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Administration of India Under the Mughul Emperors

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Administration of India Under the Mughul Emperors Course: B.A History Honors Semester: B.A. 4th semester Code: 410 Topic:Administration of India under the Mughul Emperors Prepared by: Dr Sangeeta Saxena, Assistant Professor Department: History, Patna Women's College, Patna E mail: [email protected] Administration of India under the Mughul Emperors Content: 1 Central Administration of India under the Mughul emperors 2. Provincial Administration and local administration 3.. Military administration. 4. Financial Administration 5. Law and Justice. The Central Administration: Mughul emperors brought about certain fundamental changes in the administrative structure in India. Babur, the founder of the Mughul empire, assumed the title of Padshah (emperor) which was continued by his successors. It meant that the Mughul emperors did not accept the Khalifa even as their nominal overlord. Thus, the Mughul emperors were completely free from even the nominal authority of any foreign power or individual. Akbar enhanced further the power and prestige of the emperor. He declared himself the arbiter in case of difference of opinions regarding Islamic laws. The Mughul rule was also not theocratic. Except Aurangzeb no other Mughul emperor attempted to carry his administration on principles of Islam. The Mughul rule was not a police state as well. The emperors accepted two primary duties for themselves—Jahanbani (protection of the state) and Jahangiri (extension of the empire). Besides, they tried to create those conditions which were conducive to economic and cultural progress of their subjects. Another novelty of the Mughuls was that they began the policy of religious toleration. Babur and Humayun were no bigots while Akbar pursued the policy of equal respect to all religions. Jahangir and Shah Jahan followed Akbar’s policy in principle. Only Aurangzeb reversed the policy of Akbar. All these were new innovations in polity and therefore, the Mughul administration differed from the adminis­ tration of the Sultans of Delhi in many respects. Akbar raised the structure of Mughul administration. It persisted till the reign of Aurangzeb with minor changes. The weak successors of Aurangzeb, however, could not maintain it. It cracked and the result was virtual anarchy in the eighteenth century It has also been expressed that the Mughul administration had imprint of foreign influence. Certainly, the influence of Arab and Persian administration is quite visible on their division of administrative departments, assignment of ranks to the officers and naming them, administrative rules etc. Yet, there is no doubt that the Mughuls did not copy any foreign administration and carried out what suited them best in India. 1. The Emperor: The emperor was the head of the state. He was the law-maker, the chief executive, the commander-in-chief of the army and the final dispenser of justice. Akbar enhanced further the powers of the emperor when he himself took over the power of deciding Islamic laws in cases of dispute. Thus, the emperor enjoyed highest power in the state. His ministers and nobles, of course, could advise him but he was the final arbiter in everything. From the time of Akbar, the emperor was regarded as the God’s representative on earth. Abul Fazl defined this theory of kingship which regarded kingship as the gift of God and ranked the king above all his subjects. That is why Akbar started practices like Jharokha Darshan and Tula Dan. In this way the theory of kingship of the Mughuls was near to the Hindu theory of kingship. Thus, concentrating all powers in their hands and believing that the king was the representative of God on earth, the Mughul emperors were perfect despots. But, they were not cruel or selfish despots. They believed that the foremost duty of a king was to look after the welfare of his subjects. Akbar observed- “Divine worship in monarchs consists in their justice and good administration.” Even Aurangzeb who was a religious fanatic was fully conscious of this duty towards his subjects. Therefore, the Mughuls were enlightened despots who attempted to look after the welfare of their subjects. Every Mughul emperor worked very hard to attain this object. Even ease-loving Jahangir looked after the affairs of the state for nearly seven to eight hours every day and regarded dispensation of justice as his foremost duty while Aurangzeb could hardly get three to four hours rest in a day. Though there was no legal limit to the powers of the emperor, yet, there were certain limitations from the practical point of view. The emperor certainly gave due consideration to the advice given by his ministers to him and recognised the influence wielded by his powerful nobles. Dr Tara Chand described the rule of the Mughul emperors as ‘the Rule by Aristocracy.’ The nobles, among whom many were Rajputs, held high mansabs in the state and their offices had virtually become hereditary. The Sultans of the Delhi Sultanate established their despotic rule after destroying the power of their nobles, while the Mughul emperors based their despotism on the power and loyalty of their nobles. Certainly such nobles gained much influence in the administration. Aurangzeb who was one among the mighty Mughul emperors dared to impose Jizya on the Hindus only when Raja Jaswant Singh died. 2. The Ministers: There were several ministers to assist the Emperor. They advised the emperor collectively as well as individually. Each of them looked after the working of some department of which he was the head. Each of them was assisted by a number of their junior officers and assistants. During the reign of Akbar, there were only four ministers, viz.. vakil, diwan or vazir, mir bakhsi and sadr-us-sadur. Later on the posts of khan-i-saman,chief qazi and muhtasih were also promoted to the rank of ministers. The posts of vakil and diwan or vazir were combined together afterwards and the holder of the post was called vakil-i-mutlaq (vazir). Besides, the posts of mir-i-atish, daroga-i-dak chauki and mir- i-saman were also very much important though the holders of these posts were not ranked as ministers. (i) The Prime Minister (Vakil-i-Mutlaq; Vazir; Diwan): Akbar gave this post to Bairam Khan. By virtue of this office, he was the protector of the state and over and above all other ministers with the right of even appointing and dismissing them. But no other man was given these powers after the fall of Bairam Khan. The Prime Minister was given the work of the diwan and, later on, the diwan was titled as the vazir or the prime minister. Primarily, the diwan looked after the income and expenditure of the state. Besides, he looked after the administration in the absence of the emperor from the capital and commanded the army on occasions. Thus, vakil or vazir or prime minister was the person next to the emperor in administration. The prime minister supervised the working of other departments, collected news of provinces, despatched orders of the emperor to governors and looked after the correspondence of the state. Besides many other officers and subordinates, his important subordinate officers were five, viz., diwan-i-khalisa (officer who looked after the land of the emperor), diwan-i-tan (officer who looked after the salaries of the officers and their Jagirs), mustaufi (auditor- general), vakia-i- navis (officer incharge of correspondence and records) and Musrif (office superintendent). (ii) The Mir Bakhshi: He was incharge of the military department. He could be asked to command an army but that was not his primary duty. In no way, he was commander-in-chief of the army. He managed the recruitment of the soldiers, maintained their huliya, looked after the branding of horses and elephants, looked after all sorts of supplies to the army and training of the soldiers. He also deputed mansabdars for the security of the palace and changed them every day. (iii) Sadr-us-Sadur (Chief Sadar): He advised the emperor on religious matters. He looked after the charity, religious education, distribution of Jagirs to scholars and observance of the laws of the Islam by the Muslims. Sometimes the posts of sadr-us-sadur and chief qazi were combined though during the reign of Akbar mostly these offices were kept separate. He advised the emperor in appointing sadrs in provinces and looked after their working. This office did not enjoy much respect and power during the reign of Akbar as he did not consult sadr-us-sadur in religious affairs and himself distributed Jagirs and presents to scholars and religious people of eminence. (iv) The Chief Qazi: Though the emperor was the highest judicial authority in the state, yet, he was assisted by chief qazi at the capital. While the muftis interpreted Islamic laws, the chief qazi declared the judgement. He also appointed qazis in provinces, districts, etc. (v) The Muhtasib: He looked after the moral development of the subjects particularly it was his job that the Muslims observed Muslim laws. He also checked drinking of liquor, gambling and illegal relations between men and women. He also kept control over weights and measures and observed that articles were sold in the market at proper prices. During the reign of Aurangzeb, he was assigned the responsibility of destroying the schools and temples of the Hindus. He was assisted by provincial muhtasibs. (vi) Khan-i-Saman: He was not a minister during the reign of Akbar but was ranked as one of the ministers after him. He looked after the personal necessities of the emperor and his family and also that of the palace. One of his important duties was to manage the Karkhanas of the emperor which produced different articles and provided good income to the emperor.
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