The Administrative System of the Moguls

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    The riches of India reside upon itsagricultural production. It was so big it sufficeto actively participate in foreign trading.

    This, together with the extraordinary taxcollecting system of the Moguls permittedthe maintenance of the Empyreal

    institutions.The already efficient Mogul system was

    improved during Akbars reign, who saw thetechnical problems of collection as a personalinterest.

    He departed from the idea that theconditions for the possibility of collectingproperly were picking the right people andbring peace conditions to the taxed regions.

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    One of the first measures taken was theexpropriation of many of the lands that Sher Shahad given to people in a sort of Indian feuds.

    He taxed the royalty and those who had beenbeneficiaries of thejagiras well. Except in Gujaratand Bengal.

    Once this situation clear, he maintained thejagiras the paying systemper exellance to his warriorsand nobles.

    He also calculated the income yearly in advance,thus making a budget.

    For this calculation to be precise, he realized he

    needed as mucho geo-economical information ofthe territories. The administration system of SherSha helped him in this matters.

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    The cadastre comprised a classification of the

    different types of soils, crops and harvests. This information helped him to establish a taxingestimation table that calculated the third part ofthe crop and its equivalent in local currency. Thiswas the amount to pay.

    This was evidently a very inaccurate method of

    calculation (compared to todays) but it was muchimproved in front of any other developed until thatday.

    To take the third part of the earnings obeyed, asmany f his decisions, to the words of the

    Arthasastra which considered that commoners hadto have only enough for their subsistence. This was seen as a blessing by the farmers and

    other sudras, because prior to that they were leftnot even that.

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    Akbar also abolished the local taxationand the jizya. That means 1) anypayment was only due to the centralcrown 2) no double or triple taxation.

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    Around 1580 there was a reshape of thedistricts inside the Empire.

    It was now divided in twelve subah orprovinces, each one of them in sarkarordistricts and these inparagan. All these

    gave shape to the diwan. Each constitutive fragment of the diwa had

    a head in charge whose duties were taxcollecting as well as to look after the peace

    and order of the territory under his power.The governor of the subah was as well in

    control of the armed forces.

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    There were 33 different degrees ofMansabdars

    and their salaries were directly proportional to theirrank. All of them had to be ready for war at the willof the Emperor.

    Their range of importance was determined by thenumber of riders they had under their command.

    If a person reached the amount of 10K riders, theywere considered princes and of royal blood.

    The lowest Mansabdarhad only 10 riders under hiscommand.

    The Mansabdars didnt have to be from a specialnationality or religion to have become one.

    Akbars attempts to arm their troops by handlingwith the Portuguese were always unsuccessful.

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    Akbars religious policy tends to be

    interpreted due to the importance thatevidently took in the developments ofthe relation between Muslims and

    Hindis in the 20th

    Century.Three questions have been placed on

    the table: hi religiosity, his pertainingto Islam and the meaning and

    motivation of his relation to the Hindis.

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    It has been determined that the turningpoint of Akbars attitude was his personalinterest in mysticism.

    This led him in first place to Persian

    Sufism and later on to Indian mysticism. When my heart was tired he wrote- from

    the weight of life, between dreaming andvigil a strage vision appeared to me whichgave my spirit great shelter. It was thedark night of his soul after which agolden dawn came.

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    He often declared that his life was dedicated to the

    seek of truth. Two institutions were created to leadAkbar to it: 1) Open religious discussions at Fathpur Sikri that

    invited Wiseman belonging to the Muslim, Hindi,Zoroastrian, Jainist and Christian faiths.

    2) The foundation of a new religion named: Din-i-Ilahi (divine faith). Which was a mixture of Sufismand Zoroastrism (including the cult to the Sun-God).

    The new religion oredered as well vegetarianism. He declared that the only reason why he didnt

    prohibited the consumption of meet was becausethis would have led many deserted regions tostarvation (just as Asoka declared).

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    The Din-i-Ilahi was not an open religion,

    but rather directed to a close circle of hischosen ones as the first step. But had thegoal to expand it to any men after thesolidification of the foundations of itscontent, aiming to end up with religious

    conflicts coming from a diversification ofcreeds.

    For him, as he declared as well, Islamrepresented not the highest state a man

    could achieve.This has led the orthodox Muslims to take

    him as an apostate.

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    The decree of 1579 was another reason for theMuslims to hate him: if there was a religion issue tobe addressed and the Ulama (Muslim Wisemen)couldnt agree between them or with otherWisemen from other religions, Akbar could leanhimself towards the one he cosidered better suitedfor the peoples interest.

    He ordered s well the sun calendar to be used andnot the moon one that was based on the Hegirah. He abolished the prerogatives of religious leaders. He permitted the reconstitution, reparing,

    reconstruction and construction of temples of any

    religion.

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    Allowed the public worship of any God.

    Abolished the pilgrimage tax.

    Thus, his tolerant attitude it had to donot only with his conceptions of life,

    but also with his excellentunderstanding of politics.

    No people has been organized and

    brought to control without religion.

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    Akbars decisions and policies provedto be so effective and popular that hisadministrative system remainedwithout bigger changes during the next

    hundred years and in the generalinsurrection of 1857 vs. the Britishpeople went to war In the name ofAkbar, who served as a symbol of

    unification.