According to Abul Fazl, at the time of dividing his empire into twelve provinces in the twenty-fourth year of his reign, Akbar had in each province a Sipah Salar, a Diwan, a Bakshi, a Mir Adal, a Sadr, a Kotwal, a Mir-i-Bahr and appointed Waqianavis.The number of provinces increased to 15 in 1602 AD, which increased to 18 during Shahjahan's time and 20 during Aurangzeb's time.
1. Sipah Salar or Nazim
The
provincial officer or head executive of a province was known as Sipah Salar
under Akbar and later as Nazim. Popularly, however, he was known as Subahdar or
as Subah. His main duty was to maintain law and order in the province and implement
the Imperial orders. He would deal with local rebellions and in the case of
external aggression seek the help of the centre. He would realize tribute from
the local rajas and chieftains and, if necessary, help his diwan in the
collection of revenue. He sat in the court and administered justice, mostly in
criminal cases. He recommended to the centre the names of his officers who
deserved promotions or rewards. He would also send weekly reports to the centre
about the affairs in his province. A Subahdar was appointed by a special farman
called farman-i-sabati and his duties defined by issuing an instrument of
instructions, known as Hidayat-ul-Qawaid. Only high mansabdars commanding 2000
to 5000 soldiers were appointed to this post.
2. Diwan:
The
official next in importance was the diwan who was incharge of the revenues of
the province. He was appointed by and directly responsible to the Imperial
Diwan. His main duty was to realize land revenues, sales tax, rahdari duty,
octroi, etc., through his officers, the amils, tahsildar and others and remit
them to the centre. He was responsible for collection, proper accounting and
auditing of revenue. The provincial government would submit all accounts of
expenditure to him. He would sanction money only for purposes approved by the
Imperial government. He would take steps to bring more areas under cultivation
and for this purpose advanced money to the peasants. He had also the authority
to grant. remission in land revenues whenever there was a failure of crops. He
would also send fortnightly financial reports of the province to the centre.
The diwan thus served as a check on the Subahdar though he was a mansabdar of
much lower status and consequently drew a smaller salary. He was also empowered
to attend the Subahdar's court on invitation, otherwise the diwan did not
acknowledge the Subahdar as a superior officer. There were instances of a clash
bet ween these two officers when the centre had to intervene. Sometimes the
governor rebelled, but he was not able to carry the diwan with him. However,
this system of checks and balances, so shrewdly introduced by Akbar, suffered a
setback in the reign of Aurangzeb when some individuals held the posts of both
Subedar and diwan.
3. Bakshi:
The
bakshi was the next important officer in the pro vince. He was the
representative of the Mir Bakshi and was appoin ted in consultation with him.
He was in charge of the military establishment in the province and enforced the
Imperial orders regarding the recruitment and proper equipment of soldiers. He
would inspect the troops kept by the mansabdars and hold an annual review of
such troops. In times of war he would ensure that the officers had the
requisite number of troops and also met the needs of the army. In fact, one of
his representatives accom panied the army on march. He was responsible for
passing the bills of the mansabdars and their soldiers. As a chief reporter, or
waqianavis, he would send regular reports to the centre about provincial
matters. He would collect the information through his agents in each pargana.
4. Diwan-i-Bayutat:
The
Diwan-i-Bayutat was responsible for the maintenance of the roads, government
buildings and the karkhanas in the province. He also took charge of the
property of a dead mansabdar, prepared an inventory and sent it to the centre.
He was personally responsible for the comforts of the King whenever he visited
the province.
5. Provincial Sadr
The
emperor of the center used to appoint a sadr in the province on the
recommendation of Sadr us sudur. The provincial sadr was responsible for the
interest of the religion of Islam in his area. His main function in this
context was the distribution of religious, educational grants and land grants.
6. Qazi-i-Suba
The
chief judicial officer in the province was the Qazi-i-Suba. He was appointed by
the emperor on the recommendation of Qazi-ul-Quzat. He had the right to decide
both civil and criminal cases. He also decided the matrimonial and property
cases of Muslims.
7. Other Officers
:
The
other officers of the province were the Kotwal in-charge of the police and
jail, Muhatsib, who looked after the public morality, the fact-checker Mir Adal
and the Mir Bahar, who looked after the waterways.
Akbar
had adopted the policy of curbing the provincial rule and maintaining balance
among the officials and for this he always kept a watchful eye and tight
control, due to which his provincial rule ran smoothly, which was dissolved due
to negligence during the later rulers.
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