Urban professional classes
Topic: Mughal Agrarian Society and Economy · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Through the Eyes of Travellers"
Meaning
These were groups in Mughal towns who earned a living from skilled work. They included physicians (hakim or vaid), teachers (pundit or mulla), lawyers (wakil), painters, architects, musicians and calligraphers. Some depended on the emperor's support. Many served other patrons, and others served ordinary people in busy bazaars. They show that Mughal towns were lively and varied.
Example
In 17th-century Mughal cities such as Agra and Delhi, a hakim might treat nobles at court, while another treated common people in the bazaar.
Don't confuse with
- Merchant bodies (mahajans): these were groups of traders, not professionals selling skills or services.
Related concepts
- Flow of silver into India
- Silver rupya
- Hundi
- Banjaras
- Mahajan
- Nagarsheth
- Urbanisation in Mughal India
- Manzil-abadi
- Sipah-abadi
- Mulk-abadi