A glimpse of Indian society in the memoirs of Mughal emperors Babur and Jahangir

Abstract

The Mughal princes of India and their kinsmen of Central Asia were not only great warriors and empire builders, but many of them also possessed refined literary tastes and had an innate ability to critically assess the developments in the various regions around them, whether political or otherwise. Be it of military or socio-cultural significance, the Indian Mughal princes not only patronized great scholars and literary figures, but were themselves authors of literary works and historical chronicles. Two of them, Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur—the founder and great-grandson of the Mughal Empire in India—and Nuruddin Muhammad Jahangir, the fourth Mughal ruler of India, did the extraordinary work of writing their own memoirs. Babur wrote it in his native language Chagatai Turkish, which is known as Tuzuk-i-Baburi, Wakiyat-i-Baburi or Babur Nama. The work was translated into Persian in 1589 – 90 CE by Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khana, one of his navaratnas or distinguished courtiers during the reign of Akbar, the third Mughal emperor, and has been used in studies. Indians trade and commerce, but neither the source of these precious metals is mentioned nor the types of goods and merchandise manufactured and traded in India at that time. But Babur showed keen interest in understanding the agricultural system and irrigation methods prevalent in India. To this he writes: “Autumn crops grow automatically with heavy rains; and the strange thing is that spring crops grow even when there is no rain. Trees and plants are irrigated in buckets or with water brought by wheel. They are irrigated continuously for two or three years, after which they do not require water.