2020 · GS Paper 1 · Q12 · 15 marks
Persian literary sources of medieval India reflect the spirit of the age. Comment.
In short
Persian sources such as the Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, the Ain-i-Akbari and Dara Shikoh's works mirror medieval India's kingship, administration and Indo-Persian synthesis, but mainly from the court's viewpoint. The Ain-i-Akbari's revenue and price records remain the richest window on the Mughal economy.
Model answer
Ghissu Editorial · Verified 4 Oct 2026 · 276 words
Ideology of kingship
Barani defends the Sultan's zawabit beside the sharia, while Abul Fazl's Akbarnama clothes Akbar in farr-i-izadi and sulh-i-kul.
Administration and economy
The Ain-i-Akbari records the dahsala system, mansab ranks and prices, the base of Irfan Habib's Agrarian System of Mughal India (1963).
Synthesis and piety
Amir Khusrau's Hindavi verse, the Razmnama, Dara Shikoh's Majma-ul-Bahrain and the malfuzat Fawaid-ul-Fuad show an Indo-Persian meeting of faiths.
Debate and private voice
Badauni's secret critique of Akbar and Gulbadan Begum's Humayun-nama show argument, not one official mood.
Court-centred bias
Chroniclers wrote for patrons, and Barani's contempt for the low-born colours his account.
Silence on the many
Peasants, artisans and most women barely appear, and regional life survives better in khyats and Bhakti verse.
Religious framing
Campaigns told as holy war were picked by Elliot and Dowson (1867-77) to paint perpetual communal conflict.
Corroborate and conserve
Read chronicles beside inscriptions, coins and travellers such as Bernier, and digitise Persian manuscripts under the National Mission for Manuscripts (2003).
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