The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c22.58

v4.c22.58

It does not appear that Murshid Qulī Khān’s achievements in the Deccan had any reaction on the revenue administration in the north. The system which prevailed there in the first few years of Aurangzīb’s reign can be studied in the general orders issued under his authority between 1665 and 1669, which describe the current practice, and indicate that it was then no novelty, but had prevailed long enough for the development of serious abuses. In certain, unspecified, tracts where the peasants were exceptionally poor, assessment was made by sharing, at rates varying from one-third to one-half the produce, the standard recognised throughout the orders; but as a rule the assessment was made annually in cash on the village as a unit. At the beginning of each year the assessor estimated the productivity of the village, having regard to recent experience and to the standard figures recognised in the department, apparently the figures for some particular year which had been selected as being normal or typical. Using these data, the assessor proposed to the headmen a lump sum to be paid for the year in the instalments usual in the locality. The headmen could refuse the proposed assessment, in which case the revenue was determined, either by sharing or by measurement, on the season's crops; but it must be borne in mind that these latter processes involved the intrusion into the village of a measuring, or estimating, party, the expense of which fell on the peasants, and which could be used effectively to punish recalcitrants, so that in practice the assessor was in a very strong position in his dealings with the headmen, and refusal of his proposals was probably rare. The best safeguard for the village lay in secrecy, so that the assessor should not be in a position to make an accurate estimate of its production. Various methods of concealing the facts appear in the later records as old-established practices; and it may reasonably be said that the well-known reluctance of the northern peasants to disclose their affairs to revenue officials has its roots in the system of village assessments.