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Give an account of the social developments during the Mughal Age under the following headlines: (a) Social Structure (b) Position of Women |
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Answer» (a) The society comprised of, an general, three classes of people; 1. Princes and the Nobles, 2. The Middle Class, and 3. The lower orders,i.e., the Ordinary People, the peasants and the laborers. As regards the princes and the nobles, they rolled in wealth and luxury, Costly silks and precious jewels graced their persons and beautiful carpets decked their dining halls. They ate the choicest food and could taste the choicest ‘ wines. They lived in highly decorated palatial buildings. Many of them kept men and women as slaves who could be bought and sold as they liked. The middle classes, i.e., the merchants, traders, artists, musicians, scholars and those belonging to the class of priests and the clergy had a living standard suited to their respective professions. The living conditions of the lower orders were hard. The landless peasants and laborers could eke out a bare existence. Towards the end of Shah Jahan’s reign, the peasants got much harassed by the revenue officials. Whenever there was a famine it was this class of peasants who suffered the most. (b) The position of women was in many respects pitiful. The child marriage was a standing social evil. Akbar tried to check girls’ marriage before puberty, but his attempts did not seem to have been effective. Polygamy also was not uncommon. Moreover, Safi system was prevalent in Hindu society. The efforts of Akbar, Jahangir and Aurangzeb failed to uproot this evil. Despite constraints, instances of women taking on active part in social and political affairs are many. Rani Durgavati, Chand Sultana, Nur Jahan, Jijabai and Jahanara were highly alented women, who have left an enduring reputation behind. |
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