Jangli
Topic: Mughal Agrarian Society and Economy · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Peasants, Zamindars and the State"
Meaning
In Mughal times, "jangli" described forest people. It did not mean "uncivilised". It meant people who lived by gathering, hunting and shifting cultivation. Their work changed with the seasons, and they moved about a great deal. The Mughal state, however, saw the forest as a mawas, a hiding place for "troublemakers" who would not pay taxes.
Example
The Bhils of western and central India are a good example. They gathered forest produce in spring and fished in summer. They farmed in the monsoon and hunted in autumn and winter. Babur complained that jungles allowed people of a pargana (a local revenue unit) to become "stubbornly rebellious and pay no taxes".
Don't confuse with
- Modern "jangli": Today the word is an insult meaning wild or rude. In the Mughal period it described a way of making a living.