were released.
  • Mughal court and the emperor personally was the arbiter of standards and was assisted by Nur Jahan.
  • One of his major success after defeating Rana of Mewar and Malik Ambar was the consolidation of Mughal Position in Bengal.
    • He posted Islam Khan the grandsom of Shaikh Salim Chisti the patron saints of Mughals.
    • Islam Khan won over many zamindars including Raja of Jessore and fixed his HQ at Dacca which was strategically located.
    • He broke the back of Afghans in the region and captured areas such as Sonargaon.
    • Jessore, Sylhet, Cachar and Kamrup were captured. Provincial capital was transferred from Rajmahal to Dacca.
  • If a anyone died his property and effects should be his heirs and if not then it should go for building mosques, sarais, repair broken bridges and digging of tanks and wells.
  • Forcible possession of the raiyats land and persons house should not be done.
  • Hospitals were to be founded in great cities and doctors appointed.
  • Prohibited cutting of nose or ears of anyone as punishment

Shah Jahan (1627-1658) Administrative Policies

Section titled “Shah Jahan (1627-1658) Administrative Policies”
  • Padshahnama says that Shah Jahan had ordered that officers who remained in their Jagirs had to keep soldiers 1/3rd in number of their rank of zat.
  • officers who were posted outside their Jagirs but within the frontiers of India had to maintain 1/4th and those who were posted outside India had to keep only l/5th of the number of their zat rank.
  • Shah Jahan increased the state-demand.
  • peasants asked to pay between 33 to 50 per cent of their produce as revenue on the entire land whether cultivated or partly cultivated.
  • gave the right of collecting the revenue to contractors. It reduced the expenditure of the state but left the peasants at the mercy of contractors.
  • His measures adversely affected the condition of the peasants
  • During his reign the Marwari horse was introduced, becoming Shah Jahan’s favourite, and various Mughal cannons were mass-produced in the Jaigarh Fort.

Aurangzeb’s Administrative Policies

Section titled “Aurangzeb’s Administrative Policies”
  • #todo
  • Aurangzeb was devoted to the study of Quran and hagiographical literature strictly observed various religious rituals.
  • Dara called Aurangzeb a hypocrite and Aurangzeb called Dara a heretic.
  • Aurangzeb advanced towards Agra along with Murad. He defeated Shah Jahan’s forces at Dharmat in 1658.
  • A managed to win over many Rajput rajas and nobles and defeated Dara at the Battle of Samugarh on 29 May 1659.
  • It was not a battle b/w religous orthodoxy and liberalism. Both Hindus and Muslims were equally divided.
  • He promised Murad to Punjab, Kabul, Kashmir and Sindh but after defeating Darah imprisoned Murad in Gwalior and killed him 2 years later.
  • Shuja was defeated and fled to Arakan where he was killed by the Arakanese for fomenting rebellion.
  • He was a strict disciplinarian who even imprisoned his sons.

Administrative Policies in Deccan

Section titled “Administrative Policies in Deccan”
  • Transferred a cadre of experienced Mughal officers here. Golconda was divided into 9 sarkars with a faujdar at each HQ.
  • Hyderabadi-Karnataka was made into a separate charge so was Bijapuri-Karnataka.
  • New assessment of Golconda was done with help of local deshmukhs.
  • Ijara (revenue farming) was abolished but must have continued at the lower levels.
  • Land revenue demand was raised by 13% and 4% was fixed as jizya.
  • All Brahmans in imperial posts were removed. Deshmukhs were restored to their old position but not given official posts or their contingent made part of royal army. Only 1 of them were given mansabs.

Influence of Mughal Adm Policy on other Regional States

Section titled “Influence of Mughal Adm Policy on other Regional States”
  • #todo

PYQs

Section titled “PYQs”
  1. Analyze the religious policy of the Mughal emperors from Akbar to Aurangzeb. How did it affect the stability of the Mughal Empire? [1985, 60m]
  1. What were the major features of the administrative system of the Mughal State? To what extent did other Indian powers model their administration on this system in the late medieval period? [1991, 60m]
  1. Write a short essay on: “Mughals and the British East India Company.” [1994, 20m]
  1. “Aurangzeb is a much maligned monarch.” Argue the case for and against the proposition. [1994, 60m]
  1. Changes in the composition of nobility from Akbar to Aurangzeb. Comment. [1995, 20m]
  1. Write a short essay on: “Nurjahan” [1998, 20m]
  1. Write a short essay on: “Spanish ulcer ruined Napoleon Bonaparte, the Deccan ulcer ruined Aurangzeb.” [1999, 20m]
  1. In what ways were Aurangzeb’s Rajput and religious policies different from those of his predecessors? What were the consequences of the changes made by him? [2004, 60m]
  1. Write a short essay on: “Dara Shikoh” [2006, 20m]
  1. Identify the broad contours of the Mughal foreign policy and their impacts on the Mughal empire. [2016, 15 Marks]