The Mughal Empire - Society

The society of the Mughal period can roughly be categorized into the rich, middle and poor class. The difference between the richest sections of society and the poorest was very wide. At the top of the social and economic ladder was the king followed by his nobles. This class lived in extraordinary luxury with abundant resources at their disposal. They lived a life of reckless festivity, grand banquets, lavish homes and often had inflated egos. Their food and dress was very costly, and their homes were huge palatial structures. Both indoor and outdoor games were popular with this class, for they had the time and resources to be able to indulge in them. An unfortunate aspect was that as a result of their tremendous wealth, many of them squandered away their money and lives in vice and temptations. Towards the close of the Mughal empire, many of the emperors were no longer interested in running the empire, instead they were more keen on enjoying the wealth they possessed as kings. The Mughal empire was very successful and hence very rich, and it took a strong king not to get tempted with all the luxuries and stay focussed on ruling the empire.

The middle class was a relatively new development, one that would grow and become an important force during British India. They were usually merchants, industrialists and various other professionals. While not being able to afford the extravagance of the rich class, they led comfortable and perhaps more sensible lives. Many middle class families were also very well off and were able to indulge in some luxuries. Below

the middle class lay the poor class, the most oppressed and neglected part of the society. There was a major difference between their standard of living and that of the two preceding classes. They were usually without adequate clothing and in cases of famines even without food. They held very low paying jobs, where they were expected to put in long hours. Their condition can perhaps be described as voluntary slaves. They were often harassed by the officers of the king, who extorted money out of them by making false charges against them. The economic conditions of the peasants continuously declined, especially towards the close of the Mughal period when the tyranny of the provincial governors constantly troubled the peasants' lives.

The Mughal emperors were keen patrons of education, and there was considerable development in this area. In fact one of the duties of the public works department, Shuhra-I-Am was to build schools and colleges. Jahangir passed a law, whereby if a rich man was to die without an heir, his assets would be used by the State to help in the development and maintenance of educational institutes. Shah Jahan although more interested in building monuments, did take some significant educational initiatives like providing scholarships to assist students. Female education also existed in some form during the Mughal period. Girls from rich families were usually able to have an education, through private tuitions at home. The Middle class girls were usually able to attend the same schools as the boys.

Except for the rich, most people lived moderate lives. Abuse of alcohol was not very common, and people ate adequate quantities of food. Strangers were greeted and aided in a civil manner. The prominent social practices of the time were sati , child marriage and dowry. Widow re-marriage was usually not allowed. sati was a social evil that had been spreading through the ages, in which a widow was burned together with her husband on the funeral pyre. Some Mughal kings like Akbar did make attempts to reform society, but their efforts did not have much of an impact. The situation would get worse by the eighteen century, when social reformers exposed to western ideas by the European rulers, would rise against this and vigorously campaign for reform in society. However, before the arrival of these social reformers, Indian society would enter what some call its darkest hour, where even basic humans rights, especially of women would scarcely be observed. Perhaps the only redeeming feature of this time was that the Hindu and Muslim communities were living together in perfect harmony, the integration of the two cultures had taken place successfully

The society of the Mughal period can roughly be categorized into the rich, middle and poor class. The difference between the richest sections of society and the poorest was very wide. At the top of the social and economic ladder was the king followed by his nobles. This class lived in extraordinary luxury with abundant resources at their disposal. They lived a life of reckless festivity, grand banquets, lavish homes and often had inflated egos. Their food and dress was very costly, and their homes were huge palatial structures. Both indoor and outdoor games were popular with this class, for they had the time and resources to be able to indulge in them. An unfortunate aspect was that as a result of their tremendous wealth, many of them squandered away their money and lives in vice and temptations. Towards the close of the Mughal empire, many of the emperors were no longer interested in running the empire, instead they were more keen on enjoying the wealth they possessed as kings. The Mughal empire was very successful and hence very rich, and it took a strong king not to get tempted with all the luxuries and stay focussed on ruling the empire.

The middle class was a relatively new development, one that would grow and become an important force during British India. They were usually merchants, industrialists and various other professionals. While not being able to afford the extravagance of the rich class, they led comfortable and perhaps more sensible lives. Many middle class families were also very well off and were able to indulge in some luxuries. Below the middle class lay the poor class, the most oppressed and neglected part of the society. There was a major difference between their standard of living and that of the two preceding classes. They were usually without adequate clothing and in cases of famines even without food. They held very low paying jobs, where they were expected to put in long hours. Their condition can perhaps be described as voluntary slaves. They were often harassed by the officers of the king, who extorted money out of them by making false charges against them. The economic conditions of the peasants continuously declined, especially towards the close of the Mughal period when the tyranny of the provincial governors constantly troubled the peasants' lives.

The Mughal emperors were keen patrons of education, and there was considerable development in this area. In fact one of the duties of the public works department, Shuhra-I-Am was to build schools and colleges. Jahangir passed a law, whereby if a rich man was to die without an heir, his assets would be used by the State to help in the development and maintenance of educational institutes. Shah Jahan although more interested in building monuments, did take some significant educational initiatives like providing scholarships to assist students. Female education also existed in some form during the Mughal period. Girls from rich families were usually able to have an education, through private tuitions at home. The Middle class girls were usually able to attend the same schools as the boys.

Except for the rich, most people lived moderate lives. Abuse of alcohol was not very common, and people ate adequate quantities of food. Strangers were greeted and aided in a civil manner. The prominent social practices of the time were sati , child marriage and dowry. Widow re-marriage was usually not allowed. sati was a social evil that had been spreading through the ages, in which a widow was burned together with her husband on the funeral pyre. Some Mughal kings like Akbar did make attempts to reform society, but their efforts did not have much of an impact. The situation would get worse by the eighteen century, when social reformers exposed to western ideas by the European rulers, would rise against this and vigorously campaign for reform in society. However, before the arrival of these social reformers, Indian society would enter what some call its darkest hour, where even basic humans rights, especially of women would scarcely be observed. Perhaps the only redeeming feature of this time was that the Hindu and Muslim communities were living together in perfect harmony, the integration of the two cultures had taken place successfully