MUGHALS DYNASTY

The Mughal reign was a crucial phase in Indian History. This article throws light on the Mughal era in India like Economic & Social Life, Agriculture, Trade Growth, etc.

INDIA UNDER THE MUGHALS

Economic and Social Life

• The socio-economic conditions of India are mentioned by many European Travellers and trader who came to India and their accounts contain a mine of information.
• Generally, most of the accounts describe the wealth and prosperity of India and also the lavish life of the nobles.
• There are accounts of foreigners as well that give information about the poverty and sufferings of ordinary people such as peasants and artisans.

Mughal Nobility

• The Mughals were nobles and most of them were foreigners like Turks and Afghans and formed a privileged class.
• The Mughal nobles were paid high salaries but their expenses were also the same.
• Each noble had a large number of servants, horses, elephants etc.
• Wealthy people dressed in silk and cotton clothes and the poor people dressed minimally.
• One of the foreigners Nikitin mentions that the people in the Deccan were bare-footed indicating the high cost of leather.
• The common people food was pulses, millets and rice.
• In coastal region fish was common.
• Milk and milk products were surplus, salt and sugar were expensive, while ghee and oil were cheaper.

Agriculture

• One of the estimates claims that at the beginning of the 17th century India’s population was about 125 million.
• A large variety of crops such as barley, gram, pulses, rice, and wheat were cultivated.
• Commercial crops such as indigo, oil-seeds, cotton and sugarcane were also cultivated.
• During the seventeenth century two new crops, viz., tobacco and maize were added.
• On a note, no new agricultural technique was introduced during this period.
• India was able to export food items like rice and sugar to the neighbouring countries.

Growth of Trade

• The Indian trading classes spread across the country and were in large numbers.
• Seth and Bohra – Long-distance traders
• Banik – Local traders
• Banjaras – Another class of traders specialized in carrying bulk goods, they also moved long distances with their goods on the back of oxen.
• Bulk goods were also taken through rivers on boats.
• The Gujarati merchants included the Hindus, Jains and Muslims.
• In Rajasthan, Oswals, Maheshwaris, and Agarwals came to be called the Marwaris.
• The most important trading communities in south India
  • The Chettis on the Coramandal coast
  • the Muslim merchants of Malabar
• Bengal – Exported sugar, rice as well as delicate muslin and silk.
• Gujarat – Was an entry point of foreign goods from where fine textiles and silk were taken to north India.
• The major imports into India were certain metals such as
  • tin and copper
  • warhorses and
  • luxury items such as ivory
• The import of gold and silver balanced of trade.
• In the seventeenth century, the growth of foreign trade resulted in the increased import of gold and silver.

Cultural Development under the Mughals

• The Mughal period witnessed a significant and widespread development in cultural activity.
• It was evident in the sphere of art and architecture, painting, music and literature.
• The Mughals brought Turko-Iranian culture into India and the Indian traditions were blended Turko-Iranian culture. 

Art and Architecture

• The Mughals were fond of laying gardens with running water. Some of the Mughal Gardens are:
  • Nishat Bagh in Kashmir
  • the Shalimar Bagh at Lahore
  • the Pinjore garden in Punjab
• During the reign of Sher Shah, the mausoleum at Sasaram in Bihar and the Purana Qila near Delhi were built.
• Large scale construction of buildings started with the dawn of Akbar
• He built many forts and the most famous one was the Agra Fort. It was built in red sandstone.
• His other forts are at Lahore and Allahabad.
• Shah Jahan built the famous Red Fort at Delhi with its Rang Mahal, Diwan-i-Am and Diwan-i-Khaswas
• Akbar also built a palace cum fort complex at Fatehpur Sikri (City of Victory).
• Many buildings in Gujarati and Bengali styles are also found in this complex.
• Gujarati style buildings were probably built for his Rajput wives.
• The most magnificent building in it is the Jama Masjid and the gateway to it called Buland Darwaza or the Lofty Gate.
• The height of the gateway is 176 feet. It was built to commemorate Akbar’s victory over Gujarat.
• Other important buildings at Fatehpur Sikri are Jodha Bai’s palace and Panch Mahal with five storeys.
• During Akbar’s reign, the Humayun’s tomb was built at Delhi and it had a massive dome of marble.
• It may be considered the precursor of the Taj Mahal.
• Akbar’s tomb at Sikandara near Agra was completed by Jahangir.
• Nur Jahan built the tomb of Itimaddaulah at Agra.
• It was constructed wholly of white marble with floral designs made of semi-precious stones on the walls. (Pietra dura)
• This method became more popular during the reign of Shah Jahan.
• Taj Mahal
  • The Pietra Dura method was used on a large scale in the Taj Mahal.
  • Taj Mahal is considered as the jewel of the builder’s art.
  • It contains all the architectural forms developed by the Mughals.
  • The chief glory of the Taj is the massive dome and the four slender minarets
  • The decorations are kept to the minimum.
• The Moti Masjid at Agra was built entirely in white marble. The Jama Masjid at Delhi was built in red stone.

Paintings and Music

• The foundation for the Mughal painting was laid by Humayun while staying in Persia.
• He brought with him two painters – Mir Sayyid Ali and Abdal Samad to India.
• Akbar commissioned the illustrations of several literary and religious texts.
• He invited a large number of painters from different parts of the country to his court.
• Both Hindus and Muslims joined in this work.
• Baswan, Miskina and Daswant attained great positions as Akabar’s court as artists.
• Illustrations of Persian versions of Mahabharata and Ramayana were produced in miniature form.
• Art Studio established by Akbar. Historical works such as Akbar Nama also remained the main themes of Mughal paintings
• Mughal paintings reached its climax during the reign of Jahangir.
• He employed a number of painters like Abul Hasan, Bishan Das, Madhu, Anant, Manohar, Govardhan and Ustad Mansur
• Music had also developed under the Mughals.
• Akbar patronized Tansen of Gwalior.
• Tansen composed many ragas.
• Jahangir and Shah Jahan were also fond of music.

Language and Literature

• Persian language became widespread in the Mughal Empire by the time of Akbar’s reign.
• Many historical works were written during this period.
• They include Ain-i-Akbari and Akabar Nama authored by Abul Fazl.
• The leading poet of that period was his brother Abul Faizi.
• The translation of Mahabharata into the Persian language was done under his supervision.
• Utbi and Naziri were the two other leading Persian poets
• Jahangir’s autobiography, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri was famous for its style
• He also patronized many scholars like Ghiyas Beg, Naqib Khan and Niamatullah
• Shah Jahan also patronized many writers and historians like Abdul Hamid Lahori, author of Padshah
• Nama and Inayat Khan who wrote Shah Jahan Nama.
• His son Dara Shikoh translated the Bhagavat Gita and Upanishads into the Persian language
• Regional languages such as Bengali, Oriya, Rajasthani and Gujarati had also developed during this period.
• Many devotional works including the Ramayana and Mahabharata were translated into regional languages.
• The most influential Hindi poet was Tulsidas, who wrote the Hindi version of the Ramayana, the Ramcharitmanas.