Question

Who were Khud-kashta farmers?

Hint:

Khud-kashta farmers were integral to the agrarian system during the Mughal era, ensuring that agriculture remained productive and independent from middlemen.

Answer 1

Khud-kashta farmers were essentially self-sufficient cultivators who worked on land that they either owned or had been assigned to them by the state. In the Mughal era, the state provided land for cultivation in return for a share of the produce. These farmers were responsible for their own agricultural work, unlike tenant farmers or landless laborers. This system helped create a class of independent farmers who played a crucial role in the agrarian economy of the Mughal period.