Zamindars And Jagirdars in the Mughal Age

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This volume, sixth in the series, provides a critical appraisal of the two most important institutions of the Mughal agrarian set-up-Zamindars and the Jagirdars.

Prior to Professor Grover's writings on the said subject-which incidentally are being published for the first time-there was considerable confusion amongst the administrators and economic historians regarding the origin, meaning, and usage of the word 'Zamindari'. Through an extensive study of the original literature existing during that period on the subject matter, Professor Grover was able to break new ground in deciphering the exact manner in which the Zamindari and Jagir systems were used during the Mughal age.

This volume contains a detailed description of the position, types, rights and obligations of the Zamindars of various regions under the Mughal Empire. It also provides a critical analysis of how the Mughal Emperors transferred their right to the people of different socio- political backgrounds. Detailed information is contained herein about the Jagir system as it existed during the Mughal age, #including the administration of the Jagir, transfer of Jagir, fiscal rights and obligations of Jagirdars, checks on the authority of Jagirdars, and the impact of Jagirdari system on Mughal administration and peasantry.

Professor B.R. Grover, former Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research, with an academic and administrative career spanning more than 55 years, has left an indelible mark as one of India's most eminent and dedicated historians. He has left behind a massive wealth of historical research based on original Persian, Urdu, Ottoman Turkish, Punjabi and English sources. Known for doing intensive research in the archives and libraries of India, several European countries and the United States of America, Professor Grover had carved out a distinct position for himself as a moving encyclopaedia of source material on agrarian history of the Mughals, especially the land revenue administration.

Miss Amrita Grover, sister of late Professor B.R. Grover, is a distinguished historian in her own right. Upon obtaining her master's degree in History Honours with distinction and a Roll of Honour from Government College, Lahore, Punjab University, she initially taught at Inderprastha College and Miranda House for a few years and then joined the Indian Audit and Accounts Service. A graduate of National Defence College, New Delhi, Miss Grover retired as Accountant General and ex-officio Member, Audit Board. For more than two and a half decades now, she has devoted full time to historical studies and research in history. She has attended various national and international history conferences and has presented several research papers at international conferences held at Croatia, Montreal, Berlin, Sri Lanka, Moscow, Istanbul (Turkey), etc. She is well versed with Professor Grover's writings as they always discussed and exchanged their historical views with each other, even from their student days.

The present volume of the Collected Works of Professor B.R. Grover, pertaining to the Zamindars and Jagirdars, contributes significantly towards our understanding of the origin and interpretation of the Zamindari system as well as the Jagir system as they existed during the Mughal Age. Since the institution of Zamindari covered a wide range of landed interests and consisted of officials and non-officials of varying degrees and importance that was to be determined by their respective positions and ranks, it has been a difficult task for the administrators and economic historians to comprehend and interpret the origin, meaning, and usage of the term 'Zamindar" during the Mughal rule. Professor Grover was one of the few leading historians of the Mughal period who delved into the subject matter and attempted to decipher the exact manner in which the Zamindari and Jagir systems were used in the literature of the Mughul age.

It is certainly a great honour for me to write an Introduction for the second time to The Collected Works of Professor B.R. Grover. Professor Grover was my teacher and mentor and during my nearly four decades of academic association with him, I always found him to be a prolific and meticulous researcher. Neither subscribing to any particular school of thought nor to any ideology, he always appreciated the contributions made by his predecessors as well as contemporaries and rendered his own viewpoints based on contemporary and near contemporary original sources in Persian and other languages. He guided me to follow this approach as well.

Professor Grover invariably broke new ground by tapping original sources hitherto unknown as well as by reinterpreting the known ones. It is no wonder then that his writings have always been appreciated by scholars in India as well as abroad. His writings on Zamindars and Jagirdars are especially noteworthy as he clarified the origin, meaning and usage of the terms, among other things, that were quite confusing to the earlier historians. In fact, he was considered an expert in these areas. I am tempted to quote an incident that took place in 1969 at a Seminar where Professor Nurul Hasan Sahib read a paper on Zamindars and Professor Grover was one of the participants. Almost on every aspect of Zamindars, Professor Nurul Hasan would say, "Grover Sahib is sitting here, he knows much better them I do." This shows his passionate interest and expertise on the subject. Professor Grover indeed was an avid researcher on various aspects of the Zamindars, land rights and various types of land grants and wrote copiously on the said subjects, basing his conclusions after in- depth study of original Persian and other multilingual documents.

**Contents and Sample Pages**