Suri-Akbar’s Administrative and Fiscal Reforms: Influence on the British Raj

Abstract

This paper examines the administrative and fiscal reforms of Sher Shah Suri and Akbar the Great and assesses their long-lasting impacts on the design of the British colonial rule in India. The main research question is how much the British Raj depended on, modified, or changed the existing Mughal and Suri systems of administration instead of coming up with new institutions altogether. The main aim of the research is to examine how continuity and change occurred in the sixteenth century through colonial times with reference to revenue administration, land measurement, bureaucracy, and the judicial organization. The methodology of the research is based on a historical and analytical approach that is supported by primary sources like Ain-i-Akbari and classical texts on administration, as well as secondary literature of the present day. The foundational reforms of Sher Shah, the institutionalization of the same by Akbar, and how they were adapted under British rule are evaluated comparatively. This paper elaborates on the importance of indigenous customs of administration in developing colonial rule and the importance of historical continuity in interpreting the development of Indian administrative and fiscal systems.