The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c22.63

v4.c22.63

A distinctive feature of the orders issued by Aurangzīb's Ministry in 1668 was the stress laid on compliance with the principles and traditions of Islamic law. The same attitude had been adopted by Fīrūz Tughluq in the second half of the fourteenth century, but the general practice in India had been to treat the revenue administration as a secular matter, lying outside the province of ecclesiastical jurists. The practical effect of these orders was not, however, great. The fundamental features of the existing revenue system were, as has been said above, in accordance with the canons of Islamic law; and Aurangzīb's orders consist mainly of a digest of rulings on questions affecting individual peasants which might come before revenue officers for decision—questions relating to inheritance and transfer of holdings, and the like. Their interest at the present day lies in the formal recognition of the fact that a peasant had a claim to retain his holding, and transmit it to heirs, purchasers, or mortgagees, subject always to the primary condition that the revenue due from the holding was paid. The silence of these orders regarding ejectment is noteworthy, but can be explained by the fact that at this time the administration was not in a position to pick and choose the most efficient cultivators; the great need of the period was to keep peasants at work in sufficient numbers.