Mughal Rule in India
- March 3, 2023
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Mughal Rule in India
Subject: History
Section: Medieval India
Concept:
- Mughals were the descendants of two great lineages of rulers.
- Babur, who was the founding father of the Mughal empire in India was associated with Timur from his father’s side and to Chengiz khan from his mother’s side.
- Within the medieval period, it had been very difficult for one ruler to rule the entire undivided India all by themselves.
Contribution of Akbar
- Akbar was only thirteen years old at the time of Humayun’s death. When his father died, Akbar was at Kalanaur in Punjab and therefore his coronation took place in Kalanaur itself in 1556.
- It was his tutor and Humayun’s favourite and confidant Bairam Khan, who served as the regent of the Mughal emperor from 1556 to 1560.
- As a conqueror Akbar triumphed all over North India. The first four years of Akbar’s rule saw the expansion of the Mughal empire from Kabul to Jaunpur, including Gwalior and Ajmer, under his regent Bairam Khan.
- One of the major achievements of his regency period was the defeat of Hemu and the Afghan forces in the second battle of Panipat in 1556, who were posing a serious threat to the Mughal Empire.
Akbar’s Military Conquests:
- Malwa was conquered in 1562 from Baz Bahadur who was made a mansabdar in Akbar’s court.
- The Gondwana region of central India was annexed after a fierce battle with Rani Durgavati and her son Vir Narayan in 1564.
- Akbar conquered Gujarat from Muzaffar Shah in 1573. Akbar built new capital Fathepursikri in memory of this victory.
- In the Battle of Haldighati, Rana Pratap Singh was severely defeated by the Mughal army led by Man Singh in 1576. Following the defeat of Mewar, most of the leading Rajput rulers had accepted Akbar’s suzerainty.
- Defeated Daud Khan, the Afghan ruler of Bihar and Bengal, both the provinces were annexed to the Mughal empire in 1576.
- Akbar’s forces had occupied Khandesh region in 1591.
- Chand Bibi defended Ahmednagar against the Mughal forces.
Rajput policy:
- The Rajput policy of Akbar was notable. He married the Rajput princess, the daughter of Raja Bharamal.
- It was a turning point in the history of Mughals. Rajputs served the Mughals for four generations.
- Many of them rose to the positions of military generals. Raja Bhagawan Das and Raja Man Singh were given senior positions in the administration by Akbar. One by one, all Rajput states submitted to Akbar.
Religious policy:
- He abolished the pilgrim tax and jiziya.
- In 1575, he ordered for the construction of IbadatKhana(House of worship) at his new capital Fatepur Sikri.
- Akbar invited learned scholars from all religions like Hinduism, Jainism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism.
- In 1582, he promulgated a new religion called Din Ilahi or Divine Faith. It believes in one God. It contained good points of all religions.
- He propagated a philosophy of Sulh-i-Kul (peace to all).
- In 1582, he discontinued the debates in the IbadatKhanaas it led to bitterness among different religions
- Badauni, a contemporary author, was bitter critic of Akbar’s religious experiment.
- Sheikh Mubarak was religious guru of Akbar.
- Akbar’s new religious policy was drafted by Abul Faizi.
India under Mughals
Influence of Mughal Empire on Agriculture
- The peasants under the Mughal regime were continuing with the method of crop rotation to maintain soil nutrition. In the coastal areas, fish was used to provide enrichment to the soil.
- Devices like wooden scoops were used to lift water from the closed water channels.
- In few parts of India, Persian wheels were made into usage for various agricultural activities.
- Various Mughal canals didn’t provide sufficient water to many agricultural fields.
- In the 17th century, crops like Maize and Tobacco were added to the already existing list of crops like Gram, pulses, rice, wheat, sugarcane, etc.
Influence of Mughal Empire on Economic and Social Life
- The Economic and Social life of Indian people under the Mughal rule represented both sides of a coin.
- Some parts observed the lavishing life of nobles where there was just prosperity and wealth. While on the other hand, some regions were devoid of even basic needs.
- Even the great travellers documented both the economic and social life under the Mughal Empire and some of them cited it as full of suffering while others exclaiming the huge flow of wealth; filled with prosperity.
Cultural Development under the Mughal
- However, there was suffering in some parts but during the Mughal Empire, varied types of Culture in terms of art and architecture, music, and paintings came into existence.
- Literary works played an important role to bridge the cultural gaps and ensure inclusiveness among people of various geographical regions.
- Further, already existing Languages and the surfacing of Urdu played a vital role in the dimension of Cultural development.
Influence of Mughal Empire on Paintings
- Humayun laid the foundation of Mughal Painting in Persia.
- Humayun on returning to India brought famous artists like Abdal Samad and Mir Sayyid Ali.
- Miniature art forms of various mythological texts like Ramayana were produced in Persian.
- Akbar was so fond of paintings and thus he established an Art Studio.
- Mughal paintings were at their peak during Akbar’s reign but had just vanished under the Jahangir rule.
Influence of Mughal Empire on Music
- Tansen under Akbar’s court introduced some of the famous ragas like Darbari, Mian ki Mand, etc.
- Aurangzeb was a learned Veena player and a famous book ‘Tuhfat-ul-Hind’ was written for his grandson.
- Apart from Akbar, the expansion of music was widespread under the rule of Shah Jahan and Jahangir.
Influence of Mughal Empire on Language
- The Persian language was quite prominent during the Mughal rule.
- Many words from Persian, Turkic and Arabic languages were taken and used in daily lives.
Influence of Mughal Empire on Literature
- Many historical works were written during this period.
- Akbar Nama and Ain-i-Akbari were some of the famous literary works during the Mughal Empire.
- Abul Faiziwas the leading poet then. Under his supervision, the Mahabharata was translated into Persian.
- Scholars like Ghiyas Beg, Naqib Khan, and Niamatullah were patronized by Jahangir.
- Shah Jahan patronized writers like Abdul Hamid Lahori.
- Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, Jahangir’s autobiography was also published during this period.
- Some of the famous Persian poets of that period include Naziri and Utbi.
- Shah Jahan Nama was written by Inayat Khan and Nama.
- Many regional languages like Gujarati, Rajasthani, and Oriya were also popularized by locals. Mahabharata and Ramayana were translated in them.
Influence of Mughal Empire on Growth of Trade
There were different kinds of traders in terms of the distance of trading which are as follows:
- Long-distance traders: Bohra
- Local traders: Banik
- Bulk carrying traders: Banjaras moved long distances carrying the bulk of goods.
Certain traders were engaged in various trading activities, which include:
- Multani Merchants: They had rich reserves of Gold and silver.
- Bengali Merchants: They exported muslin (cotton cloth), rice, and silk.
- Gujarat: It’s the place from where goods were imported and directed towards the northern part.
- An extensive import of precious metals like Gold and silver took place during the Mughal Empire. In the west, different communities of Rajasthan were collectively named Marwaris.
- The majority of trade merchants were Jain, Hindu, and Muslim while other communities also played a minor role in the Growth of Trade.
- The period of the Mughal Empire had seen growth in certain parts but there were other areas where the growth and development remained stuck; agriculture being one of them.