ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the historical developments of agriculture systems since pre-historical periods through to the emergence of Modern India. The emergence of the feudal system and changes in land use from an ‘open’ land system to a ‘closed’ land system for revenue collection in the Mughal period had diversified the agrarian economy and rural society. The history of Indian agriculture is complex, culturally intertwined and complicated. The narratives have several unresolved controversies, bias judgements, contradictory interpretations of events and incomplete historical records. The Harappan civilisation was a dispersed planned settlement along the middle Indus valley including its delta along with the coastal areas of the Arabian. The Mughal empire in the Indian sub-continent was established by the founder Babur’s victory over Ibrahim Lodi, the last ruler of the Delhi Sultanate in the First Battle of Panipat. The name raiyat or muzarian was given to farmers who worked on a small piece of land allocated by Zamindars.
