Jagirdari Crisis
The Jagirdari crisis refers to the financial scene in which there was a scarcity of lands or jagirs. This reduced the expense of the administration, and the imperial authority was not able to maintain funds for wars or maintain the quality of life of the nobles. Mughal rulers as a result were forced to give up their own territories in order to pay their officials. This reduced the ruler’s territory and hence his authority.
Real revenue collection was very less than was expected, lowering the income of the jagirdars. The Deccan war also necessitated a larger number of mansabdars, and this resulted in political turbulence which made income collection even more difficult. The Jagirdari crisis resulted in rivalry for fertile jagirs among the jagirdars. The crisis also worsened the agricultural revenue also fell and the number of contestants who were seeking the piece of surplus also increased.
What was the role of Jagirdars in Mughal India?
The jagirdari system during the Mughal period is considered an institution which mainly used to preserve the surplus from the class of peasants. The Jagirdari system was a form of land tenancy in which the collection of revenues from an estate and the power of governing it was bestowed on an official of the state.
It is derived from two Persian words: jagir, which means “holding land” and dar, which means “official”. The system was an adaptation of an existing agrarian system by the Delhi sultanate.