English
(See Alamgirnamah, Mnasir-i-Alnmgiri, Ain-i-Akhan and the text). I As has been remarked before, Murshid Quli Khan was an able financier, aud prepared a perfect actual Revenue-Roll of Bengal, after carefully re- surveying hinds iu all the mahals in Bengal, and re-assessing them on the basis of increase in actual areas as ascertained by measurement, and of increase in the actual produce of the soil. He sent out for this purpose Amins (or Surveyors) together with Shiqdars (or Supervisors of revenue) to each village, under the immediate snpervision of honest, experienced and capable Collectors of Revenne or ‘Amils. He helped the poorer tenants with agricultural loans or advances ( taqav* or tuccavi ), and encouraged them to till their lands and improve agricultnre. Murshid Quli Khan was no believer in Permanent Settlements. He preferred the Ryotwan Settlemen system to the Forming system. Mamie Reverm. systems reoogn.se the so.l as State property and allot a portion of if profit or prodoco to the actual I,Her of the soil for his labour on it. “ A Bhiqdar meant nr, ‘ officer appointed to collect revenue from a certain division of land under the Mughal Government.” The constitution of the Snrveying party, their pay, their dut.es, w the process of mensureo.ont and testing in Moghul times, nre set forth ... Ai. i Akb a,;, Vol. II, p 45, which shews that the measurement of lands an 257 and Bisjianpur, being protected by dense forests, mountains and bills, did not personally appear before the Nawab, but deputed instead their agents to carry on transactions on their behalf, and through them used to pay in the usual tributes, presents, and gifts. In consideration of the fact that Asadullah, zamindar of Birbhum, was a pious and saintly person and had bestowed half of his property as Madad-i-mash grants on learned, pious aud saintly persons, and had fixed daily doles of charity for the poor and the indigent, the Khan refrained from molesting him. He directed his attention, however, to the chastisement of the zamindar of Bishanpur, whose items of expenditure were heavy, and whose collections of rents from mahals were low. The Rajahs of Tipra, Kuch Behar, and Assam called themselves chatar dhnri and ruling chiefs, and did not bead their heads in submission to the Emperor of Hindustan, and minted coins after their own names. On hearing, however, of the vigorous administration of the Khan, the Rajah of Assam presented to the Khan chairs and palkis of ivory, musk, musical instruments, feathers, fans of peacock feathers, etc., and offered his submission. Similarly the Rajah of Kuch BeJiar offered presents and tribute to the Khan. The.abovemcntioned Khan sent Khilats for them ; and this practice was observed year after year. The Khan, having intro¬ duced order in the Financial condition of the Mahals of Bengal, devoted his attention to the improvement of other administrative and internal affairs. His administration was so vigorous and successful that there was no foreign incursion nor internal distur¬ bance, and consequently the military expenditure was nearly abol¬ ished. He kept up only 2,000 cavalry and 4,000 infantry, and with These he governed the Province. Through Nazir Ahmad, who was a peon, he used to collect the revenue of Bengal. And the Kljan was so powerful a personality and his commands were so overawing, that his peons sufficed to keep peace in the country, and to overawe the refractory. And fear of his personality was so deeply impressed on the hearts of all, both the high and the low, that the courage of lion-hearted persons qnailed in Ins presence. The Khan did not allow petty zamindars access to his presence. And the mutsadis aud ‘amils and leading zamindars had not the heart to sit down the assessment of revenue were based on thoroughly scientific principles, quite analogous to the existing Settlement Pro^e^ure in India. 33 258 in his presence; on the contrary, they remained standing breath¬ less like statues. Hindu zamindars were forbidden to ride on palkis, but were permitted use of Jaicalahs. The mutasadis, in his presence, did not 1 ride on horseback ; whilst the Mansabdars attended at State functions in their military uniforms. In his presence one could not salute another;'and if anything opposed to etiquette occurred on the part of anyone, he was immediately censured. Every week he held court on^ two days to listen to complaints, and used to mete out justice to the complainants. Amongst his deeds of justice, it may be mentioned, that to avenge the wrong done to another, obeying the sacred Islamic law, he executed his own son. 2 In administration of justice, in ad¬ ministration of the political affairs of the country, and in main¬ tenance of the respect due to his Sovereign, he spared no one. And he reposed no confidence in the mutasadis , and used daily to inspect the collection and disbursement papers and the estate ledgers, and to sign them. At the close of each month, he used to seize all the agreements of Khalsah (crown lands) and Jagirs. Till the dues on account of those agreements were paid up into the Imperial Treasury, he caused mutasadis, ‘arails, zamin- dars, qanungos and other officers to remain in duress in the Diwan Khana of the Chihel Satin Palace. Setting collecting peons to realise the dues, he did not allow the defaulters leave for eatrng or driuking or for answering calls of nature, and posted spies over the peons, so that none of the latter, owing to temptations of bribe, might supply a drop of water to the thirsty defaulters. Week after week they had to pass without food and drink, and at the same time he had them suspended, head downwards, to triangles off the ground, and had their feet rubbed against stones, and had them whipped ; and in beating with sticks he shewed no quarter. And he converted 3 * S to the Muhammadan religion the amlahs of zamindars with their wives and children, who, in spite of being scourged with 1 In the text apparently, “dho” has been by mistake dropi>cd. 3 Murshid Quli Khan’s uprightness in administration of jastico (regard¬ less of all family ties of attachrc wit) is remarkable. But his severity in ill- treating and torturing defaulting zemindars throws a shade on his otherwise bright personality. S The only instances A forcible conversions of Hlndns in Bengal to 1 10 Islamic religion, as would appear from these pages, were on the part of two 259 sticks, failed to pay up tlie State revenue-collections that they had misappropriated. Amongst these, Andinarain, zaraindar of the Chaklah of Rajshahi, who was the descendant of a Hindustani, and who was both capable and efficient, held charge of the revenne- collections of the Khalsah (crown lands). With him were in league Ghulam Mohammad and Kalia Jamadar with two hundred troopers. Andinarain demurred to the payment of the demand, and prepared to fight. Murshid Quli Khan sent his officer, Muhammad Jan, with a force to chastise him. Close to Rajbari, 1 the contending forces approached each other, and a battle ensued. Ghulam Muhammad Jamadar was killed, whilst Andinarain from fear of Murshid Quli Khan’s anger slew himself, aud his zamindari was transferred to two Bengal zamindars on the northern side of the Ganges, named Ram-Jivan 8 and Kali Kunwar, who were punc¬ tual in payments of revenue. When that year came to a close, aud the new year commenced, in the month of Parwardi (corre¬ sponding to Asar) weighing the treasures 8 Murshid Quli remitted to the Emperor one kror and three iaks of rupees on account of the Imperial revenue, loading the same on two hundred waggons, non-Moslems, that is, by Hindus themselves who had embraced the Islamic religion, namely (1) by Jado alias King Jallal-nd-din, sou of Rajah Kans and (2) by Murshid Quli Khan, who was himself the son of a Brahmin. I fail to come across in Bengal history any instance of forcible conversion of Hindas in Bengal to the Islamic religion, on the part of any born Musnlman ruler or king. Proselytes and converts, under all systems of the world’s religions, are generally more zealous and bigoted than those born and brought up within their pale. The general insinuation, therefore, against Musal- mnn sovereigns and ralers of Bengal that they forcibly converted the Hindus to the Islamic religion, seems to be as unfounded ns nngeucrous. No doubt, the snperior moral influence of Musalman saints, like Nur Qutb Alim and others, naturally told on Hindu society (disorganised and demoralised by the caste-systems of the later days, aud shorn of the old Veduntio purity) and induced portions of its ranks to flock spontaneously to the Moslem creed, with its simpler doctrine of Monotheism. 1 Probably, Rajbari on the E.B. Railway, near the Goalundo station. * This Ram-Jivan, I believo was the founder of the present Natore Raj- honsc. I do not know of which family Kali Kunwar was the founder. 3 In the Ain-i-Akban (Vol. II, p. 49), it is explained under the term ‘ Fotadar’ or the ‘Treasurer,* that the term fota (not, potah) is applied in Arabic to cloths used as waist wrappers. A poddar meant ‘ a banker, a cash- keeper, or an officer in public establishments for weighing money or bulliou. 260 convoyed by six hundred cavalry and five hundred infantry. Over and above this amount, he remitted the profits derived from Jagirs, together with other fees.