Question

This was a feature of agrarian society which struck a keen observer like Babur, the first Mughal emperor, forcefully enough for him to write about it in the Babur Nama, his memoirs: In Hindustan hamlets and villages, towns indeed, are depopulated and set up in a moment! If the people of a large town, one inhabited for years even, flee from it, they do it in such a way that not a sign or trace of them remains in a day and a half. On the other hand, if they fix their eyes on a place to settle, they need not dig water courses because their crops are all rain-grown, and as the population of Hindustan is unlimited, it swarms in. They make a tank or a well; they need not build houses or set up walls … khas-grass abounds, wood is unlimited, huts are made, and straightaway there is a village or a town!

Describe the aspects of agricultural life that struck Babur as particular to regions in northern India.

Answer 1

Babur noticed some special features of farming life in northern India:

1. Villages and towns in northern India could quickly become deserted when people moved away.
2. Peasants could easily move from one place to another and start a new settlement.
3. They usually did not need to build large canals for irrigation because water was easily available.
4. People could dig a well or make a small water tank wherever they settled.
5. Grass, wood and other natural resources were available in plenty.
6. Because these materials were easily available, houses and villages could be built quickly.
7. Babur also noted that northern India had a very large population.