Dahsala system

Also called: Ain-i-Dahsala · Topic: Mughal Agrarian Society and Economy · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The Dahsala system (also called Ain-i-Dahsala) was Akbar's method of fixing land revenue in cash. Most textbooks date it to c. 1580. Under it, each crop got a fixed cash rate per bigha (a unit of land), worked out from the average yields and prices of the previous ten years. The state's share was about one-third of the average produce, turned into a cash value [2].

It matters because it was the most advanced form of zabt, the Mughal cash-assessment system linked to Todar Mal. It also shows how far, and how weakly, the Mughal state could reach into the village.

Explanation

Background: why a new system was needed

• Land revenue was the economic mainstay of the Mughal Empire. The state ran mainly on what it took from farming.
• Older methods were share-of-crop methods. The state took a part of the actual harvest:
• kankut: from kan (grain) + kut (estimate). Officials guessed the grain yield. In doubtful cases the crop was cut into three lots: good, middling and inferior.
• batai / bhaoli: the crop was reaped and stacked, then divided in front of all the parties.
• khet-batai: the fields themselves were divided after sowing.

• lang batai: the grain was cut and heaped, then divided.

• These methods needed officials in the field at every harvest. The amount also changed from year to year.

• Akbar wanted a regular cash income for the state. His decree told the amil-guzar (revenue collector) to prefer cash, but to let the peasant pay in kind (in grain) if they chose.

Main features: how the rate was fixed

• Survey first. Todar Mal surveyed crop yields, prices and area cultivated over ten years [2].

• "Dahsala" means "ten years" (dah = ten, sala = years).

• Measurement. Land was measured in bighas. Crops were classified and priced [2].

• Classes of land. The Ain sorts land by how often it was farmed:
• polaj: farmed every year, never left fallow (resting).
• parauti: left fallow for a short time so the soil could recover.
• chachar: fallow for 3–4 years.
• banjar: not farmed for 5 years or more.

• Only polaj and parauti were further graded good, middling and bad.

• The state's share. One-third of the medium (average) produce was the royal dues. This share was turned into a fixed cash rate [2].

• Result: for each crop, the peasant knew in advance how much cash they owed per bigha.

How it worked: officials and records

• The system was run from the daftar, the office of the diwan (finance minister).
• It worked in two steps:
• Step 1: collect details of the land and what it produced.

• Step 2: first assess the revenue, then collect it.

• Two key words:

• jama: revenue assessed, the amount fixed on paper.

• hasil: revenue actually collected.

• amil-guzar: collected the revenue.

• amin: made sure imperial rules were actually followed in the provinces.
• Forests were not measured. The survey covered only cultivated and cultivable land. The province-by-province totals are given in the Ain.

Results and limits

• It worked best in north India, where officials could measure land and keep careful accounts [2].
• It did not work in provinces such as Gujarat and Bengal [2]. Share-of-crop methods continued there.

• So the different methods existed side by side. The state used whichever one local conditions allowed.

• It pushed peasants towards the market.

• Peasants had to sell grain to get coins.

• This linked villages to markets and spread the use of money.

• The paper claim was bigger than the real collection.

• The state set its claim as high as it could on paper.

• Local conditions limited how much it could actually take. This is the jama–hasil gap.

• Later, Aurangzeb's order of 1665 asked for cultivation records village by village and peasant by peasant (asamiwar).

• It aimed to balance kifayat (careful state finance) with the welfare of the peasant.

Time, place and evidence

• Period: reign of Akbar, late 16th century. Most textbooks date the Dahsala to c. 1580.
• Key person: Todar Mal, Akbar's finance minister. He carried out the crop-yield and price surveys and a systematic land survey [2].
• Place: the central, measured provinces of north India. It was not used in Gujarat and Bengal [2].
• Wider setting: Akbar's empire was divided into twelve subahs (provinces). The diwan handled finance. Revenue paid the mansabdars (officers with ranks). Most were paid through jagirs (the right to collect revenue from an area, not to own the land). These jagirs were transferred from time to time. A few officers were paid in cash; they were called naqdi.
• Main source: the Ain-i-Akbari by Abul Fazl. It is the third volume of the Akbarnama. It records the methods of land survey and the duties of Todar Mal [1][3].
• Later record: Aurangzeb's 1665 order on asamiwar (peasant-wise) records shows the system continued to change.

Don't confuse with

• Kankut / batai: these are share-of-crop methods, in which the state took part of the actual harvest. Dahsala/zabt was a fixed cash rate per bigha, set in advance.
• A "ten-year settlement": Dahsala did not fix revenue for ten years. It used the average of the past ten years to set the rate.
• Jama vs hasil: jama is the revenue assessed on paper; hasil is the revenue actually collected. MCQs often swap the two.
• Permanent Settlement (1793): a British system in Bengal that fixed the revenue forever with zamindars (landholders). Dahsala fixed crop-wise cash rates per bigha for the peasant's land under the Mughals.

Prelims Hooks

• Dahsala / zabt rested on a ten-year survey of yields, prices and cultivated area by Todar Mal. It was not workable in Gujarat and Bengal [2].
• State's share = one-third of the average (medium) produce, turned into a cash rate per bigha [2].
• Akbar's land classes: polaj (never fallow) → parauti (short fallow) → chachar (3–4 years) → banjar (5+ years). Only polaj and parauti had good/middling/bad grades.
• Ain-i-Akbari = Abul Fazl, the third volume of the Akbarnama. It records land survey methods and Todar Mal's duties [1][3].
• amil-guzar = revenue collector, told by Akbar to prefer cash but allow kind. amin = enforced imperial rules in the provinces.
• Trap: forests were not measured in the Mughal land survey.

Mains Points

• Strong on paper, negotiated on the ground. Dahsala gave the Mughal state a detailed, measured, cash-based claim. But the jama–hasil gap, and its failure in Gujarat and Bengal [2], show that the state's power depended on local conditions and local intermediaries.
• The method depended on what officials could manage, not on a single plan. Zabt needed land surveys and good accounts, so it took hold in north India. Share-of-crop methods (kankut, batai) survived where measuring was not possible. The rules were uniform, but practice varied from region to region.
• Cash revenue tied the village to the market.
• Peasants had to sell grain to pay in coin.
• This helped monetisation (wider use of money) and rural markets.
• It also tied the peasant more closely to price changes, and recurrent famines cut further into the peasant's share.

Related concepts

• Mughal land revenue system
• Jama
• Hasil
• Amalguzar
• Kankut
• Batai
• Khet-batai
• Lang batai
• Classification of lands under Akbar
• Polaj

Read more

• The land revenue system