Administrative System of the Marathas c27.s4.1

c27.s4.1

The Muhammadan theories of revenue had been enunciated by the Arab theologians long before the conquest of India, and the Hindu principles had been laid down by old law-givers like Manu centuries before the birth of the Prophet of Mecca. The growth of these two sets of Revenue theories without and within India had therefore been altogether independent of each other. Yet they sometimes happened to be so similar that their interaction on each other had the same effect as the union of two similar Mendalian gametes. This happened with regard to the principles governing the classification of land in particular. We have already seen how Kautilya and the author of the Shukranitisara recognised the distinction between dry and irrigated land and the method of irrigation as a determining factor in assessment. The Marathas variously classified their land according to fertility, the nature of the crops, and the method of irrigation. This principle of classification was recognised by Musulman theologians also.