The Mughal bazaars were alive

Sudhirendar Sharma

Sudhirendar Sharma

Lot has been written about on the medieval Mughal rule in India in recent years, mostly about the iconic rulers than the ordinary masses. Hotly contested, some see the regime as a benign entity while others as one harmful to India’s long-term development. But by fixating on the king’s actions rather than those of his subjects, much seems to have been missed. Jageet Lally, an associate professor the history of early modern and colonial India, at the University College, London, prisms the business schedule of moneylenders, traders and the related in presenting the dynamic economic life through the Mughal period. To do so, Lally looks through the lives of small trader like the saint Guru Nanak, a failed businessman like Banarsidas and a complaining diplomat like Sir Thomas Roe to weave the daily rhythms of religious and commercial life in that era.    

Badsah Bandar Bazaar

Through the lived reality of real-life characters of the time viz moneylenders, merchants and middlemen, Badshah Bandar Bazaar examines what has long been taken for granted for the Mughal empire. It identifies the regime as a mighty giant at the apex of both the fledgling markets and expanding ports. It is part of a series of books on The Story of Indian Business that aims to trace the arc of commerce from earliest times, “mining great ideas in business and economics that have shaped commerce.” Despite ups and downs in the Mughal authority, its impact on both local societies and economies remained profound and durable.  

Need it be said that the Mughal power rested upon the state’s ability to set and collect taxes effectively, while ensuring effective spending on defense and expansion of the regime. While day-to-day petty trading went in full steam, the political elite were not disconnected as they depended on participation in rural and urban production cycles in buying and selling. As a result, unprecedented degree of centralization overtly nurtured the state as a mighty hegemon, but in reality, it had a a soft version that made its economy dynamic and robust. 

Interestingly, the day-to-day commercial life had an essential religious element to social life. Religion had a significant role in it. Guru Nanak and his Khatri background influenced trade and commerce during the early Mughal period. Though the guru applied his scribal and accounting skills in his early years before he set off to pursue his spiritual quest, the Khatris remained the core of the Sikh panth in helping expand the regime widen and deepen. The globalization of world economy started steadily after 1500, and with it the shift towards market-oriented production and marketing became relevant. With exotic goods for purchase, and ever more artful ways to make money, businesses became more potent and enticing. Some of the issues addressed in the book resonate powerfully even today. What and how trade expanded and diversified during those times need careful examination from the present perspective?

Badshah, Bandar, Bazaar fuels new life and a fresh perspective into the economic history of the Mughal Empire. fifteen volumes under the series do capture the wide socio-economic-political diversity of the time, the books are no less important for students and others who want to understand how historic currents shaped contemporary realities. The six chapters in the book provide insights on what role trade and business played then and what role it might play in emerging globalization and development of capitalism. 

Infrastructure development for trade and business held the key then, but its relevant even more today. There is much that can be inferred from the historic details. It relates the macro-level political reality with the ordinary lives of people, be it a diamond trader in Surat or a shopkeeper in Chandni Chowk. Badshah Bandar Bazaar draws an engaging connection between the throne and the world of business. The court was definitely above the daily realm of buying and selling, but it wasn’t beyond the ledgers and account books. 

Breaking a fresh perspective into the history of the Mughal Empire, the book takes us on a fabulous journey through its many twists and trails. It not only introduces the empire’s rich but exposes the reader to its fertile countryside. Such times were rich in opportunities and crises alike. All this was possible because the Mughals welcomed the firangis, who dealt with a wide range of economic actors. Their perspectives are difficult to access first-hand, because they left no testimony of their own. Had they been able to do so, they would have rid of some of the pervading myths? 

Badshah Bandar Bazaar is an absorbing study on the kinds of people and pleasures to be found within the Mughal bazaars.       

Badshah Bandar Bazaar 

by Jagjeet Lally

Penguin Business

Extent: 200, Price: Rs. 399.

(Dr. Sudhirendar Sharma is a writer and researcher specialising in development issues. He is based in New Delhi, India.)

First published in Hindu BusinessLine on Feb 23, 2026.