235Notes: (1) Ganda Singh (ed.), Early European Accounts of the Sikh, Calcutta, 1962, p. 31.
(2) Akhbarat, FS, 6th R. Y., I, p. 287.
(3) Ibid., 6th R. Y., II, p. 50.
(4) For details of the Sikh sects and their differences see George Foster, A Journey from Bengal to England, London, 1798, I, p. 310, Macauliffe, The Sikh Religion, II, pp. 115–16.
(5) Tabsira, f. 61b.
(6) Ibid., f. 82a.
(7) Sohanlal Suri, Umdat-ut-Tawarikh, Vol. I, p. 108; J. S. Grewal, From Guru Nanak to Ranjit Singh, pp. 97–8; Gurtej Singh, ‘Bhai Mani Singh in Historical Perspective’, Proceedings of the Panjab History Conference, Patiala, 1968, pp. 120–7.
(8) Gian Singh, Shamsher Khalsa (Vol. II of his history, Tawarikh-i Khalsa) Sialkot, 1893, pp. 45–6 and 120–1. See also H.R. Gupta, Evolution of the Sikh Confederacies (Vol II of his History of the Sikhs), second revised ed., Delhi, 1978, pp. 46–50.
(9) Sohan Lal Suri, Umdat-ut-Tawarikh, p. 109.
(10) Ganda Singh (ed.), Early European Accounts, p. 32.
(11) Henry T. Prinsep, The Origins of the Sick Power in the Punjab, Calcutta, 1834, (reprint, 1970), p. 3.
(12) Ganda Singh (ed.), Early European Accounts, pp. 33–4.
(13) Of these six belonged to the Budha Dal, namely, (1) The Ahluwalia Misl under the leadership of Jassa Singh who also held the chief command of the Dal Khalsa, (2) The Dallewal Misl under Gulab Singh of village Dallewal near Dera Baba Nanak on the Ravi, (3) The Faizullahpuria or Singhpuria Misl under Nawab Kapur Singh of village Faizullahpur, (4) The Karorasinghia Misl under Karora Singh of Panjgarh, (5) The Nishanwala Misl under Dasaunda Singh, the standard bearer of Dal Khalsa, (6) The Shahidi Misl or Dip Singh’s unit. The remaining five belonged to the Tarun Dal, namely, (1) The Kanhiya Misl under Jai Singh Kanhiya of village Kanha near Lahore, (2) The Bhangi Misl under Hari Singh, (3) The Nakai Misl under Hira Singh of village Baharwal in Chunian near Lahore, (4) The
Page 20 of 26
236The Punjab after 1715, the Zamindars and the Problems Facing the Provincial
Government
Ramgarhiya Misl or the unit of Nand Singh Sanghania, (5) The Sukarchakia Misl under Nodh Singh of village Sukarchak in Gujranwala. Cf. H. R. Gupta, History of the Sikhs, Vol. IV, The Rise and Fall of the Sikh Misls, Delhi, 1980, pp. 91–2.
(14) Henry T. Prinsep, Origins of the Sick Power, p. 3.
(15) Cf. Chetan Singh, ‘Socio-Economic Conditions of Punjab during the Seventeenth Century’.
(16) For the jama figures of some years of the 17th and 18th centuries see, N. A. Siddiqi, Land Revenue Administration, Appendix E, p. 167.
(17) Compare Sujan Rai Bhandari, Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh, pp. 67, 60–1 and 79.
(18) Asrar-i Samadi, p. 5.
(19) Akhbarat, FS, 4th R. Y., I, pp. 97, 141–2 and 158.
(20) L. Lockhart, Nadir Shah, London, 1938, pp. 35–45; Roger Savory, Iran under the Safavids, Cambridge, 1980, pp. 226–54.
(21) I.O. 4488.
(21a) Chetan Singh discusses the process in Chapter 7 of his ‘Socio-Economic Conditions of Panjab during the Seventeenth Century’.
(22) J. S. Grewal (ed. and tr.), In the By-Lanes of History, Introduction, p. 18.
(23) Cf. C. A. Bayly, Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars, p. 202.
(24) Akhbarat, FS, 5th R. Y., II, p. 305.
(25) Ibid., 6th R. Y., I, pp. 165–6.
(26) Some time in 1717, the Salharias seem to have been contained, some of them reportedly having been captured and put into prison by the amil of the pargana. The Salharias offered to pay Rs 5,000 for their release, but since the Salharias still did not refrain from plundering the other khalisa mahals, the amil refused to release these prisoners. Ibid., 6th R. Y., II, pp. 201–2.
(27) Ibid., 5th R. Y., II, pp. 29–30. Fathabad was a town next to Govindwal towards the west after the Beas on the route. Fathabad was made centre of a new pargana of the same name in the seventeenth century. The armed strength of the zamindars of Haibatpur Patti, etc., may not he taken to suggest that the invaders belonged to the higher echelons of zamindars. For, 500 sawars and piyadas under the joint command of a number of zamindars was by no means a big army. The incident, may in fact suggest the possibility of a rift even between various categories of village-level petty zamindars.
Page 21 of 26
237The Punjab after 1715, the Zamindars and the Problems Facing the Provincial
Government
(28) Ibid., 6th–8th R. YS., p. 131 (29 September 1718). We are unable to identify these villages. But it may be noted that the Khokhars in Bari Doab were mostly in control of the parganas on the route connecting Lahore with Kangra. In Rachna Doab they were the dominant zamindars in Eminabad while in Chanhat they controlled Hario and Lohar, Cf. Ain, II (Jarrett), pp. 320–8.
(29) Tabsira, f. 63b.
(30) In 1721, for instance, zamindars of all denominations in pargana Palibaith collected at a fortress at Narok which had lately been a stronghold of the rebels of the pargana. The faujdar of the pargana led an expedition against the rebels and laid seige to the fortress. But the zamindars could not be contained. They managed to flee from the fortress, despite a strong reinforcement under the command of Sher Afgan, the governor designate of Multan. Shivdas, f. 67a.
(31) M. U., II, p. 106; Badai, f. 58a.
(32) Compare Kamwar, f. 376b, entry 4 January 1721, for an arzdasht of the Kumaon chief to Muhammad Shah along with 100 muhrs, 5 horses, 2 katars, 7 swords and a few hill birds. For the Kangra chief we have no direct evidence. But the fact that Khalilullah Khan, the faujdar and qiladar of Kangra, had a peaceful tenure till his death in 1730, (T. Muhammadi, p. 75) presumably suggests the absence of any major disruption of conventionally accepted relations with him.
(33) Akhbarat, FS, 6th R. Y., I, pp. 273–4.
(34) Tabsira, f. 63b.
(35) On 5 June 1716 Anand Dev, the chief of Jammu who had half of Jammu in his zamindari was reported to have revolted against the Mughals. Subsequently, on 20 June 1716, in an encounter with Ikhlas Khan, Anand Dev was defeated and dispossessed of his zamindari which was then awarded to Dhrub Dev, the chief of pargana Jasrota, on the condition of the annual payment of Rs 86,000. Within a few years, however, the arrangement with Dhrub Dev got disrupted. In the meanwhile, Anand Dev had patched up his differences with Dhrub Dev and staged a joint resistance against the Mughals. Ibid., 5th R.Y., II, pp. 186 and 215.
(36) Asrar-i Samadi, pp. 45, 48 and 53; Warid, pp. 289–90.
(37) Mirat-ul-Haqaiq., f. 432b; Miscellaneous Administrative Series, V (Sitamau Collection), pp. 75–6. Later, in the time of Ranjit Dev, however, on the recommendation of Raja Jai Singh Sawai, the pargana seems to have been restored to the chief of Jammu.
(38) Compare Tazkira Mukhlis, p. 270.
Page 22 of 26
238The Punjab after 1715, the Zamindars and the Problems Facing the Provincial
Government
(39) Akhbarat, FS, 5th R. Y., I, p. 31.
(40) Ibid., 5th R. Y., p. 127.
(41) See footnote 35 above.
(42) See Chapter 2, Section II.
(43) On 17 November 1711, for example the entire revenue of the jagir of Umar Khan Khweshgi was reported to have been acquired by the faujdar of the mahal. Akhbarat, BS, 5th R. Y., II, p. 440.
(44) Ibid., 5th R. Y., I, p. 4 (11 January 1711) reports misappropriation of the revenue of the jagirs of Qilich Muhammad Khan by the amils.
(45) On 9 November 1708, for example, some Ram Chand was appointed the mushrif of the dagh-o-tashiha white in an another instance on 4 March 1709 one Abu Said Khan was made the darogha of dagh-a-tashiha of the province of Lahore.
(46) Qurban Beg Khan gurzbardar, for instance, was sent towards Lahore to make the bandobast of jagirs. Ibid., 5th R. Y., p. 225.
(47) Thus in November 1708, Mahabat Khan, who had held pargana Phillaur in Beth Jalandhar in his jagir was appointed the faujdar of the pargana as well. Ibid., 3rd R. Y., p. 212.
(48) Ibid., p. 212 (10 November 1708) reports the revenue of the territory of the zamindar of Kangra as having been given in jagir to Mun‘im Khan and his sons.
(49) T. Shah Alam, p. 46. Mun‘im Khan raised a strong fortress and established thanas near the tank of Krukhet (Kurukshetra) in pargana Thanesar. Subsequently, the Mughal authority, as the author of the Tarikh-i-Shah Alam states, was restored in Thanesar and the adjoining parganas up to the bank of the Sutlej.
(50) Akhbarat BS, 5th R. Y., p. 284.
(51) Ibid., 5th and 6th R. YS., II, p. 427.
(52) Cf. Shivdas, f. 3a, Mubarak, f. 77a; M. M., ff. 105b and 113b–114a; Qasim, f. 76a Akhbarat BS, 6th R. Y., p. 582.
(53) Akhbarat FS, 3rd R. Y., I, p. 166 (14 June 1714).
(54) Ibid., 3rd R. Y., II, pp. 40–1 (9 September 1714). Ghazi-ud-Din Ahmad Beg Ghalib Jang, a foster-brother of Jahandar Shah, was in charge of the sarkar of the prince. When Jahandar replaced him by one of his other foster-brothers, Ali
Page 23 of 26
239The Punjab after 1715, the Zamindars and the Problems Facing the Provincial
Government
Murad (Khan Jahan Kokaltash), Ahmad Beg resented it and joined the service of Azim-ush-Shan. Azim-ush-Shan deputed him with Farrukh Siyar in Bengal. In the reign of Farrukh Siyar he was promoted to 7000/6000 and was made the third bakhshi. He was one of the chief supporters of Farrukh Siyar throughout his reign. But he managed to reconcile with the Saiyids after the deposition of Farrukh Siyar. In 1720 when Saiyid Abdullah Khan heard the news of the death of his brother, Husain Ali Khan and raised Prince Muhammad Ibrahim to the throne, Ahmad Beg was appointed the mir bakhshi with the title of the Amir-ul- Umara. In the court of Muhammad Shah also he retained his mansab and the title of Ghazi-ud-Din Khan Ghalib Jang. He died in 1726, M. U., II, pp. 879–82; Kamwar, pp. 183, 198–9, 205, 211, 243, 250, 260, 276, 285–6, 294, 309, 328, 340 and 357; T. Muhammadi, p. 62; also see W. Irvine, Later Moghuls, I, pp. 266– 7; Satish Chandra, Parties and Politics, pp. 91, 93, 95, 144 and 162.
(55) See Chapter 1.
(56) Akhbarat FS, 5th R. Y., I, p. 39. The incident throws interesting light on the details of the working of jagir administration as well. It seems that the jagirdar as a rule had to pay a certain amount to the office of the amin of paibaqi to enable his amils to take charge of the assigned mahals.
(57) Akhbarat FS, 5th R. Y., p. 160.
(58) This was in accordance with the reform instituted in jagir administration during the reign of Bahadur Shah. It was decided that after a mansabdar had been allotted a jagir, the charges for feeding the animals (khurak-i dawab) should be deducted from his total emoluments and the balance paid to him as tankhwah. Thus the khurak-i dawab became a central responsibility. K. K. II, p. 603. Earlier khurak-i dawab was deducted from the tankhwah. Cf. M. Athar Ali, Mughal Nobility, pp. 50–1.
(59) This is interesting to note that the same person was appointed the amin faujdar of the villages in two different sarkars, namely, Beth Jalandhar and the Rachna Doab, which were separated by the Bari Doab. Cf. Ain, II (Jarrett), pp. 315–16 for the geography of the sarkars in the Punjab.
(60) Exemption from the khurak-i dawab was an additional favour to Sarbuland Khan which the wazir, who needed the support of as many nobles as he could, obtained for him. For the circumstances of Sarbuland Khan’s appointment see Satish Chandra, Parties and Politics, pp. 132–6.
(61) His transfer was manipulated by Saiyid Abdullah Khan who wanted to keep the revenue matters under his own control.
(62) M. M., ff. 109a and 113a–114a.
(63) Akhbarat FS, 5th R. Y., II, p. 270 (9 July 1716).
Page 24 of 26
240The Punjab after 1715, the Zamindars and the Problems Facing the Provincial
Government
(64) Ibid., 5th R. Y., p. 325 (2 August 1716).
(65) Ibid., 5th R. Y., p. 335 (6 August 1716).
(66) Ibid., 5th R. Y., p. 67.
(67) Ibid., 5th R. Y., p. 293.
(68) Ibid.
(69) Ibid., 4th R.Y., I, p. 160.
(70) Ibid., 4th R.Y., I, p. 125 (3 May 1715) which records the refusal of Abd-ul- Jabbar Beg, the dismissed bakshi waqai‘nigar of the parganas of Batala, Sialkot, Aurangabad and Pasrur to give way to Muhsin uz-Zaman, the new bakshi waqai ‘nigar of these parganas. This seems to be a part of the conflict between the governor and the Saiyid Brothers. For Abd-ul-Jabbar Beg was a Mughal and the appointing letter (dastak) of Muhsin uz-Zaman, apparently an Indian Muslim, bore the seal of Saiyid Husain Ali Khan, the Amir ul-Umara. See also Ibid., 4th R. Y., pp. 58 and 81 for Khwaja Rahmatullah the dismissed amil of pargana Bhira who became a major source of difficulty for the faujdar of chakla Gujarat. Khwaja Rahmatullah could defy law and order on account of the support of the mansabdars who were associated with him and were still in service in the Salt Range at this time. These mansabdars were, therefore, ordered to be transferred to other places.
(71) This happened in the case of one Abd-ul-Malik, a neo-Muslim, who was the hereditary qanungo of pargana Srinagar (?) in chakla Gujarat and functioned in complete accord with the established Mughal rule. None of the people concerned, e.g., the zamindars, the riaya and the gumashtas of the jagirdars, had ever lodged any complaints against him. And yet one Har Narayan, apparently on the strength of misinformation to the centre managed to displace him and obtained the qanungoi of the pargana for himself. The riaya, etc., then protested over the appointment of the new qanungo and led a delegation to the diwan’s kachahri at Wazirabad. Cf. Ibid., 5th R. Y., I, pp. 3–4.
(72) On 17 December 1717, the darogha of the Lahore mint was, for example, reported to have begun minting sub-standard coins. Subsequently, the darogha of the dak was ordered, but to no avail, to look into the matter. Over a month later, it was reported that the darogha of the mint had begun to demand, from the people, additional discount for minting coins and that on protest from the people he had locked the mint. Akhbarat FS, 6th R. Y., II, pp. 57 and 171–2.
(73) Akhbarat FS, 6th R. Y., I, p. 147.
(74) Ibid., 5th R.Y., I, p. 12.
Page 25 of 26
241The Punjab after 1715, the Zamindars and the Problems Facing the Provincial
Government
(75) Ibid., 6th R. Y., I, pp. 385–6.
(75a) Compare Irfan Habib, Atlas, Sheet 4B and Notes p. 13; Chetan Singh,
‘Socio-Economic Conditions of Punjab during the Seventeenth Century’, Chapter
5.
(76) Ain, II (Jarrett), pp. 320 for Khori Waha in Dardak; pp. 320 and 321 for the
Mein in Talwan, Muhammadpur and Nakodar; p. 322 for the Bhatti in Qasur; p.
324 for the Jat, the Ghaman and the Chimah in Sialkot; p. 325 for the jat in
Bahlolpur.
(77) I. O. 4506, Parts I and II for a list of the jagirdars, with details of the areas
and the revenues assigned to them, in Punjab and Awadh respectively.
Page 26 of 26