Question

This is an excerpt from the Babur Nama that describes the irrigation devices the emperor observed in northern India: The greater part of Hindustan country is situated on level land. Many though its towns and cultivated lands are, it nowhere has running waters … For … water is not at all a necessity in cultivating crops and orchards. Autumn crops grow by the downpour of the rains themselves; and strange it is that spring crops grow even when no rains fall. (However) to young trees water is made to flow by means of buckets or wheels … In Lahore, Dipalpur (both in present-day Pakistan) and those other parts, people water by means of a wheel. They make two circles of rope long enough to suit the depths of the well, fix strips of wood between them, and on these fasten pitchers. The ropes with the wood and attached pitchers are put over the wheel-well. At one end of the wheel-axle a second wheel is fixed, and close to it another on an upright axle. The last wheel the bullock turns; its teeth catch in the teeth of the second (wheel), and thus the wheel with the pitchers is turned. A trough is set where the water empties from the pitchers and from this the water is conveyed everywhere. In Agra, Chandwar, Bayana (all in present-day Uttar Pradesh) and those parts again, people water with a bucket … At the well-edge they set up a fork of wood, having a roller adjusted between the forks, tie a rope to a large bucket, put the rope over a roller, and tie its other end to the bullock. One person must drive the bullock, another empty the bucket.

Compare the irrigation devices observed by Babur in Peasants, Zamindars and the State with the irrigation system of Vijayanagara in An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara. What resources were required for each system? Which system could encourage greater participation of peasants in improving agricultural technology?

Answer 1

Basis	Northern India observed by Babur	Vijayanagara
Main source of water	Wells were commonly used for irrigation.	Rivers, tanks and reservoirs were important sources of water.
Irrigation devices	Persian wheels, ropes, buckets and bullocks were used to lift water.	Canals and channels carried water to fields.
Method	Water was lifted from wells and then supplied to crops.	Water was stored and distributed through canals and tanks.
Area covered	These methods were suitable mainly for smaller areas.	The system could irrigate larger areas of agricultural land.
Construction needed	It required less large-scale construction.	It required more planning, labour and construction.
Maintenance	Individual peasants could maintain many of these devices.	Tanks and canals needed regular and organised maintenance.
Peasants’ participation	Peasants could participate easily because the devices were simple and useful.	Peasants would participate if they received enough benefit from the irrigation system.

Both systems helped farmers get water when rainfall was insufficient. Simple and low-cost irrigation methods could encourage greater participation of peasants in improving agricultural technology.