Mystics, Masters and the Rural Society of Awadh

Abstract

The Kingdom of Awadh broadly corresponded with the 15th Century Sharqi Kingdom of Jaunpur. The region emerged as a center of high elite culture. Hence, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan used to refer this region as Shiraz (purab Shiraz-I Mamlakat-imaaast). It had large concentration of the aimma grantees that looked after the maintenance of numerous institutions disseminating knowledge and propagating suficide as and humanistic values in the society. The induction of the class of the grantees in mist of the rural society often created some tensions, which sometimes led to even violent clashes. In such situations an intervention on the part of the state had always settled the dispute. Thus, the intricate balance between the state, the grantees and the rural society was sought to be maintained. Such disputes can never be described as a ‘local battle between the Hindus and Muslims’ and as ‘a savage attack by the totality of the rural society against the small town headquarters of the Muslim gentry’, as has been described by C.A. Bayly. Whenever state has initiated any negative action against the revenue grantees, it has really affected their profile as has been seen in case of the first three Nawabs of Awadh and their policies vis-à-vis the maafi holders. The suyurghal statistics provided by Ain-i-Akbari suggest very clearly that the grantees were allotted aimma land in every pargana, irrespective of the caste of the Zamindar dominating the area. It was the ‘authority’ of the state which made even the zortalab regions and their chieftains to accept new ‘hierarchy’ of the revenue grantees in their midst.