History · Ch 8 — Peasants, Zamindars and the State — Agrarian Society and the Mughal Empire
Inroads into forests
Inroads into forests
The Mughal state and settled society did not simply exist alongside forests — they actively pushed into them. This section examines the many ways external forces entered forested regions, reshaping the lives of the people who lived there.
The state's demand for elephants
The Mughal army needed elephants, and forests were the source. The state therefore levied peshkash (a form of tribute) from forest communities that often included a compulsory supply of elephants. This was a direct, material intrusion: the forest people had to capture and deliver these animals as part of their obligation to the empire.
The hunt as political theatre
Mughal political ideology gave the royal hunt a deeper meaning. It was not merely sport. Court historians recorded that regular hunting expeditions allowed the emperor to travel across his vast territories and personally hear the grievances of his subjects, rich and poor alike. The hunt thus symbolised the state's concern to connect with all its people.
Court painters frequently depicted these hunts. They used a deliberate artistic device: inserting a small scene somewhere in the painting that functioned as a symbol of a harmonious reign. For example, a painting of Shah Jahan hunting nilgais (from the Badshah Nama) carries this symbolic layer — the hunt is linked to the ideal of justice.
Clearing forests for agriculture: the Chandimangala evidence
A sixteenth-century Bengali poem, Chandimangala by Mukundaram Chakrabarti, gives a vivid account of forest clearance. The hero, Kalaketu, sets up a kingdom by clearing the forest. The poem describes outsiders arriving from various lands:
- From the north came the Das people — one hundred of them.
- From the south came five hundred harvesters under one organiser.
- From the west came Zafar Mian with twenty-two thousand men, carrying Sulaimani beads and chanting the names of their pir and paighambar (Prophet).
Kalaketu distributed heavy knives, axes, battle-axes, and pikes to these people. They cleared the forest and established markets. The poem's imagery is stark: "Hundreds and hundreds of foreigners ate and entered the forest. Hearing the sound of the axe, tigers became apprehensive and ran away, roaring."
The term "foreigners" here is used from the perspective of the original forest dwellers. The poem itself identifies the incoming settlers as outsiders.
Trade between hill tribes and the plains
Abu'l Fazl, in the Ain-i Akbari, describes the brisk trade between the hill tribes and the plains in the suba of Awadh (part of present-day Uttar Pradesh). Goods were carried on the backs of men, stout ponies, and goats.
| From the mountains (hill tribes) | From the plains (in exchange) |
|---|---|
| Gold, copper, lead, musk | White and coloured cloths |
| Yak tails (kutas cow) | Amber |
| Honey, chuk (boiled orange and lemon juice) | Salt |
| Pomegranate seed, ginger, long pepper | Asafoetida |
| Majith (red dye plant) root, borax | Ornaments |
| Zedoary (a root like turmeric), wax | Glass and earthenware |
| Woollen stuffs, wooden ware | |
| Hawks, falcons, black falcons, merlins (birds) |
This trade was largely through barter. The spread of commercial agriculture was a major external factor affecting forest dwellers. Forest products like honey, beeswax, and gum lac were in great demand. Gum lac, in particular, became a major item of overseas export from India in the seventeenth century. Elephants were also captured and sold. Some tribes, like the Lohanis in Punjab, were engaged in overland trade between India and Afghanistan, as well as in town-country trade within Punjab.
Social and political changes: from tribal chiefs to zamindars
Social factors also transformed forest life. Just as village communities had "big men," tribes had their chieftains. Many tribal chiefs became zamindars; some even became kings. To build and maintain power, they needed armies. They recruited people from their own lineage groups or demanded military service from their fraternity.
- Tribes in the Sind region had armies of 6,000 cavalry and 7,000 infantry. …
Source 3 — Clearance of forests for agricultural settlements. An excerpt from a sixteenth-century Bengali poem, the Chandimangala, composed by Mukundaram Chakrabarti. The hero, Kalaketu, sets up a kingdom by clearing forests:
Hearing the news, outsiders came from various lands. Kalaketu then bought and distributed among them heavy knives, axes, battle-axes and pikes. From the north came the Das (people), one hundred of them advanced … From the south came the harvesters, five hundred of them under one organiser. From the west came Zafar Mian, together with twenty-two thousand men … having cleared the forest they established markets. Hundreds and hundreds of foreigners ate and entered the forest. Hearing the sound of the axe, tigers became apprehensive and ran away, roaring. …
Source 4 — Trade between the hill tribes and the plains, c. 1595. How Abu'l Fazl describes the transactions between the hill tribes and the plains in the suba of Awadh:
From the northern mountains quantities of goods are carried on the backs of men, of stout ponies and of goats, such as gold, copper, lead, musk, tails of the kutas cow (the yak), honey, chuk … pomegranate seed, ginger, long pepper, majith (a plant producing a red dye) root, borax, zedoary … wax, woollen stuffs, wooden ware, hawks, falcons … and other articles. In exchange they carry back white and coloured cloths, amber, salt, asafoetida, ornaments, glass and earthen ware. …
The painting from the Badshah Nama shows Emperor Shah Jahan hunting nilgais (blue bulls). The scene is set in a forest clearing, with the emperor on horseback, bow drawn, aiming at a nilgai. Courtiers and attendants surround him, some on foot, others on horses. In the background, trees and undergrowth frame the action.
The key symbolic element is a small, harmonious scene inserted somewhere in the painting — often a peasant ploughing his field, a shepherd with his flock, or a village scene. This tiny detail is the painter’s device to connect the hunt with the idea of ideal justice. The message: the emperor’s hunt is not mere sport. It represents the state’s concern for all subjects, rich and poor. By travelling through forests and remote areas on hunting expeditions, the emperor could personally hear grievances and ensure justice. The peaceful village scene tucked into the painting signals that the emperor’s power brings order and prosperity even to the wildest places — the hunt tames the forest, just as just rule tames the realm. …
Figure 8.10 is a Mughal-era miniature painting that shows three figures in a forest clearing. On the left stands a peasant, identifiable by his simple clothes and a hoe or spade resting on his shoulder. On the right is a hunter, carrying a bow and accompanied by a dog. Both men face the centre of the composition, where a sufi singer (a pir or a follower of a sufi saint) sits cross-legged, perhaps playing a stringed instrument or singing. The setting is a wooded landscape — trees, undergrowth, and perhaps a stream or path — indicating that this encounter takes place on the edge of a forest or in a newly cleared settlement.
The painting does not show any grand architecture, courtly symbols, or royal figures. Instead, it focuses on a quiet, intimate moment: two ordinary men from different walks of life — one who works the land, one who hunts in the forest — pausing to listen to a spiritual singer. The sufi singer is the central figure, and his presence suggests that religious influence is entering the forest not through force or official decree, but through personal contact and shared listening.
What this image teaches is that the spread of Islam into forested and agricultural communities in Mughal India was often a slow, gradual process mediated by sufi saints (pirs). These saints did not arrive as conquerors or tax collectors. They travelled, preached, and sang, attracting followers among peasants clearing new fields and among forest-dwelling hunters and gatherers. The painting visually captures the moment of cultural encounter: the peasant and the hunter are not hostile or indifferent — they are attentive, drawn by the singer’s message. This aligns with the textbook’s point that sufi pirs played a major role in the “slow acceptance of Islam” in newly colonised places, especially where agriculture was expanding into forested zones. …