A History of Agriculture in India v2.c74.s10.3

v2.c74.s10.3

To sum up, the condition of the peasantry, who provided the surplus for construction of magnificent forts, palaces, mosques and mausoleums, was wretched. The bulk of them were small men with limited resources. Their holdings were small and there is no evidence that they could accumulate capital to make improvements. They were scantily dressed and their tools were primitive. In a rare painting relating to the reign of Akbar, farmers are shown harvesting wheat, threshing it by trampling under the feet of bullocks and winnowing. They wear turbans and tie a piece of cloth around the waist to cover their nudity (Fig. 34). Though they are well-built, they look far from affluent. It was on the toil of such people that the economy of the Mughal empire rested.