The Zamindars in Mughal India: Power, Origins and Role (Class 12 History)
Updated 15 October 2026 · Fact-checked
Zamindars were landed proprietors of Mughal India who lived off agriculture without taking part in it directly. Their power came from caste status, services (khidmat) to the state, personal milkiyat lands, the right to collect revenue and armed contingents with forts. Exploitative, they still shared ties of reciprocity and patronage with peasants.
Notice the four bases of zamindar power and how the zamindar sits between peasants paying rent and the Mughal state receiving revenue.
Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.
Understand The Zamindars in Mughal India
Why this topic matters. Zamindars sit at the centre of Theme 8: they link the village to the Mughal state. Boards set 8-mark questions on their economic and social position and their role, and 1-mark statements on whether they were exploiters or patrons. NCERT section 5, with links to sections 1.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3, 4.2 and 8.
1. Who the zamindars were.
- A class that lived off agriculture but did not participate directly in production.
- Landed proprietors with social and economic privileges because of their superior status in rural society.
- Two bases of that status: caste, and the services (khidmat) they performed for the state.
- The word used for the whole class in Mughal sources is 'zamindar'; the Ain recorded the regulation of the state's relationship with these rural magnates.
2. Sources of their power (L-R-M-C).
| Source of power | What NCERT says |
|---|---|
| Land (milkiyat) | Extensive personal lands called milkiyat ('property'), cultivated for their private use, often with hired or servile labour; they could sell, bequeath or mortgage these lands at will |
| Revenue collection | Zamindars frequently gathered the state's revenue for it, and were paid for this service |
| Military resources | Most had fortresses (qilachas) and armed contingents of cavalry, artillery and infantry |
| Caste and status | Superior caste position and khidmat to the state raised them above peasants |
3. 'A parallel army!' The Ain adds up the forces of all zamindars together: cavalry 384,558; infantry 4,277,057; elephants 1,863; cannons 4,260; boats 4,500. Use these figures to show why the state needed both to control and to cooperate with them.
4. Place in the rural pyramid. If rural society is pictured as a pyramid, zamindars formed its very narrow apex. Abu'l Fazl's account shows:
- an 'upper-caste' Brahmana-Rajput combine firmly in control of rural society;
- a fairly large share of intermediate castes;
- a liberal sprinkling of Muslim zamindaris.
The Ain's sarkar tables had columns for zamindars, their castes and their troops (horsemen, foot-soldiers, elephants), though caste details are missing for Bengal and Orissa.
5. How zamindaris arose.
- Conquest: contemporary documents suggest some zamindaris began with conquest, and a powerful chieftain often expanded his zamindari by dispossessing weaker people. But the state would hardly have allowed this unless he had been confirmed by an imperial order (sanad).
- Slow consolidation (more important): colonisation of new lands, transfer of rights, order of the state, and purchase.
- Because zamindaris were bought and sold quite briskly, people of relatively 'lower' castes could perhaps enter the rank of zamindars.
- Clan- or lineage-based zamindaris: Rajputs and Jats consolidated control over large areas of northern India; peasant-pastoralists like the Sadgops carved out powerful zamindaris in central and south-western Bengal.
- From the forests: many tribal chiefs became zamindars, some even kings, by raising armies from their lineage groups (section 4.2).
6. Economic role.
- Spearheaded the colonisation of agricultural land.
- Helped settle cultivators by providing the means of cultivation, including cash loans.
- The buying and selling of zamindaris sped up monetisation in the countryside.
- Sold the produce of their milkiyat lands.
- Often established markets (haats) where peasants also sold their produce.
- In eighteenth-century Bengal, zamindars paid blacksmiths, carpenters and even goldsmiths 'a small daily allowance and diet money', an arrangement later called the jajmani system (section 2.3).
7. Social role.
- The village headman (muqaddam or mandal) was chosen by the elders, but the choice had to be ratified by the zamindar (section 2.2).
- Women could hold zamindaris: Hindu and Muslim women inherited zamindaris which they could sell or mortgage; women zamindars were known in eighteenth-century Bengal, and the great zamindari of Rajshahi had a woman at its head (section 3).
8. Exploiters or patrons? NCERT's balanced view. There can be little doubt that zamindars were an exploitative class, yet NCERT finds in their dealings with peasants reciprocity, paternalism and patronage. Two pieces of evidence:
1. The bhakti saints, who condemned caste-based and other oppression, did not portray zamindars (or the moneylender) as oppressors; their anger fell on the revenue official of the state.
2. In many agrarian uprisings in seventeenth-century north India, zamindars often had the support of the peasantry against the state.
9. Zamindars and the state. The state needed zamindars to collect revenue and keep order, and confirmed their rights by sanad; yet their forts and troops made them a potential rival. The Ain presents a vision in which any assertion of autonomous power against the Mughal state was bound to fail. Note the separate figure of the mansabdar: a state official paid in cash (naqdi) or, mostly, through jagirs (revenue assignments) and transferred periodically, unlike the hereditary, local zamindar.
10. Afterlife. NCERT asks why the zamindari system was abolished after Independence: think of their control over land and labour, their armed power and their position at the narrow apex of an unequal society.
Key quotations
Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.
zamindars clearly constituted its very narrow apex
NCERT, section 5: Picturing social relations in the Mughal countryside as a pyramid.
Shows how few zamindars there were and how high they stood above peasants.
an element of reciprocity, paternalism and patronage
NCERT, section 5: On the zamindars' relationship with the peasantry, despite their being exploitative.
The key phrase for a balanced answer on whether zamindars were oppressors.
Milkiyat lands were cultivated for the private use of zamindars
NCERT, section 5: Defining the zamindars' personal lands.
Separates the zamindar's own property from the lands on which he collected revenue.
confirmed by an imperial order (sanad)
NCERT, section 5: On conquest as an origin of zamindaris.
Shows the Mughal state's control over how zamindaris were created.
The Zamindars in Mughal India: key facts
- Who they were
Role lived off agriculture but did not take part directly in production Status from caste and khidmat (services) to the state Lands milkiyat, worked by hired or servile labour Revenue collected for the state, and paid for it - Landed proprietors at the narrow apex of rural society.
- Sources of power
Land milkiyat, which they could sell, bequeath or mortgage Revenue collection on the state's behalf Military fortresses (qilachas); cavalry, artillery, infantry Caste superior status, often a Brahmana-Rajput combine - Use as paragraph headings in an 8-mark answer.
- A parallel army (Ain)
Cavalry 384,558 Infantry 4,277,057 Elephants 1,863 Cannons 4,260 Boats 4,500 - Combined strength of all the zamindars.
- How zamindaris arose
Conquest needed confirmation by an imperial sanad Slow consolidation colonisation, transfer of rights, order of the state, purchase Lineage Rajputs and Jats in the north; Sadgops in Bengal Purchase let some 'lower' castes enter - NCERT calls slow consolidation the more important route.
- Economic role
- Led the colonisation of agricultural land
- Settled cultivators with means of cultivation, including cash loans
- Sale of zamindaris sped up monetisation
- Sold the produce of milkiyat lands
- Set up haats (markets) for peasants too
- Zamindars as agents of agrarian expansion.
- Balanced judgement
Verdict an exploitative class, yet with reciprocity, paternalism and patronage Evidence 1 bhakti saints blamed state revenue officials, not zamindars Evidence 2 in seventeenth-century north Indian revolts, peasants often backed zamindars - End every evaluative answer with this.
How to answer The Zamindars in Mughal India questions
Expect a 1-mark statement question on the nature of zamindars, 3-mark questions on their sources of power or origins, and 8-mark questions on their economic and social position or their role in Mughal India. Examiners look for NCERT terms (milkiyat, khidmat, qilachas, sanad, haats) and a balanced conclusion.
- 1Define: landed proprietors living off agriculture without cultivating; status from caste and khidmat.
- 2Explain power: milkiyat lands, revenue collection on the state's behalf, forts and troops (cite the Ain's figures).
- 3Place them socially: narrow apex of the pyramid; Brahmana-Rajput combine, intermediate castes, Muslim zamindaris.
- 4Trace origins: conquest confirmed by sanad; colonisation, transfer, state order, purchase; lineage zamindaris.
- 5Show the economic role: colonising land, cash loans, monetisation, haats.
- 6Conclude with the balance: exploitative, yet reciprocity, paternalism and patronage, with the two pieces of evidence.
The Zamindars in Mughal India in real life
The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.
Power that rests on many bases
Suppose a large landowner in a district also runs the only cold-storage unit, lends money to farmers before sowing, and his family has supplied the local sarpanch for three generations.
Why would farmers both depend on him and sometimes side with him against outside officials? Link this to Mughal zamindars.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- His power rests on land, credit and social standing, not on one source alone.
- Mughal zamindars combined milkiyat lands, revenue rights, forts and troops, and caste status.
- They gave cash loans to settle cultivators and set up haats, so peasants depended on them.
- In seventeenth-century revolts, peasants often backed zamindars against the state.
Answer: A patron who lends, provides markets and shares local ties can command loyalty even while exploiting; this is why NCERT speaks of reciprocity, paternalism and patronage.
Memory hook: The lender at home beats the taxman from outside.
Licence from above
Imagine a builder who encloses common land and then gets the government to regularise it with an official order.
How does this resemble the way some zamindaris grew?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Some zamindaris began with conquest: a strong chieftain dispossessed weaker people.
- The state would hardly have allowed this unless the zamindar was confirmed by a sanad.
- Other zamindaris grew slowly through colonisation, transfer of rights, state orders and purchase.
Answer: In both cases force or enterprise on the ground is made legitimate by a document from the state.
Memory hook: Grab, then get the sanad.
Tricks to remember The Zamindars in Mughal India
Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.
L-R-M-C power
Land, Revenue, Military, Caste: 'Landlords Rule Many Cultivators'.
Use it when: The four sources of zamindari power.
C-T-O-P origins
Colonise, Transfer, Order, Purchase: the slow route to a zamindari is a 'COTP' (cot) to rest on.
Use it when: Processes of zamindari consolidation.
Parallel army 3-4-1-4-4
Cavalry about 3.8 lakh, infantry about 42.8 lakh, elephants 1,863, cannons 4,260, boats 4,500: 'cannons and boats are both about 4,000-plus'.
Use it when: Recalling the Ain's figures approximately and the exact ones for cannons and boats.
The Zamindars in Mughal India: solved examples
Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.
Example 1: Milkiyat · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
The personal lands of a Mughal zamindar, which he could sell, bequeath or mortgage at will, were called:
(a) jagir
(b) milkiyat
(c) suyurghal
(d) watan
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Milkiyat means property; jagir was a revenue assignment to a mansabdar, suyurghal a grant in charity, watan an artisan's hereditary holding in Maharashtra (1 mark).
Answer: (b) milkiyat
Example 2: Three sources of zamindari power · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level
Identify three bases on which the power of zamindars in the Mughal countryside rested. (3 marks)
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Milkiyat lands cultivated with hired or servile labour, which they could sell, bequeath or mortgage (1 mark).
- Collection of revenue on behalf of the state, for which they were paid (1 mark).
- Military resources: fortresses (qilachas) and contingents of cavalry, artillery and infantry (1 mark).
Answer: First, zamindars held extensive personal lands called milkiyat, worked for their private use with hired or servile labour; they could sell, bequeath or mortgage these lands as they wished. Second, they often collected revenue on behalf of the Mughal state and were compensated financially for this service. Third, they controlled military resources: most had fortresses (qilachas) and armed contingents of cavalry, artillery and infantry. Their superior caste status and the services (khidmat) they rendered to the state added to this power.
Example 3: Assertion and reason: lower castes as zamindars · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level
Assertion (A): Membership of the Mughal zamindar class was not completely closed to groups ranked low in the caste order.
Reason (R): A zamindari was a transferable right that changed hands through purchase.
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false but R is true.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- NCERT links the brisk purchase and sale of zamindaris to the entry of 'lower' castes into the rank of zamindars (1 mark).
Answer: (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
Example 4: Why NCERT is cautious about 'exploiters' · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Zamindars were an exploitative class, yet NCERT does not describe their relationship with peasants as one of oppression alone. Give the evidence for this view. (3 marks)
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Name the element: reciprocity, paternalism and patronage (1 mark).
- Evidence 1: bhakti saints condemned oppression but blamed the revenue official, not the zamindar or moneylender (1 mark).
- Evidence 2: in seventeenth-century agrarian uprisings in north India, peasants often supported zamindars against the state (1 mark).
Answer: Although zamindars exploited the peasantry, their relationship also had an element of reciprocity, paternalism and patronage. The bhakti saints, who spoke out strongly against caste-based and other forms of oppression, did not portray the zamindars or even the moneylender as oppressors; their criticism was directed at the revenue officials of the state. And in many agrarian uprisings in seventeenth-century north India, zamindars often received peasant support in their struggles against the state. Zamindars also settled cultivators with cash loans and set up haats, which gave peasants reasons to depend on them.
Example 5: Source-based: a parallel army · 4 marks · Source-basedHarder board level
Read the source (summarised for this page from the Ain-i Akbari, as cited in NCERT) and answer.
Abu'l Fazl's survey of the empire counted the armed men and equipment held by the zamindars of all the provinces taken together. The total ran to nearly four lakh horsemen and over forty-two lakh foot-soldiers, besides close to two thousand elephants, more than four thousand cannons and some four and a half thousand boats.
(i) Where did most zamindars keep and protect these forces, according to NCERT? (1)
(ii) Why might NCERT call this 'a parallel army'? (1)
(iii) What does this source suggest about the relationship between the zamindars and the Mughal state? (2)
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- (i) In fortresses called qilachas, with units of cavalry, artillery and infantry (1 mark).
- (ii) The zamindars' combined forces rivalled the imperial army itself: 384,558 cavalry and 4,277,057 infantry (1 mark).
- (iii) The state depended on zamindars and needed their loyalty, confirming them by sanad and using them to collect revenue, yet their armed power made them a potential threat (2 marks).
Answer: (i) Most zamindars had fortresses (qilachas) and armed contingents made up of cavalry, artillery and infantry. (ii) Because the combined strength recorded in the Ain (cavalry 384,558; infantry 4,277,057; elephants 1,863; cannons 4,260; boats 4,500) was large enough to stand beside the emperor's own forces as a second army. (iii) The relationship was one of mutual need and tension. The state relied on zamindars to collect revenue and keep rural society under control, and confirmed their rights through sanads; but such armed strength meant they could resist the state, as they did in seventeenth-century agrarian uprisings, often with peasant support. Recording these forces in detail was itself a way for the state to know and control them.
Example 6: Long answer: economic and social position · 8 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
"The zamindars stood at the top of Mughal rural society, but they were not merely parasites." Evaluate this statement with reference to their economic and social position in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. (8 marks)
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Definition and basis of status: caste and khidmat (1 mark).
- Economic power: milkiyat lands; revenue collection (1 mark).
- Military power: qilachas and troops; Ain's figures (1 mark).
- Social position: narrow apex; Brahmana-Rajput combine, intermediate castes, Muslim zamindaris; ratifying the headman (1 mark).
- Origins: conquest confirmed by sanad; slow consolidation; lineage zamindaris (1 mark).
- Productive role: colonisation, cash loans, monetisation, haats (1 mark).
- Relationship with peasants: exploitative but reciprocity, paternalism, patronage; two pieces of evidence (1 mark).
- Judgement on 'not merely parasites' (1 mark).
Answer: Zamindars were landed proprietors who lived off agriculture without taking part directly in production. Their superior status came from caste and from the services (khidmat) they performed for the state.
Economically they were very strong. They held extensive personal lands called milkiyat, cultivated for their own use with hired or servile labour, which they could sell, bequeath or mortgage. They also collected revenue on behalf of the state and were paid for it. Most had fortresses (qilachas) and armed contingents; the Ain's totals for all zamindars were cavalry 384,558; infantry 4,277,057; elephants 1,863; cannons 4,260; boats 4,500.
Socially they formed the very narrow apex of the rural pyramid. Abu'l Fazl's account shows an 'upper-caste' Brahmana-Rajput combine in firm control, with many intermediate castes and a number of Muslim zamindaris. The village headman's appointment had to be ratified by the zamindar. Some zamindaris began with conquest, though the state would hardly accept this without a sanad; more often they grew slowly through colonisation, transfer of rights, state orders and purchase. Because zamindaris were bought and sold briskly, some 'lower' castes entered their ranks, and Rajputs, Jats and the Sadgops built lineage-based zamindaris.
The statement is right that they were not merely parasites. Zamindars spearheaded the colonisation of land and settled cultivators by providing the means of cultivation, including cash loans. The sale of zamindaris spread the use of money, and zamindars sold milkiyat produce and set up haats where peasants traded.
They were certainly exploitative. Yet NCERT finds an element of reciprocity, paternalism and patronage: the bhakti saints blamed state revenue officials rather than zamindars for oppression, and peasants often supported zamindars in seventeenth-century revolts against the state. On balance the zamindars were a privileged and exploiting class who also organised agrarian expansion and enjoyed real local loyalty, so the statement is largely valid.
Where students lose marks in The Zamindars in Mughal India
The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.
Mistake: Calling zamindars cultivators
Confusing land ownership with farming.
Wrong working
Zamindars were rich peasants who tilled large fields.
Right working
Zamindars lived off agriculture but did not participate directly in production; milkiyat lands were worked by hired or servile labour.
Do this: Write 'lived off, not in, agriculture'.
Usually costs: 1 mark in definitions.
Mistake: Mixing up milkiyat and jagir
Both are linked to land and revenue.
Wrong working
The zamindar's jagir lands could be sold or mortgaged.
Right working
Milkiyat was the zamindar's own property; a jagir was a revenue assignment to a mansabdar, who was transferred periodically.
Do this: Milkiyat = mine; jagir = job payment.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: A one-sided judgement
Writing only 'zamindars exploited peasants'.
Wrong working
Zamindars were cruel oppressors of the peasants.
Right working
Exploitative, but with reciprocity, paternalism and patronage: bhakti saints blamed revenue officials; peasants backed zamindars in revolts.
Do this: Always give both sides with the two pieces of evidence.
Usually costs: 1-2 marks in 8-mark answers.
Mistake: Saying all zamindaris came from conquest
Missing NCERT's 'more important' processes.
Wrong working
Zamindaris were created by military conquest.
Right working
Some came from conquest confirmed by sanad; more important were colonisation, transfer of rights, state orders and purchase.
Do this: Conquest is one route; C-T-O-P is the main one.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Exam tips
- Asked in: 2026 board paper 61/5/1 Q29(a) (8 marks, economic and social position of zamindars under Mughal rule); 2025 board paper 61/1/1 Q13 (1 mark, the most appropriate statement about sixteenth-seventeenth century zamindars). The NCERT exercise 'Examine the role played by zamindars in Mughal India' is the model for long answers. Answers here are our own.
- For 8 marks, organise the answer as: who they were, sources of power, social position, origins, economic role, relationship with peasants, judgement.
- Quote the Ain's figures for at least cavalry and infantry to show precision.
- Use the exact NCERT terms: milkiyat, khidmat, qilachas, sanad, haats.
- End with 'exploitative, yet reciprocity, paternalism and patronage' plus the two pieces of evidence.
Practice questions on The Zamindars in Mughal India
Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.
Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Which group did the bhakti saints usually criticise for oppressing the peasantry, according to NCERT?
(a) Zamindars
(b) Moneylenders
(c) Revenue officials of the state
(d) Village artisansHint
Not the local landlord.
Answer
(c) Revenue officials of the state.
Q2 · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level
Name any two processes, other than conquest, through which zamindaris were consolidated in the Mughal period. (2 marks)
Hint
Four slow processes.
Answer
Any two of: colonisation of new lands; transfer of rights; order of the state; purchase.
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
How did zamindars contribute to the expansion of agriculture and the spread of money in the Mughal countryside? (3 marks)
Hint
Colonisation, loans, sales, haats.
Answer
Zamindars led the colonisation of agricultural land and helped settle cultivators by giving them the means of cultivation, including cash loans. The brisk buying and selling of zamindaris speeded up monetisation in the countryside. Zamindars also sold the produce of their milkiyat lands and frequently founded markets (haats) where peasants too came to sell their produce, linking villages to wider exchange.
Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Distinguish between a Mughal zamindar and a mansabdar. (3 marks)
Hint
Local and hereditary versus imperial and transferable.
Answer
A zamindar was a local landed proprietor whose position rested on caste, khidmat to the state, milkiyat lands, revenue rights and his own forts and troops; zamindaris could be inherited, bought and sold. A mansabdar belonged to the imperial military-cum-bureaucratic apparatus (mansabdari) that looked after civil and military affairs; he was paid in cash (naqdi) or, more often, through a jagir (assignment of revenue) in some region, and was transferred periodically. So the zamindar was rooted in one locality, while the mansabdar was a servant of the emperor moved from place to place.
Q5 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level
Assertion (A): In the seventeenth-century agrarian uprisings of north India, peasants often supported zamindars.
Reason (R): Zamindars did not collect any revenue from the peasants.
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false but R is true.Hint
Zamindars often collected revenue for the state.
Answer
(c) A is true but R is false: zamindars often collected revenue on behalf of the state.
Q6 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
Suppose you were a revenue official of Akbar sent to a pargana where the local zamindar has a fort and a large body of troops. Would you treat him as an ally or a threat? Justify with evidence from the chapter. (3 marks)
Hint
Both: sanad, revenue, forts, revolts.
Answer
Both. As an ally, he collects revenue on the state's behalf and is paid for it, settles cultivators and helps expand cultivation, and his rights are confirmed by a sanad, so the state depends on him. As a threat, he has a qilacha and troops; the zamindars together formed a 'parallel army', and in seventeenth-century revolts peasants often backed zamindars against the state. A wise official would work through him while keeping him within imperial control, which is what the Ain's careful listing of zamindars and their troops aimed at.
Q7 · 4 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
Independent India did away with zamindari. Drawing on your study of Mughal zamindars, argue why reformers might have seen such a class as an obstacle to a fair rural society. (4 marks)
Hint
Apex of pyramid, labour, power over the headman.
Answer
Mughal zamindars formed the very narrow apex of rural society, with large milkiyat lands worked by hired or servile labour while they themselves did not cultivate. They collected revenue from peasants, held forts and troops, and even had to ratify the choice of the village headman, so a few families controlled land, coercion and local office. Their position was strengthened by caste, with a Brahmana-Rajput combine in firm control. Even though they gave loans and patronage, this concentration of land and power in a small, hereditary group stood in the way of giving cultivators secure rights over the land they tilled; reformers wishing to give land to the tiller would see removing such intermediaries as necessary.
Test your recall
Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.
1.What does milkiyat mean?Show answer
Property: the zamindars' personal lands, which they could sell, bequeath or mortgage.
2.What were qilachas?Show answer
Fortresses held by zamindars.
3.What was khidmat?Show answer
Services performed by zamindars for the state, one basis of their status.
4.What was a sanad?Show answer
An imperial order confirming a zamindar's rights.
5.Which peasant-pastoralists built zamindaris in Bengal?Show answer
The Sadgops, in central and south-western Bengal.
6.How many cavalry did the zamindars command, according to the Ain?Show answer
384,558.
The Zamindars in Mughal India: frequently asked questions
Who were the zamindars in Mughal India?
Landed proprietors who lived off agriculture without cultivating themselves, with privileges based on caste and on services to the state; they held milkiyat lands, collected revenue and kept forts and troops.
Were the Mughal zamindars exploiters?
NCERT says they were clearly an exploitative class, but their relationship with peasants also had an element of reciprocity, paternalism and patronage.
How did someone become a zamindar?
Through conquest confirmed by a sanad, or more often through colonisation of new land, transfer of rights, state orders and purchase; lineage groups such as Rajputs and Jats also consolidated zamindaris.
Could women be zamindars?
Yes. Hindu and Muslim women inherited zamindaris that they could sell or mortgage, and the Rajshahi zamindari of eighteenth-century Bengal had a woman at its head.