• The socio-economic conditions of India are mentioned by many European Travellers and trader who came to India and their accounts contain a mine of information.
• Generally, most of the accounts describe the wealth and prosperity of India and also the lavish life of the nobles.
• There are accounts of foreigners as well that give information about the poverty and sufferings of the ordinary people such as peasants and artisans.

Mughal Nobility:

• The Mughals were nobles and most of them were foreigners like Turks and Afghans and formed a privileged class.
• The Mughal nobles were paid high salaries but their expenses were also the same.
• Each noble had a large number of servants, horses, elephants etc.
• Wealthy people dressed in silk and cotton clothes and the poor people dressed minimal.
• The common people food was pulses, millets and rice.
• In coastal region fish was common.
• Milk and milk products were surplus, salt and sugar were expensive, while ghee and oil were cheaper.

Agriculture

• One of the estimate claims that at the beginning of the 17th century India’s population was about 125 million.
• A large variety of crops such as barley, gram, pulses, rice, and wheat were cultivated.
• Commercial crops such as indigo, oil-seeds, cotton and sugarcane were also cultivated.
• During the seventeenth century two new crops, viz., tobacco and maize were added.
• On a note, no new agricultural technique was introduced during this period.
• India was able to export food items like rice and sugar to the neighbouring countries.

Growth of Trade

• The Indian trading classes spread across the country and were in large numbers.
• Seth and Bohra – Long distance traders
• Banik – Local traders
• Banjaras – Another class of traders specialized in carrying bulk goods, they also moved long distances with their goods on the back of oxen.
• Bulk goods were also taken through rivers on boats.
• The Gujarati merchants included the Hindus, Jains and Muslims.
• In Rajasthan, Oswals, Maheshwaris, and Agarwals came to be called the Marwaris.
• The most important trading communities in south India
  • The Chettis on the Coramandal coast
  • the Muslim merchants of Malabar
• Bengal – Exported sugar, rice as well as delicate muslin and silk.
• Gujarat – Was an entry point of foreign goods from where fine textiles and silk were taken to north India.
• The major imports into India were certain metals such as
  • tin and copper
  • war horses and
  • luxury items such as ivory
• The import of gold and silver balanced of trade.

CULTURAL DEVELOPEMENT UNDER MUGHALS

Art and Architecture

• Under the patronage of Mughal emperors, the architecture of forts and tombs saw a striking resemblance to Islamic architecture.
• Persian and Indian styles were intelligently fused to create the works of quality and precision.
• Large scale construction of buildings started with the dawn of Akbar.He built many forts and the most famous one was the Agra Fort. It was built in red sandstone.
• His other forts are at Lahore and Allahabad.
• Shah Jahan built the famous Red Fort at Delhi with its Rang Mahal, Diwan-i-Am and Diwan-i-Khas.Taj Mahal
• Taj Mahal:The Pietra Dura method was used on a large scale in the Taj Mahal..Taj Mahal is considered as jewel of the builder’s art..It contains all the architectural forms developed by the Mughals.

• The palaces that the rulers inhabited were beautiful synthesis of perfect craftsmanship and inspirations of Indo-Persian traditions.

• The entrance of the palaces had lush green gardens with symmetrically cut trees and small square structures for water fountains.
• Mughal culture has seen several Mausoleums in the era like the Humayun tomb, Taj Mahal and others

Painting and Music

• The foundation for the Mughal painting was laid by Humayun while staying in Persia.
• Paintings of the Mughal Era depict a theme from fables of Persian literature and Hindu Mythology, which gradually changed to realistic subjects like portraits of the royalty, events and details of the court life, wild life and hunting scenes, and battle illustrations.
• Music had also developed under the Mughals.
• Akbar patronized Tansen of Gwalior.
• Tansen composed many ragas.
• Jahangir and Shah Jahan were also fond of music.

Language and Literature

• Literature received a boon during the Mughal Period. From the important source books, this period also witnessed the growth in different languages like Persian, Hindi and also contributed to Bengali and Punjabi literature.
• Many historical works were written during this period.
• They include Ain-i-Akbari and Akabar Nama authored by Abul Fazl.
• The leading poet of that period was his brother Abul Faizi.
• The most influential Hindi poet was Tulsidas, who wrote the Hindi version of the Ramayana, the Ramcharitmanas.
• Shah Jahan also patronized many writers and historians like Abdul Hamid Lahori, author of Padshah