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ECONOMIC HISTORY OF DURING THE MUGHAL PERIOD {1586-1819 A.D.}

THESIS

SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF

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BY FARZANA ASHFAQUE

Under the Supervision of Dr. RUQUIA HUSSAIN

CENTRE OF ADVANCED STUDY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY ALIGARH MUSLIM UN'IVERSITY ALJGARH () 2009 , t I

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(Mr. Ashfaque Ahmad & Mrs. AkhtarunAkhtarun----Nisa)Nisa) CENTRE OF ADVANCED STUDY lRJuJuia Hussain DEPAR IMENT Of JIISTORY Lecturer Aligarh Muslim l. 'niversity i\ligarh-:202002. IJ.P. (India)

Dated: September 24,2009

This is to certify that the thesis, "Eeonomic

During the Mughal Period (1586-1819 A.D.)" by Ms. Farzana Ashfaque

is the original research work of the candidate, and is suitable for submission

to the examiners and for the award of the Ph.D. degree.

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(Dr. Ruquia Hussain) Supervisor ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost I wish to express my profound gratitude to my supervisor,

Dr. Ruquia Hussain , Centre of Advanced Study in History, for her guidance and interest in my research work.

I am greatly indebted to Professor Irfan Habib (Professor Emeritus, History) for his continuous encouragement. He always provided help in the form of ideas and reference at my slightest approach. I am therefore thankful to him.

I should be failing in my duty if I do not express my feelings for the encouragement and affectionate advice of Professor Shireen Moosvi. I am therefore thankful to her.

My grateful acknowledgements are due to Prof. Mushtaq A. Kaw (Centre of

Central Asian Studies, ) and Prof. Mohammed Ashraf Wani

(Head, Department of History, University of Kashmir), for their assistance and co- operation during my stay at the University of Kashmir, .

I am grateful to my Sister Nadra Ashfaque for her constant care and the intelligent discussions that proved a vital support to me.

I owe my thanks to my brother Mohd. Shad Alam for his pains he has been taking all along during my visit to the University of Kashmir, Srinagar, despite his heavy schedule of work. I am also grateful to him for unfailing support and co- operation that I essentially needed.

It is my pleasure to thank all my friends especially Ruby, Shabeena, Arshia,

Neelofer and Shaista Apa, Rupali, Fauzia, Afifa, and fellow research scholars for their cheerful company, precious advice and support that I essentially needed. ii

My thanks are also due to the Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR),

New Delhi, for having sanctioned to me Junior Research Fellowship which made it possible to complete the thesis work.

It is my pleasant duty to acknowledge the Librarian and Staff of Research

Library, Centre of Advanced Study, Department of History, AMU, Aligarh, Maulana

Azad Library, AMU, Aligarh, National Archives of India, New Delhi, Iqbal Library,

University of Kashmir, Srinagar, for allowing me to use their collections and also for their assistance and cooperation. I would especially like to thank in this regard Mrs.

Sajida Parveen and Mrs. Hajra Bano (Librarian staff of the Iqbal Library, Srinagar).

I am also thankful to Mr. H.K. Sharma for typing my thesis work with diligence, care and efficiency.

Last, but not the least, most exhilarating was of course, the caring, sharing, soothing and entertaining attitude of my parents, brothers Mohd. Irshad Alam (Late),

Mohd. Naushad Alam, Mohd. Dilshad Alam and Mohd. Shad Alam and sisters Mrs.

Seema Khalid, Mrs. Nasma Alam and Mrs. Naghma Naeem. They have supported me morally and materially during the course of my studies: feelings that can never be given the form of expression and can not be rendered in words.

I owe my sincere thanks to my niece Farah, Azmeena, Samreen, Aiman,

Zainab, Aisha, Mariyam, Ibrah, Armeen, Sara and nephew Faraz, Afaz, Haris, Umair,

Abdullah, Zaid for their cheerful company. They are indeed very special friends.

Aligarh Farzana Ashfaque CONTENTS

Page Nos.

Acknowledgements i - ii Abbreviations iii - iv Introduction 1 - 12

Chapter-1 AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION: 13 - 74 (a) Boundaries and Area of Kashmir 13 - 19 (b) Extent of Cultivation 20 - 38 (c) Means of Cultivation and Irrigation 39 - 47 (d) The Crops and Other Agricultural Produce 48 - 71 (e) Crop Yields 72 - 74

Chapter-2 AGRARIAN RELATIONS: 75 - 111 (a) Zamindars 75 - 94 (b) Peasant and Nature of Land Rights, Material Conditions 95 - 111

Chapter-3 NON-AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION: 112 - 158 (a) Industries and Manufactures 112 - 140 (b) Craft Production and Technology 141 - 156 (c) Minerals 157 - 158

Chapter-4 URBAN CENTRES: 159 - 195 (a) Towns 159 - 170 (b) Trade and Commerce 171 - 182 (c) Urban-Rural Linkages and Linkages With 183 - 195 Outside World

Chapter-5 STATE AND ECONOMY: 196 - 261 (a) Land Revenues 196 - 206 (b) Taxes and Cesses Other Than Land Revenue 207 - 211 (c) Local Administration and Economy: Land Revenue 212 - 240 Functionaries and Revenue Assignments and Grants (d) Currency / Coinage 241 - 261

Bibliography 262 - 278 iii

ABBREVIATIONS

AMU Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (India) ASB Asiatic Society of Bengal Add. Additional Collection, British Museum, London Ain Ain-i-Akbari Bib. Ind. Bibliotheca Indica Bodl. Bodleian Library, Oxford CAS Centre of Advanced Study, Department of History, AMU, Aligarh Cf. Carried From Deptt. Department ed. Edited EFI W. Foster (ed.), The English Factories in India Eng. Transl. English Translation ff. Folios ICHR Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi IHC Indian History Congress IO India Office Library IESHR Indian Economic and Social History Review JASB Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal JCAS Journal of Central Asian Studies JESHO Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient JRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland LPP Low Price Publication, Delhi Letters Received C.T. Danvers ed. Letters Received by the English East India Company, etc. MAL Maulana Azad Library, AMU, Aligarh iv

Mis. Miscellaneous MS. Manuscript MSS Manuscripts NAI National Archives of India (New Delhi) Or. Oriental Collection, British Museum, London PIHC Proceeding of Indian History Congress pp. Pages Tuzuk Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri

Introduction

INTRODUCTION

Historians of medieval India have long recognized the significance of regional history. Of all regions in the , was perhaps geographically the best defined. There have been modern studies of the history of Kashmir under Mughals, notably by R.K. Parmu, P.N.K. Bamzai, G.M.D. Sufi; and there has been study also of particular aspects of the

Mughal administrative and taxation system, e.g. by Mushtaq A Kaw. This thesis seeks to build on their work and try to offer an integrated study of the economy of Kashmir under the Mughas and their Afghan successors from 1586 to 1819.

The Mughal province of Kashmir was larger than the valley, but was certainly much smaller than the present state of and Kashmir. My work will concentrate on the areas, which were within the Mughal Suba of Kashmir, but especially concentrate on the valley.

Kashmir was annexed to the Mughal Empire in 1586. Though for some time it remained a part of the province of Kabul, 1 Kashmir assumed under

Jahangir the status of a full fledged province (Suba ). 2

The period of my work, roughly starts with the Mughal occupation of

Kashmir in 1586 and ends with the end of Afghan rule in 1819. In the Kashmir history, the intervening period has been extra-ordinarily important. The Mughal phase, (1586-1753) was not only longer but more important for Kashmir

1 Abul Fazl , Ain-i-Akbari , 2 vols., Nawal Kishore’s edition, Lucknow, 1879-80, & Its transl. vol. I, by H. Blochmann and vol. II-III (Bound in one) by H.S. Jarrett, New Delhi, 1949, Text, vol. II, p. 169: Abul Fazl in Ain, treats Kashmir as a Sarkar of the of Kabul, which was comprised of Kashmir, Pakhli, Bimber, Swat, Bajaur, Qandahar and Zabulistan. Its capital was formerly Ghaznah and later Kabul; A Sarkar is a sub-division of a Subah . Each Subah constituted several Sarkars and each Sarkar was sub-divided into parganas or Mahals, Ain , II, (transl.), pp. 95-96. 2 Prof. Irfan Habib, An Atlas of the Mughal Empire: Political And Economic Maps, Delhi, 1982, sheet 3A, p. 6. 2

because of the possible interconnections between the larger imperial resources of the Mughals and the position Kashmir occupied in the imperial economic framework.

Owing to the invasions of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali, Kashmir remained cut off from Delhi and in a very disturbed state until 1753, when Ahmad Shah Abdali annexed it to his kingdom. 3 The Afghan governors held

Kashmir in their ruthless grip. Afghan rule ended in 1819, when Maharaja

Ranjit Singh defeated the last Afghan governor Jabbar Khan, and annexed Kashmir to the Punjab. 4

The valley of Kashmir is a gift of the Himalayas. 5 The Jehlum or Behet 6 and its tributaries in the valley, Kishan Ganga in Pakhli, the Shayok and the Indus and their tributaries in Ladakh and Baltistan, Chinab, Tohi,

Chandarbhaga and a network of streams and rivulets flowed through Kashmir .7

These multiple resources of water were very essential for agriculture.

Agriculture was the mainstay of the economy of Kashmir. Kashmir being an agricultural region, the bulk of its population lived in villages and was taken to agriculture.

The study of economic history of Kashmir during the Mughal period is important in the sense that the attempt is to take into account the aspects of the

3 Majmuat-Tawarikh, Farsiya Akhbar, MSS. No. 148, Manuscript Section, MAL, AMU, Aligarh, 1835-36A.D., pp. 367-68. 4 Ibid, pp. 421-26. 5 According to Ain, It is encompassed on all sides by the Himalayan ranges: Ain-i-Akbari , vol. II, p. 169; F. Bernier, op. cit ., p. 395. 6 Ain , II, p. 171; , Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri , ed. Saiyid Ahmad, Ghazipur and Aligarh, 1863-64, p. 292; Pir Ghulam Hasan Khoyhami, Tarikh-i-Hasan , [in Persian, completed, 1885], ed. Sahibzada Hasan Shah, 2 vols., Srinagar, 1954, vol. I, p. 68; Walter Lawrence, The Valley of Kashmir , Srinagar, 1967, pp. 17-18. 7 Ibid , II, pp. 169-75; Tuzuk , pp. 298-99; F. Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 395-97; Tarikh-i-Hasan , vol. I, op. cit ., pp. 120-52. 3

mode of agricultural production, production relations, magnitude and settlement of land revenue, agencies involved in its collection, revenue assignments and grants etc.

Our proposed study would also look into the agrarian relations, including of three types of Zamindars i.e. village Zamindars, pargana Zamindar and hilly Chieftains or tributary Chieftains and discussed about their right on land as well as their role and functions. It would also include a study of peasant and nature of land rights, as well as material conditions.

Kashmir was well known for several crafts, notably textiles and wood works. There were other skilled professions as well, such as paper making, boat-making, etc. Our information about these activities is scarce. One of the objective of this study is to look at the role of craft production in the Kashmir economy, from the scattered evidence found in the sources.

Kashmir also grew commercial products such as saffron, fruits, forest products, paper, and also silk and carpets as well as other woollen stuffs which were exported to markets outside Kashmir.

One of the primary objectives of this work is to study the role of the Mughal state in the shaping of the regional economy of Kashmir. With

Kashmir as the region of focus, we hope to analyze in depth the state-economy relations and look at the extent to which the state impringed on the economy. In a sense the Mughal conquest of Kashmir could have opened Kashmir to trade and commerce with northern India, in a way not previously achieved.

The thesis proposes to examine whether and if so to what extent the Mughal administration promoted industry and trade (i.e. export of shawls and woollen textiles to different parts of India and foreign countries) through the 4

security on roads and opening of better routes connecting far-fleeing areas and throwing open the outside world to the merchants and traders.

In compiling the information for this thesis I have made varied sources in Persian to which I could gain access.

The Manuscripts 8 (Persian ) which I have consulted, are preserved in Maulana Azad Library and in our Deptt. of History, Centre of Advanced Study,

AMU, Aligarh.

As far as documents are concerned, I am very grateful to Prof. Mushtaq A. Kaw, that the most of the documents used by me were provided to me by him, in Xerox copies. I also collected documentary material from the Iqbal

Library, Srinagar and Department of History, University of Kashmir.

Besides manuscripts, many of the sources have also been printed. I have naturally used the printed editions wherever these are available.

I offer below a survey of the sources I have been able to use.

Official and semi-Official Chronicles and other historical works written during the period such as Ain-i-Akbari by Abul Fazl, Akbarnama by Abul Fazl, Akbarnama by Faizi, Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh by Badauni, Tuzuk-i-

Jahangiri by Jahangir, Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri by Mutamad Khan, Maasir-i-

Jahangiri by Khwaja Kamgar Husaini, ShahjahanNama by Qazwini, Badshahnama by Waris, Badshahnama by Lahori, Amal-i-Saleh by Kambu,

Tarikh-i-Shahjahani by Sadiq Khan, Alamgirnama by Muhammad Kazim,

8 Almost the Manuscripts (Persian ) copies of many texts are preserved in Iqbal Library, Srinagar. But I have used the copies of the same works preserved in Manuscripts section, Maulana Azad Library (MAL) and in the library of the Department of History, AMU, Aligarh. 5

Maasir-i-Alamgiri by Saqi Musta‘id Khan, Tazkiratu-s Salatin-i-Chaghta by

Muhammad Hadi Kamwar Khan, Maasir-ul-Umara by Nawab Shah Nawaz Khan, Muntakhabu-Lubab by Khafi Khan, and Khulasatu-t Tawarikh by

Munshi Sujan Rai Bhandari are well-known sources of our period.

Ain-i-Akbari by Abul Fazl - It is a work unique in its nature. It is a mine of information for the administrative and economic conditions of Kashmir. It gives an account of Kashmir with details pertaining to its geography, climate, fauna and flora, innumerable water bodies, villages and parganas, houses, dress and diet of people, bazaar system, and above all units of weight, currency and measurement of land, agricultural products, their value, mode of revenue collection, pargana -wise revenue returns and local Zamindar castes.

The Akbarnama by Abul Fazl in its third volume gives a detailed account of the relations between the Kashmiri and the Mughals which finally culminated in the annexation of Kashmir in 1586. Abul Fazl, also provides us an interesting account of topography, Mughal-Chak relations, Mirza Haider’s rule in Kashmir. In his Ain-i-Akbari, Abul Fazl provides a description of the geography of Kashmir, description of routes and revenue settlement pattern, revenue rates, state share, medium of payment, land revenue organization.

Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri by Jahangir contains information about birds, flowers, fruits, agricultural and forest products, houses, dress, diet and manners of the people of Kashmir The information about the routes leading to Kashmir is detailed and descriptive.

ShahjahanNama by Qazwini, Badshahnama by Lahori, Badshahnama by Waris and Amal-i-Saleh by Salih Kambu provides us with information about socio-economic and politico-administrative conditions. A detailed 6

description of the gardens and monuments of the period is very interesting.

Qazwini has covered the first decade while Lahori the first and second, and Waris, the third. Salih Kambu gives a description of the whole reign of

Shahjahan. In all these sources, Kashmir is frequently referred to routes.

Lahori in his account furnishes adequate information on Kashmir, its geography, agricultural products, grant of jagirs, dami figures and the

Mughal relations with the hill Chiefs of Little and Big Tibet. Shahjahan’s visit to Kashmir and the relief measures adopted by him on the occasion of famines, also feature in Lahori’s account.

Tarikh-i-Shahjahani by Sadiq Khan- This source treats the events that occurred during the reign of Shahjahan in India as well as in Kashmir. It furnishes the figures of revenue returns of various Mughal Indian provinces including Kashmir besides details out information on the grant of jagirs and mansabs to the nobles and other officials posted in Kashmir. A Rotograph copy is available in the Centre of Advanced Study, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh.

The Alamgirnama by Muhammad Kazim, is the contemporary official historical account of the first decade of the reign of in Kashmir, treating Kashmir in some detail when Aurangzeb paid a visit to it. This chronicle also deals with the relations that exited between the Mughals and the tributary Chieftains of Tibet.

Maasir-i-Alamgiri by Saqi Musta‘id Khan is a very abridged history of

Aurangzeb’s reign but offers some information on Kashmir.

Tazkiratu-s Salatin-i-Chaghta by Muhammad Hadi Kamwar Khan. The portion of this history that is of original value. 7

Maasir-ul-Umara by Shah Nawaz Khan- In this chronicle, the author catches a view of the origin, role and functions of several nobles and mansabdars posted in different provinces of Mughal India from time to time. The information relating to the activities of the officials in Mughal province of Kashmir, is equally detectable from the given account. The work has been edited by Maulavi Mirza Ashraf Ali and Maulavi Abdur Rahim.

Muntakhabu-Lubab by Khafi Khan- This chronicle gives a general account of Todarmal’s land settlement, mode of revenue collection, grant of seeds and taqavi to the famine-hit peasants, etc. However, in context to Kashmir, the chronicle is fairly detailed; it discusses Kashmir in detail, its geography, climate, culture, flora and fauna, dress and food habits of the people, the erstwhile local Chieftains , etc. The chronicle also provides an exhaustive account of various agricultural products, practice of grafting, relief measures of Shahjahan and his periodical visits to Kashmir. In short, the chronicle is a useful source of information on Kashmir. The work has been edited by Maulavi Kabir Al-Din Ahmad.

Khulasatu-t Tawarikh by Sujan Rai Bhandari- It is a narrative of the socio-economic and cultural history of India during the later Mughal period. The work gives the description of Kashmir, its geography, climate, agricultural products with particular reference to the saffron, material conditions of the people, their dress and diet and similar other subjects. Much of the information contained in the account, however, seems to have been drawn from the Ain-i- Akbari. This has been especially done in terms of the subjects relating to the classification of land, method of assessment, state share, water resources, description of the hilly state of Tibet and the city of Srinagar. It has been edited by M. Zafar Hasan. 8

Among regional histories of Kashmir the following may be mentioned.

Rajatarangini by Suka and Prajyabhatta- The compilation of Suka’s Rajatarangini was continued by his pupil Prajyabhatta till 1594. In essence, the work features the tradition of writing political histories on Kashmir.

Nonetheless, the author depicts the socio- economic and administrative conditions that obtained in Kashmir around the 16 th century.

Baharistan-i-Shahi (Anonymous) - It is a Persian work by anonymous writer. This Persian account tracks down information regarding the events which occurred right from the Hindu rule down to the reign of Jahangir in

Kashmir. The chronicle affords a detailed account of several politico- administrative institutions that survived in Kashmir during the period under review. It also deals with the agrarian reforms of Sultan Zainulabidin besides caches a view of the events leading to the downfall of the Chaks and the establishment of the Mughal rule in the Kashmir. Apart of the work is meant to define the relations between the native Cheifs and the Mughal ruling class.

Tarikh-i-Kashmir by Haidar Malik . The chronicle is a comprehensive history from very earliest times to 1620-21. The author accompanied Yusuf Shah Chak in his exile. After his death, he was given the lofty title of Chugta’i and Raisul Mulk. The Zamindari of his native place was also assigned to him by Jahangir. Towards the end of this work, the author gives an account of numerous rivers, streams, etc. of the valley.

Mukhtasar Tarikh-i-Kashmir by Narain Kaul Ajiz- It was compiled in

1710. It is a short history of Kashmir in Persian from earliest times to 1710. It contains details regarding the pargana -wise number of villages and the 9

assessment of revenue conducted in Kashmir by Qazi Ali during the reign of

Emperor . As a source of information on political, economic and administrative affairs, the work appears to be the abridgment of the Persian works namely, Baharistan-i-Shahi and Haider Malik’s work.

Waqiat-i-Kashmir by Muhammad Azam Diddamari- It was written in 1746-47. It consists of three divisions. The first is based on the information of

Kalhana Rajatarangini, the second deals with the Sultanate period, and the third with the Mughal rule. It is a biography of Sufis, Saints and Scholars, but side by side throws light on the administration of the period. The events of the

Aurangzeb’s reign are more comprehensive. In addition, it furnishes a detailed account of the conditions of the people in Kashmir. It also gives information about the repressive policy adopted by Itiqad Khan, the Subedar of Kashmir during the reign of Emperor Jahangir. The work also highlights the implications of several taxes and imposts besides furnishes information on the role and fate of erstwhile ruling families of Kashmir. The information regarding the grant of jagirs and mansabs to the provincial officials is equally detectable from the given account. It describes the impact of famines together with the raids of the marauding tribes of Muzaffarabad and Poonch. It also contains details regarding the pargana -wise number of villages.

Besides these above manuscripts we have few other manuscripts, which I have consulted such as Majmuat-Tawarikh by Birbal Kachru, Hashmat-i-

Kashmir by Abdul Qadir Khan, Mirat-al ‘Alam by Sheikh Muhammad Baqa etc

Majmu’at-Tawarikh by Birbal Kachru, The significance of the work lies in the fact that its author was an eye-witness to the events that occurred 10

during the period of our study. Written from the earliest times, the work was compiled in 1835-36. For the early part of his work, the chronicler appears to have mainly relied upon the Sanskrit and Persian sources like Rajatarangini,

Tarikh-i-Kashmir by Haider Malik, Mukhtasar Tarikh-i-Kashmir by Narain

Koul Ajiz, Waqiat-i-Kashmir by Muhammad Azam, etc. This work contains information on the history of the Mughal and the Afghan rule in Kashmir.

Besides geography, climate, fauna and flora, trade and culture, the chronicle catches a view of the agrarian relations that obtained during the period under review. The role of the Zamindars, Jagirdars and a host of Mansabdars is substantially highlighted in the said chronicle. Ijardari and the Jagirdari system together with the relations of the Mughals with the tributary Chieftains of the bordering states also find mention in the said account. It also gives information about floods, famines and earthquakes along with their devastating effects. According to the author, the taxation policy of the Afghans proved to be the harbinger of misery to the peasants and other sections of the people

Tarikh-i-Hasan by Ghulam Hasan Khoihami is a late 19 th century work, is the most comprehensive and coherent of all the indigenous Persian sources of Kashmir. It contains historical literature from the earliest times to 1885. It is in four volumes. Its first volume deals with the geology of Kashmir, its fauna and flora, archaeological remains, internal and external trade, sources of irrigation, agricultural and horticultural produce, revenue of Kashmir, under the

Mughal and the Afghans, bridges, gardens, shawl trade, etc. Volume second narrates political history from the earliest times. Third and fourth volumes are devoted to describe the life of the Saints, Scholars and Poets who lived during the rule of the Sultan and the Mughals in Kashmir. The significance of this work lies in the fact that the events discussed therein are largely corroborated 11

by Persian sources authored by Narain Kaul Ajiz, Muhammad Azam and

Birbal Kachru.

Besides above sources, there are many other Revenue Documents,

Letters and Administrative Records preserved in the CAS, Deptt. Of History,

AMU Aligarh, Maulana Azad Library, AMU, Aligarh and also in Iqbal Library, Srinagar also provide very useful information on the agrarian economy of medieval Kashmir as well as contain valuable information on the subject relating to my work.

The period under revive is also rich in European travelers accounts for instance, St. J. Xavier and Bendict-de goes were the first known European travelers who set foot on the soil of Kashmir in 1597. The account of the Father’s is very brief. The Subah of Kashmir at the time of their arrival was in the grip of a terrible famine. Their account though short, throws light on economic conditions of the people and the effects of the Mughal conquest have also been highlighted.

Pelsaert’s account (Remonstrantie ) about Kashmir is also sketchy. It furnishes quite useful information on Kashmir during the reign of Jahangir. Besides its geography, climate and culture, this account is quite indispensable for the study of agrarian history of Kashmir. Besides, this work also offers an account of the material conditions of the people particularly settled in the rural areas. It also gives us some information about the trade and commerce of

Kashmir .

Travels in the Mughal Empire by Francois Bernier- The account is fairly comprehensive and deals with Kashmir, its climate, geography, social behaviour of its people, their culture, trade and lastly different routes 12

connecting Kashmir with the outside world. However, the information pertaining to the agrarian history is much more exhaustive. It also furnishes useful information about the agricultural products, sources of irrigation, ownership of land and revenue exacted thereon, practice of begar , Mughal relations with the tributary Chieftains of Tibet and arts and crafts production of Kashmir. This work has been edited and translated into English by A. Constable.

Storia do Mogor by Niccalao Manucci, mostly deals with the agricultural products of Kashmir, woollen stuffs, its soil formation and revenue returns etc. It has been translated into English by William Irvine in four volumes.

Desideri and Father Fryre came to Kashmir in 1714 on their way to Tibet. The Fathers remained in the valley for a number of months, which enabled them to give us an accurate account of social and economic life of the people. It is very important source as far as the trade and commerce of Kashmir with the little and Greater Tibet, Central Asia, Nepal and Bhutan is concerned. It also contains information about the political geography and the borders of Ladakh and Tibet also. De-Filipi has rendered its Italian version into English.

George Forster came to Kashmir in 1783. He has published the account of his travels in two volumes. It throws light on the social and economic life of the people. His topographical information is reliable.

The accounts of travelers who visited the valley in the 19 th century, like Moorcraft and Trebeck, G.T. Vigne, F. Younghusband, Frederick Drew and A.H. Francke, etc. give detailed information about social and economic life and the topography of the whole Subah.

Chapter - 1

Agricultural Production

CHAPTER – 1

AGRICULTURE PRODUCTION

(A) BOUNDARIES AND AREA OF KASHMIR

The description of the boundaries and area of Kashmir as given by the

Persian writers and travellers accounts are generally vague in nature. When they speak of Kashmir, they include the valley as well as the regions around it.

Sharafuddin Ali Yazdi describes the valley as lying in a longitudinal position enclosed on all sides by mountains; the southern range in the direction of Delhi; the northern towards Badakhshan and Khurasan, the western towards the country of the Afghan and the eastern terminating in the outlying district of

Tibet 1.

Mirza Haider Dughlat places Kashmir to the West of Tibet 2. According to him, the plain ( Julga) of Kashmir, extended from the Bakani quarter, which means “between the South and the East”, towards the Rikan Bain (on north- west) 3.

The Mughal historians however give a more accurate description of the boundaries of the valley. Abul Fazl 4 includes the Sarkar of Kashmir in the

1 Sharfuddin Ali Yazdi, Zafarnamah, edited by Maulawi Muhammad Ilahadad, Vol. II, Calcutta, 1888, p 178; Also see Muhammad Qasim Firishta Tarikh-i-Firishta, Nawal Kishore edition, Lucknow, 1909, Vol. II, p. 335; Also see its translation History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power In India Till the year A.D. 1612 , By John Briggs, vol. 4, New Delhi, Reprinted, 1981, p. 260; Muhammad Azam, in his Waqiat-i-Kashmir , MS No. 32/150, Farsiya Tarikh, Habib Ganj Collection, compiled 1747, gives the same description of the boundaries of the valley, (as describes by Sharafuddin Ali Yazdi), f. 4ab. 2 Mirza Haider Dughlat, Tarikh-i-Rashidi , Eng. Transl. E. Denison Ross and N. Elias, A History of Mughals of Central Asia, Patna, 1973, p. 417. 3 Ibid , p. 424. 4 Abul Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari, 2 vols. Nawal Kishore’s edition, Lucknow, 1879-80, & its. transl. vol. I, by H. Blochmann and vol. II-III (Bound in one) by H.S. Jarrett, New Delhi, 1949, Text, vol. II, p. 169. 14

Suba of Kabul. He 5 describes its boundaries as follows: on the east are paristan and the river Chenab; on the south-east Banihal and the Jammu mountains; on the north-east, Great Tibet 6; on the west, Pakli and the Kishan Ganga river; on the south-west, the Gakkar country, and on the north-west, Little Tibbet 7. It is encompassed on all sides by the Himalayan ranges.

Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri gives the length of Kashmir, from the pass of

Buliyasa to Qamarbar is 56 Jahangiri koss long, and its breadth is never more than 27 koss , or less than 10 koss 8.

Muhammad Saleh Kambo places the valley in south-north direction, from the Qasbah of up to Darwaza Kutal 9.

Different writers give different measurements of the valley: Ali Yazdi says the plain of Kashmir extended from east to west and measured about 40 farsakhs and from south to north, it measured 20 farsakhs 10 .

According to Mirza Haider Dughlat, the plain of Kashmir is about a hundred kroh (30 farsakhs ) in length and in width, some parts are about 20 kroh and in a few places 10 kroh 11 .

During the 16 th century, entire area of the valley measured hundred twenty kos 12 in length and ten to twenty five kos in breadth 13 , though Jahangir

5 Ibid , p. 169. 6 Prof. Irfan Habib, An Atlas of the Mughal Empire, Political and Economic Maps , Delhi, 1982, Sheet 3A, pp. 5-6. 7 Ibid , p. 6. 8 Jahangir, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri , ed. Saiyid Ahmad, Ghazipur and Aligarh, 1863-64, p. 298. 9 Muhammad Saleh Kambu, Amal-i-Saleh or ShahjahanNama , Vol. II, edited by Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad, Majlis-i-Taraqqi Adab, Lahore, 1959, Vol. II. P. 19. 10 Zafarnama , Vol. II, p. 178; Also see Tarikh-i-Firishta , op. cit., p. 333, According to Azam, the plain of Kashmir extended from east to west, 40 farsakhs and south to north 20 farsakhs : Waqiat-i- Kashmir, f. 4ab. 11 Tarikh-i-Rashidi , p. 424. 12 Ain , II, p. 169; In Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, it was a unit of measurement equal to 5,000 yards as per Jahangiri Dira . Each yard was of 24 digits or angusht : p. 298. 13 Ain, II, p. 169. 15

believed it to be between fifty six to sixty seven kos in length and only two kos in breadth. 14

Muhammad Saleh Kambu gives its length from Verinag to Darvaza Kutal belonging to the pargana of Dachhina and Khawara as 100 official kroh and its width from Moza Koknah in the east up to Firozpura of pargana Bangil, about 30 kroh 15 .

According to Hasan 16 , the plain of Kashmir, is like a broad pass (placed) between lofty Himalayan ranges, and from the south-eastern corner towards the north-western corner, is like a square and a parallelogram.

According to Forster, the valley of Kashmir is of an elliptick form and extends about ninety miles in a winding direction from the south-east to the north-west 17 .

Bernier 18 says, “Kashmir, however, is no longer a lake, but a beautiful country, diversified with a great many low hills: about thirty leagues in length, and from ten to twelve in breadth. It is situated at the extremity of Hindustan, to the north of Lahore, enclosed by the mountains at the foot of Caucasus, those of the kings of Great Tibet and Little Tibet, and of the Raja Gamon, who are its most immediate neighbours.”

According to M. Elphinstone 19 , “The valley of Kashmir is surrounded by lofty mountains, which divided it from Little Tibet on the North, from

14 Tuzuk , p. 298. 15 Amal-i-Saleh or ShahjahanNama , vol. II, pp. 19-20. 16 Pir Ghulam Hasan Khoyhami, Tarikh-i-Hasan [in Persian, completed, 1885], ed. Sahibzada Hasan Shah, 2 Vols., Srinagar, 1954, Vol. I, p. 49. 17 George Forster, A Journey From Bengal to England Through Northern Parts of India, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Persia and into Russia by the Caspian Sea, 1782-84, 2 vols. London, 1798, Vol. II, p. 16. 18 F. Bernier, Travels in the Mughal Empire 1656-68 , Transl. on the basis of Irving Brock’s version by A. Constable, with notes, 2nd edition, revised by V.A. Smith, London, 1916, p. 395, Also see footnote Nos. 2, 3, 4. 19 Mount Stuart Elphinstone, An Account of The Kingdom of Cabul, and Its Dependencies in Persia, Tartary and India , 2 vols. London, 1839, vol. II, p. 237. 16

Ladauk on the east, from the Punjab on the south, and from Pukhlee on the west”.

In the shaggy and hilly terrain of Kashmir, passes and routes connecting the various parts of the region with one another, and providing access to the outside world, were of paramount importance. The Mughals paid great attention to the maintenance of the routes and roads 20 . According to Abul

Fazl 21 , there were twenty six roads leading into Hindustan but the Bhimbar 22 and Pakli23 roads are the best and are generally practicable on horseback.

Lahori also mentions four routes connecting Lahore with Kashmir, one each via Pakhli, Chaumak, Poonch and the Pir Panjal24 .

According to M. Elphinstone, seven routes connected Kashmir with the rest of the world; four were from the south, one from the west and the remaining two from the north. The Afghans, however, preferred the

20 Abul Fazl tells us that, Akbar sent in advance, three thousand stone-cutters, mountain-miners and splinterers of rocks and two thousand beldars (diggers) to level the ups and downs of the road: Akbarnama , ed. Maulwi Abd-ur-Rahim, Vol. III, Part I-II, Calcutta, 1886-87 & Its transl. By H. Beveridge, vol. III, Delhi, 1973, Text, III, part II, p. 537. 21 Abul Fazl also says that, the first road had three significant passes. These were (i) Hastivanj- which was the former route for the march of troops; (ii) Pir Panjal – the route His Majesty (Akbar) thrice traversed while visiting Kashmir and (iii) Tangtala : Ain, Vol. II, p. 169 and its transl. II, pp. 351-352 & n.1; Also see G.T. Vigne, Travels in Kashmir, Ladakh and Iskardoo,----of the Punjab , 2nd edition, In Two volumes, reprinted, Karachi, 1987, Vol. I, pp. 146-149: in which 20 passes into Kashmir are mentioned and described. 22 Bernier, op. cit ., p. 390; Prof. Irfan Habib, op. cit ., p. 7; Mutamad Khan, Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri , Here I have used the edition of Abdal-Haiy and Ahmad Ali, Bib. Ind. Calcutta, 1865, p. 149; G.M.D. Sufi, Kashir Being A History of Kashmir From the Earliest Times to Our Own , Vol. II, Lucknow, 1997, Vol. I, p. 251; Kamgar Husain , Maasir-i-Jahangiri , edited by Azra Alvi, Bombay, 1978, p. 298. 23 Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, p. 149; G.M.D. Sufi, op. cit. , Vol. I, p. 87 & n. and p. 238; Maasir-i- Jahangiri, p. 298. 24 Lahori also says that Pakhli route had 35 halts and its distance measured 150 kroh; Chaumak route had 29 halts and measured 102 kroh; Poonch route had 23 halts and measured 99 kroh and the fourth route, i.e. Pir Panjal route measured 80 kroh . In addition, Bimber route had 30 halts and its distance measured 80 kroh ; Pir Panjal route though nearby, was difficult and narrow. The responsibility to maintain the road from one halt to another was assigned to one or the other official of the Mughal government in Kashmir: Badshahnama, ed. Kabir Al-Din Ahmad, Abd-Al- Rahim and W.N. Lees, vols. I-II, part-I-II, Bib. Ind. Calcutta, 1867-68, Vol. I, Part II, pp. 15-16, For details see pp. 15-21. 17

route for being nearer to Afghanistan 25 . All these routes went across the lofty

mountains 26 ornamented as well as beautified with snowy peaks and high and pleasing and delightful woods containing all kinds of trees 27 . In the middle of the lofty mountains, stood an arable area 28 which was occasionally featured by

the presence of peculiar plateaus termed udars or karewas in the contemporary literature 29 . The water for the irrigation of entire land including the udars was sent out by the snowy peaks through countless channels of water. It is important to note that like Iran and Turan the valley experienced heavy snowfall reinforced by periodical rains 30 .Naturally the high mountains

enclosing the valley, restricted the scope of heavy monsoon. But this never

saved the valley from untimely and unusual meteorological occurrences,31 which gave regular trouble to the people 32 . On account of the snowy mountains, the climate of the country was somewhat cold. Nevertheless, the valley was inclined to remain a zone of moderate and exhilarating climate that bestowed pleasure upon men and at the same time rendered the valley pleasant and joyous.

25 M. S. Elphinstone, op. cit ., Vol. II, p. 237. 26 F. Bernier, op. cit , pp. 400-401; M. Elphinstone, op. cit ., Vol. II, p. 237; Father Pierre Du Jarric, Akbar and the Jesuits: An account of the Jesuites Missions to the court of Akbar , Eng. Tansl. C.H. Payne, New Delhi, 1979, p. 75; According to Muhammad Kazim, the capital Lahore was itself connected with Kashmir through 4 routes : one each via Pakhli, Chaumak, Poonch and Pir Panjal : Alamgirnama , ed. Khadim Husain and Abdul Hai, Calcutta, 1868, Vol. II, p. 820. 27 Suka, Rajatarangini , Eng. Transl. From Sanskrit by J.C. Dutt, Kings of Kashmira, Delhi, 2003, p. 417; Akbar and the Jesuits , p. 75; Amal-i-Salih, II, pp. 18-19, 22-23; F. Bernier, op. cit ., p. 396. 28 Francisco Pelsaert, Remonstrantie, (c. 1626 ), Eng. Transl. From the Dutch, by W.H. Moreland and P. Geyl, Jahangir’s India , Cambridge, 1925, pp. 33-36; Amal-i-Salih, II, pp. 18-19. 29 Tarikh-i-Rashidi, Eng. Transl. p. 430; F. Bernier, op. cit ., p. 396 & n. 2, See for further details, p.412n; Abul Fazl’s description of one such udar in the vicinity of pargana Biruwa is spectacular : Ain , II, p. 174. 30 Akbarnama , Vol. III, part-II, p. 543; According to Suka, “Snow fell on the houses ……. like showers of flowers from the sky”: Rajatarangini, p. 411; According to Abul Fazl, “The rain and snowfall are similar to that of Turkestan and Persia and its periodical rains occurs at the same season as in Hindustan. The lands are artificially watered or dependent on rain for irrigation”: Ain, II, p. 169 & its transl. p. 352 & n. 3. 31 Alberuni, Kitab-al-Hind , edited and translated, from Persian, By Dr. Edward C. Sachau, Alberuni’s India, vol. II, New Delhi, Reprinted 1989, Vol. I, pp. 211-12. 32 Suka, Rajatarangini, p. 417. 18

Father Jerome Xavier 33 who visited Kashmir in 1597 in the train of

Emperor Akbar, writes: “The kingdom of Caximir (Kashmir) is one of the pleasantest and most beautiful countries to be found in the whole of India, we may even say in the east. It is completely surrounded by very high mountains, which for the greater part of the year are covered with snow; and all the rest of the kingdom is a beautiful plain clothed in verdure diversified with groves, orchards, gardens, and well-watered by springs and rivers, a very pleasant land for those who dwell therein.”

According to Mirza Haider Dughlat, 34 ‘Kashmir is among the most famous countries of the world, and is celebrated both for its attractions and its wonders.’ Abul Fazl 35 found the country ‘enchanting, and one that might be fittingly called a garden of perpetual spring surrounding a citadel terraced to the skies, and deservedly appropriate to be either the delight of the worldling or the retired abode of the recluse.’ But the charming beauty of Kashmir had a hypnotic effect on ‘Urfi’. He described the rejuvenating effects of the climate of Kashmir in his well-known verse. 36 Akbar was so delighted with the country that he called it his ‘private garden’. 37 According to Jahangir, ‘Kashmir is a garden of eternal spring, or an iron fort to a palace of kings-a delightful flower- bed, and a heart-expanding heritage for dervishes. Its pleasant meads and enchanting cascades are beyond all description. There are running streams and fountains beyond count. Wherever the eye reaches, there are verdure and running water. The red rose, the violet, and the narcissus grow of themselves;

33 Akbar and the Jesuits , pp. 75-78. 34 Tarikh-i-Rashidi , Eng. Transl. , p. 424. 35 Ain , II, p. 169. 36 Tarikh-i-Firishta , II, p. 334: Urfi’s famous lines are: Har Sukhta Jane Ki ba Kashmir dar ayad Gar Murgi kababast ba bal o par ayad. 37 Abdu-l Qadir Badauni, Muntakhabu-t Tawarikh , ed. Ali, Ahmad and Lees, Bib. Ind. 3 vols. Calcutta, 1864-69, vol. II, pp. 369, 384. 19

in the fields, there are all kinds of flowers and all sorts of sweet-scented herbs more than can be calculated. In the soul-enchanting spring the hills and plains are filled with blossoms; the gates, the wall, the courts, the roofs, are lighted up by the torches of banquet-adorning tulips.’ 38

38 Tuzuk , p. 299. (B)EXTENT OF CULTIVATION

In order to expand the Mughal Empire 1, Kashmir was annexed in 1586

A.D2. Though for some time, it remained a vital part of the province of Kabul 3, but very soon Kashmir assumed the status of a full fledged province like other Mughal Indian provinces. It was made into a separate Suba under Jahangir 4.

Thenceforth, the Suba of Kashmir was broadly divided, as earlier 5, into two major divisions termed Maraz and Kamraz in Persian accounts 6. For the sake of administrative convenience, the two parts were further subdivided into a considerable number of administrative units designated Parganas 7. Kalhana in his account, names several Parganas 8, but it is Abul Fazl, who first of all gives us a systematic list of the parganas of Kashmir. Subsequent evidence indicates how the number of the parganas was increased or readjusted within certain limits considering the fiscal requirements or administrative action. According

1 F. Bernier, op. cit. , pp. 400-1. 2 According to Abul Fazl, the annexation followed a series of intermittent wars between the Mughal forces and the Kashmiris, Akbarnama, III, part-I, pp. 318-19, 480-81, III, part-II, pp. 496-97, 501-503; Suka, Rajatarangini, pp. 397-427; Khafi Khan in his Muntakhabu-Lubab says that, one of the important factors that helped the Mughal forces to carve out their rule in Kashmir, was manifest in the mutual animosity that obtained among the ruling families and zamindars of Kashmir some of whom had already joined their hands with the imperial army: edited by Maulavi Kabir Al-Din Ahmad, Vol. I, part-I-II, Calcutta, 1868-69 & Vol. II, part-I-II, 1870, 1874, Vol. I, part-I, pp. 194-96. 3 Ain : Abul Fazl in Ain, treats Kashmir as a Sarkar of the Subah of Kabul, which was comprised of Kashmir, Pakhli, Bimber, Swat, Bajaur, Qandahar, Ghaznah and later Kabul : II, p. 169; A Sarkar is a sub-division of a Subah. Each Subah constituted several Sarkars and each Sarkar was sub-divided into Parganas or Mahals : Ain, H.S. Jarrett, II, pp. 95-96. 4 Prof. Irfan Habib, An Atlas of the Mughal Empire, p. 6. 5 These two terms Maraz and Kamraz were called as Madavrajya and Kamrajya in Sanskrit accounts, i.e. Kalhana, Rajatarangini, trans. By M.A. Stein, 2 Vols, Delhi, 1979, Vol. I, Book II, Verse 15, p. 57, Book III, verse 481, p. 115, Book V, verse, 84, 87, p. 197, verse, 303, p. 224, verse 447, pp. 231-32, Book VII, verse, 223, p. 287, verse 1240-41, p. 365 & Vol. II, Book VIII, verse, 41, p. 4, verse, 200, p. 18, verse, 250, p. 22, verse, 823, p. 66, verse, 926, p. 73, verse, 1005, p. 79. 6 Akbarnama, vol. III, part-II, pp. 548-49; Maraz lay on the east and Kamraz on the west of Kashmir (Srinagar): Ain , II, p. 176; These were the traditional divisions of the , one comprising the upper part of the valley (Maraj), the other the lower (Kamraj): Tuzuk, p. 298. 7 It is an administrative unit for revenue purposes, when territorial, identical with Pargana, but when non-territorial e.g. Market dues, customs house, mint etc., identical with Mahals. 8 M.A. Stein, op. cit., Vol. II, Book VIII, verse, 1260, 1270, pp. 100-1, verse 1413, 1414, 1417, 1422, p. 111, verse, 2695-2698, p. 211. 21 to Abul Fazl, in the revenue returns forwarded by Qazi Ali (Akbar’s assessor) to the imperial court, forty-one parganas were dealt with, while the return submitted by Asaf Khan (another assessor) contained but thirty-eight, there being thirty eight in point of fact. The difference was accounted for by the amalgamation of some and the splitting up of other parganas 9. The changing number of the villages in each pargana together with the emergence of new villages as is indicated by Narain Koul Ajiz and Muhammad Azam’s accounts reinforces the viewpoint that the number of the parganas could change depending on the circumstances. The number of the parganas was stated by

Birbal Kachru, Muhammad Salih Kambu, Narain Koul Ajiz and Muhammad

Azam at thirty-six, forty-four, thirty-seven and thirty-six during Akbar’s reign 10 , Shahjahan’s reign 11 , Aurangzeb’s reign 12 and the later Mughal period respectively 13 . Their number changed but little under the Afghans and the Sikhs as is suggested by Birbal Kachru and William Moorcroft who fixed their

9 Ain, II, p. 176: Further he says that Qazi Ali, for instance, bifurcated the two villages of and Drao which formed a part of pargana Kamraz. He also created a new pargana by dividing pargana Sairul Muwazai itself into two units. He united 40 villages of Maraz district under the name of pargana Haveli and retained 88 villagers of Kamraz according to the former distribution under the separate name of pargana Sairul Mawazai; Tarikh-i-Hasan , Vol. I, pp. 244-45. 10 Birbal Kachru, Majmuat-Tawarikh , Farsiya Akhbar, MS. No. 148, Manuscript section, MAL, AMU, Aligarh, 1835-36 A.D.: Kachru has estimated 36 Parganas at 3425 villages, pp. 13-15; Also see Tarikh-i-Hasan, Vol. I, pp. 258-67: But Hasan, has estimated 38 Parganas at 3208 villages. 11 Amal-i-Saleh or ShahjahanNama , Vol. II, ed. Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad: Saleh has estimated 44 Parganas at 4000 villages, vol. II, p. 20; Also see, Niccolao Manucci, Storia Do Mogor or Mughal India 1653-1708, in 4 Vols. Bound in 2, Translated with Introduction and Notes by William Irvine, Reprinted in LPP, Delhi, 1990, vol. II, p. 388 : According to Niccolao Manucci, the province of Kashmir has forty-six parganas. 12 Narain Koul Ajiz, Tarikh-i-Kashmir , MSS No. 71, Farsiya Akhbar, Manuscript section, MAL, AMU, Aligarh, (C. 1710), ff. 41a – 42a : There is a variation of the various collection of same manuscript, in MSS No. 71, Ajiz has estimated 37 Parganas and 3274 villages, while MSS No. 18, CAS Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh, ff. 106-107, has estimated 35 parganas and 3239 villages. 13 Muhammad Azam, Waqiat-i-Kashmir , Farsiya Tarikh, Habib Ganj Collection 32/150, Manuscript section, MAL, AMU, Aligarh, completed, 1747, Khatima, ff. 285ab: There is a variation of the various collections of the same manuscript, in Habib Ganj Collection, 32/150, Khatima, ff. 285ab, Azam has estimated 36 Parganas and 3190 villages, while in Abdus Salam Collection, 527/48, Farsiya Tarikh, scribed in 1843-44, ff. 240b – 241a & MSS No. 72, Farsiya Akhbar, 1849, ff. 243ab, has estimated 32 parganas at 2815 villages and 32 parganas at 2886 villages respectively. 22 number at thirty-six only 14 . Anyhow, parganas varied in size as is perceptible from the striking contrast in their revenue returns15 together with the distinct number of villages constituting each pargana separately 16 . The largest pargana of Kamraz, for example, contained four hundred sixty-nine villages while pargana comprised one single village 17 . The parganas simply represented the total sum of villages, they varied in size, number and accruing revenues. 18

Kashmir being an agricultural region, the bulk of its population lived in villages and was taken to agriculture. It is not possible to give exact figures of the number of people inhabiting the valley during the medieval period. We are told by some of the chroniclers that the valley was thickly populated. For instance, the Zafarnama , mentions that the land was thickly populated 19 , and so does Abul Fazl speak of the country’s “numerous population” 20 . Moreover, it appears from the existence of innumerable deserted village sites that the valley possessed a large population under the Sultans than at present 21 .

From the revenue statistics of Abul Fazl 22 , we find that in the Maraz district the revenue realized was larger than in the Kamraz district. In Maraz district, Vihi pargana yielded more than either Icch or Brang pargana . Wular pargana yielded more than either Phak, Kuther or Mattan. In the parganas

14 Majmuat-Tawarikh , pp. 13-14; William Moorcroft and George Trebeck, Travels in India Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan and the Punjab In Ladakh and Kashmir In Peshawar, Kabul, Kunduz and Bokhara, from 1819 to 1825, In 2 vols. (Bound in 1.), ed. By Horace Hayman Wilson, London, 1837, reprinted in LPP New Delhi, 2000, Part III, Ch. II, Vol. II, p. 113. 15 Ain, II, pp. 176-178; Also see, Tarikh-i-Kashmir , MS No. 71, ff. 41a – 42a. 16 Majmuat-Tawarikh , pp. 13-15; Tarikh-i-Kashmir , MS No. 71, ff. 41a – 42a; Waqiat-i-Kashmir , 32/150, Khatima , ff. 285ab. 17 Ibid , ff. 41a – 42a; Ibid, ff. 285ab; Also see Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 258-267. 18 Ain II, pp. 176-78; Also see, Tarikh-i-Kashmir , MS No. 71, ff. 41a–42a. 19 Zafarnama, Vol. II, pp. 177-78. 20 Ain II, p. 170. 21 M.A. Stein, op. cit ., II, Book VIII, verse, 87, p. 438. 22 Ain , II, pp. 176-78. 23

South-East of Srinagar, Adwin yielded the largest amount of revenue, Nagam came next and Verinag last of all. In the Kamraz district, Krohen yielded the largest revenue with Bangil following close. Inderkot came last of all. It may be mentioned here that the area covered by the various parganas was almost equal. We can therefore, infer that (i) Maraz district was more populous than Kamraz; (ii) in the Maraz district, Vihi, Wular and Adwin parganas were comparatively denser in population than the rest of the parganas ; (iii) in the Kamraz district, Krohen and Bangil parganas were more populous than any of the other sixteen.

Abul Fazl, Jahangir and F. Bernier record that Kashmir was full of fields of green crops and that little of the land was left uncultivated. On the other hand, there is no record to show that grain was exported to places in the rest of India. This shows that the population of Kashmir was dense to the full productive capacity of the valley. Again, Abul Fazl says, “Notwithstanding its numerous population and the scantiness of the means of subsistence, thieving and begging are rare” 23 . The remark indicates that the population of the valley was denser than many parts in the rest of India. Secondly, we may infer that the valley must have been overpopulated because notwithstanding the thorough cultivation of land and the absence of exports of grain, “the means of subsistence were scanty”. This conclusion is also supported by the remark of Bernier about Aurangzeb’s visit to the valley. “That scarcity of provisions may not be produced in the kingdom of Kashmir, the king will be followed by a very limited number of individuals” 24 .

In the time of the Sultans and Mughals, the population was mainly concentrated in villages, and only a small portion of it lived in towns, the

23 Ibid, II, p. 170. 24 Bernier, op. cit ., p. 391. 24 largest among them being Srinagar called in the Persian Chronicles Shahr-i-

Kashmir (city of Kashmir). The number of villages has been variously estimated. “Masudi (d. 956) says that the number of villages in the valley stood between 60,000 to 70,000” 25 . According to Sharfuddin Ali Yazdi, in the whole province – plains and mountains together – there were 100,000 villages 26 . The number of villages in the Lokaprakasa is placed at 66,063 27 . This is also the oral tradition of the Brahmans through out the valley 28 . Jahangir also gives the figure as 60,000 29 . Dimashqi (d. 1327) speaks of the Inner and outer Kashmir, the former containing 70,000 villages and the latter more than 100,000 30 . But these above earlier sources, have recorded highly exaggerated number of villages, existing in early medieval period 31 . According to F. Pelsaert, Many villages and handsome towns exist in all parts of the country, but the valley had countless villages 32 . Contemporary chroniclers have numbered them at three thousand, four hundred twenty five and four thousand during the reign of Akbar 33 and Shahjahan 34 respectively. For the period of Aurangzeb, they were estimated at five thousand, three hundred fifty two35 , which came down to three

25 Mohibbul Hasan, Kashmir Under The Sultans , Edited and Introduced by Dr. Hamid Naseem Rafiabadi, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, April, 2001, pp. 396-397; Also see R.K. Parmu, A History of Muslims Rule in Kashmir, 1320-1819, New Delhi, 15 August, 1969, pp. 390-91. 26 Zafarnama, II, p. 178; Tarikh-i-Rashidi , p. 430. 27 M.A. Stein, op. cit ., II, Book VIII, verse 87, p. 438. 28 Ibid. 29 That it can claim some antiquity is evident from the allusion made to the same under in Jonarja’s chronicle: M. A. Stein, op. cit ., II, p. 438; Also see [Jonar. (Bo. Ed.), 153.] Footnote No. 13. 30 Muhibbul Hasan, op. cit ., p. 397. 31 Dr. Mohibbul Hasan, has inferred on the basis of above evidences that there would have been in between 70,000 and 60,000 villages during the Sultanate period and during the early Mughal period: op. cit., p. 396-97. 32 Francisco Pelsaert, op. cit. , pp. 33-34. 33 Majmuat-Tawarikh , pp. 13-15; But the number of villages in Hasan’s account is three thousand, two hundred eight: Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 258-267. 34 Amal-i-Saleh , II, p. 20. 35 Dastur-al-Amal , Aurangzeb: Post 1696, Bodleian Library, Oxford (hereafter Bodl.), Fraser 86, Rotograph No. 183, f. 3; According to Prof. Irfan Habib, the total number of villages were 5,352, but all of them were unmeasured: The Agrarian system of Mughal India 1556-1707, Oxford, 2000, p. 4; Also see Rai Chatar Mal, Chahar Gulshan , translated by J.N. Sarkar in his India of Aurangzeb, Calcutta, 1901, pp. 131-32. 25 thousand, two hundred seventy four towards the end of his reign i.e. 1709-10 36 .

The number of the villages, which again slightly declined to three thousand, one hundred ninety by the reign of the later Mughals i.e. 1746 A.D 37 . An idea about the number of villages comprising each pargana can be formed on the basis of the information conveyed by Birbal Kachru 38 , Hasan 39 , Narain Koul Ajiz 40 , and Mohammad Azam 41 . Table I gives a clear picture of this information. TABLE – I

PARGANA-WISE NUMBER OF VILLAGES

S. Name of the No. of No. of No. of Villages in No. of Villages in Azam’s No. Pargana Villages Villages Ajiz’s Account for Account for the Period of in in Hasan’s the Period of Later Mughals (1746-47) Kachru’s Account Autangzeb (1709-10) Account for the (a) (b) (a) (b) (c) for the Period of Period of Akbar Akbar (1586- (1586- 1605) 1605) 1 Balda (Srinagar) 15 15 15 15 15 15 - 2 Islamabad 106 106 106 106 106 106 106 3 Ular 121 126 121 121 121 121 121 4 Itch 104 104 104 104 104 104 104 5 Adwin 209 208 208 208 208 208 208 6 Inderkot - - 08 08 08 08 08 7 Beeru 182 182 182 182 182 182 182 8 Brang 79 79 70 70 70 70 - 9 Bankal (Bangil) 223 223 223 203 223 223 223

36 Tarikh-i-Kashmir , MS No. 71, ff. 41a-42a. 37 Waqiat-i-Kashmir , Habib Ganj Collection, 32/150, Khatima, ff.285ab. 38 Majmuat-Tawarikh , pp. 13-15. 39 Tarikh-i-Hasan , Vol. I, pp. 285-267. 40 Tarikh-i-Kashmir : There is a variation of the various collections of same manuscript, in MS No. 71, ff. 41a-42a, Ajiz has estimated 37 Parganas and 3274 Villages, while MS No. 18, ff. 106- 107, has estimated 35 Parganas and 3239 Villages. For this simplification, see table-I & section a & b, respectively. 41 Waqiat-i-Kashmir : There is a variation of the various collections of the same manuscript, in Habib Ganj Collection 32/150, Khatima, ff. 285ab, Azam has estimated 36 Parganas and 3190 Villages, While in Abdus Salam Collection, 48/527, ff. 240b-241a & MS No. 72, ff. 243ab, has estimated 32 Parganas at 2815 villages and 32 Parganas at 2886 villages respectively. For this simplification, see Table-I & Section a, b & c respectively. 26

10 Phak 64 64 64 64 64 64 64 11 Batu 63 63 63 63 63 - 63 12 Pattan 01 01 01 - 01 01 100 13 Paraspur 33 - 33 - 33 33 32 14 Telagam 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 15 Dachinpara 80 80 80 80 80 - 80 16 Devsar 162 162 162 162 162 162 162 17 Dinsu | Vatsu 108 89 108 120 108 - 108 18 Dachin Khawara 102 Only 102 102 56 56 102 name 19 Zainpur 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 20 Zainagir 98 98 98 98 98 98 98 21 Sairul Muwazai Both 88 Both Both Both Both - the upper 22 Sairul Muwazai 109 21 109 109 109 109 - the lower 23 Suprasaman 121 21 21 21 21 21 - 24 Shakroo 97 97 97 97 98 98 - 25 Showra 59 69 49 59 52 52 52 26 Shahabad 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 27 Khawarpara 96 102 56 56 102 - 102 28 Kothar 41 41 41 41 41 41 41 29 Krohin 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 30 Khoihama 55 55 45 55 55 55 55 31 Khoi 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 32 Kamraz 449 469 469 469 469 469 469 33 Lar 87 87 87 87 - - Only name 34 Machihama 89 129 89 89 89 63 Only name 35 Martand 15 11 15 11 11 15 11 36 Muhamadabad 39 - 30 30 30 30 30 37 Nagam 200 200 209 200 202 202 202 38 Wihi 39 39 30 30 30 30 30 39 Mirbahri - Only - - - - - name 40 Ichchan - Only - - - - - name 41 Arwi - Only - - - - - name Total – Parganas 36 38 37 35 36 32 32 parganas parganas parganas parganas parganas parganas parganas Total Villages 3425 3208 3274 3239 3190 2886 2815 villages villages villages villages villages villages villages

27

The decline in the number of villages and consequently of the population itself began from the later Mughal, Afghan, and the Sikh period 42 .

The population figures of the valley seem to have undergone a radical change, with the coming of Afghan rule. Political uncertainty coupled with natural calamities like famines and floods resulted in wholesale emigration and death. Although there are no records to show the exact number of people who continued to inhabit the valley during troubled times, we get a glimpse of it from the diaries of some European travellers who visited the valley immediately after the end of the Afghan rule. Moorcroft records that whereas the population of the city of Kashmir, although much diminished, was very numerous, yet at the same time the villages and small towns were deserted, people having either migrated to the capital where there was greater safety or to the plains of Hindustan 43 .

We have no precise data regarding the number of dwellings in each village or villages together. There are the name of few places, such as Awri,

Chahkothi, Chakar and Danah etc; which contained forty to fifty houses 44 .

During Jahangir’s reign, the population of the valley was seventeen lakh, sixty- eight thousand and thirty-three 45 excluding one lakh and seventy-five thousand inhabitants of Srinagar city 46 . According to Shams Siraj Afif, each village in

42 Mohibbul Hasan, op. cit., p. 397; Also see, R.K. Parmu, op. cit., pp. 391-92: “Apart from the consequences of the wars of occupation and civil strifes, we have also to take into account famines, floods, fires and epidemics which occurred repeatedly during this period and took a heavy toll of the population.” 43 Moorcrof & Trebeck, op. cit ., Part III, Ch. II, Vol. II, pp. 123-24. 44 Mirza Saif-ud-Din, Khulasatu-t-Tawarikh , transl. From Persian, Mirza Kamal-ud-Din Shaida, Srinagar, December, 1984, pp. 258-59, reveals that there were, on an average 50 houses in each village. 45 The actual figure given by Hasan is 19, 43, 033 including the rural and urban dwellers together: Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p.273. In order to work out the exact figure of village population, the figure of 19, 43,033 has been subtracted by the figure of 1,75,000 representing the number of inhabitants in proper Srinagar. 46 The given figure is actually 1,50,000 – 2,000,00 the mean of which is 1,75,000: Mount Stuart Elphinstone, op. cit., Vol. II, p. 238. 28 medieval India had 200 to 300 men 47 . By 1825, the population of Kashmir was estimated at 8,00,000 48 . In 1835, it was stated that the population of the valley did not exceed 200,000 persons, ‘to which number it had been in twenty years reduced from 800,000 by oppression and the awful dispensation of earthquake, pestilence, and famine’49 . According to M. Elphinstone, the city of Cashmeer is the largest in the Dooraunee dominions. It contains from a hundred and fifty to two hundred thousand inhabitants 50 .

“Owing to its rivers Kashmir possesses a large area of alluvial soil 51 .” The soil of Kashmir can be broadly divided into the old alluvial and the new alluvial. The old alluvial 52 forms the table-lands ( Karewas) and the new alluvial 53 the flat basin of the river Jehlum and its tributaries. The local name for the table land is karewa and in ancient Sanskrit chronicles it has been recorded as Uddara 54 .

The new alluvial soil was further divided into many categories 55 , such as the Grutu, Bahil, Sekil and Dezanlad . These classifications were based on the irrigation facilities available, their proximity to villages, and the quantity of manure they received before cultivation. Besides the above four types, a

47 Tapan Raychaudhuri and Irfan Habib (eds.), The Cambridge Economic History of India , Vol. I, C.1200-C.1750 , Cambridge, 1982, p. 48. 48 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit., Vo. II, p. 123. 49 Water Lawrence, The Valley of Kashmir , Srinagar, 1967, p. 223. 50 M.S. Elphinstone, op. cit., II, p. 238. 51 Lawrence, op. cit., p. 319. 52 F. Bernier, op. cit ., p. 396 & n.2, Also see p. 412n; Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 319; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, 98-99: Hasan divides the plain of Kashmir into three categories, but this Karewas and the foothills of the mountains comes into the third categories, but Lawrence brings it into 2nd class. 53 According to Lawrence, this soil comes into first class but according to Hasan it comes into 1st and 2nd categories: op. cit ., p.319; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 98-99; G.T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. I, p. 300. 54 Ibid. p. 319; Ibid, pp. 98-99; Ibid , Vol. II, p. 39; M. Stein, op. cit ., Vol. II, Book VIII, 1427 note p. 112; Vol. I, 156 note, p. 28-29. 55 Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 319-20 & n; Also see, Moonis Raza, Aijazuddin Ahmad, Ali Mohammad, The Valley of Kashmir, A Geographical Interpretation , Vol. I, The Land, New Delhi, 1978, p. 118. 29 number of special varieties are known to occur locally: surhazamin, lamb, rad, tand, zabalzamin, kharzamin, ront, shath and tats 56 .

In the lakes two types of artificial soil were created by the people. The first type was known as Radh , i.e. floating gardens 57 and the second as Demb 58 made, either along the edge of the lakes or in the centre of lakes, by raising the ground by putting saplings of trees etc. The floating gardens ( Radh ) were made by raft and seeds on which earth and weeds were placed till it became strong enough to bear sufficient weight 59 . Besides these above two types of the soil i.e. Radh and Demb, there is another kind of land, known as Daji . “This is natural land, and if on the edge of the lake, is Sailab and valuable, and nearly as good as Demb, and grows all crops” 60 .

Due to the deficient village statistics, it is very difficult to know the extent of the land occupied by each family or families together in a village.

Zainul Abidin took keen interest in agriculture. He built floating islands on which crops were sown. He paid attention towards the reclaimation of land and also towards the digging of the canals and thus brought large areas which lay barren under cultivation 61 . Abul Faiz Faizi has mentioned that there was not a single piece of land which was not brought under plough. Three-fourth of the entire land of the Suba was mountainous, and the rest one-fourth was brought

56 Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 320-21; Moonis Raza, op. cit ., vol. I, p. 118, for details see p. 124, & n. 16. 57 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., part III, Ch. II, pp. 137-142; Wilson H.H ., Gazetteer of Kashmir and Ladakh , Vivek publishing House, New Delhi, 1974, p. 788 : was famous for such floating gardens. Garden produces, such as vegetables and cucumbers, melons, were grown on this soil. Also see Ain, II, p. 173 and its transl. II, p. 361 & n.2. 58 Gazetteer of Kashmir and Ladakh, p. 788: In case of the Demb poplars and willows were planted within a small square and some time stakes too were used in place of saplings of trees. This kind of soil was very rich and did not require irrigation. 59 Ibid. 60 Ibid. 61 Baharistan-i-Shahi , A Chronicle of Medieval Kashmir , Transl. by K.N. Pandit, Calcutta, 1991, pp. 68, 72; Also see, Srivara, Jaina Rajatarangini , J.C. Dutt, op. cit ., pp. 140-42. 30 under plough, orchards 62 , were planted and as such there was extensive use of culturable land. On the basis of revenue returns in the Ain , we can safely infer that the area lying in between Gugnagir to Ferozpura and Hirapura to

Baramulla was mostly brought under plough 63 . According to Jahangir, out of the total land, three-fourth was mountainous and only on-fourth was arable 64 .According to Lahori, half of the madad-i-maash assignments were assigned out of barren land with a directive to bring the same under plough 65 .

Lahori give us a detailed account of the pastoral areas and health resorts, in the valley. He also informs us that both kashta (cultivated land) and non-kashta

(waste-land) land appears to have been brought under cultivation of cereals, fruit and vegetable subsequently 66 .

Ali Yazdi says that the soil of Kashmir is cultivated and many fruit trees grow, in the valley but due to the cold climate and heavy snowfall many fruits like dates, oranges, lemons, etc. which require hot temperature cannot be cultivated here; they are imported from the neighbouring warm regions 67 .

Mirza Haider Dughlat, Muhammad- Qasim Firishta and Azam, divided the land into four types or kinds namely, Abi, lalmi, baghi and nambal or maidanee 68 . According to Abul Fazl, the land was artificially irrigated or was dependent upon rain 69 . Hasan Khoyhami divides the plain of Kashmir or the soils of

62 Faizi Sarhindi, Akbarnama, Or. 169, British Museum, Rotograph No. 163, CAS, Dept. of History, AMU, Aligarh, ff. 240b-241a. 63 Ain, II, pp. 175-78: We have pargana -wise statistical information about the land revenue realised in kind at the rate of one-half. These returns support our inference, see Amal-i-Salih, II, pp. 17-24. 64 Tuzuk , p. 300. 65 Lahori, Badshahnama , Vol. II, part-I, pp. 309-10. 66 Lahori, Badshahnama, Vol. I, part-II, pp. 20-31. 67 Zafarnama, II, pp. 178-179. 68 Tarikh-i-Rashidi, Eng. Transl. pp. 425-30; Tarikh-i-Firishta , Vol. II, p. 333; Waqiat-i-Kashmir , MS No. 32/150, f. 6a: Here, according to Mirza Haider Dughlat, the fourth kind of land is nambal, while Firishta and Azam, considered nambal as maidanee. 69 Ain, II, p. 169: Here the terms are Abi, Lalmi and Chalkhai . For detail see Jarrett. transl. II, p. 352 & n.3. 31

Kashmir and its fertility into three categories 70 . First, the flat and level land of the valley producing crops two or three times more as compared to the highlands; Second, on the slopes of the mountains coming down into the flat surface of the valley from every side, the crops are average in strength, growth and volume; and third, the foothills of the mountains and the Karewahs are cultivable but also sandy. The products of these regions are of a third category and the crops are third-rate in strength, growth and abundance. Some of these areas are rocky and desolate and have thorns and bushes.

The Abi land was meant for paddy cultivation, which was irrigated by a variety of water resources 71 . It entailed regular irrigation which was generally rendered possible by countless springs and streams of water discharged by the snowy mountains 72 .

Another kind of land was Lalmi, which was meant for the cultivation of spring 73 crops including wheat, barley, pulses and mustard 74 .

The third, Baghi land contributing to the mass of area in the valley 75 was meant to grow fruits of which we have a detailed account in Tuzuk-i-

Jahangiri 76 .

The fourth kind known as nambal or maidanee land, which was swampy and unfit for cultivation 77 .

70 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 98-99: Here Hasan used the term as Abi and Lalmi for the first category of land and again Abi and Khushki land for the third category. 71 Ain, II, p. 169 and its transl. II, p. 352 & n.3: The land watered from ponds, tanks, lakes and watercourses etc. 72 Ibid , II, p. 169; Tuzuk, p. 299; Bernier, op. cit ., p. 396. 73 Ain, II, p. 169 & its transl. II, p. 352 & n.3: This land was wholly dependent on rain for irrigation. 74 Akbarnama, Vol. III, part-II, p. 548. 75 Tarikh-i-Rashidi, pp. 425-30, Tuzuk, p. 299-300. 76 Tuzuk, p. 299-300, 306-307. 77 Tarikh-i-Rashidi, pp. 425-30; According to Hasan, Sairul Muwazai Payeen , occupied the land below Srinagar and went as far as the . The area was mostly occupied by the swamps: Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 265-66; Further Hasan says that the most of marshy land were a source of 32

Tulmulla village alone stretched or enclosed hundred bighas of land which were flooded during the rains and remained somewhat moist even after the water dried up 78 . Besides, Kashmir valley abounded in dense forests,79 and in pastoral land which provided sufficient grazing for sheep and cattle 80 . According to G.T. Vigne, Muru- wurdwun is a narrow defile, whose sides are very steep, and covered with a jungle, chiefly of fir-trees 81 . The village of Deosir or Devsar lies very snugly at the foot of the hills, on the southern side of the Veshau, but miles of wild and wooded scenery intervene between it and the snowy panjal 82 . In the Kashmir we also found that the several plots located in different parganas and villages were earmarked for grazing purposes and others. For example, pargana Beeru exemplified such pasture ground the grass of which contained fattening properties 83 . Hasan, in Tarikh-i-Hasan , gave a detailed account of the meadows of Kashmir. He says that there are on the mountains of this land, many wide and level meadows which are refreshing and have beautiful flowers and green grass in them. In summer, the shepherds and herdsmen carry their animals to these meadows for grazing and bring them back in the month of Katak 84 . Like other types of land, one comes across information regarding the uftada (unploughed) type of land in almost every village of the valley 85 . The villages Dakhamun is covered with particles of straw and rubbish 86 . The pargana Phak grow a variety of herbs and plants 87 .

fodder for horses and cows, but with proper care rice and maize can be grown there with profit. Varieties of water fowls were hunted on these marshy lands. There were eleven such marshy lands in Kashmir and these were taxed higher than ordinary soil: Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 160-162. 78 Ain, II, p. 175. 79 G.T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. I, pp. 211, 307-8. 80 Ain, II, p. 174; Tuzuk, p. 299; Bernier, op. cit ., p. 396; Amal-i-Saleh, II, pp. 29-30. 81 G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., Vol. I, p. 211. 82 Ibid , I, pp. 307-8. 83 Ain, II, p. 174. 84 There is a detailed account of these meadows which are liked by kings and are the recreation ground of travellers : Tarikh-i-Hasan , Vol. I, pp. 83-89; Also see, Amal-i-Saleh , Vol. II, pp. 29- 30. 85 Akbarnama , III, part-II, pp. 726-27. 86 Ain , II, p. 173. 87 Ibid. 33

The pargana Shahabad was overgrown with weeds and jungle 88 . Besides those above lands about which I have mentioned earlier, the karewahs or udars are also a special feature of the valley of Kashmir. Both Moonis Raza 89 and Lawrence 90 described about the karewahs in their book, but Hasan describes 28 karewahs in his Tarikh-i-Hasan . He says that they are flat and rising from the ground, on an average, from 100 ft. to 200 ft. Some of them are connected with the mountains while others are unconnected 91 . The following is a description of the karewahs as given by the Persian writers and other:

Karewah Mattan or Martand – Its surface is flat and level and fit for agriculture and habitation but today it is desolate due to the non-availability of water 92 .

Karewah Naunagri – It is flat and broken and the land is mostly cultivated with Shali grown on one side. It is barren of trees and thorns 93 .

Karewah Zainahpurah – It is situated in pargana Adwin . It has a level surface and, in between, there are many lowlands; it has water and land cultivations and abundance of trees and thorns 94 .

Karewah Nagam – It is situated on the way of Charar . It is high and wide and is fit for cultivation of crops that do not need water 95 .

88 G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., Vol. I, p. 332. 89 Moonis Raza, op. cit ., Vol. I, p. 22. 90 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 17. 91 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 90-98. 92 According to Abul Fazl, the pargana Martand was actually known by the name Mattan : Ain , II, p. 172; According to G.T. Vigne, Martand, situated on the highest part of the karewah or raised plain of alluvium between Islamabad and the higher mountains : Vol. I, pp. 359-60; Tarikh-i- Hasan , I, p. 90. 93 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 92; According to C.E. Bates, it is one of the largest wudars in Kshmir : A Gazetteer of Kashmir and the Adjacent Districts of Kishtwar Badrwar, Jamu, Naoshera, Punch and the valley of Kishen Ganga, New Delhi, 1980, p. 292. 94 Ibid; According to Bates, Zainapurah is the name of pargana in the Shupiyan Zilla , it comprehends the table land lying to the north-east of Shupiyan; A Gazetteer of Kashmir , p. 407. 95 Ibid, I, p. 94; Further Hasan says that, it was a densely populated area spread over several karewahs of land occupied by many villages namely Chiraat, Arigam, Khanpur and Charar-i- Sharif : I, p. 262. 34

Damodar Wudar – Hasan places it in pargana Ichh and says it is detached from every side and is flat. Its centre is full of low lands without any trees and thorns and has no water. Spring and autumn crops are cultivated with rain water and they are rich and nutritious 96 .

Karewah Hanjak – Hasan Places it adjacent to Karewah Khoshipurah and says a little dry cultivation is done there 97 .

Karewah Badgam – Hasan places it in pargana Dinsu . On its surface there are many villages which have cultivation 98 .

Karewah Pattan – It is situated in the vicinity of village Bangil. Because of the canals existing there, Shali crop is cultivated in some places. The Kharif crop is excellent and fully grown 99 .

Karewah Kariri – Hasan places it in pargana Kurohan and it is fit for land and water cultivation 100 .

Karewah Ushkurah – Hasan places it in pargana Kurohan . It is very wide and cultivable and has many villages 101 .

Karewah Wagab – It is without water and has abundance of dry cultivation 102 .

96 Ibid ; According to M.A. Stein, An earlier Sanskrit term is Suda , originally meaning ‘barren waste ground’. Kalhana employs it when speaking of the well-known Damodar Ud ar: Rajatarangini , I, 156 note, pp. 28-29; Also see M.A. Stein, Ancient Geography of Kashmir , Patna, 1977, Section VII, p. 117. 97 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 95. 98 Ibid. 99 Ibid, pp. 95-96; Further Hasan mentioned that, the pargana was in the lap of another pargana Sairul Muwazai. It had comparatively a plain area : I, p. 267; Accriding to C.E. Bates, a large village lying at the foot of the table land on the south side of the valley of Kashmir, by the edge of the Pambarsar morass : A Gazetteer of Kashmir, p. 305; M.A. Stein, Ancient geography of Kashmir , pp. 198-99. 100 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 96; This is the sloping table land on which the village Kriri in Krohin pargana is situated: C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmri, p. 245. 101 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 96. 102 Ibid . 35

Karewah Bandahpurah – Hasan places it in pargana Khuihamah . It has moisture and it has abundant cultivation of Shali and many other grains and almond gardens 103 .

Karewah Safapur – This wudar is in Sairul Muwazai ; the lower, on the bank of Mansar spring. It has moisture and is fit for the cultivation of Shali and other grains 104 .

Karewah Karahamah – Hasan places it in pargana Lar (Lal) , it is very wide, has moisture and is cultivable 105 .

Waj Wudar – Hasan places it in pargana Lal (Lar) , it is mostly fit for dry cultivation and little for water cultivation. On it grew plenty of apricots and at its foot is the royal canal which reaches Srinagar 106 .

Karewah Panpor – Hasan describes it as being situated in pargana

Wuhu . On one side flows the Behet and on the other, there is a lake and, in between, there are lowlands and highlands. It has no water but is cultivable for many kinds of crops. In the village of Pampur , one of the dependencies of Vihi , there are fields of Saffron to the extent of ten or twelve thousand bighas 107 .

Besides these above karewahs , there are descriptions of different parganas or descriptions of few parganas , which shows their topographical account. Pargana Machihama extended eastwards as far as the river Jehlum 108 .

103 Ibid. 104 Ibid. 105 Ibid. 106 Ibid , I. p. 97. 107 Ain , II, p. 172; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 97-98; According to C.E. Bates, the table land to the South is called ‘ Sona Krund ’ (Golden Basket) Wudar ; it is almost entirely devoted to the cultivation of Saffron, for which the town is famous. A root called mazet, used to produce the almond coloured dye, is said to be found at Panpor : A Gazetteer of Kashmir, pp. 299-300; M.A. Stein, Ancient Geography of Kashmir , pp. 122, 167. 108 Malik Haider Chadoora, Tarikh-i-Kashmir , Vol. I, E 510 = I.O.1100, Rotograph No. 171, Deptt. Of History, CAS, AMU, ALigarh, Vol. I, f. 233b; M.A. Stein, Ancient Geography of Kashmir, p. 192. 36

It was known for vegetable and fruit cultivation. Particularly in one of its villages ‘ Suibug ’, one comes across reference to land stretching over 7-8 kroh meant for all kinds of vegetable cultivation. 5-6 bighas of land were under the cultivation of grapes and mulberry 109 . According to Hasan, it was situated just adjacent to pargana Dinsu and was characterised by uneven land 110 .

In the vicinity of the pargana Beeru was situated a plateau or table land 111 . Pargana Devsar roughly comprised the tract of alluvial plain drained by the river Jehlum. It was largely fertile due to extensive canal irrigation 112 .Pargana Zainagir comprised the fertile karewa tract between the

Wular and the left bank of the Pohur river 113 . According to Hasan, the pargana falls near Khoihama and is formed of plain area 114 . Pargana Shahabad was overgrown with nettler and wild hemp. It was famed for the excellence of wheat and orchards 115 . Pargana Kamraz was located on the hills and udars .

The entire population of the pargana was concentrated on the land occupied by six udars 116

Indeed, each type of land required as well as contained peculiar designation of measurement like kharwar, tarak, manwatta, patt, bigha, poorun, dast, and angusht . The term kharwar signified an area of land which required seeds equivalent to the weight of an ass-load; in Kashmir each village is assessed at some kharwars of shali . A kharwar is equal to 3 mans , 8 sers of Akbar 117 , or 177.02 lb. avdp (80.37 kg.) 118 ; hence, termed kharbar in

109 Tarikh-i-Kashmir , Rotograph No. 171, Vol. I, f. 233b. 110 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 266. 111 Ain, II, p. 174. 112 M.A. Stein, Ancient Geography of Kashmir , p. 183. 113 Baharistan-i-Shahi , Eng. transl. pp. 68-72. 114 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I. p. 261. 115 G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., Vol. I, pp. 332, 323-24. 116 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I. pp. 263-64. 117 Akbarnama , vol. III, part-II, p. 548; Ain, vol. I, (Eng. Transl.) p. 370; According to Tuzuk-i- Jahangiri, each kharwar being three maunds and eight seers of the current weight: Tuzuk, p. 37

Kashmir 119 . A tarak , according to the royal weights (of Akbar) is eight sers .

One Kashmiri kharwar has 16 taraks ; manwatta was the one-fourth of a tarak 120 . According to Abul Fazl, “In Kashmir every piece of ground is called patta , though a patta originally is equal to 1 Bigha , 1 Biswa (Ilahi ) of Akbar.

Two and a half pattas and a little more are equal to 1 Kashmiri Bigha ”121 . Indian bigha measured 60 gaz long by 60 broad or 3600 square gaz 122 . The term bigha means a measure of an area and it measured an area of land equal to

36 pooruns or 8,612 square dast (hand breadths), while the poorun measured 22 dast in length and 11 in breadth which in all made it equal to 242 square dast 123 . The term angusht indicated to an area of land equal to 6 barley corns

(breadth-wise) and each barley corn equaled to 6 hairs (breadth-wise) of a mule’s tail 124 .

There were different types of the units of measurement like Gaz-i-

Akbari, Gaz-i-Jahangiri, Gaz-i-Shahjahani, and Gaz-i-Alamgiri , seems to have been uniformly used to measure cultivable as well as arable land and each Gaz , however, altered as well as modified from the other in size 125 . “The Gaz-i-

299; According to Moorcroft, “An ass load is, about ninety six pounds”: op. cit., Vol. II, part-III, 129 Ch. II,Vol. II, pp. 135-36; According to Lawrence, one ass-load weighed modern 177 lbs : 175 op. cit., p. 243. 118 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System of Mughal India , pp. 427-428. 119 Mushtaq A. Kaw, The Agrarian System of Kashmir, 1586-1819 A.D. , Srinagar, 2001, p. 61. 120 One Kashmiri tarak equalled eight seers of Akbar, or four Kashmiri man , one Kashmiri man 1 being equal to four Kashmiri seers , and one Kashmiri seer being equal to 7 pals : Ain, transl. 2 Vol. I, p. 90 & n.2; but in Nawal Kishore’s edition, Vol. II, p. 176: Four Kashmiri seers being equal to one tarak ; Tuzuk, p. 299; Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., vol. II, part-III, Ch. II, pp. 135- 36; Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 243: According to Lawrence, 30 pals being equal to one manwatta ; Also see Mushtaq A Kaw, op. cit ., p. 61. 121 Akbarnama , Vol. III, part-II, p. 548; Ain, Vol. I, transl. p. 370. 122 Ain, I, pp. 206-207. 123 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit ., pp. 61-62. 124 Ain, II, p. 196; But in Ain , Vol. I, p. 205: Each barley corn equal in thickness to 6 hairs from the mane of a cob; Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit ., p. 62. 125 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit ., p. 62. 38

Akbari or Gaz-i-Ilahi comprised thirty and a half finger-breadths or twelve girahs, Gaz-i-Jahangiri thirty-seven and a half finger-breadths or fifteen girahs; Gaz-i-Shahjahani forty finger-breadths or fifteen girahs, Gaz-i-

Alamgiri measured forty two and a half finger- breadths or seventeen girahs ”126 . About the Ilahi gaz , Abul Fazl says that “Throughout Hindustan there were three such measures current, viz ; long, middling and short. Each was divided into 24 equal parts and each part called Tassuj . A Tassuj of the 1 st kind was equal to 8 ordinary barley-corns placed together breadthways, and of the other two respectively, to 7 and 6 barley-corns. The long gaz was used for the measurement of cultivated lands, roads, distances, forts, reservoirs and mud walls. The middling was employed to measure building of stone and wood, bamboo-built houses, places of worship, wells and gardens, and the short gaz for cloth, arms, beds, seats of state, sedan chairs, palanquins, chairs, carts and the like” 127 . “On the contrary, the Indigenous gaz called Gaz-i-Kashmiri consisted of several parts, each of which was fixed at four fingers and two thumbs in length” 128 . Even during the Afghan period the practice of measuring abi land with the Gaz-i-Akbari and Gaz-i-Shahjahani remained in practice in Kashmir 129 . The term “tanab (tent rope) was in Hindustan a measure of hempen rope twisted which became shorter or longer according to the dryness or moisture of the atmosphere. It would be left in the dew and thus fraudfully moistened” 130 . Every measure like the Tanab, Jarib and Bigha seem to have been indiscriminately used as nearly interchangeable terms 131 .

126 Ibid. 127 Ain, I, pp. 205-06. 128 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit ., pp. 62-63. 129 Ibid , p. 63. 130 Ain, I, p. 206. 131 Ibid , I, pp. 206-7. (C) MEANS OF CULTIVATION AND IRRIGATION

Cultivation of autumn crops generally began after Nauroz and spring crops, with the approach of Mezan 1 the autumn. In each village the agricultural land was productive of two types of crops termed Kharif (autumn) and rabi (spring) in a year 2. The crops such as paddy, maize, pea, bean, gal and millet, roughly sown in May-June and reaped in September – October, were classified into ‘autumn’ or ‘ kharif ’ crops. After that, the crops sown in October – November and reaped in April – May, were specified as ‘spring’ or ‘ rabi ’ crops and they usually comprised wheat, barley, pulses and mustard 3. Paddy fields were ploughed thrice or four times 4, while wheat, barley fields were ploughed only twice 5, but maize fields were ordinarily ploughed twice or thrice 6. After ploughing, the clods were broken into earth with the help of a wooden mallet.

This work was usually performed by women 7. In fact, hardly any substantial change has taken place in the cultivation since the Mughal rule. The peasant’s implements were the plough, with an iron plough share 8, a wooden mallet for clod breaking, wooden spade with an iron tip, creel for carrying manure 9 and a hoe 10 .

Sources of Manure – The two crop system is also suggestive of the fact that the land, save seed land 11 , yielding more than one crop a year, was not left

1 Walter Lawrence, op. cit., p. 325. 2 Akbarnama , III, part-II, p. 548. 3 Ibid ; Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 326; Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., p. 75. 4 Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 326-27. 5 Ibid , p. 341. 6 Ibid , pp. 336-37. 7 William Moorcroft & G. Trebeck, op. cit., part-III, Ch. II, Vol. II, p. 135. 8 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 24-25; Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 324. 9 Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 324-25. 10 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System , p. 1. 11 Saffron had exemplified the single crop system. Also, its seed land was the exception which was kept uncultivated for a period of approximately 6 years to allow restoration of its lost energy: Ain, vol. I, pp. 63-64. 40

fallow from agricultural operation for the sake of recovering its consumed energy. The lost energy was compensated by the use of animal droppings together with the night soil 12 . Fresh earth was generally spread over the fields, in addition to the usual dressing of manure 13 . According to Moorcroft, the manure, for the most part, consists of rice straw, rejected by the cattle, and mixed with cow-dung 14 . A large cattle population existed in Kashmir due to dense forests and large tracts of land earmarked for the pasturage 15 . Kashmir had greater manure resources, owing to the large number of cattle heads, sheep and goats and an abundance of fuel 16 . In winter the cattle remained penned in the houses for at least two months. Kashmiris did not use cow-dung 17 for fuel because of the availability of sufficient wood from the nearby forests. Sheep 18 and goats were also folded in fields in spring. Oil cake 19 was given to bullocks and cows and this in turn enriched their cow-dung. Turf clods 20 from water courses were also used to enrich the soil. In town, the one manure used is the poudrette, which is night-soil, was used after mixing it with the city dust 21 .

Even in the village, where irrigation facilities were not available, it was used with the help of the village drain for raising garden vegetables 22 . Poultry faecal pellets were specially kept for onions and the droppings of the sheep were kept for rice nurseries 23 .

12 Ibid ; Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., vol. II, pp. 134-35; Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 321-22. 13 G.T. Vigne, op. cit., Vol. I, p. 309; C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir , pp. 52-53. 14 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, pp. 134-35. 15 Ain, II, p. 174; Amal-i-Saleh or ShahjahanNama , ed. Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad, Vol. II, pp. 29-30; F. Bernier, op. cit. , p. 396; G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., I. p. 307, 332. 16 Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 321-22. 17 Ibid ; Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, pp. 134-35; G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., I. p. 307. 18 Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 321-22. 19 Ibid , p. 322. 20 Ibid , pp. 321-22; Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, p. 133; G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, p. 309. 21 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 322. 22 Ibid . 23 Ibid , p. 321. 41

Agricultural implements – In Kashmir, the agricultural ecology along the fertility of the soil entailed germination of seeds and growth of plants which was generally rendered possible through a couple of agricultural tools, the plough 24 . The agricultural implements of the Kashmiris were ordinary and few.

The plough was very simple and small in size and was made of very superior wood, viz , mulberry, ash and apple and had an adjustable or moveable wedge 25 .

The plough- share was tipped with iron 26 . The ploughing was carried out with the help of a pair of bullock operated, as now, by a peasant to loosen the soil so as to allow the fresh air and the sun-rays to reach the soil beneath. How deep this implement would go into the soil for cutting furrows and turning it up, depended on the strength of the soil 27 . Besides the plough, many other wooden tools with iron teeth were employed for digging the earth, breaking the clods, extracting weeds and loosening the soil 28 . The wooden mattock or hand hammer with a long handle was used for breaking the clods of earth 29 . Thus clods were broken down by blows with wooden mattocks, managed in general by women with regularity 30 . A wooden spade was employed for planting the seeds 31 . The Kashmiri spade was made of wood with the sharp edge tipped with iron. It had a narrow face and was also useful for digging out turf-clods and the arrangement of fields for irrigation 32 . For maize and cotton a small

24 Harbans Mukhia, “ Technology in Medieval India ,” Technology in Ancient and Medieval India , ed. Aniruddha Ray and S.K. Bagchi, New Delhi, 1968, p. 111. 25 The construction of the plough of Kashmir was very simple and its wooden plough-share was kept tight by moveable wedge: G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, p. 309; Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 324. 26 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 324. 27 Harbans Mukhia, op. cit., pp. 107-27. 28 Ain, II, p. 172; G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, p. 309; Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, pp. 133-35; Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 324-25. 29 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, p. 133; Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 324. 30 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, p. 133. 31 Ain, II, p. 172. 32 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 325. 42

hand hoe was used for weeding and for loosening the soil 33 . Sickle was used for cutting crops and grass 34 . The creel for carrying manure and log-hammer for husking the rice were other agricultural implements35 .

Sowing – A variety of seeds were distributed over the land, after ploughing and softening the soil with the help of the above tools, which I have mentioned earlier. Either the seeds were broadcast 36 or the saplings were transplanted 37 from the nursery. The nursery system was favoured wherein sufficient water was available, as in the north of the valley 38 . It is believed by the Kashmiri farmers, that the note of Cuckoo 39 in the month of April reminded them of the time of sowing. The seeds of most of the grains were given to farmers at fixed rates out of the state stores or from the government stores 40 . The seeds were distinct in shape and size and, likewise, “carried a different value in the market.

What number of seeds could be had against a dam (fortieth part of a rupee) has been surveyed meticulously by Nath Pandit” 41 and he provided valuable information about their value in his work, Gulshan-i-Dastur.

Rotation of Crops – Kashmiri farmers rarely practised rotation of crops unless it was forced upon them 42 . The farmer would go on sowing rice year after year rather than leave the fields fallow for a year or two. Inspite of the benefits of rotation of crops, the farmers generally preferred the cultivation of rice. They

33 Ibid . 34 Ibid , p. 328. 35 Ibid , pp. 324-25; The wicker basket was used for carrying manure: Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, pp. 134-35. 36 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, pp. 132-34; Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 331. 37 Ibid ; G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, pp. 309-10; Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 331. 38 G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, pp. 309-10; Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, pp. 132-34. 39 The Cuckoo is called the byal-Kuk in Kashmir. Byal signifies seed, and the farmers say that its note tells them to cast seed into the ground: G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., II, p. 20. 40 Ibid, I, p. 310. 41 For details see, Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit ., pp. 66-67. 42 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 336. 43

often allowed the land to remain fallow in the case of non-availability of sufficient water, because cultivation of other crops was usually unremunerative due to their low return. But exceptions were there and often paddy was followed by the cultivation of mustard 43 , cotton, pulses and buckwheat 44 etc.

Weeding – Cultivation of paddy 45 , maize 46 and cotton required regular weeding. In rice fields weeding was done manually 47 . In case of both maize and cotton, it was done with the help of hand hoes 48 . Moreover, the cultivation had to keep strict watch 49 over certain insects which caused havoc to the young plants of rice. The fresh leaves of Prangos 50 , called krangos , were put in the field to poison the insects which damage the crop. Rai 51 also destroyed and attacked rice and maize. Transplantation of rice plants and weeding of paddy, maize and cotton was done by both men and women 52 .

Harvesting – The harvesting of ‘ Kharif’ crop took place in the month of

September and October and ‘ Rabi ’ crop in the month of June and July 53 . The sickle 54 was used for cutting crops. After harvesting, the sheaves of paddy and of other crops were taken to the smashing grounds or to the threshing – floor.

When the cereal crops might have been dried up, thereafter they might have been released from the stems through threshing while striking a bunch of cereal

43 G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, p. 309. 44 Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 336-41. 45 Ibid , pp. 327-35. 46 Ibid, pp. 328, 337, 341. 47 Ibid , pp. 327-28. 48 Ibid , pp. 328, 337, 341. 49 Ibid , p. 331. 50 “The Prangos was locally called Krangos . Its leaves either poison the snails or cause them to descend out of the reach of its influence”: Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, p. 134. 51 Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 334, 337. 52 Ibid , pp. 327-37, 341. 53 Ibid , p. 326; But according to Mushtaq A. Kaw, ‘Rabi’ crops reaped in April-May : op. cit ., p. 75. 54 Ibid. , p. 328. 44

plants against a wooden log. Then, the entire process led to the collection of grains on the floor containing chaff and straw together 55 . The farmer’s and the state’s share were divided after the grain had been separated from the straw 56 .

Irrigation – Indeed, the valley of Kashmir is a gift of the Himalayas 57 . The

Jehlum or Behet 58 and its tributories in the valley, Kishan Ganga in Pakhli, the Shayok and the Indus and their tributories in Ladakh and Baltistan, Chinab,

Tohi, Chandarbhaga and a network of streams and rivulets provided water to

the fields of the Subah 59 . But the table lands or karewas were mainly dependent on rains 60 . Thus the means of irrigation varied in different regions of the Subah .

On account of varied topography and geophysical situation various methods of irrigation were adopted in different parts of the Subah . Nevertheless the canal irrigation was almost common throughout the province.

The fields of rice i.e. abi land entailed regular irrigation which was generally rendered possible by countless springs and streams of water discharged by the snowy mountains. As a result of these multiple water channels, the inhabitants of the valley, by and large, had no irrigation

55 Ibid . 56 Ain, II, pp. 175-76: According to Abul Fazl, “Although one-third had been for a long time past the nominal share of the state, more than two shares was actually taken, but through His Majesty’s justice, it has been reduced to one-half. Also see, Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, p. 125 : “When the grain has been trodden out, a division takes place between the farmer and the government : this was formerly an equal division, but the government has advanced in its demands until it has appropriated about seven – eights of the Sar-Kishti and three-fourths of the Pai-Kishti crop”. 57 According to the Ain , It is encompassed on all sides by the Himalayan ranges: Ain, Vol. II, p. 169; F. Bernier, op. cit ., p. 395. 58 Veth is the Kashmiri name for the Jhelum; the Hydaspes of the ancients; the Vedasta or Vitasta of the Hindus, and the Behet is the Persian name for this river, but the Jhelum is the Punjabi and Urdu name: Ain, II, p. 171; Tuzuk, p. 292; Tarikh-i-Hasan , Vol. I, p. 68; Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 17-18. 59 There is a good account of the rivers and its tributories or a network of steams and rivulets of the valley in Ain, II, pp. 169-75; Tuzuk, pp. 298-99; F. Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 395-97; C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir, pp. 164-65, 216-19, 234-36, 388; H.H. Wilson, Gazetteer of Kashmir And Ladakh , pp. 262-66, 374-81, 405-12, 500-03, 749-50; Tarikh-i-Hasan , Vol. I, pp. 120-52. 60 Ibid, II, p. 169 & Its transl. II, p. 352 & n.3 : Here Abul Fazl used the term Lalmi or Khushki; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 90-99. 45

problem 61 . The given sources of water were usually conducted by means of embanked earthen canals terminating in a large river called Jehlum, which is itself originated from a spring called Verinag in South Kashmir. The river water discharged through a gorge at Baramulla in north Kashmir and thenceforth it flowed further down towards Pakhli, Damtoor, Lahore, Multan, Punjab where it finally joined with the river Chinab 62 . Anyhow, several canals terminating into or drawn from the river Jehlum irrigated large tracts of arable land in the nook and corner of the valley. Whereas the pre-Mughal rulers provided great fillip to the canal buildings. As Sultan Zainul Abidin developed the irrigation system by making a number of tanks, canals and dams 63 ; but the

Mughals and the Afghans did not pay much attention towards the canal building. However, among the two, the former expended adequate amount of money on the repairs and maintenance of the old ones 64 and only a few new canals were built to irrigate the pleasure gardens 65 rather than agricultural land. During the reign of Akbar, Yousuf Khan Rizvi built a canal connecting a

61 Ibid ; Tuzuk, p. 299; F. Bernier, op. cit., pp. 396-97. 62 Amal-i-Saleh , II, p. 24; F. Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 396-97. 63 To irrigate village Zainagir and its adjacent areas, Sultan Zainul Abidin constructed a dam, the water for which was drawn from the river Pohur : Baharistan-i-Shahi , transl. K.N. Pandit, pp. 68, 72; There is the numerous such canals which were constructed by him – From the waters of river Sindh was excavated the Safapur canal to irrigate the area around Mansabal lake. Kakapur canal irrigated the land in and around village Kakapur . Avantipur canal was excavated to irrigate the land in and around village Avantipur . Krala canal was aimed at irrigating the area around pargana Adwin . Shahkul or Martand canal was excavated to irrigate the land in village Chakdar .Shahkul or Safapur canal carried the waters of the Sindh river across the district of Lar to the lands around the Mansbal lake: Jonaraja, Rajatarangini, Eng. Transl. from Sanskrit by J.C. Dutt, Kings of Kashmira , Reprinted in LPP, Delhi, 2003, pp. 86-87. The Mar canal or Nalla Mar : Previously the surplus waters of the Dal Lake flowed out into the Jehlum at Habba Kadal . But Zainul Abidin diverted the waters of the lake into the Mar canal which he extended up to Shadipur where it emptied itself at the confluence of the Jehlum and Sind : Ain, II, p. 171 and its transl. II, pp. 356 & n., Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 191; Srivara, Jaina Rajatarangini , Eng. Transl. by J.C. Dutt, op. cit ., p. 143; Among the Chak rulers, Daulat Chak constructed canals to irrigate large agricultural fields: Suka, Rajatarangini, Eng. Transl. By J.C. Dutt, op. cit ., p. 382; Ain, II, p. 171, and its transl. II, p. 356; Sujan Rai Bhandari, Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh, edited by M. Zafar Hasan, Delhi, 1918, p. 80. 64 Lahori, Badshahnama , vol. I, part-II, pp. 24-29. 65 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 292-97. 46

stream known as Nullah Sindh with Baghi-Illahi 66 . According to F. Pelsaert,

“Jahangir spent 10,000 rupees for an aqueduct, but the idea was later dropped” 67 . Under Jahangir, some old canals like Lachama Kul , were repaired under the supervision of Malik Haider, and Harvan canal was laid out at the cost of 30,000 rupees, for watering Nur Afza Bagh 68 . During the reign of Jahangir, a tank was also built by Iradat Khan 69 . An officer known as Mir-i-ab

(one of the villagers) was appointed over every main channel and whose duty was to regulate irrigation and to repair the canals in each village. To avoid disputes among the villagers on account of water distribution, certain rules for irrigation were introduced by the Mughals 70 . Under Shahjahan, a branch of the

Shah Nahar was taken to Bagh by Asaf Khan. The Altamga grant Farman to Asaf Khan laid down the condition that watering to the garden should not cause hardship to the tenants by reducing their irrigation facilities 71 .

Besides these natural channels, springs too were a source of water for irrigation. There was a large spring in the vicinity of pargana Brang which irrigated around five villages of the said pargana 72 . Most of the interior land beneath the karewas or in the foothills was irrigated by the spring water 73 .

66 Lahori, Badshahnama , vol. I, Part-II, p. 28; Amal-i-Salih , II, p. 29. 67 Francisco Pelsaert, op. cit., p. 34. 68 Tuzuk, p. 347; Malik Haider Chadoora, Tarikh-i-Kashmir , Vol. I, p. 230. 69 A magnificent palace, with a tank and a minaret, was built by Iradat Khan in the reign of Jahangir, Altogether the buildings here cost Rs. 1,50,000 : Tuzuk, pp. 317-18; Also see, Farzana Ashfaque, Mughal Building Activity : Imperial Investment in Kashmir? , I.H.C., Proceedings , 67th session, Farook College, Calicut University, 2006-07, p. 1034. 70 It was Jahangir, who stipulated certain rules governing the mutual sharing of water between the lower and the upper villages. These shares were properly registered for the effective and smooth conduct of irrigation water: Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 323-24. 71 Copy of Farman has been preserved by Hasan, in his Tarikh-i-Hasan , Vol. I, p. 292-97; During the reign of Shahjahan, Asaf Khan, the then governor laid down that the canal which ran along the village Dachigam in pargana Phak and which was primarily excavated to irrigate the agricultural land in the adjacent villages, should be used to feed the Shalimar garden subject to the condition that such as arrangement does not cause any sort of inconvenience to the villagers dependent upon it from early times : Majmuat-Tawarikh , Farsiya Akhbar, MS. No. 148, pp. 292- 93. 72 Ain, II, p. 171; Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh , p. 80. 73 Ibid, II, pp. 172-73; Malik Haider Chadoora, Tarikh-i-Kashmir , vol. I, ff. 232-34b. 47

Great distress was caused in cases of scarcity and low supply of water in the springs 74 . But the spring water, however, being cold or extremely cold 75 and at the same time devoid of fertilizing still, its water was not much favoured for irrigation 76 . The Dal Lake in Srinagar was known for the growth of vegetables on floating gardens made of reeds, rushes, dried grass, straw and other rubbish 77 . The water for the cultivation of variety of vegetables was often procured from the wells dug for the purpose 78 . Well irrigation 79 was carried out mostly around the city of Srinagar. No. definite number of such wells is available. The water was lifted with the help of Dhenkli 80 (a lever worked with hand). Vegetables were raised and gardens were irrigated with this type of irrigation. Tanks were probably not built for the purpose of irrigation. The use of Persian Wheel was not in vogue 81 . The table lands depended mainly on rains 82 and in due course of time these karewas were brought under fruit cultivation 83 . According to Pandit Suka, “There the glorious morning, noon and evening indicate themselves by the ebb and flow of water” 84 . Jahangir too has argued, “wherever the eyes reach, there are verdure and running water” 85 . Due to the abundance of water, the villages and hamlets were transformed into fertile and highly cultivated tracts 86 .

74 Ibid ; Ibid . 75 Ibid, pp. 171-74; Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 324. 76 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 324. 77 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 156; Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., pp. 137-38. 78 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 324. 79 G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., II, p. 130; Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 324. 80 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 324. 81 Ibid. 82 Ain, II, p. 179: Here Abul Fazl used the term Lalmi ; Also see its transl. II, p. 352 & n.3; Tarikh- i-Hasan, I, pp. 90-99; Lawrence, op cit ., p. 17. 83 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 90-99; According to Sharfuddin Ali Yazdi, “In the mountains and plains are to be found mainly kinds of fruit-trees, and the fruits are specially good and wholesome : Zafarnamah , vol. II, p. 179. 84 Prajyabhatta, Rajatarangini , Eng. Transl. By J.C. Dutt, op. cit ., p. 417. 85 Tuzuk, p. 299; Amal-i-Saleh , II, pp. 18-19. 86 F. Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 396-97. (D) THE CROPS AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE

The soil of Kashmir was cultivated and the valley of Kashmir was extremely fertile.1 It produced numerous agricultural crops. The crops were divided into two groups, the rabi and Kharif . The crops such as paddy, maize, pea, bean, gal and millet were Kharif or autumn crops, roughly sown in May- June and reaped in September- October. The other crops sown in October-

November and reaped in April-may, were rabi or spring crops and they usually consisted of wheat, barley, pulses and mustard. 2 For this purpose, an attempt is, made here to examine the nature, conduct and the process of cultivation of each crops separately as well as individually. There were supposed to be three harvests in the Kashmir valley- rabi, Kimiti, and Kharif . The kimiti crops (Abul Fazl calls them Jinsi kamil as against Jinsi-Naqis ) appear to be those that have always had a money value and are Tilgogloo (rape-seed), Sarson (Panjabi variety of Tilgogloo), Tobacco, cotton , hemp, Sugarcane, Saffron and the like. The distinction is said to date back to the time of Todar Mal and for those crops money was always required, the assessment being calculated in money after division of the produce and the produce being returned to the cultivator. For other crops whether Kharif or rabi the collection was in kind or the villages were farmed out.

Paddy- Rice has been the staple food of the Kashmiris. 3 Paddy or Rice was the principal crop and it was grown extensively throughout the valley. The

1 Tarikh-i-Rashidi, Eng. Transl p. 430; Zafarnamah , vol. II, p. 178; F. Bernier, op. cit. , pp. 396-97; Ippolito Desideri, An Account of Tibet : The Travels of Ippolito Desideri, 1712-1727 , edited by Filippo De Filippo With A Introduction by C. Wessels, AES Reprint: New Delhi, 1995, pp. 72-74 ; G.T. Vigne, op. cit. , vol. I, p. 309. 2 Akbarnama , vol. III, part- II p. 548; Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., p. 75. 3 Ain , vol. II, p. 170; Tuzuk, p. 300; George Forster, op. cit ., vol. II, p. 18 ; G.T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. I, p. 308. 49

opposite was the case in Kishtwar,4 and its production was carried in Kishtwar,

Rajouri, Pakhli and some areas of Punch. 5 It was grown on the three-fourth of the total arable land. 6 The Abi land was meant for paddy cultivation, which was irrigated by a variety of water resources. 7 According to M.A. Stein, 8 “Rice has as far as we can go back, always been the largest and most important produce of the valley. Its character as the main cereal is sufficiently emphasized by the fact that it is usually referred to in the chronicles by the simple term of dhanya ,

‘grain’ ”. The crop was generally sown in May-June and reaped in September- October. 9 From sowing to that of harvesting, it was subject to certain conditions, i.e. “heavy snows in winter,” good rains in March; warm days and cool nights from May to August with an occasional shower and fine weather in September”. On the occasions of wedding, watering and watching, the crop entailed a lot of hard work and alertness etc., will be found fully detailed in Mr.

Lawrence’s account of Kashmir agriculture. 10 According to Abul Fazl, rice of Rajouri was superior to that of Kashmir. 11 According to Hasan, 12 it had 96 kinds of rice, of which fine varieties were not obtained. 13 Howsoever, among all varieties, “Chogul danyi”, was considered to be the best and sweet, which grown in village Telbal .14 There were numerous varieties of rice in Kashmir,

4 Tuzuk, p. 296. 5 Ain, I, p. 34, II, p. 172; Tuzuk , p. 300 ; Akbar And The Jesuits , p. 76. 6 Tuzuk, p.300; G.T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. I, p. 309; According to C.E. Bates , three- fourths of the valley are said to be under cultivation, producing two millions of Kharwars of grain annually : A Gazetteer of Kashmir , pp. 50-53. 7 Ain, II, p, 169 & Its transl. II, p. 352 & n.3: The land watered from ponds, tanks, lakes and watercourses etc. 8 Kalhana, Rajatarangini , transl. By. M. A. Stein vol. II pp. 427-28. 9 Akbarnama, vol. III, part – II, p. 548; Lawrence, op. cit., pp.326-36. 10 Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 326-36. Also see, for fuller description of rice cultivation, G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., vol. I, pp. 308-10. 11 Ain , I, p. 34 ; Tuzuk , p. 317. 12 Tarikh-i-Hasan , vol. I. p. 185. 13 Ain ,II, p.170 ; Tuzuk. p. 300. 14 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p.185.

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the two best are the Basmuti , so well Known in India, and one that is called, I think, the lachibul. 15 According to Vigne, the rice of Nipur was considered to be the excellent in Kashmir. 16 According to Moorcroft, the annual production of rice in Zainul-Abidin’s time was seventy- seven Lakhs of Kharwars. 17 The reign of Akbar registered its annual production at sixty- one Lakh Kharwars. 18 When Moorcroft visited Kashmir the annual produce was only twenty Lakhs of

Kharwars. 19

Wheat- Abul Fazl in Akbarnama , has counted Kanak i.e. wheat one among the rabi (spring) crops. 20 Like paddy, wheat was not a principle crop. 21

Little quantity of wheat 22 was produced in the valley, as the area under wheat

cultivation was relatively small because of the preference of Kashmiris for rice and also due to the nature of soil. It was grown on one- eighth of the overall

arable land 23 and pargana Shahabad yielded superior quality of it. 24 But the grain of the wheat in the valley was smaller and inferior to the wheat cultivated in the plains. 25 A little production of wheat was carried in Little Tibet and it

was considered the main agriculture produce. 26 While, wheat production was

15 G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, p. 308. 16 Ibid , I, p. 324. 17 William Moorcroft and G. Trebeck , op. cit ., part- III, ch. II. Vol. II, p. 135. 18 According to the assessment records of Qazi Ali, the revenue of Kashmir was fixed at 30, 63, 050 Kharwars and 11 traks . Since, the given figure was assessed at the rate of one –half as the state share, the gross produce could be, therefore, reckoned at around 61 lakh kharwars or more: Ain II, p. 176; According to G.T. Vigne, “in the time of the Mughals it was said to be produce not less than 60 lakhs (6,000,000) of kirwahs of rice”: I, p.308. 19 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit., part- III, ch. II, vol. II, p. 135. 20 Akbarnama , III, part-II, p. 548; Akbar and the Jesuites, p. 76. 21 Ain , II, p. 170; Tuzuk, p. 301. 22 Ibid. Ibid . Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 342. 23 G. T. Vigne, op. cit ., vol. I, p. 309. 24 Ibid , p. 324. 25 Akbarnama , vol. III. part -II , p. 548; Ain , II , p. 170 ; Tuzuk , p.301 ; Irfan Habib, says that the wheat was not raised altogether in the subah of Kashmir is not born out by facts : The Agrarian System, pp. 40-41. 26 Lahori, Badshahnama , vol. I, part- II, p. 287; Desideri, op. cit., pp. 75, 78; “The wheat indigenous in Tibet is of three kinds,” for details see, Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit., vol. I, pp. 274-76.

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extensive in Kashtawar .27 According to Abul Fazl, “Wheat is small in grain and black in colour and there is little consumed”. 28 Being a secondary crop, it was entirely dependent upon periodical rains 29 for irrigation and thereby required no weeding, watering or watching.30 It was sown in September and

October and reaped in June. 31 The only variety of wheat grown here was the red one. An attempt was made to introduce the white variety, but it failed. 32

According to G.T. Vigne, “it is singular that wheaten flour of the valley should be thought very tasteless and insipid when compared with that of the plain, and that bread made from it should be considered to be heating”. 33

Barley- Abul Fazl, in the Ain-i-Akbari, says that was not grown in

Kashmir, 34 is contradicted as well as in consisted by his own statement in the Akbarnama wherein he mentions that barley was grown as a spring crop in

Kashmir. 35 As a matter of fact, like Pargana Lar , barley was raised elsewhere in the valley too. 36 Barley production was extensive in Kashtawar 37 and introduced into the valley perhaps during our period. 38 In Little Tibet it was the main agricultural products. 39 It was an important crop, if only the area under its

27 Tuzuk , p. 296. 28 Ain , II , p. 170. 29 Ibid , II, p. 169. 30 Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 341-42. 31 Ibid , p. 342; But According to G.T. Vigne, It was sown in November: op. cit ., vol. I, p. 312. 32 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 342. 33 G. T. Vigne, op. cit ., vol. I, p. 324. 34 Ain , II, p. 170. 35 Akbarnama , vol. III, part- II, pp. 548-49. 36 Ibid. Majmuat- Tawarikh, Farsiya Akhbar, MS. No. 148, p. 15; Outside Kashmir, it was grown in Kishtwar: Tuzuk , p.. 296; Also see, G.T. Vigne, here he mentioned about the cultivation of barley and other agricultural crops in the ground of Kashmir: op. cit., vol. I , pp. 309, 312. 37 Tuzuk ,p. 296. 38 There is a contradiction in Ain , II , p. 170, and Akbarnama , III , part- II, pp. 548-49, about the barley cultivation, it appears that a little barley was raised in the valley ; Prof. Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 41 ; Also see Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 341, holds a contrary view point. According to him, it was extensively cultivated in the valley during 19th century, but not as an important crop. 39 Lahori, Badshahnama , vol. I, part – II, p. 287; Desideri, op. cit ., pp. 75, 78.

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cultivation is considered. The barley commonly grown in the valley was not of a good quality, and no special care or pains were given to its cultivation. The barely was normally grown on land dependent upon periodical rains; hence, required no weeding or manuring. One or two intermittent ploughings helped in the growth of the plant, the grain of which was often mixed by the millers with wheat and it was not the staple food of the people of Kashmir. 40 Besides, the ordinary barley, here we found, one of its peculiar kinds termed grim or

Tibetan Barley .41 It was cultivated in villages situated at an altitudes of 7,000 feet and above and it was the staple food of the people residing in those villages. The difference between the ordinary barley and Tibetan barley is that the latter is like wheat, while the ordinary barley has chaff. It was sown in May and June and reaped in August and September. 42

Maize – The Mughal sources like, Akbarnama and also Ain-i-Akbari , are silent about the cultivation of the maize in Kashmir. It seems that, perhaps it was not generated in Kashmir till then and was produced only as late as the

18 th century. According to Mushtaq A. Kaw, “ Gulshan-i-Dastur refers to maize as the most important Kharif crop grown preferably in the hilly areas of the valley”. 43 Further he says that although “a fine variety was also raised in the plain areas”. 44 It was known in Kashmiri as Makai . The term Makai (Maize) was mentioned in the early 19 th century as well as the late 19 th century sources like Majmuat- Tawarikh and Tarikh-i-Hasan respectively. 45 Its plant required

40 Lawrence, op. cit., p. 341. 41 Ibid. According to Moorcroft, “The barley of Tibet is of two kinds; the first, called Nas swa and the second, called Sherokh, and this second is distinguished into six varieties” : For details see, Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit., Vol. I, pp. 274, 276-78. 42 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 341. 43 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., p. 83. 44 Ibid. 45 Majmuat –Tawarikh , MS. No. 148. p. 15; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 185.

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dry and moderate moisture, 46 its cultivation was, subject to any rare irrigation. 47

The best soil which suited for its cultivation were the reclaimed swamps and the black peaty lands on the banks of the Jehlum and the mountain slopes occupied by the Gujars .48 There were two varieties, the red and the white, were grown in the valley. In taste it was very sweet and was preferred by the Kashmiris to the white maize. A Poonch variety of maize was also grown in the west of the valley. As a diet maize ranked next to rice and the Kashmiri considered maize without milk unpalatable. Its stalk formed excellent fodder for cattle. 49

The Shol or Kangni (gal ) and millet (Ping ) were other autumn crops, which were grown in Kashmir, as elsewhere, in the Lar defile of the valley. 50 The plant shol required dry and moderate moisture. 51 Kangni required much labour and some weeding. It was also not liked by the Kashmiris, because it is said that it produces heat in the body. 52 According to Lawrence, “ China or Ping (Panicum miliaccum) is very like rice in appearance, but is grown in dry land.

The field is ploughed three times….. It is occasionally weeded. As a food it is not considered either pleasant or nourishing, and whereas the Kangni is abused for being hot, the China is denounced as being cold”.53 While jahangir in his

Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri , mentioned that, Millet production was extensive in

Kashtawar. 54

46 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p.185. 47 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 337. 48 Ibid , p. 336. 49 Ibid, p. 337. 50 Akbarnama , III. part- II, pp. 548-48; Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 337-38 ; G.T. Vigne, op. cit. , vol. I, p. 312. 51 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 185. 52 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 337. 53 Ibid, pp. 337-38; According to Hasan, Ping required dry and moderate moisture: Tarikh-i- Hasan , I, p. 185. 54 Tuzuk , p. 296.

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Amaranth (Amaranthus) or Ganhar — It was known in Kashmiri as

Ganhar 55 and its botanical name is Amaranthus .56 It was sown either in rows with cotton or on the borders of maize fields. The land necessitated two or three ploughings with no manuring or Watering etc. 57 The plant required dry and moderate moisture. 58 It is said that it also produces heat in the body. It was taken by the Hindus on days of fasts with milk or butter after it had been parched and grounded into flour. Alkaline used to be obtained by washermen after its stalks were burnt. 59

Buckwheat or Trumba – Trumba 60 is the Kashmiri name for

Buckwheat. It was a substitute for rice in the event of crop-failure due to water scarcity. 61 There were two varieties in Kashmir- the sweet and bitter. It was taken in the form of bread or porridge. 62

Pulses—In the Akbarnnama , Abul Fazl has counted pulses ( Arzan) one among the rabi (spring) crops; further, he also refers to only Mung, Motah and Mash as contributing to the revenue of the state, as the autumn crop. 63 Abul

Fazl in Ain , mentions that grams were not produced in the valley 64 because of

55 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 185. 56 Lawrence, op. cit., p. 330. 57 Ibid , p. 338. 58 Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 185. 59 Lawrence , op. cit ., p. 338. 60 Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 186. 61 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 338. 62 Ibid. According to Moorcroft: Buckwheat was produced in Ladakh and of buckwheat there were three varieties: op. cit., vol. I, pp. 274, 286-87; According to G.T. Vigne, “Bread made from buckwheat is considered to be very wholesome”: vol. I, p. 324, while, he says that it was cultivated in Kashmir, vol. I, pp. 309, 312. 63 Akbarnama , III, part –II, pp. 548-49; Also see Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 330, 338-39: Mung, Mah, Mothi , Razmah were important pulses grown as autumn crops and Baglah , Karre grown as spring crops in Kashmir, Mung being superior. 64 Ain , II, p. 170 ; Tuzuk , p. 300 ; According to Hasan, the plant required hot and moderate moisture : Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 186; According to Lawrence, “ Gram is unknown, and the best of the pulses is the Mung ”: op. cit., pp. 338-39.

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unfavourable soil and climate. Baglah, Chanah, Masoor, Karre, Razmah 65 and

Mung 66 etc; were important pulses grown in Kashmir. The dal or edible vetch of Khampur was considered to be the finest in Kashmir. 67 According to Jahangir

“In Kishtwar there are produced much lentils, millet, and pulse”. 68

Beans 69 (Razmah or Lobiya ) and peas 70 too were occasionally cultivated. Anyhow, pulses of all kinds were also raised on the land during the period. 71

The land necessitated three ploughings with no weeding, watering, watching or manuring. 72

Waternuts (Singhara) – Water chestnut was extensively found in the

Wular, Dal and other lakes at Bandipora, Hajin, and Kamraz defile. It was the staple food of thousands of people living around the lakes. 73 According to Abul Fazl, “The Singhara is a triangular fruit; its creeper grows in tanks, and the fruit is on the surface of the water. It is eaten raw or roasted”. 74 Its three 75 varieties were, Basmati having thin skin, the Dogri having thick skin and the Kangar which was not of good quality. It was taken either raw, parched or fried. It was also dried, ground into flour and then eaten in the form of bread.

Its total production for the year 1823 was about ninety-six to hundred and

65 According to Hasan, Razmah had four varieties, viz; red, white, Khaki and black : Tarikh-i- Hasan , I, p. 186. 66 According to Hasan, Mung has two varieties: Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 186. 67 G. T. Vigne. op. cit ., vol. I, p, 324. 68 Tuzuk , p. 296. 69 Majmuat-Tawarikh , MS. No. 148. p. 15. 70 According to Jahangir, “If they sow Peas , they give a crop the first year ; in the second, they are inferior and in the third, they are like Mushang ( a small pea)” : Tuzuk , p. 300; According to Hasan, the plant required dry and moderate moisture : Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 186; Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 330,339. 71 Majmuat- Tawarikh , MS. No. 148, p. 15. 72 Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 338-39. 73 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 186, 155; Moorcroft, & Trebeck, op. cit ., part III, Ch. II, vol. II, p. 136; Lawrence , op. cit., pp. 354-55 ; Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., p. 86. 74 Ain , I, p. 51. 75 Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 354-55.

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twenty thousand ass-loads a year. 76 The tax levied on the extraction of

Singharas alone from Wular lake was about Rs. 1,00,000. 77 The Hanjis collected Singhara in boats and the contractors purchased the nuts and transported them to the city for sale or disposal. 78

Saffron- According to M.A. Stein, “Kalhana in his introduction designates saffron and grapes among “the things that even in heaven are difficult to find but are common there”. 79 Saffron ( Kunkuma ) has to the present day remained a famous product of Kashmir. Its cultivation has apparently from an early time specially flourished about Padmapura , the present Pampur , where the Udar lands are still chiefly utilized for it. 80 It was extensively cultivated with the main purpose of marketing; it thus held tremendous importance from the commercial point of view. Of all the important cash crops, the saffron ( crocus sativus ) of Kashmir was famous for its bouquet and medicinal properties and it was, however, raised at two places in the valley 81 and Inderkot. 82 According to Hasan, it was cultivated on the Karewas of Pampur and of the total land about one thousand and twelve bighas

76 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., p. 136; According to C.E. Bates “ the most valuable product of the uncultivated vegetation is the Singhara or horned waternut, called by the Kashmiris gari , goru or gor . It grows on the bottom of the Wular lake in such profusion that 60,000 tons are, it is said, raised every year, constituting almost the only food of at least 30,000 persons for five months in the year. The nut is dried and then formed into a flour or meal, of which cakes are made; these the Kashmiris eat with salt, ghi, and flesh” : A Gazetteer of Kashmir , pp. 48-50. 77 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit., p. 127. 78 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., p. 86. 79 M.A. Stein, Rajatarangini , vol. I, 42. p. 10; vol. II, pp. 428-29. 80 Ibid; Abul Fazl mentions it also in the same locality: Ain , II, p. 172. 81 It was one of the dependencies of the Pargana Vihi : Ain ,II, p. 172; Its ancient name was Padampur and its modern name is Pampore :Ain , II , transl. p. 358 & n.1, p. 390; M.A. Stein, op. cit ., II, pp. 450, 459; Akbarnama , III, Eng. Transl. pp. 957, 996, 1087, 1095; Pampore was a town situated on the banks of the rive Jehlum. It was famous for saffron cultivation and was distant from the city of Srinagar by 3 Kroh (by road) and 5 Kroh (by river) : Amal-i-Saleh , vol. II, pp. 31-32 ; Lawrence, op. cit., pp. 342-43 ; ‘It was used as a frequent condiment and medicine’ : Wilson H. H., Gazetteer of Kashmir And Ladakh , p. 53. 82 It was one of the dependencies of pargana Paraspur :Ain ,I, pp. 63-64 & Its transl. I, p. 90: Here, Inderkot has been written as Indrakol , but in vol. II, on page 177, as Indarkol.

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was fit for the cultivation. 83 Outside the valley of Kashmir, it was grown at Kishtwar also. The saffron of Kashtwar was superior to that of Kashmir. 84 Further, Jahangir’s argument that except at Pampore , Saffron was cultivated nowhere in the valley. 85 Its cultivation extended for about 10 or 12 thousand Bighas or twelve kos in Pampur and over a tract of land approximately spread over one Kos in Inderkot . 86 According to Jahangir, Anyhow, its annual production was four hundred maunds;87 further he says that an adequate quantity about which Jahangir opined “it is not know whether such a huge quantity is grown anywhere in the world”. 88 Under the Mughals a large area was brought under the cultivation of saffron. 89

The season of cultivation of saffron was usually begun towards the close of the month of March or the beginning of April. The land was ploughed up; rendered soft and prepared with the spade for planting the saffron seed (bulb) in the sloppy ground, 90 which required no manures. 91 According to Abul Fazl, “When the bulb has been put into the ground, it will produce flowers for six years, provided the soil be annually softened. For the first two years, the

83 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 97-98 ; “There were five Karewas on which saffron was cultivated, all in the neighborhood of Pampur , and all on the right bank of the Jhelum, between the river and the mountains------.” H.H. Wilson, Gazetteer of Kashmir and Ladakh, pp. 53-54. 84 Tuzuk , p. 296. 85 Ibid, p. 315; Iqbalnama-i-jahangiri , p. 168. 86 Ain , I, pp. 63-64, II, p. 172; Lawrence , op. cit ., p. 343. 87 Tuzuk , p. 315; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri , p. 168. 88 According to Jahangir, “The annual crop is 500 maunds by Hindustan weight, equal to 5,000 Wilayat (Persian) maunds ”: Tuzuk , p. 45. 89 Akbarnama , III, Eng. Transl. pp. 996-997 The production in the year A.H. 1002/A.D. 1593 increased to 90,000 traks which appears to be a highly exaggerated quantity. According to Ain , It was raised on 10,000 to 12,000 bighas , vol. II, p. 172; According to Tuzuk , the production was about 500 maunds, p. 45; G.T. Vigne, says that, “the Saffron-grounds of Pampur occupy a space of ten or twelve miles in circumference, and are said to be composed of the richest soil in the valley---.” op. cit ., vol. II, p. 33 ; During the Dogra period about 132 acres of saffron land was brought under cultivation : Lawrence, op. cit., pp. 342-43. 90 Ain , II, p. 172; Ain , I, p.63-64; “The ground is ploughed up four or five times, then raised in parterres of two or three yards square, and in every parterre about the 20th of June is planted six seer ( nearly twenty-four pounds) of roots, at two fingers’ breadth apart”: G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., vol. II , p. 33 ; Lawrence says that the sloping –ground is required for planting the saffron seed, op. cit., p. 343. 91 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 343.

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flowers will grow sparingly; but in the third year the plant reaches its state of perfection. After six years the bulbs must be taken out; else they get rotten. They plant them again on some other place; and leave the old ground uncultivated for five years”; to regain the fertility. 92 Ultimately, towards the month of September white stalks appeared on the bulb to the height of a finger followed by the sprouting of buds which yielded flowers on the top of each stalk. Each flower produced six stamens and six lilac-tinted petals 93 and each bulb gave crops for three consecutive years after which it was dug up and transplanted elsewhere lest the bulb should get destroyed if left in the same soil. 94 Saffron was perhaps the only exception among all crops wherein the state demanded the services from the peasantry even after the harvesting and divisioning of the crop was complete. 95 After processing, the saffron leaves were dried in the sun and the three long stigmata were picked out by the hand. The orange red tip of the Stigmata was called Shahi Zafran . 96

Tobacco—Tobacco was grown as autumn crop. Abul Fazl does not mention about this crop in his account as tobacco cultivation appears to have been introduced in the 18 th century. 97 Its cultivation was carried under the

92 Ain , I, p. 63-64. 93 Ibid ; Ibid, II, p.172; Tuzuk , p. 315: According to Jahangir, each flower had four petals. 94 Ibid, II, p. 172. 95 According to Abul Fazl ,“ In former times (the Sultanate period) saffron was collected by compulsory labour ; they pressed men daily ,and made them separate the saffron from the petals and the stamens, and gave them salt instead of wages, a man who cleaned two pals receiving two pals of salt. ………” Further he says that “This custom, however, was abolished by his Majesty (Akbar) on his third visit to Kashmir, to the great relief of the people: Akbarnama , III, part-II, p. 727. & its transl. III, pp. 1087-88 & n.3, 1095 ; Ain ,I, pp. 63-64; From the Jahangir’s account i.e. Tuzuk , & Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, would appear that the practice of paying for the labour in cleaning the saffron by barter, viz. by salt, was still in Force in his time : Tuzuk , p.315 & Iqbalnama-i-jahangiri , p.168; But according to G.T. Vigne, “Part of the wages of the saffron cultivator are paid in rice, and part in money ,and the picker who separates the red from the yellow stamina of the flower, receives a certain proportion of it to pick and sell for himself ”: op. cit ., II, p. 33. 96 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 344. 97 George Forster, op. cit., vol. II, p. 6: According to G. Forster, “ the frequent use of tobacco, which manifestly possesses the property of defending the body against the impression of damps and cold or impure air and is also used for smoking”; G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, p.324 ; Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 330.

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Afghans too 98 and the tobacco of Jehamu was considered to be the finest in the valley. 99 However, its cultivation remained restricted. 100 Whatever little quantity was produced in the valley was relatively inferior to that grown elsewhere.101 It was grown too in the Suru valley.102 Nonetheless, tobacco was chiefly grown in and around Srinagar and the smaller towns and the tobacco which produced in the proper city of Srinagar was rated as the best of all little quantity cultivated in the valley. Tobacco finds mention in the valley of

Kashmir as a crop contributing to the state revenue. Walter Lawrence says that “Formerly the state took tobacco as revenue”……...103 The plant required dry and hot temperature. 104

Hemp—Jahangir’s account does mention this crop as “the bang (Bhang ) of Kakapur is well- known. It grows wild on the bank of the river in quantities”. 105 The plant required dry and cold temperature. 106 It was only used in the manufacture of an intoxicating drink called charas , and for smoking. 107 It was the custom from the ancient time to reserve some land on either side of the

Jehlum for the growth of Bhang , and sometimes hemp seeds were also thrown. 108 The pulp of the bhang fibre was always used for making the once famous Kashmiri paper 109 and also for making strong and durable

98 G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, pp. 324-25. 99 Ibid , I, p. 324; C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir , p. 53. 100 G. T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, p. 324. 101 Ibid. 102 H.H. Wilson, Gazetteer of Kashmir And Ladakh, p. 52. 103 Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 345-46. 104 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 168. 105 Tuzuk , p. 312; F. Bernier, op. cit ., also mentions this crop as hemp in his account: p. 397. 106 Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 173. 107 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 67; H.H. Wilson, Gazetteer of Kashmir And Ladakh , p. 52. 108 Ibid. 109 Ibid, p. 69.

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ropes,110 called sel . Its fibre was also used for making a curse cloth for grain- bags and even for personal wear, called bhangela .111

Cotton- The earliest reference about the cultivation of the cotton plant is

distilled from the Persian sources like Waqiat-i-Kashmir and Gushan-i-

Dastur .112 From this it appears that the plant was not usually grown during the

intervening period. By the 19 th century, the crop was grown all over the valley. 113 It was sown in the spring, and chiefly upon the karewas requiring

mild irrigation, 114 was remunerative. 115 However, during the Afghan rule,

“cotton was formerly produced in considerable abundance, was of good quality, and sold for six lb. a rupee”. 116 It could be grown in Kashmir in every

different conditions or in every variety of situations. An attempt was made to

introduce the Nankin or brown cotton of Yarkand, but after the third sowing it

degenerated (white cotton). 117 Whereas its fibre was used in textile

manufacture, its seed was useful as food for cattle, and from which they also

obtained oil. 118 During the Afghan period, it was a source of agricultural

taxation. 119

110 Ibid ; H.H. Wilson, Gazetteer of Kashmir And Ladakh , p. 52. 111 H.H. Wilson, Gazetteer of Kashmir And Ladakh , p. 52. 112 Waqiat-i-Kashmir , Habib Ganj collection 32/150 f. 269b ; & Its Urdu translation by Dr. Khawaja Hameed Yezdani, Lahore. 1995, p. 542: Cotton cultivation was not so extensive; Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., p. 87. 113 Lawrence, op. cit ., pp, 340-41. 114 G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., vol. I. pp. 311-12 ; “Cotton ( pham) is grown, but not extensively ; and chiefly upon the wudars , as it does not require much irrigation”: C.E. Bates , A Gazetteer of Kashmir , p. 52 ; H.H. Wilson, Gazetteer of Kashmir And Ladakh , p. 52. 115 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 341. 116 G. T. Vigne, op. cit ., vol. I, pp. 311-12. 117 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., part III, Ch. II, vol. II, pp. 154-55: According to him, cotton was sown in May and was gathered in September and October ; H.H. Wilson, Gazetteer of Kashmir And Ladakh , p, 52 ; C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir , p. 52 ; According to Hasan, the cotton (Tattoo in Kashmir) plant required dry and hot temperature, Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 173. 118 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 341. 119 Majmuat-Tawarikh , MS. No. 148, p. 15.

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Sugarcane—Sugarcane cultivation though introduced by Sultan Zain- ul-Abidin probably vanquished in the Mughal period.120 According to G.T. Vigne, “the sugar-cane will not thrive in Kashmir; its climate is not warm enough”. 121 In the Gazetteers we find that plant will not thrive in Kashmir, the climate being too rigorous; 122 but further, in one of the Gazetteers here it mentioned that the plant has even been introduced at Punch , which is 3,300 feet above the sea. In the plains below Jamu it thrives well without irrigation. 123

Oilseeds—oilseeds were very important to the Kashmiris because traditionally they preferred oil to ghee . “The Kashmiris do not use ghi (clarified butter) in their food, but they require vegetable oils, and at present they use these oils for lighting as well as for cooking purposes”. 124 Jahangir, in is Tuzuk , says that “those who want to have something tasty put a little walnut-oil into the vegetables. They also use cow-oil ( raughan i.e., ghi ), but this is taken fresh, and fresh from newly-made butter ( Maska )”. 125 There were several varieties of oil-Seeds, which formed p part of the agricultural produce in Kashmir. 126 In Akbarnama, Abul Fazl mentioned Mustard as a chief crop contributing to the State revenue and it was grown all over the valley as a spring crop.127 The mustard plant required dry and hot temperature. 128 Rape- seed or Tilgoglu was considered a principal crop among other oil-seeds and it was grown as spring

120 Jonaraja, Rajatarangini, Eng. Trans. J.C. Dutt, III, Second series, p. 97 : “He planted the country round Marttanda with Sugarcane……….”. 121 G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., vol. I, p. 311. 122 H.H. Wilson, Gazetteer of Kashmir And Ladakh , p. 55; C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir, p. 52. 123 Ibid. 124 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 339; G.T. Vigne, sways that, “Nine people out of ten eat oil with their food instead of ghi or clarified butter. It is chiefly extracted from the apricot and the almond, but there are other kinds also”: op. cit ., vol. II, p. 141. 125 Tuzuk , pp. 300-301. 126 Majmuat Tawarikh , MS. No. 148, p. 15; Akbarnama , III, part -II, pp. 548-49; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 187 ; Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., , Part III, Ch. II, vol. II, pp. 148-50 ; Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 339-40. 127 Akbarnama , III. part – II, pp. 548-49; Ain , I, p. 39. 128 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 187.

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crop in Kashmir. 129 Of which there were three varieties in Kashmir and these were Tilgoglu, Taruz or Sarshaf and Sandiji .130 The plant required wet and hot temperature. 131 The two other oil seeds such as Flax ( alish ) and Sesame ( Til ) which were raised in the valley as a spring and as an autumn crop respectively. 132 The walnut tree flourished in remarkable manner in Kashmir. Its oil was extensively used for all culinary purposes and for illuminating purposes it was mixed with linseed ( alsi ) and other oils. 133 Oil extracted from it constituted an important item of domestic consumption; it was economical too. 134 Its plant required dry and hot temperature. 135 The oil –seeds thus grown were consumed for cooking as well as lighting purposes. 136 “The Kashmiris say that rape-seed gives the best oil for lighting purposes, and linseed for eating, but as a matter of fact one never gets a pure oil from the press, as the various seeds are mixed by the oil-pressers termed Telis (who, in lieu of their services, retained some oil and oil cakes which were later on used as cattle food.) and further mixed with the Kernels of the walnut and apricot”. 137

Vegetables— Several varieties of vegetables formed a part of the agricultural produce in Kashmir. 138 Vegetable cultivation was extensive and varied all over the Subah but it was more profuse in the valley. The famous

129 Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 330, 339; G. T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, p. 312. 130 Ibid. 131 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 187. 132 Ain , I, p. 39; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 187; Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 330, 339-40. 133 H.H. Wilson, Gazetteer of Kashmir And Ladakh , p.46 ; Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., part-III, Ch II, vol. II, pp. 148-50 ; C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir , p.46. 134 Moorcroft & Trebeck , op. cit., pp.148-49: “Walnut-oil is exported to Tibet , and brings a considerable profit. By ancient custom the crop of nuts was equally divided between the government and the owner of the tree, but at present the former takes three -fourths, leaving but one-fourth to remunerate the farmer; H.H. Wilson, Gazetteer of Kashmir And Ladakh , pp. 46-47; C. E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir, pp.46-48. 135 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p.187. 136 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 340 ; Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., pp. 148-49; H.H. Wilson, Gazetteer of Kashmir And Ladakh , pp. 46-47 ; C. E. Bates , A Gazetteer of Kashmir , pp. 46-47. 137 Ibid. 138 Ain , I, p. 34; Malik Haider Chadoora, Tarikh-i-Kashmir , vol. I p. 233; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 175-80; F. Bernier, op. cit ., p. 397 ; Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 346-47.

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vegetable gardens were located around the city of Srinagar on the banks of Dal

Lake.139 Pargana Phak was rich in various kinds of herbs and plants. 140 Adjoining to it was the famous Dal lake on the surface of which existed a number of floating islands. Cultivators produced various kinds of vegetables thereon, which sufficient for the town’s folk. 141 Village suibug in pargana Machihama was exceedingly known for various kinds of vegetables. 142 Almost every tenant had a plot reserved for vegetable cultivation. 143 Qualitatively and quantitatively rich vegetables like beans, knol khol turnips, radish, spinach, carrots, Pumpkins, white beans, cucumbers, lettuce, potato, onions and chilly were mainly produced. 144 Potatoes were introduced in the 19 th century.145

Chillies were introduced in 18 th century 146 and large quantities were raised around Srinagar. 147 According to Abul Fazl, large quantities of vegetables were exported for the imperial kitchen from Kashmir. 148

Fruits – Several varieties of fruits also formed a part of the agricultural produce in Kashmir. Even before annexation, Kashmir was famous for her delicious fruits of various kinds.149 In the pre-Mughal writings ( Tarikh-i-

Firishta and Tarikh-i-Rashidi ) found that in Kashmir fruits were grown in such

139 Malik Haider Chadoora, Tarikh-i-Kashmir , vol. I, p. 233; Qazwini, Badshahnama , Or. 173, British Museum, Rotograph Nos. 191A, 191B, 191C, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh, vol. III, Rotograph No. 191C, p. 315 ; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 156, 175-80. 140 Ain , II. p. 173. 141 Ibid. Amal-i-Salih , II, p. 25; Lahori, Badshahnama , vol. I, part -II, p. 29; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 156; Srivara, Jaina Rajatarangini, Eng. Transl. J.C. Dutt, pp. 141-42. 142 Malik Haider Chadoora, Tarikh-i-Kashmir , vol. I, p. 233. 143 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 346 ; Qazwini, Badshahnama , III, Rotograph No. 191C, p. 315. 144 Ain , II, p. 173 & transl. II, p. 361 & n.2; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 175-80, 186, Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 330. 346-47. 145 For the introduction of Potato in India : See George Watt, Dictionary of the Economic Products of India , vol. III, New Delhi, Reprint, Edition 1966, pp. 115-22 ; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System , p. 53. 146 Ibid, pp. 51-52. 147 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 347. 148 Ain , I, p. 34; Ain ,II, p. 170. 149 Tarikh-i-Firishta , vol. II, p. 334; Tarikh-i-Rashidi , p. 425.

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abundance that they were rarely bought or sold. The owner of a garden and the man who had no garden were all alike, for the gardens had no walls, and no one was prevented from picking the fruits. 150 In the words of Mirza-Haider Dughlat

: “pears, mulberries, sweet and sour cherries are met with, but the apples are particularly good”. 151 Fruits such as mulberry sour cherry, sweet cherry, grapes, plums, pomegranate, apple, quince, peach, walnut and Fig etc. find a particular reference in the Tarikh-i-Firishta .152 But during the Mughal rule large tracts of land were brought under orchards. New varieties were introduced besides the improvement of the existing fruits through grafting. 153 But according to Hugel

“Grafting or improving their trees in any way seems unpractised among them, probably unknown” in Kashmir. 154 Before Akbar’s reign there had been no cherries ( Shahalu ) in Kashmir. But now Mohammad Quli Afshar, an expert in horticulture, brought them from Kabul and Planted them in the valley through grafting so that by the reign of Jahangir one noticed a couple of such trees in existence. Their taste was better than most fruits.155 Shahalu of Kashmir was not inferior to that of Kabul. In the initial stage the cultivation was restricted to imperial gardens only, but later Jehangir directed the Jagirdars and revenue officials to popularise the new varieties. 156 Jahangir says that there were also some apricot –trees. But by means of grafting, apricot trees were now became

150 Ibid. Ibid . 151 Tarikh-i-Rashidi, p. 425. 152 Tarikh-i-Firishta , p. 334. 153 Tuzuk , pp, 299-300, 306-308; However , Bernier considered Kashmir fruits inferior for he understood that the Kashmiris were not conversant with the art of grafting as the French were : op. cit ., p. 397. 154 Baron Charles Hugel, Travels in Kashmir and the Panjab, . Reprinted, 2000, Delhi, p. 96. 155 But in the words of Mirza Haider Dughlat, “Besides pears, mulberries, both sweet and sour cherries are met with” : Tarikh-i-Rashidi , p. 425 ; we also found a particular reference of both sweet and sour cherries in Tarikh-i-Firishta , II, p. 334 ; Tuzuk , pp. 300, 306-8; Iqbalnama-i- Jahangiri , p. 151. 156 Tuzuk , pp. 306-8.

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plentiful. 157 Experiments were carried on in cultivating mangoes and other kinds of Indian fruits, but with little success. 158 Guavas ( Amrood ), 159 a variety of pear was cultivated in the valley as well as in Pakhli and Kashtawar. 160

There were pears ( nashpati ) of the best kind, better than those of Kabul, or Badakh shan , and nearly equaled to those of Samarkand. Almonds, peaches and Pomegranates were not unknown to the valley. The guavas were middling but grapes were plentiful. 161 According to Pandit Suka, “All the Muggulas, who received presents of Grapes from the cultivators and tasted them, acknowledged that they were superior to the nectar from the lips of their wives”. 162 But according to Abul Fazl and Jahangir “grapes are plentiful, the finer qualities are rare and most of them are harsh and inferior. 163 In ancient times grapes were extensively cultivated and were of good quality. They were once plentiful at Martanda where both Kalhana and the fourth chronicle mention them, and at many other localities. These were also used for making wine. 164 But with the passage of time, their cultivation was discouraged and manufacturing of wine was also banned under the Afghan Government. 165 The produce of grapes was now restricted to a few old gardens at the mouth of the and to the new vineyards established on the Dal shores by the late

157 Ibid , p. 300; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri , p. 151. 158 Muntakhabu-Lubab , vol. I, part-I, p. 303. 159 According to Prof. Irfan Habib, Guava was not cultivated during the Mughal period on any pary of the Empire, but was introduced in 19th century. So far the word amrood is concerned, it was a specie of pear: The Agrarian System, p. 55 & n; Ain ,I, pp. 45-46. But in the contemporary Chronicles we have both the words Nashpati and Amrood : Tuzuk , pp. 291, 300; Iqbalnama-i- Jahangiri, p. 152; There are various kinds of Pears found in Kashmir like Nakh, Gosh Bugi and Har Nakh etc. but the guava is not raised even now: Lawrence , op. cit ., pp. 350-51. 160 Tuzuk , pp. 291, 296, 300. 161 Ibid , pp. 299, 300; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri , pp. 150-52; F. Bernier, op. cit ., p. 397; According to Suka , “The city was full of grapes and walnuts” : Rajatarangini, Eng. Transl. J.C. Dutt, p. 407. 162 Suka, Rajatarangini , Eng. Transl. J.C. Dutt, p., 408. 163 Ain , II, p,.170; Tuzuk , p. 300 ; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri , p. 152. 164 M.A. Stein, Ancient Geography of Kashmir , p. 122; Srivara, Jaina Rajatarangini , Eng. Transl. J.C. Dutt, pp. 124, 126,232. 165 Moorcroft & Trebeck., op. cit ., Part, III, ch. II. vol. II, p. 151.

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Maharaja for the cultivation of French vines. It seems that during the sikh rule the ban was lifted and they encouraged its cultivation for making wine. 166 The quality of indigenous grapes was also improved side by side, 167 the vines were allowed to grow on the poplars and mulberry trees. 168 Baghi Dilawar Khan was a famous site for vine-culture 169 and there were more than 18 varieties raised in Kashmir. 170 Superior varieties were cultivated in Lar 171 and were also produced in the garden of Raipur 172 and of Shah Sahib 173 near the Dal lake. Plums and mulberries were also grown in Kashmir. 174 Mulberries were cultivated for its silk, however, its fruits, were not liked.175 But according to G.T. Vigne “the mulberries are of good flavour”. 176 In the Gazetteer of Kashmir and Ladakh found that “the mulberry grows very abundantly in Kashmir and the people eat largely of the fruit, of which they are very fond…….. The leaves form a valuable fodder of cattle” also. 177 The apples of Kashmir were celebrated all over the world. 178 The author of Tarikh-i-Hasan , gives 47 varieties of apples including wild. 179 Fruits such as Apricots, Peaches, Pears, Quince, Almonds,

166 Ibid ; for a detailed account of Kashmir- grapes and wine grapes, see Lawrence, op. cit. , pp. 351- 52. 167 Moorcroft & Trabeck, op. cit ., part III, ch II, vol. II,pp. 150-51. 168 Ain , II p. 170 ; Tuzuk , p. 300 ; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, p. 152; Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., pp. 150-51. 169 G. T. Vigne, op. cit ., II. p. 86. 170 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., p. 150 ; According to Hasan, there were 19 varieties raised in Kashmir and by the author of Tarikh-i-Hasan , Maska , Sahibi , Hussainee and Kishmishee were excellent : Tarikh-i-Hasan , I. p. 183. 171 Akbarnama , III. part- II, p. 733. 172 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 351. 173 G. T. Vigne, op. cit ., II. p. 86; Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 351. 174 Tarikh-i-Firishta , II, p. 334 ; Tarikh-i-Rashidi , p. 425; Ain , II , p. 170 ; Khulasatut-Tawarikh , p. 83 ; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 183-84. 175 Ibid . Ibid . Ibid . Ibid . Tuzuk , p. 300 ; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri , p. 152. 176 G. T. Vigne, op. cit ., II, p. 86. 177 H.H. Wilson, Gazetteer of Kashmir And Ladakh, pp. 45-46. 178 Tarikh-i-Rashidi , p. 425 ; Tuzuk , p.300 ; Lahori , Badshahnama , vol. I. part –II, p. 30 ; vol. II, part – I. p. 419. 179 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 183; Lawrence in the Valley of Kashmir also enumerates its several varieties. For detailed description of apple cultivation, see pp. 349-50.

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Walnuts, plums, Grapes, cherries, Pistachio nuts, Melons, Water-melons, and various kinds of apple were cultivated all over the Subah. 180 Apricots of delicious flavour were the cherished fruit of Little and Greater Tibet .181 On account of extensive cultivation of the apricots, Baltistan was known as Tsera

Botun .182 Apples and Apricot, grapes, peaches, melons, and mulberries were also grown in this region. 183 Both sour and sweet quinces were found in the valley and its seeds were exported to the Panjab. 184 Almonds and walnuts were grown in abundance, pistachio were also grown in the valley but not extensively. 185 There were four varieties of walnuts; one called Khanak and the other three, termed wantu, dunu , and kaghazi , were cultivated. These were consumed by the people and oil was extracted from its Kernel. The oil was exported to Tibet and was a source of profit.

The husk of the ripe fruit was used for purposes of colouring. 186 “By ancient custom the crop of nuts was equally divided between the Government and the owner of the tree, but at present the former takes three-Fourths, leaving but one fourth to remunerate the farmer; yet under this oppression the cultivation of the walnuts extended, and Kashmir, in proportion to its surface, produces a much larger quantity of nuts than any portion of Europe”. 187

180 Akbarnama , vol. III, part -II, p. 733; Ain ,I, pp. 43-46 ; II , p. 170 ; Tuzuk ,pp. 296-300 ; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri , pp. 150-52 ; Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part-II, p. 30 ; vol. II, part-I, p. 419 ; Bernier, op. cit ., p., 397 ; Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., pp. 137-151 ; Desideri, op. cit ., p. 72 ; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 180-85. 181 Lahori ; Badshahnama , vol. I, part- II , p. 288 ; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, MS. 04 , CAS, AMU, Aligarh, f. 87a. 182 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, MS. 04, f. 87a. 183 Lahori, Badshahnama , vol. I, part- II, p. 288. 184 Lahori, Badshahnama , vol. I, part-II, p. 30; vol. II, part-l, p. 419; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I , p. 184 ; Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 351. 185 Ibid; Desideri, op. cit ., p. 72. 186 Moorcoft & Trebeck, op. cit ., pp. 145-49. 187 Ibid , pp. 149-50.

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Pomegranates were grown everywhere in the Subah. 188 Bernier says that “the private gardens are full of melons, pateques or water-melons, water parsnips, red beet, radishes, most of our potherbs, and others with which we are unacquainted”.189 The melons and watermelons excelled in flavour and sweetness 190 and the melons were very sweet though they often got spoiled due to a worm. 191 According to Lahori, “melons of Kashmir were superior to those of Kabul”. 192 Wine was distilled from the mulberries. 193 A reference to wine and vinegar is also found in the records. Best pickles were made with vinegar as an ingredient. Since kashmiri produced garlic, its good quality was considered the best pickle. The much better flavoured and more delicate juicy fruit was that of Ashkan . It was subacid smaller than the alu-balu (sour cherry) termed ‘aluchi in Kashmir. 194 The Shah-alu of Kashmir was not inferior to that of Kabul. 195 In view of the cold temperature and abundant snowfall, fruits such as lemons, dates and oranges were not grown in the valley, these were imported from the neighbouring warm regions. 196 It may be said that almost all the horticultural products that exist in a temperate climate can be grown in the vale of Kashmir. 197

188 Tuzuk , p. 300; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri , p. 152 ; According to Hasan, there were three varieties of pomegranates in Kashmir : Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 184 ; Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 351. 189 Bernier, op. cit., p. 396. 190 Tuzuk , pp. 296, 300; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri , p. 152; Lahori, Badshahnama , vol. I, part-II, p. 30. 191 Ibid , p. 300. 192 Lahori, Badshahnama , vol. I, part II, p. 30. 193 G. Forster, op. cit., II, p. 19: George watt, op. cit., p. 785. 194 Tarikh-i-Rashidi, p. 425; Tuzuk , pp. 300, 306-7 ; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri , p. 152 ; Lahori, Badshahnama , vol. II. part-I, p. 419; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 184. 195 Tuzuk , p. 307. 196 Tarikh-i-Rashidi , pp. 430-31. 197 Both for the method as well as the temperature, which employed for the cultivation of fruits: see, Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 180-85; Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 348-55.

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Besides, Kashmir valley abounds in dense forests 198 and pastoral land which provided sufficient grazing for sheep and cattle. 199 In the Kashmir we also find that the several plots located in different parganas and villages were earmarked for grazing purpose and others. For example, pargana Beeru exemplified such pasture ground the grass of which contained fattening properties. 200 Hasan, in Tarikh-i-Hasan, gave a detailed account of the meadows of Kashmir, 201 ‘which are refreshing and have beautiful flowers and green grass in them. In summer, the shepherds and herdsmen carry their animals to these meadows for grazing and bring them back in the month of

Katak .’ 202 The village Dakhamun is covered with particles of straw and rubbish. 203 The pargana Phak grow a variety of herbs and plants. 204 The pargana Shahabad was overgrown with nettler and wild hemp. It was famed for the excellence of wheat and orchards. 205 It was also overgrown with weeds and jungle. 206

Forests of Kashmir, which produced a great variety of timbers, that of the deodar, walnut, willow, plane ( Chinar ), mulberry, poplar etc. 207 The timber yield from these forests were employed in building boats, house, bridges etc. 208

198 G. T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. I, pp. 211, 307-8. 199 Ain, II, p. 174; Tuzuk , p. 299; F. Bernier, op. cit., p. 396; Amal-i-Saleh, II, pp. 29-30. 200 Ibid. 201 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 83-89; Also see, Amal-i-Saleh, II, pp. 29-30. 202 Ibid, pp. 83-84. 203 Ain, II, p. 173. 204 Ibid . 205 G. T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, pp. 332, 323-24. 206 Ibid, I, p. 332. 207 Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 78-82; Also see (for kinds of trees) Ain , II, pp. 174-75 & Its transl. II, p. 363 & n.3, p. 364; & vol. I, transl. pp. 238-39; Tuzuk , pp. 45, 300, 304, 314; Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 399-400; Forster, op. cit ., II, p. 15; G. T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, pp. 304, 211; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 182-83. 208 Jigar Mohammed, Use of Botanical Products in India During the 16th & 17th centuries, Proceeding, IHC : Madras University, 57TH Session, December 27-29, 1996 pp. 332; Tuzuk, pp. 298-99; Bernier, op. cit ., p. 398; Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 78-82; Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., vol. II, pp. 118-23, 152.

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The timbers were also used an excellent fuel and also found one of the most charming objects in Kashmir. 209

A large cattle population existed in Kashmir due to dense forests and large tracts of land earmarked for the pasturage. 210 Kashmir had greater manure resources, owing to the large number of cattle heads, sheep and goats and an abundance of fuel. 211

Abul Fazl, in his account writes about the animals and birds of Kashmir, that ‘they have a species of sheep which they call Handu , delicate and sweet in flavour and wholesome. Apparel is generally of wool, a coat of which will last for some years. The horses are small, strong, and traverse difficult ground.

There are neither elephants nor camels. The cows are black and ill-shaped, but give excellent milk and butter.’ 212 Further he writes that ‘Maru Adwin adjoins

Great Tibet where the Handu is found of the best breed and large in size, and carries heavy burdens.’ 213 ‘In the vicinity of Wular , the Kashmir stag is found in numbers.’ 214 ‘In the village of Bazwal , fish are caught in numbers.’ 215 ‘In the village of Matalhamah is a wood in which is a heronry, the feathers are taken for plumes, and the birds are here regularly fed.’ 216 According to Jahangir, ‘there are no buffaloes, and the cattle are small and inferior. They also use cow-oil ( raughan -i.e. ghi) ----. There are tailless sheep, resembling the kadi (or gaddi ) of India. They are called handu , and their flesh is not without

209 Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 78-82; Also see Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 399-400; Ain , II, p. 175; Tuzuk , pp. 45, 304, 314. 210 Ain , II, p. 174; Amal-i-Saleh, II, pp. 29-30; Bernier, op. cit ., p. 396; G. T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, pp. 307, 332. 211 Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 321-22. 212 Ain, II, p. 170. 213 Ibid , II, p. 172. 214 Ibid . 215 Ibid , II, p. 173. 216 Ibid, II, p. 174.

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flavour. Fowls, geese, and ducks ( murghabi ) golden and others- are plentiful.

There are all kinds of fish, both with and without scales, but they are inferior.’ 217 Further Jahangir writes that, ‘again, among the excellencies of Kashmir are the plumes of feathers ( kalgi) and the hawks.’ 218 Most valuable product of animal was musk, which was extracted from musk-deer found in Baltistan or Lesser Tibet and Gilgit and yak-tails, taken from a species of cow peculiar to

Great Tibet, and were an item of export. 219

Allied with agriculture and horticulture, bee farming was important in the rural economy of Kashmir. 220 The abundance of fruits and flowers made honey an important product of Kashmir. It was not only collected from the hives of wild bees, but also from those of bees domesticated by peasants. In Kashmir it served as a substitute for sugar. 221

217 Tuzuk , pp. 300-301. 218 Ibid , p. 315. 219 Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 421-22, 426; Desideri, op. cit ., p. 78; Irfan Habib, An Atlas of the Mughal Empire , p. 7. 220 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., vol. II, p. 155, for details see, pp. 155-61. 221 Ibid , pp. 155-62.

(E) CROP YIELDS

We do not get much information about the per-unit crop yields of

Kashmir suba during the Mughal period. It is, however, in Akbarnama, Abul Fazl 1 provides some brief information on the revenue rates of several crops of

Kashmir suba . Other 18 th century source like Gulshan-i-Dastur 2 provides valuable information about per-unit crop yields. These two 16 th century and 18 th century sources help us to build up data of per-unit crop yields. To quote

Abul Fazl, “…………..In India the land is divided into plots, each of which is called a bigha . In the delightful land of Kashmir every plot is called a patta . This should be one b igha one biswa according to the Ilahi gaz , but the

Kashmiris reckon 2 ½ pattas and a little more as one (Kashmiri?) bigha . By agreement with the government ( Diwan ) one –third of the produce is paid as revenue. In accordance therewith every village has been assessed at a certain number of Kharwars of rice. The same amount of Kharwars is demanded every year without any fresh investigation. The Kharwar is 3 mans 8 Sirs Akbarshahi . Sometimes they reckon by the trak , which is eight royal (i.e.

Akbarshahi ) sirs . Of the spring ( rabi ) crop they take for one patta of wheat, barley, pulses, and mustard, two traks as the share of the ruler……….and that in the autumn-crop there was taken from that extent of Shali 12 (rice) (land) one Kharwar , from mung, motah and mash , two traks, from gal and millet four traks. ……..” 3 However, we need to compare it with the most indispensable source like Gulshan-i-Dastur that provides or gives us the most valuable account on the subject matter. On comparison, several or many marked

1 Akbarnama, III, part-II, pp. 548-49. 2 Nath Pandit, Gulshan-i-Dastur (c. 1753-54 A.D.) , ff. 371-74, quoted in Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., pp. 71-72. 3 Akbarnama , III, part - II, pp. 548-49. 73

difference is visible in these figures. “……….. Every unit of land carried a distinct value determined by its varying quality and the productivity. In view of this, land had three categories, viz; ala (superior), ‘ausat’ (middling) and adna

(inferior). Superior land was always plain whereas inferior type was generally uneven in shape.” 4 For the above simplification, the information is reproduced in the Table-I and Table-II which are based on sources Akbarnama 5 and

Gulshan-i-Dastur 6 respectively.

TABLE – I

1ST SOURCE AKBARNAMA

PER- UNIT CROP YIELDS IN TRAKS & KHARWARS

S. Name of Kind of Unit of the land Revenue rates Average Average No. the crop the crop representing the produce produce per ruler’s third share per trak kharwar of from the gross as 16 trak produce supposed 1- Wheat Spring 1 trak 2 trak 6 trak 6 Kharwar 2- Barley ’’ ’’ ’’ ’’ ’’ 3- Mustard ’’ ’’ ’’ ’’ ’’ 4- Masoor ’’ ’’ ’’ ’’ ’’ 5- Paddy Autumn 1 Kharwar 12 Kharwar 2.25 36 Kharwar Kharwar 6- Mung ’’ 1 trak 2 trak 6 trak 6 kharwar 7- Motah ’’ ’’ ’’ ’’ ’’ 8- Mash ’’ ’’ ’’ ’’ ’’ 9- Millet ’’ ’’ 4 trak 12 trak 12 kharwar

4 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., p. 73. 5 Akbarnama , III, part- II, pp. 548-49. 6 Gulshan-i-Dastur, ff. 371-74: quoted in Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., pp. 71-72 & n.

74

TABLE –II II ND SOURCE – GULSHAN-I-DASTUR PER-UNIT CROP YIELDS, IN TRAKS AND KHARWARS : S. Name of Kind of Unit of Produce Produce Produce Average No. the crop the crop land per per per produce Kharwar Kharwar Kharwar on the I st on II nd on III rd kind of kind of kind of land land land 1- Wheat Spring Kharwar 22 18 14 18 Kharwar Kharwar Kharwar Kharwar 2- Barley ,, ,, 22 18 ,, 14 ,, 18 ,, Kharwar 3- Masoor ,, ,, 10 ,, 8 ,, 7 ,, 8 ,, 4- Mustard ,, ,, 6 ,, 5 ,, 4 ,, 5,, 5- Paddy ,, ,, 2 ,, 1 ,, ½ ,, 2 ,, seed 6- Paddy Autumn ,, 60 ,, 50 ,, 40 ,, 50 ,, 7- Millet ,, ,, 32 ,, 24 ,, 16 ,, 24 ,, 8- Mung, ,, ,, 10 ,, 8 ,, 6 ,, 8 ,, tromba, krota 9- Motha ,, ,, 20 ,, 16 ,, 12 ,, 16 ,, 10- Mash ,, ,, 20 ,, 16 ,, 12 ,, 16 ,, 11- Oil seed ,, ,, 10 ,, 8 ,, 6 ,, 8 ,, 12- Beans ,, ,, 6 ,, 4 ,, 2 ,, 4 ,, 13- Cotton ,, ,, 18 ,, 14 ,, 5 ½ ,, 12 Kharwar & 4 sa’a 14- Radish ,, ,, 48 ,, 40 ,, 32 ,, 4o Kharwar 15- Turnip ,, ,, 48 ,, 40 ,, 32 ,, 40 ,, 16 - Lectuces ,, ,, 48 ,, 40 ,, 32 ,, 40 ,,

Chapter - 2

Agrarian Relations

CHAPTER – 2

AGRARIAN RELATIONS

(A) ZAMINDARS

In Mughal India, the word Zamindar is a Persian compound, meaning literally the controller or holder of Zamin or land. 1 The institution of Zamindari occupied a pivotal position in Mughal revenue system and represented in fact a variety of superior interests in the land or its usufruct. 2 The nature of Zamindari rights and interests differed from place to place, and even within the same region or locality different types of Zamindari rights could be found. 3 Zamindars held some superior rights on the land of the locality as well as functioned mostly as the intermediaries between the basic producers and the state. 4

Zamindars in the Mughal Empire may be classified in three broad categories: ( a ) The Primary Zamindars or Village Zamindars ; ( b ) The Intermediary Zamindars or Pargana Zamindars ; ( c ) Tributary Chieftains or Hilly Chieftains. In Mughal Kashmir, these Zamindars generally belonged to different castes, such as Chaks, Dards, Beig, Bandey, Mirs, Afridi, Yusufzai, Khans, Dars, Bhats, Nayiks, Thakurs, Rainas, Khashus, Gangoos, Magreys, Kant, etc. They are believed to have sprung from one or the other gotra or the tribal families or the tribal division of the Hindus called Pandits in Kashmir. 5

1 Irfan Habib , The Agrarian System, p.169. 2 N.A. Siddiqi, Land Revenue Administration under the Mughals, ( 1700-50 ) , Bombay, 1970, p. 21. 3 Ibid. 4 Mushtaq A.Kaw , op. cit., p.191; According to Anand Ram Mukhlis, who was in the service of the Mughal emperor in the 18th century, the word ( Zamindari ) originally meant a person who possessed land, but in his own time it denoted a person who owned land in a village or town and carried on cultivation: Mirat-al Istilah , a glossary of idioms and technical terms, A.D.1745, per text, Anjuman-i-Taraq-i-Urdu Library, Aligarh , ff.122-23b. 5 Ain, vol. II , pp. 176-78; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 410-19 , 481; Walter Lawrence , op. cit., pp. 302-309. 76

The term primary Zamindar has been used for the village headman by a modern historian, 6 who possessed Zamindari over several villages together. In Kashmir, Malik Akram, (the headman of village Gundsursing ), who held

Zamindari over four villages. 7 After his death, Zamindari of the captioned area was possessed by his successor Rasul Malik , is suggestive of the fact that Zamindari generally ran into a particular family notwithstanding the periodical dynastic changes. 8 Gulshan-i-Dastur also reinforces the viewpoint that

Zamindari , in essence, was heritable for after the death of a Zamindar , his entire property including the right to hold the Zamindari and asamis falling there under, were equally distributed among his male heirs. The norms of inheritance were set and legally established. 9 Needless to say, that the important business of primary Zamindars or village Zamindars was revenue collection. 10 Similar type of responsibility was disburdened by them for the assignees in jagir land also. 11 In lieu of their services, they claimed a direct share from the produce of the peasants. 12 In connection with their right and privileges Mushtaq A. Kaw writes that “their right of ownership was recognized only on that portion of village land which they inherited from their predecessors. Excluding their interests as Zamindars , village headmen were otherwise much like their fellow peasants; registered asamis who contributed to

6 N.A. Siddiqi , op. cit ., pp. 28-40. 7 Mushtaq A. Kaw , op. cit., p. 195; Also see Walter Lawrence , op. cit ., p. 307: According to Lawrence , wealthy and influential persons acted as petty chieftains and lords of three villages together. 8 Mushtaq A. Kaw , op. cit. , p. 195; Also see Simon Digby , “From Ladakh to Lahore in 1820-21: The Account of a Kashmiri Traveller” , The Journal of Central Asian Studies , vol. VIII , no.1, University of Kashmir , Srinagar , 1997 , pp. 9-10. 9 Mushtaq A. Kaw , op. cit. , p.195. 10 Munshi Har Karan , Insha-i-Har Karan , Sulaiman collection , 406 / 139 , MAL , AMU, Aligarh, ff. 35ab; Also see N.A. Siddiqi , op. cit ., pp. 28-40 : The term primary Zamindar has been used for the village headman. 11 Mushtaq A. Kaw , op. cit., p. 196; Also see Simon Digby , op. cit. , pp. 3-22. 12 Ibid . 77

the revenue of the state along with other asamis. The only difference was that they were comparatively resourceful and carried a little that earned them certain privileges in their respective villages.” 13

Besides village Zamindars , there were intermediary Zamindars or the pargana Zamindars who belonged to different castes of Kashmir. Abul Fazl , in the Ain-i-Akbari , has provided an exhaustive account bearing the names of several Zamindars castes and their spatial distribution over different parganas of the valley. 14 Besides , Ain , other sources like Tarikh-i-Hasan , Tarikh-i- Kashmir , Majmuat-Tawarikh , Waqiat-i-Kashmir , etc., have also given a good account of landed aristocratic families as well as the chief of the most prominent land-holding castes, who were generally patronized by the Mughals and the Afghans to hold Zamindari in their respective parganas and enjoyed privileges and jagirs in their respective areas. According to Hasan, the chief of the Bandey tribe held village Bandipora in jagir .15 Qasim Khan, the first Mughal governor, gave titles and jagirs to Sher Islam Magrey. 16 As far as the

Pathan rule is concerned, Afridi and Yusufzai tribes came over from

Afghanistan or Kabulistan and settled in different parganas of Kashmir. Having come from Afghanistan they were usually known by the name Khan and Khaibari. 17 In Ain , we find that the caste Khan held Zamindari over two parganas .18 The chieftains of the passes leading into Kashmir from across

13 Ibid, pp. 196-97. Also see nos. 22: Where he writes that “ Rasul Malik , the Zamindar of village Gundsursing that he had his hereditary land in village Panur of pargana Lar also. On the village records, he was , therefore , registered as an asami required to contribute to the revenue of the state along with other asamis . 14 Ain , II, pp. 176-78. 15 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 414, 506. 16 , Akbarnama, vol. III , part-II, p. 528; Tarikh-i-Hasan , vol. I, p. 481. 17 Tarikh-i-Hasan, vol. I, p. 415; Lawrence, op. cit., p. 309. 18 Ain , II , pp. 176-78. 78

Hindustan or Turkistan held the title of Malik. 19 Mukhtaru’l Malik son of

Namdar Malik , Zamindar of Shahabad, laid down his own life for the sake of Mughal power. 20 Haider Malik Chadoora was granted the title of Chaghta’i and

Ra’esu’-l Malik by Jahangir. 21 Yusuf Shah, Ali Magrey, and others were provided mansab and granted jagirs within and outside the valley 22 and also conferred with princely favours. Beig, Bandey, Kant and Dhar castes, enjoyed prominent position in the land revenue as well as the general administration of the country. 23 According to Hasan, the caste Beig owed its origin to a Chaghta’i caste from Central Asia. The members of the said caste came to

Kashmir during the period of the Sultans in Kashmir. They held mansab and played the role of local chieftains. 24 He also writes that the people of the Bandey caste migrated from Turkistan and settled in Kashmir during the

Mughal rule. Its chief members enjoyed prominent position in the government and held Bandipora village in jagir ; hence called Bandey .25 While about Kant he says that, the word Kant did not exactly specify a caste but an imperial title conferred on one Khwaja Husain Kabuli who had been assigned the job of the construction of the Nagar Nagar hillock. On its completion, Mirza was rewarded with an ornament named Kant (ear-ring). Later on, imperial Khilat was also bestowed upon him on the name Kant itself. 26 One single caste Bhat held Zamindari over as large as four parganas (i.e. Mattan , Nagam , Zainagir

19 Tarikh-i-Hasan , vol. I, p. 419. 20 Waqiat-i-Kashmir , Habib Ganj Collection 32/150, f. 252a. 21 Haider Malik Chadoora , Tarikh-i-Kashmir , vol. I, ff. 212b-213b. 22 Akbarnama , vol. III , part-II, pp. 516, 525, 528; Haider Malik Chadoora , Tarikh-i-Kashmir, vol. I, ff. 187-93 , 201 , 206-208. 23 Majmuat-Tawarikh,, MS. No. 148, pp. 215, 262, 265, 334-35, 376-77; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, pp. 414-15; R. K. Parmu, op. cit., pp. 354, 359-60, 379-81. 24 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I , p. 414. 25 Ibid. 26 Ibid , vol. I , p. 415. 79

and Inderkot ) at one and the same time. 27 We also find , the existence of numerous Zamindar castes ( like Raina & Khan , Bhat / Brahman , Dardi & Shal , Bhat / Musalman , Khasi , Gangoo , Raina ) in a single pargana ( like

Brang , Vihi , Ular , Pattan , Dachin Khawara )respectively, 28 should also be viewed in the perspective of the hereditary nature of the right of Zamindari which was bound to split in the event of the death of its holder. In the process, multiple Zamindars came into being in a single pargana .29 During the time of the Afghans , pargana Shahabad had numerous Zamindars such as Rahim Malik , Rasul Malik and Bahadur Malik , all belonging to one and the same caste implying in a way that the Afghans like the Mughals also upheld the hereditary principle underlying the functioning of the Zamindari. 30

Like primary Zamindar , pargana Zamindars were responsible for the collection of revenue from the primary Zamindars and paid it to the imperial treasury , or to the jagirdars , or to the chieftains – or in certain cases kept it themselves and the maintenance of law and order. 31 For these functions, they were entitled to a various types of perquisites, such as commission , 32 deductions , revenue-free lands ( nankar or banth ) , cesses , etc. 33 According to Mushtaq A. Kaw , “ the same was reciprocated either by allowing them to hold a revenue-free land or else through a specific share claimed from the peasants produce which usually amounted to one and a half ser from each kharwar of paddy. In addition, they claimed numerous cesses and perquisites besides

27 Ain , vol. II , pp. 176-78. 28 Ibid. 29 Mushtaq A. Kaw , op. cit ., pp. 201-202. 30 Ibid . 31 N.A. Siddiqi , op. cit ., pp. 34-35; S. Nurul Hasan , Zamindars Under the Mughals , Edited by Robert Eric Frykenberg , Manohar , 1979 , pp. 24-27. 32 Elsewhere in Mughal India , the commission ranged between 5-10 % and somewhere between 10 to 20 % on the revenue realized : N.A. Siddiqi , op. cit., p. 35; Irfan Habib , The Agrarian System, p. 187. 33 S. Nurul Hasan , op. cit ., pp. 24-25; Document no’s : 528/5 , 574/2 , Iqbal Library , Srinagar. 80

levied tax on variety of commodities that passed through several poll-posts falling within their Zamindaris . The rate of the poll-tax levied varied from commodity to commodity. The Zamindars were equally authorised to levy imposts on forest and water products.” 34 Elsewhere in Mughal India, a Zamindar was entitled to customary claims even after Zamindari was taken away from him. 35

The pargana Zamindars also retained a certain contingent comprising both sawar and piadah for the purpose of the collection of land revenue and other taxes, which was a difficult task that could not be generally performed without the support of a standing force. Such a force was always furnished with muskets and other war weapons 36 and it largely contributed to the soldiery of Kashmir. 37 In Ain , Abul Fazl has estimated its number at thirty thousand , nine hundred and sixty seven with three thousand , two hundred and two sawar and twenty seven thousand , seven hundred and sixty five piadah. 38 While Hasan in his Tarikh-i-Hasan , has numbered the Zamindar force at ninety five thousand , two hundred and ninety two with four thousand , eight hundred ninety two sawar and ninety thousand four hundred piadah .39 The pargana Zamindars also participated in every such act of the imperial authorities that sought to subdue the hilly Chieftains, to expand the territorial extent of the Mughals and to enthrone or dethrone someone on the subedari of Kashmir. In all such type of matters, they reacted for or against a certain contending party. 40

34 Mushtaq A. Kaw , op. cit., p. 203. 35 N.A. Siddiqi , op. cit ., pp. 33-34 & n.58. 36 Tuzuk, p. 312. 37 Ibid , pp. 45-47; Majmuat-Tawarikh , MS. No. 148, pp. 394-98. 38 Ain , II , p. 176. 39 Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 273. 40 Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad , Tabqat-i-Akbari , 2 vols. (Bound in one) ed. Nawal Kishore , Lucknow , 1875 , pp. 370-71; Tuzuk , p. 312 ; Majmuat-Tawarikh , MS. No. 148, pp. 211, 265, 390-91. 81

Notwithstanding, during our period of study, the landed aristocratic families ( like Malik and Nayak ) of Shahabad / Batu usually performed the job of keeping vigil on the passes that fell within the parganas where they had generally their jagirs also. 41

For example, Zamindars of Shahabad, held complete control over parganas of said locality, was the residence of Akbar’s Maliks. 42 Likewise ,

Mahdi Nayak and Husain Nayak , the two Zamindars of pargana Batu , guarded and regulated the whole traffic on the entire Mughal road or route via important villages of Hirapur , Poshana , Bahramgalla , etc. 43 Badauni, in his

Muntakhabu-t Tawarikh , mentioned that , Mughal occupation of Kashmir would have been fairly difficult , without the support of pargana Zamindars .44 Khafi Khan in his Muntakhabu-Lubab , says that one of the important factors that helped the Mughal forces to carve out their rule in Kashmir, was manifest in the mutual animosity that obtained among the ruling families and Zamindars of Kashmir some of whom had already joined their hands with the imperial army. 45 Besides, they were also called upon to render necessary services as and when the imperial forces were engaged in clashes with the hilly Chieftains. For instance, Raja of Kishtwar was subdued with the active support of the local

41 Mount Stuart Elphinstone , op. cit., vol. II , p. 238; Also see for Malik , G.T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. I, pp. 324-25; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 419; For Nayak see , Ain, II , p. 177; Tuzuk , p. 316. 42 G.T. Vigne , op. cit ., vol. I , pp.324-25; Also see , Tarikh-i-Hasan , I , p. 419: The word Malik did not signify any particular caste or clan but simply an imperial title conferred on the Chieftains , Jagirdars and Mansabdars during the Sultanate. The Chieftains of the passes leading into Kashmir from across Hindustan and Turkistan held the title of Malik . The term Malik was generally applied to the Sheikh caste. 43 Tuzuk , p. 316, Jahangir , in his account does not name the pargana (Batu ) these two Zamindars hailed from. From the Abul Fazl’s account ( Ain ) , Nayik caste is registered against the pargana Batu : Ain , II , p. 177. Also see Akbarnama , vol. III , part-II , p. 503: “ In Rajauri , Bahram Nayik , Ismail Nayik , and Shanki Charwar , who were the chief conductors of the passes, came and paid their respect. They offered up good wishes for the conquest of the country.” 44 Muntakhabu-t Tawarikh , vol. II , pp. 353-54. 45 Muntakhabu-Lubab , vol. I, part-I, pp. 194-96. 82

Zamindars of Kashmir, in the time of Jahangir. 46 Likewise, during the reign of

Shahjahan , Raja of Tibet was made to acknowledge Mughal suzerainty with the assistance rendered by the local potentates. For example , the local

Zamindars of Kashmir provided a force of 2,000 horsemen and 10,000 footmen to but even themselves fought shoulder to shoulder with the imperial forces of Mughal governor ( Zaffar Khan ) who had laid a seige to a strong-hold in which Abdal , ( the son of Ali Rai ) , the Tibetan Chief was besieged. The services of Kashmiri boatmen were also arranged by the local potentates, when the imperial forces were crossing the river Nile on the banks of which the strong-hold of Abdal was situated. 47 Not only that, they contributed whole- heartedly and cared least about their own lives. For example, Mukhtarul Malik (son of Namdar Malik ) , Zamindar of Shahabad , laid down his own life for the sake of the Mughal power. 48 They played an important role in making and unmaking the subedars , during the Afghan period. For instance, Zamindar of Shahabad, dethroned Amir Khan Jawansher and enthroned Karimdad Khan in his place on the subedari of Kashmir. 49 Another important as well as significant role played by local potentates, could be viewed in dynastic changes. That Haider Chak and Hakim Ali, the erstwhile Chieftains of Kashmir, inspired

Emperor Akbar, in 1586 for the Mughal occupation of Kashmir. 50 In 1753, invitation was extended by Mir Muqim Kant to Ahmad Shah Durrani for establishing Afghan rule 51 in Kashmir.

46 Tuzuk , p. 312. 47 Lahori , Badshahnama, vol. I , part-II , pp. 281-86; Amal-i-Saleh , vol. II , edited by Ghulam Yazdani , A.S.B., Calcutta , 1927 , vol. II , pp. 254-56. 48 Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32 / 150, f. 252a. 49 Majmuat-Tawarikh , MS. No. 148, ff. 390-91. 50 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit ., pp. 209-210. 51 Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 367-68. 83

A systematic policy of appeasement was pursued by Akbar and his successors, towards these warring Zamindar castes. Abul Fazl has given a good list of the Chiefs of the most prominent land-holding castes like Bhats , Nayik ,

Chak , Magreys , etc. who were granted with princely favours and were conferred with titles , for example Haider Malik Chadoora was granted the title of Chaghtai and Raesu-l Mulk by Jahangir. 52 They were also provided mansabs , granted jagirs and thereby enrolled in the imperial service. For instance, Yusuf Shah, Ali Magrey, and others were provided mansabs and granted jagirs within and outside the valley. 53 Most of them were granted

Zamindari in their respective areas. 54 With the purpose of creating friendship, matrimonial relations were established with the family members of these Zamindar castes. As Emperor Akbar married the daughter of one of the

Zamindars of Kashmir. His son Prince Salim , sought in marriage the daughter of another Zamindar Mubarik Chak. 55 Shahjahan’s son, Prince Murad , was betrothed to the youngest daughter of Zamindar of Shahabad. 56 Besides, the rulers and the princes, nobles and other courtiers were also united by social contracts with them. 57 The Mughal Emperor Akbar reconciled with the local potentates as long as they remained loyal, otherwise he behaved with them ruthlessly when they became refractory. 58 His successors not only resumed their Zamindari and seized their landed estates but even eliminated them from

52 Haider Malik Chadoora, Tarikh-i-Kashmir , vol. I, ff. 212b-213b. 53 Akbarnama , vol. III , part-II , pp. 516, 525, 528; Haider Malik Chadoora , Tarikh-i-Kashmir , vol. I, ff. 187-193, 201, 206-208; Also see Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 481. 54 Mushtaq A. Kaw , op. cit ., p. 211. 55 Akbarnama , vol. III , part-II , p. 626. 56 Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32/ 150, f. 149a. 57 Akbarnama , vol. III , part-II , p.626. 58 Baharistani Shahi ( C. 1614 ) , ( Anonymous ) Persian Text , India Office 943, Ethe i/509 , Rotograph No. 170 , ff. 200-210; Waqiat-i-Kashmir , Habib Ganj collection, 32/ 150, ff. 100b- 109a. 84

the overall administration of the country. 59 Most of them ( Chak caste ) were forced to adopt the job of wage-earners and ordinary agriculturists. 60 Zamindars were completely annihilated, under the Afghans too, so that they were left with no hand in the administration of the country. 61 The Afghan governor Azad

Khan replaced many of them and in their place employed around 3,000 Sikhs on different administrative positions. 62 In particular, the Chaks was thus hardly allowed to heave a sigh of relief and they were consequently forced to go in for the marauding activities in the forests they generally dwelt in. 63 Besides Chaks , the Nayik caste was also suppressed under the Afghans. Their landed estates were seized and the charge of the important passes leading into the valley was taken over from them. 64

There were some other families who became fairly influential during the period. For example, the caste of Raina, became powerful enough during

Jahangir’s reign. It was one among the important families of Kashmir and was known by the name Chandra during the Hindu rule. With the onset of the

Sultanate, it came to be designated as Raina meaning “great”. 65 Its Chief namely Haider Malik not only enjoyed the Zamindari of his native village but was also enrolled in the imperial services; hence functioned as the Daroga-i-

59 Waqiat-i-Kashmir , Habib Ganj collection, 32/150, ff. 132b-34a; Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., p. 212. 60 Ibid: During the reign of Jahangir , the governor Itiqad Khan massacred several members of Chak caste in groups . In 1594 Muhib Ali, the foujdar of Dechan Khawura , killed a large number of Kashmiris near Mattan. Baharistan-i-Shahi, f. 205. 61 Mount Stuart Elphinstone, op. cit., vol, II, p.238. 62 Mushtaq A. Kaw , op. cit ., p. 212. 63 G.T. Vigne , op. cit., vol. I , pp. 301-302. 64 Mushtaq A. Kaw , op. cit. , p. 213. 65 Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, pp. 417-18; Haider Malik Chadoora , Tarikh-i-Kashmir , vol. I, ff. 130a-132b. Idi Raina , Musa Raina , Malik Ali , Haider Malik etc. were its most important chiefs : Haider Malik Chadoora , Tarikh-i-Kashmir , vol. I, ff. 136ab , 212b-213a; Srivara, Rajatarangini , Eng. Transl. J.C. Dutt, pp. 225-60. 85

imarat (incharge building). 66 During the reign of Shahjahan, Zamindar family

of Shahabad shot into prominence. 67 Later on, we find that the castes like, Beig, Bandey, Kant and Dhar castes enjoyed eminent positions in the land revenue as

well as the general administration of the country. 68 One of the Chief of the Dar caste was allowed to hold superior rights over large tract of land, under the Afghans. 69

Besides, village and pargana Zamindar , the third category of the

Zamindars was composed of the tributary Chieftains of the hilly states bordering on the external boundaries of Kashmir. These states were Little and

Large Tibet, 70 Kishtwar, 71 Pakhli, 72 Muzaffarabad and Poonch, 73 Iskardu, 74

66 Amal-i-Saleh , ed. Gulam Yazdani, vol. II , p. 44 ; Haider Malik Chadoora , Tarikh-i-Kashmir , vol. I, ff.212-213; Tuzuk , p. 304. 67 Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32/150, f. 149a. 68 Majmuat-Tawarikh , MS. No. 148, pp. 215, 262, 265, 334-35, 376-77; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp.414-15; R.K. Parmu, op. cit ., pp. 354, 359-60, 379-81. 69 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit ., p. 216. 70 Little and Large Tibet being the most largest principalities , were first conquered under Akbar and then re-conquered during the reign of Jahangir , Shahjahan and Aurangzeb in 1613, 1635 and 1665 respectively. See, Akbarnama , III , part-II , p. 552; Muntakhabu-t Tawarikh , II, p. 376, & Also see vol. III ,p. 265 & its Eng. Transl. by Sir Wolseley Haig, Patna, 1973, p. 367 & n. ; Tuzuk , pp.286, 377; Lahori , Badshahnama , vol. I part-II , pp. 281-82 , 287-89; Amal-i- Saleh , ed. Ghulam Yazdani, II , pp. 263-64; Shahnawaz Khan , Maathir-ul-Umara , vol. I-II, Eng. Transl. by H. Beveridge & Revised , Annotated and Completed by Baini Prashad , vol. I-II , 1979,1952 , New Delhi, Calcutta, vol. I , p. 715, vol. II , pp. 1015-17; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I , pp. 210-20; Elliot and Dowson , The History Of India As Told By Its Own Historians , 8 vols., London, 1867-77, vol. VII, pp. 62-63; Saksena , B.P. History of Shahjahan of Delhi , Allahabad, 1973, pp.113-14; Muhammad Saqi Musta ‘idd Khan , Ma’asir-i ‘Alamgiri, ed. By Maulawi Agha Ahmad Ali, Bib. Ind. Calcutta , 1871, p. 52; Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 306-8; Abdul Qadir Khan , Hashmat-i-Kashmir , ( C. 1833 ), Abdussalam Collection , MS. No. 528/49 , MAL, Aligarh , ff. 50-51. 71 Kishtawar , situated to the South of Kashmir,60 kos distant from the capital Srinagar, was first conquered during the reign of Jahangir .The people of the country belonged to the caste of Thakurs and were fairly poor. They were concentrated in the villages which were scattered over the plains and surrounded by hedgeless fields, irrigated by little streams. The Zamindar of the country retained 700 musketeers ( tupchi ): Tuzuk , pp. 294-97, 312; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 241; G.T. Vigne , op. cit ., vol. I, pp. 202-207. 72 Pakhli situated in the North-West of India, was conquered in 1619. It was 35 kos in length and 25 kos in width: Tuzuk , pp. 290-91 ; Majmuat-Tawarikh , MS. No. 148, p. 266. 73 Muzaffarabad and Poonch assumed the tributary status during the Mughal rule in Kashmir. Being the only source of communication with Kashmir, it held paramount importance during the Afghan rule. The people of Muzaffarabad and Poonch belonged to the Khokha-Bomba and the Gujars tribes. Lahori , Badshahnama , vol. II , part-II , p. 481; Mount Stuart Elphinstone , op. cit ., vol. II , pp. 236 , 242; Also See R.K. Parmu , op. cit ., pp.339, 343. 86

Chenani, Jammu, Khushial , Dung , Akhnoor and Rajaouri. 75 The Chieftains were the hereditary autonomous rulers of their territories and enjoyed practically sovereign powers. 76 Both the Mughals and Afghans had tried to obtain from these Chieftains the recognition of their overlordship and imposed on them the obligation to pay regular tribute ( Peshkash )77 and to render military assistance to them whenever called upon. 78

The hilly states, that bordering on the peripheries of Kashmir, mostly constituted vast mountains, thick forests and difficult passes. Their population largely comprised the Muslims who owed their ancestry to different tribes. 79 The people of Pakhli owed their ancestry to the Mongol tribe called qarlugh ,80 the people of Muzaffarabad and Poonch belonged to the khokha -bomba and gujar tribes. 81 All these tribesmen were military strong enough to resist any

Zamindar caste of Muzaffarabad owed its birth to a Rajput caste the people of which accepted Islam at a certain period of time. Few Chief persons of the caste were in the service of Sultan which they retained under the Chaks as well as the Mughals. Under the Afghans, Zamindars of Muzaffarabad enjoyed jagir in Kashmir: Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, pp. 236-37 , 229. Poonch was situated to the West of Kashmir; it was 3300 feet high above the sea level and was 76 miles away from the capital Srinagar via Baramulla route. Its population comprised of both the Hindus and the Muslims. In the early 17th century, Emperor Jahangir made them to acknowledge imperial rule and got a mosque built there through one of his nobles Haider Malik Chadoora. But, during the time of later Mughals , they raised their head and most often ransacked villages of Kashmir: Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, pp. 238-39. 74 Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, pp. 219-20; Also see R.K. Parmu, op. cit ., pp. 363-64. 75 The Zamindars of Chenani, Jammu, Khushial , Dung , Akhnoor and Rajaouri were subjugated by and made to pay regular tribute to the Afghan governor at Srinagar: Mount Stuart Elphinstone , op. cit ., vol. II , pp. 241-42. 76 S. Nurul Hasan , op. cit ., p.19. 77 Zamindari could be bestowed upon any person who was capable to administer the hilly country, willing to acknowledge the imperial suzerainty and pay annual tribute regularly: Lahori, Badshahnama , vol. I, part-II, pp. 285-87; Majmuat-Tawarikh , MS. No. 148, pp. 404-406. From the Zamindar of Tibet, the tribute was realized in the form of leather and wool : F. Bernier , op. cit., pp. 419-21. The Zamindars of Chenani , Jammu , Khushial , Dung , Akhnoor and Rajouri were subjugated by and made to pay regular tribute to the Afghan governor at Srinagar : M.S. Elphinstone , op. cit ., vol. II , pp.241-42. 78 S. Nurul Hasan , op. cit ., p. 19. 79 Amal-i-Saleh , ed. Ghulam Yazdani , II , p. 254; M.S. Elphinstone , op. cit ., vol. II , pp. 242 , 236. 80 Tuzuk , p. 290. 81 M.S. Elphinstone , op. cit., vol. II , p. 236, 242; Also see Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 229; R.K. Parmu , op. cit., pp. 339, 343. 87

effort or attempt seeking to subdue them. For example, during the reign of the Chaks, people of Poonch became refractory. During the period of later Mughals, they again raised their head and most often ransacked villages of Kashmir. 82 During the reign of Jahangir, the Zamindar of the Kishtawar retained 700 musketeers (tupchi). When given his leadership qualities, he could afford organizing 6,000 to 7,000 soldiers besides several horses and horsemen to meet any eventuality. 83 In Saleh’s account, we also find that during Jahangir’s reign, the effort of Hashim Khan, the Mughal governor , to conquer the Greater Tibet , proved abortive due to the strong resistance offered by the Tibetens , reinforced by their strong forts and the difficulties faced by the Imperial forces in terms of rough weather, shortage of supplies, cold climate and presence of heavy snow. 84 Both for purpose of defence as well as for strategic reasons, the Chieftains retained strongholds which were generally built along the banks of the rivers having terrible flow of water. The forts were believed to represent a symbol of power, authority and grandeur. With their surrender, was the defeat of the defeated party considered complete. 85 Usually, the state avoided the chances of a conflict with the hilly Chieftains keeping in view their military strength together with the complex geo-physical formation of and inaccessibility to their respective regions.86 The necessity of the state to retain normal ties with them was again called for because in the event of the strained relations, the hilly Chieftains offered un-called for asylum to whosoever entered their country to escape the imperial punishment. 87

82 Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 238. 83 Tuzuk , p. 297. 84 Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, vol. II, pp. 253-54. 85 Lahori , Badshahnama , vol. I , part-II , pp. 285-87; Amal-i-Saleh , ed. Ghulam Yazdani, vol. II , pp. 252-62 ; Maathir-ul-Umara ,vol. II, Eng. Transl. , pp. 1015-16. 86 Amal-i-Saleh , ed. Ghulam Yazdani, vol. II , p. 252; M.S. Elphinstone , op. cit ., vol. II , p. 242. 87 As, during the governorship of Itiqad Khan in 1612, a virtual number of Chaks, the erstwhile rulers of Kashmir, wore the mantle of defiance against the rule of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir in Kashmir. Although, most of them were subdued, yet a few of them including their Chiefs like 88

The state, in order to woo their friendship as well as to promote goodwill and cordiality with the Chieftains of the mountainous regions of Tibet and Karnah, it often sought the services and the assistance of chiefs like Baba

Talib Isfahani, Sheikh Yaqub Sarfi and Haider Chak.88 In order to woo their friendship, the matrimonial relations were also established by the Mughals with the family members of the hilly Chieftains . For instance, while Prince Salim married one, 89 Emperor Jahangir married another daughter of the Zamindar of

Tibet. Prince Shah Shuja married one of the daughters of Oghar Sen, Raja of Kishtwar, during the reign of Shahjahan. 90 Likewise, the Afghans also cultivated matrimonial relations with the hilly Chieftains . For example, in 1800

the daughter of the Zamindar of Muzaffarabad was betrothed to the Wafadar Khan, the Afghan governor. 91

Unlike Primary Zamindar and pargana Zamindar , the hilly Chieftains

did not function as intermediaries responsible for the collection of land revenue

Habib Chak and Ahmad Chak, still managed to escape and seek shelter with Zamindar of Tibet. It was only after a lapse of around twenty four years that during a military expedition launched by Zaffar Khan, the governor of Mughal Emperor Shahjahan against Abdal, the Mirzaban of Tibet, that both Habib Chak and Ahmad Chak were captured and brought to Kashmir. The charge of the hilly country was then handed-over to Muhammad Murad, the brother of Abdal, who, as was expected , might have inter alia , undertaken to refuse shelter to every such seditious element who in future ran away from Kashmir for fear of imperial punishment : Amal- i-Saleh , ed. Ghulam Yazdani, vol. II , p. 262; Lahori , Badshahnama , vol. I, part-II , pp. 281- 82; Maathir-ul-Umara , vol. I, ed. By Maulavi Abdur Rahim , ASB, Calcutta, 1888, vol. I , part- I, pp. 180-81; Elliot & Dowson , op. cit ., vol. VII , pp. 62-63; Saksena , op. cit ., p. 114. 88 Akbarnama , III, part-II, pp. 552, 731, 496, 481, part-I , p.474; Muntakhabu-t-Tawarikh, III , pp..265-66, 142-43; Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part-II, p. 55; Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 219-20. Baba Talib Isfahani hailed from Isfahan but lived in Kashmir for a pretty long time. In due course of time, he opted to become an official and enter the imperial service. From Kashmir, he was sent as an envoy to the ruler of Little Tibet, Ali Rai. On return, he presented to Abul Fazl, a treatise written on the wonders of Tibet: Muntakhabu-t-Tawarikh , III, pp. 265-66. Sheikh Yaqub Sarfi persuaded the Zamindars of Karnah to cooperate with the Mughal forces : Akbarnama , III, part-II, p. 481. 89 Akbarnama, III, part-II , p. 603; Also see Muntakhabu-t-Tawarikh , vol. II, p. 376; Tuzuk, Eng. Transl. vol. II, p. 288 & n. ; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 219. 90 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. II, part-II, pp. 434-35; Amal-i-Saleh , ed. Ghulam Yazdani, II, p. 435. 91 Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, p. 405. 89

and other subsidiary kind of duties. The Zamindar of the hilly states had contrarily no such bar, infact, they were free to manage their own affairs as per their local customs. They were tied to the central authority only for the purpose of the Peshkash (tribute) payable to the Mughal and the Afghan subedar at

Srinagar. For example, in Kishtwar no land tax was imposed on agricultural produce. However, revenue was generated from other sources which included annual tax of six Sanhasi, 92 imposed on each household besides penalties on small offences together with a special tax realized from whosoever was wealthy and rich. 93 Out of the revenue realized, they were required to pay a part as tribute that always varied from locality to locality. For example, out of the total revenue of rupees one lakh, Zamindar of Kishtwar paid rupees one thousand as tribute. 94 Whereas, Zamindar of Tibet paid an annual tribute of rupee one lakh to the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan. 95 The Zamindar of Damtoor paid rupees three thousand as an annual tribute to the Afghans. 96

Thus we find that they required to pay a part as tribute according to the extent of their respective domains and the degree of the resources available in their hilly principalities. We also find that the amount of tribute was realized in kind, which varied in nature, weight and size. Bernier mentions that the tribute was realized in the form of leather and wool from the Zamindar of Tibet. 97 A

Kashmiri traveller also states in his account that, the Zamindar of Tibet paid annual tribute to the governor of Kashmir in the form of “9 pods of musk, 9 head of Tibetan ponies, 9 head of Shrigar [sic, yaks], from the tails of which

92 Tuzuk , pp. 296-97. 93 Ibid. 94 Ibid . 95 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part-II, p. 287; Amal-i-Saleh , ed. Ghulam Yazdani, II , p. 264 ; Maathir-ul-Umara, Eng. Transl. vol. II, pp. 1015-16. 96 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit ., pp. 223-24. 97 F. Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 419-21. 90

they make chowries , 9 pieces of Chinese linari cloth, 9 takhta-i Chah [ bricks of tea ], and 100 balls [ dana ] of Chinese zedoary.” 98

Zamindari of these hilly states was held in perpetuity. It, therefore, ran into a particular family in which a deceased Zamindar was always succeeded by his male-heirs. The hilly principality of Muzaffarabad had “two or three Chiefs called Rajas ” (i.e. co-sharing Zamindars ), the principal of whom dwelt in proper Muzaffarabad. 99 The medieval state generally up-held such a hereditary principle. But if called by circumstances, Zamindari could be bestowed upon any such person who was able to administer the mountainous region, willing to acknowledge the imperial suzerainty and pay annual tribute regularly. 100 For example, in 1800, the Afghan governor Wafadar Khan handed over Zamindari of the entire country ( Poonch ) to his Wazir Ruhu-llah who did not at all belong to any Zamindar family and arrested Raja Khan

Bahadur , Zamindar of Poonch, for his unruly behaviour. 101

The state adopted a conciliatory attitude towards the hilly Chieftains . In order to promote goodwill and cordial relationship, few Chieftains were directly enrolled in the imperial service; granted mansabs and so that they performed a different sort of responsibilities for the state outside their own domain. 102 They were allowed to hold, in part or in toto, their country in jagir so that the revenue accruing from that place was suitably adjusted against their salary. 103 In addition, the amount of tribute payable by them was occasionally

98 Simon Digby, op. cit., p. 10. 99 M.S. Elphinstone, op. cit ., vol. II, p. 236. 100 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part-II, pp. 285-87; Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp.404-6. 101 Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp.404-6. 102 Lahori, Badshahnama , vol. II, part-I, p. 98; Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 404-6: Around 1796, Zamindar of Muzaffarabad held the administrative and financial control of the entire tract called Kohistan which lay between Baramulla to Muzaffarabad. 103 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. II, part-I, p. 98, vol. II, part-II, p.481 ; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, III, p.127; Waqiat-i-Kashmir , Habib Ganj collection, 32/ 150, ff. 265ab. 91

adjusted against the salaries which they were due to receive as servants of the state. For example, the Zamindar of Muzaffarabad enjoyed a cash jagir worth the amount of rupees two thousand which otherwise was payable by him as tribute to the Afghan governor. Besides cash jagirs, they were occasionally authorised to appropriate the revenue of a certain area outside their own principality. 104 For instance, Zamindar of Tibet, Kishtwar and Muzaffarabad were also granted jagirs within the valley which they managed through their agents. 105 During the time of Afghans, the villages of Drau and Karnah were in the jagir of Mahmud Khan, the Mirzaban of Muzaffarabad. 106 During the same period, the respective Zamindar held pargana Krohin in jagir . Besides, he held a cash jagir of rupees 20,000 payable from the revenue of pargana Khwara. 107 Besides, mansabs and jagirs , these hilly Chieftains were conferred titles, robes of honour and presented with gifts by the rulers. For example, Zamindar of

Rajouri and Tibet were conferred the title of Raja .108 Zamindar of Poonch was presented Khilats and gifts comprising articles such as dagger, sword, horse, etc. by Emperor Shahjahan in 1645. 109 In return, the rulers also received gifts as well as presents from the Zamindars. 110 Indeed, such warm and enthusiastic relations obtained only exceptionally and that too where a Zamindar unhesitatingly submitted before the imperial authorities. Generally, no

104 Mushtaq A, Kaw, op. cit ., p. 227. 105 Simon Digby, op. cit., pp.9-10; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 227; The Zamindar of Kishtwar was granted jagir actually during the reign of Jahangir. But his successors held the same till the advent of the Sikh rule in Kashmir: G.T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. I, pp. 203-4; Also see, Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit ., p. 227. 106 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 227, 232. 107 Ibid , I, p. 237. 108 Muhammad Kazim, Alamgirnama, vol. II, p. 838. 109 Lahori , Badshahnama , vol. II, part-II, p. 481; Amal-i-Saleh , ed. Ghulam Yazdani, , III, pp. 126- 27. 110 F. Bernier , op. cit ., p. 422: According to Bernier , Zamindar of Tibet annually sent several articles of presents to the Emperor Aurangzeb comprising “the productions of the country; such as crystal, musk, a piece of Jade, and those valuable white tails taken from a species of cow peculiar to Great Tibet, which are attached by way of ornament to the ears of elephants.” 92

Zamindar was willing to surrender his political identity and financial autonomy. They were reluctant to pay tribute and were always on the look out for a chance to strike against the imperial rule. There are number of examples to certify the recurrence of armed conflicts between the contending parties on the question of tribute; one strongly desirous as well as keen to realize and other unwilling as well as offering resistance to pay. For example, Zamindar of

Kishtwar turned refractory, in 1623. The then subedar “ Iradat Khan was ordered to proceed hot-foot, before they had time to establish themselves firmly, and having inflicted condign punishment on them to tear up the root of sedition”.-----“ and regained the mastery” and made the respective Zamindar to pay the tribute ( Peshkash ) regularly. 111 In 1665, Raja of Tibet, for his unruly disposition, met the same fate, when the Mughal governor, Saif Khan, arrested and presented him before the court of Aurangzeb where, in addition to reading

Khutba in the name of the Emperor and embracing Islam, he accepted to pay baj and kharaj without any break. 112 Raja of Jammu turned defiant, in 1679.

Subedar Hafizullah rebuked him and convinced him to pay the peshkash as usual. 113 In 1701, Raja of Rajouri adopted an ostentatious attitude. He too was shown path and subjected to all those conditions extraneously related to the payment of tribute although the military campaigns launched for the purpose drained off the imperial resources thereby obliging as well as compelling the subedars to impose illegal and additional taxes and cesses upon their masses. 114

111 Tuzuk , pp. 345-46. 112 Maasir-i-Alamgiri, p. 52; Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 306-8; Hashmat-i-Kashmir, ff. 50-51. 113 Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 311-12; Hashmat-i-Kashmir, f. 51; Waqiat-i- Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32/ 150, f. 188a. 114 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit. , p. 229; Also see , Hashmat-i-Kashmir, ff. 51-52. 93

Taking advantage of the weakness of the imperial authority, the

Chieftains would on occasion assume independence, or extend their territories and they came, killed, looted and returned. Thus, particularly after the death of

Aurangzeb, 115 Zamindars raised an unprecedented chain of revolts in the wake of which they expanded the extent of their Zamindari by occupying a few directly administered villages. For instance, in 1712-13, Zamindar of Pakhli, forcibly occupied villages such as Drau and Karnah which formed the part of the administrative division of Kamraz. 116 In addition to this, they plundered adjacent villages and laid hand on almost everything of the cultivators including mahsul that was in other manner payable to the state. 117

These Zamindars also played a significant role in making and unmaking the subedars . In this regard they directly interfered in the event of struggle as well as conflicts for the subedari of Kashmir. However, while taking sides with one or the other contending party, in lieu of the support given, they were always rewarded. Sometime, they succeeded in reaffirming as well as reasserting their identity, avoiding payment of peshkash ( tribute ) and appropriating the state revenue in such areas on which they had no claim whatever. In 1739, two leading mansabdars Abu Barkat Khan and Khilatullah

Khan had an armed conflict over the subedari of Kashmir. While Zamindar of

Muzaffarabad took the side of the latter, Zamindar of Poonch contrarily sided with the former. Zamindar of Kishtwar had also got involved in the conflict.

Abu Barkat Khan ultimately came out victorious. In lieu of the support given,

115 Majmuat-Tawarikh, Habib Ganj collection, 32/ 150, pp.313-368; Hashmat-i-Kashmir, ff. 52- 53; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, ff. 221a-222b, 252a; Also see R.K. Parmu, op. cit ., p. 343. 116 Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp.317-18; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32/ 150, ff. 221a-222b. 117 Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32/150 , f. 252ab. 94

the tribals of Poonch were allowed to stay in the valley. During their stay, they unleashed a reign of loot and plunder. 118 Again in 1741-42, the tribals of these two mountainous regions got involved in the fight for the subedari of Kashmir between two prominent mansabdars, Abu Barkat Khan and Inayatu-llah Khan.

In reward to the support given, Zamindar of Muzaffarabad was granted a jagir in Kashmir by Abu Barkat Khan. 119 Again in 1800, in lieu of the support given during the fight for the subedari , Zamindar of Muzaffarabad was given the total control of the area between Baramulla and Muzaffarabad. 120 We have a few examples, which certified that, the growing power and influence of these turbulent tribesmen was effectively suppressed as well as received final set back during the Mughal and Afghan rule respectively. The Mughal deputy governor Sa’dat Khan (1712-17), though very capable, nevertheless sought the services of the then diwan Abdu-l Azim Khan, an Irani noble, who effectively suppressed bombas as well as khokhas. 121 Likewise, in 1783, Afghan governor Karimdad Khan, struck a fatal blow to the power of the Zamindar of

Muzaffarabad for his uncalled interference in Kashmir affairs else his resistance to pay annual peshkash (tribute) and submit before the imperial authority of the Afghans. 122

118 Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 350-54. 119 Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32/150, ff. 252a-265b. 120 Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 404-6. 121 Hashmat-i-Kashmir, ff. 53-54; Also see, Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32/150 , ff. 227ab. 122 In this regard, the Afghan soldiers penetrated deep into Muzaffarabad and arrested all the elderly persons of the tribe who were later brought to Srinagar where they were drowned in the Dal lake: Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 390-93.

(B) PEASANT AND NATURE OF LAND RIGHTS, MATERIAL CONDITIONS

During Mughal rule the agrarian system in different parts of the empire was based on socio-economic pattern and polity inherent in the Indian situation. 1 Economically speaking, situated amidst natural panorama of hills as well as mountains, dense growth of trees, alluvial fields, and a stream running by, the Kashmiri village, 2 was a self-sufficient unit. The village represented the features of a diversified socio-economic whole which produced, more or less, everything that was demanded as well as needed within. Till recent past the villages required as well as demanded hardly anything from outside. The need for clothes, medicines, salt and tea was borne out from the sale of surplus produce by the peasantry at such market towns which were available at

Islamabad, , Pampore, Shahabad, Sopore, Baramulla, Pattan and Chrar , etc. 3 Self-sufficiency was rendered possible by the co-existence and interrelation of a large number of special groups of workers found in the Indian village. The husbandman, blacksmiths, carpenters, weavers, potters, oil- pressures, cobblers, the washer man, the shepherd, the won (grocer), the galadar (corn-dealer), barbers, priests and the pir and beggar, who have all been connected with the village economy, contributed their share individually as well as collectively, to the socio-economic as well as socio-religious stability

1 B.R. Grover, Elements of Continuity And Change In Land Ownership and Rights In India, PIHC, Medieval Section, 37th Session, Calicut, 9-31, December, 1976, p. 4. 2 Ain, vol. II, pp. 169-70; Tuzuk, p. 299; Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part-II, pp. 22, 52; Zafarnama, vol. II, p. 178: According to Sharfuddin Ali Yazdi, “in the whole of the province- plains and mountains together-are comprised 100,000 villages. The land is thickly inhabited, and the soil is cultivated.” F. Bernier, op. cit., pp. 396 & n.2, 397, 412 & n.1; G.T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. I, p. 288: According to G.T. Vigne, “Innumerable villages were scattered over the plains in every direction, distinguishable in the extreme distance by the trees that surrounded them.” 3 G.T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. I, p. 270; Simon Digby, ‘From Ladakh to Lahore in 1820-21’, pp. 16- 17. 96

of the village. The periodical urs (fairs) gave to the remotely placed villagers opportunities to meet and exchange their commodities. 4 In every village, peasants were more or less comprised of three fragmented groups. Larger group was that of the petty producers who were comparatively self-sufficient in as much as they did not hire out or hire in labour and just lived about their subsistence level. Second group was composed of the owners of large holdings who hired labour to the moderate extent. Village muqaddam and patwari belonged to this group. Third group consisted of the large scale producers who wholly or solely depended upon village labour. Zamindars, qanungos and chaudhuris belonged to this group. 5 Howsoever, the peasantry termed as muzari’an, ri’aya and kishawarzan in the persian sources, 6 was the most predominant group that contributed to the social formation of the village.

According to Moorcroft, the peasantry comprised both the Hindu and the

Mohammedan, 7 who together owed their association to several castes though one particular Zamindar caste was generally pre-eminent in each village. 8

European travellers visiting Kashmir from sixteenth to nineteenth centuries came to argue that ownership of whole land vested with the ruler or the king in Mughal India. For example Father Xavier was the first European to visit Kashmir in 1597, opined that the king was the owner of the soil in India.

He might have Kashmir equally in mind, while framing his opinion on the subject. 9 Similarly, Bernier writes in his own travels account that “the land

4 R.K Parmu, op. cit., pp. 405-7; Suka , Rajatarangini , Eng. Transl. J.C. Dutt, p. 395; Khulasatu-t- Tawarikh , p. 80; Walter Lawrence, op. cit. , pp. 270-73, 233, 308-11, 372-73, 340, 289. 5 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., pp. 119-20. 6 Akbarnama, III, part-II, 727, 734, 776; Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh , p. 80; Lahori, Badshahnama , vol. II, part-I, p. 310; Muntakhabu-Lubab , vol. I, part-I, pp. 155-58. 7 William Moorcroft and G. Trebeck, op. cit., vol. II, p. 128. 8 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., p. 119. 9 Father Xavier, ‘Letters from Kashmir’ , pp. 115-17, 121-22. 97

throughout the whole empire is considered the property of the sovereign…...” 10

He also writes that “he is proprietor of every acre of land in the kingdom, excepting, perhaps, some houses and gardens which he sometimes permits his subjects to buy, sell, and otherwise dispose of, among themselves.” 11 Further he also writes that “……the rents are paid to the king, who is the absolute Lord (Seigneur) of all the lands of his Empire.” 12 George Forster who visited

Kashmir in 1782-84 has particularly equated the relations of the king and his subjects with that of the master and the servants. 13 According to William Moorcroft & G. Trebeck, “…the whole of the land in Kashmir is considered to have been, time out of mind, the property of the ruler.” 14 Both

G.T. Vigne and Baron Charles Hugel have also complied to the European contention that land was the property of the state headed by a king. 15

As far as uftada (unploughed) land in Kashmir was concerned, its possession and ownership normally vested with the state at least until the peasants undertook its cultivation under certain conditions prescribed by the ruler as the head of the state. 16 Both in the urban as well as rural areas of Kashmir, a certain proportion of Kashmir population enjoyed private ownership on various item of property. For instance, besides land, there were various other items of property, viz., residential house, gold and silver ornaments, grains, live stock, textiles, etc. They were definitely held by the private individuals; hence freely disposed of or gifted away. 17 On the authority of Kalhana, private individuals definitely

10 F. Bernier, op. cit ., p. 5. 11 Ibid, p. 204. 12 Ibid , p. 455, Also see pp. 226, 232, 238. 13 George Forster, op. cit ., vol. II, p. 24. 14 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit., vol. II, pp. 124-25. 15 G.T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. I, pp. 310-11; Baron Charles Hugel, op. cit. , p. 158. 16 Akbarnama, vol. III, part-II, pp. 726-27. 17 Document no’s 574/26, 608/5, Iqbal Library, Srinagar; Munshi Har Karan, Insha-i-Har Karan , Sulaiman collection, 406/139, ff. 35a-35b. 98

held proprietorship in the urban areas. 18 For the period of the Sultans, one commands a couple of evidences which really prove that a good number of persons strictly enjoyed ownership of land in the rural areas. 19 According to

Prof. Irfan Habib, “in one sense, the land belonged to the peasant, in another, the peasant belonged to the land.” 20

The 18 th century documents informs that the villagers, exercised definite occupancy and cultivating rights, in the rural areas. 21 For instance, a sale deed of the year 1765 A.D. showing one Khwaja Rehman and Khwaja Amin selling their hereditary, occupancy and milikiyati rights on a tract of land measuring 8 patts in village Nadihal of pargana Khoi. 22 Similarly, a document of the year 1776A.D. viewing the sale of 480 kharwars of shali amounting to Rs.60/- by one Baba Muhammad Maqsood to Shahzada Bano in village

Naribal, pargana Sairul Muwazai. 23 Likewise, a document of the year 1788

A.D., showing the private individuals holding possession, cultivating and ownership rights on both abi and khushki types of land in rural areas. Their rights could be easily inherited or transferred as and when thought necessary. 24

The 17 th and 18 th century documents which substantially prove that, they disputed over the assertion, retention or expansion of their right of possession

18 His reference to the existence of the office of the Real Estate of sale-deeds strengthen as well as corroborates the view that the king’s subjects could at will, sell, or purchase, any kind of property quite bold and courageous by any state regulation. He held that king Yasaskara, while deciding the property case of a Brahman, had no examine the sale-deed of a house wherein he discovered a fraudulent inter-polation by the Registrar of Real Estate sale-deeds. Kalhana also writes that, the land, could be alienated by way of sale and making gift of it. The records of such transactions were properly entered in a registry: Kalhana, Rajatarangini, transl. by M.A. Stein, vol. I, pp. 238-41. 19 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op cit ., p. 123. 20 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, Asia Publishing House, Bombay, edition, 1963, p. 115. 21 Document no’s 528/5; 559/3; 574/27 and 33, Iqbal Library, Srinagar. 22 Document no. 528/5, Iqbal Library, Srinagar. 23 Document no. 574/33, Iqbal Library, Srinagar. 24 Document no. 559/3, Iqbal Library, Srinagar. 99

on land. 25 A good number of documents pertaining to the different years, essentially prove that peasant’s right of possession and cultivation was evenly reinforced by his right to alienate arable land, as and when, it pleased him.

Usually such acts of alienation materialised through the duly registered will, partition and sale deeds. 26 There are few examples for above this simplification. In the year, 1665 A.D. a document shows one Haider Mir alienating his right of possession and ownership on plots of land, both abi and khushki, situated in several villages. 27 A document of the year 1692 A.D. shows the sale and transfer of right to possess, use and own a plot of land at Makhdoom Mandau,

Kalashpora, Srinagar. 28 Further a document of the year 1702 A.D. indicates the sale of 3 manwattas of land in village Neoh in pargana Sairul Muwazai for 3 Alamgiri rupees by one villager namely Noori Rather. The sale was accompanied by the transfer of the milkiyati right on the said portion of land. 29

A sale deed of the year 1765 A.D. shows one Khwaja Rehman and Khwaja Amin selling their hereditary, occupancy and milikiyati rights on a tract of land measuring 8 patts in village Nadihal of pargana Khoi. 30 In the year 1788 A.D. a document implies the private individuals holding possession, cultivating and ownership rights on both abi and khushki types of land in rural areas. And their

25 For example, the document of the year 1664 A.D. which pertains to the reign of Shahjahan, is in fact in the form of a judgement given by Mir Jaffar, the gumashta of the then governor Nawab Saif Khan, with regard to a case of dispute over two pieces of land i.e. abi, measuring 4 kharwars and 4 patts and another khushki, measuring one kharwar stretched over six plots in total. Both the disputed pieces of land were located in village Neoh of pargana Sairul Muwazai: Document no. 574/4 & 23; Another document of the year 1665 A.D. shows one Haider Mir alienating his right of possession and ownership on plots of land, both abi and khushki, situated in several villages: Document no. 574/2 A; Also see the Document (1773 A.D.) no. 574/25, Iqbal Library, Srinagar. 26 Documents no’s. 528/5, 21; 559/3, 4, 5 and 574/35, 40; 2592 and 574/2 A, Iqbal Library, Srinagar. 27 Document no. 574/2 A, Iqbal Library, Srinagar. 28 Documen t no. 574/40, Iqbal Library, Srinagar. 29 Document no. 559/5, Iqbal Library, Srinagar. 30 Document no. 528/5, Iqbal Library, Srinagar. 100

rights could be easily inherited or alienated as and when thought necessary. 31

Lastly, a document of the year 1793 A.D. shows the sale of possession and ownership rights on a poorun of land for 2 rupees at Kalashpora, Srinagar. 32

In Mughal India, peasants had both rights as well as obligations. We have information in the form of an Aurangzeb’s Farman to Muhammad Hashim. According to P. Saran, in Mughal India, the peasants were the ultimate proprietors of land. 33 But his argument lacked much evidence. Aurangzeb’s farman to Muhammad Hashim, 34 diwan of Gujarat, issued in 1668-69 defines peasants rights on land. In this farman , the terms malik and arbab-i zamin (land owners) has been used for the actual cultivators of land and full rights of sale and mortgage are invested in them. 35 Further, certain provisions and statements in the farman and else where suggest recognition of the peasants’ right to permanent and hereditary occupancy. The Article 13 of the above quoted farman provides that if the cultivator malik was found in capable of cultivating the land or abandoned it altogether, it was to be given to another for cultivation, so that there was no loss of revenue. But if at any time the original malik recovered his ability to cultivate the land, or returned to it, the land was to be restored to him

Prof. Irfan Habib 36 says that peasants of Mughal time enjoyed hereditary right of occupancy which the English gave to some section of the peasants after permanent settlement. The peasant of Mughal India had no right to enjoy,

31 Document no. 559/3, Iqbal Library, Srinagar. 32 Document no. 528/21, Iqbal Library, Srinagar. 33 P. Saran, The Provincial Government of the Mughals (1526-1658), Allahabad, 1941, pp. 328-35. 34 Ali Muhammad Khan, Mir’at-i Ahmadi , 2 vols. & Supplement, Baroda, 1927-28, 1939, I, pp. 268-72. The text of this farman and its translation has also been published by J.N. Sarkar in JASB , N.S. II, 1906, pp. 238-49. 35 Farman to Muhammad Hashim, Article 13, Mir’at , I, p. 271. For details see Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System , (ed. 1963), pp. 126-127. 36 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System , (ed. 1963), p. 118. 101

abandon or dispose of the land under his plough as he might choose at certain occasions. He could not refuse to cultivate. 37

When the Mughals took over the valley from the Chaks in 1586, they found the valley in a deplorable state. Akbar in the first instance fixed the revenue rate at one fourth 38 in the districts of Maraj and Kamraj. Afterwards on the recommendations of one of the Mutassadis of Mirza Yusuf Khan, the Nazim of

Kashmir, Akbar increased 39 the land revenue from one-fourth to one-half of the total produce but actually it was taken more than one-half. This action of Akbar caused resentment among the Kashmiri cultivators and consequently they revolted 40 against the Mughal administration in which Qazi Ali was killed.

To contain the Kashmiris, Akbar declared the whole of the valley as a Khalisa 41 land and the army was also deployed for cultivation. Later on,

Aurangzeb issued Farman to Muhammad Hashim to the effect that the land revenue be collected according to the Islamic law or principle. 42 Thus it is presumed that the Farman would have some effects on the prevailing agrarian system of Kashmir and consequently Kashmiri cultivators should have got the proprietary rights in land. Let us examine whether the Farmans which Aurangzeb issued from time to time had any impact on the agrarian system of

Kashmir and on the social condition of the Kashmiris or not? It is a recorded fact that the conditions of the Kashmiri cultivators became worst after the valley came under the control of the Mughals. 43 It may be stated here that

37 Ibid , p. 115. 38 Ain, I, (Eng. Transl.), p. 370. 39 Ibid; Irfan Habib , The Agrarian System, (ed. 1963), p. 224. 40 Ibid. 41 Ibid, I, p. 371. “As Mirza Yusuf Khan refused to remain in the charge of Kashmir under the increased revenue, the country was made Khalisa and Shams-ud-Din Khafi was appointed governor with 3,000 troops.” 42 B.R. Grover , op. cit., pp. 5-6. 43 Father Xavier, “Letters From Kashmir”, pp. 109-130. 102

Aurangzeb visited Kashmir in 1663 and issued the following three Farmans 44 to stop unislamic practices being followed by the Kashmiri:

1- The cultivation of popy should be stopped.

2- Kashmiri Muslim women should wear drawers.

3- “Bhands ” should stop performing of their feast.

But we see that these Farmans were not heeded 45 by Kashmiri people and during the Afghan and Sikh rule the cultivation of popy was there, the

Kashmiri women never wore drawers to cover their legs and “Bhands ” continued to perform their feast.

The application of Aurangzeb’s Farman in Kashmir which he addressed to Muhammad Hashim is very much in doubt. Not to speak of Kashmir but according to Grover even in India “it is very doubtful if the Farmans had any effect, what-so-ever on the working of agrarian administration under

Aurangzeb.” 46

Most of the scholars 47 who have worked on the Kashmir history are of the view that the proprietary rights of land in Kashmir were vested and remained in the hands of the ruler till 1933.

As far as the material and living conditions of the peasants in medieval

Kashmir is concerned, the peasant’s right to enjoy the fruits from land was

44 R.K. Parmu, op. cit., pp. 321-22. 45 Ibid, p. 322. 46 B.R. Grover, op. cit., pp. 6-7. 47 Wilson H.H., Gazetteer of Kashmir and Ladakh , p. 104; C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir , p. 100; P.N.K. Bamzai, A History of Kashmir, Delhi, 1962, p. 578; Walter Lawrence, op. cit., pp. 402, 432 : “The land in those days was apparently regarded as the absolute property of the state, and every year allotments were made to the cultivators”. “Knowing as I do that the right to sell and mortgage land in India has been attended with ruin to many Musalman communities, I would counsel the Darbar to consider carefully whether it is necessary to confer the right on the Musalmans of Kashmir.” 103

considerably restricted. The state share was fixed at one-half of the gross produce. 48 Every peasant was allowed to retain half of his produce, out of which he bore the expenditure incurred on the maintenance of the village and its records. The perquisites of land revenue functionaries were also paid by the peasants out of their own share. They were, therefore, left with less than one- fourth of their produce and they subsisted on fruits, milk, vegetables etc. 49

According to Father Xavier, “speaking in general, they are very poor and I never saw so much poverty among other peoples…...” 50 According to Pelsaert “the inhabitants of the country and the city are for the most part poor…...” 51

Further he mentioned that “owing to their mode of life, which is that of beasts rather than men.” 52 It is worth referring that ‘the Kashmirian peasants differ but little from the inhabitants of the city ……” 53 Their material possessions included a wooden pestle and mortar for husking rice, a few earthen vessels for cooking and earthen jars for storing grain. 54 In general, “the peasants’ huts were made with materials that were most easily procurable and without the use of much building skill, …...” 55 They had mud-walled and thatch-roofed houses.

Usually, the thatches were of paddy straw and reed. These houses had usually four storeys The lower storey was used for stabling the cattle and for keeping sundry stores. The second storey contained the family apartments. The third and fourth storeys contained the household chattels. 56

48 Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri , p. 149; Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit., vol. II, p. 125; Father Xavier, “Letters From Kashmir”, pp. 115-21; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 273. 49 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., p. 159. 50 Father Xavier, “Letters From Kashmir”, p. 116. 51 Francisco Pelsaert , op. cit. , pp. 34-35. 52 Ibid. 53 G.T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. II, p. 137. 54 Ain , II, pp. 173-74; Walter Lawrence , op. cit ., p. 250. 55 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, (ed. Oxford 2000), p. 110. 56 Ain , II, p. 169; G.T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. I, pp. 270-71; Frederic Drew, The Jummoo And Kashmir Territories, New Delhi, 1997, pp. 176-77; Walter Lawrence, op . cit. , pp. 249-50. 104

Due to their inborn poverty, the peasantry could afford to have a single dress which until torn fully was not changed. 57 According to Jahangir, “----the poor of Kashmir suffer hardships in the winter from the excessive cold, and live with difficulty, I ordered that a village of the rental of Rs. 3,000 or Rs.

4,000 should be entrusted to Mulla Talib Isfahani, to be expended in providing clothes for the poor, and for warming water, for purposes of ablution, in the mosque.” 58 “The common women do not wear clean, washed clothes.” 59 It seems that the concept of washing them was quite unknown even though there was no scarcity of water. 60 The women of the peasantry used a tunic of pattu for three or four years 61 and which due to the constant use was susceptible to such a dirt that all the outsiders who passed through them looked upon them with “contempt and disdain” 62 and were not used to wearing drawers ( izars ). 63

According to Pelsaert, “the women wear a coarse gray woollen garment, open from the neck to the waist. On the forehead they have a sort of red band, and above it an ugly, black, dirty clout, which falls from the head over the shoulders to the legs; cotton cloth is very dear, and their inborn poverty prevents them from possessing a change of raiment.”64

In Kashmir, rice, being the major crop, should have formed the staple diet of the masses. 65 The rice eaten by the ordinary people was very coarse, in the form of what is termed in Kashmiri batha. They boiled it fresh and allowed it to get cold, and then eat it, and called it batha. It was not usual to take their

57 Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, p.154; Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh , p. 80; Also see Tuzuk , p. 301. 58 Tuzuk, p. 345. 59 Ibid, p. 301. 60 Muntakhabu-Lubab, vol. I, part-I, p. 302. 61 Tuzuk, p. 301; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, p. 154. 62 Muntakhabu-Lubab, vol. I, part-I, pp. 302-303. 63 Tuzuk, p. 301. 64 Francisco Pelsaert, op. cit., pp. 34-35. 65 Ain, II, p. 170; Tuzuk , p. 300. 105

food warm. 66 The rice cooked in the morning was taken in the evening and that of the evening in the morning. 67 Cooked rice i.e. batha was supplemented by various vegetables which were at times dried and preserved. Salt was imported from outside. It was not the custom to put salt into the batha. They boiled vegetables in water and a little salt was poured into in order to add the flavour to the vegetables. 68 There was no salt in Kashmir, and they brought it from Hindustan. 69 Because of its supply from outside, salt was very expensive in Kashmir. The peasantry and the husbandmen were dispensed with little amount of salt as wages for collecting saffron from its petals and stamens. 70 According to Jahangir, “those who want to have something tasty put a little walnut-oil into the vegetables.” 71 They also used cow-oil ( raughan- i.e. ghi ), but this was taken fresh from newly-made butter ( maska) . It was not the custom to eat bread (nan) . Fish entered or contributed to the dietary of the masses. 72 The villagers of the Wular Lake and Machibhavan or Asifabad, carried fish to a great extent and preserved a good deal of produce by simply cutting the fish open and drying it in the sun, using very little or no salt.73 Besides fish, the milk of cow and meat of goat and sheep entered the diet of the peasantry. 74 “The poultry (fowls, ducks and geese) is abundant, and the ordinary cultivator will eat fowls perhaps six times a month, and mutton perhaps five times in the month.” 75 Variety of fruits also entered to the diet of the masses. 76 The Kashmiri tea,

66 Tuzuk, p. 300. 67 Muntakhabu-Lubab, vol. I, part-I, p. 302; It is not usual to take their food warm, but people of small means keep a portion of the batha for a night, and eat it next day: Tuzuk, p. 300. 68 Ain , II, p. 170; Tuzuk , p. 300; Muntakhabu-Lubab , vol. I, part-I, p. 302. 69 Tuzuk, pp. 300, 315. 70 Ain , I, p. 63 ; Tuzuk , p. 315. 71 Tuzuk, p. 300. 72 Ain , II, pp. 170, 172-74; Tuzuk, pp. 300-301; G.T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. II, p. 156. 73 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part-II, pp. 50-52; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 155; G.T. Vigne , op. cit., vol. II, p. 156. 74 Lawrence, op. cit., pp. 253-54, 359-64; Ain, II, p. 170; Tuzuk, p. 301; Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh , p. 80. 75 Ibid, pp. 253-54. 76 Ain , II, p. 170; Lawrence, op. cit., pp. 254-55. 106

imported from China, served as a stimulant and vigorous means of digesting one’s food. 77 “The peasantry of Kashmir…..eat honey raw, or mixed with various articles of common food, whilst the most wealthy substitute it for sugar in preserving fruits.” 78 Inspite of their hard labour the little food they usually consumed. For example, Pelsaert has mentioned in his account that “---they were physically strong, especially the men, who can carry quite twice the load of a Hindustani; this is remarkable in view of the fact that men and women get so little food.” 79 Notwithstanding their scanty means of subsistence, they exhausted whatever little resources they had on festivals, rites, pilgrimages, beliefs, etc. 80

As we have already seen that in normal times or years, the dietary of the peasantry comprised as well as contained a few articles of food, which too would turn to be scarce as and when the valley of Kashmir experienced failure of crops due to untimely or excessive rain and snow. This inevitably cherished as well as fostered a situation of famine or this resulting in food scarcity and inflated prices. This was a most distressing factor in the agriculture of Kashmir. In 1597 Kashmir experienced the first famine under the new rule due to “an acute scarcity from drought in Kashmir, where destitute people having no means of nourishing their children, exposed them for sale in the public places of the city.” 81 Many others would even voluntarily agree to baptise their children believing that it would fetch them a piece of bread. 82

The contemporary sources pointed out that, famines in Kashmir followed either untimely or excessive rains resulting in the immaturity of the

77 Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 371-72; Lawrence, op. cit., p. 254. 78 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit., vol. II, p. 161. 79 Francisco Pelsaert, op. cit., pp. 33-34. 80 We have a enough references on the beliefs in the Persian sources. For detailed description see Ain, II, pp. 172, 174; Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh , pp. 80-81. 81 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, (ed. Oxford 2000), p. 114; Akbar and the Jesuits , pp. 77-8; cf. Akbarnama, III, part-II, p. 727. 82 Akbar and the Jesuits , pp. 77-8. 107

autumn harvest at its ripening stage. 83 Famines usually owed their origin to

unprecedented floods which caused great damage to the standing crops. 84 For example the great flood of 1640-42 alone wiped out four hundred thirty eight villages in Kashmir, and even their names did not survive. 85 Due to the great famine of 1640-42, thirty thousand starving people went to Lahore. 86 In 1664- 65, untimely snowfall destroyed the crops. 87 Contemporary sources pointed out that floods occurring over different years resulting in food scarcity and inflated prices. Thus a kharwar of shali (unhusked rice), was obtained in famines for as high a price as six-seven, 88 eight 89 rupees; often worth its weight in gold. 90

While those who still stayed in the valley took to violence which is exemplified by the raid on and the endeavour to set ablaze in 1643 the dwelling of one Pandit Mahadev, the then Peshkar. 91 Similar incident of popular uprising which led to the killing of mir ‘adl and daroga-i-adalat and setting ablaze the houses of the grain dealers, is detectable during the deputy governor of Ihtiram Khan (1731-32). 92

83 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. II, part-I, pp. 204-5, 282-83; Amal-i-Saleh , ed. Ghulam Yazdani, vol. II, pp. 360-61; Sadiq Khan, Tarikh-i-Shahjahani wa Alamgiri , Or. MS. 1671, Rotograph No. 45, CAS, AMU, Aligarh, ff. 53a-54b; B.M. Or. 174 Rieu/262a, Rotograph No. 39, in CAS, Deptt. Of History, AMU, Aligarh, ff. 95b-96a; Alamgirnama, vol. II, p. 830; Muntakhabu-Lubab , vol. I, part-II, pp. 579-80, 587-88; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj Collection 32/150, ff. 150ab, 221a, 269b-271b; Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 296, 316-17, 334, 355-56, 390, 399, 413; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 460. 84 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. II, part-I, pp. 204-05; Tarikh-i-Shahjahani , Or.174, Rotograph No. 39, f. 96a; Muntakhabu-Lubab , vol. I, part-II, pp.579-80, 587-88. 85 Ibid ; Muntakhabu-Lubab , vol. I, part-II, pp. 579-80, 587-88. 86 Ibid , pp. 282-83; Ibid , p. 587; Tarikh-i-Shahjahani, Or. 174, Rotograph No. 39, f. 99b. 87 Alamgirnama, vol. II, p. 830. 88 This pertains to the year 1746-47, Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj Collection, 32/ 150, f. 271a; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 461. 89 This pertain to the year 1723, Ibid, f. 243b; Ibid, I, p. 460. 90 Ibid. Ibid. 91 The revenue collection at the village , pargana and city level remained the essential business of the Peshkar : Khulasatu-t-Tawarikh , Urdu, transl. pp. 110-11; R.K. Parmu, op. cit ., pp. 352-54, 371-72, 381, 501; Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 297-98; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32/ 150, f. 151ab. 92 Waqiat-i-Kashmir , Habib Ganj collection, 32/150, ff. 251a-252b; Majmuat-Tawarikh , MS. No. 148, pp. 332-33; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 460-61. 108

Both the Mughal and the Afghan rulers enacted a few relief measures. For instance, Akbar, on the occasion of the 1597 famine, promptly came to the rescue f the people. Free kitchens were opened everywhere in the cities. 93 During the reign of Shahjahan, numberless free kitchens were opened in the city and grains were sent from Lahore, Gujarat and Multan to Kashmir, at the time of the great famine of 1647. 94 Shahjahan, at the time of the great famine of 1642-43, also provided a cash grant of thirty thousand rupees, for distribution among the famine-hit people, which was later supplemented by twenty thousand rupees. 95 In 1664-65, seventy-nine thousand rupees were sent by Aurangzeb as relief. 96 Besides the opening of free-kitchens and cash grants, the state also opened its granaries in times of scarcity, for the free distribution of grains among the distressed people. For instance, in the year 1755, there occurred an untimely snowfall which destroyed the standing crops. Foodstuffs became scarce and precious. But Khawaja Abul-Hasan Bandey, the chief minister of the Afghan governor Sukhjiwan Mal, took immediate steps to relieve the distress of the people. He had in his stores some two lakh kharwars of shali. He took a house-to-house census of the city population, and supplied each family with rations to suffice for six months. He then distributed a lakh of kharwars as taqavi loan among the empty handed peasants for the ensuing year. The poverty of the peasantry was so deep rooted that they could not liquidate the cost of the loan even till the end of the Afghan rule though mode of repayment was fixed in a manner that the peasants had to simply pay 1 trak per-kharwar after every harvest. 97

93 Akbarnama , III, part-II, pp. 727, 714; Muntakhabu-Lubab , vol. I, part-II, pp. 587-88. 94 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. II, part-I, pp. 282-83, 309-10; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32/ 150, , ff. 150ab; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 460. 95 Ibid ; Muntakhabu-Lubab , I, part-II, pp.587-88. 96 Alamgirnama , vol. II, p. 830. 97 Taqavi was provided to the peasants to reassure safety to agriculture and to reclaim uncultivated land. Such type of loans was provided even during the reign of Akbar, by his minister Todar 109

According to Lawrence, the taqavi seeds meant for the empty handed peasantry were fraudulently appropriated by “the village officials, the headman, and the patwari, and the value of the grain was gravely entered every year as an arrear against the village.” 98 Moreover, relief measure to provide labour to famine-stricken Kashmiris in 1597, could provide labour for only a fraction of the valley’s population. We have the authority of the inscription on the Kathi Darwaza of Akbar’s fort round Hari Parbat to prove that labour employed in constructing it was paid for. 99 Likewise, when Aurangzeb visited Kashmir, all the luggage of the royal camp was carried from Bhimber to

Srinagar by Kashmiri porters, were paid for. 100 Besides, the use of begar

(forced labour) is particularly conspicuous in the history of saffron collection. As, the peasants were especially forced to collect saffron from its buds. 101 But it was Akbar who on his third visit to Kashmir abolished this custom to the great relief of the peasants. 102 Itiqad Khan (1622-32) introduced the system of begar for collecting saffron flowers, after it had been abolished by Akbar and he attached private fruit gardens and did not allow their owners to use the fruit themselves. Later, it was abolished by Shahjahan by issuing the imperial Farman proclaimed that the autocratic and oppressive rule of Itiqad Khan had ceased. 103

Mal: Muntakhabu-Lubab , vol. I, part-I, pp. 155-58; Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 375- 76; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 462; Also see R.K. Parmu, op. cit ., p. 356. 98 Lawrence, op. cit., p. 407. 99 Akbarnama, III, part-II, pp. 726-27; No begar or forced labour was exacted from anyone all got paid in cash from the state treasury: See the text of the inscription in My paper, Mughal Building Activity: Imperial Investment In Kashmir, Proceeding of the Indian History Congress, 67th Session Farook College, Calicut University 2006-07, pp. 1029-37. 100 Bernier, op. cit., p. 392: The wages fixed by the emperor were ten crowns for every 100 pounds weight. 101 Akbarnama , III, part-II, pp. 726-27, 734, & its transl. III, pp. 1087-88, 1095; Ain, I, p. 63. 102 Ain , I, p. 63; Also see Akbarnama, III, part-II, pp. 727, 734. 103 Akbarnama , III, part-II, pp.727, 734; Shireen Moosvi, An Imperial Edict of Shahjahan, IHC , 47th session, Srinagar, 1986, pp. 360-62; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32/150, ff. 134ab, 147b-148a. 110

It seems that under the Mughals the condition of the peasants and labourers seems to have improved. While during the Afghan period, Azad Khan (1783-85), the governor, forcibly employed the peasants of Maraz and

Kamraz divisions for the construction of a bund (weir) at Batwara, to divert the water of the river Jehlum into a lake. 104 Similarly, the peasants were compelled to carry the provisions on the occasion of Azad Khan’s military expeditions against the Chieftains of Muzaffarabad, Poonch and Kishtwar. 105

The scarcity and starvation of the masses as well as peasantry was not always caused by crop failure, but due to many other factors. For instance, during the 18 th century, the tribesmen of Muzaffarabad and Poonch, ravaged the villages and stripped the peasantry of their livestock and grains. 106 All this caused constant despair and anxiety to the peasantry who were consequently subjected to the conditions of starvation followed by death and mobility. 107

The intrusion of the Gujar raiders from Punch and the Bombas of Muzaffarabad was a new phenomenon in the politics of Kashmir and proved very excruciating to the population for a long period. There was acute scarcity of food; a rupee did not fetch two seers of rice. People were compelled to dispose of their belongings and bartered away their children for food. Many died, unwept and unsung, the river Jehlum serving as their common graveyard.

104 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., pp. 335-36. 105 Ibid, p. 336. 106 Taking undue advantage of the internal strife, these tribesmen penetrated deep into the valley in and around 1730-32, 1734, 1737, 1741-44, 1746-51, and 1771 respectively and thereby despoiled the villagers of their livestock not to speak of their stored grains: Waqiat-i-Kashmir ,Habib Ganj collection, 32/150, ff. 251b-52b, 259a-60a, 265a-69b. Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 335, 351-59, 379-88; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, pp. 460-61; Also see R.K. Parmu, op. cit ., pp. 339-45; P.N.K. Bamzai, op. cit ., pp. 398-99. 107 Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32/150, ff. 243ab, 269b-70a; Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, , pp. 329-30, 353-56; Also see R.K. Parmu, op. cit ., pp. 339-40. 111

Those who could quitted Kashmir and went to Lahore, Sialkot and Delhi. 108

Moreover, the state stimulated a process which in itself led to the exploitation of masses by the grain dealers in Kashmir. 109 Particularly when the state granaries were depleted, 110 the grain merchants while creating a situation of artificial scarcity sold their stocks for high prices, which were unaffordable for the famine-affected people. 111 Abul Fazl, in Akbarnama mentioned that “----by the coming of the victorious army the scarcity was increased----.”112 Jahangir had accordingly instructed his imperial servants to reduce as far as possible the number of their beasts and followers, because the price of grains and vegetables had risen very high, due to the presence of the huge imperial force in the valley. 113 About the impact of their presence on the stock position of the Kashmiris, Father Xavier has maintained that, “owing to the king’s coming, they (Kashmiris) have more than twenty-five thousand additional mouths to feed, besides many horses and elephants. They ate whatever they had stored up; and so the poor folks suffer much and even perish-----and though we (Christian missionaries) gave them (babies) nurses and milk, they did not profit by the care taken of them, as they were already worn out with hunger”. 114

Thus on the whole, the peasantry was finally pushed into the most unfavourable as well as miserable living conditions in medieval Kashmir.

108 R.K. Parmu, op. cit., pp. 339-40; Also see Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32/150, ff. 268a-70a. 109 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., p. 156. 110 If the state granaries were accomplished, then the state would not have imported grains from outside and paid the wages to the labourers in cash: Lahori, Badshahnama, II, part-I, pp. 309-10 ; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 460; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32/150 , ff. 150ab; Also see my paper, Mughal Building Activity , pp. 1029-37. 111 Akbarnama, III, part-II, p. 727; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32/150, ff.269a-71a; Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 330, 355, 413; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 461. 112 Ibid. 113 Tuzuk, p. 286. 114 Father Xavier, “Letters From Kashmir,” p. 116.

Chapter - 3

Non---Agricultural-Agricultural Production

Chapter-3

NON-AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION:

(A) INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES

Shawl Industry

Mughal aristocracy consisted chiefly of urbanized people and as such they lived in towns and cities. Shawls were used by the royalty and aristocracy as a luxury. 1 The nobles lived in urban centres and so the chief centres of production and marketing developed in the cities. The urban centres turned to be the natural shelters for various types of artisans. It is, therefore, no wonder that the famous industrial centres of shawl manufacture flourished in the city of

Srinagar. 2 More than 24000 looms were busy in this city in the production of this costly stuff, 3 which filled the coffers of the subah with money. 4

According to G.T. Vigne, “Islamabad is a qasbah or market town. It contains a few houses of shawl-weavers, and handsome saddle-cloths and rugs of various patterns are still manufactured there.” 5 According to another source, though far a slightly later period, there were three hundred shops of shawl- weavers, and a coarse kind of chintz , and a considerable number of qabbas , or flowered patchwork cloths of the coloured woollens of the country, were fabricated 6 in this town.

1 Ain, I, pp. 65-68; The product of the saffron-crop, of the shawl duty, and of the mint they attached to the royal treasury: Muntakhabu-t Tawarikh , vol. II, p. 352; Ippolito Desideri, op. cit. , p. 73. 2 Muhammad Amin Razi, Haft Iqlim, (1168 A.H.), Qutubuddin collection, 100/20, manuscript section, MAL, AMU, Aligarh, f. 140; George Forster, op. cit. , vol. II, p. 18. 3 A.I. Chicherov, India Economic Development In The 16th-18th Centuries , Moscow, 1971, pp. 216-17: According to Chicherov, there were 24000 looms; Also see Haft Iqlim, f. 140: While in Haft Iqlim , there were 2000 karkhana (shawl); G. Forster, op. cit., II, p. 20. 4 F. Bernier, op. cit., p. 402. 5 G.T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. I, p. 358. 6 William Moorcroft and G. Trebeck, op. cit., vol. II, p. 248. 113

The major craft products of Kashmir were shawls and other woollen stuffs. Shawls made out of shawl-wool were, perhaps, the most celebrated of the products of Kashmir. The shawl industry in Kashmir is of considerable antiquity. 7 During the Sultans’ period it attained technical perfection and acquired a very good reputation. The Mughals gave it further impetus and encouragement.

The shawl industry received a great impetus during the 14 th and 15 th centuries. The famous ruler, Zain-ul-Abidin, gave patronage to it, introduced the twill tapestry technique, the bush, and a new type of loom in the manufacture of Kashmir shawls. 8 It was during this period that variegated plants and flowers were woven on the new type of loom, 9but the needle work embroidery was the development of the Mughal Empire.10 Thus the view of

Walter Lawrence that the shawl weaving technique was introduced by in

India and thence made its entry in Kashmir 11 is not supported by facts.

During the Mughal times, the shawl industry became a royal industry and attained its maximum growth with 40, 000 looms in operation. 12 The factories were known as karkhanas or workshop. The state owned factory system developed phenomenally with the Mughals, 13 who extended their patronage to shawl weaving which became a vital source of prosperity as well as wealth for Kashmir. It promoted the trade of the country. 14 In the royal karkhanas , set up by Akbar, new designs, colours and patterns were

7 On Yuan Chwang’s, Travels In India (A.D. 629-645)), transl. by Thomas Watters, New Delhi, second Indian edition, 1973, pp. 148-49. 8 Srivara, Jaina Rajatarangini , Eng. Transl. J. C. Dutt, p. 151. 9 Ibid. 10 Lahori , Badshahnama, vol. II, part-I, p. 404; Tarikh-i-Hasan , MS. No. 04, vol. I, ff. 132b, 148a. 11 Walter Lawrence, op. cit., p. 375. 12 George Forster, op. cit., II, p. 20. 13 Ain, I, p. 66; Also see Bernier, op. cit., pp. 258-59. 14 Bernier, op. cit ., p. 402; Also see Ain, I, pp. 65-68. 114

introduced. The Kashmiri shawl became a royal apparel and was gifted to nobles as a mark of favour. The people of Kashmir depended mainly on wool. Woollen textiles were fabricated almost all over the kingdom from the abundant resources of indigenous wool. The refined and delicate texture was consumed by the royalty and aristocracy in and outside Kashmir. The bulk of the woollen textiles were exported. 15 The Mughal period led to greater commercialisation of the industry and to its reorganisation. 16 The loom was improved; new tints were introduced and shawls of various measurements were manufactured. 17

The , encouraged it in every possible way bringing its weaving to such a perfection that it soon was regarded as a symbol of imperial prestige and a determinant of commercial ties with the foreign countries thereby accelerating the process of urbanising Kashmir. The Mughals set the industrial, commercial and production patterns of its karkhanas creating new social patterns among its craftsmen. The Mughal interest in the technological development of the shawl industry on a sound economic footing can be attributed to their strong fascination for the fabric which they considered a symbol of court prestige and auspiciousness. 18

Under the Mughals it had become a craze with every noble to have a fine Kashmiri shawl, which was considered a symbol of prestige. 19 The state

15 Srivara, Jainarajatarangini, Eng. Transl. J.C. Dutt, p. 151; Baharistan-i-Shahi, ff. 125-26; P.N.K. Bamzai, op. cit., pp. 495, 497. 16 Ain , I, pp. 65-66. 17 Ibid , I, pp. 67-68. 18 Ibid, I, pp. 65-68 & its Eng. Transl. I, pp. 93-94, 96-98, & also see p. 96 nos.3: In allusion to the practice of Sufis, who only wear garments made of wool ( suf ). Abu’l Fazl often tries to represent Akbar as a Sufi of so high a degree as to be able to work miracles, and he states below that it was his intention to write a book on Akbar’s miracles. The charge of fulsomeness in praise has often been brought against Abu’l Fazl, though it would more appropriately lie against Fayzi, who-like the poets of imperial Rome-represents the emperor as God, as may be seen in the poetical extracts of the second book. But the praises of the two brothers throw a peculiar light on Akbar’s character, who received the most immoderate encomiums with self-complacency. 19 Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 402-3. 115

was the chief customer of the stuff. The Mughal emperors purchased Kashmir shawls in large quantities in addition to the presents in shawls offered by the subedars. 20 The shawls were bestowed upon nobles on festive occasions and were sent as presents to foreign rulers. 21 Thus royal patronage made the shawl a status and a fashion symbol throughout the empire particularly on the occasion of imperial festivities. 22

With the expansion of the Empire, new vistas were opened for the shawl trade. Shahjahan sent a large number of Kashmir shawls to the rulers of Golconda and Bijapur. 23 It was during this period that Kashmiri shawls were

sent to the Ottoman Empire (Rum), Safavid Empire and Egypt. 24 In late 18 th century jurah and qasabah etc. were liked by the people of France, 25 and in 19 th century France was its chief European importer. 26

Lahore, 27 Ahmedabad, 28 Agra, 29 Gujarat 30 and subsequently Southern

India 31 emerged as main marketing centres of Kashmiri shawls within India.

20 Qazwini, Badshahnama, Rotograph No. 191B, 191C, vol. II, f. 259, III, f. 326b; Tarikh-i- Hasan , I, f. 106a. 21 Tuzuk, pp. 139, 142, 144, 146; Lahori, Badshahnama , II, part-II, p. 433; Maasiru-l Umara , vol. I, part-I, pp. 180-81; Asad Beg Qazwini, Risala-i-Tarikh-i-Asad Beg, Brit. M. Or. 1996 Rieu iii/979a, Rotograph No. 94, CAS, AMU, Aligarh, f. 22a; The Kashmir shawls were given as presents not only to the ladies of the imperial Harem, governors and newly appointed state officials, but also to foreign envoys on state visit to India: J.N. Sarkar, Mughal Administration , Fourth Edition, Calcutta, 1952, p. 9. 22 Ain , I, pp. 65-68; Bernier, op. cit ., p. 403. 23 Waris, Badshahnama , vol. II, Transcript No. 87, in CAS, Deptt. Of History, AMU, Aligarh, vol. II, f. 307. 24 Ibid; Ghulam Husain Khan Taba Tabai, Sairul Mutakhirin, 3 vols. Nawal Kishore edition, Lucknow, 1886, vol. I, p. 283; Desideri, op. cit ., p. 73. 25 Tarikh-i-Hasan, MS. No. 04, I, ff. 133ab. 26 Ibid. 27 Francisco Pelsaert, op. cit., p. 19. 28 Niccolao Manucci, op. cit., vol. II, p. 402; William Foster, ed. The English Factories In India, 1618-1669 , 13 vols., Oxford, 1906-1927, E.F.I. 1637-1641 , p. 135. 29 Francisco Pelsaert, op. cit., p. 19. 30 Ibid. 31 Tarikh-i-Shahjahani-wa-Alamgiri, Or. MSS. 1671, Rotograph No. 45, f. 206b. 116

Nepal, Lhasa and Kathmandu also imported Kashmiri shawls. 32 Bernier rightly observed in 1662 that Kashmir derived much of its wealth from this industry. 33

The Mughal emperors maintained karkhanas or factories of their own for manufacture of articles of different kinds. The interest of the Mughal emperors in the workshops can be assessed from the following observations of Abul Fazl: ‘ His Majesty pays much attention to various stuffs…skilful masters and workmen have settled in this country to teach people an improved system of manufacture.’ 34 The attention which Akbar paid to his karkhanas and to recruiting artisans from different countries and in training local men in every art, is recorded in the Ain under each industry and is noticed by Father

Monserrate also. 35 For example, Abul Fazl says: ‘formerly shawls were often brought from Kashmir, industry developed and received a new life. 36 Jahangir,

Shahjahan and Aurangzeb Alamgir were all extremely fond of shawls, and patronized and subsidized the shawl weaving industry. Later on, when the Afghans came to rule in Kashmir the shawl industry was further improved.

The production of the exquisite shawl was further impetus by the

Mughal patronage of culture, fine arts and urbanisation which immensely encouraged the textile karkhanas .37 Apart from maintaining large wardrobes and stores for the preservation of various stuffs, “which have been bought, or woven to order, or received as tribute or presents,” the Mughal rulers particularly Akbar who made it compulsory for their courtiers and people of certain ranks to wear certain articles such as takauchiya (coat), peshwaz (a coat

32 Desideri, op. cit ., pp. 73, 132-33, 317. 33 F. Bernier, op. cit., pp. 402-403. 34 Ain, I, pp. 65-66. 35 Dr. Aniruddha Ray, Some Aspects of Mughal Administration , New Delhi, 1984, pp. 91-92. 36 Ain , I, p. 68. 37 Abdul Ahad, Kashmir To Frankfurt, A Study of Arts And Crafts , New Delhi, 1987, p. 12. 117

open in front) and parmanarm (the Kashmir shawl). According to Abul Fazl, this was done to regulate and intensify the demand of various stuffs to which Akbar paid much attention. 38 Therefore, ever-increasing demands of the imperial court, strengthened the shawl industry and its workers. Considering the number of dignitaries, national and international, who received Kashmir products as presents, and that of the people of ranks, who bought these in markets, the demands appears to have been enormous. For example, the number of women who received presents was 5,000 in the time of Akbar. 39 Likewise, in 1690 the number of mansabdars was 14,500 all of whom received presents. 40 Officers were stationed in Kashmir to purchase 41 the best shawls.

Khan-i-Saman , a very important officer of the emperor’s household department, took care of purchasing the stuff from the market as well as getting new ones manufactured well in advance. He had charge of “whole expenditure of the royal house-hold in reference to both great and small things.” 42

Thus the huge demand for the shawl proportionately increased as well as enhanced the number of craftsmen. Even children took to the occupation of shawl-making. 43 According to Abul Fazl “the figures and patterns, knots, and variety of fashions which now prevail, astonish experienced travellers.” 44

Bernier who visited India during the reigns of Shahjahan and Aurangzeb was no less impressed by the affluence and efflorescence of fine arts and the industrial advance of the country. He dwells at length on the achievements of

Kashmiris in arts and crafts. He has given a detailed description of the

38 Ain , I, pp. 65-67. 39 Ibid , I, p. 26. 40 J.N. Sarkar, op. cit., p. 9. 41 Ibid , p.10. 42 Manucci, op. cit ., II, p. 394. 43 Bernier, op. cit ., p. 402. 44 Ain , I, p. 66. 118

manufacture of shawls in Kashmir and of the karkhanas where arts and crafts were learnt and plied. 45 During the governorship of Abdullah Khan the Kashmir shawl for the first time found its way to Europe through one Syed

Yaheya of Baghdad who on his visit to Kashmir had received it as a gift from the governor. 46

The needle-wrought designs on shawl introduced during the Afghan reign brought further sophistication to the making of shawl. It became very popular in Europe. These designs different from those created by the loom were known as Amlkar .47 The shawl continued to enjoy uninterruptedly the

Sarkari patronage even during the Sikh regime succeeding the Afghans. 48

Very scanty information is available on the industrial organisation in medieval Kashmir. The factories were known as karkhanas or workshops by the Persian writers. During the Mughal and Afghan period when the demand from the Mughal aristocracy as well as court increased, the industry developed. The state owned factory system developed phenomenally with the Mughals, who extended their patronage to the shawl weaving which became a vital source of prosperity not only for Kashmir but also for India. 49 After the conquest of Kashmir by the Mughals, they made the shawl an imperial monopoly in order to cater to their own interests as well as to those of the Indian and the Kashmiri elite. For instance, according to Abul Fazl, besides shawl, mint, hunting and saffron were declared departments of imperial monopoly. 50 An officer named Qalandar Beg, was appointed to look after the

45 Bernier, op. cit., pp. 258-59, 402-404. 46 Abdul Ahad, op. cit ., p. 12. 47 Ibid, p. 13. 48 Ibid. 49 Ibid , p. 45; Also see Ain , I, pp. 65-66. 50 Akbarnama , III, part-II, pp. 481 & its. Transl. III, p. 725 & n.2. 119

shawl karkhanas .51 Manucci writes, in each province, “the king and the princes keep officials ------, whose business it is to put in hand the best goods than can be fabricated in each place. With this object in view, they kept an eye continually upon what was being done in that respect.” 52 It seems that a special officer was appointed to collect the best shawls, that could be fabricated in Kashmir and send them to the Mughal court.

Abul Fazl 53 refers to “more than one hundred offices and workshops each resembling a city, or rather a little kingdom------they are all conducted with regularity, and are constantly increasing, their improvement being accompanied by additional care and supervision on the part of his Majesty.” The Zawabit-i-Alamgiri 54 gives a list of 69 Mughal karkhanas or workshops. Bernier while describing these karkhanas, writes: within the fortress, “large halls are seen in many places called karkhanas or workshops for the artisans. In one hall the embroiders are busily employed, superintended by a master. In another you see goldsmiths, in a third painters, in a fourth varnishers in lacquer work, in a fifth, joiners, turners, tailors, and shoe makers; in a sixth, manufacturers of silk, brocade and those fine of which are made , girdles, with golden flowers, and (the fine) drawers worn by females------beautifully embroidered with needle-work. The artisans repair every morning to their respective kar-kanays, where they remain employed the whole day; and in the evening return to their homes----The embroiderer brings up his son as an embroiderer, the son of a goldsmith becomes a goldsmith, and the physician of the city educates his son for a physician.” 55

51 Ibid . 52 Manucci, op. cit., II, p. 405. 53 Ain, I, p.7. 54 Aurangzeb , Zawabit-i-Alamgiri , Or. 1641, British Museum, Rotograph No. 62, CAS, AMU, Aligarh, f. 132b; For further details see J.N. Sarkar, op. cit ., pp. 170-75. 55 Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 258-59. 120

The royal karkhanas were found all over the country. Big centres were found in Kashmir, Lahore, Agra, Ahmedabad, Fatehpur and Gujarat. 56 The workmanship of Kashmir was renowned. Its palekys (palanquins), bedsteads, trunks, inkstand, boxes and spoon were quite remarkable, and articles of their manufacture were in used all over India. But its shawls were superb. ‘Great pains have been taken to manufacture similar shawls in Patna, Agra, and

Lahore; but notwithstanding every possible care, they never have the delicate texture and softness of the Kashmiri shawls.’ 57 These karkhanas administered by the government through its officers appointed for the purpose of taking their care. 58 Among these officers Khan or Malik and accountants were more important and were in charge of each workshop supervising the work of artisans, collecting materials and disbursing wages. There was also a mutsarrif or general superintendent or khan-i-saman responsible for the efficient working of all karkhanas spread throughout the empire. 59 According to Bernier, each karkhana had many branches with expert craftsmen busy in systematising the production experience, enabling the weavers, embroiderers, the dyers and the like; to bring up their children as weavers, embroiderers and dyers respectively. 60 Thus social division of labour was basic to the karkhana organisation and it not only improved the quality of products but also led to their effective working.

Although the number of craftsmen employed in shawl karkhanas during the Mughal era was by and large proportionate to the demand for the product,

56 Ain , I, pp. 66, 68. 57 Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 402-403. 58 Manucci, op. cit., II, p. 405. 59 J.N. Sarkar, op. cit., pp. 166-67; N.S. Gupta, Industrial Structure of India During Medieval Period , Delhi, 1970, p. 41. 60 Bernier, op. cit ., p. 259. 121

the demand principle ceased to be the determining factor during the Afghan, and the Sikh regimes. Instead the government determined the labour requirements of state karkhanas, whereas the financial capacity of private entrepreneurs decided the labour force of private karkhanas .61

Forster in his travel to Kashmir in 1783 has made interesting observations on the shawl industry of Kashmir. He puts the number of shawl looms as 40,000 under the Mughals, 62 each giving employment to three men at a time, 63 which indicates that labour organisation had reached its zenith. But during the Afghans, 16,000 looms employed some 48,000 weavers on the basis of three weavers to one loom. 64 At the end of the 18 th century, Srinagar contained more than 24,000 looms on which the shawls were woven, giving employment to 72,000 weavers, on the basis of three men at a loom. 65

During the Mughal era, however, maximum number of women and children were employed in the shawl industry to meet the growing requirements of the Mughal court as well as the regime. At one stage during this period almost the entire female population of the Srinagar city was engaged in the profession of shawl making. 66

Under the Mughals, the condition of wage workers seems to have improved. We have the authority of the inscription on the Kathi Darwaza of

Akbar’s fort round Hari Parbat help us to form an idea of the general mode of remunerations. According to this inscription workers received their payments

61 Abdul Ahad, op. cit., p. 49. 62 G. Forster, op. cit ., II, p. 20. 63 Mount Stuart Elphinstone, op. cit. , II, p. 240. 64 Ibid ; G. Forster, op. cit., II, p. 20. 65 A.I. Chicherov, op. cit., pp. 216-17. 66 Abdul Ahad, op. cit., p. 50. 122

from the imperial treasury. 67 Lawrence writes: “High wages were given to men and women, married women receiving 6 annas and single women 4 annas per diem.” 68 During the period of Shahjahan and Aurangzeb the wage system evolved further so that ‘suitable’ payments were made to workmen. 69

During the Afghan period the government supplied grain to the shawlbafs on exorbitant rates by way of remuneration. However, the Kashmiri potters, carrying loads of shawl, two of whom made the load of a strong mule, received wages in cash at the rate of 4 rupees a carrier. 70

Several varieties of different grades of woollens are mentioned in the sources which were being manufactured in Kashmir. From amongst these parm narm , 71 tarmah ,72 darmah, 73 pashmina ,74 pattu 75 and saqarlat 76 occur more frequently. Different types of woollen stuffs are also mentioned in the travellers’ accounts which were being manufactured in Kashmir. “The woollen kerchiefs for the head are highly valued, and the Pattea [Puttoo], long cloth- strips folded several times which serve as waistbands. But most precious and magnificent are the cloths called scial in both Hindustan and Persian.” 77 According to G.T. Vigne “the productions of the Kashmirians looms, ---are very numerous: Du-shalah, Jamaweh, Rumal, Hasheyi, Urmuk, and the Yek- Tar , etc.” 78 As mentioned earlier in the chapter, chintz and flowered patchwork woollen cloths were also made extensively in Kashmir.79

67 Ibid, pp. 53-54. 68 Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 194. 69 Abdul Ahad, op. cit., p. 54. 70 Ibid. 71 Ain , I, p. 67; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Abdal-Haiy and Ahmad Ali, p. 153. 72 Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, p. 153. 73 Ain , II, p. 171; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, p. 153. 74 Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, p. 153. 75 Ain , II, p. 171. 76 Ibid; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, p. 154. 77 Desideri, op. cit ., p. 73. 78 G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., II, pp. 128-29. 79 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, p. 248. 123

Shawl weaving was in all likelihood common in Kashmir even before

Emperor Akbar had annexed it. It however, seems to have acquired greater prominence since, he encouraged the industry directly. He tried to stimulate the growth of a market for these in Hindustan. To make their use more popular there, 80 he sponsored changes in the traditional colours and an increase in the standard width production so that the material might be used more economically. 81 We are informed that the capital, Srinagar, was the chief centre of this (shawl) industry. 82 According to G.T. Vigne, “Islamabad is a qasbah or market-town. It contains a few houses of shawl-weavers, and handsome saddle- cloths and rugs of various patterns are still manufactured there.” 83

During the Mughal period shawl i ndustry received a great stimulus. Considerable light on the shawl manufacture of Kashmir in the sixteenth century is thrown by the Ain-i-Akbari of Abul Fazl who has given exhaustive list of all kinds of textiles. In the Ain 31, 84 Abul Fazl points out the great interest which Akbar took in various stuffs and that was the reason why

Iranian, European and Mongolian articles of wear were available in plenty in the country. Besides this, his interest in textiles had attracted a large number of foreign craftsmen and workers who taught the people improved style in textile manufacture. The imperial karkhanas at Lahore, Agra, Fatehpur and

Ahmedabad were noted for their excellent products whose patterns, knots and varieties of fashions astonished the travellers. Akbar himself had acquired a practical knowledge of the whole trade, and the encouragement he gave to the indigenous workers brought all round improvement. All kinds of hair weaving

80 Ain, I, p. 68. 81 Ibid, I, pp. 67-68; Also see Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, p. 153. 82 Ain , II, p. 171. 83 G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, p. 358. 84 Ain , I, pp. 67. 124

and silk spinning improved so that the imperial workshops could manufacture all the stuff in other countries. There was a constant demand for fine materials and at first time gave occasion for grand display of draperies.

All textile pieces bought, woven to order or received as tributes or presents, were carefully preserved and were inspected from time to time. Clothes were made for them or they were given away as presents. Articles were arranged according to their prices. Experienced people continually inquired about the prices of articles used formerly and in Akbar’s time, as the knowledge of the exact prices was conducive to the increase of stock. His

Majesty also ordered that people of certain ranks should wear certain articles; and this was done in order to regulate the demand. 85

In keeping with his interest in textiles Akbar showed great interest in the shawl manufacture of Kashmir. We are informed in the Ain 31 86 that to the generic term shal Akbar gave his own Hindi designation parmnarm (very soft), and he changed the name of kapardhur (camphor dust), a Tibetan stuff to kapurnur (camphor light).

The Ain 32 87 gives a fairly good account of Kashmir shawls. The garments stored in the imperial wardrobe are arranged according to the days, months and years of their entries, and according to their colour, price and weight. Such an arrangement is now-a- days called misl, a set. And their variety is noted on cloth labels sewn to one of the corners of the shawls. In the Irani months of Azar and Farwardin they are brought to karkhanas and stored out in accordance with their prices, varieties, weights and colours. “The following is

85 Ibid, I, p. 66. 86 Ibid, I, p. 67. 87 Ibid, I, p. 68. 125

the order of colours: tus, safidalcha , ruby-coloured, golden, orange, brass- coloured, crimson, grass green, cotton-flower coloured, sandalwood-coloured, almond-coloured, purple, grape-coloured, mauve like the colour of some parrots, honey-coloured, brownish lilac, coloured like the Ratanmanjani flower, coloured like the kasni flower, apple-coloured, hay-coloured, pistachio,----, bhojpatra coloured, pink, light blue, coloured like the galghah flower, water-coloured, oil-coloured, brown red, emerald, bluish like China- ware, violet, bright pink, mangoe coloured, musk-coloured, coloured like the Fakhta. 88

Abul Fazl further writes ‘In former times shawls were often brought from Kashmir. People folded them up in four folds, and wore them for a very long time. Now-a-days they are generally worn without folds, and merely thrown over the shoulder. His Majesty has commenced to wear them double, which looks very well.’ 89

‘His Majesty encourages, in every possible way, the manufacture of shawls in Kashmir. In Lahore also there are more than a thousand workshops.

A kind of shawl, called mayan, is chiefly woven there; it consists of silk and wool mixed. Both are used for chiras (turbans), fotas (loin bands), etc.’ 90

In Ain 32, 91 Abul Fazl writes: ‘His Majesty improved this department in four ways.’ From the above account of shawls many points are clear. Firstly, tus shawl was made from the hair of tus goat. 92 Secondly , the corded and

88 Ibid. 89 Ibid. 90 Ibid . 91 Ibid, I, pp. 67-68. 92 Ibid, I, p. 67; ‘ Tus shawls, which are made of the wool of an animal of that name, its natural colours are black, white, and red, but chiefly black. Sometimes the colour is a pure white. This kind of shawl is unrivalled for its lightness, warmth, and softness----.’ In the nineteenth century when Moorcroft visited Kashmir there were two kinds of goat wool pashm shal obtained from the wool of domestic goats and Asali tus obtained from the hair of wild goats and sheep: 126

patterned shawls ( tarah shawls) were made of either white, black or mixed wool. The white kind was formerly dyed in three or four colours but in Akbar’s time the number of colours was increased. Thirdly, attention was paid to the manufacture of the varieties of shawls such as ‘ , Kalabatun, Kashida, Qalghai, Bandhnun, Chhint, 93 Alcha, Purzdar.’ “Fourthly, an improvement was made in the width of all stuffs; his Majesty had the pieces made large enough to yield the making of a full dress.” 94

Jahangir in his memoirs states that “the shawls of Kashmir to which my father gave the name of parm narm are very famous. There is no need to praise them. Another kind is taharma ; it is thicker than a shawl and soft. Another is called darma ------.Though they bring wool for the shawls from Tibet----And in Kashmir they weave the pattu shawl from wool, and sewing two shawls together they smooth them into a kind of saqarlat (broad-cloth), which is not bad for a rain-coat.” 95 From the above account of shawl it is clear that the shawl industry of Kashmir in Jahangir’s time was in a flourishing state.

In Badshahnama, we come across different varieties of shawls which were popular during Shahjahan’s times. 96 The industry of Kashmir was much developed because Shahjahan needed a large number of shawls and carpets for the new places he was constructing. It thus reached its highest pitch in the reign of Shahjahan. 97

Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., vol. II, part-III, ch. III, p. 165; Also see Bernier, op. cit ., p. 403 & n.1. 93 Ibid, I, pp. 67-68 & Also see its Eng. Transl. I, p. 97 & n.2: Chhint is our chintz, which is derived from Chhint . According to Moorcroft even in the early nineteenth century some shawls with green flowers tied in small hard knots to protect them from the action of the dye were made. When united each flower was surrounded by a small white field to which small eyes of spots of yellow, red were added by the embroiderers: Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., vol. II, part- III, ch. III, pp. 191-92. 94 Ibid, I, p. 68. 95 Tuzuk , pp. 300-301. 96 Qazwini, Badshahnama, Rotograph No. 191B, vol. II, f. 259. 97 D. Pant, The Commercial Policy of the Mughals , Reprint, Delhi, 1978, p. 206. 127

Bernier rightly observed that Kashmir derived much of its wealth from shawl industry and has left a good account of shawls manufactured there. 98

The Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh speaks of woollen stuffs specially the shawls of Kashmir exported all over the world. Soft and beautiful broad cloths of wool were also manufactured. 99

Later on, when the Afghans came to rule in Kashmir the shawl industry was further improved. The Afghans showed much liking for shawls. In their days, shawls were in demand in Iran, Turkistan and Europe. 100

George Forster in 1783 wrote: “In Kashmir are seen merchants and commercial agents of the most of the principal cities of Northern India, also of Tartary, Persia and Turkey, who at the same time advance their fortunes, and enjoy the pleasures of a fine climate and a country; over which are profusely spread the various beauties of nature.” He also notes the number of shawl looms as 16,000, though he says that under the Mughals it was 40,000. 101 This decline in number of shawl looms may be ascribed to “the heavy oppressions of the government, and the rapacious temper of the bordering states, who exercise an unremitting rapacity on the foreign traders, and often plunder whole cargoes, have reduced the commerce of Kashmir to a declining and languid state.” 102 And also to the cruel taxation policy of the Afghan rulers, who tried to suck the very lifeblood of both the trader and the weaver through the institution of Dag shawl. This ruinous system came into existence in this way.

98 Bernier, op. cit., pp. 402-403. 99 Khulasatu-t-Tawarikh , pp. 80-83. 100 P.N.K. Bamzai, op. cit., p. 489. 101 G. Forster, op. cit., II, p. 20. 102 Ibid. 128

Saffron and grain which the state got as its share of produce, were sold at higher than the market rates to the inhabitants, of course under pressure. It naturally told very severely on the poor shawl weavers who then numbered

12,000. In the time of Haji Karimdad Khan Period (1776-83A.D.) this practice was abolished, and in lieu of it the shawl weavers were made to pay a small tax called Qasur-i-shali. Subsequently the Haji, at the suggestion of his Wazir,

Dila Ram Quli, abolished the Qasur-i-shali and instead levied a tax of …..pie per rupee ad valorem on every shawl manufactured. 103 During the governorship of Abdullah Khan the Kashmir shawl for the first time found its way to Europe through one Syed Yaheya of Baghdad who on his visit to Kashmir had received it as a gift from the governor. 104 According to Lawrence, ‘The first shawls which reached Europe were brought by Napoleon, at the time of the campaign in Egypt, as a present to the empress Josephine, and from that time shawls became fashionable.’ 105 Consequently there was a great demand for the shawl and an increase in the number of looms which rose to 24,000 in 1813 when

Azim Khan was the Afghan governor of Kashmir. Finding it a profitable source of income, he reintroduced the system of forcible sale of grain at enhanced prices to shawl weavers in addition to the payment of excise duty. The shawl produced on the loom was taken by the state and the price of grain together with the amount of duty leviable on it, was recovered from its sale proceeds. Nobody could sell a piece which did not bear the stamp of Dag shawl in token of payment of duty thereon. The evasion of payment made one liable to condign punishment. 106

103 P.N.K. Bamzai, op. cit., p. 489; Also see R.K. Parmu, op. cit., p. 363. 104 Abdul Ahad, op. cit ., p. 12. 105 Lawrence, op. cit., p. 376. 106 P.N.K. Bamzai, op. cit., p. 489. 129

Moorcroft has left an interesting account of shawl manufacture in

Kashmir. The ‘pashm’ wool employed for shawl manufacture was obtained from domestic and wild goats and was brought from Tibet. 107

Moorcroft on his visit to Kashmir has left the following account of shawls manufactured there. “The whole value of shawl-goods manufactured in Kashmir may be estimated at about thirty-five lacs of rupees per annum, or say, three hundred thousand pounds. It had, however, latterly, much declined, and it was expected that in the year 1822-23 the value would scarcely exceed half the above sum. Kashmir was formerly restored to for shawl-goods by merchants from Turkey, both in Asia and Europe, by Armenian, Persians, Afghans,

Uzbecks, and by traders from Hindustan and from Chinese Turkistan. Political events had largely reduced the trade with Persia, Turkey, and the Panjab, and that with Hindustan had sustained much detriment from the prevalence of

British rule, and the loss of wealth by the Native courts, in which costly shawls were formerly a principal article of attire. The trade with Turkistan was on the increase, in consequence of the extending demands of Russia.” 108

As already mentioned, the shawls were used by the royalty and aristocracy as a luxury. 109 Srinagar was the provincial capital and became the natural centre of the shawl-weaving industry. Shawl weaving was a lucrative profession as compared to agriculture. The wool required for the manufacture of the shawls known as pashm was produced in the Chinese provinces of

Turfan, Chahthan, and Tibet. 110 In Kashmir it was imported from Western and

107 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, part-III, Ch. III, pp. 164-65. 108 Ibid, pp. 194-95; For details description, see pp. 164-95. 109 Ain , I, pp. 65-68; Muntakhabu-t-Tawarikh , II, p. 352. 110 In the valley, mulberry silkworms were obtained from eggs imported from Gilgit and Baltistan; the Gilgit eggs yielded a finer fabric. Shawls made out of shawl-wool were, perhaps, the most celebrated of the products of Kashmir. The best variety was that woven from Shahtoosh wool 130

Central Tibet and, even beyond, from Kashgar and Central Turkistan. 111 The routes leading to these mountainous regions were traversed with much difficulty. Merchants accustomed to these hardly tractable regions traversed these routes and brought the staff to the valley. 112 They employed labourers, who brought the wool loads on their back down to the valley. 113 The Kashmiri wool merchants monopolized the wool trade throughout Western Tibet. 114

Realising its economic and commercial importance for the very existence of the shawl, the Mughal emperors also treated Ladakh as a feudatory part of their empire and they enjoyed the privilege of receiving shawl-wool as a tribute. But in 1634 the supply of pashm was stopped when Shahjahan sent his force to Ladakh in order to help the chief of Iskardo. 115 The supply was, however, soon restored on account of peace made with the Raja. 116

Again, in 1682-83, on account of the Tibetan attack on Ladakh, the supply of wool was threatened, but the Mughal intervention on behalf of Ladakh forced the Qalmaq rulers of Tibet to retreat. 117 A treaty was concluded between Blabran a steward of the Dalai Lama and the king of Ladakh in

1683. 118 The provisions relating to commerce in shawl-wool were as under:

brought from Great Tibet: Ain, II, p. 170; Tuzuk, p. 301; J.F. Watson, The Textile Manufactures And The Costumes Of The People Of India , Varanasi, 1982, p. 122. 111 Desideri, op. cit., pp. 73, 76-78, 130; Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 402-03, 419-20, 425-27. 112 Bernier, op. cit., pp. 402-03, 419-20, 425-27. 113 Ibid, pp. 425-26; Lawrence, op. cit., p. 376. 114 Desideri, op. cit ., pp. 73, 78; A.H. Francke, Antiquities of Indian Tibet , New Delhi, reprint, 1994, vol. II, part-II, pp. 115-17; L.A. Waddell, Lhasa And Its Mysteries , Delhi, 1996, p.477. 115 Bernier, op. cit., pp. 419, 421-22, 425-26; A.H. Francke, op. cit ., vol. II, part-II, p. 114 & note. 116 Ibid. 117 Dr. L. Petech, The Indian Historical Quarterly , edited by Narendra Nath Law, The Calcutta Oriental Press, LTD., March, 1947, pp. 193-94; Also see A.H. Francke, op. cit ., vol. II, part-II, pp. 115-16. 118 A.H. Francke, op. cit., II, part-II, pp. 115-16; Thirty years after the Treaty we get a glimpse of the pashm trade in the “Account” by Father Desideri. He states: “in May, June, July and August, thousands and thousands of men go from Kashmir to Leh, otherwise called Lhata, the capital of Second Tibet, and carry back infinite number of loads of wool”: Desideri, op. cit ., p. 73. 131

(i) The fine wool of goats of Mnah-ris-Skor-gsum (Western Tibet) would

not be sold to any country other than Ladakh.

(ii) Four Kashmiri merchants should reside at Dpe-Thub (village), and carry

on bargains of wool trade.

(iii) Except the people known as Kha-Chul (Kashmiri) no Kashmiri of Kashmir would be allowed to go to Byan-than (Central Tibet).

(iv) The Kashmiris from Ladakh who used to visit Byan-than should not be

allowed themselves to go down to Kashmir with loads of wool.

(v) The price of fine wool and the mixed with coarse be fixed at 40 nag 119 to

one rupee. 120

A study of the provisions of the treaty loads us to the conclusions that the entire wool trade was in the hands of the Kashmiri merchants who had their agents throughout the wool raising areas. Secondly, the chief merchants advanced loans in cash and kind to the wool producers and collected the wool according to their choice. 121 One of the manuscripts gives an additional provision which stipulates that the Kashmiri merchants be forbidden to raise such objections as that the wool was wet or that it contained dust particles and the like while collecting the wool. 122

The merchants known as bakal had their own store houses. Soon after the arrival of the merchandise, the local merchants called pashm Farosh ( or wool retailers) and bakal (or pashm importers) were invited and transactions

119 A.H. Francke, op. cit ., II, part-II, p. 116. 120 Ibid. 121 Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 419-20; Also see Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, pp. 166-67; Desideri, op. cit., p. 73. 122 A.H. Francke, op. cit., II, part-II, p. 116. 132

were carried on through a broker (or Mokim ).123 After a thorough discussion the prices were fixed, and some nominal amount advanced to the merchant. The broker was also given some amount in lieu of his services. 124 The pashm farosh engaged a large number of women in order to spin the wool into yarn. 125 The yarn was purchased by the karkhandars from pashm farosh . The karkhandar was the proprietor of the weaving shop. The number of looms varied from three hundred to many more. 126 Srinagar contained more than 24,000 looms on which the shawls were woven. 127 The weavers were mostly poor because of the exploitation of the karkhandars. They were meagrely paid. 128 The karkhandars employed the artisans and paid them in cash. The artisans trained their children and the art went down from father to son. 129

The factors sold the texture to the shawl merchants. The latter had their warehouses all over Central Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and Bengal. 130 Payments from these places were mostly made by hundis .131 The merchants organized daily trade fairs to display their goods. 132 The customers mostly demanded the shawls according to designs of their choice. The shawl patterns were also suggested by them. 133 The Imperial court was the main customer of the shawls, and transactions worth lakhs of rupees were carried on at the Imperial camp. 134

123 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit., II, pp. 166-67; G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., II, pp. 132-33; Also see A.I Chicherov, op. cit. , p. 217. 124 A.I. Chicherov, op. cit ., pp. 218-19; Also see Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, pp. 166-67. 125 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit., II, p. 173. 126 Ibid, II, pp. 166-79; Also see A.I. Chicherov, op. cit ., p. 217. 127 Forster, op. cit ., II, p. 20; A.I. Chicherov, op. cit ., pp. 216-17. 128 Tarikh-i-Hasan, MS. No. 04, I, ff. 134b, 135a; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32/150, ff. 285ab; Also see A.I. Chicherov, op. cit., p. 170; Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, p. 178. 129 Bernier , op. cit ., p. 259; Also see A.I. Chicherov, op. cit ., pp. 217-19; Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, pp. 178-79. 130 Desideri, op. cit., pp. 73, 130, 317. 131 Ruqatt , Acc. No. 2776, Iqbal Library, Srinagar. 132 Desideri, op. cit ., pp. 132-33. 133 Dasturul-Amal-i-Asar-i-Alamgiri, p. 30621, Add. 6599, British Museum, Rieu, 404, Rotograph No. 53, CAS, AMU, Aligarh, ff. 70-71. 134 Tarikh-i-Hasan, MS. No. 04, I, f. 106a. 133

In Dasturul-Amal-i-Asar-i-Alamgiri , we come across some orders sent by

Indian merchants to Kashmiri manufacturers for producing various kinds of shawls. 135 During the 1 st half of 18 th century new techniques were developed and embroidery was improved. 136 Merchants from Persia, Russia and Turkistan and Afghanistan came to Kashmir to purchase the shawls. 137

Prices: The prices varied according to the variety and the quality of the shawls. We find rates mutually fixed for certain designs and measurements, such as , kamarband , plain shawl, romal, hashia and pashmina of tus, in Massiru-l Umara , and other Persian sources. 138

An ordinary shawl such as goshpech cost from one to two rupees. 139

Bernier writes: ‘These shawls are about an ell and a half long, and an ell broad, ornamented at both ends with a sort of embroidery, made in the loom, a foot in width.’140 Jamawar was a brocaded cloth made of cotton thread, silk and wool.

This kind of shawl was of an ordinary value, costing not more than ninety rupees. 141 Costly shawls were also manufactured and disposed of at fabulous prices beyond the capacity even of the wealthy and so they were the exclusive privilege of the emperors. Such shawls fetched thousands of rupees per piece. 142

According to Forster, ‘The price, at the loom, of an ordinary shawl, is eight rupees, thence in proportional quality, it produces from fifteen to twenty;

135 Dasturul-Amal-i-Asar-i-Alamgiri, ff. 70-71. 136 Tarikh-i-Hasan, MS. No. 04, I, ff. 132b, 148a. 137 Ibid , I, ff. 132b, 133a. 138 Rates vary according to design and size of shawls. Dasturul-Amal-i-Asar-i-Alamgiri, ff. 70-71; Maasiru-l Umara, , I, part-I, p. 181; Qazwini, Badshahnama, Rotograph No. 191B, II, p. 259. 139 Ain, I, p. 72. 140 Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 402-03. 141 Dasturul-Amal-i-Asar-i-Alamgiri, ff. 70-71. 142 Desideri, op. cit., p. 73; Tarikh-i-Hasan, MS. No. 04, I, f. 132b. 134

and I have seen a very fine piece sold at forty rupees the first cost. But the value of this commodity may be largely enhanced by the introduction of flowered work; and when you are informed that the sum of one hundred rupees is occasionally given for a shawl to the weaver, the half amount may be fairly ascribed to the ornaments.’ 143 A portion of the revenue of Kashmir was remitted to Afghan capital in shawl goods. The shawls were in three sizes, the long and the square ones were in common use in India, the other long and very narrow ones with black preponderating in their colour scheme were worn as girdles by the Northern Asiatics. 144

Moorcroft in his account gives a fairly good account of the manufactures of several articles, in Kashmir, with their usual prices. 145 He further writes, that ‘the whole value of shawl-goods manufactured in Kashmir may be estimated at about thirty-five lacs of rupees per annum, or say, three hundred thousand pounds. It had, however, latterly, much declined, and it was expected that in the year 1822-3 the value would scarcely exceed half the above sum.’ 146

G.T. Vigne writes about the prices that ‘when made with coloured stripes or flowers on it, the chograh of the Afghans, or al-khalek , the long under-coat of the Persians, are made from it. If the pattern be worked with the needle, the shawl is far inferior in every respect to those in which the pattern is woven in. An excellent pair of the former description may be purchased in Kashmir for 150 rupees, whereas an equally good pair of the usuleh (the real), or the latter kind, could not be procured for less than 700 or 800 rupees.’ 147

143 Forster, op. cit., II, pp. 18-19. 144 Ibid, II, p. 19. 145 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, pp. 188-94. 146 Ibid , II, p. 194. 147 G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., II, p. 128. 135

Other Industries: Silk, Carpet Making, Paper Making, Wood Carving and Boat Making

Kashmir was also known for its silk production. Kashmirians imported silk worm eggs from the neighbouring provinces of Little Tibet and Gilgit 148 and nurtured them on local mulberry trees. 149 This import had, on the one hand, improved the quality of Kashmiri silk, on the other, had stimulated the industry to such an extent that Mirza Haider Dughlat regarded its enormous volume as one of the wonders of Kashmir. 150 Evidently it was on account of the superior quality and sizable quantity of this silk which had led Emperor Akbar to reserve it an imperial monopoly. 151 This flourishing industry was spread all over the subah , and some of its stuffs were received by Lahore too. 152

According to Moreland, “The production of silk in Kashmir was worked up locally, but does not appear to have been extensive”. He further states that compared to Bengal, silk production in Kashmir was relatively small. 153

We have very scanty information about the carpet industry of Kashmir during the Mughals period. It was, however, in the time of Ahmad Beg Khan, one of Emperor Jahangir’s governors of Kashmir that a Kashmiri Muslim, named Akhund Rahnuma went to perform the Haj pilgrimage via Central Asia.

On his way back he visited Andijan in Persia where carpets were manufactured. There he picked up the art and re-started the industry in

148 Ain, II, p. 170. 149 Tarikh-i-Rashidi, Eng. Transl. p. 425; Ain, II, p. 170. 150 Ibid. 151 Akbarnama, III, part-II, p. 481; In Ain, Abul Fazl, writes: “The mulberry is little eaten, its leaves being reserved for the silk-worm”: Ain, II, p. 170. 152 Ain, I, pp. 65-68; Bernier, op. cit., p. 403. 153 W.H. Moreland, India At The Death Of Akbar , An Economic Study , LPP, Delhi, reprinted 1995, pp. 173, 175. 136

Kashmir. The pile carpets made in Kashmir attained great perfection and were of floral design with mosques, gardens, wild animals, gliding fish, etc. 154

Evidence of the production of ‘woven’ (piled?) carpets in Kashmir from before or during the Mughal period is scarce. However, the group of seventeenth century Persianate carpets from the shrine of the Athar Mahal at Bijapur is said to have been received by Muhammad ‘Adil Shah from Kashmir in 1657. These carpets were probably among those that have been preserved in the museum of the Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur. Technical examination could support the possibility that they were the products of a short-lived karkhana in the Kashmir valley. 155

This industry flourished simultaneously with the shawl industry. Kashmiri carpets were considered superior to those imported from Persia. 156

The cost of a yard of superior quality exceeded over a hundred rupees. 157 There were state-owned karkhanas apart from the private karkhanas .158 This industry seems to have continued to flourish even in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. 159

Kashmir was once famous for the manufacture of paper. They specialized in its production. According to Abul Fazl, ‘The people of Kashmir write chiefly on Tuz which is the bark of a tree, worked into sheets with some rude art and which keeps for years. All their ancient documents are written on

154 P.N.K. Bamzai, op. cit ., p. 490. He also writes that, ‘the carpet weaving industry owes its origin to Zainul Abidin who brought carpet weavers from Samarqand.’ 155 Simon Digby, Export industries and handicraft production under the Sultans of Kashmir, The Indian Economic and Social History Review , 44, 4 (Oct.-Dec., 2007), New Delhi, p. 421. 156 Lahori, Badshahnama, I, part-I, p. 448. 157 Ibid; Amal-i-Saleh , ed. Ghulam Yazdani, vol. I, p. 515-16, Saleh says Rs.90 a yard. 158 Waris , Badshahnama , Transcript No. 87, II, f. 373. 159 For details see Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 377-78. 137

this. Their ink is so prepared as to be indelible by washing’. 160 The Kashmir paper was of silky texture and glossy appearance and was in great demand in India for writing purposes, 161 “was much in request in India for manuscripts, and was used by all who wished to impart dignity to their correspondence’. 162

Forster writing in 1783, says that “the Kashmirians fabricated the best writing paper of the East, which was formerly an article of extensive traffic.” 163 Good- quality paper was manufactured in considerable quantity, which was made from rags, hemp fibre and silk; obtained by pounding these materials under a lever mill worked by water-power. 164 The Kashmiri paper possessed the quality that once the ink had been washed off, it could again be used for writing. 165

Large quantity of paper was exported to Persia from Ahmedabad, which was presumably brought from Kashmir. 166

Kashmir specialized in the production of papier-mâché. Numerous beautifully coloured papier-mâché articles such as ink-stands were produced from pulped paper displaying flowery patterns decorated with applications of gold-dust or tin. 167 Lawrence writes, “The nakash or lacquer-workers chiefly apply their beautiful designs to smooth wood----. The skill shown by the nakash in sketching and designing is remarkable. The papier-mâché work is known as kar-i-kalamdani , as the best specimens of the old work were the pen- boxes ( kalamdan ), but a variety of articles such as tables, cabinets and trays are

160 Ain , II, p. 170. 161 Muntakhabu-t Tawarikh, III, p. 144; Forster, op. cit ., II, p. 19; According to G.T. Vigne, “five kinds of paper, the best of which is superior to that made in the plains, is manufactured in Kashmir”: G.T. Vigne, op. cit., II, p. 121; Also see Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 379. 162 Lawrence, op. cit., p. 379. 163 Forster, op. cit., II, p. 19. 164 Ibid; G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., II, p. 121; Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, p. 217; Lawrence, op. cit., p. 379; N.S. Gupta, op. cit., p. 114. 165 Muntakhabu-t Tawarikh , III, p. 144. 166 E.F.I. 1618-1621, pp. 76, 142. 167 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit., II, pp. 215-16. 138

now made, and the richer classes call in the nakash for the decoration of their ceilings and walls.” 168 ‘The Kashmirian’s are expert as manufacturers of wooden’ works and ‘the painting on the pen-cases and work-boxes is alike curious and elegant in pattern. They have no oil colours, but flowers and other ornaments are sometimes raised on the surface, by means of a composition paste, then painted and oiled two or three times, until they have the appearance of being varnished.’ 169

The wood carving industry was also in a flourishing state during the period. Wood carvings and furniture of delicate nature (khatimband kursi )170 were also manufactured. The beautiful specimens of the carpenter’s art are still extant in the khatamband ceilings, pinjra or lattice-work, and carving in the mosques of Shah Hamadan and Naqashband Sahib in Srinagar. 171 Kashmir produced excellent wood work, as noted by Bernier, that ‘they are also active and industrious. The workmanship and beauty of their palekys, bedsteads, trunks, inkstands, boxes, spoons, and various other things are quite remarkable, and articles of their manufacture are in use in every part of the Indies. They perfectly understand the art of varnishing, and are eminently skilful in closely imitating the beautiful veins of a certain wood, by inlaying with gold threads so delicately wrought that I never saw anything more elegant or perfect.’ 172 G.T.

Vigne writes: “The Kashmirian’s are very expert as manufacturers of wooden toys, turnery, ornamental carving in wood, inlaid work of different woods,

168 Lawrence, op. cit., p. 378. 169 G.T. Vigne, op. cit., II, p. 122; According to Moorcroft, ‘A branch of manufacture for which Kashmir has long been celebrated, is that of ornamented pen-cases made of paper’: Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, p. 214. 170 Aurangzeb Alamgir, Raqaim-u-Karaim , ed. Sayyid Ashraf Khan, in A.H.1200, Insha-i-Farsi, MS. 412/145, Sulaiman Collection, MAL, AMU, Aligarh, ff. 21-22. 171 P.N.K. Bamzai, op. cit. , p. 492; Also see Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 379. 172 Bernier, op. cit ., p. 402. 139

ivory, and mother- of pearl; and the painting on the pen-cases and work-boxes is alike curious and elegant in pattern.” 173

The boat industry of Kashmir was one of great importance. Abul Fazl in

Ain, writes: ‘In every part of His Majesty’s empire ships are numerous; but in

Bengal, Kashmir, and Thathah (Sind) they are the pivot of all commerce. His Majesty had the sterns of the boats made in shape of wonderful animals, and thus combines terror with amusement. Turrets and pleasing kiosks, markets, and beautiful flower-beds, have likewise been constructed on the rivers……In Kashmir, a model of a ship was made which was much admired.’ 174 Thus

Kashmir, Bengal and some other places like Lahore, Ilahabad had developed as the principal centres of this karkhana . In Kashmir, Thattah and Bengal this was the chief mode of transport. 175

There were more than 5,700 boats playing in the river Jhelum and its tributaries during the reigns of Akbar and Jahangir. 176 In Ain-i-Akbari , Abul Fazl, mentions that “the carriage of goods is effected by boat. Boatmen and carpenters drive a thriving trade.” 177 The cargo boats were known as bahats and the light boats called Shikaras. Shikara was used for the general conveyance of the people. 178 During his first visit, Akbar wanted to visit the upper division of the valley in a boat and so a large number of beautiful house-boats were afloat on the river Jhelum and the Dal Lake and he introduced some new type of

173 G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., II, p. 122. 174 Ain, I, pp. 144-45. 175 Ibid. 176 In Akbarnama, Abul Fazl, mentions that there were 30,000 boats in the valley: Akbarnama, III, part-II, p. 550; According to Mutamad Khan, there were , 5,700 boats, and the number of the boatmen was fixed at 7,400: Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri , ed. Abdal-Hay and Ahad Ali, p. 149; Tuzuk , p. 298. 177 Ain, II, p. 170. 178 Tarikh-i-Hasan, MS. No. 04, I, ff. 140ab-141a, The author states that there were ten types of boats used for various purposes. He also gives a good account of boat-making. Also see Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 380-82. 140

boats fashioned after the Gujarat and Bengal models. 179 The construction and organization of this department was assigned to an official called Mir Bahri .180 He supervised the building of boats as well as the maintenance of bridges.181

Jahangir in his memoirs says that ‘Shahjahan presented me (Jahangir) with a boat made after the Kashmir fashion, the sitting-place of which they had made of silver. At the end of that day I embarked in that boat and went round the tank.’ 182 Boat remained an important centre upon which not only commerce moved but was also used for the conveyance of the people up to the end of eighteenth century. 183 Forster on his visit to Kashmir in 1783 has left the following account of Kashmiri boats: ‘The boats of Kashmir are long and narrow, and are rowed with paddles: from the stern, which is a little elevated, to the centre, a tilt of mats is extended for the shelter of passengers or merchandize.’ 184

179 In Akbarnama, Abul Fazl writes: ‘In the country (Kashmir) there were more than thirty thousand boats, but none fit for the world’s lord, so able artificers soon prepared the river palaces ( Takht- i-Rawans ) and made flower gardens on the surface of the water, vol. III, part-II, p. 550; The Takht-i-Rawans (the river palaces) were also used by Shahjahan when he went for sight-seeing on the and the Dal Lake , Muntakhabu-Lubab , vol. I, part-II, pp. 705-06; Ain , I, pp. 144-45. 180 Ain , I, pp. 144-45; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32/150 , f. 146a. 181 Ibid ; P. Saran, The Provincial Government of The Mughals 1526-1658 , Bombay, 1973, p. 158. 182 Tuzuk , p. 249. 183 Forster, op. cit ., II, p. 9. 184 Ibid.

(B)CRAFT PRODUCTION AND TECHNOLOGY

After the discussion of various industries and manufactures, it is thus appropriate to discuss the craft technology like, spinning, dyeing, warping,

weaving, washing, calendaring as well as the type of patterns and methods of

shawl weaving and other stuff.

The major craft products of Kashmir were shawls and other woollen

stuffs such as felt. Shawls made out of shawls-wool were, perhaps, the most

celebrated of the products of Kashmir. The best variety was that woven from shahtoosh wool brought from Great Tibet. Kashmir was also known for its silk

production. According to Abul Fazl, ‘the mulberry is little eaten, its leaves

being reserved for the silk-worm. The eggs are brought from Gilgit and Little Tibet.’ 1 He also writes that ‘woollen fabrics are made in high perfection especially shawls which are sent as valuable gifts to every clime.’ 2

Now we come to discuss the craft technology as well as manufacturing process. The wool was obtained from the hair of the goats, yaks, and dogs of

Great Tibet, through various agencies. 3 The wool in its raw state was a mixture

1 Ain, II, p. 170; Tuzuk, p. 300. 2 Ibid. 3 F. Bernier, op. cit., p. 403; Ippolito Desideri, op. cit., pp. 73, 377, ‘The merchants of Kashmir keep a large number of agents in Second Tibet who collect the wool during the year, paying a most miserable price….and carry back infinite number of loads of wool; this is spun in Kashmir to marvellously fine thread from which is woven the thin, very delicate Kashmir cloth, renowned all over India:’ Desideri, op. cit ., p.73; G.T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. II, p. 124. Further he writes that, ‘The Kashmirian merchants purchase the poshm at Leh, at the rate of eighty puls (small handfuls) for a small rupi. It is then cleaned on the spot, and one part in four only is fit for the purposes of the weaver. This is then carried upon men’s backs to Kashmir. One man will carry ten trak . The time occupied is eighteen days, and he is paid at the rate of one small rupi a trak, for the whole distance; though I believe some further allowance is made when the quality is very good. When it arrives in Kashmir the governor takes possession of it, and sells it again to the merchants, at 20 per cent. profit upon their whole expenses, he keeping the difference for himself. The white poshm may then be purchased in the city, at about four small rupis a ser (2 lb . English), and khad-rung , or dun-coloured, at two-and-a-half rupis a ser: ’ G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., II, pp. 126-27; William Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit., vol. II, pp. 166-68: Firstly, wool loads were first received by the bakal, or merchant importers who subsequently contacted a mokim or 142

of external particles like dust, grass blades, thorns, coarse hair and the fleece.

The women workers first disentangled the bails and then separated the fleece from the external particles. 4 This fleece was turned into elastic pads. After spinning the wool the pashm farosh sold the wefts to the karkhandar . This process of cleaning and spinning provided jobs to thousands of women and children. 5

‘The wool exposed for retail by the purchaser was generally bought by women for the purpose of spinning it into yarn.’ 6 Bernier reported that shawl weaving and embroidery provided employment for a large number of children. 7

In the early 19 th century, girls started spinning at the age of 10, while a hundred thousand females were employed in this occupation in Kashmir. But there were some male spinners also, who were renowned for spinning the finest yarn, while the number of male spinners is not known. Although the weavers were all males. 8

Before pashm could be spun into a thin and delicate yarn it was processed thoroughly by cleaning, sorting, combing etc. Since it normally contained coarse hair and other foreign substance, 9 the first step taken was their removal. The second job, the most exerting one, was to separate strong hairs, weighing 1/3 rd of the total weight, from the thin fibres. The fine pashmina was

broker to pass on the news of the receipt of merchandise to retailers who, after settling the terms, took the delivery to bring the wool for sale in the market. 4 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, pp. 168-69: The various external particles comprising raw wool have been analysed by Moorcroft as follow: Coarse Hair = 1 ½ sers. Second, or Phiri = 0 3/8 sers. Dust and Foreign Substances = 2 1/8 sers Fine Wool = 2 sers Total = 6 seers 5 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, pp. 168-69; Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 402- 3. 6 Ibid, II, p. 168. 7 Bernier, op. cit ., p. 402. 8 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, pp. 173-74, 178. 9 Abdul Ahad, op. cit., p. 29; Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, p. 168. 143

then kneeded with finger tips; this kneeding process, called Vechenawun , is presently done with the help of a kangen or comb instead of finger tips. For this purpose the kangen, made of wood, is firmly mounted on a frame. 10 The kneeded pashm was then divided into small balls which were subsequently mixed with rice flour prepared by the ladies for this purpose from wet rice. 11 ‘A quantity of husked rice is steeped in clean cold water, for a day and a night, or longer, until it becomes soft, when it is ground or bruised upon a stone slab to fine flour. Thin layers of this and of the picked wool are laid alternately, and squeezed with the hand until they are completely intermixed. A little water may be occasionally sprinkled over the heap---. After being thus treated for about an hour, the flour is shaken out, the wool opened and torn to pieces, chiefly by the nails’ 12 and combs, 13 ‘and made into somewhat square, thin, elastic pads, called

Tumbu .’ In this process seconds-wool, or phiri , was disentangled. 14

This process was repeated till the ladies were satisfied that the wool was absolutely free from phiri or the seconds wool and twist or knot. If necessary, combing was repeated for a second time and even thrice. 15 The soft and flexible pads of wool were ‘deposited in a deep pot of red earthenware, called a Taskas, to be out of the way of dust or accident, till required for the spinning-wheel.’ 16

This spinning was done on traditional charkhas , called inders .17 There were three types of wheel, named the Takhtidar or Pachimdar , the Katzker, and the Pakhchedar, but varied in neatness of form and finish, according to its

10 Abdul Ahad, op. cit., p. 29. 11 Ibid. 12 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, p. 169. 13 Abdul Ahad, op. cit ., p. 30. 14 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, p. 169. 15 Abdul Ahad, op. cit ., p. 30. 16 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, pp. 169-70. 17 Abdul Ahad, op. cit ., p. 30. 144

price. For example the Takhtidar or Pachimdar was a rough and rudest wheel.

It did not cost more than half rupees. The Katzker would cost from 3 to 4 rupees, which was the most serviceable. While the Pakhchedar , was used by those who spin for amusement only. Being a costly wheel, price varying between 6 to 16 rupees. 18 The traditional charkha was most effective for spinning and the length of the yarn spun with it was generally seven hundred gaz . It was cut into two hundred lengths each consisting of three and a half gaz .

The yarn of the fine wool was sold to the Puimangu , sometimes by measures and sometimes by weight, who stored it and ‘also sends people to collect it from the houses of the spinners, who give notice of their approach by ringing a bell. 19 The yarn thus gathered was sold by the Puimangu to the loom-master and the karkhandar.

After this above process, the yarn was divided into skeins accordingly, and each skein was delivered to the rang-rez or dyer. Some of it was retained undyed for weaving shawls of natural shade or colour. 20 The rang-rez or dyers were well proficient in dyeing yarn with different colours and tints of permanent nature. 21 Most of the tints used were natural vegetable dyes such as Kirmizy, gulally, zaitoni, badamy, faktahy and zumhary .22 Logwood was imported from Multan, and indigo from India, only saffron and orange colours being locally available. 23 Red, blue and yellow colours possessed richness, permanency and beauty. 24 On the other hand, the black and green were not

18 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, p. 170. 19 Ibid , II, pp. 171-72, 174. 20 Ibid , pp. 174-75; According to Vigne, The undyed shawl stuff, was called ubra , from ubr (a cloud), or alwan-i-sadah (without colour), op. cit ., vol. II, pp. 127-28. 21 Ibid , II, pp. 175-76; Ibid. 22 Abdul Ahad, op. cit ., pp. 30-31 & n.24. 23 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, pp. 175-76. 24 Abdul Ahad, op. cit ., p. 31. 145

beautiful because they were extracted from cheap coarse cloth imported from

England. 25

After the thread was dyed, the yarn was dipped in rice-water, a process to make it stronger and flexible so that it could be easily handled in the shuttle at the time of weaving, and thus the stiffness was removed by washing. 26

Then, the yarn was subjected to warping and wefting as well as dressing and reeling. The Nakatu or the warp-maker twisted the dyed yarn for the warp and for the weft. He could cut it into two thousand to three thousand lengths each comprising three and a half gaz . Usually it took him one day to prepare the warp and weft for two shawls. ‘The weft is made of yarn which is single, but a little thicker than the double yarn or twist of the warp.’ 27

The warp-dresser or the Pennakam guru with the help of sticks would stretch the lengths into a band and dip it into thick-boiled rice-water. After this the skein was slightly squeezed, and again stretched into a band, which was brushed and suffered to dry: by this process each length becomes stiffened, and set apart from the rest. 28 Then, the yarn was given to the warp-threader who passed it through the heddles. Later on, weavers fixed it on to the loom. 29

There were three different specialists who fixed distinctive qualities of coloured yarn for making an artistic shawl. First, was the ‘Nakash, or pattern- drawer, who brings the drawing of the pattern in black and white. Second, Tarah-guru was a reckoner and a colour-caller whose task was to give a complete thought to the selection and arrangement of colours. He would count

25 Ibid. 26 G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., II, p. 127. 27 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, pp. 176-77. 28 Ibid , II, p. 177. 29 Ibid , II, p. 178. 146

the number of threads required for each colour in the pattern. And the third one, was the Talim-guru who was the writer of designs. He was to write down intelligibly the instructions of tarah-guru regarding different colours and their proportion or quantities in terms of threads to be used. 30

After obtaining a copy of talim , three weavers worked jointly to weave two threads kani-shawl on a ‘foot’ type loom consisting of roller, backrest, healds, reed and spools or tujis. 31 The ustad or the head weaver sitting in the middle would read aloud talim or symbol which was accordingly followed by khahanwol, the weaver second in command. The third weaver, tsat or shagird , adjusted tujis or spools each of which contained 4 grains of coloured yarn. 32

These needles or tujis , were made of light, smooth wood, and they were eyeless needles with sharp edges and their number varied from four hundred to fifteen hundred, according to the lightness or heaviness of the embroidery. 33 ‘Under the superintendence of the tarah-guru , the weavers knot the yarn of the tuji to the warp. The face, or right side of the cloth, is placed next to the ground, the work being carried on at the back or reverse, on which hang the needles in a row.’ Once the process was repeated a heavy comb was brought down vigorously to stiffen the woof or the first ling of the weaving. 34 This process would continue till the cloth was woven.

The cloth of shawls, usually, was of two kinds, one plain, or of two threads, one twilled, or of four. ‘The former was, in past times, wrought to a great degree of fineness, but it has been, of late, less in demand.’ The various twilled cloths were generally from five to twelve girehs, or nails, wide and were

30 Ibid , II, pp. 179-80. 31 Abdul Ahad, op. cit ., p. 32. 32 Ibid. 33 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, p. 180. 34 Ibid , II, pp. 180-81; C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir, p. 57. 147

generally about twenty-four nails broad, engaged two weavers at the loom, one throwing shuttle at the one edge and another receiving it at the other and then repeating the process after inserting his fingers into the warp. This process would continue till the completion of the shawl which was often irregular and not so soft as the one of two threads. 35 In order to avoid this irregularity the shawl was woven separately and the design was adjusted afterwards by the rafugar or fine-drawer, with such nicely that it was not possible to detect the joints. Likewise, there were three experts like rafugar , the tabgar (twister) and the alakaband (reeler), in silken borders of the shawl, which engaged them to prepare and attach them with outer edgings of the shawl. 36 When finished, the shawls were submitted to the Purusgar , or cleaner, whose business it was to free the shawl from discoloured hairs or yarn, and from ends or knots and he employed a pair of small tweezers for pulling-out hairs and cleaning the face and back of the cloth of knots and neps. Any defects arising from either operation were immediately repaired by the rafugar .37

Lastly, the shawl was sent to the dhobi or washerman who washed it very cautiously with soap. Soap was used for white shawls only and never on embroidered shawls. Coloured shawls were dried in the shade; white ones were bleached in the open air, and their colour was improved by exposure to fumes of Sulphur. 38 After being washed, the shawls were subjected to calendering

35 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, pp. 181-82. 36 Ibid, II, pp. 177-78; Abdul Ahad, op. cit ., p. 32. 37 Moorcroft & Trebeck, II, op. cit ., p. 184. 38 Ibid , II, pp. 184-85; According to G.T. Vigne, “It becomes necessary to wash the shawls, in order to deprive them of the stiffness of the rice-starch remaining in the thread, and for the purpose of softening them generally.” Further he writes, that “soap is sometimes used, but is not good generally, and is never used for the coloured shawls.” He also says that ‘New shawls, are washed by means of the freshly gathered root of a parasitical plant called kritz: ’ op. cit ., II, pp. 129-31. 148

done with the help of a wooden cylinder for two days. Then would follow processes like pressing and packaging. 39

There were two methods of shawl weaving, one was known as Kani -

shawl (twill-tapestry),40 and the other as Amalkari -shawl. 41 The famous designs or textures were known as pashmina kani, jora kani, qasaba kani, romal, shah pasand, jamwar, hashiya. The Amalkari shawls were made in the form of qasaba , handkerchiefs, scarves, palka, du shal, chogha, angrakh , qaba, kamarband and langoota .42 The twill tapestry method was complicated. It required the greatest concentration and skill. 43 The Amli -shawl, more commonly known as Amlkari shawl, is a magnificent piece of art embroidered with needles. 44 The Amlkari method was comparatively easy. The cloth was woven on the traditional looms of different measurements. 45

The innovations of Akbar were not only in respect of the dye, but various new qualities were introduced as well. The Mughals took keen interest in the improvement of shawl designs and colours and provided the industry with a technological base. 46 ‘In the matter of industry India was more advanced

39 Moorcroft & Trebeck, II, op. cit ., pp. 185-86; C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir , p. 58. 40 Kani -shawls attained great perfection during the Mughal period: Abdul Ahad, op. cit., p.35; According to Prof. Wani, ‘These shawls are called “Kani ” shawls because they are woven in village by name “ Kanihama ”. In “ Kani” means wooden sticks. “ Hama” means village. As these shawls are woven using several number of wooden sticks on which the weft yarn is wound and interlaced with the warp to weave the shawl with unique designs, so this shawl got its name as “ Kani” shawl. Further he writes ‘this “ Kani ” shawl weaving technique continued to stay with the family in Kashmir by name “ Kani ”. It is traced that since 1770 this family maintained this technique of weaving the “ Kani ” shawls:’ Mohammed Ashraf Wani, Kani Shawl, pp. 1-2, 6. 41 Moorcroft & Trebeck, II, op. cit ., pp. 186-87; Also see Abdul Ahad, op. cit ., pp. 36-37. 42 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 409. 43 Moorcroft & Trebeck, II, op. cit ., pp.176-84; Also see Abdul Ahad, op. cit ., pp.32-35. 44 Abdul Ahad, op. cit ., p. 36. 45 Bernier, op. cit., pp. 402-03; ‘In the amli -shawl the pattern, which is in every case delineated, but which at the loom is read off in certain technical terms from a book, is covered with transparent paper, upon which the outlines of the composition are slightly traced with a charcoal twig, and the traced lines are permanently defined by being pricked through with a small needle: Moorcroft & Trebeck, II, op. cit., pp. 186-87. 46 Ain, I, pp. 67-68; Qazwini, Badshahnama, Rotograph No. 191B, vol. II, f. 259; Maasiru-l Umara , vol. I, pp. 180-81 Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, vol. I, pp. 515-16. 149

relatively to Western Europe.’ 47 In Ain 31 48 Abul Fazl, says that ‘His Majesty

pays much attention to various stuffs---. Skilful masters and workmen have settled in this country to teach people an improved system of manufacture.’

Further he writes that ‘All kinds of hair-weaving and silk-spinning were

brought to perfection.’ Ain 32 49 gives a fairly good account of the improvement which Akbar introduced in the industry. ‘His Majesty improved this department in four ways.’ Firstly, tus shawl was made from the hair of tus goat. ‘Its natural colour are black, white, and red, but chiefly black. Sometimes the colour is a pure white. This kind of shawl is unrivalled for its lightness, warmth, and softness. People generally wear it without altering its natural colour; his Majesty has had it dyed. It is curious that it will not take a red dye.’ 50 Secondly, the corded and patterned shawls ( Tarhdars shawls) were made of either white, black or mixed. The white kind was formerly dyed in three colours, ‘his majesty has given the order to dye it in various ways.’ 51 Thirdly, attention was paid to the manufacture of different varieties of shawls, stuffs such as zardozi, kalabatun, kashida, qalghai, bandhnun, chhint, alcha, purzdar and parm narm .52 ‘Fourthly, an improvement was made in the width of

47 W.H. Moreland, op. cit., p. 156. 48 Ain, I, pp. 65-66. 49 Ibid , I, pp. 67-68. 50 Ibid ; For tus shawl, Also see Bernier, op. cit., p. 403; In the nineteenth century when Moorcroft visited Kashmir there were two kinds of goat wool, called pashm shal obtained from the wool of domestic goats and Asali Tus obtained from the hair of wild goats and sheep: Moorcroft & Trebeck, II, op. cit ., p. 165. 51 Ibid, I, pp. 67-68: Abul Fazl further writes that, ‘The following is the order of colours: tus, safidalcha , ruby-coloured, golden, orange, brass-coloured, crimson, grass green, cotton-flower coloured, sandalwood-coloured, almond-coloured, purple, grape-coloured, mauve like the colour of some parrots, honey-coloured, brownish lilac, coloured like the Ratanmanjani flower, coloured like the Kasni flower, apple-coloured, hay-coloured, pistachio,…, bhojpatra coloured, pink, light blue, coloured like the galghah flower, water-coloured, oil-coloured, brown red, emerald, bluish like China-ware, violet, bright pink, mangoe coloured, musk-coloured, coloured like the Fakhta. 52 Ibid, & Its transl. I, pp. 96-97 & nos. 1, 2: ‘ Zardozi, Kalabatun (Forbes, kalabattun), Kashida, Qalghai , are stuffs with gold and silk threads; Bandhnun, are stuffs dyed differently in different parts of the piece; Chhint is our chintz , which is derived from Chhint. Alcha , any kind of corded (mukhattat ) stuff. Purzdar are all kinds of stuffs the outside of which is plush-like.’ Also see 150

all stuffs; his majesty had the pieces made large enough to yield the making of a full dress.’ 53

Thus we find that during this period, shawls came to be woven in different designs, colours and sizes. 54

Jahangir in his Tuzuk , states that ‘the woollen cloths are well known. Men and women wear a woollen tunic ( ) , and call it pattu …….The shawls of Kashmir, to which my father gave the name of parm-narm , are very famous: there is no need to praise them. Another kind is taharma (naharma in the printed version); it is thicker than a shawl, and soft. Another is called darma . It is like a jul-i-khirsak (Jul is a coverlet, and khirsak means a little bear, but is applied to a rough woollen coverlet-a drugget. Darma is a name in Bengal for a reed mat.) and is put over carpets. With the exception of shawls they make other woollen materials better in Tibet. Though they bring the wool for the shawls from Tibet they do not make them there. The wool for shawls comes from a goat which is peculiar to Tibet. In Kashmir they weave the pattu shawl from wool, and sewing two shawls together they smooth them into a kind of saqarlat (broad-cloth), which is not bad for a rain-coat.’ 55 From the above account of shawl it is clear that the shawl industry of Kashmir in Jahangir’s time was in a flourishing state. The Hindi name parm narm coined by Akbar for shawls continued and it seems to have formed a regular article for presentation to the nobles. 56 The naharma is translated by the editor of Tuzuk-i-

Moorcroft & Trebeck, II, op. cit ., pp. 191-92: According to Moorcroft, some shawls with green flowers tied in small hard knots to protect them from the action of the dye were made. When united each flower was surrounded by a small white field to which small eyes of spots of yellow, red were added by the embroiderers or chikkandoz. 53 Ibid, I, p. 68. 54 Ibid; Bernier, op. cit ., p. 403. 55 Tuzuk, pp. 300-301. 56 Ibid, pp. 193, 239, 289. 151

Jahangiri , in a footnote as ‘like a river’, for the shawl had waves ( maujdar ).

Apparently this kind was decorated with a wavy pattern. In his memoirs we also find that Jahangir once presented to Mirza Raja Bhao Singh a special

Kashmir phup shawl. 57 Apparently it was a flowered shawl. It is also said that tus shawl was a special prerogative of the king. It could only be worn when ordered by the king. 58 Dushala and Mayan were also noted for their patterns. 59

The Badshahnama of Qazwini, gives names for different varieties of shawls and other woollen stuffs, which were familiar during the time of Shahjahan, such as tus -shawl, pashm -shawl, jamahwars, kamarbandh, qalins (carpets), janimaz .60

It is said that embroidery was introduced in the sixteenth century but as a matter of fact, it was already existing in Persia during Saljuq period (A.D. 1037-1557) under strong Chinese influence. 61 Persian influence affected the Kashmir style also. It seems that embroidery was introduced in the latter half of the sixteenth century and received impetus from Akbar. 62 During the time of Zainul Abidin (1420-70), variegated plants and flowers were woven on the new type of loom, 63 but the needle work embroidery was the development of the Mughal empire. 64 The innovations of Mughals expressed themselves in technical improvement which subsequently resulted in the manufacture of du- shala. 65

57 Ibid , p. 146. 58 Ibid, p. 190. 59 Ain, I, p. 68. 60 Qazwini, Badshahnama, Rotograph No. 191B, vol. II, f. 259. 61 Wulf E. Hans, The Traditional Crafts of Persia , Printed in the United States of America, 1966, p. 217. The embroidery work was made with needles but during the reign of Zainul-Abidin various designs of flowers and bales were woven on the loom. 62 Hasan, Tarikh-i-Hasan , MS. No. 04, CAS, vol. I, ff. 106a, 148a. 63 Srivara, Jaina Rajatarangini , Eng. Transl. J.C. Dutt, p. 151. 64 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. II, Part-I, p. 404. 65 Ain, I, p. 68. Du-shala , or the shawl so finely woven to have similar designs on both sides that looks very well. 152

Bernier on his visit to Kashmir has left a fairly good account of articles of their manufacture. According to him, ‘they are very active and industrious. The workmanship and beauty of their palekys , bedsteads, trunks, inkstands, boxes, spoons, and various other things are quite remarkable, and articles of their manufacture are in use in every part of the Indies . They perfectly understand the art of varnishing, and are eminently skilful in closely imitating the beautiful veins of a certain wood, by inlaying with gold threads so delicately wrought that I never saw anything more elegant or perfect. But what may be considered peculiar to Kachemire , and the staple commodity, that which particularly promotes the trade of the country and fills it with wealth, is the prodigious quantity of shawls which they manufacture, and which gives occupation even to the little children. These shawls are about an ell and a half long, and an ell broad, ornamented at both ends with a sort of embroidery, made in the loom, at foot in width. The Mogols and Indians , women as well as men, wear them in winter round their heads, passing them over the left shoulder as a mantle. There are two sorts manufactured: one kind with the wool of the country, finer and more delicate than that of Spain; the other kind with the wool, or rather hair (called touz ) found on the breast of a species of wild goat which inhabits Great Tibet. The touz shawls are much more esteemed than those made with the native wool. I have seen some, made purposely for the Omrahs , which cost one hundred and fifty roupies ; but I cannot learn that the others have ever sold for more than fifty. They are very apt, however, to be worm-eaten, unless frequently unfolded and aired. The fur of the beaver is not so soft and fine as the hair from these goats. Great pains have been taken to manufacture similar shawls in Patna, Agra , and Lahor ; but notwithstanding every possible care, they never have the delicate texture and softness of the 153

Kachemire shawls, whose unrivalled excellence may be owing to certain properties in the water of that country.’66 It seems that during the time of Aurangzeb, there was great demand for Kashmir shawls and its production increased. Besides Lahore, shawls were being manufactured at Agra and Patna as well.

The Mughal shawls were so fine that they could easily pass through a small finger-ring. 67 The borders of the Mughal kani -shawls were usually ornamented with gold or silk threads or kalabatun .68 Their usual size was about an ell and a half long, and an ell broad. 69 In the time of Aurangzeb decoration was limited so that the shawl appeared a little modest. 70 Floral design was also introduced in the time of the Mughals, for instance, the Shah Pasand design. The fabric had curves filled with colourful lines and flowers. 71 Further the floral design manifested itself in a new shape with a vase of flowers called butha, in the reign of emperor Muhammad Shah. It was called the ‘Muhammad Shah buta’.72

About buta Moorcroft writes, ‘ Butha, is the generic term for flower, ---- when there is a double row, one above the other, the Butha is called Dokad, Sehkad , up to five, after which it takes the name of Tukaddar . Each Butha consists of three parts; viz; the Pai, or foot or pediment of leaves generally; the

Shikam, or belly, and the Sir, or head.’ 73

66 Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 402-403. 67 Niccolao Manucci, op. cit., vol. II, p. 318. 68 Ain, I, pp. 67-68 & its transl. I, p. 97 & n.2. 69 Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 402-403. 70 Abdul Ahad, op. cit ., p. 36. 71 For details see, Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 356-57. Emperor Muhammad Shah liked this shawl so immensely that he ordered 45,000 rupees worth of that fabric be made for him each year. 72 Ibid , I, p. 357. 73 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit ., II, p. 190. 154

Desideri on his visit to Kashmir in 1714 has left the following account of woollen article manufactured there. ‘The woollen kerchiefs for the head are highly valued, and the Pattea (Puttoo ), long cloth-strips folded several times which serve as waistbands. But most precious and magnificent are the cloth called scial in both Hindustan and Persian. These scials are cloaks which envelop the head while the ends fall on either side of the body; thus the head, neck, shoulders, arms, breast, the back till below the hips and nearly to the knees are protected. These cloaks are so fine, delicate, and soft that though very wide and long they can be folded into so small a space as almost to be hidden in a closed hand. At the same time, although so fine and thin, they not only keep out the cold, but really warm the body; they are therefore much worn in winter. The very fine and large ones are very dear, indeed in remote regions the price may be called exorbitant.’ 74

Forster in his travel to Kashmir in 1783 has made interesting observations on the shawl industry of Kashmir. The shawl wool was brought from Tibet. Originally of the dark grey colour, it was bleached with rice flour.

The yarn was dyed as desired. The shawls were also washed after fabrication. Richly patterned borders were attached to the shawls so neatly as to allow no joints. 75 According to Forster, ‘the articles of merchandize constituting the trade of Jumbo, and Kashmir, are transported by men, usually Kashmirians, whose burthens are heavy, two of them making the load of a strong mule, and the hire is fixed at the rate of four rupees for each carrier.’ The shawls exported from Kashmir were packed in oblong bales, whose outward coverings were

74 Desideri, op. cit., p. 73. 75 George Forster, op. cit., vol. II, p. 18. 155

made of buffalo or ox hide, strongly sewn with leather thongs. They were opened only in the destined markets. 76

Moorcroft in his account gives a fairly good account of ornamental as well as floral designs or motifs of shawls, which were common in Kashmir during the period. The most prominent among them were Pala, Hashia, Zanjir, Dhour, Kunjbutha, Khirkhabutha, Rezabutha, Thaldar, net-work, Chahargul,

Kaddhar, Mehramat, Marpech and Chan-dar etc. 77 For the Persians and the

Afghans buthadar and jamawar design, branching into many varieties of large compound flowers, was produced. 78

During the first half of 19 th century saw the kani-shawl losing its floral origin. It had got transformed into a “scroll-like unit as part of a complicated over all pattern.” This technique was more formal and could be easily distinguished from the earlier cypress and almond tree-design. Kani -art style reached its zenith in 1803, becoming important source of income to the valley. 79 Then its popularity started declining owing to increased cost of its production as well as excessive prices and changes in fashion, all these circumstances inflicted a severe blow to the Kani -art, which led to the creation of Amalkari-shawl, in the first half of the 19 th century. 80 Amlkari shawl or Amli shawl is a magnificent piece of art embroidered with needles. 81 The development of embroidery was considerably influenced by artistic skill of needle-workers, such as chain stitch work. 82

76 Ibid , I, pp. 247-48. 77 For details see Moorcroft & Trebeck, II, op. cit ., pp. 189-91. 78 Ibid, II, p. 191; Walter Lawrence, op. cit., p. 375; Also see Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 357. 79 Abdul Ahad, op. cit ., p. 36. 80 Ibid, pp. 36-37; Also see Moorcroft & Trebeck, II, op. cit ., pp. 186-94. 81 Moorcroft & Trebeck, II, op. cit., pp. 186-87. 82 Ibid , II, pp. 187-88. 156

In the time of Ranjit Singh, a pair of shawls were made, with patterns representing his victories, and paid down five thousand rupees, after deducting the duties. 83

An account of the production of Kashmirian looms as well as patterns in the nineteenth century has been given by G.T. Vigne. He writes ‘The production of the Kashmirian looms, are very numerous: Du-shalah , or two shawls, they being always made in pairs ; Jamaweh , for bedding; Rumal, or handkerchiefs; Hasheyi , or the shawl of a coloured ground with a border; Urmuk, resembling very strong nankin; and the Yek-Tar (one-thread), a most light and beautiful fabric, being of one-half the thickness of the common shawl, and which was invented for the Sikh turbans.’ 84 He also writes that when made with coloured stripes or flowers on it, the chograh of the Afghans, or al-khalek , the long under-coat of the Persians, are made from it. If the pattern be worked with the needle, the shawl is far inferior in every respect to those in which the pattern is woven in. An excellent pair of the former description may be purchased in Kashmir for 150 rupees, whereas an equally good pair of the

Usuleh (the real), or the latter kind, could not be procured for less than 700 or 800 rupees. 85

83 G.T. Vigne, II, op. cit ., p. 124. 84 Ibid, II, p. 128. 85 Ibid.

(C) MINERALS

Though mineral exploitation in the subah of Kashmir was sadly neglected yet some effort was made to extract the earth’s hidden natural treasures. Gold was mined mainly in Tibet and the Himalayas and also collected from gold-sand from rivers-Ganges, Indus and Bihat and several other rivers. Gold was also collected from Baltistan and Gilgit. In Pakhli too gold was washed from sand. 1 More than 2000 tolas of gold was collected in

Tibet alone. Yet quality was inferior and it did not fetch more than seven rupees for a tola .2

Kashmir also had iron mines yielding good quality iron (i.e. mild steel), from the iron mine of Sof, but these were no longer worked in the nineteenth century. 3 The iron was mainly obtained from Bring and Khriu and Shahabad mines. 4 Iron ore was exported to Lahore also. 5 Bernier in his account refers to crystal both as a product of Greater Tibet as well as Lesser Tibet; 6 while jade as a product of Greater Tibet. 7 But Moorcroft & Trebeck in his travel account

(1819 to 1825) do not mention jade at all. 8

Touchstone, Borax and Sulphur were also quarried. Touchstone or Sang- i-dalam was obtained from Bring and from a place near Vernag mainly. 9 Borax

1 Ain, I, p.22 & vol. II, p. 175; Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh , p. 79; Ippolito Desideri, op. cit., p. 78; William Moorcroft & G. Trebeck, op. cit., vol. I, p. 314; Maulavi Hashmatullah Khan Luckhnawi, Mukhtasar Tarikh-i-Jammu-wa Kashmir , Jammu, 1992, pp. 417, 889-90. 2 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part-II, pp. 287-88; Amal-i-Saleh , ed. Ghulam Yazdani, vol. II, p. 264. 3 Walter Lawrence, op. cit., pp. 62-63. 4 Ain, II, pp. 171-72; G.T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. I, pp. 324-25. 5 N.S. Gupta, op. cit ., p. 107. 6 F. Bernier, op. cit. , pp. 421-22, 426; Cf. Hashmatullah Khan, op. cit., pp. 679, 652. 7 Ibid, pp. 422, 426; Ibid, p. 418: He places the Jade producing locality in Nubra near Biagdangdo. Irfan Habib, An Atlas of the Mughal Empire., p. 7. 8 Irfan Habib , An Atlas of the Mughal Empire, p. 7. 9 Ain, II, p. 171; Lawrence, op. cit., p. 65. 158

was obtained from the near Lake Manasarowar .10 Desideri places the mines of

Sulphur in Ciang Thang or Country of the North. 11

Copper, Zinc, Silver and Lead mines were worked out in a minor scale. 12

Salt was obtained from mines of Koh-i-Jud ( Salt Range). 13 It was also mined at Makhiala, Khura and Kheora. 14 Sujan Rai Bhandari in his Khulasat- ut-Tawarikh, mentions that these two mines (Khura and Kheora) yielded

several hundred thousands of mans of salt every year. 15

10 Francisco Pelsaert, op. cit., pp. 44-45. 11 Desideri, op. cit ., p. 81; Also see Moorcroft, op. cit., I, p. 313: According to him, ‘there are a few mines of Sulphur in some parts (of Ladakh), but in Chan-than it is abundant.’ 12 For details see Irfan Habib , An Atlas of the Mughal Empire, pp. 7, 12; Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh, p. 79; Ain, I, p. 24; G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, p. 337. About copper, he writes, ‘that copper mines exist in the neighbourhood of Shahabad, which were worked in the time of the Patans (Afghans), but are now disused, on account of the ignorant rapacity of the Sikhs…...’ vol. I, p. 325. 13 Ain, I Eng. Transl., p. 525 & n.1; Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh, p. 75; Irfan Habib, An Atlas of the Mughal Empire, p. 12. 14 Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh , p. 75. 15 Ibid .

Chapter - 4

Urban Centres

Chapter –4

URBAN CENTRES:

(A) TOWNS

Persian historians of the period present very simple classification of the towns (or cities). They mention only two categories based either on size and population or on administrative status (whether imperial or provincial capitals,

Sarkar or pargana headquarters). There is first the simple division of towns

into big and small. The word balda (or occasionally Shahr ) is generally employed for a big town 1 (or, as in English, one may say, city), and Qasba for a township or town 2. However, there were some common features in all towns:

First, a permanent market ( bāzār)3, second, the inhabitants being non- agriculturalists4. The towns were centres of commerce ad crafts 5. Easy

availability of water; from a river or artificial reservoir as well as tank was

1 The Persian Chronicles are generally used the term Shahr or balda for big town or city. For example, sources like Ain , Tuzuk, Tarikh-i-Hasan and Badshahnama, used the term Shahr-i- Srinagar as well as Shahr-i-Kashmir, respectively: Ain, Vol. II, p. 176; Tuzuk , p. 298; Tarikh-i- Hasan , I, p. 245; Lahori, Badshahama, vol. II, part -I, p. 205; And the term Balda-i-Srinagar used by some MSS. such as, Tarikh-i-Kashmir , MS. No. 18, f. 107a; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection 32/150, Khatima, ff. 285ab; Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 13-15. 2 The term qasba used for town: see Ain , II, pp. 171, 173; Tuzuk, p. 294; Amal-i-Saleh or ShahjahanNama, ed. Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad, vol. II, pp. 19, 31; Tarkih-i-Hasan , I, pp. 252-58. 3 In the 16th century, there was no systematic market system: Tarikh-i-Rashidi, Eng. transl. p. 425; The business though flourishing , was carried on inside the houses: Ain , II, p. 170; But in the late 18th century, the systematic marketing system got fully developed and separate markets were established as those of bāzār Saraffan, bazar Baqalia, bazar Sabaga (chintz market) etc: Waqiat-i-Kashmir , Habib Ganj collection, 32/150, f. 9a; “There are several market places and bazars in the city (Srinagar); that called the Maharaj Gunj has lately been constructed;…. and contains the shops of the jewellers, silversmiths, and other tradesmen with whom European visitors usually deal:” C.E. Bates, A Gazetter of Kashmir, p. 353; Wilson H.H., Gazetteer of Kashmir and Ladakh , p. 772. 4 According to Lawrence, “The population of Srinagar may be fairly regarded as Urban, …...The small towns of Shupiyon, Bij Behara, Pampur, and Bandipur, contain, however, a non- agricultural population”: op. cit., p. 225. 5 Srinagar city and the other towns which were centre of trade & commerce as well as arts & crafts: For this simplification see, Ain , II, p. 171; F. Bernier, op. cit., pp. 402-3; Tarikh-i-Rashidi, Eng. Transl. p. 425; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 252-58. 160

another requirements 6. Fourth, fortification 7 comprising a castle within and an outer enclosing wall, whether of mud or stone and fifth, administrative headquarters 8 etc.

Viewed from a functional point of view, the towns of the Mughal

Empire fell into various categories. The towns which were administrative headquarters as well as status such as imperial or provincial capitals and Sarkar

or pargana headquarters may be said to have farmed one category. 9 These

6 According to Abul Fazl, “Srinagar is the Capital…The rivers Bihat, Mar, and Lachmakul flow through it………To the east is high hill known as Koh-i-Sulaiman, and adjoining the city are two large lakes always full of water…….:” Ain, II, 171; In Tuzuk, Jahangir says that “The name of the city is Srinagar, and the Bihat river flow through the midst of it……….further he mentioned that “there are running streams and fountains beyond count. Wherever the eye reaches, there are verdure and running water”: Tuzuk, pp. 298-99; In the words of Bernier, “ from the sides of all these mountains gush forth innumerable springs and streams of water, which are conducted by means of embanked earthen channels even to the top of the numerous hillocks in the valley; thereby enabling the inhabitants to irrigate their fields of rice. These waters, after separating into a thousand rivulets and producing a thousand cascades through this charming country, at length collect and form a beautiful river, navigable for vessels as large as are borne on our Seine:” op. cit., p. 396; Under Jahangir, some old canals like Lachama Kul, were repaired under the supervision of Malik Haider, and Harvan canal was laid out at the cost of 30, 000 rupees, for watering Nur Afza Bagh. A tank was also built in the Bagh-i-Iradat Khan, by Iradat Khan, in the reign of Jahangir: Tuzuk, pp. 347, 317-18; Malik Haider Chadoora, Tarikh-i-Kashmir , Rotograph No. 171, vol. I, p. 230. 7 The hill of Hariparbat i.e. Kohimaran commands the city of Srinagar. Akbar ordered Muhammad Quli Khan Subahdar to dismantle the mud-wall, in 1597 and construct a strong fort of stone there. The township within this lordly fort wall was named Nagar-Nagar. In 1597, the foundation of the fort of Nagar-Nagar was laid, and the construction was completed at the cost of 1, 10, 00, 000, rupees, some times after 1606: Akbarnama, III, part -II, pp. 726-27, 733; Tuzuk, p. 302; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri 3 vols. Nawal Kishore’s edition, Lucknow; 1870, vol. II, p. 454, vol. III, pp. 566-67; Bernier, op. cit. , p. 398; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 82; Also see my paper, Mughal Building Activity, pp. 1029-1037. Besides Mughals, during the Afghans period also we learn of few building and fort having been constructed by one of the governor Amir Khan Jawansher, in the time of Timur Shah, who built Sona Lank in the Dal Lake, Amira Kadal bridge and he also constructed the Sherghari fort: R.K. Parmu, op. cit., p. 362. 8 All big and small towns were administrative headquarters. 9 Sirnagar, the largest city in the valley, continued to enjoy, as usual, the status of the capital of Kashmir. The Persian Chronicles call it Shahr-i-Srinagar as well as Shahr-i-Kashmir, i.e. city of Kashmir. But in Traveller’s Account, we find that Bernier, in Aurangzeb’s time and Forster, who travelled in this country in 1783, use the name of Kashmir, and not Srinagar: Ain, II, pp. 171, 176; Tuzuk , p. 298; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, I, p. 415; Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. II, part -I, p. 205; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 245; Bernier, op. cit ., p. 379; George Forster, op. cit., vol. II, pp. 16-17, 9-10; Abul Fazl, in Ain, treats Kashmir as a Sarkar of the Subah of Kabul: Ain, II, p. 169; But very soon Kashmir assumed the status of fulfledged province like other Mughal Indian provinces. It was made into separate Subah under Jahangir: Irfan Habib, An Atlas of the Mughal Empire, p. 6; Pargana is an administrative unit for revenue purposes, when territorial, identical with Pargana, but when non-territorial, eg. Market dues, customs house, mint etc., identical with Mahals . For detailed description as well as numbers of Parganas 161

towns were primarily meant for administration but subsequently they also became busy centres of trade & commerce and arts & crafts. 10 The presence of Imperial court, large number of nobles, their retainers, the army and the administrative staff attracted craftsmen and merchants in large numbers. Once commerce and industry were established, such towns survived or prospered even when they ceased to be administrative centres. In support of above view we can say that the Mughal aristocracy were chiefly urbanized people and as such they lived in towns and cities; they laid out gardens around these centres and built lofty buildings and forts. 11 All these factors led to the expansion of

Srinagar in particular and other townships in general.

The second category comprised towns which developed as commercial and industrial centres first and later on became administrative headquarters.

Srinagar was a mahal headquarters, 12 but it also became a great industrial and commercial centre. Abul Fazl says that, “Srinagar is the capital and this has been flourishing city from Ancient times and the home of artificers of various kinds. Beautiful shawls are woven, and they manufacture woollen stuffs

(Saqarlat ) extremely soft. Durmah, Pattu and other woollen materials are prepared but the best are bought from Tibet”13 . According to Bernier, “the

and Mahals, See My paper, The Revenues of Kashmir Under the Mughals, IHC, 68th session, Delhi University, Delhi, 28-30 December, 2007, pp. 244-49. 10 Srinagar city and other towns such as Durah, Pampor Shupian, Chrar, Sopor and Barahmulah etc. were centre of trade & commerce and arts & crafts: See Ain, II, p. 171; F. Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 402-403; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, pp. 252-58; Also see, Tarikh-i-Rashidi, Eng. Transl. p. 425. 11 For Forts, gardens as well as lofty buildings and others: See Nos. 7; Tarikh-i-Rashidi, Eng. Transl. p. 425; Akbarnama, III, part -II, p. 618; Tuzuk, pp. 302-3, 313, 317-18; Iqbalnama-i- Jahangiri, ed. Nawal Kishore, vol. III, p. 567; Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part -II, pp. 24,26- 29,51-52, & vol. II, part -I, pp. 209, 211; Alamgirnamah, vol. II, pp. 835-36; Tawakul Beg Kulabi, Nuskha-i-Ahwal-i-Shahi, Or. 3203, CAS, AMU, Aligarh, Rotograph No. 138, f. 56b; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, pp. 284-89, 290-93, 297-300, 302-4, 309; G.M.D. Sufi, op. cit., vol. II, p. 535; Ain, II, p. 171;P.N.K. Bamzai, op. cit., pp. 467-69, 497; R.K. Parmu, op. cit ., pp. 441-43. 12 Kashmir proper has 38 Mahals, and one of these is the Mahal of Srinagar, and then the inhabitants of the Parganas of 37 mahal. They have named each Mahal a Pargana: Ain, II, pp. 176-77; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32/150, ff. 285ab. 13 Ain, II, p. 171. 162

Kashmiris are celebrated for wit, and considerable much more intelligent and ingenious than the Indians………They are also very active and industrious. The workmanship and beauty of their Palekys, bedsteads, trunks, inkstands, boxes, spoons and various other things are quite remarkable, and articles of their manufacture are in use in every part of the Indies”14 . The wood carving industries, as noted by Bernier, was also in a flourishing state during the period 15 . Forster writing in 1783 says that “the Kashmirians fabricated the best writing paper of the East”, and that it was formerly “an article of extensive traffice”16 . Forster puts the number of shawl looms at 16,000, though he says that under the Mughals the numbers was 40,000 17 . According to Lawrence, the chief of Kashmir industries is of course Srinagar 18 . “The skill show by the naqash (designer)” says Lawrence, “in sketching and designing is remarkable”.

All these factors led to the expansion of industry as well as promotes the trade of the country.

The third category comprised manufacturing centres. The Urban centres turned to be the natural shelters for various types of artisans. It is, therefore no wonder that the famous industrial centres of shawl manufacture flourished in the city of Srinagar 19 . Forster puts the number of shawl looms under the

Mughals, was 40,000, which were busy in the production of this costly stuff 20 , which filled the coffers of the Suba with money 21 . In the town of Chrar , Kangris and carpenter’s instruments were made 22 . According to G.T. Vigne,

14 F. Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 402-3. 15 Ibid, p. 402. 16 G. Forster, op. cit., vol. II, p. 19. 17 Ibid , II, p. 20. 18 Walter Lawrence, op. cit ., pp. 370-80. 19 Ain, II, p. 171; F. Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 402-3; G. Forster, op. cit ., II, p. 18. 20 G. Forster, op. cit ., II, pp. 18-20. 21 F. Bernier, op. cit ., p. 402. 22 Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 255. 163

“Islamabad is a Qasba or market-town. It contains a few houses of shawl- weavers, and handsome saddle-cloths and rugs of various patterns are still manufactured there”23 .

Then, there were towns which acquired reputation for the agricultural produce of the particular areas. For example, the town of Pampor is still famous for the production of Saffron . Best quality of saffron was obtained from there and because of the cultivation of saffron , it grew in commerce and trade and in population and markets 24 . According to G.T. Vigne, “there are several places in Kashmir famed for the excellence of some individuals production.

Thus we have the wheat of Shahabad , the turnips of Huripur, the rice of Nipur , the ghi of Pampur, the bang (hemp) of Kakapur, the mutton of Nandipur, the dal or edible Vetch of Khampur, the tobacco of Jehamu, the silk of Kotihar , as the best that are to be found in the valley” 25 . The town of Sopor was famous for

Pattu and fruits were good 26 .

The fifth category was of those towns which were situated either on the banks of the navigable rivers or on imperial highways. In the valley of

Kashmir, river navigation was the main source of transport 27 , but ponies 28 , mules 29 , camels 30 and elephant 31 and horses 32 were also used in the hilly tracks of the subah , but the bulk of trade articles were carried on the backs of

23 G. T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. I, p. 358. 24 Ain , I, p. 63, & II, p. 172; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 254; G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., II, pp. 32-33; C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir , p. 299. 25 G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, p. 324. 26 Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 255. 27 According to Abul Fazl, “the carriage of goods is effected by boat….:” Ain , II, p. 170-71; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Abdal Haiy ad Ahmad Ali, pp. 148-49; Tuzuk , p. 298; F. Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 396-98. 28 Ibid , vol. I, p. 94; Ibid, p. 154; Ibid , p. 301. 29 Pakhli was the only district where mules were bred in India: Ain , I, p. 103-4; F. Bernier, op. cit ., p. 392. 30 Lahori, Badshanama , vol. I, part -II, p. 16; Alamgirnama, vol. II, p. 821. 31 Ibid; Ibid . 32 Ain , II, pp. 169-70; Lahori, Badshahnama , vol. I, part-II, p. 16; Alamgirnama, vol. II, p. 821. 164

porters 33 . In the shaggy and hilly terrain of Kashmir, passes and routes connecting the various parts of the region with one another and access to the outside world were of paramount importance. According to Abul Fazl, there were twenty-six routes linking Kashmir with outside world 34 . The imperial or

Mughal road, Muzaffarabad-Pakhli route, Kashtwar-Wardwan route, Zojilla route and Punch route were of great significance 35 . After the Mughal annexation of Kashmir a number of inns sprang up along the trade routes.

Although the inns or Serais were basically constructed for the imperial use and also for the travellers 36 . All these factors contributed to the rise and growth of towns. Their proximity to trade route was sufficient to induce the manufactures and producers to bring their goods in the markets; and it also helped in the constant inflow of merchant caravans in the valley 37 .

Another category consisted of those towns which were pilgrim centres, having sacred spots. Throughout the valley, Kashmir had a number of 38 at various places. Nishat, Chashma- Shahi and Shalmar were within a short distance of Srinagar and others, however, which had to be sought out in remoter places, had their own Charms to repay the traveler for the effort of his pilgrimage. The eastern half of the valley contained three royal gardens, i.e. Bijbehara, Acchabal and Verinag, these were the most beautiful spots of the valley which also attracted the visitors. “The spring at Verinag 39 is one of the

33 Akbarnama, vol. III, part-II, p. 557; F. Bernier, op. cit ., p. 392. 34 Ain, II, p. 169. 35 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part -II, pp. 15-16; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri , ed. Abdal Haiy ad Ahmad Ali, p. 149; Alamgirnama , II, pp. 820-21. 36 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part -II, p. 20. 37 F. Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 419-20, 425-26; G. T. Vigne, op. cit ., II, p. 126. 38 Tuzuk , pp. 298-99, 302-3, 313; F. Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 399, 413-14; For the number of Mughal gardens and other lofty buildings as well as springs see footnote No. 11; James P. Ferguson, Kashmir, An Historical Introduction , London, Centaur Press, 1961, pp. 119, 125-26, 128-29. 39 James P. Ferguson, op. cit., pp. 128-29; Also see, Ain, II, p. 173; Tuzuk, p. 313; Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part -II, p. 52, & vol. II, part- I, p. 211; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 121-22; G.M.D Sufi, op. cit., II, p. 535. 165

most historical spots in the vale of Kashmir and has been for centuries an object of pilgrimage and veneration”. The cave at Amar Nath 40 with the ice lingam considered as well as believed by the Hindus as an image of Mahadeva, is described as well as considered as a shrine of great sanctity and the pilgrimage to the cave seems to have been an annual event. According to Jahangir, “Kashmir is a garden of eternal spring, or an iron fort to a palace of kings- a delightful flower bed, and a heart – expanding heritage for dervishes.”41 “The springs of Kashmir, which occur throughout the valley, have always attracted the attention of travellers”42 . Bernier found Baramula a populous place, crowded by people who had come to worship at the Pir’ Shrine 43 . Chrar 44 was a Qasbah or market place and contained the Shrine of Shaikh Nuruddin. These pilgrim centres as well as picnic spots too often visited by and reserved for the various categories of the ruling class became the tourist resorts. The modern tourist industry, as a matter of fact, owes a lot to the Mughals.

I mean here to describe the name as well as the significance and importance of the towns or Qasbas of Kashmir, individually.

1. Qasba Vernag

It is situated in Shahabad pargana at the foot of . It was full of buildings, markets and royal gardens as well as the residence of its imperial founder, was an enchanting, delightful place to pass the early summer days.45

40 Ain, II, p. 173; J.P. Ferguson, op. cit., p. 138. 41 Tuzuk, p. 299. 42 J.P. Ferguson, op. cit. p. 146. 43 F. Bernier, op. cit ., p. 414. 44 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 255; C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir, p. 169. 45 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part -II, p. 52, & vol. II, part -I, p. 211; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 121, 252; G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, pp. 334-35; P.N.K. Bamzai, op. cit., p. 597; G.M.D. Sufi, op. cit., vol. II, p. 535; C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir, p. 394. 166

2. Qasba Durah or Shahabad

It is situated at the bottom of Vernag in the centre of Shahabad . According to Vigne, this imperial town once “the abode of the king, which was the largest place at the Southern end of the valley-----. Shahabad was originally the residence of the most powerful of Akbar’s Maliks, whose authority extended over the whole of the surrounding country”. The original name of this place was Wer . Nurjahan Begum, after the palace was built, called it Shahabad .

Durah was a beautiful Qasba built by the rulers of the place who had planned markets and buildings and had promoted commerce. The goods of Devahsar,

Shahabad and Bring were sold there. According to Moorcroft, “Shahabad had a bazar and a few shops, at which provisions, coarse cloth, and remarkably fine honey, were the chief articles for sale”46 .

3. Qasba or Islamabad

According to Hasan, “it is situated thirty –four miles from Srinagar in the region of Maraj at the bottom of Karewah Matan . It was named Islamabad by Alamgir but Maharajah Gulab Singh had changed the name of Anantanag; it is the capital of Maraj ”. In the words of G.T. Vigne, “ Islamabad , so called in Persian , or Anatnag, in Kashmiri, and is the largest town in the valley. It is a

Qasba or market town. It contains a few houses of shawl weavers, and handsome saddle cloths and rugs of various patterns are still manufactured there”. There were three hundred shops of shawl-weavers, and a coarse kind of

Chintz , and a considerable number of gabbas , or flowered patchwork cloths of the coloured woollens of the country, were fabricated 47 .

46 Tarikh-i-Hasan , vol. I, p. 252; G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., vol. I, pp. 324-25, 332; C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir, p. 335; William Moorcroft and G. Trebeck, op. cit ., vol. II, pp. 248-49. 47 Ibid , I, pp. 252-53; Ibid, vol. I, pp. 357-58; Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit., vol. II, pp. 247-48. 167

4. Qasba Bijbarah

It is an ancient town situated below Anantnag at a distance of four miles on the Western bank of the Behet . This place was famous for displaying a profusion of a beautiful trellis-work. Blankets of a superior description were also made there. It was a Qasba or market-town. The inhabitants of this place were weavers and some grocers and landlords 48 .

5. Qasba Pampor

It was a Qasba or market-town, containing few gardens, and about three hundred houses, and was nowise remarkable, excepting for the beauty of the wood-work in the Mosques. According to Hasan, “it is situated ten miles to the east of Srinagar on the eastern bank of the Behet . Because of the cultivation of saffron , it grew in commerce and trade and in population and markets. The

Mughal kings increased its population by constructing buildings and gardens there”49 .

6. Qasba Shupian

It is an ancient Qasba situated thirty miles to the South of Srinagar in

Pargana Bathu and had buildings and markets and was once the residence of Malik. In fact, it was an entrepot of commerce with India. As compared to other Qasbas was more trade there. The inhabitants of this place were grocers, merchants and landlords. The people were clever, treacherous and cowards. During the time of the Afghans it was said to contain above two hundred houses, besides one hundred petty shops 50 .

48 Ibid , I, pp. 253-54; Ibid, vol. I, p. 270, & II, p. 23. 49 G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, p. 270, & II, pp. 31-33; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 254; Also see Ain, II, p. 172; C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir , p. 299. 50 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 254; G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, p. 270; William Moorcroft & G. Trebeck, op. cit ., Vol. II, p. 290. 168

7. Qasba Chr ār

It is situated eleven miles from Srinagar towards the South, at the foot of a mountain in pargana Nāgām. It was a market place or town and contained the shrine of Shaikh Nuruddin. Because of the blessings of the Ziyarat of Shaikh

Nuruddin Nūrāni the markets were cheerful and there was plenty of trade and commerce. The inhabitants were mostly guardians (of tombs) and landlords.

Kangris and carpenter’s instruments made there were carried to the surrounding places 51 .

8. Qasba Patan

It is situated to the West of Srinagar at a distance of 17 miles. The ancient name of this place was Shankarapura or Shankar-Patan . It was a

Qasba or market-town 52 .

9. Qasba Sōpōr

It is situated thirty miles from Srinagar in Kamr āj ; the Behet passes through it. On its upper side there was a strong bridge and a stone wall, and around it there were attractive buildings and markets. It was a Qasba or market-town. Trade goods from Kamraj, Zainagir and Krohan, etc. were imported there. Its pattu was famous and fruits were good. From the ancient times it had been the capital of Kamr āj. It had the Khānqāh of Mir Muhammad

Hamad āni; and the Alamgiri Friday mosque was now-a-days the place of cultivation of centaurs and fennel 53 .

51 Ibid , I, p. 255; Ibid ; Also see C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir, p. 169. 52 Ibid ; Ibid; Kalhana, Rajatarangini, Eng. Trans. M. A. Stein,vol. II, p. 481; C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir, p. 305. 53 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 255; G.T. Vigne, op. cit., I, p. 270. 169

10. Qasba Bārahm ūlah

It was a Qasba or market-town. According to Jahangir, “it is one of the noted towns of Kashmir, and 14 koss distant from the city, situated on the bank of the Behet. A number of the merchants of Kashmir live in it, and have built houses and mosques on the bank of the river, and spend their days in ease and contentment”. Bernier found Baramula a populous place, crowded by people who had come to worship at the Pir’s shrine. Hasan says that “it is situated about thirty miles from Srinagar towards the West, on the bank of the Behet . It is an ancient Qasba, populated by Raja Bhimsen with buildings and markets”.

It was an entrepot of commerce of India, Punjab and Afghanistan. Above the foundation of the bridge of the Behet , there was a fort built by Ata Muhammad Khan. Most of the inhabitants were grocers and some darners and weavers of printed cloth, and landlords. The people were usually considerate and have a pleasant nature. The nobles were good belonging to the Ghakkhar clan. The commerce of Kamr āj and Kr ōhan and of Dachhnah and Kh āvrah passes through it 54 .

11. Qasba Bandahp ūrah

It is situated on the north-east side of the Wular lake, was once a large and flourishing town. In olden days it was a collection of some villages. During the reign of Mah ārājah Gul āb Singh, because of being situated on the way to the boundary of Gilgit and because of the Shāli cleaning factories, forty to fifty shops were found there 55 .

54 Tuzuk, p. 294; F. Bernier, op. cit ., p. 414; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, pp. 257-58; G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., I, p. 270. 55 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 258; C. E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir, p. 136. 170

Besides the above Qasbas, there were other Qasbas such as Lār,

Birwah, Kriri and Tr āl which were famous for numerous buildings and markets 56 .

56 Ibid. (B)TRADE AND COMMERCE

In the shaggy and hilly terrain of Kashmir, passes and routes connecting the various parts of the region with one another and access to the outside world were of paramount importance. The Mughal occupation enhanced the importance of the subah and a regular link was maintained with the rest of Empire. As I have mentioned earlier that the Mughal paid great attention to the maintenance of the routes.1 Rivers were spanned with bridges 2 and serais or inns were constructed all along to provide shelter to the travellers during the period. All these steps gave a fillip to the trade and commerce of the subah .

Abul Fazl in Ain-i-Akbari mentions that there were twenty-six road or routes linking Kashmir with the outside world of which Bhimber and Pakli were the best. 3 But only six routes were of great importance. These routes remained open for the most part of the year. Merchants traversed the routes, even during the winter months, though with great difficulties.

The trade routes such as the imperial or Mughal road, Muzzafarabad-

Pakli route, Kashtwar-Wardwan route, Zojilla route, and Punch route were of great significance. 4

The trade routes and such other aspects, which have already been described in detail. 5 So after the discussion of the trade routes, it is thus appropriate to discuss the trade and commerce of the subah .

1 Abul Fazl, tells us that ,Akbar sent in advance, three-thousand stone-cutters, mountain-miners and splinterers of rocks and two-thousand beldars (diggers) to level the ups and downs of the road: Akbarnama, III, part-II p.537. 2 Tarikh-i-Shahjahani , B.M. Or. 174, Rotograph No. 39, pp.53-54a; Akbarnama, vol. III. part-II, pp.538, 540, 557; Tuzuk, p.291-92; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri , ed. Nawal Kishore, vol. III,p.559;Lahori, Badshahnama , vol. I, part-II, pp.16, 23, vol. II, part-I, pp. 169-70. 3 Ain, vol. II, p.169. 4 Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri , ed. Nawal Kishore, vol. III, p.564 ; Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part-II, pp.15-16; Alamgirnama , vol. II, pp. 820-21. 172

External Trade: In spite of the natural barriers Kashmir kept excellent as well as a brisk export and import trade relations with Persia, Tibet, Central Asia, China, Russia, Bhutan, Nepal, Bengal, Patna, Golconda and

Bijapur. 6 Likewise, during the 18 th century Kashmiri merchants had started trade of medicinal herbs and such other products with the East India Company. 7

There were two trade routes to Central Asia. The first that passed through Gilgit and Kashgar and the other was from Skardu to Yarkand, which crossed the Baltero Glacier, which now, owing to changes in the ice, is no longer passable. These two routes also led to China, with which country perceptible quantity of trade was in existence at that time 8 ” But since

Shahjahan’s irruption into Great Tibet, the king has not only interdicted the passage of caravans, but forbidden any person from Kashmir to enter his dominions.” Trade relations between Kashmir and Central Asia and Tibet were so closely acquainted that they could not be cut off altogether. The merchants or caravans, instead, took a longer and circuitous route. From Kashmir they now went to Patna, thence to Nepal, and via the Kuti (Nialam) pass to Shigatze, and thence to Lhasa. From Lhasa there was a trade-route to Sining Fu on the Chinese frontier, north-east through Kokosai and the Charing Nor.9

5 For detail description see same Chapter section (c). 6 R.L.Hangloo, The State In Medieval Kashmir, New Delhi, 2000 pp. 116-18; Ippolito Desideri, op. cit., pp. 132-33, 317; Ahmad Quli Safavi, Tarikh-i-Alamgiri, Tarikh-i-Hind, Farsi , Subhanallah collection, 954/9, MAL, AMU, Aligarh, ff. 207ab. 7 Letters Received by the East India Company from its Servants in the East, 1602-17 , 6 vols; vol. I, edited by F. C. Danvers; vols. II-VI, edited by W. Foster, London, 1896-1902; Letter Received, vol. I, (1602-1613), p.32. 8 P. N. K. Bamzai, op. cit., pp. 494-95; F. Bernier, op. cit., pp.425-27 & n.: According to Bernier “caravans used to traverse the mountains of Great Tibet, enter Tartary, and reach Katay….The caravans returned with musk, China-wood ( bois de Chine ), rhubarb and mamtron,…..and in returning through Great Tibet they further loaded themselves with the produce of that country, such as musk, crystal, jade, and especially with a quantity of very fine wool of two kinds…...” 9 Ibid; Ibid , p. 426. 173

Although, the trade connections with Central Asian countries had a long antiquity, but owing to the ever-increasing demand of the shawls and other articles of luxury by the Mughal nobility and aristocracy the trade with these countries developed considerably. The caravan route leading to Central Asia from Lahore via Kashmir (Srinagar) was well frequented and always remained busy. 10

The most important article of Kashmir’s export trade was its shawls, according to Abul Fazl, which was “sent as valuable gifts to every clime,” and so the wool merchants had flourishing business. These merchants completely monopolized the wool trade in the wool-producing regions of Ladakh, Gilgit and Central Tibet. 11 They established links with direct producers and collect the shawl wool from the producers by advancing loans. 12 They had established their warehouses in Chinese Turkistan, Central Tibet, Lahasa, Nepal, and

Bhutan. 13 The Mughal nobility provided a good market for pashmina products and the bulk of the shawl trade was carried on with Mughal India. 14 The

Mughal nobility and aristocracy was the main customer of this stuff. 15 In addition to the shawls, the imperial Farashkhana always got large supplies of floor coverings like carpets, dhuries , and printed and embroidered sheets as well as various embroidered articles of silk and pashm wool. 16 Silkworm seeds

10 Ibid, pp. 494, 497; Ahmad Shah, Naqash-i-Bandi, Route from Kashmir via Ladakh to Yarqand, Transl. By Mr. J. Dowson, The Journal of The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain And Ireland , vol. XII, Part II, London, 1850, pp. 377-79; C. H. Payne , Jahangir And The Jesuits, ed. By Sir E. Denison Ross And Eileen Power, London, 1930, pp. 123-25. 11 Ain, II, p. 170; R. L. Hangloo, op. cit ., pp. 116-18; A.H. Francke , op. cit., pp. 115-16. 12 Desideri, op. cit ., pp.73,78; R.L. Hangloo, op. cit. , pp.116-18; A.H. Francke, op. cit ., pp. 115- 16. 13 R. L. Hangloo, op. cit ., pp.116-18; Desideri, op. cit., pp. 132-33, 317. 14 Francisco Pelsaert, op. cit., p. 19; R.L. Hangloo, op. cit., pp. 116-18. 15 Lahori, Badshahnama , vol. II ,part-II , p.433; Qazwini , Badshahnama , Rotograph No. 191B, 191C, vol. II, f. 259, III, f.326 b. 16 Lahori , Badshahnama , vol. I, part-I , p. 448; Waris , Badshahnama , Transcript No. 87 , vol. II , f. 373; R.L. Hangloo , op. cit., pp.116-18. 174

were imported from Gilgit, Tibet and China and they were reared on mulberry leaves. 17 The shawls and woollen stuff and the cloth was exported to India, Central Asia, Tibet and China. 18

The Kashmiri shawl was significant enough for it had occupied

Roman market and was in great demand elsewhere too.19

The other articles exported from Kashmir to India and other parts were

saffron, fruits, vegetables, forest products, paper, some wood-work, rice,

feathers, horses etc.

Saffron was exported to India, 20 Ladakh and Yarkand, 21 . During the

17 th and 18 th centuries, we find that a small quantity was also purchased by the

English and the Dutch merchants. 22

In the late 17 th century Kashmiri saffron merchants had to face the

competition from Nepali merchants who were transacting business at Patna. 23

This costly condiment was cultivated in Pampore, Inderkot and Kashtawar .24 It was prescribed by the physicians as a medicinal herb 25 and was also used as a spice to flavour food with its fine fragrance. 26 The prices of saffron varied from time to time. Abul Fazl states that the price of saffron varied from rupees 8 to

17 Ain , II, p. 170 ; Tuzuk , p. 300; Sir George Watt , op. cit., p. 1016; N.S. Gupta , op. cit., p. 94. 18 Muhibbul Hasan , op. cit., p. 390; P.N.K. Bamzai, op. cit., pp. 495-96. 19 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., pp. 104-05; Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh, Urdu, transl., p. 219-23. 20 Ain, I, p. 55 ; Tuzuk , p. 296; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Nawal Kishore, vol. III, p. 571; Lahori, Badshahnama, I, part-II, pp. 47-48; According to F. Pelsaert, “ Kashmir yields nothing for export to Agra except saffron, of which there are two kinds:” op. cit. , pp. 35-36; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 407. 21 G.T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. II, pp. 33-34; L. A. Waddell, op. cit., p. 478 ; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 408. 22 EFI 1618-1621, p.169; Karl Fischer, “The Beginning of Dutch trade with Gujarat,” PIHC., 1965, pp. 210-11. 23 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p.80. 24 Ain , I , p. 64; II , p. 172 ; Tuzuk , p. 45 ( grown in the valley ); For Kishtawar , See Tuzuk , p. 296; F. Pelsaert , op. cit., pp. 35-36. 25 Walter Lawrence , op. cit., pp. 342-45; Wilson H.H., Gazetteer of Kashmir And Ladakh , pp.53- 55. 26 Ain , I , pp. 41-42; W. Lawrence , op. cit., pp. 342-43. 175

12 a seer. 27 F. Pelsaert refers to the Kashmir saffron as costing rupees 20 to 24 and that of Kashtawar 28 to 32 rupees per seer at Agra. 28 The Mughals after realizing its importance monopolized saffron cultivation, but on the contrary their successors, the Afghans, controlled its trade to give advantage to their own trading communities and the Afghans had already furnished every type of Kashmir’s trade including that of Kashmiri horses, scents, herbs and plants with India, Persia and Qandahar. 29

Large quantities of vegetables and fruits were exported to India. 30 Certain vegetables like upalhak and kenkachu were exported for the imperial kitchen at Delhi. 31 Kashmir also exported large quantities of fruits and dry fruits to Lahore, Ahmedabad ( Gujarat ) , Agra and Amritsar . 32 During the 17 th century the fruit merchants reached as far as South India with the fruits. 33

Apples, grapes, walnuts, melons, water-melons, almonds, peaches, quince, and quince-seed were the main fruits exported to the Indian market. 34 Grapes were exported for market at Delhi and it used to sell at 108 dams a maund. 35

Superior quality of rice known as jinjin from Rajouri was exported for imperial kitchen. 36

Water-fowls from Kashmir were exported for the imperial kitchen. 37

27 Ibid, I, p. 55. 28 F. Pelsaert , op. cit ., pp. 35-36. 29 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., p. 103. 30 Ain , I , p. 34; Niccolao Manucci , op. cit ., vol. III , p. 396. 31 Ibid, I, pp. 34, 39-40. 32 F. Pelsaert , op. cit., p. 36; Manucci , op. cit ., vol. II , p. 174; Tuzuk , p. 173; R.L. Hangloo , op. cit ., pp. 116-18. 33 Aurangzeb , Ruqat-i-Alamgiri , Tarikh-i-Mughal , Abdus Salam Collection 321/91 , manuscript section , MAL , AMU , Aligarh , p. 163. 34 Lahori , Badshahnama , I , part-II , pp. 29-30; F. Pelsaert , op. cit ., pp. 35-36; Munshi Har Karan , Insha-i-Har Karan , Farhang-i-Kashmiri Waraq No.11 , Sulaiman Collection ,580 / 26 , manuscript section , MAL , AMU , Aligarh , f. 5ab . 35 According to Abul Fazl , “Eight sers of grapes sell in Kashmir for one dam , and the cost of the transport is two rupees per man ” : Ain , I , pp. 43-44. 36 Ibid, I, pp. 34, 39. 176

The forest products, the herbs such as costus, calamus, amber beads and worm wood and such other products were also exported. A large number of merchants were engaged in the trade of medicinal herbs.38 These were exported to India and in the course of time English factors displayed interest in their purchase.39 The Saussursa Lappa ( costus ) root was obtained from the forests of the valley and exported to India. The root was famous for its medicinal properties. The factors at Ahmedabad and Surat were the main customers of this root. 40 A large quantity of calamus herb was also sold to the factors at Surat. 41 The product of Kashmir was superior to that of Kabul 42 and it was sold at the rate of one mahmudi per seer .43 There were two species of amber beads herb. These were mainly sold to merchants from Ahmedabad and Surat and the merchants of Kashmir delivered the stuff to the factors at Surat at the rate of 40 mahmudis and the superior yellow quality at 50 mahmudis per seer. 44

Worm wood is an aromatic herb found in Kashmir at an altitude of 5000 to 7000 feet. 45 After distillation process it yields a dark green oil of intoxicating properties. 46 For the first time, it was purchased by English factors during 1618 and 21. It was found highly nutritive and especially conducive to the sailors. 47 In the course of time huge quantities were purchased by them and each ship was provided with two hogsheads of this liquor. 48

37 Ibid , I, p. 34. 38 F. Pelsaert , op. cit ., p. 44; Lahori , Badshahnama , I, part-II , p. 30 ; Insha-i-Har Karan , 580/26, f . 5ab-6ab. 39 Ibid.; Letters Received , vol. I, (1602-1613), p. 32. 40 George Watt , op. cit ., p. 980; Lawrence , op. cit ., pp. 77 , 83 . 41 Letter Received, vol. I, (1602-1613), p. 32. 42 Ibid. 43 Ibid. 44 Ibid, vol. V, ( 1617 ) , p. 109; R.L. Hangloo , op. cit., pp. 116-18. 45 George Watt, op. cit., p. 93. 46 EFI , 1618-21 , p. 338. 47 Court Minutes , East India Company , November 20 , 1618 , See , EFI , 1618-21 , p. 338. 48 Mr. Mountney was appointed in A.D. 1618 as an agent to deliberate the transactions with the merchants of Kashmir, EFI, 1618-21, p. 338. 177

The valley of Kashmir had provided a specialty in the production of fine

paper 49 and was in great demand in India . 50 Large quantity of paper was exported to Persia from Ahmedabad, which was presumably brought from

Kashmir.51

Besides paper , various types of articles such as inkstands , trays , boxes , spoons , bedsteads , trunks , khatim band kursi , ornamented pen-cases and papier-mâché etc. were also in great demand in India . 52 Various kinds of scents and flowers were also exported to India and sold at exorbitant prices. Salix Caprea (Bed Mushk), 53 scents of roses and flowers and musk deer 54 yielded handsome profit.55

The other articles exported from Kashmir were feathers of okar and the coloured plumes of various birds. The main consumers of these articles were

the nobility and they decorated their banners and headgears with these beautiful

plumes, 56 but the bulk was supplied to Royalty.

Horses of both the local and imported variety were exported from

Kashmir to India. 57

49 Muntakhabu-t Tawarikh , vol. III , p. 144; According to George Forster , “ The Kashmirians fabricate the best writing paper of the east , which was formerly an article of extensive traffic ….:” op. cit., vol. II , p. 19. 50 George Forster , op. cit ., vol. II , p. 19; G.T. Vigne , op. cit ., vol. II , p.121. 51 EFI, 1618-21 , pp. 76, 142. 52 Raqaim-u-Karaim , MS. 412 / 145, f. 21-22; F. Bernier , op. cit ., p. 402; Manucci , op. cit ., vol. II, p. 402 ; Numerous beautifully coloured papier-mâché articles such as inkstands were produced from pulped paper displaying flowery patterns decorated with applications of gold- dust or tin :William Moorcroft and G. Trebeck , op. cit. , vol. II, pp. 214-17. 53 Ain , I, p. 56; Lawrence, op. cit., pp. 77-78. 54 Desideri, op. cit ., p. 78. 55 Lawrence, op. cit., p. 78. 56 Ain , II, p. 174 & Its transl. II, p. 363 & n.1; Tuzuk , p. 315 ; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri , ed. Nawal Kishore, III , p. 571; G.T. Vigne , op. cit., vol. I, pp. 306-07. 57 Ibid, I , pp. 94 , 103-4; Ibid, p. 301; Akbarnama , III , part-II, p. 824; R.L. Hangloo , op. cit., pp.116-18. 178

Imports: The chief articles of import were salt, shawl-wool, cotton cloth, cloves, Mace, pepper, silkworm seed, turmeric, ginger and sugar. 58

Kashmirians imported silkworm eggs 59 from Gilgit and Little Tibet. In

Kashmir beautiful shawls were woven, and they manufactured woollen stuffs

( Saqarlat ) extremely soft. Durmah , pattu and other woollen materials were also prepared , but the best quality were brought from Tibet .60 “The wool for shawls comes from a goat which is peculiar to Tibet” and so Kashmiris bring the wool for the shawls from Tibet. 61

According to Moorcroft , 62 there were two kinds of wool – “ the fleece of the domestic goat , called Pashm Shal ( or shawl- wool ) , and that of the wild goat , wild sheep , and other animals named Asali Tus ----.The quantity of shawl-wool annually imported varies between five hundred and one thousand horse-loads , each of which is equal to nearly 300 lbs : the whole quantity of the Asali Tus does not exceed 1200 lbs. It is brought chiefly by Mogol merchants, who exchange it for manufactured shawl goods in Kashmir, which they dispose of advantageously in Russia. The wool was formerly supplied almost exclusively by the Western provinces of Lassa and by Ladakh; but of late considerable quantities have been procured from the neighbourhood of

58 Ibid, II, pp. 170-71 ; Ibid , pp. 300-01, 315; F. Pelsaert , op. cit ., pp. 35-36: According to Pelsaert “ The goods sent from Agra to Kashmir are coarse unbleached cotton , cloth , yarn for local consumption , and also pepper and opium . Nutmeg , cloves and mace are too dear , and their use is unknown ; but all of them are , as might be expected , brought there when the king is in residence :” Lawrence , op. cit ., pp. 393-95; R.L. Hangloo , op. cit ., pp. 116-18. 59 Ibid, II, p. 170; Ibid, p. 300. 60 Ibid, II, p. 171. 61 Tuzuk , p. 301; According to Desideri , “ The merchants of Kashmir keep a large number of agents in Second Tibet who collect the wool during the year , paying a most miserable price; and in May , June , July , and August , thousands and thousands of men go from Kashmir to Leh , otherwise called Lhata , the capital of Second Tibet , and carry back infinite number of loads of wool….:” Desideri , op. cit., p. 73. 62 Moorcroft & Trebeck , op. cit ., vol. II , part-III, ch. III , pp. 164-66; Also See , Page No. 167, where he mentioned the price of shawl wool at different periods. Also See, vol. I, part-II , ch. III , pp. 346-49. 179

Yarkand , from Khoten , and the families of the Great Kirghis horde.” Further he mentioned that “ the expense of transport from Leh to Kashmir is , per horse-load , thirty-three rupees; the duties collected at various places , both in

Ladakh and Kashmir , amount to ninety-five rupees.”

Like shawl-wool, salt trade was also a flourishing one and it was imported from India. 63 It was in great demand in the valley, because of its high consumption. The labourers also received their wages in terms of salt. 64 Most of the salt came from Punjab via the Pir Panjal route, but it was also brought from Chan-than via Ladakh. 65 According to Lawrence, “salt is an important article of diet both for men and for cattle and sheep---There are two kinds. The better comes from the Punjab, but salt of an inferior quality is brought from Ladakh.” 66

Besides shawl-wool, the next article of export item from Ladakh to

Kashmir was tea in large quantity.67 To quote Francois Bernier , 68 “ caravans went annually from Kashmir to Katay----.The caravans returned with musk ,

China-wood [ bois de Chine ] , rhubarb and mamtron , a small root in great repute for the cure of bad eyes; and in returning through Great Tibet they further loaded themselves with the produce of that country , such as musk , crystal , jade , and especially with a quantity of very fine wool of two kinds , the first from the sheep of that country , and the latter which is known by the name of touz…...”

63 Ain , I , transl. p. 525 & n.1. According to Jahangir , “ There is no salt in Kashmir , and they bring it from Hindustan :” Tuzuk , pp. 315, 300; Iqbalnama-i- Jahangiri , ed. Nawal Kishore, III, p. 571. 64 Ibid, I, p. 63 ; Tuzuk , p. 315. 65 Muhibbul Hasan , op. cit., p. 389. 66 Lawrence, op. cit. , p. 254. 67 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit., vol. I, part-II, ch. III, p. 350. 68 F. Bernier, op. cit. , pp.425-26. 180

We find that all kinds of merchandise were meant to one or the other kind of duty. Whereas, we have no details information about the item-wise duty, that was levied on all goods as well as on the transportation of goods. The trade relations of Kashmir with the outside world were mean to certain financial duties. For instance, the grapes were exported for market at Delhi, and grapes used to sell at 108 dams a maund , but the cost of their transportation to Delhi was two rupees per maund. 69 Other example, all goods imported into and exported from Kashmir to Tibet and Yarkand were taxed to the tune of one lakh rupees, that payable at the treasury situated across the Sindh river at

Ganderbal .70 According to G. Forster, “From Kashmir to Lucknow are not less than thirty station at which a duty of three and four percent is levied on every quality of merchandize.” 71 Likewise, on each shawl which were exported from

Kashmir, a duty of three rupees was levied and each trak of shawl-wool which was imported into Kashmir was subject to a duty charged at the rate of four rupees. 72 “Gugangeer in the north-east was the last ferry in Kashmir territory where duty was levied on all goods that had not been charged any duty in

Srinagar. 73 According to Moorcroft, “……every shawl being stamped, and the stamp-duty being twenty-six percent. upon the estimated value….., every trade is taxed , butchers , bakers , boatmen , venders of fuel , public notaries , scavengers , prostitutes , all pay a sort of corporation tax , and even the Kotwal , or chief officer of justice , pays a large gratuity of thirty thousand rupees a year for his appointment…..” 74 Further he also mentioned that, “The expense of

69 Ain , I, pp. 43-44. 70 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit ., p. 105. 71 G. Forster, op. cit ., vol. I, pp. 302-03. 72 Mushtaq A. Kaw , op. cit ., p.105. 73 Ibid. 74 Moorcroft & Trebeck , op. cit., vol. II , part-III, ch. II, pp. 126-27. 181

transport from Leh to Kashmir is , per horse-load ( of shawl-wool ) , thirty- three rupees; the duties collected at various places , both in Ladakh and Kashmir , amount to ninety-five rupees.” 75

Internal Trade- This trade consisted of both imported commodities as well as goods produced in Kashmir. In the 16 th century, there was no systematic market system. For example, in the words of Mirza Haider Dughlat,

“the passages in the markets, and the streets of the city, are all paved with hewn stone. In the streets of the markets, only drapers and retail dealers are to be found.” But tradesmen like the grocers, druggists, beer-sellers and vendors did business in their own houses. 76 The business though flourishing was carried on inside the houses. 77 The shawls and such other commodities, which were manufactured in the valley, that promoted the trade of the country and filled it with wealth. 78

Trade in grains was, however, controlled by the government all through the medieval period. This resulted from the custom of realizing land revenue in grain rather than in cash. Whereas, paddy predominated over other crops in the internal trade in which payment in coin and kind were estimated in terms of Shali (unhusk rice). 79 In G.T. Vigne’s account, we also find that----“the wealth of an estate, or a jaghir , is calculated not by its value in money, but by the number of kirwahs of rice which it can produce.” 80 Even the cesses, however, were taken in cash, were actually estimated in kharwars of ( Shali ) rice. 81 The

75 Ibid , vol. II, part-III, ch. III, p. 166. 76 Tarikh-i-Rashidi , Eng. Transl. p. 425. 77 Ain , II, p. 170: “The bazar system is little in use , as a brisk traffic is carried on at their own places of business.” Further Abul Fazl mentioned that “Boatmen and carpenters drive a thriving trade.” 78 F. Bernier, op. cit ., p. 402. 79 Ain, II, pp. 175-76. 80 G.T. Vigne, op. cit. , vol. I, p. 308. 81 Ain, II, pp. 175-76. 182

state’s share of the grain was stored in granaries and was sold to the people at controlled rates. 82 The share “is sent into the market at a high price, and no individual is allowed to offer the produce of his farm at a lower rate, or sometimes to dispose of it at all, until the public corn has been sold.” 83 The grain dealers termed ghalladars were active both in the towns as well as in the city and they also operated in the villages. 84 The delivery of the State share in grains was mostly made to the tahwildars through the village headman

(muqaddams ). 85

We also find that, in times of natural calamity in the Subah, the grain merchants made huge profits and of the inflated prices at which the food-grains were sold from the hoarded stocks of the grain-dealers. During the imperial visits large quantity of food and fodder was appropriated from the merchants for use in the imperial camp. 86

But in late 18 th century, the systematic marketing system got fully developed and separate markets were established as those of bazar Saraffan, bazar Baqalia , bazar Sabaga ( chintz market ) etc. etc. 87

Srinagar as well as other towns such as Qasbah Vernag, Durah or Shahabad, Anantnag or Islamabad, Pampor, Shupian, Chrar, Sopor and

Barahmulah were centres of trade in the valley. 88

82 Mushtaq A. Kaw , op. cit., p. 94. 83 Moorcroft & Trebeck, op. cit. , vol. II, part-III, ch. II, p. 126. 84 Mushtaq A. Kaw , op. cit ., pp. 92-3; Also See , Lawrence , op. cit ., p 397. 85 Insha-i-Har Karan , Sulaiman collection , 406 / 139 , f. 35ab ; Jagat Rai Shuja-i-Kayath Saksena , Farhang-i-Kardani , 1679 , MAL, AMU, Aligarh , Abdus Salam , Farsiya , 315 / 85 , ff. 35-36. 86 Tuzuk , pp. 291, 286; Malik Haider Chadoora , Tarikh-i-Kashmir , Rotograph No. 171, vol. I, f. 230. 87 Waqiat-i-Kashmir , Habib Ganj , collection 32 / 150 , f. 9a. 88 For detailed description of these towns, See, (a), of this Chapter.

(C) URBAN- RURAL LINKAGE/ LINKAGES WITH OUTSIDE WORLD

In the valley of Kashmir, the rural and urban areas were linked with each other mainly through production as well as consumption and also through transportation and communication. On account of smooth administration, there was a substantial growth of the urban centres, which remained dependent on the rural areas for the raw materials and food grains. 1 As such the possibilities of markets increased and we find that 5,700 boats were playing between the production centres (the rural areas) and the main consuming centres, (urban centres) loaded with grains and fodder. 2 The Persian sources indicates that the

river navigation was the main source of transport in the valley, 3 but ponies, 4mules, 5 camels, 6 horse 7 and elephant 8 were also used in the hilly tracks of the Subah . Pack-ponies were used for carrying paddy and other food-grains

from distant and remote villages to the town market. 9 In the words of Jahangir,

“the two large lakes ----- are the means for coming and going of the people and

for the conveyance of grain and firewood on boats”.10 According to Saleh, the

1 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 84-85; Also see, Irfan Habib, “ Potentialities of Capitalistic Development In The Economy of Mughal India,” paper presented in the International Economic History congress, Bloomington, 1968, Article, No. 107, pp. 9-10. 2 Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Abdal-Haiy and Ahmad Ali, p. 149: According to Mutamad Khan, there were 5,700 boats, and the number of the boatmen was fixed at 7,400; Tuzuk p. 298; But Abul Fazl, states that there were 30,000 boats in the valley: Akbarnama, vol. III, part-II, p 550; In Ain, Abul Fazl, says that “the carriage of goods is effected by boat: Ain, vol. II, p. 170. 3 Ain, II, pp. 170-71; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Abdal-Haiy and Ahmad Ali, pp. 148-49; Tuzuk, p. 298; F. Bernier, op. cit., pp.396-98. 4 Ibid , I, p.94; Ibid , p. 154; Ibid , p. 301. 5 Pakhli was the only district where mules were bred in India: Ibid, I, pp. 103-4; F. Bernier, op. cit., p. 392. 6 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part-II, p. 16; Alamgirnama, vol. II, p. 821. 7 Ain, II, pp. 169-70; Jahangir notes that the Kashmir -bred horses were fetching prices up to a thousand rupees: Tuzuk, p. 301; Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part-II, p. 16; Alamgirnama, vol. II, p. 821. 8 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part-II, p. 16; Alamgirnama, vol. II, p. 821. 9 P.N.K. Bamzai , op. cit., p. 497. 10 Tuzuk, p. 298. 184

river Jehlum was the main source of water transport in the valley. The population was settled along its banks which were linked with each other with the help of 10 main bridges out of which 4 were situated in the midst of the proper city of Srinagar. 11

To stimulate communication between people living on either side of the river Jehlam in the city and outside its limits, there used to be, from time immemorial, boat-bridges. 12 Jahangir 13 and Abdul Hamid Lahori 14 mention four bridges, but Bernier 15 mentions only two. While in Hasan’s 16 account we find many bridges of the pre-Mughals and Mughals period and also we find the description of numerous small bridges over the canals in various parts of the valley of Kashmir. According to Moorcroft, 17 boats were used for carrying grains to the heart of the city. According to Baron Charles Hugel,18 in 1835 there were more bridges in Kashmir than in any other country in the world.

They spanned every river and brook. They were built and kept in repair by the government, without the levy of any toll.

After the discussion of urban-rural linkage, it is thus appropriate to discuss the Kashmir linkages with the outside world. According to Abul Fazl, 19 there were twenty- six roads linking Kashmir with the outside world of which

Bhimbar and Pakli were the best and were generally practicable on horseback.

11 Amal-i-Saleh or Shahjahanama, ed. Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad, vol. II, pp. 24-25. 12 Sharafuddin Ali Yazdi, in his Zafarnama, mentioned the existence of boat-bridges also across the Jhelum: Zafarnama, vol. II, p. 179. 13 “There have been built in the city four very very strong stone and wooden bridges, over which people come and go. They call a bridge in the language of this country Kadal” : Tuzuk, p. 298. 14 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part-II, p. 23. 15 F. Bernier, op. cit ., p. 398. 16 For details description of the bridges see, Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, pp. 310-16 . 17. William Moorcroft and G. Trebeck, op. cit., part-III, Ch. II, vol. II, p. 116; Also see for bridges, pp. 121-23. 18 Baron Charles Hugel, op. cit., p. 140. 19 Ain , II, p. 169. 185

In the shaggy and hilly terrain of Kashmir, passes and routes connecting the various parts of the region with one another and access to the outside world were of paramount importance. The Mughal occupation enhanced the importance of the Subah and a regular link was maintained with the rest of

Empire. The Mughal paid great attention to the maintenance of the routes.20 Rivers were spanned with bridges 21 and Serais or inns were constructed all along to provide shelter to the travellers during the period.

The trade routes such as the imperial or Mughal road, Muzzafarabad- Pakli route, Kashtwar-Wardwan route, Zojilla route, and Punch route were of great significance. 22

Abul Fazl 23 states that there were twenty-six roads linking Kashmir with the outside world of which Bhimber and Pakli were the best. The first one, he says, was considered the nearest and had several routes of which three were good, viz. (1) Hastivanj which was the former route for the march of troops; (2) Pir Panjal; which was traversed by Akbar and his successors, and (3) Tangtala.

According to Lahori, 24 there were four routes connected Lahore with

Kashmir; one each via Pakhli, Chaumak, Poonch and Pir Panjal. Pakhli route had 35 halts and Chaumak route had 29 halts, while Poonch route had 23 halts and about Pir Panjal route, he informs that from Lahore to Bimber, there were 8 halts and from Bimber to Kashmir, there were 12 halts. Pir Panjal route though

20 Abul Fazl, tells us that, Akbar sent in advance, three thousand stone-cutters, mountain-miners and splinterers of rocks and two thousand beldars (diggers) to level the ups and downs of the road: Akbarnama, vol. III, part-II, p. 537. 21 Tarikh-i-Shahjahani, B.M. or. 174, Rotograph No. 39, pp. 53-54a;Abul Fazl, Akbarnama, vol. III, part-II, pp. 538, 540, 557 ; Tuzuk, pp. 291-92; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Nawal Kishore, vol. III, p. 559; Lahori, Badshahnama , vol . I, part-II, pp. 16, 23, vol. II, part-I, pp. 169-70. 22 Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Nawal Kishore, vol. III, p. 564; Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part - II, pp. 15-16 ; Alamgirnama , vol. II, pp. 820-21 23 Ain, II, p. 169 & Its transl. II, pp. 351-52 & n.1: Hasti Bhanj route is the only one by which elephant can travel. 24 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part -II, pp. 15-16, For Further details see vol. I, part-II, pp. 15-21. 186

nearby, was difficult and narrow. The responsibility to maintain the road from one halt to another was assigned to one or the other official of the Mughal government in Kashmir.

The old imperial route to Kashmir passed through Bhimber and Rajuari, and crossing the Pir Panjal pass, entered the valley of Kashmir at the prosperous town of Shupian. 25

In Alamgirnama, 26 Muhammad Kazim, states that, the capital Lahore was itself connected with Kashmir through 4 routes; viz ; one each via Pakhli, Chaumak, Poonch and Pir Panjal.

G.T. Vigne states that there were twenty passes into Kashmir. 27

The Mughal road or the imperial route connected Kashmir with Gujarat and was frequently used by the Mughal monarch. 28 It runs over the Pir Panjal pass, via Hastivanj. 29 Pir Panjal Pass links Kashmir directly with central Punjab. It was the most frequented route until the advent of the Sikhs. It became the imperial route to Kashmir under the Mughlas. 30 Akbar,31 Jahangir, 32 Shahjahan 33 and Aurangzeb 34 used this route when they visited Kashmir. Most part of the route was hilly. Muhammad Qasim khan was ordered to level and widen the route, in 1589. After that it was made passable

25 Akbarnama, Eng. Transl. vol. III, p. 824 & n.3; Kalhana, Rajatarangini, Eng. transl. M.A. Stein, vol. II, p. 472; C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir, pp. 342-43; Wilson H.H. , Gazetteer of Kashmir And Ladakh, pp. 745-47. 26 Alamgirnama, vol. II, pp. 820-21. 27 G.T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. I, pp. 146-49. 28 In Ain, vol. II, p. 169: It is Hastivater; Walter Lawrence, op. cit., pp. 23, 382-84; Muhibbul Hasan, op. cit ., pp. 35-36; Frederic Drew, op. cit., pp. 90-94, 156. 29 Akbarnama, vol. III, pp. 539-40, Beveridge has also accepted it as Hastiwater: Its Eng. Transl. vol. III, p. 821; Muhibbul Hasan, op. cit., pp. 35-36. 30 R.K. Parmu, op. cit., p. 42; Muhibbul Hasan, op. cit., p. 35; G.T. Vigne, op. cit ., vol. I, p. 147. 31 Ain, II, p. 169. 32 Tuzuk, p. 316. 33 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part- II, pp. 15-16. 34 F. Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 407-09. 187

for pack loads, ponies and mules and elephants, 35 but because of its high altitude it remained closed during the winter months. 36 Ali Mardan Khan made further improvements upon it during his governorship of Kashmir. He also built a number of rest-houses on it. 37

Bhimber, the starting point for the valley attained great importance. 38 A strong force was stationed here during the visits of the Mughal emperors to Kashmir, 39 heavy armour was also mounted on Bhimber 40 and the next halting place was Adhidak, at a distance of 6 miles from Bhimber. 41 The important stages on this route were Saidabad, 42 Naushahra, 43 Chingas or Jahangir Hati, 44 Rajouri,45 Thana, 46 Bahramgalla, 47 Poshiana,48 Aliabad, 49 Hirapur, 50 Shaji- Marg 51 and Khampora. 52 There places developed into busy trade centres as well as trade routes.

35 Akbarnama, vol. III, part-II, pp. 537, 539, 557, 565-66: Elephants accompanied Mughal camp; Akbar and the Jesuits, pp. 78-79: “The elephant which carried their goods had great difficulty in climbing the mountains”. 36 Maasir-i-Jahangiri, pp. 421-22. 37 Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Abdus Salam collection, 527/48, ff. 130-31; R.K. Parmu, op. cit., p. 42. 38 Akbarnama, vol. III, part- II, p. 540; F. Bernier, op. cit ., p. 390. 39 Ibid, pp. 538, 540; Ibid , p. 390. 40 Ibid , III, part- II, pp. 538, 540, 41 Ibid , p. 538, gives the name of place Adidat. Beveridge names it as Aditak, transl. vol. III, p. 819; But in C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir, it is Adidak , p. 119. 42 Frederic Drew, op. cit., pp. 91-92 43 Noushahra is an important town lying in the territory of Kashmir Subah . A garrison was always stationed here: Akbarnama, vol. III, part- II, pp. 539, 542; Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part -II, p. 16, vol. II, part -I, p. 469. 44 Ibid , p. 539; In Lahori, Badshahnama, it is Chouki Hati as well as Chinges Hati, vol. I, part - II, pp. 16-17; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad, vol. II, pp. 12-13; Alamgirnama, vol. II, p. 821; It is called Changas also, Frederic Drew, op. cit., p. 92; Foster, calls it Chingesque Hately, op. cit., p. 169. 45 Ibid, vol. III, part -II, p. 540; It is called Rajaori or Rampur also: Frederic Drew, op. cit., p. 92; Lahori, Badshshanama, vol. I, part- II, pp. 16-18. 46 Thana is 8 miles from Bahramgalla, and 14 miles from Rajouri : Akbarnama, III, part- II, p. 540, & Its transl. vol. III, p. 822n; Ibid, vol. I, part- II, p. 18; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad , II, p.13. 47 Ibid , III, part -II, p. 540; Ibid , I, part- II, p. 18. 48 Ibid ; Ibid , I part- II, pp. 16,19; Frederic Drew, op. cit., p. 93. 49 The ancient name was, perhaps, Dund, Akbarnama, vol. III, part- II, pp. 540-41; Serai at Aliabad was built by Ali Mardan Khan, Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Abdus Salam collection, 527/48, ff. 130-31; Frederic Drew, op.cit ., pp. 93-94. 50 Ibid, III, part-II, p. 541, 725; Lahori, Badshahnama, I, part-II, pp. 16, 20, vol. II, part -I, pp. 468- 69; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad , II, p. 17; Frederic Drew, op. cit. , p. 94. 51 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part -II, pp. 16, 20; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad , II, p. 17; Frederic Drew, op. cit ., p. 94. 188

Muzaffarbad-Pakhli route linked Kashmir with Rawalpindi and thence with Peshawar. It was also frequently used during our period. Akbar left Kashmir by the same route, in 1589 and he appointed Hashim Beg Khan, son of Qasim Khan, to widen the route below Baramulla. 53 It remained almost

traversable even during the winter months 54 and ponies and pack horses, elephants, and even heavy armour were carried on this route. 55 During the time of Jahangir, in 1622, Noor-ud-Din Quli was appointed to rebuild the road and span the rivulets.56 He was assisted by Malik Ali also. 57 Shahjahan, during his visit, in 1640 sent Raja Jagat Singh to repair this route, 58 and in 1655 A.D.

Hussain Beg was deputed for the same purpose. 59

The starting point of the route was the ferry of the Indus near Attock. 60 It passed through Hasanabdal up to river Kunhar. 61 The river was forded below

Gadhi Habibullah at Shangraf Kani, on the border of Pakhli. 62 After crossing

Kishan Ganga it moved along with the left bank of the Jhelum up to Baramulla. From Baramulla to Srinagar there were two routes. The route over the river

Jhelum and Noupora-Pattan route. 63

52 In the text of Akbarnama, it is Khanpora, III, part -II, p. 542; Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part - II, pp. 16, 20: It is Khanpor ; Amal-i-Saleh, , ed. Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad , II, p. 17; In , H.H. Wilson, Gazetteer of Kashmir And Ladakh, it is Khanpura, p. 487. 53 Ibid, vol. III, part- II, p. 550. 54 Maasir-i-Jahangiri, p. 298;Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part- II, p. 15. 55 Ibid, pp. 285-86; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 191. 56 Tuzuk, pp. 288, 290-91; Malik Haidar Chadoora, Tarikh-i-Kashmir, Rotograph No. 171, vol. I, p. 222. 57 Malik Haidar Chadoora, Tarikh-i-Kashmir, Rotograph No. 171, vol. I, pp. 221-22. 58 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. II, part- I, pp. 182-83. 59 Ibid , vol. II, part- I, p. 416. 60 The distance between Attock to Srinagar is 96 Kos 77 Poles, Akbarnama, III, part –II, p. 565. 61 During our period the river was known as Nain-Sukh: Akbarnama, vol. III, part -II, p. 559 & Its transl. III, p. 851 & n.2; Tuzuk, p 291 & Its transl. II, p. 127 & n; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Abdal-Haiy and Ahmad Ali, p. 136. 62 Ibid , vol. III, part-II, p. 559; Shangraf Kani is not traceable it should be Malgalli , see Tuzuk, p. 289; In Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Abdal-Haiy and Ahmad Ali , changes this into Pakhli , p. 153. 63 Ibid, vol. III, part -II, pp. 556-58; Ibid, pp. 291-92. 189

The route over the Jhelum valley ranges 64 has always had great strategic importance for the valley. The first devastating Mongol invasion of the Kashmir valley was conducted by this route. The first Mughal invasion led by

Raja Bhagwan Das by this route. 65 Father Jerome Xavier, 66 also travelled by this route. Jahangir has left a first-hand topographical account of it. As a direct route between Kashmir and Kabul, all traffic passed by this route during the

Pathan rule of Kashmir (1753-1819). 67

In Punch route, the easiest road connecting Punch with the valley was through Haji Pir pass. 68 It was virtually an offshoot of Pakhli route. The important stages below Baramula were Rampur, Gori or Uri, Hatina,

Haidarabad , Aliabad, Khota and Punch .69 Another route shoots from Gori to Mari ,70 while Punch was linked with Jammu via Rajouri, Suran, Thana,

Rajouri, Dharamsala, Akhnoor were important stages on this route. 71 It remained open throughout year and snowfall was quite insignificent.

Poonch was linked with the valley by another route also. It was across

Tosamaidan pass (14,000 feet). It was of great strategical importance, but on account of high elevation it remained under snow for more than six month in the year. 72

The emperor Jahangir used the Punch route several times in his visits to

Kashmir. 73

64 R. K. Parmu, op. cit., pp. 42-43; Muhibbul Hasan, op. cit., pp. 36-37. 65 Akbarnama, vol. III, part-I, p. 474, & III, part-II, p. 537 ; Also see, Tuzuk, p. 293. 66 Akbar And The Jesuits, pp. 78-79. 67 R.K. Parmu, op. cit., p. 43; Tuzuk , pp. 292-93, 297-98. 68 Frederic Drew, op. cit ., p. 205-6. 69 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 192-93. 70 Ibid ; Frederic Drew, op. cit ., pp. 205-6. 71 Ibid , pp. 193-94. 72 Ibid , p. 204; Muhibbul Hasan, op. cit., pp. 36-37; Lawrence, op. cit ., p. 15. 73 James P. Ferguson, op. cit., p. 100. 190

About Kashtawar route, we find that, there are two routes as well as roads leading into Kashtawar from Kashmir. From Islamabad one goes by way of 74 and another via Dasu. 75 The first Mughal attack on Kashtawar was launched by the same routes. 76 It connected Kashtawar with Badrawah and Jammu through Ramban. 77 The road from Kashmir remained open for a longer duration but it was traversed on foot and ponies were rarely used because of its uneven terrain. 78

The Zoji-La pass, 79 since ancient times had been an important thoroughfare and influenced the political history of the country during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The route over this pass connects Kashmir with Ladakh, Baltistan and Tibet, and the Central Asian region of Badakhshan, Samarqand, Khotan, Bukhara, Kashghar, etc. Some of which states are now parts of Soviet Uzbekistan and some of Chinese Turkestan. It was through the Zoji-La pass that Rinchana entered Kashmir, and Mirza Haidar Dughlat first invaded the country in 1532 at the head of a large Mughal cavalry of Sultan said Khan of Kashghar, entered the valley by the same route. Kashmir also maintained commercial and cultural relations with China and Turkistan through this pass and this route had also been an important commercial highway between Kashmir and western Tibet. Kashmir imported the famous shawl- wool, yak-tail, gold, dry fruits, salt, tea etc. by this route. 80

74 In Tuzuk, it is called Sanginpur, p. 295; Also see, Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, p. 207; Singpur is a village about 32 miles north-west of the town of Kashtawar and 42 miles south-east of Islamabad: C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir, p. 345. 75 In Tuzuk, it is called Desu, p. 295; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 207; H.H. Wilson, Gazetteer of Kashmir And Ladakh, p. 312. 76 Ibid, pp. 294-95. 77 Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 207. 78 Tuzuk, p. 295. 79 Tarikh-i-Rashidi, Eng. Transl. pp. 423, for further details see, pp. 417-22; It was also the principal pass for the route to Greater Tibet: Irfan Habib, An Atlas of The Mughal Empire, p. 7; Muhibbul Hasan, op. cit., p. 38; R. K. Parmu, op. cit., , pp. 44-45. 80 C. E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir, pp. 76-77, 80, 89, 92. 191

Both F. Bernier 81 and Desideri 82 in his accounts have given a detailed description of Greater Tibet or Ladak, Lesser Tibet or Baltistan and Central Tibet routes as well as roads and these routes had also been an important for the purpose of trade and commerce.

After the Mughal annexation of Kashmir a number of inns sprang up along the trade routes. Akbar during his first visit and his camp followers utilized their tents, but Jahangir during his visit of 1622 and his subsequent tours did not require tents for his encampment. 83

During the reign of Jahangir inns were built on the way side of Pakhli

route as well as on the imperial road. 84 After Jahangir, we also find that, during

the reigns of Shahjahan and Aurangzeb a chain of new inns were built and the old inns were repaired and improved on. 85 The first inn was built by

Muhammad Quli Khan at Khampora ,86 and Send-Barari .87 It was completed in

1597. 88

But it was during the reign of Shahjahan that a number of magnificent inns were put up along with the imperial road. The main inns were built at

Naushahra, 89 Chingas, 90 Rajouri, 91 Thana, 92 Bahramgalla, 93 Poshiana, 94

81 F. Bernier, op. cit., pp. 419-28. 82 Ippolito Desideri, op. cit., pp. 73-84. 83 Akbarnama, vol. III, part-II, pp. 725; Tuzuk, p. 292, 315-17; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Nawal Kishore, III, p.597. 84 Muntakhabu-Lubab , vol. I, part -I, p. 301. 85 Amal-i-Saleh , , ed. Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad , II, pp. 12-17; Alamgirnama, II, pp. 821-27. 86 Faizi Sarhindi, Akbarnama, Rotograph No. 163, vol. I, ff. 241-42. 87 In the text of Akbarnama, III, part- II, pp. 725, 540-41, it is Nandi Brari perhaps a clerical mistake Beveridge’s translation, it is Nari Brari, III, p. 1083; Bernier, calls it Send-brary: op. cit., p. 413. 88 Akbarnama, vol. III, part -II, p. 725; Faizi Sarhindi, Akbarnama, Rotograph No. 163, ff. 241-42. 89 Naushahra is an important town lying in the territory of Kashmir Subah . A garrison was always stationed here: Akbarnama, III, part-II, pp. 539, 542; Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part- II, p. 16, vol. II, part- I, pp. 212, 469. 90 Akbarnama, vol. III, part-II, p. 539; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Nawal Kishore, III, p. 597; Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part -II, p. 16-17: It is Chouki Hati as well as Chinges Hati; Amal- i-Saleh, ed. Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad , II, pp. 12-13; Alamgirnama, vol. II, pp. 823-24; 192

Aliabad, 95 Hirapora, 96 Shaji-Marg, 97 and Khampora .98 These places developed

into busy trade centres as welll as trade routes. Although these inns or serais were basically constructed or maintained for the imperial use and also for the

purpose of shelter for travellers and the importance of these stages did not

diminish even during the later Mughal periods. 99 It seems that these inns were constructed as well as maintained by the state to promote trade and travel and

also provide comforts to the Imperial officials and troops to traverse distances

through the rugged hilly terrains.

Conveyance

The geographical features of Kashmir had provided the Subah with

natural stream-links and as such the entire trade and commerce was carried on

through rivers. 100 Rivers were spanned by bridges 101 constructed of stone and

Foster, op. cit., p. 169; Frederic Drew, op. cit., p. 92, for detailed description see Footnote no. 44. 91 Ibid, vol. III, part -II, pp. 539-40; Lahori, Badshahnama,, vol. I, part -II, pp. 16-18; Alamgirnama, vol. II, pp. 823-24; Frederic Drew, op. cit., p. 92. 92 Ibid, vol. III, part-II, p. 540 & Its transl. vol. III, p. 822n., Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part -II, p. 18; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad ,vol. II, p. 13; Alamgirnama, vol. II, pp 823-24. 93 Ibid, vol. III, part -II, p. 540; Ibid , vol. I, part -II, p. 18. 94 Ibid ; Ibid , pp. 16, 19; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad , II, p. 15; Frederic Drew, op. cit., p. 93. 95 The ancient name was, perhaps, Dund, Ibid, vol. III, part -II, pp. 540-41; Serai at Aliabad was built by Ali Mardan Khan, Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Abdus Salam collection, 527/48, ff. 130-31; Frederic Drew, op cit ., pp. 93-94. 96 Ibid, vol. III, part -II pp. 541, 725; Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part- II, pp. 16, 20, The inn was called Khair Serai: vol. II, part-I, pp. 468-69; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad , II, p. 17; Also see Frederic Drew, op. cit ., p. 94. 97 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part-II, pp. 16, 20; Amal-i-Saleh , ed. Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad , II, p. 17; Frederic Drew, op. cit ., p. 94. 98 In the text of Akbarnama, it is Khanpora, vol. III, part-II, p. 542; Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part -II, pp. 16, 20: It is Khanpor; Amal-i-Saleh, Amal-i-Saleh , ed. Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad , II , p. 17; In, H.H. Wilson, Gazetteer of Kashmir And Ladakh, it is Khanpura, p. 487. 99 TuzuK, pp. 315-17; Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part -II, p. 20; G. T. Vigne, op. cit., vol. I, pp. 249-55; Ippolito Desideri, op. cit., p. 71; Frederic Drew, op. cit., pp. 90-94. 100 Ain, vol. I, pp. 144-45; Amal-i-Saleh ed. Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad , vol. II, pp. 24-25: According to Saleh, the river Jhelum was the main source of water transport in the valley. George Forester, op. cit., vol. II, p. 9: According to Forster, “The country being intersected with numerous streams, navigable for small vessels, great advantage and conveniency would arise to it from the water conveyance, especially in its interior commerce…...” 193

timber, or by rope bridges formed of three cords made of twisted twigs. These rope bridges were naturally used for foot traffic only. 102 Sharafuddin Ali Yazdi, in his Zafarnama, mentioned the existence of boat bridges also across the

Jhelum. 103 Jahangir 104 and Lahori 105 mentions four bridges, but Bernier 106 in his account mentions only two. While in Hasan’s 107 account we find many bridges of the pre-Mughals and Mughals period and also we find the description of numerous small bridges over the canals in various parts of the valley of

Kashmir. According to Baron Hugel, 108 in 1835 there were more bridges in Kashmir than in any other country in the world. They spanned every river and

brook. In the valley of Kashmir, river navigation was the main source of

transport, 109 but ponies, 110 mules, 111 camels, 112 elephant 113 and horses 114 were also used in the hilly tracks of the subah , but the bulk of trade articles were carried on the backs of porters. 115 River transport was a lucrative profession and it always remained in the hands of ‘Hanjis’ .116

101 Akbarnama, vol. III, part -II, pp. 538, 540, 557; Tuzuk, pp. 291-92; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Nawal Kishore,vol. III, p. 559; Tarikh-i-Shahjahani, Rotograph No. 39, pp. 53-54a; Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part -II, pp. 16, 23, vol. II, part -I, pp. 169-70. 102 P.N.K. Bamzai, op. cit., p. 498. 103 Zafarnama, vol. II, p. 179. 104 “There have been built in the city four very very strong stone and wooden bridges, over which people come and go. They call a bridge in the language of this country Kadal ”: Tuzuk, p. 298. 105 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part -II, p.23. 106 F. Bernier, op. cit., p. 398. 107 For details description of the bridges, see Tarikh-i-Hasan., I, pp. 310-16. 108 Baron Charles Hugel, op. cit., p. 140. 109 Ain, II, pp. 170-71; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Abdal-Haiy and Ahmad Ali, pp. 148-49; Tuzuk, p. 298; F. Bernier, op. cit ., pp. 396-98. 110 Ibid , vol. I, p. 94; Ibid , p. 154; Ibid , p. 301: Kashmir raised horses and ponies on its vast meadows and Jahangir notes that the Kashmir-bred horses were fetching prices up to a thousand rupees. 111 Ibid, I, pp. 103-4; F. Bernier, op. cit ., p. 392. 112 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part -II, p. 16; Alamgirnama, vol. II, p. 821. 113 Ibid ; Ibid. 114 Ain, II, pp.169-70; Tuzuk, p. 301; Lahori, Badshahnama , vol. I, part -II, p. 16 Alamgirnama vol. II, p. 821. 115 Akbarnaam, vol. III, part -II, p.557; In Ain, Abul Fazl, mentions that men were used for the carriage of heavy loads over the hilly country: vol. II, p. 170; Also see F. Bernier, op. cit ., p. 392: Bernier mentions that, when Aurangzeb visited Kashmir, all the luggage of the royal camp was carried from Bhimber to Srinagar by Kashmiri porters, were paid for. The wages fixed by 194

There were more than 5,700 boats playing in the river Jhelum and its tributaries during the reigns of Akbar and Jahangir. 117 In Ain-i-Akbari, Abul Fazl, mentions that “the carriage of goods is effected by boat, but men also carry great loads over the most difficult country. Boatmen and carpenters drive a thriving trade.” 118 The cargo boats were known as bahts and the light boats called Shikaras. Shikara was used for the general conveyance of the people. 119

During his first visit, Akbar wanted to visit the upper division of the valley in a boat and so a large number of beautiful house-boats were afloat on the river Jhelum and the Dal Lake and he introduced some new type of boats of the

Gujrat and Bengal models. 120 The construction and organization of this

department was assigned to an official called Mir Bahri .121 Mullah Mazhari was appointed by Akbar as Mir Bahri of Kashmir. 122 He ( Mir Bahri ) had a considerable retinue under him, posted at various ferries and posts, to collect the tax levied on the merchandise, grain and fodder. 123 Besides, the tax collection, he was supervising the building of boats and the maintenance of

the emperor were ten crowns for every 100 pounds weight. It is computed that thirty thousand porters were employed of whom six thousand were required for the king alone. 116 Ain, I, pp. 144-45 & vol. II, p. 170; Walter Lawrence, op. cit., pp. 313-14. 117 In Akbarnama, Abul Fazl, mentions that there were 30,000 boats in the valley: Akbarnama, vol. III, part- II, p.550; According to Mutamad Khan, there were 5,700 boats, and the number of the boatmen was fixed at 7,400: Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Abdal-Haiy and Ahmad Ali, p.149; Tuzuk, p. 298. 118 Ain, vol. II, p. 170. 119 Tarikh-i-Hasan, MS. No. 04, vol. I, ff.140ab-141a, The author states that there were different types of boats used for various purposes. Also See Walter Lawrence, op. cit., pp.380-82. 120 In Akbarnama. Abul Fazl writes: ‘In the country (Kashmir) there were more than thirty thousand boats, but none fit for the world’s lord, so able artificers soon prepared the river palaces ( Takht- i-Rawans), and made flower gardens on the surface of the water,’ vol. III, part -II, p.550; The Takht-i-Rawans (the river palaces) were also used by Shahjahan when he went for sight-seeing on the Jehlam river and the Dal Lake, Muntakhabu- Lubab, vol. I, part -II, pp. 705-06; Ain, vol. I, pp. 144-45. 121 Ain, vol. I, p. 144-45; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32/150, f. 146a; P. Saran, op. cit ., p. 158. 122 Ibid, I, Eng. Transl. p. 654 & n.1; Muntakhabu-t Tawarikh, vol. III, pp. 344-45; Waqiat-i- Kashmir, 32/150, Habib Ganj Collection, f. 127b. 123 Ibid, I, pp. `144-45; Also see George Forster, op. cit ., vol. I, pp. 302-3, Forster, in his account mentions about duties, which was levied on the transportation of goods. 195

bridges as well. 124 In the words of Jahangir, “the two large lakes------are the means for coming and going of the people and for the conveyance of grain and firewood on boats.” 125 According to Moorcroft, boats were used for carrying grains to the heart of the city. 126 In Kashmir, river transport was cheaper and therefore quite as important and its goods were mostly conveyed by boats. 127

124 Ibid, vol. I, pp. 144-45; P. Saran, op. cit ., p. 158. 125 Tuzuk, p . 298. 126 William Moorcroft and G. Trebeck, op. cit ., part III, Ch. II, vol. II, p. 116. 127 Irfan Habib, Government and Economic Life; Trade, commerce and Industry , Article No.6, CAS, AMU, Aligarh, p. 21.

Chapter - 5

State and Economy

Chapter-5

STATE AND ECONOMY:

(A) LAND REVENUES

Kashmir was annexed in 1586.Though for some time it remained a vital part of the province of Kabul, 1 but very soon Kashmir assumed the status of a fullfledged province like other Mughal Indian provinces. It was, made into a separate Suba under Jahangir. 2 Thenceforth, the Suba of Kashmir was broadly divided, as earlier, 3 into two major divisions termed Maraz and Kamraz in Persian accounts. 4 For the sake of administrative convenience, the two parts were further subdivided into a considerable number of administrative units designated Parganas . 5 Kalhana in his account, names several parganas, 6 but it is Abul Fazl, who first of all gives us a systematic list of the parganas of

Kashmir. Subsequent evidence indicates how the number of the parganas was

increased or readjusted within certain limits considering the fiscal requirements or administrative action. According to Abul Fazl, in the revenue returns

forwarded by Qazi Ali to the Imperial Court forty- one parganas were dealt with, while the return submitted by Asaf Khan (another assessor) contained but thirty-eight, there being thirty-eight in point of fact. The difference was

1 Abul Fazl in Ain , treats Kashmir as a Sarkar of the Subah of Kabul, which was comprised of Kashmir, Pakhli, Bimber, Swat, Rajaur, Qandahar and Zabulistan, Ain , II, p. 169. 2 Irfan Habib, An Atlas of the Mughal Empire, p. 6. 3 These two terms Maraz and Kamraz were called as Madavrajya and Kamrajya in Sanskrit accounts i.e. Kalhana, Rajatarangini , Eng. transl. M.A. Stein, vol. I, Book II, verse 15, p. 57. Book III, verse 481, p. 115; Book V, verse, 84,87, p.197, verse 303, p. 224, verse 447, pp. 231- 32; Book VII, verse, 223, p. 287, verse 1240-41, p. 365; vol. II, Book VII, verse, 41, p. 4, verse 200, p. 18, verse, 250, p. 22, verse, 823, p. 66, verse, 926, p. 73, verse, 1005, p. 79. 4 Akbarnama , III, part -II, pp. 548-49: Maraz lay on the east and Kamraz on the west of Kashmir (Srinagar); Ain, vol. II, p. 176; Tuzuk, p. 298: These were the traditional divisions of the Kashmir valley, one comprising the upper part of the valley ( Maraj ), the other the lower ( Kamraj ). 5 It is an administrative unit for revenue purposes, when territorial, identical with pargana , but when non-territorial e.g. market dues, customs house, mint etc; identical with Mahals . 6 Rajatarangini , Eng. Transl.M.A. Stein, vol. II, Book VIII, verse, 1260, 1270, pp. 100-1, verse 1413, 1414, 1417, 1422, p. 111, verse, 2695-2698, p. 211. 197

accounted for by the amalgamation of some and the splitting up of other parganas. 7

The number of the parganas was stated by Birbal Kachru, Muhammad

Saleh Kambu, Narain Koul Ajiz and Muhammad Azam at thirty-six, forty-four, thirty-seven and thirty-six during Akbar’s reign, 8 ’s reign, 9 Aurangzeb’s Reign, 10 and the later Mughal period respectively. 11

Anyhow, parganas varied in size as is discernible from the striking contrast in their revenue returns, 12 together with the distinct number of villages constituting each pargana separately. 13 The largest paragana of Kamraz, for

example, contained four hundred sixty nine villages while pargana Pattan

comprised one single village. 14 The parganas simply represented the total sum of villages distinct in size, number and accruing revenue. 15

From the revenue statistics of Abul Fazl, 16 we find that in the Maraz district the revenue realized was larger than in the Kamraz district. In Maraz

7 Ain, vol. II p. 176: Further he says that Qazi Ali, for instance, bifurcated the two villages of Karnah and Drao which formed a part of pargana Kamraz . He also created a new pargana by dividing pargana Sairul Muwazai itself into two units. He united 40 villages of Maraz district under the name of Pargana Haveli and retained 88 villages of Kamraz according to the former distribution under the separate name of pargana Sairul Muwazai ; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 244- 245. 8 Majmuat-Tawarikh , MS. No. 148: Kachru has estimated 36 Parganas at 3425 villages, pp. 13- 15; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 258-267: But Hasan, has estimated 38 Parganas at 3208 villages. 9 Amal-i-Saleh or ShahjahanNama , ed. Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad: Saleh has estimated 44 Parganas at 4000 villages, vol. II, p. 20. 10 Tarikh-i-Kashmir , MSS. No. 71, ff. 41a-42a: There is a variation of the various collections of same manuscript, in MS. No. 71, Ajiz has estimated 37 Parganas and 3274 villages, while MS. No. 18, ff. 106-107, has estimated 35 Parganas and 3239 villages. 11 Waqiat-i-Kashmir : There is a variation of the various collections of the same manuscript, in Habib Ganj Collection 32/150, Khatima , ff. 258ab, Azam has estimated 36 Parganas and 3190 villages, while in Abdus Salam collection, 527/48, ff. 240b-241a and MS. No. 72, ff. 243ab, has estimated 32 Parganas at 2815 villages and 32 Parganas at 2886 villages respectively. 12 Ain, vol. II, pp. 176-178; Tarikh-i-Kashmir , MS. No. 71, ff. 41a-42a. 13 Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 13-15; Tarikh-i-Kashmir , MS. No. 71, ff. 41a-42a; Waqiat-i-Kashmir , Habib Ganj collection, 32/150, Khatima , ff. 285ab. 14 Tarikh-i-Kashmir, MS. No. 71, ff. 41a-42a; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Habib Ganj collection, 32/ 150, Khatima, ff. 285ab; Tarikh-i-Hasan , I, pp. 258-267. 15 Ain, II, pp. 176-178; Tarikh-i-Kashmir , MS. No. 71, ff. 41a-42a. 16 Ibid. 198

district, Vihi pargana yielded more than either Icch or Brang pargana . Wular pargana yielded more than either Phak, Kuther or Mattan. In the Parganas South-East of Srinagar, Adwin yielded the largest amount of revenue, Nagam came next and Verinag last of all. In the Kamraz District, Krohen yielded the largest revenue with Bangil following close. Inderkot came last of all.

When the Mughals took over the valley from the Chaks in 1586, they found the valley in a deplorable state. Akbar in the first instance fixed the revenue rate at one-fourth 17 in the districts of Maraj and Kamraj . Afterwards on the recommendations of one of the Mutassadis 18 (revenue clerks) of Mirza

Yusuf Khan, the Nazim of Kashmir, Akbar increased the land revenue from one-fourth to one half of the total produce but actually it was taken more than one-half. For above this simplification, it is worth mentioning that, however in

1592, one of the governor’s mutasaddis namely Tota Ram fled to the court and conveyed to Akbar that the rai’s were not fixed as per actual facts. 19 He further confided that “the revenue of Kashmir had been fixed at 22 lakh kharwars ----

At present, the number of kharwars (received by Yusuf Khan Rizavi) was 50 percent more than this.” 20 Tota Ram thereby advocated that the jama (the estimated revenue) “should be fifty percent higher, and the kharwar should be valued at 29 dams. ”21 When asked to explain, Mirza Yusuf Khan informed the

Emperor that any further increase in the jama was impossible; 22 “but Akbar

17 Ibid , I, Eng. Transl., p. 370. 18 Ibid. 19 Ibid; Akbarnama, vol. III, part-II, p. 595; Maasiru-L-Umara , vol. III, pp. 314-16 & Its Eng. Transl. vol. II, pp. 1001-03; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System,(ed.1963), pp. 223-24. 20 Tota Ram is believed to have admitted that “the truth would be ascertained if an amin were sent”: Akbarnama, vol. III, part-II, p. 595 & Its Eng. Transl. vol. III, pp. 906-907 & n.1. 21 Ain , I, (Eng. Transl.), p. 370; Maasiru-L-Umara, vol. III, p. 315 & Its Eng. Transl., vol. II, pp. 1002-03: “….One of the confidential servants of the Mirza ran away and came to the court. He represented that the number of kharwars should be increased by 50 percent, and the rate for each kharwar should be 28 dams .” 22 Ibid. 199

sent Qazi Nurullah and Qazi Ali to Kashmir to report on the revenue. As Mirza

Yusuf Khan’s people assumed a threatening attitude, Nurullah returned, and Akbar sent Hasan Beg Shaykh Umari to Kashmir. On his arrival, some of

Mirza Yusuf Khan’s people made a conspiracy, and stirred up the malcontents of the country, who collected under Yadgar, the son of Mirza Yusuf Khan’s uncle. The disturbances became so serious that Qazi Ali and Hasan Beg returned to Hindustan; but the rebels blockaded the roads and killed Qazi

Ali.” 23 To contain the Kashmiris, Akbar declared the whole of the valley as a Khalisa 24 land and the army was also deployed for cultivation. But, “at the request of Prince Sultan Selim, Kashmir was given in fief to Mirza Yusuf

Khan------.” 25 Yusuf Khan Rizwi was transferred in 1594, and Kashmir was parcelled out among Ahmad Beg, Muhammad Quli Beg, Hamza Beg, Hasan

Beg Gurd, Hasan Ali Arab, and Muhammad Beg Aimaq of Badakhshan. 26 The cultivators were ruined by the harsh jagirdars, therefore, Asaf Khan 27 was sent to reassess the Subah after 1594. 28 New jama was increased by 16,392 kharwars 5 traks , but a subsidy of five dams in each kharwar was recommended. So, in fact, there was no increase in the jama , when commuted into cash, but a decrease of 860,034 ½ dams .29 The jama was fixed at 3079443 kharwars out of it 10, 11,330 ½ kharwars were to be paid in cash. 30

23 Ibid. 24 Ibid, I, p. 371: “As Mirza Yusuf Khan refused to remain incharge of Kashmir under the increased revenue, the country was made Khalisa , and Shamsu-d-Din Khafi was appointed Governor with 3,000 troops; Akbarnama, III, part-II, p. 627. 25 Akbarnama, III, part-II, p. 627; Ain, I, (Eng. Transl.) p. 371. 26 Ibid, III, part-II, p. 654. 27 Ain , I, (Eng. Transl.) pp. 451-54. 28 Akbarnama, III, part-II, p. 726 & Its Eng. transl. III, pp. 1085-86n, According to Beveridge, Asaf Khan revised the Jama in 1594 while distributing the Subah among the aforesaid jagirdars . It appears he has not noticed the reference in Akbarnama, III, part-II, p. 661, where it is mentioned that Asaf Khan did not enhance the revenue. 29 Ain, II, p. 176. 30 Ibid. 200

Abul Fazl notes that the system of revenue in Kashmir was by appraisement and division of crops. “Assessments by special rates, and cash transactions were not the custom of the country.” 31 Whatever was realised from the cultivated land was called mal , 32 the expenses incurred on its assessment and collection were called Jihat , 33 while the tax imposed upon various occupations and trade was known as Sairjihat . 34 Some part of the Sair

Jihat cesses, [which means a variety of imposts, such as customs, transit dues, house fees, market taxes], were, however, taken in cash. Payment in coin and kind were estimated, in Kharwars or ass-loads of Shali or unpounded rice.

According to Abul Fazl, all the previous rai’s [crop rates] were spurious and a fixed jama was realized annually without obtaining information afresh regarding Kashta and Uftada lands. 35 The new demand was fixed according to the fertility of the land, 36 and the span of cultivation. “Although one-third had been for a long time past the nominal share of the state, more than two shares was actually taken.” But it appears that Akbar reduced the assessment to one- half. 37

In Kashmir the agriculture income was determined through a method of assessment called Nasaqi-i-ghalla-bakhsh .38 The Nasaqi-i-ghalla-bakhsh , as a method of assessment continued to be followed incessantly though towards the late 18 th century (1781) it was replaced by a pure form of crop-sharing called

31 Ibid , II, p. 175. 32 Under Akbar the Mal or original assessment on the produce, as we known, amounted to one- third of the produce: Ain, II, p. 175; Dasturul-Amal-i-Asar-i-Alamgiri , Rotograph No. 53, f. 28; N.A. Siddiqi, Land Revenue Demand Under the Mughals, “The Indian Economic and Social History Review”, vol. II, No. 4, October, 1965, pp. 373-374. 33 Ibid ; Ibid; Ibid. 34 Ibid; Ibid; Ibid . 35 Akbarnama, III, part -II, pp. 548-49, 727. 36 Ibid , p. 727. 37 Ain , II, p. 175-176. 38 Akbarnama, vol. III, part -II, pp. 548-49; Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh , p. 83. 201

Hisa-bata-i-nisfi . 39 Similarly the magnitude of the land revenue, which in the

beginning was fixed at one-third and subsequently raised to one-half by Akbar, was also adhered to by his successors, though again in 1781, the cess like jihat and other perquisites were merged into the malia so that instead of one-half, three-forth of the gross produce was actually realized from the peasantry in kind. 40 The revenue concessions or reliefs were also provided, in respect of mode of payment and on the occasion of the assessment by the Mughal administration, to encourage development in cultivated ( Kashta ) 41 and waste (Uftada ) 42 lands as well as to stimulate cultivation for augmenting the State

resources.

The Emperor Akbar, in order to ensure a marked distinction between Kashta and Uftada lands, he got the whole province divided into 14 portions, and to each of these, two bitikchis 43 (one an Indian and the other, a Persian)

were deputed to study the settlement papers of every village, ascertain therein the extent of arable and non-arable land, and finally fix the collection according

to the produce. 44

39 In this method, crop after harvest were equally divided between the collector and the cultivator: Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh, Urdu transl, p. 115. 40 Ibid , p. 115. 41 For the Kashta land, revenue settlement was purely guided by the principle of equal division of crops between the government and the Peasantry: Ain , II, pp. 175-76, and transl. II, p. 366; Akbarnama , III, part- II, pp. 726-27; William Moorcroft and G. Trebeck, op. cit., part III, ch. II, vol. II, p. 125. 42 For the Uftada land, Akbar prescribed extraordinary low rates, at least until it assumed the status of the Kashta land: Akbarnama, III, part -II, pp. 726-27. 43 The term bitikchi , means a conscientious, good and skilful accountant, most indispensable to the collector. On the completion of the survey of a village, a bitikchi determined the revenue payable by each cultivator and subsequently by each village: Ain, II, pp. 200-201; Akbarnama, III, part-II, pp. 726-27. 44 The demand was fixed according to the fertility of the land and the span of cultivation. For the land, left uncultivated for a period of ten years or more, the demand in the first year was fixed at one-sixth, one-fourth for second year, one-third for third year and one-half for the fourth year. Similarly, for the land, left uncultivated for four to ten years, the demand was one-fifth for the first year, one-third for the second year and one-half for the third year. Likewise, on the land left unploughed for two to four years, the demand in the first year was fixed at one-third and one- half for the second year: Akbarnama , III, part-II, p. 727. 202

The following table presents the statistics for the suba of Kashmir in a chronological order. TABLE Showing The Revenue Of Kashmir Assessed In Dams Over Different Years: S. Source Date Mahals/ Figures In No. Parganas Dams 1. Ain, vol. II, p. 176. 1595-96 38 6,21,13,0401/2 2. Tuzuk, pp. 298-99. 1620 38 7,46,70,000 3. Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Karim Ahmad Khan 1634-35 44 10,00,00,000 Mutamad, II, p.20. 4. Farhang-i-Kardani , Abdus Salam, 1633-38 44 11,93,80,000 85/315, ff. 19b. 5. Badshahnama, vol. II, part-II, pp. 710- 1646-47 - 15,00,00,000 11. 6. Tarikh-i-Shahjahani, Rotograph No. ” - 15,37,50,000 39, ff. 148b. 7. Dastur-Al-Amal-i-Navisindgi , Add. 1646-56 46 14,02,00,000 6641, British Museum, Rotograph No.228, CAS, Aligarh, f. 168b. 8. F. Bernier, op. cit., p. 457. 1666 45 1,40,00,000(?) 9. Sheikh Muhammad Baqa, Miratu-i- c.1667 51 21,30,74,826 Alam, ghost writing for his patron, Bakhtawar Khan, MS. No. 62, Farsiya Akhbar, MAL, AMU, Aligarh, f. 308a. 10. Halat-i-Mamalik-i-Mahrusa-i-Alamgiri , 1687-91 53 22,49,11,397 Add, Ms. 6598, British Museum, Rotograph No. 55, CAS, Aligarh, f.132a. 11. Zawabit-i-Alamgiri , Rotograph No. 62, 1687-c. 53 27,99,11,397 f.4a. 1691 12. Dastur-al-Amal, Aurangzeb : Fraser 86, 1687-c. 54 22,99,11,397 Rotograph No.183, f.3. 1695 13. Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh , p.83. 1695 46 12,62,85,000 14. Munshi Thakur Lal, Dastur-al-Amal-i- 1700 53 27,79,11,306 Shahanshahi , Add. Ms. 22831, Rotograph No. 52, CAS, Aligarh, f.12b. 15. Dastur-ul-Amal-i-Shahjahani , Add. 1701-02 53 27,79,11,397 203

6588, Rotograph No. 56, CAS, Aligarh, f. 26b. 16. Manucci, op. cit., vol. II, p.390. 1707 - 14,02,00,000 17. Tarikh-i-Kashmir , MS. No. 71, ff. 41a- 1709-10 55 28,00,00,000 42a. 18. Dastur-Al-Amal-i-Asar-i-Alamgiri , 1700-11 44 11,43,90,000 ff.116b. 19. Waqiat-i-Kashmir , Habib Ganj 1746-47 55 28,00,00,000 Collection, 32/150, Khatima , ff. 285ab.

In considering these statistics we may note that the dates given above are the last possible years, and the actual figures may be much earlier. For determining the real sequence the number of mahals/parganas could be useful. For example, we may assumed that the statistics which give the number of mahals as 44 or 46(Nos.3, 4,7,13 and 18) are earlier than those that give the number as 51 (No.9); and those recording 53(Nos. 10, 14, 15) are later than the above. By the same test we can rearrange in proper sequence the statistics, giving the totals of mahals/parganas as 54 (No.12) and 55(Nos. 17and 19).

When so rearranged, we can see that the revenue estimates show a regular increase: Nos. mahals/parganas Period Dams in Crores 1,2 38 Pre-1634-35 6.21 to 7.47 3,4,18 44 Pre-1646 10.00 to 11.93 7,13,18 46 Pre-1667 12.63 to 14.02 9 51 1667 21.30 10,14,15 53 Pre-1687 22.49 to 27.99 12 54 1687-95 22.99 17,19 55 1709-10 28.00

204

It is clear that during the seventeenth century a very great ascent took place in the revenues of Kashmir, rising from 6.21 Crore of Dams to 28 Crores, an increase by over four times. It can not be argued even from the existing date that the price-level increased on that scale-a general price rise of above 50 percent only has been postulated for the seventeenth century. 45 It is also to be noticed that the revenues of Kashmir as calculated by Irfan Habib, at 370.15 in

1709 with Ain-i-Akbari’s figures as base (=100) showed the highest increase among all the North-Indian provinces. Indeed the jama ‘of the Empire excluding the Deccan provinces rose, according to his figures, from a base of

100 in c. 1595 to 178.23 only in 1709. 46 There must, then, have been other factors behind the exceptional increase of jama ‘in Kashmir. It is possible that since the figures actually represented the jama ‘against which jagirs to meet salary claims were assigned, that since Kashmir was a peaceable province and the jagirdars did not have to spend much on military expenditure here, the mansabdars accepted jagirs in Kashmir against higher jama ‘than would have been the case in other provinces. But when allowance is made even for this, can it be that the increase in revenues represented, in past, at least, a real increase in cultivation in Kashmir, or in other words, a real growth of prosperity, in the seventeenth century-that it was so wantonly to be deprived of in the next two centuries.

More or less, the Afghans continued to follow the Mughal pattern of land revenue settlement, as well as the same administrative set up for the

45 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 448-49, For a fuller discussion, see Shireen Moosvi, ‘ The Silver Influx, Money Supply, Prices and Revenue Extraction in Mughal India,’ JESHO ’ XXX (1987), pp. 49-94. 46 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 375. 205

revenue collection. With the exception of the year 1765 and 1782, when owing to the economic pressures and in-built administrative contradictions, the

Peshkar (officer in-charge of the revenue collection) was enjoined to reimburse the malia to the state coffers month-after-month and later on daily, there was relatively no such time limitation. The malia continued to be collected as usual after every kharif and rabi harvest. 47

As I have already mentioned that in Kashmir the agriculture was determined through a method of assessment called Nasaqi-i-ghalla-bakhsh .48

The Nasaqi-i-ghalla-bakhsh , as a method of assessment continued to be followed incessantly though towards the late 18 th century (1781) it was replaced by a pure form of crop-sharing called Hisa-bata-i-nisfi .49 Similarly the magnitude of the land revenue, which in the beginning was fixed at one-third and subsequently raised to one-half by Akbar, was also adhered to by his successors, though again in 1781, the cess like Jihat and other perquisites were merged into the malia so that instead of one-half, three-fourth of the gross produce was actually realized from the peasantry in kind. 50

The following table presents the statistics for the Suba of Kashmir in a chronological order.

47 Majmuat-Tawarikh, Habib Ganj collection, 32/150, pp. 379-80; Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh, Urdu transl. pp. 110-111. 48 Akbarnama, III, part-II, pp. 548-49; Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh, p. 83; For the main features of Nasaqi-i-ghalla-bakhsh and its mode of assessment, Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 258, 263-64, and 277. 49 In this method, crop after harvest were equally divided between the collector and the cultivator: Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh, Urdu transl. p. 115. 50 Ibid; Majmuat-Tawarikh, IHabib Ganj collection, 32/150, pp. 390-93. 206

Table Showing The Revenue Of Kashmir Assessed In Rupees Over Different Years: S. Source Date Figures in Rupees No. 1. George Forster, op. cit., vol. II, 1783 20-30,00,000 p. 29. 2. Ghulam Sarwar’s Paper , 1793-95 40,18,000 51 National Archives, New Delh. 3. Mount Stuart Elphinstone, vol. 1809 46,26,300 II, p. 238.

51 Ghulam Sarwar was deputed to Afghanistan by the Governor General, Lord Cornawallis, in 1793-95. According to him, the revenue returns of Kashmir (1793-95) were as under:

The treasury = Rs. 22,50,000 Taluqdars = Rs. 6,28,000 Establishment = Rs. 11,40,000 Total = Rs. 40,18,000 (B) TAXES AND CESSES OTHER THAN LAND REVENUE

“Although one-third had been for a long time past the nominal share of the state, more than two shares was actually taken”. But it appears that Akbar reduced the assessment to one-half 1. Thus the magnitude of land revenue demand was fixed at half of the produce. But above and over the demand, the fiscal burden or extra burden in the form of Wujuhat or Jihat , Sairjihat, habubat , and Faruat was also borne by the tenants or by the peasantry 2.

Abul Fazl notes that the system of revenue in Kashmir was by appraisement and division of crops. “Assessments by special rates, and cash transactions were not the custom of the country”3. Whatever was realized from the cultivated land was called mal, 4 the expenses incurred on its assessment and collection were called jihat,5 while the tax imposed upon various occupation and trade was known as Sairjihat 6. Some part of the Sairjihat cesses, (which means a variety of imposts, such as customs, transit dues, house fees, market taxes), were, however taken in cash. Payment in Kharwars or ass –loads of Shali or unpounded rice 7. In addition there were exactions( Jihat ) and perquisites (allowances) appropriated by the land revenue functionaries or by the assignees; in addition to their salary or excluding jama ; known as Faruat and hububat 8.

1 Ain, II, pp. 175-76. 2 Ibid, I, pp. 205, 209-10, & transl. II, pp. 63 & n. 88, 72-73 & n. 102; vol. II, p. 175 and transl. II, p. 366; Dasturul Amal-i-Asar-i-Alamgiri, Rotograph No. 53, f. 28; N.A. Siddiqi, ‘Land Revenue Demand Under the Mughals’ , IESHR, vol. II, pp. 373-74; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 283-84. 3 Ibid, II, p. 175. 4 Under Akbar the Mal or orginal assessment on the produce, as we know, amounted to one-third of the produce: Ibid. & vol. I, p. 205; Dasturaul-Amal-i-Asar-i-Alamgiri , f. 28; N.A. Siddiqi, op. cit., pp. 373-74 5 Ibid, II, p. 175 & transl. II, pp. 366-67 & n; Ibid , I, p. 205 & transl. II, p. 63; Ibid ; Ibid , pp. 373- 74. 6 Ibid; Ibid , I, pp. 205, 209-10 & transl. II, pp. 63 & n. 88 & 72-73; Ibid; Ibid. 7 Ibid, II, p.175 & transl. II, p.366; Ibid, I. pp. 205, 209-10 & transl. II, pp. 63 & n. 72-73. 8 Ibid, I, p.205 & transl. II, p.63 ; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p.284. 208

Another tax called hasil –i- hatab which was realized during the reign of some Mughal governors of Kashmir, used to levy two dams against the supply of fuel, on each Kharwar of Shali or paddy, but it was Itiqad Khan during his government, levied four dams. 9 During the Afghans, each village yielding a revenue of a Kharwar of paddy of Shali ; paid in addition to normal taxes, one trak annually towards the revenue functionaries or revenue assignees. Likewise, on every one rupee of Mahsul , each village was required to pay 2 annas annually to the Kardars.10 Similarly, during the Mughal periods, from every village bearing the hal-i-hasil of every four hundred ass- loads of paddy or more, two sheep used to be taken, previously and some of the subedars, in lieu of the price of each sheep, they take from the peasants, in cash, sixty-six dams ; which equivalent to the price of three sheep.11 Under the Afghans, we find that the cess increased, who extravagantly charged rupees

10 to 20 plus 5 to 10 sheep, 2 to 4 traks of oil, 4 traks of salt and 5 to 10 Kharwars of rice from the peasants of each village, annually. 12

Besides, we have a long list of various type of impositions like dastar-

Shumari ( tax), 13 damdari (tax on bird catchers), 14 telli-charagh (fuel- tax), 15 Wan-Waziri (tax on fire- wood), 16 Sar-i-darakhti (tax on orchards or on

9 Qazwini, Badshahnama , Rotograph No. 191B, pp.267-68; Shireen Moosvi, An Imperial Edict of Shahjahan, IHC, 47th session, Srinagar, 1986, pp. 360-62; Majmuat -Tawarikh , MS. No. 148, f. 287. 10 Amal-i- Saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, vol. I, pp.544-45; Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., p.185. 11 Qazwini, Badshahnama, Rotograph No. 191B, pp. 267-68; Amal-i-saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, I, pp.544-45; Shireen Moosvi, An Imperial Edict of Shahjahan, pp. 360-62. 12 Amal-i-saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, I, pp. 544-45; Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., p.186. 13 Ain, I, p. 210 & n. 6, & transl. II, p. 73 & n. 104. 14 Waqiat-i- Kashmir, Urdu transl. from Persian by Dr. Khawaja Hamid Yazdani, Lahore, 1995, p.399. 15 Ain, I, p. 210. 16 R.K. Parmu, op. cit. , p. 398; Parmanand Parashar, Kashmir- The Paradise of Asia, New Delhi, 2004, p. 155. 209

trees), 17 Zar-i-dudi (smoke or hearth tax), 18 gao-Shumari (a tax on each head of oxen or cattle) 19 etc. Then the Hindus paid the cremation tax and the jizya, while the Muslims paid the zakat . Akbar remitted as well as abolished most of these taxes, particularly the cremation tax, the jizya 20 and the like. Under the emperor Jahangir, Rasum-i-Faujdari was also abolished. 21

In addition to these above taxes, other sources of the income of the state consisted of ferry-toll, bridge-toll, tax on imports and exports, cess on arts and crafts ( rasum-i-hirfagaran ) etc. 22 The custom duties were levied on the import and export of goods at places of entry on the land or sea. Srinagar was the checking point of goods coming from Kashmir. 23 In the 34th year (997), when

Akbar visited Kashmir, and he issued several orders regarding the taxation of the country. In the districts of Mararaj and Kamraj, i.e. the upper and lower districts on both sides of the Bahat river, he fixed the taxes at one-fourth. 24 Baj and tamgha, discontinued earlier, were revived with great vigour. 25

But unscrupulous and grasping Mughal and Pathan governors introduced several new taxes. For instance, Itiqad Khan (1622-32) introduced the system of begar for collecting saffron flowers, after it had been abolished by Akbar and he attached private fruit gardens and did not allow their owners to use the fruit themselves and enhanced current taxes like Salamyanah, and

17 Ain, I, p. 209; Tuzuk, p. 252: Though Jahangir explicitly had forbidden the realization of the Saridarakhti in his 13th year; Similarly, Shahjahan exempted the tenants from most of these taxes: Shireen Moosvi, An Imperial Edict of Shahjahan, pp . 360-62. 18 Ibid, I, p. 210; Edward Thomas, Revenue Resources of the Mughal Empire In India, London, 1871, p. 17. 19 Ibid, I, p.209; R. K. Parmu, op. cit., p. 398. 20 Ibid , I, pp. 205, 209-10; Ibid ; Suka, Rajatarangini, Eng. Transl. J.C. Dutt, pp. 420-21. 21 Tuzuk, p. 344. 22 R. K. Parmu, op. cit., p. 398; Parmanand Parashar, op. cit., p. 155. 23 Aniruddha Ray, op. cit., p. 152. 24 Ain, I, transl. p. 370. 25 Ibid , II, p. 176 & its transl. pp. 367 & n. 1; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Urdu transl. p. 458. 210

Rasum-i-Amal and Rasum-i-mirbahri (tax on boatmen), 26 etc. Another Mughal governor like Muzaffar Khan (1685-92) introduced burdensome taxes such as chauth (one-fourth of government collection), damdari (tax on bird-catchers) and namaksari (tax on salt) 27 etc. Likewise, the Pathan governor, Haji Karimdad

(1776-83), introduced many burdensome taxes, such as niaz (presentation tax, on mansabdars and jagirdars ), Zari ashkhas (property tax, on middle class gentry), Zari hubub (grain tax, on cultivators), Zari dudah or religious tax, on the pandits, and dagh shal or mercantile tax, on shawl weavers ( shal bafs), at the rate of one anna a rupee on the sale price of every manufactured shawl. 28

Another tax on boatmen and produce of lakes ( rasum-i-mirbahri ) was also imposed. Due to the geographical condition as well as features of the valley, the entire trade and commerce of the subah of Kashmir was usually carried on through rivers. 29 River transport was a lucrative profession and it always remained in the hands of ‘Hanjis’. 30 Itiqad Khan, during the reign of Jahangir, reversed the old system and imposed an annual tax of 75 dams irrespective of their age and sex, but in 1633-34, the order was repeated and the tax was levied according to the old rates, as 60 dams on a Youngman, 36 dams on child and 12 dams on infirm old men. 31 Unnecessary claims of the multiple qanungos

(qanungo-i-juzv) from the peasantry were also abolished. 32 Thus we find that

26 Akbarnama, III, part -II, pp. 727, 734; Later all these burden some taxes, introduced by Itiqad Khan, was abolished by Shahjahan by issuing the imperial farman proclaimed that the autocratic & oppressive rule of Itiqad Khan had ceased: Shireen Moosvi, An Imperial Edict of Shahjahan , pp. 360-62; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Urdu, transl. pp. 258-59, 287-88. 27 Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Urdu, transl. p. 399; R. K. Parmu, op. cit., pp.326-27. 28 R. K. Parmu, op. cit., p. 363. 29 Ain, I, p. 144-45 & II, p. 170. 30 Ibid; Walter Lawrence, op. cit., pp. 313-14. 31 Shireen Moosvi, An Imperial Edict of Shahjahan, pp. 360-62; Qazwini, Badshahnama, Rotograph No. 191B, p. 268; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, I, pp. 544-45. 32 In every village numerous qanungos, realise from the peasants a large sum under the head of qanungoi : Qazwini, Badshahnama, Rotograph No. 191B, pp. 267-68; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, I, pp. 544-45. 211

the some Mughal rulers like Akbar, Jahangir and Shahjahan did strive to abolish a few rasum or bidats .33

33 Akbarnama, III, part -II, p. 727; Tuzuk, p. 344; Qazwini, Badshahnama, Rotograph No. 191B, pp. 267-68; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, I, pp. 544-45; S. Moosvi, An Imperial Edict of Shahjahan, pp. 360-62. (C) LOCAL ADMINISTRATION AND ECONOMY: [LAND REVENUE FUNCTIONARIES & REVENUE ASSIGNMENTS AND GRANTS]

For the purpose of revenue assessment and its collection, a large number of officials were appointed by the Mughal state and they performed their duties assigned by the imperial authority at the provincial, pargana and village levels.

Revenue assessment and collection involved a large number of official with the subedar & diwan at the top and village muqaddam and patwari etc., at the bottom (village level). 1

In the land revenue administration, there were two types of officials, firstly those who were generally appointed by the government and were liable to transfers; secondly those who were permanent hereditary village officials such as muqaddam, patwari, qanungo, choudhari and the like. Their vital role was to a large extent responsible for shaping and framing the socio-economic set up of the countryside. 2

The Subedar or Nazim 3 was generally the provincial head during the Mughals. He was appointed from the centre and carried on the administration of the Suba . He could hold his office as long as he enjoyed the confidence of his ruler or master. There were no hard and fast rules in their appointment, reappointments, removal, and promotion or the transfer of their office. Mirza

Ali Beg was appointed Subedar of Kashmir in 1605-6 and was given a mansab

1 Irfan Habib, The Agrarain System, pp. 160-68; B.B. Misra, The Administrative History of India, 1834-1947 , Oxford, 1970, p. 638 2 Walter Lawrence, op. cit., pp. 400-1; E.F. Knight, Where Three Empires Meet, Delhi, 1896, pp. 65-66; W.H. Moreland, The Agrarian System, p. 177; S. Nurul Hasan , op. cit., p. 25. 3 Akbarnama , III, part -II, pp. 726-27, 654 ; Ain , I, pp. 163, 161 & transl. I, pp. 538-39, 451-52; Lahori, Badshahnama , II, part -I, pp. 98, 125, 200-201, 222-23; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Abdus Salam collection, 527/48, ff. 109-10ab, 130ab, 146b, 152-53, 155-56, 162, 174-75, 178ab, 192- 95ab, 199ab, 210b, 215-18ab, 223ab; Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS . No. 148, ff. 214-5, 255, 279. 213

of 500 but in 1605-6 Jahangir raised his mansab to 4000.4 Saif Khan 5 was in

Kashmir along with his father, Tarbiyat Khan, who was then the Subedar of Kashmir. Shahjahan appointed him superintendent of Qur-Khana with the rank of 700/100; Later Aurangzeb raised his mansab to 1500/700, on account of his role against Maharaja Jaswant Singh, and granted him the title of Saif Khan. He was appointed Subedar of Kashmir in 1661 and again in 14 th R.Y. appointed Subedar of Kashmir. He was rewarded for having defeated Murad

Khan of Iskardu in 1663-4. We find that the reappointments were frequent, during the reign of Shahjahan and Aurangzeb. For instance, Zafar Khan

Ahsan, 6 after the death of his father Abul Hasan, was appointed Subedar of

Kashmir in 1633 and again in 1642, he was appointed as Subedar replacing Tarbiyat Khan. His rank ( mansab ) was increased to 3000/1500, but in 1654, due to his hostile attitude towards Sunnis, he was removed from Subedari . In

1639, the subedari of Kashmir was given to Ali Mardan Kahn 7 and Zafar Khan was transferred. Ali Mardan Khan surrendered the fort of Qandahar to

Shahjahan and in 1639 as a token of reward, he was granted a mansab of 5000/

Z.S. His mansab was further increased to 7000/7000 and Punjab was also assigned to him. Again in 1655, he was appointed as a subeda r of Kashmir and held the post for 7 years. Similarly, Ibrahim Khan,8 son of Ali Mardan Khan,

4 Ain, I, p. 163 & transl. I, pp. 538-39; Tuzuk, p. 35; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Nawal Kishore, vol. III, p. 516; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Ghulam yazdani, vol. I, pp. 544-45 & vol. II, p. 360; Maasiru- lUmara, vol. III, pp. 355-57. 5 Maasiru-l-Umara, vol. II, part-I, pp. 479-82; Alamgirnama, vol. II, p. 832; Saqi Musta’idd Khan, Maasir-i-Alamgiri, Eng. Transl. by J. N. Sarkar, A History of Aurangzeb, 1658-1707 , Calcutta, 1947, pp. 33-34. 6 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part -I, pp. 432, 474 & vol. II, part-I, pp. 93, 282-83, 419-20; vol. II part-II pp. 469, 724; Maasiru-l-Umara, Eng. Transl vol. II, pp. 1014-1019; Anonymous, Dabistan-i-Mazahib, Nawal Kishore edition, 1904, p. 191. 7 Maasiru-l-Umara , Eng. Transl. vol. I, pp. 186-92; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, vol. II, pp. 289, 298; Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. II, part-I, pp. 125-26, 163; Dasturul Amal-I Shahjahani, 675/53 /671/49 Sulaiman collection, Aligarh, ff. 180-83; Waqiat-i-Kashmir , Abdus Salam collection, 527/48, pp. 130-31 8 Maasiru-l-Umara, Eng. Transl. vol. I, pp. 653-56. 214

was granted the rank of 4,000 with 3,000 horses as a mark of favour and grace by Shahjahan. Under Aurangzeb, he enjoyed the rank of 5,000 Zat and 5,000 Sawar. Nawazish Khan 9 was bestowed the charge of the Suba in 1707 for the first time and in 1709 second time. Inayatullah Khan 10 was given charge of

Kashmir for four times (1711-12, 1712-13, 1717-1720 and 1724-25).

Some of the Subedars remained in the office for only few months, some remained in their post for one or two years, while some of them enjoyed his office for more than seven years. For example, the Subedars like Lal Muhammad, Khurram Khan, Mulla Gaffur Khan, Kifayatullah Khan and few others remained in his office only for few months.11 There were few Subedars who enjoyed their administrative position from three to four times like Zafar Khan, Ali Mardan Khan, Saif Khan, Ibarahim Khan and Inayatullah Khan 12 .

Some of them enjoyed his office and post for more than seven years, like,

Itaqad Khan, who was appointed in 1622 and entertained his office until 1632, Ali Mardan Khan was subedar for eleven years, Ibrahim Khan enjoyed the long tenures of office for thirteenth years (8 years for 1 st time and 5 years) and

Zafar Khan remained in his post for seven years. 13 While under the Afghans, Sukhjiwan Mal held the post for eight years followed by Haji Karimdad Khan,

9 Ibid, vol. I, part -I, pp. 246-47. 10 Ibid, Eng. Transl. vol. I, pp. 680-82. 11 R.K. Parmu, op. cit., pp. 360-62, 367, 370. 12 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part-I, p. 474 & vol. II, part -I, pp. 282-3; Amal-i-SaLeh , ed. Ghulam Yazdani, vol. II, pp. 289, 298; Waqiat-i-Kashmir , Urdu transl. pp. 444, 509; Alamgirnama , vol. II, p. 832; Maasir-i-Alamgiri , Eng. Transl. p. 34; Maasiru-l-Umara, II, pp. 479-82 & its Eng. Transl. vol. I, pp. 186-92, 653-56, 680-82 & vol. II, Engl. transl. pp. 1014- 19. 13 Tuzuk, p. 347; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Nawal Kishore, vol. III, p. 580; Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part-I, p. 432 & vol. II, part -I, pp. 141, 163, 167, 197, 283; Amal-i-Saleh , ed. Ghulam Yazdani, vol. II, pp. 262, 289, 298; Alamgirnama, vol. I, p. 426; Massirul-Umara, Eng. Transl. vol. I, pp. 186-92, 653-56, 714-5 & Eng. Transl. vol. II, pp. 1014-1020; Waqiat-i- Kashmir, Abdus Salam collection, 527/48, pp. 130-131. 215

and Sadar Azim Khan who held the office for seven and six years respectively. 14

The Subedar , as an administrative as well as executive head, looked after all branches of revenue, police, military affairs, Judiciary and general administration. 15 He maintained peace within his province looked after the welfare of the people, suppressed the revolts, adjudicated criminal cases, constructed roads, inns and other public utility works, extracted tributes from feudatory chiefs whose territories were within his province and collected revenue from other refracting zamindars and other taxes. Subedar used to welcome and receive the emperor and the imperial officials at the outskirts of the Subah and at the time of departure accompanied him to give him a suitable send off. 16 In order to meet the requirements of the emperor’s comfort during the travel, the roads, routes or passes and inns and Khanqah were maintained and constructed. 17 Feasts, festivities, illuminations and Jashns were also arranged 18 by the Subedars.

On the internal front, the refractory zamindars, and rebels were suppressed with a big hand and every step was taken to maintain law and order by the Subedars 19 .The annual collection of the tribute ( Peshkash ) from the

14 R.K. Parmu, op. cit., pp. 363-64, 379-80. 15 Halat-i-Mamalik-i-Mahrusa-i-Alamgiri, Rotograph No. 55, ff. 144-6; Hidayatullah Bihari, Hidayatul Qawaid, MS. No. 149/379, Abdus Slam Collection, Manuscript section, M.A.L., AMU., Aligarh ff. 14-16. 16 Akbarnama, vol. III, part-II,pp. 537, 539-42, 564-65; Tuzuk , p. 294; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Nawal Kishore, vol. III, p. 580; Lahori; Badshahnama, vol. II, part- I, pp. 17, 191; S.R. Sharma, Mughal government And Administration , Bombay, 1951, p. 239. 17 Akbarnama, vol. III, part-II, p. 537, 548; Faizi, Akbanama, Ratograph No. 163, vol. I, f. 242ab; Lahori, Badshahnama vol. II, part-I, pp. 20, 419; Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148 , p. 297-98; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Abdus Salam collection, 527/48, pp. 130-131 ff. & Its Urdu transl. pp. 401, 443. 18 Tarikh-i-Shahjahani wa Alamgiri, Rotograph No. 45, ff. 52b, 131b. 19 Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Nawal Kishore, vol. II, p. 452; J.N. Sarkar, Mughal Administration, pp. 49-52; S.R. Sharma, op. cit., p. 239 216

autonomous chieftains and zamindars were carried on by the Subedars and it was deposited in the provincial treasury 20 .

In the time of natural calamities like floods, famines, droughts, earthquakes, fires and epidemics, the relief measures were launched under the supervision of Subedars. For instance, in 1597, a terrible famine spread all over the Subah. 21 Akbar ordered the Subedar to open a large number of free kitchens ( langars ). During Shahjahan’s reign, a heavy flood damaged the entire fields of rice, as a result, the entire crop was destroyed and thousands of people left Kashmir 22 . Large numbers of amounts were delivered by the emperor for the relief measures to the Subedars.23 The Subedar , Zafar Khan demanded additional grant of one lakh of rupees for the distribution among the peasants and also to expedite the agricultural operations during the period.24

SAHIBKAR/PESHKAR

Both Sahibkar and Peshkar were directly recruited and appointed by the Subedar , who perpetually assisted the latter.25 The term karguzar was used for an agent and deputy who really assisted the Subedar during the Mughal rule.26 Under the Afghans, the sahibkar was known by an another term called

20 J. N Sarkar, Mughal Administration, pp. 52-53; S.R. Sharma, op. cit. , p. 239 21 Akbarnama , vol. III, part-II, p. 727; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Nawal Kishore, II, pp. 453-54; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, pp. 459-60: According to Hasan, a terrible famine spread all over the Subah during the reign of Akbar, Shahjahan, Aurangzeb etc. and the relief measures were launched by them under the supervision of Subedars. 22 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. II, part-I, pp. 282-83, 309-10; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, II, pp. 328-29; Tarikh-i-Shahjahani wa Almagiri, Rotograph No. 45, f. 53a; Waqiat-i-Kashmir , Abdus Salam collection, 527/48, p. 130; Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 460. 23 Ibid, vol. II, part-I, pp. 282-83, 309-10; Ibid, II, p. 360; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Abdus Salam collection, 527/48, p. 130. 24 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. II, part-I, pp. 309-10. 25 Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 369, 376, 379-80, 403-404; R.K. Parmu, op. cit ., pp. 351- 52 & n.6, 353-54, 359-66, 371-72, 501-02. 26 Waqiat-i-Kashmir, , Abdus Salam collection, 527/48 , p. 211; Also see Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., p. 241. 217

karguzar 27 . Sahibkar was incharge of all affairs of the province in general.28

While the peshkar was the incharge of revenue collection at the village, paragana and city level 29 . In 1726, Pandit Mahanand Dhar functioned as sahibkar and peshkar together 30 . In 1742, Murad Yab Khan was appointed as peshkar by Abu Barkat Khan 31 . In 1753, during Abdullah Khan Ishaq Aqasi, Raja Sukhjewanmal, functioned as chief secretary i.e. sahibkar .32 Abdullah

Khan Alkozai, appointed Pandit Sahaj Ram as his peshkar in 1796.33 During the period of Sardar Muhammad Azim Khan (1813-1819), the post of sahibkar and the post of peshkar was kept by Pandit Hara Dass, brother of Dewan Nand

Ram Tiku, Pandit Birbal Dhar, Mirza Pandit Dhar, and Sukh Ram Safaya.34

DIWAN

Diwan was the head of the revenue and finance department in the

“subah ”. He was next to the “ Subahdar ” in rank and respect in the province.35

Diwan was directly appointed by the Emperor on the recommendation of the diwan-i-Ala .36 Qazi Ali was the first diwan appointed by the Emperor Akbar in

1591.37 Qazi Ali’s land revenue assessment stipulated a base for the Mughal

27 Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148 , pp. 369, 375-76, 379-80; R.K. Parmu, op. cit. , pp. 502, 351- 52 & n.6, 354, 359. 28 Ibid, pp. 379-80; R.K. Parmu, op. cit ., pp. 352-54, 359. 29 Khulasatu-t-Tawarikh, Urdu transl. pp. 110-111, R.K. Parmu, op. cit., pp. 352-54, 371-72, 381, 501. 30 Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 379-80, Khulasatu-t- Tawarikh, Urdu, transl. p. 111. 31 Waqat-i-Kashmir , Urdu, transl. p. 539. 32 R.K. Parmu, op. cit., pp. 353-54. 33 Ibid , pp. 371-72. 34 Ibid, pp. 379-81. 35 Ain, vol. II, p. 176; Tarikh-i-Kashmir , MS. No. 18, ff. 99-100ab., Tarikh-i-Firishta, vol. I, p. 268; Abdu-l-Baqi Nihawandi, Maasir-i-Rahimi, ed. M. Hidayat Hosain, vol. I, ASB, Calcutta 1924, vol. I, pp. 924-5; Tabaqat-i-Akbari, p. 376. 36 Lahori, Badhahnama, vol. II, part-I, p. 362; Tarikh-i-Shahjahani, Rotograph No. 39, ff. 90ab. Ahmad Quli Safvi, Tarikh-i-Alamgiri, MS. No. 954/9, f. 43b; Zawabit-i-Almgiri, Aurangzeb, Rotograph No. 62, f. 329. 37 Akbarnama, vol. III, part-II, pp. 595, 617-18; Tarikh-i-Firishta , vol. I, p. 268; Maasir-i-Rahimi, vol. I, pp. 924-5. 218

land revenue system in Kashmir.38 In the absence of Subahdar , the diwan at times, held the additional Charge of the naib-i-Subah . For instance, Arif Khan was Diwan of Kashmir who also functioned as the naib-suba , during the absence of Ali Mardan Khan.39 The diwan Abul Fateh held the additional charge of the naib-i-subha in 1687- 88, during the absence of Hafizullah Khan.40 In 1707- 08, diwan Mullah Ashraf held the additional charge of the naib-i-Subah of Ibrahim Khan. 41

It is also noted that the diwan, besides the post of naib-i-suba at times could also function as the sadr, the qazi, qanungo-i- Kul, mir Bakhshi and waqia-nigar . Mullah Ashraf held post of the Sadr as well as Diwan during

Shahjahan’s reign. The Diwan Khwaja Hashim also held the post of qanungo-i- Kul under the Shahjahan.42 Qazi Aslam held the post of diwan and was also qazi , mir Bakhshi, and waqia-nigar at the same time of the Suba.43 During

Afghan’s period, Har Nam Das Tiku was on the post of the diwan as well as peshkar .44

Diwan used to assess and supervise the revenue collection by the sub- ordinate officials and maintained the records of the income and expenditure of the Suba . He also submitted periodical reports of income and expenditure of the “ Suba ” to the central administration and was directly answerable to the

Mughal Emperor. 45 Diwan was expected “to prevent the oppression of the peasants by the jagiradars . He could report to the imperial court about

38 Ain, vol. II, p. 176. 39 Tarikh-i-Kashmir, MS.No.18, ff-106a; Waqiat-i-Kashmir, Abdus Salam collection, 527/48 , pp. 193-94; Also see Its Urdu transl. p. 444. 40 Waqiat-i- Kashmir, Abdus Salam collection, 527/48 , p. 175 & Its Urdu transl. p. 399. 41 Ibid, p. 179. 42 Ibid. Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit ., p. 244. 43 Ibid. 44 Ibid . 45 N.A. Siddiqi, Land Revenue Adminsitarton , p. 73. 219

maladministration in any of the jagirs; and he himself might be required to enforce any orders issued by the emperor with regard to the conduct of the assignees or their agents”.46 Diwan could dismiss any unscrupulous as well as corrupt official.47 He had to take note of the arrangements for the distribution of taqavi and seeds among the peasants.48 The following documents were always retained with the diwan and maintained in his office which related to the receipt of official letters and their execution, reports of the assessment and collection of land revenue and the records of the income and expenditure of their concerning province or Subah , land grants and assignments, treasury records, etc.49 The Diwan was a mansab -holder and in lieu of his services, he was entitled to get jagirs .50

QANUNGO

In Ain-i-Akbari, Abul Fazl mentions that there was a qanungo in each pargana.51 He was a hereditary semi-official responsible for revenue assessment (for the purposes of Jagir assignment) and for maintaining the revenue records at the pargana level.52 The sources like Qazwini’s

Badshahnama and Kambu’s Shahjahanama indicate that there were several qanungos in each village 53 Shahjahan directed that only one qanungo could

46 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 338. 47 Halat-i-Mamalik-i-Mahrusa-i-Alamgiri, f. 146; Malikzada, Nigar Namah-i- Munshi, Ref. Rieu III/985, MSS, No. 36, CAS, AMU, Aligarh ff. 69-70. 48 Tarikh-i-Shahjahani-wa-Alamgiri, Rotograph No. 45, f. 98; Also see Or. 174, Rotograph No. 39, f. 97; Augrangzeb Alamgir, Insha-i-Alamgiri, 334/67, Inshai Farsi, 1857, Sulaiman Collection, MAL, AMU, Aligarh, Page. No. not marked. 49 Khulasatu-s-Siyaq (c. 1703), Sulaiman collection, MS. No. 410/143, MAL, AMU, Aligarh, ff. 19ab; Halat-i-Mamalik-i-Mahrusa-i-Alamgiri, f. 132. 50 Tarikh-i-Shahjahani wa Alamgiri, Rotograph No. 45, f. 44; Tarikh-i-Alamgiri, MS. No. 954/9 , f. 43a. 51 Ain , I, p. 209. 52 Akbarnama, vol. II, p. 270; Nigarnama-i-Munshi , ff. 77, 78; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 331-33 & n. 53 Qazwini, Badshahnama, Rotograph No. 191B, vol. II, pp. 267-68; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, vol. I, p. 545. 220

serve in every village and ordered the dismissal of all the additional qanungos known as qanungo-i-Juzv .54 In spite of the absolute orders of Shahjahan, the qanungo-i-Juzv continued to function.55 The existence of more than one qanungo was an additional burden on the peasants and Jagirdars on account of their excessive demands and fraudulent accounts.56 Qanungo was considered the most reliable and faithful source of information pertaining to the previous assessment records, revenue receipts, local revenue rates, records of assignments, grants and khalisa besides the revenue returns, area statistics, customs, traditions of the pargana and practices.57 Copy of these documents or papers were sent to the qanungo-i-Kul .58 Besides, he was also called for to place these records at the disposal of the amin as and when needed.59 “Abul Fazl tells us that the qanungos used formerly to be paid an allowance out of the revenue amounting to one percent of it. But Akbar replaced this by fixed salaries”. 60 They were divided into three grades and their salary were fixed rupees fifty, thirty and twenty respectively in the form of jagirs; that their salaries were usually paid in the form of revenue -free lands.61

CHAUDHURI

The Chaudhuri was a pargana as well as provincial official. 62 During the Mughal period some of “zamindars” were designated as “ chaudhuri for the

54 Ibid, vol. II, p. 268; Also see its Transcript No. 14, vol. III, p. 510. 55 Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, vol. I, pp. 544-45. 56 Qazwini, Badshahnam, Rotograph No. 191B, vol. II, p. 268; Amal-i-Saleh , ed. Ghulam Yazdani,vol. I, p. 545. 57 Akbarnama, vol. II, p. 270; Ain, I, p. 209; & vol. II, p. 2 ; Nigarnama-i-Munshi, f. 78; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System , pp. 333-34; J.N. Sarkar , Mughal Administration, , pp. 76-77. 58 N.A. Sidiqqi, Land Revenue Administration, pp. 87-89. 59 Ain, II, Eng. Transl. p. 72; Qazwini, Badshahnama, Rotograph No . 191B, vol. II, pp. 268-69; Amal-i-Saleh, ED. Ghulam Yazdani, vol. I, p. 545. 60 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 334. 61 Ain, I, p. 209; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 334. 62 N.A. Siddiqi, Land Revenue Administration, p. 90. 221

purpose of collection of revenue and received for his services an allowance, which was called nankar . The office and the position was generally hereditary.63 He held his office as long as he enjoyed the confidence of imperial authority or state. Aurangazeb ordered that there could not be more than two chaudhuries in one pargana and the rest were to be dismissed.64 Apart from the revenue collection, the chaudhuri with the co-operation of the muqaddams also distributed the taqavi loans among the individual peasants.65 He was also required that qanungo sent the muwazana papers and the records of local practices regularly to the imperial court.66 During Afghans, Chaudhuri Mahesh

Koul grew so powerful that even subahdar was afraid of his growing powers.67

MUQADDAM

The village headman was usually called muqaddam . His services along with the village patwari were essential but he was never considered a government servant. His office was hereditary 68 but he could be deposed for his failure to collect the revenue. The primary responsibility of the muqaddam was to collect the revenue share of each individual peasants and in addition, they also exacted certain customary perquisites from the villagers individually.69 The taxes collected in cash were directly handed over to the amils .70 The

Taqavi loans were distributed among the peasants through the headman muqaddam .71 The grain was carried to the city of Srinagar through river

63 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 214, 335. 64 Ibid, p. 336. 65 Farhang-i-Kardani , Abdus Salam, 315/85, f. 35b; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 295, 337. 66 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 337. 67 Diwan Kripa Ram, Gulzar-i-Kashmir, Lahore, 1870 A.D. , p. 214; Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, pp. 314-15. 68 Nigarnam-i-Munshi, pp. 77, 78, 79; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 160-61. 69 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 162-63. 70 Insha-i-Har Karan , Sulaimna collection , 406/139, ff. 35ab. 71 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 163, 337. 222

transport. It was the responsibility of the muqaddam to supervise and ensure the delivery of the grains to the city through tahwildars and also to check the grains at the delivery time.72 . He was to sign as undertaking guaranteeing the repayment of loan, cost of seed along with the interest.73 For variety of his services, the muqaddam was usually entitled to 21/2 per cent of the revenue collected during the Mughal rule.74

PATWARI

This term was referred to a revenue official of a village, who kept and prepared the land records of the cultivators at village level. Ain says that the patwari “is a writer employed on the part of the cultivator. He keeps an account of receipts and disbursements, and no village is without one”. 75 Patwari was hereditary village accountant 76 . As a record keeper of the village, he was also supposed to remain in touch with the village muqaddam and the paragana qanungo 77 . The Patwari was an employee of the villagers, who functioned as its servant 78 . The patwari was appointed and dismissed by the villagers 79 . Abu

Fazl tells us that his primary duty was to keep an account of “the expenditure and income” of the village and to maintain land records. 80 According to Prof. Irfan Habib, “When the authorities had worked out the total revenue assessment on the village, the patwari was to record the tax-share ( rasad ) of

72 Insha –i-Har Karan, ff. 35ab; Farhang-i-Kardani, ff. 35-36. 73 Farhang-i-Kardani ff. 34-36; W. H. Moreland, The Agrarian System, pp. 77; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 162 & n., 237, 336. 74 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 162. 75 Ain , I, p. 209. 76 Lawrence, op. cit. , pp. 446-47; E.F. Knight, op. cit. , p. 78. 77 Ain , I, p. 209; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 160; Lawrence, op. cit. , pp. 400-1, 446-47; E.F. Knight, op. cit. , p. 78. 78 Ibid, I, p. 209; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 167. 79 Lawrence, op. cit. , pp. 446-47. 80 Ain, I, p. 209; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 152-53, 166; N.A. Siddiqi, Land Revenue Administration, pp. 19-20. 223

“each cultivator ( karinda ), name by name”; and the revenue collectors were to take bonds ( muchalka ) from the patwaris and muqaddams to ensure the realization of the revenue so determined”. 81 There was generally one patwari for each village who was supposed to record every bit of information regarding the assessment and collection of the land revenue.82 Abul Fazl tells us that, out of the two percent allowance, the patwari received half and rest went to the qanungo.83

AMIL/KARORI/AMALGUZAR

In the 19 th year (1574-75) Akbar introduced some new measures to check the frauds and embezzlements. An area yielding a crore of tankas was assigned to an official called karori. It appears that the karori (a revenue official) who was to collect one crore “ dams ” revenue on land produce during the Mughal period. Under this system, “ khalisa” lands were divided into small divisions, each yielding one “ kror-dams ” revenue; the karori experiment was later discontinued, but the term Karori still struck to the amil or amalguzar.84

The term amil or amalguzar referred to the officer incharge of revenue administration in “ sarkar” or districts level. He uses to assess and supervise the revenue collection by the sub-ordinate officials and maintained the records of the income and expenditure of the “ sarkar ”. He also submitted periodical reports of the income and expenditure of the “sarkar” to the provincial “diwan” during Mughal period. In case of famines and droughts, he advanced

“taqavi ” loans to the peasants.85 It is presumably that the revenue was usually

81 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 166-67. 82 Ain , I, pp. 199-201, 209. 83 Ibid , p. 209. 84 Ain , I, pp. 198-200; Khulasatu-s-Siyaq, Subhanallah collection, 900/15, MAL, AMU, Aligarh, ff. 26-27ab; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 254, 318-25. 85 Akbarnama, vol. III, part-I, p. 117; Ain, I, pp. 198-200, for details see Ain , transl. II, pp.46-52; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 318, 333, 336, 295. 224

collected by the chaudhuri from the muqaddams and zamindars, and was then passed on to the amil.86 At the time of revenue collection, force and pressure was also applied if the tenant was adamant to pay the revenue.87 The

Documents and registers, such as jama-wa-Asalbaqi, roznamcha, adwarcha, jamabandi, jama-wa-Kharch Fotadar, maintenance of rate lists, 88 were maintained by the karori . “No indication about the pay allowed to the

‘amalguzar is given in the Ain , but during the reign of Shahjahan, in lieu of his services he ( karori) received eight percent of the revenue, later this was reduced to 5 per cent. One percent of the commission was retained till the auditing was completed.89 The amil was assisted by a large retinue of officials viz., bitikchi, karkun , mutasaddi, mahasil and sehbandis.90 In 1597, Akbar divided the whole valley into 14 divisions and 2 bitikchis were appointed in each division in order to scrutinize the village records and effect the fresh assessment.91 Ain informs us that a good writer and skilful accountant was generally preferred to for the post.92 Both the bitikchis and karkun were synonymous terms.93 Karkun was the registrar of the collections under a zamindar.94 On the recommendation of the amin, karkun was appointed.95 Mutasaddis (revenue clerks) was meant to retain revenue records. 96 Mutasaddi, of a certain area was ordered to raise rupees five thousand for the maintenance

86. Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 336. 87 Ain, I, pp. 198-200. 88 Zawabit-i-Almagiri , ff. 8a, 35ab; Halat-i-Mamalik-i-Maharusa-i-Almagiri, f. 133. 89 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 322-33. 90 N.A.Siddiqui, Land Revenue Administration, pp. 19, 79, 85,86; Khwaja Yasin, Glossary of Revenue Terms , Add. 6603, Rotograph No. 231, CAS, AMU, Aligarh, f. 66. 91 Akbarnama, III, pp. 726-27. 92 Ain , I, 200-201. 93 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 271, 324. 94 Ain, I, pp. 199, 209 & Its. Transl. II, pp. 48, 72 & n. 95 Nigarnama-i-Munshi, pp. 77-78 96 Ain, I, transl. p. 370; H. H. Wilson, A Glossary of Judicial And Revenue Terms, And of Useful Words Occurring In official Documents …… British India, London, 1855, p. 359 225

of Mullah Shah’s Shrine, during the Shahjahan’s reign.97 Sehbandis , helped the revenue collecting authorities during harvest season.98

AMIN OR MUNSIF

Amin was a trustee who looked after the interests of ryots and jagirdars as well as of the state.99 During the reign of Akbar, amin or munsif was a pargana official, but they were appointed by Shahjahan in every mahal which undermined the importance of the amil; by “transferring the work of assessment from karori”, but before this change, the amil supervised the entire pargana administration, but with the changed arrangement the karori only was to realize what the amin assessed. It seems that the amin or munsif was at times appointed to supervise the functions of the amil.100 He maintained the records viz., mawazina Dah Sala , and tumari-Jama-Bandi , bearing the signatures of chaudhuris , qanungo and qazi . A copy of the papers was also sent to the diwan.101 The most important function of amin was to send his agents to every pargana and village in order to see that any of the jagirdars or local official do not exact revenue beyond prescribed rates. Every act of violation was reported for the imperial court for taking stern action.102 The term Amil was exchangeable with another term called kardar during the Afghan period and they were recruited by the subedars, for the purpose of revenue collection and assuring welfare of the agricultural community. They were entitled to a certain share from village produce.103

97 Waris, Badshahnama, Transcript No. 87, vol. II, p. 264; One Mutasaddi Tota Ram assumed considerable importance, in the revenue Administration of Akbar: for fuller description, see Akbarnama, III, part-II, p. 595. 98 Khwaja Yasin, Glossary of Revenue Terms , f. 66. 99 Khulasatus-Siyaq, Sulaiman collection, 410/143, f. 18; J.N. Sarkar, Mughal Administration , p. 75; P. Saran, op. cit., p. 50-51; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 318-25. 100 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 318-26. 101 Zawabit-i-Alamgiri, or 1641, f. 35; N.A. Siddiqi, Land Revenue Administration, pp. 84-85. 102 Irfan Habib, The Agrarain System, pp. 338-39. 103 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., p. 255. 226

TAHWILDAR

Mostly the state demand in the Subah was realized in kind,104 and the grain was entrusted and retained with the tahwildars or havaldar or ambardars.105 From time to time, the grain was collected in the same village in the granary of the tahwildar,106 who afterwards carried it to the river port where from it was transported to the Srinagar city.107 At times, the ryots carried the grain in person and handed over the same to the tahwildar, who in most cases appeared to be a boatman 108 and were deployed all over the valley of Kashmir. The whole business as well as matter was guided or administered through the muqaddam in each village.109 The tahwildar of village Badr in pargana Brang was Ramzan Bhat.110 The Tahwildar gave an undertaking promising the pure and safe delivery of the grain without any embezzlement or adulteration 111 . The grains were both preserved and reserved by the muqaddam, for checking the grain at the time of delivery 112 . Besides grains, Chestnuts were also transported through the boatmen who were generally the employees of the tahwildars. The chestnut growers had to pay the transport charges to the tahwildar at the rate of one tanka per Kharwar.113

FOTADAR OR KHAZINADAR

Both the term Fotadar or Khizana-dar (treasurer) referred to the officials entrusted with the treasury of the pargana.114 Both the treasurer and

104 Ain, II, pp. 175-76. 105 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., p. 256. 106 Insha-i-Harkaran, ff. 35ab; Farhang-i-Kardani, ff. 35-36 107 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit ., pp. 256-57. 108 Insha-i-Harkaran, ff. 35ab; Farhang-i-Kardani, ff. 35-36. 109 Ibid. Ibid . Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., pp. 256-57. 110 Ibid. 111 Ibid. 112 Ibid. 113 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit. , p. 257. 114 Ain, I, p. 201; Also see Ain, I, Eng. Transl. pp. 12-15; Nigarnama-i-Munshi , ff. 77, 81-82. 227

the amalguzar were individually and collectively responsible for the safe custody of the royal treasure during the Mughal period.115 In Kashmir the large portion of the revenue was generally realized in kind,116 in view of the fact it seems that the post as well as function of fotadar or khazinadar was not among the important one. According to Abul Fazl, “some part of the sair jihat cesses, however, are taken in cash”, during the period.117 The 19 th century source like

Intizami Mulk-i-Kashmir indicates that the revenue both in kind and cash was deposited with the tahwildar during the Afghan’s period.118

SHIQDAR AND SAZAWAL

Shiqdar was the pargana official.119 The term Shiqdar , in the Ain is appeared to be an official who was charged with the obligation and duty of measuring the agricultural land. In lieu of his service, he asked allowances to the agreement of one dam per-bigha of land, under the Mughal.120 “The term

Shiqdar probably continued to be used synonymously with ‘amil, but subsequently seems to have been used rather for a subordinate collector under the karori .”121 He was to act as both the assessor and treasurer.122 In order to guide and check the work of the shiqdars , a sazwal was appointed to look after many villages together.123 In the valley of Kashmir, the term shiqdar was used with a different inference, who along with the sazawal , was enlisted to help the kardar. So their works as well as duties were mainly required at the time of

115 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 282-83, 324-25. 116 Ain , II, pp. 175-76. 117 Ibid, p. 175. 118 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit. , p. 258. 119 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 318. 120 Ain, I, pp. 201, 209 & its transl. II, pp. 52-53, 72: The term Shiqdar in Ain seems to have been mentioned in two passages. 121 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 319. 122 Ibid, p. 327 & n. 123 Mushtaq A. Kaw, op. cit., p. 256. 228

harvesting, threshing and distributing crops between the cultivators and the state.124

REVENUE ASSIGNMENTS AND GRANTS

Over the large portion of the empire land was assigned to certain classes of persons of whom the jagirdars were the most important. There were the following types of revenue assignments and grants during the Mughal period.

(1) jagirs / which included the Tankhwa jagirs , Mashrut jagirs , Inam jagir ,

Watan jagir , Altamgha jagirs and Paibaqi jagirs, (2) Khalisa (3) Madad-i- Mash grant or Suyurghal and imma or altamgha (4) Waqf grant.

The term jagir referred to a track of land assigned by the state ; assignment of land or land revenue held by an official in lieu of state service and cash salary during the Mughal period. Jagirs were usually granted to the mansabdars and the governing class of the empire. 125 The Mughal mansab

(rank) was dual, represented by two members, one designated zat (personal rank) and the other sawar (cavalry rank). According to Prof. Irfan Habib, “the former chiefly meant to indicate personal pay, while the latter determined the size of the contingents which the mansab -holder was obliged to maintain”. 126 The Mansabdars of the Mughal Empire received their pay either in cash ( naqd ) or in the form of assignments of areas of land ( jagir) from which they were entitled to collect the land revenue and all other taxes sanctioned by the emperor. The assignments were known as jagirs and the assignees jagirdars .

Whenever a person was assigned a jagir , the parganas or villages assigned to

124 Ibid. 125 Akbarnama , III, part -II, p. 654 & Its transl., III, p. 1004; Lahori, Badshahnama , vol. II, part - I, pp. 209,211,421, vol. II, part-II, p. 481; Amal-i-Saleh , ed. Ghulam Yazdani, vol. II, p. 457 ; Waqiat-i-Kashmir , Abdus Salam collection , 527/48, ff. 109-110ab , 196a, 199ab, 211a, 222- 223ab ; Majmuat-Tawarikh , MS. No. 148, pp. 214-15, 230. 126 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian system, p. 299. 229

him were such as bore a jamadami in the imperial register exactly equal to his pay. The estimated revenue was called “ jama ” and calculated in “ dams ” known as jamadami . The “ jama ” of the “ jagir ” included the land revenue, inland transit duties, port customs and other taxes which were known as “ sair jihat ”.

Malojihat and Hasil was another term used by revenue department which was in fact, the actual amount of collected revenue. 127

A large number of the officials of state were recipient of big jagirs as well as small jagirs , in the nook and corner of the valley of Kashmir. Big jagirs mainly constituted a pargana or several parganas together while the practice of assigning a village or villages or part there of generally formed a small jagir .

The quality and the size of each jagir (big or small) was determined by the mansab (rank) an official usually held. Among all imperial officials subedar enjoyed high “ mansab” in the state and was assigned a big “ jagir ” within the province. For example subedar Ali Mardan Khan was granted whole jagir in Kashmir in 1674, which yielded him the revenue equivalent to his pay as a big mansabdar .128

During 1594 and 1597, entire suba was given to Ahmad Beg, Muhammad Quli Beg (Afshar), Hasan Ali Arab, Hamza Beg, Gird Ali, Hasan

Beg Gurd and Muhammad Beg, 129 implying thereby that each official held

127 Akbarnama , III, part -II, pp. 494, 548-49, 595, 617-18,620, 626-27; Tuzuk, pp. 304-05; Maasir- i-Alamgiri , Urdu transl. Moulvi Muhammad Fida Ali Talib, Karachi, 1962 , pp, 71, 252-53 ; Majmuat Tawarikh , ms. No. 148, ff. 215, 217, 229-30, 252; Aurangzeb, Adab-i-Alamgiri , MS. No. 20. CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU ; Aligarh , ff. 31b-32a, 49a-b ; Dasturul Amal-i-Alamgiri , Add. 6599, Rotograph No. 54, CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh, ff. 179ab; Zawabit-i- Alamgiri , ff. 44a, 6b; Dastural-Amal-i-Navisindgi , Rotograph, No. 228, f. 185; Dasturul- Amal-i-Asar-i-Alamgiri , Rotograph No. 53, ff. 23b-24a, 28 ; Lahori, Badshahnama , II, part-I, pp.330, 397 ; Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh , Urdu transl. p. 125 ; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 283-284, 302-308 ; N.A. Siddiqi ; Land Revenue Administration, pp. 108,118-23,155. 128 Tarikh-i-Shahjahani , Rotograph No. 39, ff. 89a-90b. 129 Akbarnama , III part- II, p. 654 ; Faizi Sarhindi, Akbarnama , Rotograph No. 163, vol. I, f. 222a ;Maasiru-l-Umara , Eng. Transl vol. I, p. 284. 230

several parganas together in jagir . But in 1597, their jagirs were resumed, and

Kashmir was assigned to Asaf Khan. 130 Big jagir worth the size of a pargana like Intch was assigned to Ramdas Kachwaha by Akbar. 131 But during the reign of Jahangir, in 1622, this pargana was assigned to Khan-i-Jahan. 132 Later on,

Shahjahan gave it to Islam Khan in 1640-41, and named the pargana as Islamabad. 133 Later Aurangzeb assigned it to Prince Muazzam. 134

Besides subedars, the Zamindar family of pargana Shahabad 135 and the family of Dars 136 as well as Kant family 137 also enjoyed big jagir during the period.

In about 1712, mansabdar Inayatullah Khan held two villages of Drau and Karnav in jagir .138 Bijbehara was a place of considerable importance and a mansabdar of the rank of a thanendar was posted there to administer the Maraz division. 139 During the reign of Akbar, a great number of local Chieftains (viz .

Sayid Mubarik, brothers of Yaqub Shah Chak, Haider Ali, Muhammad Husain, Ahmad Husain, Husain K. Chak, Baba Khalil, Shaikh Farid Bukhari,

Muhammad Bhat , Ali Hasan, Baba Mehdi, Baba Talib Isfahani, Sadiq Khan,

Mulla Hasan, the sons of Haider Chak etc.) were also granted small jagirs .140

130 Akbarnama , III, part –II, p. 732; Maasiru-l-Umara , Eng. transl. vol. I, pp. 156-57. 131 Tuzuk , pp. 312-13. 132 Ibid . 133 Lahori, Badshahnama , I, part -II, pp. 49-50 & vol. II, part – I , p. 209 ; Amal-i-Saleh , ed. Ghulam Yazdani, vol. II, p. 331. 134 Alamgirnama , vol. II, p. 836. 135 Waqiat-i- Kashmir , Abdus Salam collection, 527/48, ff. 129ab. 136 According to M.A. Stein, they were the damaras of Kalhana : Rajatarangini, Eng. Transl. M.A. Stein, vol. II, p. 306. 137 The word kant did not really specify a caste but as an imperial title conferred on one Khwaja Husain Kabuli who had been assigned the job of the construction of the Nagar Nagar hillock. On its completion, Mirza was rewarded with an ornament named Kant i.e. ear-ring. Later on, imperial Khilat was also bestowed upon him on the name Kant itself: Tarikh-i-Hasan, I, p. 415. 138 Waqiat-i-Kashmir, U rdu transl. p. 446. 139 Akbarnama, III, part -II, p. 654; Faizi Sarhindi, Akbarnama, ff. 238-39a. 140 Ibid. III, part-II, pp. .516, 525,540; Majmuat Tawarikh, MS. No. 148, , ff. 221, 228. 231

Village Chadoora was assigned in jagirs to Haidar Malik, and other members of his family were also bestowed mansabs and jagirs during the reign of Jahangir. 141

The most delightful villages or the scenic spots and tourist resorts were either assigned to the princes of royal blood and ladies of harem. For instance Bijbehara was assigned to prince Parvez. 142 Shahjahan assigned this along with

Naushahra to Dara Shukoh in jagir 143 and while Aurangzeb assigned this

(Bijbehara) jagir to prince Muazzam. 144 Village Asifabad also called Machibhavan was held in Tuyul by Yameenud-Daula Asaf Khan during

Shahjahan’s reign and prince Muazzam under Aurangzeb. 145 Both Loka

Bhawan and Machibhavan was in the Tuyul of Aurangzeb, during Shahjahan’s reign and later it was assigned to Muhammad Muazzam. 146 Near village safapur, one of the famous gardens was assigned to Dara Shukoh during

Shahjahan’s reign. 147 Village safapur a beautiful or delightful tourist spot famous for scenic beauty of the Mansabal lake was assigned in jagir to

Nurjahan Begum. In 1644-45, it was assigned to Jahan Ara Begum. 148 Village

Achibal was assigned in Jagir to Jahan Ara Begum and it was later assigned to Zebun-Nisa Begum during the reign of Shahjahan and Aurangzeb respectively 149 . Dara Shukoh, along with village Bijbehara also held in jagir

141 Mailk Haider Chadoora, Tarikh-i-Kashmir, Rotograph No. 171, vol. I, f. 213ab. 142 Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Nawal Kishore, vol. III, p. 569. 143 Lahori, Badahahnama, vol. I part -II, p. 49, & II, p. 208; Qazwini, Badshahnama, Rotograph No. 191C, vol. III, ff. 327ab; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, II, p. 331. 144 Qazwini, Badahahnama, Rotograph No. 191C, vol. III, ff. 327ab. 145 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. I, part -II, p. 50; Alamgirnama, vol. II, p. 836. 146 Ibid., I, part -II, pp. 50-52, & II, part -I, p. 211; Tarikh-i-Shahjahani, Rotograph No. 39, f. 107; Alamgirnama, vol. II, p. 836. 147 Qazwini, Badshahnama, Rotograph No. 191C, vol. III, f. 317. 148 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. II, part -I, pp. 195,421; Qazwini, Badshahnama, Rotograph No. 191C, III, f. 317. 149 Amal-i-Saleh , ed. Ghulam Yazdani, II, p. 331; Alamgirnama, vol. II, p. 836. 232

the village of Naushahra,150 during Shahjahan’s rule. Likewise, along with

Achibal, Zebunnisa, held in jagir the village of Begumabad, during the reign of Aurangzeb. 151

The jagirs assigned in lieu of cash salary was known as tankhwa jagir or salary jagir .152 Kashmir was given in fief ( tankhwah )to Ahmad Beg K., Muhammad Qulai Afshar, Hasan Arab and Aimaq Badakhshi, etc. 153

A jagir which carried no obligation of service and was independent of rank, normally awarded as a gift or reward. In other words, it was generally given as a mark of favour to a noble for enjoying the highest rank. For instance, Prince Dara Shukoh enjoyed the highest ever mansab of 20,000 zat /

10,000 sawar .154 In 1622, Dilawar Khan annexed Kashtawar, and Jahangir conferred one lakh rupees, the revenue of the territory to him as in’am for one year only. 155 When Fidai Khan, the son of the Subedar Ibrahim Khan, had re- captured the hilly state of Tibet with extra-ordinary valour, Aurangzeb increased the rank of Ibrahim Khan by two thousand thereby increasing his overall rank to the extent of five thousand zat /Five thousand sawar .

Simultaneously, the rank of Fidai Khan was increased with corresponding increase in the size of his revenue assignment. 156

A term used when a Rajput Raja joined imperial service, he was given a

“mansab” and a “ jagir ” against the cash salary was called a “ watan jagir.” “Jagir” in close proximity to or same as his earlier principality were not

150 Lahori, Badshahnama, I, part -II, p. 49 & II, p. 208; Qazwini, Badshahnama, Rotograph No. 191C, III, ff. 327ab; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, II, p. 331. 151 Alamgirnama, II, pp. 836-37. 152 Irfan Habib , The Agrarian System , p. 329. 153 Maasiru-l-Umara, Eng. Transl. vol. I, p. 284. 154 Lahori, Badshahnama, II, part -I, p. 133; Alamgirnama, II, p. 618. 155 Tuzuk, pp. 297, 303. 156 Maasir-i-Alamgiri, Eng. Transl. pp. 100, 144, 304-5; & Its Urdu transl. pp. 233-52. 233

transferable. In other words, when a Chieftains or zamindars were assigned the

“jagirs ” in their homeland in lieu of their service rendered to the imperial government and their ancestral domains were considered a special type of jagir , untransferable and hereditary, known as “ watan jagir ”. 157 In Kashmir, the little Tibet, greater Tibet, and Kashtawar were assigned to the local Chieftains in watan. Kashtawar was assigned to Gunwar Sen as watan jagir. 158 During the time of Shahjahan, Adam Khan, the chief of Tibet, entered the imperial service, as Tainati in Kashmir, he was conferred a mansab of 1000 zat and 400 sawar in 1638, 159 and Askardu was assigned to him in jagir . Later on Shigar was also assigned to him in jagir. 160 The jagir was granted to him in his own country (Tibet), in the form of watan-i-Jagir and the grantee was sanctioned to realize such amount which in all yielded a Jama of 80 lakh dams. 161 In 1589, Akbar assigned Pakhli as watan jagir to sultan Husain. He promised to pay a regular peshkash but on account of the representation of some officers to enhance the revenue, he rebelled 162 and Akbar assigned pakhli to Husain Beg Sheikh Umari in jagir. 163

Naushahra, 164 Punch, 165 Damyal, Karnav, Pakhli 166 and Rajouri 167 were always assigned in jagirs.

157 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 224. 158 Tuzuk, p. 347; Lahori, Badshahnama, II part I-II, pp. 208, 468 159 Lahori, Badshahnama, II, part -I, p. 98; Amal-i-saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, III, pp. 126-27. 160 Tarikh-i-Shahjahani wa Alamgiri, Rotograph No. 45, f.133b; Hashmatullah Khan, op. cit., pp. 520-21, for details see pp. 512-21. 161 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. II, part -I, p. 98; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, III, pp. 126-27; Hashmatullah Khan, op. cit., pp. 520-21. 162 Akbarnama, III, part-II, pp. 565, 577. 163 Ibid , p. 577. 164 Halat-i-Mamalik-i-Mahrusa-i-Alalmgiri, Rotograph No. 55, f. 199, Naushahra was assigned in the jagir of Dara shukoh, the revenue of Naushahra was 39037 dams. It was later resumed and assigned in jagirs again. Zawabit-i-Alamgiri, Rotograph No. 62, f. 156. 165 In 1624-25, punch was assigned to Mir Nasrullah Arab : Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, op. cit., vol. III, p. 597; Lahori, Badshahnama , II part -II, p. 432; Waris, Badshahnama, Transcript No. 87, vol. II, ff. 249-50. 234

Generally, the jagirs were transferable. The particular jagir was not usually held by the same person for more than three or four years. The practice of transfer of jagir was generally started in 1568 in panjab and provided alternative assignments in many provinces in the 13th regnal year; in order to prevent its holders from acquiring permanent rights on the land as well as to protect the interest of the peasantry. 168 The jagirdars was entitled to collect from his jagir the land revenue and various cesses and petty taxes due to the state. The jagirdars had to employ their own agents to collect the revenue (mahsul ) and taxes within the jagir .169 The revenue farmers called mustajirs advanced some amount to the jagirdar .170 The practice of Ijara system

(revenue farming) was provoked due to the jagirdari crisis. According to Prof. Irfan Habib “This practice, called ijara, was regarded as the source of great oppression, for the farmers, after giving very high bids to get the contracts, would still seek to make handsome profit by extorting money from the peasants by every means imaginable”. 171 By the contract the revenue framers called mustajirs were generally required to pay a fixed sum of revenue to jagirdars. 172

It seems that the practice of ijara had become widespread in late 17 th century. Revenue farmer appropriated as much revenue as possible. A parallel administration of the intermediaries appears to have emerged out. The ultimate

166 Akbarnama, vol. III, part-II, pp. 565, 577 ; Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri, ed. Nawal Kishore, vol. II, p.412. 167 Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani , II, p. 391: The principality was assigned to Raja Hayat Khan in watan jagir , and under Shahjahan and family entered into matrimonial relations with the mughals. Adab-i-Alamgiri, f. 149a. 168 Akbarnama, II, part-I, pp. 332-33; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 301; Noman A. Sidiqqi, Land Revenue Administration, pp. 110-11. 169 Ain, I, pp.198-201; Akbarnama, III, part-I, p. 282; Prof. Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 241, 244-45, 271, 316-17. 170 N.A. Sidiqqi, Land Revenue Administration, pp. 26, 92; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 276 & n. 32. 171 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 328. 172 Muntakhabu-Lubab, vol. I, Urdu transl. by Mahmud Ahmad Farooqi, Karachi, 1963, vol. I, pp.186-89; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 276, 274. 235

result was the fall in the revenue and ruin of villages. Under these circumstances Aurangzeb passed orders to discontinue the practice of revenue farming. 173 “The ijaradari system assumed alarming proportions under the

Afghans. Infact, the first Afghan governor, Abdullah Khan Ishaq, received whole Kashmir in ijara against a huge amount of twenty four lakh rupees which was to be realized on account of the land revenue and other taxes.”174

The revenue yielding land administered directly by the imperial Revenue Department was known as khalisa .175 The extent of khalisa lands varied from time to time. It was Akbar, who brought the whole of his empire under khalisa,176 in order to streamline the revenue system besides strengthening the imperial resources. 177 The Mughals brought the whole province of Kashmir under khalisa. 178 The Khalisa designated as a group of many tracts of land and its revenue was directly imposed by the imperial officials for distinct heads of expenditure induced directly by the emperor for the construction of gardens and palaces, on gifts, ornaments, outlays on military expeditions etc. 179 Qazi Ali divided the Kashmir Subah into 38 mahals180 and in each pargana , some of the most fertile villages were earmarked for khalisa.181 According to Abul Fazl, there were two parganas in Maraz division which were exclusively reserved for the khalisa. The village- group termed Sairul Muwazai were held as khalisa. The number of such

173 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 275, 329. 174 Mushtaq A, Kaw, op. cit., p. 286. 175 Ain, II, p. 176 & its transl. pp. 366-67 & n.; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 300; N.A. Sidiqqi, Land Revenue Administration, p. 103. 176 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 313; N.A. Sidiqqi, Land Revenue Administration, p. 103. 177 Akbarnama, III, part -II, p. 654; Ain, II, p.176 & its transl. II, p. 367 &n. 2; Also see Ain, Eng. Transl. vol. I, p. 370. 178 Ibid ; Ibid , Ibid . For reasons see, same chapter section (a). 179 Ain, Eng. Transl. vol. II, p. 367n; Maasirul-Umara, Eng. Transl. vol. I, pp. 678-79. 180 Suka, Rajatarangini, Eng. Transl. J.C. Dutt, p. 418; For Qazi Ali assessment, see Ain, II, pp. 175-76; Akbarnama, III, part-II, p. 627. 181 Ain, II, p. 176; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System , p. 313. 236

villages was 40 villages in Maraz and 88 villages in Kamraz. 182 The saffron producing area was absolutely earmarked for Khalisa 183 during 1586 and 1627, but later it was parcelled out among jagirdars also 184 . It seems that after the 15 th regnal year the administration of the khalisa lands was put on sound footing and it provided enough income to maintain a rich imperial treasury.185 “Jahangir, it appears, neglected revenue administration and his officers were corrupt and fraudent. Consequently, agriculture received a set- back.” 186 But under the Shahjahan the extent of the khalisa lands considerably increased and again in the later years (i.e. under Aurangzed) it remained more or less the same 187 . Some sources which indicate that under Shahjahan, the revenue collected in the name of khalisa formed one-fifteenth part of the total jama of the empire 188 . In Hasan’s account we found that the share of the khalisa in Kashmir constituted the fourteenth part of the jama during the Mughal period 189 .

The madad-i-maash referred to a grant of land or pension to scholars and saints which was exempted from revenue. The cash awards or land grants were conferred upon Brahmans, Muslim, theologian and men of letters even during the pre-Mughal Period 190

182 Ibid . 183 Akbarnama, III, part -II, pp. 481, 626-27, 654; Ain, I, pp. 63-64; & vol. II, p. 176; Iqbalnama-i- Jahangiri, ed. Nawal Kishore, II, pp. 442-43. 184 Qazwini, Badshahnama, Rotograph No. 191B, vol. II, p. 268; Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, II, pp. 433-35; Majmuat-Tawarikh, MS. No. 148 , p. 287 : During Shahjahan’s reign saffron producing area was assigned both for Khalisa and jagir. 185 N.S. Siddiqi, Land Revenue Administration, p. 103. 186 Ibid :It seems that Jahangir reduced the extent of Khalisa land. 187 Zawabit-i-Alamgiri , f. 81ab; N.A. Siddiqi, Land Revenue Administration, p. 104. 188 Massirul -Umara , Eng. Transl vol. I, pp. 678-79; Qazwini, Badshahnama , Rotograph No. 191B, vol. II, ff.22lab; In Saleh’s account, the yield of Khalisa land was estimated at 120 crore dams for the whole empire: Amal-i-Saleh, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, II, p. 557. 189 Tarikh-i-Hasan , I. p. 268. 190 Jonaraja, Rajatarangini , Eng. Transl. J.C. Dutt, pp. 87-88; Srivara, Rajatarangini , Eng. Transl J.C. Dutt, p 99; Ain, I, p.140 -41; Lahori, Badshahnama, II ,, part -I, 309- 10; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 342-63; N.A. Siddiqi, Land Revenue Administration, p. 123. 237

There are few documents 191 which also reports the recipients of such grants to [men of piety and learning or men of letters, and to persons belonging to noble families, to the pious or religious devotees; the learned, the poor and the needy etc.] shrines or khankah, mutawalli & Imam, khalib & momin, mujawaran & khadimaan, fuqra and masakin etc.

The madad-i-ma’ash grant was usually given in land already cultivated and the other in cultivable waste lands, if the latter was not available, the area of the grant was to be reduced by a fourth;192 But where the grants were large considerable portion would be given from waste arable land,193 a practice that became common in the first half of the 18 th century 194 and the balance from the cultivated lands already in possession with the riaya.195 The madad- i-ma’ash grants or assignment could be made in the khalisa or the jagir.196

The grants could be made, renewed, extended, curtailed or resumed at the state’s pleasure or at the pleasure of the emperor.197 The grantees were entitled to land revenue and other taxes in their particular areas.198 Both kinds of madad–i-ma’ash grants were conferred upon the needy, and to the descendents of Sheikh, Sayids, Babas, Khans etc; were made in kind as well as in cash. For example a document of the year 1690 A.D; that points to madad-i-ma’ash grant worth fifty Kharwars , valuing 1200 dam held by one Sheikh Muhammad Arif, in village Kandirar in Pargana Adwin .199 In 1719 A.D. another document

191 Document no’s: 574/25, 27, 54 etc., Iqbal Library, Srinagar. 192 Ain, I, p. 140; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 347. 193 B.R. Grover, op. cit ., p.15. 194 Farhang-i- Kardani , Abdus Salam, 85/315 , f. 39ab. 195 B.R. Grover , op. cit ., p.15. 196 Document no.’s 574/27, 33, Iqbal Library, Srinagar; N.A. Siddiqi, Land Revenue Administration, p. 126; B.R. Grover, op. cit., p. 14. 197 Ain , I, pp. 140-41. 198 Doucument no’s. 574/25, 27, 54 and 2525, Iqbal Library , Srinagar. 199 Document no. 2525, Iqbal Library, Srinagar. 238

points to a madad-i- ma’ash grant in cash amounting to 3, 000 and 600 dams offered to Muhammad Shafi and others out of the revenue accuring from the Kharif crop in Pargana Nagam. 200 In 1721 A.D. madad-i- ma’ash grant of 60

Kharwars proposed from the revenue of the Wular pargana for the purpose of the maintenance of the descendants of the late Abid Khan, Sadrus Sadur .201 A document of 1773 A.D; points to madad-i-ma’ash grants, amounting to 54, 700 dams in village Naman of pargana Nagam , offered to one Musmmati Aqila

BiBi. From the respective village, the grantee was sanctioned to realize such amount which in all yielded a revenue of 1, 09, 400 dams. 202

The madad-i- ma’ash grants both small & large size, in different parts as well as areas of the valley of Kashmir show that there were no uniformity in its size. Due to this, the grants were appropriately fixed and defined in terms of bighas and Kharwars . A Farman of Shahjahan, severely confined and bound the amils, gumashtas, karories and jagirdars to measure and fix the area of land grant in favour of its recipients or occupants. 203 A madad-i- ma’ash grant of hundred Kharwars of Shali (paddy) offered to Musmati

Jana BiBi and other descendants of Sheikh Abdul Hakim in Village Kothr , pargana Kothar during emperor Shah Alam’s reign.204 Few document reveals that no grantee could on his own, transfer the grant to his or her descendents until and unless authorised and sanctioned by the emperor or the imperial authority, bestowed the non-proprietary nature of right.205 Later on the nature of the grant was changed. In 5 th R.Y. Shahjahan issued an order

200 Document no. 574 / 2, Iqbal Library, Srinagar. 201 Document no.574/50, Iqbal Library, Srinagar. 202 Document no. 574/ 25, Iqbal Library, Srinagar. 203 Document no.’s 574/ Mis – A, 2525, Iqbal Library , Srinagar 204 Document no. 574/21, Iqbal Library , Srinagar 205 Document no.’s 574/25, 27,54, and 2525, Iqbal Library , Srinagar 239

confirming hereditary rights up to 30 bighas; and “if the grant was of a larger area, half of it was to be distributed among the heirs and the other half resumed, unless the heirs proved their deserts before the imperial court and obtained sanads for this portion as well”206 which was reduced to 20 bighas by Aurangzeb.207 In 1690, however, Aurangzeb issued a farman, by it the grantees were given hereditary rights.208

“The grant made as madad-i- ma’ash was subject to periodical verification and confirmation by the office of the Sadr .” 209 An order relating to a madad-i-ma’ash grant of 50 Kharwars valuing 1, 200 dams held by one

Sheikh Muhammad Arif, in village Kandirar , in Pargana Adwin . After the death of Sheikh Muhammad Arif, half of the grant was resumed and remaining half was allowed to be retained by Sheikh Abul Baqa and other descendants of the deceased donee in 1690.210

Grant under seal, a special tenure or land grant introduced by Jahangir. These grants were known as altamgha, because emperor’s seal known by the same name was fixed on these grants. These grants were given to certain nobles in the form of jagir-i-watan or Home jagirs .211 These were conferred or bestowed on various nobles. Such type of a jagir was for the first time granted to Malik Haider.212 Another evidence relating altamgha grant is confirmed by a farman of emperor Shahjahan to Asafud-daula which preserved in Tarikh-i-

206 Under Akbar, no regular provision seems to have been made for inheritance, and the heirs had to apply for a renewal of the grant, of which only a part was normally granted to them: Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 351. 207 Ibid. 208 Ibid 209 N. A. Siddiqi, Land Revenue Administration, p. 127. 210 Document no. 2525, Iqbal Library , Srinagar. 211 Tuzuk, Eng. Transl. vol. I, p. 23; Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 302 & n.17, p. 358. 212 Malik Haider Chadoora, Tarikh-i- Kashmir , Rotograph No. 171, vol. I, ff. 212a- 215a. 240

Hasan.213 These grants ( altamgha) were nearly similar to madad-i-ma’ash grants.214

Another kind of land grants given to religious shrines, tombs and madarsas etc., were known as waqf and “the beneficiaries of these were not, directly , individuals but institutions.” 215 The most important of these were the grants attached to the shrines, mosques, tombs and the like; such as , Shah Hamdan, Muhammad Shah Naqshbandi, Pather Masjid, Jami Masjid, Mulla Akhwand Shah Mosque, Khangah-i- Mualla 216 . These grants were bestowed to serve or fulfill some specific purpose. Best example of this is that, during the reign of Jahangir, “As it had been brought to notice that the poor of Kashmir suffer hardships in the winter from the excessive cold, and live with difficulty, Jahangir ordered that a village of the rental of Rs. 3,000 or Rs. 4,000 should be entrusted to Mulla Talib Isfahani, to be expanded in providing clothes for the poor, and for warming water, for purposes of ablution, in the mosque.” 217 The entire revenue accruing from waqf grant was generally expended on the maintenance of religious men as well as the langar s i.e. free kitchens which attached with the shrines or religious institutions.218

The administration of the madad-i- ma’ash lands was entrusted to a separate department under the Sadr. The Qazi and Mir Adl were under his orders.219 The madad-i-ma’ash lands were administered by the Mutawalli at the pargana level.220

213 Tarikh-i- Hasan , I, pp. 292-97: Asaf Khan, built in Kashmir and a branch of Shah Nahar was taken to the garden was granted in Altamgha. 214 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, p. 358. 215 Ibid , p. 359. 216 Tarikh-i- Hasan , I, pp. 316-354. 217 Tuzuk, p. 345. 218 Lahori, Badshahnama, vol. II, pp. 330- 31. 219 Ain , I, pp. 140-41. 220 N.A. Siddiqi, The Agrarian System, p. 131.

(D) MUGHAL CURRENCY / COINAGE

Akbar had a fine currency in gold and silver. Srinagar retained its seat as a mint-town under the Mughals. Standard Mughal currency system constituted of three metals i.e gold, silver, and copper. Therefore it was called tri-metallic currency system. “The Mughals imposed their standard currency on all the regions that came under their sway, an achievement certainly of great importance for trade” 1. Mr. Rodgers came across Akbar’s coins struck in

Kashmir as early as 965 A.H. (1557 A.D.), and another one of 987 A.H. (1579 A.D.). The explanation is that these coins were either complimentary, or else struck by factions, who were plotting against their Chak rulers, and were desirous of having Akbar as their king 2. On the other hand, this shows the earlier attempts of the Mughals in bringing the valley under their hegemony through the machinations of their stooges and partisans in Kashmir itself 3.

Akbar’s regular coins struck or regular issues began after the annexation of Kashmir valley in A.H. 994 (1586 A.D)4. Silver coins during A.H. 994-5

(1586-87) and copper coins in 994-8 (1586-90) were struck to the local pattern or local type 5. A square gold Kalima- type Muhr was issued or struck in A.H. 999 (1590-1) at Kashmir 6. By A.H. 1000 (1591-92 A.D) (Year 37) the local coins were discontinued, the mint name changed from that of Kashmir to

1 Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System, pp. 432-35; P. N. K. Bamzai, op. cit., pp. 500-501. 2 G.M.D. Sufi, op. cit., vol. II, p. 640; Andrew Liddle, Coinage of Akbar, The Connoisseur’s Choice, Gurgaon, 2005, p. 18: From A. H. 987 (1579) small Silver Coins are in existence in Kashmir; John F. Richards, The Imperial Monetary System of Mughal India, Oxford University Press, 1987, pp. 41-43 . 3 P.N.K. Bamzai, op. cit ., p. 500. 4 John F. Richards, op. cit., pp. 41-43; According to Andrew Liddle, As the imperial currency was not immediately imposed on Kashmir when it was absorbed Sasnu , in two variations weighing 6.00 to 6.2 gms was continued, though in the name of Akbar; further he wrote that silver coins were struck in Kashmir from A.H. 987/994/995: op. cit., p. 49. 5 Ibid , pp. 41-43; Ibid , pp. 49, 64. 6 Ibid , p. 41-43; Ibid, p. 36; Chas. J. Rodgers, Coins of The Mogul Emperors of India, Delhi, 1972, pp. VII, 52; R.B. Whitehead, Catalogue of Coins In the Punjab Museum, Vol. II, Coins of The Mughal Emperors, Oxford, 1914, vol. II, p. 25. 242

Srinagar, the capital, and regular Ilahi rupees (silver) and dams (copper) struck during the period. It was Akbar who had a fine currency in Gold and silver. Srinagar retained its seat as a mint–town under the Mughals 7.

The monetary value of the local smaller coins with that of the standard

Mughal coins as given by Abul Fazl was: 1 Hath (“Hundreder”) = 1 copper Dam of Akbar. The Sasun or “Thousander” was the equivalent of 10 Haths , and must hence be reckoned as 10 Dams , or one-fourth of a rupee of Akbar.

The lakh, as its name shows, was equal to 100 sasun and accordingly represented the value of 1000 Dams 8.

There is a reference, which shows that the very rare copper coins of

Akbar bearing the monetary denomination Neem Dam (half Dam ) which was attributed by Andrew Liddle to a mint, with approximately half the weigh, is really of Srinagar mint 9. The finest Mughal currency was that of Jahangir, some of whose coins are of great artistic merit. For example, the early silver issues of Jahangir were of the heavy Sakht Noorani couplet type, and these were followed by the usual Ilahi type in A.H. 1022 (1613-14). Two Zodiacal rupees are known of the 15 th year, and the sign Gemini 10 .

When Shahjahan ascended the throne, coins were struck in all three metals and brought back the Kalima to his gold and silver coins, but along with

Kalima- Ilahi , and ‘Square areas’ types. It was Shahjahan who struck silver nisars at Kashmir 11 .

7 Ibid, pp. 41-43; Ibid , pp. 69, 21; R.B. Whitehead, Coins of The Mughal Emperors , vol. II, p. XCVI. 8 Ain, II, pp. 170-77 & its transl. II, pp. 355-6 & n; Kalhana, Rajatarangini, Eng. Transl. M.A. Stein, vol. II, pp. 308-10. 9 Andrew Liddle, op. cit., p. 69. 10 Chas J. Rodgers, Coins of The Mogul Emperors of India, pp. VIII-XI, 133, 136, 139, 148, 151, 156; R.B. Whitehead, Coins of The Mughal Emperors , Vol. II, pp. XCVI-XCVII, 152-53. 11 Ibid , pp. XI-XII, 169, 172, 175; Ibid , II, pp. XCVII, 199-200, 210. 243

With the accession of Aurangzeb, a standard type of coin was adopted, which endured till the end of the Mughal dynasty. Rupees (Silver) have been found of Aurangzeb and Shah Alam I, Aurangzeb abolished the Kalima from

both mohurs and rupees. We also find gold coins of Aurangzeb and

Farrukhsiyar’s reign. Coins of Muhammad Shah were struck in all three metals at Kashmir, and a few rupees of Almagir II also existed. A couplet type coin

was also struck by Ahmad Shah 12 . Details have been given in Table I-I, Table

I-II13 .

Afghan rulers made no departure from the later Mughal coinage. Coins bearing the mint name Kashmir were struck at Srinagar. During the Afghans period, we found that the coins in all three metals i.e. gold, silver and copper from Ahmad Shah to Ayub Shah were struck at Kashmir (Srinagar). In 1762

A.D. Kashmir was annexed to the Durrani Empire and in the same year a silver currency was established 14 . A gold coin was struck in the name of Ahmad Shah in 1167 A.H.(1753-54 A.D.). 15 Rupees of Ahmad Shah were by no means

common. The best specimens weigh four or five grains less than the full

Mughal standard of 178 grains 16 . Besides silver, he also struck copper coins at

12 Ibid , pp. XII-XV, 191, 213, 216, 221-22; Ibid , II, pp. XCVII, 249-51, 282, 294, 341, 349, 359, 373. 13 Chas. J. Rodgers, Catalogue of The Coins, Part -II, Miscellaneous Muhammadan Coins, Calcutta, 1894, pp. 123-24: Only for Akbar’s period; Chas. J. Rodgers, Coins of The Mogul Emperors of India. , pp. IV-XV (From Akbar to Alamgir II); pp. 52, 83 (Akbar); pp. 133, 136, 139, 148, 151, 156 (Jahangir); pp. 169, 172, 175 (Shahjahan); p. 191 (Aurangzeb); pp. 213, 216 (Muhammad Shah); pp. 221-22 (Alamgir II); Andrew Liddle, op. cit., pp. 18, 21, 36, 49. 52, 64, 69, 71 (only for Akbar’s period); R.B. Whitehead, Coins of The Mughal Emperors , vol. II, pp. XCVI-XCVII (From Akbar to Alamgir II); pp. 25, 50-51 (Akbar); pp. 152-53 (Jahangir); pp. 199-200, 210 (Shahjahan); pp. 249-50 (Aurangzeb); p. 282 (Shah Alam Bahadur); p. 294 (); pp. 341, 349 (Muhammad Shah); p. 359 (Ahmad Shah Bahadur); p. 373 (Alamgir II). 14 R.B. Whitehead, Catalogue of Coins In the Punjab Museum , Lahore, vol. III, Coins of Nadir Shah And The Durrani Dynasty, oxford, 1934, vol. III, pp. IX-lXiii; Chas. J. Rodgers, Catalogue of The Coins, pp. 167-74, 176-77, 179-81. 15 Ibid , vol. III, p. 19. 16 Ibid , vol. III, pp. lX, -lXi, 39-41; Chas. J. Rodgers, Catalogue of The Coins, pp. 167-69. 244

Kashmir 17 . A couplet type rupee was struck in the name of Sulaiman at

Kashmir 18 . Taimur Shah coined extensively both silver and copper coins. On one of his two gold coins, Kashmir was called Daru-s-Saltanat , ‘Seat of the

Sultanate’ and on the second gold coin, the word Kund , was displaced by Zand which appeared regularly throughout the reign and its standard weight was only about 170 grains. 19 Zaman Shah also struck at Kashmir both silver and copper coins. The words julus maimanat manus was in used from A.H. 1208 to 1212

(1793-98 A.D.) but later these words were dropped from the reverse legend and the mint was called Khitta Kashmir, the territory or district of Kashmir and another arrangement of the same reverse legend surrounded by an ample margin. The rupees of Zaman Shah were well struck and its weight standard was about 170 grains. The only common copper mint of Zaman was Kashmir.

A sword appears sometimes as the mint mark; and the weight vary considerably 20 . The first reign of Mahmud of the silver currency bear his general couplet. Copper coins were also struck at Kashmir 21 . In the name of

Qaisar Shah, the silver coins were struck at Khitta Kashmir 22 . The rupees or silver of the second reign of Shuja bear a couplet peculiar to Kashmir mint. Silver coins of Shuja’s reign dated from 1218, 1 to 1223 (1803-09A.D.) were struck at Khitta Kashmir. The reverse of some of the copper coins merely bears the regnal year and a sword or swords 23 . Atta Muhammad Khan, the Afghan governor, who after declaring himself independent issued coins in the name of the patron-saint of Kashmir, SheiKh Nur-ud-Din Rishi 24 . There was a

17 Ibid, vol. III, p. 48. 18 Ibid, III, p. 58. 19 Ibid , III, pp. lxi, 64, 86-88, 98-100; Chas. J. Rodgers, Catalogue of The Coins , pp. 170-74. 20 Ibid , vol. III, pp. lXi-lXii, 118-20, 123-25; Ibid , pp. 176-77. 21 Ibid, III, pp. lXii, 138-40; Ibid , p. 179. 22 Ibid , III, pp. lXii, 156. 23 Ibid, III, pp. lXii, 150-52, 154. 24 Ibid, III, pp. XXiX-XXX. 245 handsome silver coin weighing 224 grains, the only piece of this weight in the entire Durrani series. Fine double mohurs of a unique design were struck later at Khitta Kashmir. In the central square on the flowered field on the obverse was the legend bearing the saint’s name and on the reverse was a couplet in his praise. Both gold and silver coins were also struck at Khitta Kashmir in the name of Shah Nuru-D-Din 25 . The silver coins or rupees of Mahmud’s second reign were of Khitta Kashmir and bear the legends found on the last issue of his first reign with different arrangement and style. Copper coin dated 1230-6 (1814-21 A.D.) was also struck at Kashmir in the name of Mahmud Shah 26 .

The one of rupee or silver coins of Aiyub Shah was struck at Khitta Kashmir and the couplet contained a punning allusion to Aiyub’s protector, the Barakzai chief Muhammad ‘Aziam Khan 27 . See for details Table-II 28 .

25 Ibid, III, pp. XXX, 1Xii, 174-76; Chas. J. Rodgers, Catalogue of The Coins , pp. 180-81. 26 Ibid , III, pp. 1xii, 169-71. 27 Ibid , III, pp. lxiii, 180. 28 Chas. J. Rodgers, Catalogue of The Coins, pp. 167-69 (Ahmad Shah, Durrani); pp. 170-74 (Taimur Shah, Durrani); pp. 176-77 (Zaman Shah, Durrani); pp. 179 (Mahmud Shah, Durrani); pp. 180-81 (Nur-ud-Din Shah); R.B. Whitehead, Coins of Nadir Shah And The Durrani Dynasty, vol. III, pp. xxix-xxx, 1x-1xiii (From Ahmad Shah to Aiyub Shah); pp. 19, 39-41, 48 (Ahmad Shah); p. 58 (Sulaiman); pp. 64, 86-88, 98-100 (Taimur Shah); pp. 118-20, 123-25 (Shah Zaman); pp. 138-40 (Mahmud Shah, first reign); pp. 156 (Qaisar Shah); pp. 150-52, 154 (Shuja’U-L-Mulk Shah, Second reign); pp. 174-76 (Shah Nuru-D-Din); pp. 169-71 (Mahmud Shah, second reign); p. 180 (Aiyub Shah).

Table: I-I

Mint Metal Name of (a) Chas. J. Rodgers, Andrew Liddle, Coinage of Akbar R. B. Whitehead, Coins of The issuing Catalogue of the Coins, Mughal Emperors, vol. II Authority Part-II (b) (b) Chas. J. Rodgers, Coins of the Mogul Emperors of India Dates / years Weight Size Dates/Years periods Weight Size Dates /years Weight Size Periods periods Kashmir 1. Gold Akbar (b) 999 A.H. 168.0 0.05 999 A.H. - - 999? (1590- 168 .65 (1590-91) (1590-91) 91) Kashmir 2. Silver Akbar (a) Fishahur 91.0 0.6 987/994/995 6.00 to 6.20 gms. 1.5 cms. - - - A.H.(1579-80/ 1585- 86/ 1586-87) Kashmir 3. Silver Akbar (a) 1000 A.H. 88.5 0.6 ------(1591-92) Srinagar 4. Silver Akbar (d) Amardad 174.0 0.8 Ilahi, 45, 47, to 50 10.75gms 2.5 cms. 45 Amardad 172 .8 Month Srinagar 5. Silver Akbar ------47 Tir 170 .8 Srinagar 6. Silver Akbar ------7 Aban 174 .85 Srinagar 7. Silver Akbar ------4- 168 .8 Isfandarmuz Srinagar 8. Copper Akbar (a) 49 th Ilahi 38.0 0.53 Ilahi 37, 43, 47 - - - - - Amardad Srinagar 9.Copper Akbar - - - Ilahi xx - - - - - (Half-Dam ) Kashmir 10. Copper Akbar - - - 994, 996, 998 - - - - - A.H.(1585-86/ 1587- 88/ 1589-90)

246

Table-I-II

Mint Metal Name of issuing Chas. J. Rodgers, Coins of the Mogul Emperors of India R.B. Whitehead, Coins of the Mughal Emperors , Authority vol. II

Dates / years Weight Size Dates/Years/ periods Weight Size Periods Kashmir 1. Silver Jahangir 1019 A.H. 210.5 0.81 1019 A.H. 210 .8 (1610-11 A.D.) (1610-11 A.D.) Kashmir 2. Silver Jahangir 1020 A.H. 7 th year 209.5 0.85 1020 A.H. 209 .85 (1611-12 A.D.) (1611-12 A.D.) Kashmir 3. Silver Jahangir 1021 A.H 210.0 0.85 1021 A.H. 210 - (1612-13 A.D.) (1612-13 A.D.) Kashmir 4. Silver Jahangir 1021 A.H. 211.0 0.82 - - - (1612-13 A.D.) Kashmir 5. Silver Jahangir - - - 1022 A.H./8th year 175 .8 Ardibihisht (1613-14 A.D.) Kashmir 6. Silver Jahangir - - - ,, Shahrewar 178 - Kashmir 7. Silver Jahangir 1022 A.H./8 th year, 174.0 0.79 ,, Mihr 174 - Mihr (1613-14 A.D.) Kashmir 8. Silver Jahangir 1023 A.H./8 th year, 173.0 0.78 1023 A.H./8 th year 170 - Isfandarmuz Isfandarmuz (1614-15 A.D.) (1614-15 A.D.) Kashmir 9. Silver Jahangir 1023 A.H./9 th year, 175.0 0.8 1023 A.H./9 th year, 175 - Tir Tir (1614-15 A.D.) (1614-15 A.D.)

247

Kashmir 10. Silver Jahangir 1023 A.H./10 th year 19.5 0.35 1024 A.H./10 th year , Azar 174 - (1614-15 A.D.) (1615-16 A.D.) 11. Silver Jahangir - - - 1026 A.H./12 th year , 175 - Farwardin (1617 A.D.) 12. Silver Jahangir - - - 1027 A.H./13 th year , Azar 172 - (1617-18 A.D.) 13. Silver Jahangir 1031 A.H.17th year 174.0 0.75 1031 A.H./17 th year , 174 - Farwardin Farwardin (1621-22 A.D.) (1621-22 A.D.)

14. Silver Shahjahan - - - - Amardad 176 .8 15. Silver Shahjahan - 18 th year 168.8 0.78 - 18 th year 169 .8 16. Silver Shahjahan 1065 A.H. 176.0 0.87 1065 A.H. 176 .85 (1654-55 A.D.) (1654-55 A.D.) 17. Silver Shahjahan - 39.5 0.65 - 40 .65 18. Silver Aurangzeb - - - - 32 nd year , - - Alamgir 19. Silver Aurangzeb - - - 1105 A.H. - - Alamgir (1693-94 A.D.) 20. Silver Aurangzeb - - - 45 th year - - Alamgir 21. Silver Aurangzeb - - - 46 th year - - Alamgir 22. Silver Aurangzeb 1116 A.H./49 th year 176.0 1.04 1116 A.H./49 th year - - Alamgir (1704-05 A.D.) (1704-05 A.D.) 23. Silver Aurangzeb 1117 A.H./50 th year 175.5 0.95 1117 A.H. /50 th year - - Alamgir (1705-06 A.D.) (1705-06 A.D.) 24. Silver Shah Alam - - - /2 nd year - -

248

Bahadur 25. Gold Farrukhsiyar - - - 1130 A.H./7 th year 167 .9 (1717-18 A.D.) 26. Silver Muhammad Shah - - - - /14th year - - 27. Silver Muhammad Shah 1148 A.H./17 th year 177.0 0.92 - /17 th year - - (1735-36 A.D.) 28. Copper Muhammad Shah 19 th year 275.0 0.8 19 th year 275 .8 29. Copper Muhammad Shah 19 th Year 281.0 0.82 - - - 30. Silver Ahmad Shah - - - 1162 A.H./2 nd year - - Bahadur (1748-49 A.D.) 31. Silver Alamgir II 2nd year 175.0 0.91 1169 A.H./2 nd year - - (1755-56 A.D.) 32. Silver Alamgir II 1171 A.H./3 rd year 174.0 0.92 1171 A.H./3 rd year - - (1757-58 A.D.) (1757-58 A.D.) 33. Silver Alamgir II 1174 A.H./5 th year 172.0 0.9 1174 A.H./5 th year - - (1760-61 A.D.) (1760-61 A.D.)

249

Table-II

Mint Metal Name of issuing Chas. J. Rodgers, Catalogue of The R.B. Whitehead, Coins of Nadir Authority Coins Shah And The Durrani Dynasty , vol. III

Dates / years Weight Size Dates/Years Weight Size Periods period Kashmir 1. Silver Ahmad Shah, Durrani 1162 A.H./2nd 173.0 0.95 - - - Year (1748-49 A.D.) Kashmir 2.Gold Ahmad Shah - - - 1167 168 0.82 A.H./6 th year (1753-54 A.D.) Kashmir 3. Silver Ahmad Shah 14 th /year 174.5 0.95 1176 A.H./14 th 174 0.95 year (1762-63 A.D.) Kashmir 4. Silver Ahmad Shah 15 th /year 174. - 0.92 1176A.H/15 th yea As3 As3 r (1762-63 A.D.) Kashmir 5. Silver Ahmad Shah 1177A.H./16 th 173.0 0.9 1177 A.H./16 th ,, ,, year (1763-64 Year (1763-64 A.D.) A.D.) Kashmir 6. Silver Ahmad Shah - - - 1178 A.H./17 th 173 .9 Year (1764-65 A.D.) Kashmir 7. Silver Ahmad Shah - - - 18 th year ,, ,, Kashmir 8. Silver Ahmad Shah - - - 21 st year ,, ,,

250

Kashmir 9. Silver Ahmad Shah /22 nd Year 173.5 0.97 22 nd year 173 .95 Kashmir 10. Silver Ahmad Shah 1182A.H/22 nd 172.5 1.0 - - - Year (1768-69 A.D.) Kashmir 11. Silver Ahmad Shah - - - 1184 A.H./23 rd As9 As9 Year (1770-71 A.D.) Kashmir 12. Silver Ahmad Shah - - - 1184 A.H./24 th As9 As9 Year (1770-71 A.D.) Kashmir 13. Silver Ahmad Shah - - - 1185 A.H./24 th ,, ,, Year (1771-72 A.D.) Kashmir 14. Copper Ahmad Shah - - - /23 rd year - - Kashmir 15. Copper Ahmad Shah - - - 1187 A.H. - - (1773-74 A.D.) Kashmir 16. Silver Sulaiman - - - 1186 A.H. 169 .95 (1772-73 A.D.) Kashmir Daru- 17. Gold Taimur Shah, Durrani 12 th Year 167.0 0.92 /12 th year 167 .9 s-Saltanat Kashmir 18. Gold Taimur Shah 15 th year 184.0 1.05 1203 A.H./15 th 184 1.0 Year (1788-89 A.D.) Kashmir 19. Silver Taimur Shah - - - 1187 170 1.0 A.H./1 st year (1773-74 A.D.)

251

Kashmir 20. Silver Taimur Shah 1195 A.H./8 th 168.0 0.93 1195 ,, ,, th Year (1780-81 A.H./8 year A.D.) (1780-81 A.D.) Kashmir 21. Silver Taimur Shah /9 th year 169 .95 - - - Kashmir 22. Silver Taimur Shah 10 th year 168.5 0.9 1197 A.H./10 th - - Year (1782-83 A.D.) Kashmir 23. Silver Taimur Shah - - - 1199 A.H./12 th 168 .9 Year (1784-85 A.D.) Kashmir 24. Silver Taimur Shah - - - 1200 A.H./13 th 168 - Year (1785-86 A.D.) Kashmir 25. Silver Taimur Shah - - - 1201 A.H./13 th 167 - Year (1786-87 A.D.) Kashmir 26. Silver Taimur Shah 1201A.H./14 th 168.0 0.91 1201 A.H./14 th 169 - year (1786-87 Year (1786-87 A.D.) A.D.) Kashmir 27. Silver Taimur Shah 1202 A.H/15 th 167.0 0.92 1202 A.H./15 th - - year (1787-88 Year (1787-88 A.D.) A.D.) Kashmir 28. Silver Taimur Shah - - - 1204 A.H./17 th 167 - Year (1789-90 A.D.)

252

Kashmir 29. Silver Taimur Shah - - - 1207 A.H./19 th 167 - Year (1792-93 A.D.) Kashmir 30. Silver Taimur Shah 20 th year 167.5 0.92 1208 A.H./20 th 168 - Year (1793-94 A.D.) Kashmir 31. Copper Taimur Shah 1st year 272.5 0.83 118-/1 st year 270 .85 Kashmir 32. Copper Taimur Shah - - - 119-/1 st year 256 .85 Kashmir 33. Copper Taimur Shah - - - /9 th year 293 .9 Kashmir 34. Copper Taimur Shah - - - 1195 A.H. 266 - (1780-81 A.D.) Kashmir 35. Copper Taimur Shah - - - 1197 A.H. 243 - (1782-83 A.D.) Kashmir 36. Copper Taimur Shah - - - 1200 A.H. 291 .85 (1785-86 A.D.) Kashmir 37. Copper Taimur Shah 1209 A.H/13 th 258.0 0.9 1201 A.H./13 th 287 - year (1794-95 Year (1786-87 A.D.) A.D.) Kashmir 38. Copper Taimur Shah - - - 1201 A.H./14 th 245 - Year (1786-87 A.D.) Kashmir 39. Copper Taimur Shah - - - 1201 A.H./15 th 214 - Year (1786-87 A.D.)

253

Kashmir 40. Copper Taimur Shah, - - - 1202 A.H./15th 270 - Year (1787-88 A.D.) Kashmir 41. Copper Shah Zaman - - - 1208 A.H./ 267 .9 (1793-94 A.D.) Kashmir 42. Copper Shah Zaman 1210 A.H./3 rd 191.0 0.8 1210 A.H./3 rd 191 .8 Year (1795-96 Year (1795-96 A.D.) A.D.) Kashmir 43. Copper Shah Zaman 1211 A.H./ 5th 135.0 0.58 1212 A.H./ 148 .8 Year (1796-97 (1797-98 A.D.) A.D.) Kashmir 44. Copper Shah Zaman 1212 A.H./5 th 111.0 0.88 1212 110 .85 th Year (1797-98 A.H./5 year A.D.) (1797-98 A.D.) Kashmir 45. Copper Shah Zaman - - - 1212 161 .8 A.H./5 th year (1797-98 A.D.) Kashmir 46. Copper Shah Zaman - - - 1212 167 .7 A.H./5 th year (1797-98 A.D.) Kashmir 47. Copper Shah Zaman 1212 A.H./ 6 th 163.0 0.87 1212 164 - th Year (1797-98 A.H./6 year A.D.) (1797-98 A.D.) Kashmir 48. Copper Shah Zaman 1213 A.H./ 6 th 167.0 0.95 1213 167 .9 th Year (1798-99 A.H./6 year A.D.) (1798-99 A.D.)

254

Kashmir 49. Copper Shah Zaman - - - 1214 212 .95 A.H./7 th year (1799-1800 A.D.) Kashmir 50. Copper Shah Zaman - - - 1214 167 .9 A.H./7 th year (1799-1800 A.D.) Kashmir 51. Copper Shah Zaman 1214 A.H./ 8 th 170.0 0.99 1214 168 .9 th Year (1799- A.H./8 year 1800 A.D.) (1799-1800 A.D.) Kashmir 52. Copper Shah Zaman 1215 A.H./ 8 th 123.0 0.78 1215 170 .9 th Year (1800- A.H./8 year 1801 A.D.) (1800-1801 A.D.) Kashmir 53. Silver Shah Zaman - - - 1208 A.H./2 nd 170 .9 Year (1793-94 A.D.) Kashmir 54. Silver Shah Zaman - - - 1209 165 - A.H./3 rd year (1794-95 A.D.) Kashmir 55. Silver Shah Zaman - - - 1210 168 - A.H./3 rd year (1795-96 A.D.)

Kashmir 56. Silver Shah Zaman - - - 1211 168 -

255

A.H. /4 th year (1796-97 A.D.) Kashmir 57. Silver Shah Zaman - - - 1212 167 - A.H./5 th year (1797-98 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 58. Silver Shah Zaman - - - 1211 167 - A.H./5 th year (1796-97 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 59. Silver Shah Zaman - - - 1212 167 .9 A.H./5 th year (1797-98 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 60. Silver Shah Zaman - - - 1213 172 - A.H./6 th year (1798-99 A.D.) Kashmir 61. Silver Shah Zaman - - - 1214 173 .9 A.H./7 th year (1799-1800 A.D.) Kashmir 62. Silver Shah Zaman - - - 12- -/8 th year 172 - Kashmir 63. Silver Mahmud Shah, First - - - 12--/1 st year 169 .9 reign Kashmir 64. Silver Mahmud Shah - - - 1217 A.H./2 nd 170 - Year (1802-1803 A.D.) Kashmir 65. Silver Mahmud Shah - - - 1217 A.H./2 nd 39 .6 Year (1802-1803 A.D.)

256

Kashmir 66. Silver Mahmud Shah - - - 1218 170 - A.H./3 rd year (1803-1804 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 67. Silver Mahmud Shah - - - 1218 172 .9 A.H./3 rd year (1803-1804 A.D.) Kashmir 68. Copper Mahmud Shah - 149.0 0.84 - - - Kashmir 69. Copper Mahmud Shah - - - 1216 157 1.0 A.H./1 st year (1801-1802 A.D.) Kashmir 70. Copper Mahmud Shah 12--/2nd Year 164.0 0.86 /2 nd year 61 .6 Kashmir 71. Copper Mahmud Shah - - - 1217 A.H. 67 .6 (1802-1803 A.D.) Kashmir 72. Copper Mahmud Shah - - - 1217 A.H./2 nd 59 .6 Year (1802-1803 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 73. Silver Qaisar Shah - - - 1222 171 .9 A.H./1 st year (1807-1808 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 74. Silver Qaisar Shah - - - 1223 A.H./2 nd 171 .9 Year (1808-1809 A.D.)

257

Kashmir Khitta 75. Silver Shuja ‘U-L-Mulk Shah - - - 1218 171 .9 A.H./1 st year (1803-1804 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 76. Silver Shuja ‘U-L-Mulk Shah - - - 1220 170 - A.H./3 rd year (1805-1806 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 77. Silver Shuja ‘U-L-Mulk Shah - - - 1222 170 - A.H./5 th year (1807-1808 A.D.) Kashmir 78. Copper Shuja ‘U-L-Mulk Shah - - - 1218 A.H. 113 .7 (1803-1804 A.D.) Kashmir 79. Copper Shuja ‘U-L-Mulk Shah - - - 1220 114 .65 A.H./3 rd year (1805-1806 A.D.) Kashmir 80. Copper Shuja ‘U-L-Mulk Shah - - - - 140 .75 Kashmir 81. Copper Shuja ‘U-L-Mulk Shah - - - 1220 A.H. 124 .75 (1805-1806 A.D.) Kashmir 82. Copper Shuja ‘U-L-Mulk Shah - - - 1221 122 .8 A.H./4 th year (1806-1807 A.D.)

258

Kashmir 83. Silver Shuja ‘U-L-Mulk Shah - - - 1228 139 .8 A.H./1 st year (1813 A.D.) Kashmir 84. Silver Shuja ‘U-L-Mulk Shah - - - 1228 116 .65 A.H./1 st year (1813 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 85. Gold Shah Nuru-D-Din 1225 A.H./2 nd 234.5 0.96 1225 A.H./2 nd 335.2 .95 Year (1810- Year (1810-1811 1811 A.D.) A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 86. Gold Shah Nuru-D-Din 1225 A.H./3 rd 234.5 0.96 1225 335 .95 rd Year (1810- A.H./3 year 1811 A.D.) (1810-1811 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 87. Silver Shah Nuru-D-Din - - - 1223 224 1.1 A.H./1 st year (1808-1809 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 88. Silver Shah Nuru-D-Din - - - 1223 171 .9 A.H./1 st year (1808-1809 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 89. Silver Shah Nuru-D-Din 1224 A.H./1 st 170.0 0.9 1224 170 - st Year (1809- A.H./1 year 1810 A.D.) (1809-1810 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 90. Silver Shah Nuru-D-Din /1 st year 171.0 0.91 1224 A.H./2 nd 165 - Year (1809-1810 A.D.)

259

Kashmir Khitta 91. Silver Shah Nuru-D-Din - - - 1225 170 - A.H./3 rd year (1810-1811 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 92. Silver Shah Nuru-D-Din - - - 1226 168 - A.H./4 th year (1811-1812 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 93. Silver Shah Nuru-D-Din - - - 1227 171 - A.H./5 th year (1812-1813 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 94. Silver Shah Nuru-D-Din - - - 1228 170 - A.H./5 th year (1813 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 95.Copper Shah, Nuru-D-Din - 117.0 0.72 1225 116 .65 A.H./3 rd year (1810-1811 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 96. Silver Mahmud Shah, Second - - - 122-./6 th year 165 .85 reign Kashmir Khitta 97. Silver Mhanmud Shah, - - - 1225 171 - Second reign A.H./7 th year (1810-1811 A.D.)

260

Kashmir Khitta 98. Silver Mhanmud Shah, - - - 1230 170 - Second reign A.H./8 th year (1814-1815 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 99. Silver Mhanmud Shah, - - - 1230 A.H./10 th 172 - Second reign Year (1814-1815 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 100.Silver Mhanmud Shah, - - - 1232 A.H./10 th 171 - Second reign Year (1816-1817 A.D.) Kashmir Khitta 101. Silver Mhanmud Shah, - - - 1233 A.H./11 th 169 .85 Second reign Year (1817-1818 A.D.) Kashmir 102. Copper Mhanmud Shah, - - - - /1 st year 72 .8 Second reign Kashmir 103. Copper Mhanmud Shah, - - - - /1 st year 121 - Second reign Kashmir 104.Copper Mhanmud Shah, - - - 1230 A.H./ 145 .8 Second reign 6th year (1814- 1815 A.D.) Kashmir 105. Copper Mhanmud Shah, - - - 12-- 121 .7 Second reign Kashmir Khitta 106. Silver Aiyub Shah - - - 1234 A.H./ 170 .9 1st year(1818- 1819 A.D.) Kashmir 107. Silver Aiyub Shah - - - 1234 A.H./2 nd 170 .9 Year (1818-1819 A.D.)

261

Bibliography

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The bibliography is confined to Persian Manuscripts, documents, books, and articles actually cited in the thesis. In addition to these sources, much material has been explored but found to contain little information relevant to the present study has, therefore, been excluded. For abbreviations used in the thesis see the separate list of abbreviations. All Persian sources (unpublished and published), Sanskrit works (translation) and European sources are arranged in a chronological order while modern works and articles are alphabetically arranged.

Manuscripts (Persian)

1. Sheikh Muhammad Baqa, Mir’atu-l ‘Alam , (C. 1667), ghost writing for his patron, Bakhtawar Khan, MS. No. 62, Farsiya Akhbar , Manuscript section, MAL, AMU, Aligarh.

2. Ahmad Quli Safvi, Tarikh-i-Alamgiri, Tarikh-i-Hind, Farsi , Subhanullah collection 954 / 9, Manuscript section, MAL, AMU, Aligarh.

3. Narain Koul Ajiz, Tarikh-i-Kashmir , (C. 1709-10), MS. No. 71, Farsiya Akhbar , MAL, AMU, Aligarh ; while MS. No. 18, (under the same title), is preserved in CAS, AMU, Aligarh.

4. Muhammad Azam, Waqiat-i-Kashmir , (C. 1746-47), Farsiya Tarikh , Habib Gang collection 32 / 150, Manuscript section, MAL, AMU, Aligarh ; while in Abdus Salam collection, 527 / 48, Farsiya Tarikh , scribed in 1843-44, and MS. No. 72, Farsiya Akhbar , 1849, (under the same titles), is preserved in Manuscript section, MAL, AMU, Aligarh.

5. Abdu-’l Qadir Khan, Hashmat-i-Kashmir , (C. 1833), MS. No. 528 / 49, Abdus Salam collection, Manuscript section, MAL, AMU, Aligarh. 263

6. Birbal Kachru, Majmuat-Tawarikh , (C. 1835-36), Farsiya Akhbar , MS. No. 148, Manuscript section, MAL, AMU, Aligarh.

Published and Translated Persian Works

7. Sharfuddin Ali Yazdi, Zafarnamah, edited by Maulawi Muhammad Ilahadad, vol. II, Calcutta, 1888.

8. Mirza Haider Dughlat, Tarikh-i-Rashidi , edited & transl. by N. Elias and E. Denison Ross, A History of the Moghuls of Central Asia, Patna, 1973.

9. Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad, Tabaqat-i-Akbari , 2 vols. (Bound in one), ed. Nawal Kishore, Lucknow, 1875.

10. Abdul Qadir Badauni, Muntakhabu-t Tawarikh , ed. Ali Ahmad and W.N.Lees, Bib. Ind., 3 vols., Calcutta, 1864-69; Eng. Transl., vol. II, by W.H. Lowe, Delhi, Reprint 1973 & vol. III, by Sir Wolseley Haig, Patna, 1973.

11. Abul Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari , 2 vols., Nawal Kishore’s edition, Lucknow, 1879-80 & Its Eng. Transl. vol. I, H. Blochmann and vol. II-III, (Bound in one) H.S. Jarrett, New Delhi, 1949.

12. Abul Fazl, Akbarnama , ed. Agha Ahmad Ali and Maulavi Abdur Rahim, Bib. Ind. 3 vols., Calcutta, 1873-87; Eng. Transl. H. Beveridge, vol. III, Delhi, 1973.

13. Faizi Sirhindi, Akbarnama, vol. I, Or. 169, Rotograph No. 163, CAS, AMU, Aligarh.

14. Muhammad Qasim Firishta, Tarikh-i-Firishta , 2 vols., Nawal Kishore edition, Lucknow, 1909.

15. Abdu-l Baqi Nihawandi, Maasir-i-Rahimi , (C. 1616), ed. M. Hidayat Hosain, vol. I, ASB, Calcutta, 1924. 264

16. Asad Beg Qazwini , Risala-i-Tarikh-i-Asad Beg, British Museum, Or. 1996 Rieu iii / 979a, Rotograph No. 94, CAS, AMU, Aligarh.

17. Anonymous, Baharistani Shahi , (C. 1614 A.D.), India Office 943, Ethe i / 509, Rotograph No. 170, CAS, AMU, Aligarh; Eng. Transl. A Chronicle of Medieval Kashmir , by K.N. Pandit, Calcutta, 1991.

18. Malik Haidar Chadoora, Tarikh-i-Kashmir , E 510 = I.O. 1100, vol. I, Rotograph No. 171, Deptt. of History, CAS, AMU, Aligarh.

19. Jahangir, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri , ed. Saiyid Ahmad, Ghazipur and Aligarh, 1863-64; Eng. Transl. Alexander Rogers, edited by H. Beveridge (in 2 vols. Bound in 1), Delhi, Reprinted in LPP 1989, 1999, 2006.

20. Mu‘tamad Khan, Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri , ed. Abdal-Haiy and Ahmad Ali, Bib. Ind. Calcutta, 1865; I have also used Nawal Kishore edition, 3 vols., Lucknow, 1870.

21. Kamgar Husain, Ma’asir-i-Jahangiri , ed. Azra Alavi, Bombay, 1978.

22. Amin Qazwini, Badshahnama, Or. 173, British Museum, Rotograph Nos. 191A, 191B, 191C, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh; Transcript Nos. 12, 13, 14, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh.

23. Abdu-l Hamid Lahori, Padshahnama , ed. Kabir Al-Din Ahmad, Abd- Al-Rahim and W.N. Lees, Bib. Ind. 2 vols., Calcutta, 1867-68.

24. Muhammad Waris, Badshahnama, Transcript Nos. 86 & 87, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh.

25. Muhammad Salih Kanbu, Amal-i-Saleh or Shahjahan-nama, ed. Ghulam Yazdani, 2 vols., ASB, Calcutta, 1927, 1939; ed. Karim Ahmad Khan Mutamad, Majlis-i-Taraqqi-i- Adab, (in 2 parts), Lahore, 1959. 265

26. Muhammad Sadiq Khan, Tarikh-i-Shahjahani , British Museum, Or. 174, British Museum, Rieu i / 262a, Rotograph No. 39, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh;

27. Or. 1671, MS. 11589, Rotograph No. 45, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh.

28. Anonymous, Dabistan-i-Mazahib , Nawal Kishore edition, 1904.

29. Muhammad Kazim, Alamgirnama , ed. Maulawis Khadim Husain and Abd-al-Hai, Bib. Ind. Calcutta, 1868.

30. Saqi Musta ‘idd Khan, Ma ‘asir-i-Alamgiri , ed. Maulawi Agha Ahmad Ali, Bib. Ind. Calcutta, 1871; Eng. Transl. J.N. Sarkar, A History of Aurangzeb, 1658-1707, Calcutta, 1947; Urdu transl. Muhammad Fida Ali Talib, Karachi, 1962.

31. Muhammad Hadi Kamwar Khan, Tazkiratu- ‘s Salatin-i Chaghta , ed. Muzaffar Alam, New Delhi, 1980.

32. Ali Muhammad Khan, Mir’at-i Ahmadi , 2 vols. & Supplement, Baroda, 1927-28, 1939.

33. Shah Nawaz Khan, Ma ‘asiru-l Umara , ed. Abdu-r Rahim and Ashraf Ali, Bib. Ind. 3 vols., Calcutta, 1888-91; Eng. Transl. H. Beveridge, vol. I, Patna, 1979, & vol. II-III, Calcutta, 1952, 1964.

34. Muhammad Hashim Khafi Khan, Muntakhabu-Lubab , ed. Kabir Al-Din Ahmad, 2 vols., (in four parts), Bib. Ind. Calcutta, 1868-69, 1870, 1874.

35. Sujan Ra’i Bhandari, Khulasatu-t Tawarikh , ed. M. Zafar Hasan, Delhi, 1918.

36. Pir Ghulam Hasan Khoyhami, Tarikh-i-Hasan [in Persian, completed, 1885], ed. Sahibzada Hasan Shah, 2 vols., Srinagar, 1954; Hasan, 266

Tarikh-i-Hasan , (C. 1885), MS. No. 04, CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh.

37. Diwan Kripa Ram, Gulzar-i-Kashmir , Kohinoor Press, Lahore, 1870.

38. Mirza Saif-ud-Din, Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh , Urdu, transl. from Persian, Mirza Kamal-ud-Din-Shaida, Srinagar, December, 1984.

39. Muhammad Azam, Waqiat-i-Kashmir , Urdu transl. from Persian, Khwaja Hamid Yazdani, Lahore, 1995.

Translated Sanskrit Works

40. Kalhana, Rajatarangini, Eng. Transl. from Sanskrit, M.A. Stein, 2 vols., Delhi, 1979.

41. Jonaraja, Rajatarangini , Eng. Transl. from Sanskrit, J.C. Dutt, Kings of Kashmira , Delhi, Reprinted in LPP 1990, 1997, 2003.

42. Srivara, Jaina Rajatarangini , Eng. Transl. from Sanskrit, J.C.Dutt, Kings of Kashmira, Delhi, Reprinted in LPP 1990, 1997, 2003.

43. Suka and Prajyabhatta, Rajatarangini, Eng. Transl. from Sanskrit, J.C. Dutt, Kings of Kashmira, Delhi, Reprinted in LPP 1990, 1997, 2003.

Miscellaneous Works

44. Amin Ahmad Razi, Haft Iqlim, Qutubuddin collection, 100 / 20, Manuscript section, MAL, AMU, Aligarh.

45. Bilgrami, Murtaza Husain Alias Allah Yar Usmani, Hadiqatul-Aqalim , MS. No. 78, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh.

Administrative And Accountancy Manuals

46. Dasturu-l-‘Amal-i-Navisindagi , (C. 1646-48), Add. 6641, British Museum, Rotograph No. 228, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh. 267

47. Dasturu-l ‘Amal-i ‘Asar-i ‘Alamgiri , (C. 1659), p. 30621, Add. 6599, British Museum, Rotograph No. 53, ff. 1-132, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh.

48. Dasturu-l ‘Amal-i ‘Alamgiri , (C. 1659), Rieu, I, 404, Add. 6599, Rotograph No. 54, ff. 133-185 & Rieu, 404, Add. 6599, Rotograph No. 59, ff. 185-202, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh.

49. Jagat Ra’i Shuja ‘i Kayath Saksena, Farhang-i Kardani , 1679, Aligarh, Abdus Salam, Farsiya 85 / 315.

50. Halat-i-Mamalik-i-Mahrusa-i ‘Alamgiri , (C. 1687-91), Add. Ms. 6598, British Museum, Rotograph No. 55, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh.

51. Zawabit-i ‘Alamgiri , Aurangzeb: post-1691, Or. 1641, British Museum, Rotograph No. 62, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh.

52. Dasturu-l ‘Amal , Aurangzeb: post-1696, Bodl. Fraser 86, Rotograph No. 183, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh.

53. Khulasatu-s Siyaq , A.D.1703, Rieu ii 799, Add. 6588, British Museum, Rotograph No. 57, pp. 1-31, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh; Subhanullah Collection, 900/15; Sir Sulaiman collection, 410 / 143, Manuscript section, MAL, AMU, Aligarh.

54. Dasturu-l ‘Amal-i Shahjahani , Late Aurangzeb, Add. 6588, British Museum, Rotograph No. 56, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh; Sir Sulaiman collection, 675 / 53, Manuscript section, MAL, AMU, Aligarh.

55. Hidayatullah Bihari, Hidayatu-l Qawa ‘id , 1714, Abdus Salam collection, 149 / 379, Manuscript section, MAL, AMU, Aligarh. 268

56. Braj Ra’i, Dasturu-l ‘Amal-i Shahanshahi , c.1727, enlarged by Thakur Lal, 1779, Add. 22,831, Rotograph No. 52, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh.

57. Chatar Mal, Diwan Pasand , (C. 1810), British Museum, Rieu iii, 990, Or. 2011, Rotograph No. 58, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh.

Administrative Records / Revenue Documents

The revenue documents and the sale-deeds preserved in Iqbal Library, Srinagar, provide very useful information on the agrarian economy of medieval Kashmir. Here I have mentioned only Document Nos., not in detailed.

58. “Malikzada”, Nigarnama-i Munshi, Ref. Rieu iii / 985, Ms. No. 36, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh.

59. Document No. 574 / Mis-A, (1651A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

60. Document No. 574/ 52, (1663A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

61. Document Nos. 574 / 4 or 23, (1664A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

62. 60 -Document No. 574 / 2A, (1665A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

63. Document No. 2525, (1690A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

64. Document Nos. 574 / 40, 42, (1692A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

65. Document No. 559 / 5, (1702A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

66. Document No. 574 / 31, (1707A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

67. Document No. 574 / 10, (1716A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

68. Document No. 574 / 2, (1719A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

69. Document No. 574 / 50, (1721A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

70. Document No. 574 / 3, (1725A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

71. Document No. 559 / 4, (1736A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar. 269

72. Document No. 574 / 24, (1765A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

73. Document No. 528 / 5, (1765A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

74. Document No. 574 / 26, (1770A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

75. Document No. 574 / 25, (1773A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

76. Document No. 608 / 19, (1773A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

77. Document No. 574 / 27, (1774A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

78. Document No. 574 / 7, (1776A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

79. Document No. 574 / 33, (1776A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

80. Document No. 574 / 34, (1777A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

81. Document No. 574 / 35, (1787A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

82. Document No. 559 / 3, (1788A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

83. Document No. 528 / 21, (1793A.D.), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

84. Document No. 574 / 11, (Year ?), Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

85. Document No. 574 / 16, Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

86. Document No. 608 / 5, Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

87. Document No. 574 / 2, Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

88. Document Nos. 574 / 21, 22, Iqbal Library, Srinagar.

89. Document No. 574/54

90. Document No. 2525

91. Document No. 2592

270

Epistolary Collections

92. Munshi Har Karan, Insha’i Har Karan, (Jahangir’s reign) Sulaiman collection, 406 / 139; Farhang-i-Kashmiri Waraq No. 11, Sulaiman collection, 580 / 26, Manuscript section, MAL, AMU, Aligarh.

93. Aurangzeb, ‘ Adab-i ‘Alamgiri , (C. 1680), Abu-l Fath Qabil Khans Collection of letters written by Aurangzeb, MS. No. 20, in CAS, Deptt of History, AMU, Aligarh.

94. Aurangzeb, Raqa’im-i Kara’im , ed. Sayyid Ashraf Khan, (c.1786A.D.), Insha-i-Farsi, Sulaiman collection, 412 / 145, Manuscript section, MAL, AMU, Aligarh.

95. Aurangzeb , Ruq ‘at-i ‘Alamgiri, Tarikh-i-Mughal , Abdus Salam collection, 321 / 91, Manuscript section, MAL, AMU, Aligarh; Ruq ‘at- i ‘Alamgiri or Kalimat-i Taiyabat , MS. No. 85, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh.

96. Aurangzeb Alamgir, Insha-i-Alamgiri, Insha-i-Farsi , (c.1857), Sulaiman collection, 334 / 67, Manuscript section, MAL, AMU, Aligarh.

97. Tawakul Beg Kulabi, Nuskha-i-Ahwali Shahi, Or. 3203, Rotograph No. 138, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh.

European Sources

98. On Yuan Chwang’s, Travels In India (A.D.629-645), transl. by Thomas Watters, New Delhi, Second Indian edition 1973.

99. W. Foster (ed.), Early Travels In India, 1583-1619, London, 1927, Reprinted New Delhi, 1968.

100. Du Jarric’s account of the Jesuit missions to the court of Akbar, transl. C.H. Payne, Akbar and the Jesuits , London, 1926. 271

101. Fr. J. Xavier, ‘ Letters from Kashmir’, 1593-1617 , Eng. Transl. H. Hosten, JASB , No. XXIII, 1927, pp. 109-30.

102. Letters Received by the East India Company from its Servants in the East, 1602-17, 6 vols.: vol. I, ed. F.C. Danvers; vols. II-VI, ed. W. Foster, London, 1896-1902.

103. The English Factories in India, 1618-69, ed. W. Foster, 13 vols., Oxford, 1906-27.

104. Jahangir and the Jesuits , ed. by Sir E. Denison Ross and Eileen Power, transl. C.H. Payne, London, 1930.

105. Sir Edward Maclagan, The Jesuits and the Great Mogul, London, 1932.

106. Francisco Pelsaert (1626), Remonstrantie , trans. W.H. Moreland and P. Geyl, Jahangir’s India , Cambridge, 1925.

107. Francois Bernier, Travels in the Mogul Empire A.D.1656-1668, transl. on the basis of Irving Brock’s version by A. Constable, with notes, 2 nd edition revised by V.A. Smith, Delhi, Reprinted in LPP 2005.

108. Nicolao Manucci, Mogul India (1653-1708) or Storia do Mogor , (in 4 vols. Bound in 2), translated with Introduction and notes by W. Irvine, Delhi, Reprinted in LPP 2005.

109. Ippolito Desideri, An Account of Tibet : The Travels of Ippolito Desideri, 1712-1727, edited by Filippo De Filippo With A Introduction by C. Wessels, AES Reprint: New Delhi, 1995.

110. George Forster, A Journey From Bengal to England---Kashmir--- Caspian Sea, 1782-84, 2 vols., London, 1798.

111. Mountstuart Elphinstone, An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, and its Dependencies in Persia, Tartary and India, 2 vols., 1839. 272

112. William Moorcroft and G. Trebeck, Travels in India Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan---and Kashmir---,Kabul---and Bokhara from 1819 to 1825, in 2 vols. (Bound in 1.), ed. by Horace Haymen Wilson, Reprinted in LPP New Delhi, 2000.

113. G.T. Vigne, Travels In Kashmir, Ladakh, Iskardu,---of the Punjab , 2 nd edition, In Two volumes, reprinted, Karachi, 1987.

114. Ahmad Shah Naqash-i-Bandi, Route from Kashmir via Ladakh to Yarkand , Tr. M.J Dowson, JRAS , vol. 12 Part-II, London, 1850.

115. Baron Charles Hugel, Travels in Kashmir and the Panjab (1835-36) , transl. (from the German) Major T.B. Jervis, London, 1845, Reprinted in LPP Delhi, 2000.

Modern Works

116. Abdul Ahad, Kashmir to Frankfurt: A Study of Arts and Crafts , New Delhi, 1987.

117. Athar Ali, M., The Mughal Nobility under Aurangzeb , Bombay, 1966.

118. Andrew Liddle, Coinage of Akbar : The Connoisseur’s Choice, Gurgaon, 2005.

119. Banga, Indu, Agrarian System of the Sikhs Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Century , New Delhi, 1978.

120. Bamzai, P.N.K., A History of Kashmir , 2 nd revised edition, New Delhi, 1973.

121. Bakshi, S.R., History of Economic Development in Kashmir , Srinagar, 2002.

122. Chicherov, A.I., India Economic Development in the 16 th -18 th Centuries , Moscow, 1971. 273

123. Drew, Frederick, The Jammoo And Kashmir Territories, New Delhi, 1997.

124. D. Pant, The Commercial Policy of the Mughals , Reprint, Delhi, 1978.

125. Elliot and Dowson, The History Of India As Told By Its Own Historians, 8 vols., London, 1867-77.

126. Francke, A.H., Antiquities of Indian Tibet , Part II, ed. F.W. Thomas, New Delhi, 1994.

127. Francke, A.H., Ladakh: The Mysterious Land (History of Western Himalayas ), New Delhi, 1978.

128. Ferguson, James P., Kashmir, An Historical Introduction , London, Centaur

129. Press, 1961.

130. Gupta, N.S., Industrial Structure of India during Medieval Period, Delhi, 1970.

131. Habib, Irfan, The Agrarian System of Mughal India 1556-1707 , Oxford, 2000; (I have also used the edition of), Asia Publishing House, Bombay, 1963.

132. Habib, Irfan, An Atlas of the Mughal Empire: Political and Economic Maps , Delhi, 1982.

133. Hashmatullah Khan, Mukhtasar Tarikh-i-Jammu Wa Kashmir , Jammu, 1992.

134. Hangloo, R.L., The State In Medieval Kashmir , New Delhi, 2000.

135. Hans, Wulf E., The Traditional Crafts of Persia: Their Development, Technology, and Influence on Eastern and Western Civilizations , Printed in the United States of America, 1966. 274

136. Knight, E.F., Where Three Empires Meet, Delhi, 1896.

137. Lawrence, Sir Walter, The Valley of Kashmir , Srinagar, 1967.

138. Mohammed Ashraf Wani, Jammawar: Kani Shawl Weaving in Kashmir , Kashmir, 1995.

139. Moonis Raza, Aijazuddin Ahmad, Ali Mohammad, The Valley of Kashmir: A Geographical Interpretation, vol. I: The Land, New Delhi, 1978.

140. Moreland, W.H., The Agrarian System of Moslem India, second reprint LPP, Delhi, 1994.

141. Moreland, W.H., India at the Death of Akbar: An Economic Study , reprint, LPP, Delhi, 1995.

142. Muhibbul Hasan, Kashmir Under The Sultans, Edited and Introduced by Dr. Hamid Naseem Rafiabadi, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, April, 15, 2001.

143. Mukhia, Harbans, “ Technology in Medieval India ,” Technology in Ancient and Medieval India, ed. Aniruddha Ray and S.K. Bagchi, New Delhi, 1968,

144. Mushtaq A. Kaw, The Agrarian System of Kashmir, 1586-1819A.D., Srinagar, July, 2001.

145. Petech, Dr. L., The Indian Historical Quarterly , edited by Narendra Nath Law, The Calcutta Oriental Press, LTD., March, 1947

146. Pant, D., The Commercial Policy of the Mughals , Reprint, Delhi, 1978.

147. Pal, M.K., Crafts and Craftsmen in Traditional India , New Delhi, 1978.

148. Parashar, Parmanand, Kashmir- The Paradise of Asia , New Delhi, 2004. 275

149. Parmu, R.K., A History of Muslim Rule in Kashmir 1320-1819 , New Delhi, 1969.

150. Ray, Aniruddha, Some Aspects of Mughal Administration , New Delhi, 1984.

151. Rodgers, Chas. J., Catalogue of the Coins, Part -II, Miscellaneous Muhammadan Coins , Calcutta, 1894,

152. Rodgers, Chas. J., Coins of the Mogul Emperors of India , Delhi, 1972.

153. Richards, J. F., The Imperial Monetary System of Mughal India , Delhi, Oxford University Press, 1987.

154. Raychaudhuri, Tapan & Habib, Irfan (ed.), The Cambridge Economic History of India , vol. I: c.1200-c.1750, Cambridge, 1982, reprint edition New Delhi, 2004.

155. Saksena, B.P., History of Shahjahan of Delhi , Allahabad, 1973.

156. Sufi, G.M.D., Kashir: Being A History of Kashmir From The Earliest Times To Our Own , 2 vols., New Delhi, 1974.

157. Sarkar, J.N., Mughal Administration, Fourth Edition, Calcutta, 1952.

158. Sarkar, J.N., Mughal Economy: Organization and Working , Calcutta, January, 1987.

159. Stein, M.A., Ancient Geography of Kashmir, Patna, 1977.

160. Siddiqi, N.A., Land Revenue Administration under the Mughals (1700- 50), Bombay, 1970.

161. Saran, P., The Provincial Government of the Mughals 1526-1658 , Bombay, 1973.

162. Saksena, Ra’i Chaturman, Chahar Gulshan , transl. by J.N. Sarkar, in India of Aurangzeb , Calcutta, 1901. 276

163. Sharma, Sri Ram, Mughal Government and Administration , Bombay, 1951.

164. Thomas, Edward, Revenue Resources of the Mughal Empire in India , London, 1871.

165. Watson, J. Forbes, The Textile Manufactures and the Costumes of the People of India , Varanasi, 1982.

166. Waddell, L.A., Lhasa and Its Mysteries , Delhi, 1996.

167. Whitehead, R.B., Catalogue of Coins in the Punjab Museum, Vol. II, Coins of The Mughal Emperors, Oxford, 1914; & vol. III, Coins of Nadir Shah and the Durrani Dynasty , Oxford, 1934.

168. Watt, Sir George, The Commercial Products of India: Being An Abridgment of The Dictionary of the Economic Products of India, New Delhi, Reprint Edition, 1966.

169. Younghusband, Francis, Wonders of the Himalaya , London, 1924, AES Reprint, New Delhi, 1993.

170. Younghusband, Kashmir , Srinagar, 1996.

Periodical Literature (Papers, Articles in Journals, Proceedings)

171. Ghulam Sarwar’s Papers, National Archives, New Delhi.

172. Shireen Moosvi, ‘The Silver Influx, Money Supply, Prices and Revenue Extraction in Mughal India, ’ JESHO ’ XXX (1987), pp. 49-94.

173. Ahmad Shah, Naqash-i-Bandi, ‘Route from Kashmir via Ladakh to Yarqand’, Transl. By Mr. J. Dowson, The Journal of The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain And Ireland , vol. XII, Part II, London, 1850, pp. 377-79.

174. J.N. Sarkar in JASB, N.S. II, 1906, pp. 238-49. 277

175. N.A. Siddiqi, ‘Land Revenue Demand Under The Mughals’, The Indian Economic and Social History Review, vol. II, No. 4, October, 1965, pp. 373-380.

176. Simon Digby, ‘Export Industries and Handicraft Production Under the Sultans of Kashmir’, The Indian Economic and Social History Review, vol. 44, 4 (Oct.-Dec. 2007), New Delhi, pp. 407-423.

177. Simon Digby , ‘From Ladakh to Lahore in 1820-21: The Account of a Kashmiri Traveller’, The Journal of Central Asian Studies , vol. VIII , no.1, University of Kashmir, Srinagar , 1997 , pp. 3-22.

178. Irfan Habib, ‘Potentialities of Capitalistic Development In The Economy of Mughal India’, paper presented in the International Economic History congress, Bloomington, 1968, Article, No. 107, pp. 9-10.

179. B.R. Grover, ‘Elements of Continuity And Change In Land Ownership And Rights From The Mughal Age To The Early British Administration In India’, PIHC, Medieval Section, 37 th Session, Calicut, 9-31, December, 1976, pp. 1-36.

180. Jigar Mohammed, ‘Use of Botanical Products In India During The 16 th & 17 th Centuries’, PIHC, Medieval section, 57 th Session, Madras University, December, 27-29, 1996, pp. 330-336.

181. Karl Fischer, ‘The Beginning of Dutch trade with Gujarat’, PIHC, 27 th Session, Allahabad, 1965, pp. 206-215.

182. Shireen Moosvi, ‘Suyurghal Statistics in Ain’, Paper read in IHC, Aligarh session, 1975.

183. Shireen Moosvi, ‘An Imperial Edict of Shahjahan’, PIHC, 47 th session, Srinagar, 1986, pp. 349-366. 278

184. Shireen Moosvi, ‘The Silver Influx, Money Supply, Prices and Revenue Extraction in Mughal India,’ JESHO’ XXX (1987), pp. 49-94.

185. S. Nurul Hasan, ‘Zamindars Under the Mughals’, Article Published in Land Control and Social Structure of India, ed. by Robert Eric Frykenberg, Manohar, 1979, pp. 17-31.

186. Farzana Ashfaque, Mughal Building Activity : Imperial Investment in Kashmir? , I.H.C., Proceedings , 67 th session, Farook College, Calicut University, 2006-07, p. 1034.

187. Farzana Ashfaque, The Revenues of Kashmir Under the Mughals, IHC, 68 th session, Delhi University, Delhi, 28-30 December, 2007, pp. 244-49.

Works of Reference

188. Anand Ram Mukhlis, Mirat-al Istilah , a glossary of idioms and technical terms, A.D.1745, per text, Anjuman-i-Taraq-i-Urdu Library, Aligarh.

189. H.H. Wilson, A Glossary of Judicial and Revenue Terms, and of Useful Words Occurring in Official Documents----of British India, First Published in London, 1855, Second edition, Delhi, June, 1968.

190. 179-Khwaja Yasin, Glossary of Revenue and Administrative Terms , Add. 6603, Rotograph No. 231, in CAS, Deptt. of History, AMU, Aligarh.

191. C.E. Bates, A Gazetteer of Kashmir and the Adjacent Districts of Kishtwar Badrwar, Jamu, Naoshera, Punch and the valley of Kishen Ganga, New Delhi, 1980.

192. Wilson H.H., Gazetteer of Kashmir And Ladakh , Vivek publishing House, New Delhi, 1974.

193. Steingass, Persian English Dictionary.