He made several noteworthy and important reforms.
(1) He abolished the Pilgrim Tax in 1563 with a view to winning over the good-will of theHindus. The Muslims opposed this act of the Emperor on the ground that it involved a huge loss to the royal treasury. Another argument was that as the Hindus had been paying the tax for a long time, the same was not inequitable. But Akbar preferred to lose annually a sum of Rupees one crore in order to win over the goodwill of the Hindus.
(2) The next reform was the abolition of Jaziya which was a tax on the "conscientious faith of any man." This measure went a long way in removing the deep-rooted bitterness in the minds of the Hindus against the Muslim rulers.
(3) Akbar tried to remove the custom of Sati from the Hindus in general and the Rajputs in particular. Special inspectors were appointed to keep a watch on the voluntary or forced Sati. No woman was to be burnt against her will (1590-91).
(4) Akbar discouraged child-marriages and the system of female infanticide. A law was made that no boy below the age of 16 and no girl below the age of 14 was to be married. Consent of the bride and bridegroom was made necessary for the performance of a marriage. By another law, it was provided that no son or daughter of a nobleman could be married without the ascertainment of their age by an official of the police.
Two officers called Turbegs were appointed in big towns to inquire into the circumstances of the bride and bridegroom.
(5) If a Hindu was converted to Islam in his childhood, he was given the option to become a Hindu again if he so desired.
(6) Akbar abolished the system of the enslavement of the wives and children of the conquered people. All persons in India were to be free.
(7) The Jagir system was abolished and all Jagirs were converted into Crownlands. The state became the owner of those lands and collected the revenues directly. The officers were to be paid salaries.
(8) Mir Arz was appointed to receive petition from the public and submit them to the Emperor.
(9) Trial by ordeal was abolished.
(10) A record office was set up and the proceedings of the court were to be recorded.
(11) Important changes were made in the organisation of the royal mint. Abdul Samad was appointed the mint master. Different officials were put incharge of the provincial mints of Bengal, Lahore, Jaunpur, Gujarat and Patna. Pure gold was used for coins and those were ofstandard weight. His coins were superior in weight accuracy, purity and artistry.
(12) And of course, his contribution to art and literature is ummatched. He created a huge library and had huge volumes written and translated in various languages. His court was always adorned by poets, architects and artisans. His navratnas were
I am not sure about the names of the other two. Different books give different names. (Someone clarify pleaseđ)
(13) His system of administration was unparalleled. He reorganized the various departments and regularized their functions. The revenue, military and judiciary were well appointed and well paid, but he retained the ultimate say in all departments.
(14) With Todar Mal who was the revenue officer of Sher Shah Suri as well, he devised the Dashala system of tax collection that was based on fair and reasonable taxation based on the productivity of the land.
(15) His military and trade policies helped his empire triple in size and wealth.
(16) He also introduced widow remarriage.
(16) Officers were appointed in accordance with their capability and loyalty irrespective of religion.
There have been many more. But Akbar was the Emperor who brought in pluralism and tolerance and political unity which formed the basics of the modern day Republic India.( To us now this may all seem regular because we are accustomed to these ideals since childhood. But to bring in the change in a hard-set superstition filled society, Akbar must have had to face many obstacles and difficulties.) Truly, his rule was considered as RamRajya by even the Hindus of that period.
All this he was doing alongside continually expanding his Empire.
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