Evaluation of the Mughal period farmers and Agriculture system

Abstract

This research paper is based on the agricultural system of medieval India and the socio-economic condition of the peasant class. In this study, the various meanings of the word 'farmer', their classification, land ownership, labour system and distribution of agricultural produce have been analysed in detail. The research mentions that in the medieval period, the farmer was not only an agricultural producer, but he was also an active participant in the society and state system. Farmers were divided into three major classes - Khud-Kasht, Pahi-Kasht and Mujariyan. Khud-Kasht farmers used to cultivate their own land and had the right to inherit and sell the land. Pahi-Kasht farmers used to cultivate on other's land on wages or sharecropping, while Mujariyan farmers used to do partnership-based agriculture with limited land. The condition of the workers was also complex. They were not only engaged in agricultural labour, but also faced landlordism, caste divisions and social exploitation. Due to the social structure, the lower castes used to do more labour in the fields, but they did not get land ownership. Agricultural technology, irrigation and crop diversification increased production, but this did not bring any significant change in the social status of the farmer. It can be said that the agricultural system was elaborate and classified in the medieval period, but social inequalities were much deeper than that.