A History of Agriculture in India v2.c80.s4: First Record of Plague (1616)
A History of Agriculture in India v2.c80.s4
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First Record of Plague (1616)
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In March 1616 north India was ravaged by plague. Jahangir states, ‘In the tenth year of my reign, a dreadful plague (*waba*) broke out in many parts of Hindustan. It first appeared in the districts of the Punjab, and gradually came to Lahore. It destroyed the lives of a many Muhammadans and Hindus. It spread through Sirhind and the doab to Delhi and its dependent districts, and reduced them and the villages to a miserable condition. Now it has wholly subsided. It is said by old men, and it is also clear from the histories of former times, that this disease had never appeared before in this country.’⁴ This is the first mention of plague in the history of India. It spread to almost every locality in northern and western India and lasted for eight years. Another outbreak of this disease occurred in the Deccan in 1703 and 1704.
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⁴ Emperor Jahangir, *Waki'at-i-Jahangiri* in Elliot and Dowson, *The History of India...*, Vol. VI, p. 346
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FIG. 48. 1. A cock. Mughal, 17th century (Courtesy: Boston Museum). 2. Asil cock (Courtesy: Bharat Kala Bhavan, Benares); 3. Cassowary. Mughal, 17th century (Courtesy: Boston Museum; Artist, Mir Khore); 4. Falcon, by Ustad Mansur, c. 1619. Goloubew Collection
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(Courtesy: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.)
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FIG. 49. A zebra, by Mansur. Mughal, 17th century. (Courtesy: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)
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FIG. 50. A yak, painted probably by Mansur, the chief artist of Jahangir, who specialized in painting animals, birds and plants. Mughal, 17th century. (Courtesy: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)