Storia do Mogor 213
Storia do Mogor (Irvine) 213
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213.1
STATEMENT OF REVENUES PREPARED FOR BAHADUR SHAH IN 1707, TAKEN FROM THE 'MUNTAKHAB-UT-TAWARIKH' OF JAG JIVAN DAS, GUJARATI (British Museum Additional MS., No. 26,253, fol. 51 et seq.). Hindustan, 15 Subahs ; Dakhin (including Bijapur and Gulkandah), 6 Subahs; Total, 21 Subahs. Subah. Standard Assessment in Dams (40=1 Rupee). Standard Assessment (reduced to Rupees). Full Assessment (in Rupees). Last Recorded Receipts (in Rupees). Manucci's Figures (in Rupees).
213.2
Hindustan : 1. Akbarabad ... 1,14,17,06,057 2,85,42,651 1,06,97,671 68,92,897 2,22,03,750 2. Shahjahanabad 1,22,29,50,658 3,05,73,766 94,04,030 63,49,110 1,25,50,000 3. Ajmer ... 65,33,45,702 1,63,33,642 1,06,97,371 68,92,895 2,19,02,000 4. Allahabad [Pan 12,00,000] ... 45,65,43,248 1,14,13,581 1,05,79,371 68,92,890 77,38,000 5. Audh 32,13,17,119 80,32,928 91,25,551 47,85,871 [Omitted] 6. Ahmadabad ... 45,47,44,135 1,13,68,603 89,61,806 71,84,685 2,33,95,000 7. Lahor (5 duabs and Kangrah Hills) ... 89,81,32,107 2,24,53,302 87,40,383 30,42,327 2,33,05,000 8. Kabul 11,10,39,354 27,75,983 47,40,221 30,42,337 32,07,250 9. Bahar 40,71,81,100 1,01,79,527 93,50,931 57,14,873 1,21,50,000 10. Tatthah 6,88,11,800 17,20,295 53,65,397 34,49,657 84,12,000 11. Malwah 40,39,80,658 1,00,99,516 84,72,291 48,13,283 2,99,06,250 12. Multan 22,43,49,893 56,08,747 51,69,389 24,75,649 50,25,000 13. Kashmir 22,99,11,300 57,47,782 29,62,593 24,80,389 35,05,000 14. Bengal 52,41,31,240 1,31,03,281 [Blank] 81,19,267 5,00,50,000 15. Udissah 14,28,11,000 35,70,275 11,57,821 [Blank] 57,07,500 Total 7,26,09,55,371 18,15,23,879 10,54,24,826 98,78,558 7,21,36,130 8,20,14,688 22,90,56,750
213.3
Dakhin : 16. Aurangabad ... 1,00,49,65,000 2,51,24,125 1,00,51,000 91,99,006 1,72,04,750 17. Barar 81,40,25,000 2,03,50,625 90,11,309 75,89,219 1,58,07,500 18. Khandesh 34,81,30,200 87,03,255 40,06,019 31,19,017 1,79,90,000 19. Zafarabad Bidar 37,29,74,307 93,24,357 [Blank] 42,42,932 72,00,000 20. Bijapur 2,35,55,00,000 5,88,87,500 [Blank] 5,89,87,501 5,00,00,000 21. Haidarabad ... 1,15,13,00,000 2,87,82,500 [Blank] 2,47,82,500 5,00,00,000 Total 6,04,68,94,507 15,11,72,362 2,30,68,328 9,69,94,357 10,79,20,175 15,82,02,250 Grand total 13,30,78,49,878 33,26,96,241 12,00,62,685 22,54,87,511 18,99,34,863 38,72,59,000 Totals, according to text of MS. : Hindustan... 7,25,26,91,767 18,13,17,294 — 8,20,14,688 — Dakhin 6,08,73,00,074 15,21,82,501 — 10,79,20,173 — Total 13,33,99,91,841 33,34,99,795 — 18,99,34,861 — Difference in excess in MS 3,21,41,963 8,03,554 — — —
213.4
This table brings into relief the great exaggeration of Manucci's figures, which are about £5,000,000 in excess of the assumed standard land revenue demand of seven years later than his time ; while the actual demand for that later year was £16,000,000, and the actual collections £19,000,000 to £21,000,000, less than his figures. It must also be remembered that his total does not include the province of Audh, of which the standard assessment in Jag Jivan Das's table is over 80 lakhs of rupees— say, £800,000. Of what value, then, can elaborate comparisons of the Mogul revenue with present-day taxation be worth when founded on such inflated statements ? had remitted it for Mahomedans, he has not failed all the same to take two and a half per cent, [from them]. He makes those whom he had exempted pay the rents and customs duty. He also draws large sums from the bathings which the Hindus perform at various points in the empire. There is also another source of revenue, the diamond mines in the kingdom of Gulkandah, over and above the largest and the best of the stones. Any which weigh above three-eighths of an ounce belong to the Crown. The seaports also yield him a large revenue; among them are those of Sindl, Bharoch, Surat, and Kambaya. Surat alone brings him in usually thirty lakhs, besides the eleven lakhs derived from the profit on new coin struck there.
213.5
In addition to all these items, he has the revenue from the whole coast of Choromandal, from Masulipatam (Machhlipatanam), from Narsapur, and of the whole coast from Pundy (Pundi), or from Ginzerly (Gingerli), as far as Ballasor (Baleshwar); also from all the ports on the river Ganges. Over and above all these items, he seizes everything left by his generals, officers, and other officials at their death, in spite of having declared that he makes no claim on the goods of defunct persons. Nevertheless, under the pretext that they are his officers and are in debt to the Crown, he lays hold of everything. If they leave widows, he gives them a trifle every year and some land to furnish a subsistence. He also causes the goods of merchants to be seized if they die without heirs. Again, added to all that, he receives very considerable presents from the Hindu princes, zamindars, and their servants. The rajahs, the generals of the army, and the commanders are made to contribute a certain sum, according to the number of Hindus in their service. Usually this is taken as a deduction from the pay disbursed to them. The king's sons even are not exempted, and Shah 'Alam, my prince, paid in my day eighty thousand rupees a year. These revenues amount to something near the same total as the revenue from grain, of which I gave the figures above.
213.6
It ought to be remembered that the whole of the merchandise which is exported from the Mogul kingdom comes [52] from four kinds of plants — that is to say, the shrub that produces the cotton from which a large quantity of cloth, coarse and fine, is made. These cotton goods are exported to Europe, Persia, Arabia, and other quarters of the world. The second is the plant which produces indigo. The third is the one from which comes opium, of which a large amount is used on the Java coast. The fourth is the mulberry-tree, on which their silk-worms are fed, and, as it may be said, that commodity (silk) is grown on those trees. For the export of all this merchandise, European and other traders bring much silver to India. They also carry away great quantities of diamonds and saltpetre. The traders also bring much gold from China, from Achin, situated on the coast of E. Su (?) — I mean upon the island of Sumatra. Also from the coast of Persia there came Venetians (a coin) and sequins (coins), in addition to some fruits and liqueurs, almost all of which are for the use of Europeans living in India.
213.7
Since I have given an account of how these kings and princes pay their soldiers and servants, I think it convenient to add something about the government of this vast empire. It is carried on through three principal officials. The first is the chief Wazir, who is first minister and principal counsellor. He it is who has charge of letting out the lands on rent, and collecting from them the income for the benefit of the Crown. He it is, also, who confers all offices, as well upon the nobles as upon subordinates. The second high official is the Diwan of the salaries. His duties are the receiving all the revenues of the empire, the realizing the property of deceased persons, whether nobles or poor men. It is also his duty to resume the property of those persons who are removed from the service ; he also carries out any alteration in offices or in allowances. The third great official is the Mir Saman. He has charge of the whole expenditure of the royal household in reference to both great and small things.
213.8
In addition to these three officials there are others. One is the Mir Bakhshi, who is in charge of all the cavalry of the empire ; there is another who is placed over all the infantry ; another, called the qazi, who decides cases in the last resort. In spite of having those powers, when he condemns anyone to death he cannot order execution without first reporting to the king three times. Joined with him are always two muftis, who act as judges in cases. If any woman objects to living with her husband and goes to lodge a plaint, he (the qazi) keeps her three days in his house ; and after that interval he pronounces judgment on the dispute between them just as he thinks best. No one can demand the reasons for his acts in that respect, whether his decision be a good or bad one.
213.9
As I was friends with the qazi 'Abd-ul-wahhab, who invited me frequently to his house, I will recount a judgment delivered by him in my presence. There was a woman who came to him requiring the condemnation of a young man then in custody for having slain her husband. The qazi in a mild tone counselled her to forgive, and if she would listen to him, he would advise her to marry the man, or else some other should she object to having the murderer. The woman consented to the proposal, the young man was released [52], and she married him. Seeing this easy way of proceeding, I took the liberty to say to the qazi that the sentence he had just pronounced was likely to be the cause of several murders; for there being many women who were not content with their husbands, they would procure their murder by the hand of their lover, in order to marry again at once with the latter. He admitted the force of what I said, but he made believe to laugh at it, and said it was a charity to secure a benefit to the young man and save his life. But if the woman had persisted in her complaint, he would have condemned him to death. All the same, from all that I could see, I believe that the qazi acted thus merely to keep the woman three days in his house; for, in spite of his age, I fancy that he was not a stranger to such matters, and the woman was very pretty.
213.10
As a proof of the absolute justice of the decisions that the qazi delivers, I will report a case which happened a month or so after the flight of his daughter from her home, carrying off all the best of his property, in the manner that I have related (II. 144). This qazi had a son, or, rather, a nephew, whom he greatly loved. This youth often heard cases and pronounced sentence in his uncle's place. The nephew, having learnt that a Hindu had a very lovely wife, caused her to be carried off, and detained her in his house. On learning this fact, the husband complained to the qazi and other officials, but without effect. All the qazi said was that he deserved death for having behaved to his wife in an illicit way, only to think of which was horrible. Although angered at such injustice; the Hindu concealed his vexation for some days. But one day, while the nephew was on his way to the court, the Hindu hid in the crowd surrounding his palanquin, and thrust his dagger (kattari) into his abdomen. Leaving it there, he instantly mingled again with the crowd and disappeared. When the bearers had lowered the palanquin, they opened it and found their master a corpse. There is still another subaltern official that they call the kotwal, who is a sort of lieutenant of police. It is his business to stop the distillation of arrack (spirits, 'arq), the eau-de-vie used in the Indies. He has to see that there are no public women in the town, nor anything else forbidden by the king.
213.11
He obtains information about all that goes on, so as to be able to send in his report. For this purpose there are throughout the Mogul Empire certain persons known as 'alarcor' (halāl-khor), a word which means 'men who live on what is well earned.' These men are under obligation to go twice a day to clean out every house, and they tell the kotwal all that goes on. On his part, the kotwal must render an account to the king of what he has heard has happened, whether it be by night or by day. He also has the duty of arresting thieves and criminals. He is subordinate to the qazi, and receives orders from him; and if anyone is robbed within the bounds of his jurisdiction, he is forced to make good what has been taken. It is also his business to collect the income from the town. Under his orders there is a considerable body of cavalry [53] and a great number of foot soldiers; for in every ward there is a horseman and twenty to thirty foot soldiers, who, in a sort of way, go the rounds. There is another official in charge of the grain supply, who informs the king daily of the price of everything sold. In all the mansions of the nobles, and of those holding important offices, there are wāqi'ah-navīs and khufiyah-navīs, who are under obligation to send word to the court of all that happens.
213.12
It seems to me now convenient to give a statement of the cavalry that the Mogul keeps in garrison in all the provinces of which I have spoken, of the merchandise to be found in them, in what latitude their capitals are situated, and other notable particulars.