Home Journal List Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan Volume 52 Article Details

Working Classes in Mughal India (1556-1605 A.D.)

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.

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