Mughal Administration

The Mughal administration is divided into different subas which are further divided into subdivisions like “Sarkar, Pargana and Gram”. Those all subas are called Mughal administration together. This study is discussing the different types of this administration which is deferred in the different emperors. In the regions of Akbar, there are 15 Subas and those are increased in the reign of Aurangzeb. Akbar started the “Mansabdari system” in this system the holders are indicated as “Mansab”. This system is connected with both the military and civil systems. This study is about the role of Zamindar in the Mughal administration. 

Mughal Administration and its Division

The Mughal emperor was founded by Babur in the year 1526 and after that, this spread throughout India and outside India. The cities where the administration of the Mughal is established are Agra, Lahore, Delhi and Fatehpur Sikri. There are three main administrations and those are “central administration”, “military administration” and “revenue administration”. 

Central administration is the administration where the emperor was the head of the power and formulated laws and military commands. 

Military administration: is the backbone of the Mughal administration and this is created by Babur and modified by Akbar. In this administration, the emperor is giving training, recruitment and salaries to the soldiers and preparing them for wars. 

Revenue administration: is the administration where the collection of revenue is completed and those are collected from the people who are levied in the emperor. 

The administration is focusing on the finance, religion, society and defense of the state and introducing the local people with new rules. Those administrations are divided into subah which is also subdivided. Akbar made subas which are, “Agra Subah, Ajmer Subah, Awadh Subah, Bengal Subah, Bihar Subah, Delhi Subah, Gujarat Subah, Kabul Subah, Illahabad Subah, Lahore Subah, Malwa Subah, Multan Subah, Thatta Subah”. 

Features of Mughal administration

There are several types of administration are founded which have different creatures which are discussed below; 

Central Administration: This is the main area from where the emperor rules the whole administration and in this area the main departments are present. The main officers of this area are “diwan; Mir Bakshi; Mir saman and Sadr.”

Provincial Administration: Akbar is establishing this administration which is also establishing the units. This is described as a replica of the “Central government” and there are some divisions and those are “Sipah Salar Nazim, Bakshi”. 

Local Administration: this is the level in which the Subhas is divided into Sarkar and then in Parganas. The responsible persons are “faujdar, amaguzar and village head”. 

Revenue Administration is the administration which is taking responsibility for income and its sources which are getting from land revenue, tax and many more. 

Military Administration: this is the administration where the emperor is maintaining and supplying their horse, elephants, soldiers and horsemen. 

Mansabdari System: is the administration system that is connected with the emperor and has the power of increasing, decreasing and conferring the mansab. The mansabdar have collected the tax or “Jagir” through the “Zamindar” and they are collecting this from cultivators. 

Jaigirdari System: this is the system that is attached with the “jaigirdar” and this is the revenue system that is fulfilled by the “jaigirdars”. 

Role of the zamindar in Mughal administration

The main role or duty of a “zamindar” in the Mughal administration was to collect the taxes and revenue from the source of income of the Mughal administration. Those zamindars acted as the intermediates between the peasants and the Mughal. In some areas of the administration, there are Zamindars dealing with the power. The zamindar is those people who are appointed by the Mughal emperor and are powerful local chieftains. They gave great influence and power in the local area which helped them to collect revenues from the local. Those zamindars ruled the local area and collect taxes for the Mughal rulers. Besides this, they collected presents from others and gave this to the emperor and took some advantage. In some areas where the zamindar becomes more powerful, they are rebellion by the administration. The tax which is produced by the peasants was the main income of the Rulers which is collected by the zamindars. 

Conclusion 

It is concluded that this study is developing an idea on the Mughal administration and some divisions of the Mughal administration. Those divisions are divided into some subdivisions like gram, Parganas and Sarkar. In Those areas, Zamindar ruled under the Mughal administration and collected the revenue. This study also discusses different features of the different divisions of the administration. Besides this, there are some other officers who take responsibility for the different divisions of the Mughal emperor and their administration systems. The administration is divided into three divisions, “central, military and revenue” and those are divided more in the times of Akbar. Therefore, it is concluded the zamindars are playing a very important role in the Mughal administration as they are collecting revenue.