Peasants and agricultural production

The essentials

Indo-Persian sources of the Mughal period used the terms raiyat (plural riaya), muzarian, kisan and asami for peasants. Seventeenth-century sources mention two kinds of peasants: khud-kashta, who were residents of the village in which they held land, and pahi-kashta, non-resident cultivators who cultivated land elsewhere on a contractual basis, sometimes by choice (better terms) and sometimes out of compulsion (famine or economic distress).

Land was abundant, labour was available and peasants were mobile, so agriculture could expand. The agricultural year had two main cropping seasons: kharif (autumn) and rabi (spring). Most places produced at least two crops a year; some, with good irrigation, produced three.

Key points

• Monsoons remained the backbone of agriculture, but artificial irrigation was also used. Babur described the Persian wheel used in parts of north India.
• The state helped in irrigation; for example, canals such as the Shah Nahr in Punjab were repaired and dug in Shah Jahan's reign.
• Peasants used the plough with an iron tip, seed drills pulled by oxen, and hoes for weeding.
• Jins-i kamil ("perfect crops"): cash crops such as cotton and sugarcane, which brought more revenue to the state. Oilseeds and lentils were also cash crops.
• New crops came from the New World and elsewhere: maize came via Africa and Spain, and vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes and chillies were introduced, along with fruits like pineapple and papaya.

Common mistakes

• Kharif is the autumn crop and rabi is the spring crop; do not reverse them.
• Pahi-kashta cultivators were not landless labourers; they cultivated land outside their own village.