Abstract
India has always been considered a feudal society based on
"Asiatic Model" as observed by Karl Marx in his letters of Tribune. So,
the existence of feudal classes made the whole infrastructure of Indian
economy. The other professional groups who generated their income on
the basis of their skills are hardly mentioned in broader framework of
Mughal Indian economy, although contemporary sources indicate the
presence of agricultural and non-agricultural classes in Mughal India.
Even the merchant classes have their link with the world commerce. In
the theory of kingship these skilled-workers attached with royal
palaces, imperial household, petty officials of the state, construction of
the buildings, crafts, transportation and people belonging to other
professions. This paper analyses the existence of various groups of skill
- workers and their wages in the time of Mughal king Akbar
(1556-1605). The assumption of stagnant social structure in India
controlled by "Asiatic Despotism" tends to minimize through this study 1
. It also indicates that consolidation of Akbar period provided
opportunities for working classes to get a sustainable share or wages in
his period. The production relations of Akbar's India although not
turned into capitalist relations but it created possibilities to take an
optimistic view of social change.
