What were the two categories of peasants in the 17th century (the Mughal period)? Discuss.
According to the Indo-Persian sources of the Mughal period, raiyat or Nazarian were the terms used to denote a peasant. Besides terms like Kisan or Asami were also used. The sources of the 17th century refer to two kinds of farmers. They were Khud-Kashta and Pahi-Kashta. The Khud-Kashta lived in the village where they cultivated their own lands themselves. On the other hand, the Pahi-Kashta were not the residents of the village. They belonged to some other village but cultivated lands in some other village. They performed their work on a contractual basis. There were two reasons for it which are given below :Out of Choice: The people accepted to be Pahi-Kashta when they found the terms of revenue favourable to them. Out of Compulsion: The people became Pahi-Kashta when a famine or economic distress compelled them to find any work anywhere so that they may survive.
