English
The leading Mtinfabdars were either Provincial Governors or Generals in the Army, whilst other Muojabdars held Jagirs. These Man?abdara sometimes held Ma..?nb (or office) in one Province or §ubuh, and Jagir lands in another. (See Ain-i-Akbari, Vol I, pp. 241-242, Blochmnnn's trims.) 1 Revenue from land was called ghiraj. Jaiiayah was capitation tax levied from non-Moslem subjects in exchange for protection afforded, at the rate of *‘48 derhams for persons of condition, 24 derhams for those of the middle class, and 12 for the lowest class." Over and above the land-rovenno taxes on properties were called *‘ Tamgha." Imports on manufactures of respectable kinds were called Jihat, and the remainder Sair Jihat Sair in its original purport, meaut " walking," ‘moving/ or ‘unstable/ and so came to denote all unstabU sources of state revenue (barring land-revenue or Rhirai which was stable), such as customs, transit duties, market-tax. (Sec Vd n pp. 57 and 68 and p. 66, Ain-i-Akbari, for a list of Sair taxes abolished by 8 Jagirs were conferred on Maunders for military service, and on others they were conferred without requiring military service ruf withm the Tubnqat-i-Najiri as well a* in the Tunkh.i. F j rui! Sihl ?, !** ^ the Mughal p6riod , tho word -j t& , 'seldom meT^w ', is replaced by the word/a 3 ,r. In Akbar’s time, an officer called Diwan-i ag r or Superintendent of Jagirs was maintained. (See Ain, Vol. I, p. 261). ' 250 named Abdul Wabed and the Naqdi Contingent under the latter, by holding nt promises of rewards and increase in pay. These naqdi troops were old Imperial servants. From pride of their strength and from conBdence in their number, they did not truckle to the Nazim or Diwan of Dacca, and much less to others. From their conceit of being dexterous swordsmen, they fancied others no match for themselves. For their nonchalance and bravado they were widely known. These naqdi troops were incited to waylay the Khan when opportunity might offer, under the pretext of demand of pay, and to kill him. This wicked Contingent at the instigation of the Prince were on the look-out for an opportunity to kill the Khan. The Khan adopting precau¬ tionary measures, always carried in his retinue an escort of armed troops, and never failed to be on the alert whilst going to and from the Darbar. One day, however, early of a morning, he rode out unattended to wait on the Prince. On the way, a corps of naqdis, under pretext of demanding pay, raised a tumult, and crowded in round the Khan. The latter, displaying great nerve, faced them and drove them away. Ascertaining that the originator of this disturbance was the Prince, he in fury and rage proceeded to the latter. Discarding all official decorum, in an avenging mood, he placed his hand on his dagger, and sat knee to knee with the Prince, and added : “ This riot was due to your instigation, desist from this course, or else at this moment I will take your life and give mine.” The Prince saw no way of escape, and from fear of the Emperor’s resentment he trembled like the aspen. Summoning Abdul Wahed with his corps, the Prince publicly forbade him from creating tumult and disturbance, and set about soothing the Khan by display of courtesy and affability. The Khan, being freed from anxiety arising from the hostility of his enemies, proceeded to the Diwan-i-Am, demanded the account of naqdi troops, levied their pay from Zamlndars, and paying them off cashiered them. And he sent the Emperor an account of their meeting, embodying the same both in the I These naqdi troops appear to be a class of Ahadi troops who received their pay in cash from the Imperial treasury, and wer. reckoned immediate servants of the Emperor. They constituted an Imperial Contingent of troops maintained in Provincial capitals, and were thoroughly independent of t^ local authorities, and were thus dignified by their .ndependence. (See A,n jikbari, Vol. I, PP 249 and 231). 251 Court-Record as well as in tlie News-sheet. 1 He also submitted to the Emperor a Proceeding signed by the leaders of the riot, together with liis own Report. Fearing the ill-humour of the Prince, the Kfian resolved to keep himself aloof from the former, and to 6tay at a safe distance from him. After much deliberation and consultation, he fixed on the excellent site of Makhsuaabad, where news of all the four quarters of the Subah could be easily procurable, and which, like the pupil of the eye, was Bituate in the centre of the important plaoes of the Subah. It had on the north-west the chaklah of Akbarnagar (Rajmahal) and the passes of Sakrigali and Tilingadhi, the ‘ Key ’ to Bengal, on the south-west, Birbhum, Pachit and Bi^hanpur, the road to Jharkand, and the forests and hilly passes for the ingress and egress of free-boocers and armies from the Dakliiu and Hindustan, on the south-east, the chaklah of Bard wan, the road to Orissa, and Hughli and Hijli <ports for the arrival of ships of Christian and other traders), and the chakliilis of Jusur (Jessore) and BhGsnah, and on the east the chaklah of Jahanglr- nagar (Dacca), which then constituted the Viceregal Capital of this Subah, and to which pertained frontier outposts like those of Islamabad or Chittagong, and Silhat and Rangamati, and on the north, the ohaklahs of Gboraghat and Rangpur and Kuch Bchar. The above mentioned Khan, without taking permission from the Prince, migrated to Makhsusabad with the officers of Zamindars and Qanuugos and Revenue officials in charge of crown-lands, arid settled down there. But wbeu the news of the disturbance created by the naqdit reached the Emperor in the Dakhin through tho 1 The terms used are “Waqiah” nnd “ Sawanih.” The Mughal Emperors maintained a Special Iutelligonce Department. In overy Provincial capital nnd important centre, two special functionaries wore maintained by tho Mughal Emperors, one called “ Snwnnih-navie,” and the other " Waqiak- navis.” These were Imperial servants, quite independent of the local officials. The duties of both these functionaries were to dnily record and send news to the Emperor of all that transpired in local centres, and as they worked independently of one another, the report of intelligence eont by one checked that of the other. The “ Waqiah-navis ” was an official Court-Recorder, whilst the “ Sawanih-navis” was an official General Intolligence-givor. (Soo Ain-i-AJcbari, Vol. I, pp. 25S and 259.) The object in keeping np these functionaries wna that the Emperor at Delhi might “ be informed daily of all that transpired throughout bis Empire, and also that active servants might work without fear, and negligent and forgetful men be held In check'.’* 252 medium of News-letters and Conrt-records, and through the Report of Kar Talab Khan containing denunciation of the Prince, an Impe- rial edict couched iu threatening language was addressed to the 'Prince to the following effect: “ Kar Talab Khan is an officer of the Emperor; in case a hair-breadth injury, in person or property, happens to him, I will avenge myself on you, ray boy.” And peremptory orders were also passed by the Emperor to the effect that the Prince should quit Bengal and withdraw to Behar. Jieaving Snrbaland Khan * with Sultan Farukh-sir as his Deputy in Bengal, the Prince with Sultan Karimu-d-din, his household attendants and bodyguard ^et out from Jahangirnagar, and reach¬ ed Mungir (Monghyr). Finding there the elegant white and black marble edifices*. built by Shall Shujn to be in a dilapidated condi¬ tion, and seeing that a heavy ontlay would be needed to set them in order, he did not like to fix bis quarters there. And preferring the climate of Patna, which is on the bank of the river Ganges, the Prince fixed his quarters there. With the Emperor’s sanction, he improved that city, named it ‘Azimabad after himself, and built there a fort with a strong rampart. Kar Talab Khan, at Makhsu- subad, after the lapse of a year, prepared the Annual Abstract Accounts, and started for the Imperial Camp. 8 And preparing the Revenue-Assessment papers, the Revenue-Roll, the estate Ledgers, and the Cash-Account of Receipts and Disbursements of the Subah, be desired Darab Nai-ain, the Qanfingo of the Subah of Bengal, to sign them. Taking advantage of the system then in force that the Accounts relating to the financial and internal administration of the country wore not passed by the Imperial Central Diwan, unless they bore the signatures of Qanungos, that mischievous nud shortsighted fool refused to sign the papers, unless his demand for three laks of rupees on account of his fees as a Qanungo were satisfied. The Khan under stress of necessity promised to I Subsequently in 1709, this Snrbaland KhSn, whilst in temporary charge of Bengal, received a, bribe of Rs. 45,000 from the English merchants, and granted the..i freedom of trade in Bengal, Behar, and Orissa. (See Wilson’s Annnls , Vol. I, p. 183). a No trace of these rained white and black marble edifices was round by me at Mungir (Monghyr) when I was there in the years 1893, 1894, or •ubseqaently. . & Emperor Aurangzeb was at this time in the Dakbin busy warring ag , in st the Masai man Kingdoms of Golkondah, Ahmndnagor and Bijapnr, am 253 pay one Ink of rupees on liis return from tlio Emperor* but Darab Nurain would not accept this arrrangement, and withheld his signature. But Jlnarain QnnQngn, who was a Joint-Qanungo 1 with Darab Narnia, using foresight, signed the Accounts.