The Agrarian System of Moslem India: A Historical Essay with Appendices c19.14

c19.14

I think then that the statement that Murshid Qulī was a servile copyist of Todar Mal may fairly be described as legendary. Another legend, found in some early English writers, is that Todar Mal was himself a copyist, and that the Āīn-i Akbarī derives directly from Tīmūr’s *Institutes*. The original of this work is not known to be in existence, but a Persian version, said to have been made in the reign of Shāhjahān, was published in 1783, along with an English translation by Major Davy, under the editorship of Joseph White. Doubts have been thrown on the authenticity of this work. If it is a later forgery, the idea that Todar Mal copied from it is ruled out; but, assuming it to be genuine, a comparison of it with the Āīn negatives decisively the view of direct derivation. Naturally some of Tīmūr’s institutions, particularly in the military departments, survived into Akbar’s time, and consequently some resemblances in detail exist between the two works; but (1) the assessment-system, and (2) the practice in regard to Assignments, show material differences.