BHIC 133 Solved Guess Paper for History of India from c. 1206 to 1707, IGNOU Bachelor of Arts (BAG / BAM)

Arabic and Persian traditions of history writing, and Mughal chronicles

Question: Discuss the main features of the Arabic and Persian traditions of history writing. Write a note on the political chronicles under the Mughals.

Arabic and Persian historic traditions

The Arab tradition cherished democratic ideals and treated history as a biography of nations. (K.A. Nizami)

Arabic tradition

1. History of the 'age': It covered social, economic, cultural and religious life, not only kings. So it was more democratic.
2. Isnad (chain of narrators): Every event was checked through a chain of reliable narrators. Al-Baladuri's Futuh-ul Buldan is the classic example.
3. History with geography: Al-Masudi added his travels and geography. He used 'cause and effect' to explain events.
4. Court histories: From the eleventh century court writers began writing. Praise and rhetoric (showy language) came in, as in Al-Utbi's Tarikh-i Yamini.

Persian tradition

1. Dynastic histories: Persian works were histories of kings and nobles. Saints, scholars and common people were mostly left out.
2. Dedicated to rulers: Minhaj dedicated Tabaqat-i Nasiri to Nasiruddin Mahmud. Barani dedicated Tarikh-i Firuzshahi to Firuz Shah Tughlaq.

Political chronicles under the Mughals

1. Tarikh-i Alfi: Akbar ordered it to mark the Islamic millennium. It was begun in 1582 and completed in 1592.
2. Tabaqat-i Akbari: Written by Khwaja Nizamuddin Ahmad. It says Akbar's empire had 3200 qasbas and 120 cities.
3. Muntakhab-ut Tawarikh: Badauni wrote it secretly against Akbar's 'innovations'. It gives firsthand news of the Ibadatkhana debates.
4. Akbarnama and Ain-i Akbari: These are Abul Fazl's great works. The Ain is written like a gazetteer (a statistical record) in five books.
5. Padshahnama: Abdul Hamid Lahori wrote it. It covers the first twenty years of Shahjahan's reign.
6. Later works: Alamgirnama of Muhammad Kazim, Maasir-i Alamgiri of Saqi Mustaid Khan and Muntakhab-ul Lubab of Khafi Khan (1722) cover Aurangzeb's time.

Conclusion: In India the Persian tradition dominated. With Abul Fazl a real break came, because he added reason and rational analysis to history writing.

Working of the Mughal mansab system

Question: Discuss the working of the Mughal Mansab System. Explain the dual ranks of zat and sawar.

The word mansab means a place or position and therefore it means a rank in the mansab system under the Mughals.

Percival Spear calls the mansabdars 'an elite within elite'. Akbar gave mansabs to both military and civil officers. Abul Fazl says Akbar set up 66 grades, from 10 to 10,000 horsemen, but names only 33.

Mansab denoted three things

1. Status: It fixed the holder's place in the official hierarchy.
2. Pay: It fixed his salary.
3. Obligation: It made him keep a set number of horses, horsemen and equipment.

Dual ranks: zat and sawar

1. Zat: The first number fixed personal pay (talab-khassa) and rank. This change came most probably in 1595-96.
2. Sawar: The second number fixed the horses and horsemen to be kept.
3. Scholars' debate: Irvine thought it meant two contingents. Abdul Aziz rejected this. Athar Ali explained that zat gave rank and sawar gave troops.
4. Three classes of mansabdars: sawar equal to zat; sawar half or more of zat; sawar less than half of zat.

Reforms

1. Mashrut: A conditional rank. Sawar was raised for a short time in an emergency.
2. Do aspa sih aspa: Started under Jahangir; Mahabat Khan got it first. It raised troops without raising zat, so the state saved money.

Appointment, payment and checks

1. Appointment: The Mir Bakhshi presented candidates. Only the Emperor granted mansabs. There was no written test.
2. Dagh-o-chehra: Horses were branded (dagh) and each trooper's description (chehra) was recorded.
3. Payment and month-scales: Mansabdars were paid mostly through jagirs. If a jagir gave half its jama, it was called shashmaha.
4. Escheat (zabt): On a noble's death, the state took his property to recover unpaid loans. The rest went to the heirs.

Conclusion: The mansab system joined rank, pay and military duty in one system. 80% of the revenue resources went to only 1,571 mansabdars.

Land revenue system of the Delhi Sultans

Question: Discuss the land revenue system of the Delhi Sultans. Mention the agrarian measures of Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughlaq.

Land revenue and its extraction under the Delhi Sultans

The kharaj was essentially a share in the produce of the land and not a rent on the land.

1. 13th century: Kharaj was mostly a tribute. From mawas (rebel areas) it was taken by plundering raids.
2. Intermediaries: Khot, muqaddam and chaudhuri collected revenue. They enjoyed perquisites (haqq-i khoti). Moreland calls them intermediaries.
3. Other taxes: Every cultivator also paid house tax (ghari) and grazing tax (charai).

Agrarian measures of Alauddin Khalji

1. Half the produce: The demand was fixed at half the produce. It was the highest in India's agrarian history.
2. Measurement: Land was measured (masahat). Revenue was fixed on yield per biswa, called wafa-i biswa.
3. Same rate for all: Intermediaries and ordinary peasants (balahar) paid the same 50%. Their perquisites were stopped.
4. Checks on officials: Patwari's bahi (ledger) was checked. About 8 to 10 thousand corrupt officials were jailed.
5. Market control: Seven regulations fixed prices. Barani says the aim was to keep a large army on low salaries against the Mongols.

Agrarian measures of Muhammad Tughlaq

1. Heavy demand: New cesses (abwab) were added. Revenue was fixed on wafa-i farmani (decreed yields) and nirkh-i farmani (decreed prices).
2. Peasant revolt: Peasants fled, cultivation fell, and famine lasted from 1334-35 to 1342.
3. Agricultural policy: He gave sondhar loans. He set up diwan-i amir-i kohi to extend cultivation. Barani says these failed.

Firuz Tughlaq and after

1. Firuz Tughlaq: He abolished twenty three cesses, including charai and ghari. He took haqq-i sharb (irrigation tax) on canal water.
2. Estimated revenue: His jama was fixed at six kror and seventy-five lakh tankas. The task took six years.
3. Revenue farming: Under the Tughlaqs, collection of some areas was given to contractors.

Conclusion: Alauddin made revenue direct and heavy, Muhammad Tughlaq pushed it further and failed, and Firuz gave relief to the peasants.

Growth of Sufism in India and the sufi orders

Question: Discuss the growth of Sufism in India. Describe the main features of Sufism and the Suhrawardi, Chishti and Naqshbandi silsilahs.

Salient features of Sufism

Sufism or tasawwuf is the name for various mystical tendencies and movements in Islam.

1. Tariqa: The sufi path (tariqa) leads to direct union with divine reality (haqiqat).
2. Maqamat and hal: The novice passes through 'stations' (maqamat) and 'states' (hal).
3. Pir and murid: The path is walked under a spiritual guide (pir). The disciple (murid) practises zikr and self-control.
4. Sama: Musical recital to create a state of ecstasy. The ulama opposed it.
5. Silsilah and khanqah: Sufis were organised in orders (silsilah). The khanqah (hospice) was their centre.

Growth of Sufism in India

1. Early start: Al-Hujwiri (c. 1088) was the first great sufi in India. He wrote Kashf-ul Mahjub.
2. Spread: Sufi orders came after the Delhi Sultanate was set up. Refugees from the Mongols also came.
3. Wide reach: By the 14th century sufis worked from Multan to Bengal. There were two thousand khanqahs around Delhi.

Sufi orders

1. Suhrawardi silsilah: Founded in India by Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya at Multan. Suhrawardis accepted state patronage and built wealth.
2. Chishti silsilah: Brought by Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti, who settled in Ajmer about 1206. Baba Farid and Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya made it famous. They kept away from the court.
3. Naqshbandi silsilah: Brought by Khwaja Baqi Billah. It stressed the Shariat. Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi gave the doctrine of wahdat-ul shuhud and was called Mujaddid.

Causes of Chishti popularity

1. Indian practices: Practices like bowing to the master and musical recital matched Indian traditions.
2. Tolerance and Hindawi: They were tolerant and taught in Hindawi.
3. Equality: Their khanqahs were open to all, even sweepers.

Conclusion: Sufism grew fast in India through its khanqahs. The Chishtis became the most popular order because of their tolerance and equality.

Position of women during the medieval period

Question: Sketch an outline of the position of women during the medieval period. Mention some women who exercised political authority.

Women and gender during the Delhi Sultanate

The term 'harem' is of Arabic origin, meaning sanctuary and during the Sultanate period, the term signified the totality of the female inmates.

1. Relative freedom: Turkish women, with their nomadic traditions, had some freedom compared with many local communities.
2. Polygyny and concubines: Polygyny was common among nobles. Concubines had fewer rights; their sons could not claim the throne.
3. Female slavery: Ibn Battuta says it was common. Shah Turkan was bought as a slave but became Iltutmish's chief queen.
4. Social evils: Sati and jauhar were practised. Muhammad bin Tughlaq made royal consent necessary for sati.
5. Control on movement: Amir Khusrau and Isami told women to stay at home. Firuz Shah Tughlaq stopped women visiting shrines.

The Mughal harem and the position of women

1. Early Mughals: Senior women advised rulers and arranged marriages. Gulbadan's memoir shows this.
2. Akbar: The harem became an institution with guarded spaces. Abul Fazl called it shabistan-i khas.
3. Property and trade: Women held jagirs and property. Maryam-us Zamani owned the ship Rahimi. Jahanara built Chandni Chowk.

Women and political authority

1. Raziya Sultan (1236-40): First female Muslim ruler of South Asia. Minhaj called her the ablest successor of Iltutmish.
2. Nur Jahan: Jahangir gave her the right of sovereignty. Coins were struck in her name.
3. Chand Bibi: She was regent of Bijapur (1580-90) and defended Ahmadnagar against the Mughals.
4. Meerabai: She used bhakti to challenge limits of gender, caste and religion.

Conclusion: Medieval women faced purdah, sati and strict control, yet many used wealth, wisdom and courage to find a place in politics and society.