How did revenue farming affect cultivators in the Mughal Empire?

In the Mughal Empire, revenue farming—a practice where the right to collect land revenue from a specific area was auctioned to the highest bidder—frequently placed heavy burdens on cultivators.1

While the empire’s broader revenue systems, such as the zabt system, aimed to standardize assessments based on land productivity and crop value, the shift toward revenue farming from the 17th century onward often led to increased extractive pressures. Because revenue farmers were primarily focused on maximizing their returns from the auctioned territories, their collection methods were often more aggressive than those of state-appointed officials. These heavy financial demands strained cultivators and local elites alike, contributing to social tensions and undermining the long-term stability of the empire.21

Ultimately, the requirement to pay taxes in cash—often ranging from one-third to one-half of production value—forced peasants to enter the market to sell their produce, leaving them vulnerable to the fluctuations of the market and the demands of intermediaries.21