PROVINCIAL ADMINIS­TRATION

PROVINCIAL ADMINIS­TRATION The administrative agency in the provinces (subah) was an exact miniature of that of the central government. The number of provinces varied from time to time. It was 12 during Akbar's time and 21 during Aurangazeb's. The provincial ad­ministration developed by Akbar was based on the principles of 'uniformity' and 'check and balance'. Rights and duties of the provincial officials were dis­tributed in a way which pre­vented the misuse of offices and promoted interdependence among various officials.
The officials appointed at the provincial level were as fol­lows.
(i) Subahdar or nizam He was the head of the provincial administration. He was also known as prantapati or sipahsalara or sahib-i-suba. Appointed by the king, subahdar maintained law and order and security of the people and property throughout his province. His other respon­sibilities included implementa­tion of royal orders and collec­tion of taxes from landlords and subordinate rulers.
(ii) Diwan-i-suba Appointed by the king on' the rec­ommendation of diwan-i-ala, he was responsible for revenue collection in his province. Though he was under the subahdar for the administrative purposes, diwan-i-ala had a direct control over him.
(iii) Provincial bakshi Appointed by the king on the recommendation of the central mir bakshi, his responsibili­ties included maintenance of mansabdars and fixing of recruitment pay of soldiers. He sent reports to the king from time to time about the working of the mansabdars. As a wakiya nigara, he sent reports to the king on the incidents of the province.
(iv) Sadr At the provincial level, sadr also worked as qazi. Appointed by the king on the recommendation of sadr­us-sadr, he, as a sadr, watched the religious activities of Muslims. As a qazi, he performed judicial functions.
Besides these officials, kotwal, wakiya navis, muhtasib, mir1ahr, etc. were appointed at the provincial level.