Land Revenue System of Akbar: Zabti System, Kankut System

Agriculture was the backbone of India’s economy. The main source of the Mughal Empire’s economy was agriculture and the Land Revenue System. An essential part of the Mughal land revenue system was the method and amount of land revenue collected from farmers.

The foundation of the land revenue system during the Mughal period had been laid much earlier. No new methods of land revenue collection were observed during the reigns of Babur and Humayun. Babur and Humayun continued the same revenue system that was prevalent during the Delhi Sultanate period. Similar to the Sultanate period, they completely depended on the land’s production to collect the revenue without conducting any land surveys. During this period, if for any reason there is any loss in crop production or cultivation, the revenue will be waived.

According to the arrangement of Todar Mal, the revenue minister of Sher Shah Suri, there were three main land revenue systems in use: the Zabti system, Ghalla-Bakhshi system, and Nasaq system. However, during the Mughal era, from the time of Akbar, the land revenue system that was adopted through many changes and gained the most prominence was the zabti system.

You can also read about Iqta System in Delhi Sultanate.

Land Revenue System of Akbar

• During the time of Akbar, many methods were introduced to determine revenue to make it easier for farmers to pay. These were the Nasaq system, Kankut system, Ghalla-bakhshi system, Dahsala system, and Zabti System.
• It is known that before the implementation of Todar Mal’s arrangement, a revenue system known as “hast” and “budh” or “hastobadh” was also prevalent. In this method, royal officials would observe the actual amount of crops produced by inspecting the village, and based on that, revenue would be collected through an estimated calculation of what the actual crop might be.
• After assuming full charge of the administration in 1562, Akbar tried to reform the system. Asaf Khan, an Iranian, was appointed in the position of wazir for administrative reform. But nothing was gained, and he was removed from that position. However, Aitmad Khan, a trusted eunuch who had been appointed as diwan of the crown land (khalisa), affected reforms, which relieved Akbar of his immediate financial worries.
• After Aitmad Khan was appointed, he first separated Khalisa and Jagir lands. He included most of the fertile lands under Khalisa. However, this plan ultimately failed to collect revenue properly.
• In 1566, Akbar himself decided to introduce the ‘Ray system’ introduced by Sher Shah, also known as single-price crop list throughout India. Which is called ‘Dastur-ul-alam or Dastur.’ However, farmers faced a lot of loss and exploitation through this system.
• In 1567, he finally appointed Muzaffar Khan, Todar Mal, and Shah Mansur. He kept Qanungos in each area. Qanungos were asked to provide information on the area of cultivated or uncultivated land, produce from the land, and figures or statistics (taksimat) of land revenue.
• In the land revenue system of Akbar from 1567 to 1571, he appointed a total of ten Qanungos. He created a new Jama-i-raqmi (basis of assessment). He canceled Sher Shah Suri’s Ray system and kept different prices for crops in different areas of the kingdom based on crop production.
• Akbar divided agricultural lands into four categories according to their productivity by measuring land in the zabti system. These were polaj, parauti, chachar, and banjar.
  • Polaj: land where crops were grown year after year.
  • Parauti: when the land was left fallow for two years to increase soil fertility and then cultivated.
  • Chachar: when no cultivation was done on a land for three to four years.
  • Banjar: when no cultivation was done on land for more than five years, i.e., it remains fallow for a long time.
• In 1574, Akbar experimented with karoris. So that accurate information about agriculture could be known. In 1576, he gave responsibility to Karoris to include all fertile land from Lahore to Allahabad under khalisa. He was unable to prevent corruption, though. This approach didn’t work either.
• During this time, ‘gaz-i-ilahi’ was introduced instead of ‘gaz-i-sikandari.’ It was 41 digits, or about 33 inches, which is 14 percent more than the previous yardage.
• During Akbar’s time, Kharwar (basis of ass loads) was prevalent in Kashmir. In this case, half of the produced crop was fixed as revenue. In the case of Ajmer, it was one-seventh part of the total crop.
• Malikzada, in his written ‘Nigamama-i-munshi’ and Abul Fazl has considered the ghalla bakhshi (crop sharing) system to be more important.

Land Revenue System of Later Mughal Rulers

After Akbar, no significant changes were observed in the land revenue system during the reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan. At that time, Jahangir had handed over the khalisa (crown) lands to the jagirdars, which resulted in a severe financial crisis in the royal treasury. This crisis intensified when Shah Jahan transferred the responsibility of revenue collection to the jaradars (revenue farmers). During the time of Shah Jahan, one-third of the produce was collected as revenue.

Through Rasik Das Karori, Aurangzeb issued a farman stating that revenue would be lowered to half, one-third, or 2/5 in the event of natural disasters. After Rasik Das, Aurangzeb appointed Muhammad Hasim Karori and said that no concession would be given after the crop was cut. A concession was given only if the crop was destroyed.

To prevent the practice in Khalisa and Jagir lands Aurangzeb issued a hasb-ul-hukm in 1674–1675, stating that no peasant might be held responsible for any arrears accrued by others. Farmers were given taqavi loans for the convenience of cultivation. Abul Fazal writes, “The Amalguzar should assist the empty-handed peasants by advancing them loans.” The ijara system, which was common in some areas, was abolished by the Mughal emperors.

The rulers after Aurangzeb reintroduced the ijara system. According to this system, The right to collect revenue is given to the highest bidder. This system did not last long because, most of the time, the bidding was not related to the actual productivity of the land.

You can also Read about Mansabdari System: Akbar’s Strategic Reform in Mughal India.

Various Methods of Collecting Land Revenue during the Mughal Period

The Persian terms for land revenue during the Mughal era were mal and mal wajib. “Kharaj” was not a commonly used term. The two main methods of collecting land revenue were jama (tashkish) means assessment and hasil, which stands for actual collection.

Kharif and rabi crops were assessed separately under the Mughals. After the assessment is completed, a written document called patta, qaul, or qaulqarar is issued specifying the amount or rate of revenue demand.

The assessee was in return supposed to give qabuliyat (the acceptance) of the obligation imposed upon him, specifying when and how he would make the payment.

Ghalla: Bakhshi or Batai (Crop Sharing)

During the Mughal era, typically the government typically received one-third of the crops produced as revenue, which was determined by production. No survey was done in this system. In some areas, this system was called ‘batai’ or ‘bhaoli’ in Hindi. Bhaoli, khet batai, and lang batai were the three methods used in this system to collect revenue.

• First was the bhaoli, where the crops were harvested, stacked and divided by agreement in the presence of parties.
• The second type was khet batai, where the field was divided after sowing the seeds.
• The third type was lang batai, where the grain was piled and divided after harvest. This arrangement required a large number of intelligent inspectors; otherwise, fraud would have occurred.

Nasaq System

The Nasaq system was first prevalent in Bangladesh. There is disagreement among modern historians about the nature of this system. Moreland called it group assessment. R.P. Tripathi disagreed but was not sure of its exact nature. Irfan Habib considers its estimation based on previous assessments.

In the Nasaq system, farmers had several alternative ways to pay revenue. Farmers adopted two methods for paying revenue. One, based on the zabti or batai system, where revenue had to be paid according to the old assessment. And the second one is that a new assessment was created if the previous one was not preferred. In this way, annual measurements or appraisement could be avoided. Since the Nasaq system was built based on the Zabt system, gradually the Nasaq system remained prevalent in place of the Zabti.

You can also Read about Bengal Tenancy Act 1885: Background, Objectives, Limitations.

Kankut System or Danabandi System

The amended form of the Nasaq system is called the Kankut system. In this system, the standing crops were inspected first, and the land was measured by dropping a foot or rope. Then, looking at the production of a specific area, the revenue rate was determined.

If there was any doubt, the crops were cut and estimated in three lots; the good, the middling, and the inferior. Abul Fazil says, “Often, too, the land taken by appraisement gives a sufficiently accurate return.”

The word Kankut is derived from two words, Kan and Kut. Kan means grain, and kut means to estimate. Similarly, dana means grain, and bandi means fixing or determining something.

Zabti System or Dahsala System

Zabti system, or Dahsala system, was the most important system of the Mughal Empire. Zabti system was introduced by Akbar in 1579-80. After making many changes to this system, he applied it throughout his empire.

Revenue was calculated as one-third of the average production over a ten-year period. According to the Zabti system, there were four types of land; Polaj, Parauti, Chachar, and Banjar. This system was prevalent in areas like Gujarat, Bihar, Allahabad, Agra, Delhi, etc. The Zabti system was not applied to crash crops. According to this system, the land was directly settled with the farmer.

However, the same revenue policy was not adopted throughout the Mughal period. Where the Zabti system existed, one-third part was taken as revenue. In the regions where the Nasak, Kankut and Bhaoli systems were prevalent, accurate information is not available on how much revenue was collected. When revenue was collected in cash, almost one-third was taken away. In Kashmir and Ajmer, Half of the revenue was fixed. one-third part in Thatta, one-seventh part in the desert, one-half or two-fifths in central India, and one-fourth in the Deccan were taken from ordinary land, one-third from well-irrigated land, and one-fourth from high-quality crops.

Conclusion

Ultimately, it can be said that the land revenue system of the Mughal era had brought the Mughal rulers to the brink of economic crisis at that time. The Jagirdari crisis, the conflict among Mughal nobles, the Mansabdari crisis, the wide disparity between Jama and Hasil; all these crises were created around the land revenue systems. According to famous historian Satish Chandra, “The Mughal land revenue system resulted in an extreme Jagirdari crisis.”

Despite many flaws, it can be said that through this system, farmers were greatly encouraged in the field of agriculture. As much as possible, attempts were made to collect fair and reasonable revenue from the farmers. Since revenue was collected directly from farmers through land surveys, there was no role for intermediaries; as a result, farmers were less exploited. Even farmers could not be evicted from the land due to having patta and quabuliyat. From all aspects, it can be said that the benefits and drawbacks of the Mughal revenue system were equally noticeable.

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