Explore Akbar's administrative reforms during the Mughal era, focusing on his innovative land revenue systems like zabti and dahsala. Learn how these reforms shaped governance and economic policies in medieval India. Explore Akbar's military campaigns that brought Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Bengal under Mughal rule. Learn about the sieges of Chittor and Ranthambhor, conquests in Ahmedabad, and the Bengal campaign, shaping the early expansion of the Mughal Empire in India.

During the decade following the conquest of Gujarat, Akbar found time to look at the administrative problems of the empire.

• The system of administration elaborated by Sher Shah had fallen into confusion after the death of Islam Shah. Akbar had to start afresh.


• One of the most important problems facing Akbar was the system of land revenue administration.


• Sher Shah had instituted a system by which the cultivated area was measured and a crop rate (ray) was drawn up, fixing the dues of the peasant crop-wise based on the productivity of land.


• Akbar initially adopted Sher Shah’s system but faced challenges with delays and hardships to the peasantry due to centrally fixed prices.

• After returning from Gujarat (1573), Akbar paid personal attention to the land revenue system.


• Officials called kawris were appointed all over North India to collect revenue and verify information provided by qanungos.


• In 1580, Akbar instituted a new system called the dahsala.


• Under the dahsala system, the average produce of different crops and average prices over the last ten years were calculated.


• One-third of the average produce was fixed as the state share, stated in cash based on the average prices over the past ten years.


• This system took into account local productivity and prices, improving accuracy and reducing hardships on the peasantry.

• Several other systems of assessment were followed under Akbar.


• The batai or ghalla-baklishi system divided the produce between peasants and the state in fixed proportions, ensuring fairness but requiring honest oversight.


• Peasants were allowed to choose between zabti and batai systems under certain conditions, especially in case of crop failures.


• A third system, tiasaq, involved rough calculations based on past dues or estimation of current conditions.


• Land classification under these systems included polaj (cultivated every year), parati (fallow), bachar, and banjar, with varying revenue rates.


• Akbar encouraged improvement and extension of cultivation, providing loans (taccavi) to peasants and ensuring fair treatment of land rights between zamindars and peasants.

• The zabti system, associated with Raja Todar Mai, was a meticulous method of assessment and is sometimes referred to as Todar Mai’s bandobast.


• Under Akbar's reign, the land revenue system underwent refinements and adaptations based on local conditions, ensuring its effectiveness across different regions.


• The dahsala system, introduced as a further development of the zabti system, remained the basis of Mughal land revenue administration until the end of the seventeenth century.


• Akbar's reforms aimed not only at revenue collection but also at fostering agricultural growth, promoting local economy, and ensuring fair treatment of the peasantry.


• The administrative reforms under Akbar contributed significantly to the consolidation and expansion of the Mughal Empire, laying the groundwork for its prosperity and stability in subsequent decades.