Raja Todarmal was Akbar's head of the revenue system and introduced several important taxation reforms. He had previously worked under Sher Shah Suri and learned from his system, which surveyed land uniformly and taxed 1/3 of the gross produce. As Akbar's revenue minister, Todarmal introduced the zabti or bandobast system of land measurement. He further improved this with the dahasala system, which calculated revenue as 1/3 of the average produce over 10 years. However, the karori system, which organized land into units based on revenue amounts, failed due to mismanagement and cruelty of officials.

1. TAXATION POLICY OF RAJA TODARMAL

2. INTRODUCTION
 Raja Todarmal was one of nine gems in Akbar’s court, and his name
appears very extensively in Akbarnama written by Abul-Fazl.
 He was the head of the revenue system.
 Todermal had mastered taxation.
 His taxation system was fair and very scientific based.
 He had earlier worked under Sher Shah Suri.
 Akbar honoured him with the title of “Diwan-i-Ashraf”.

3. TODARMAL IN SHER SHAH’S COURT
 Raja Todermal, before becoming a celebrity during Akbar's reign, was
groomed under Sher Shah's administration.
 He acquired valuable experience in the court of Sher Shah.
 The birth name of Sher Shah Suri (1486–1545) was Farid Khan.
 When he killed a tiger, his name became Sher Khan.
 He was Founder of the Suri Empire in northern India with his capital at Delhi.
 He took over the Mughal Empire in 1540 after defeating the Mughal king
Humayun.

4. SHER SHAH SURI TAXATION POLICY
 In the administration of Sher Shah Suri, land was surveyed on a
uniform system.
 Each holding was measured separately
 Assessments were liberal yet collections were strict.
 1/3 of the gross produce of the land was taken as revenue.
 People could pay taxes in kind or in cash.
 The rights of the tenants were duly recognized and the
responsibilities were clearly defined in the kabuliyat (deed of
agreement).
 Remissions of rents were made to tenants.

5. SHER SHAH SURI TAXATION POLICY
 Loans were given to cultivators in case of loss of crops due to
encampment of troops or insufficiency of rainfall.
 These revenue reforms not only increased the resources of the
state, but were also helpful in the interest of the public.
 Further, the land revenue administration of Sher Shah helped
in the development of the revenue administration of Akbar.

6. TODARMAL IN AKBAR’S COURT
 Todarmal became Akbar's Finance Officer (Mushrif-i-Diwan) in
1575 and Diwan-i-Kul (Chief Finance Minister) in 1582.
 Akbar made some experiments in the land revenue
administration with the help of Raja Todar Mal.
 Raja Todar Mal is known to have introduced the following
reforms:
1. Land measurements
2. Dahasala System
3. Karori / Crori System

7. LAND MEASUREMENT/ LAND REVENUE SYSTEM
 Raja Todarmal, Akbar’s revenue minister, was the main architect of Akbar’s
land revenue system.
 This system of land revenue was known as TODAR MAL’S BANDOBAST OR
ZABTI SYSTEM.
 The bamboo reeds rope were joined together with iron rings for measuring the
land.
 This device brought about accuracy in measurement.
 according to the fertility of the land it was categorized as Polaj (cultivated
every year), Parauti (once in two years), Chachar (once in three or four years)
and Banjar (once in five or more years)
 A cultivated area was taxed through fixed rates depending on the crop and
productivity of the area.

8. DAHASALA SYSTEM
 Bandobast system was further improved by Raja Todar Mal.
 It was known as Dahsala System, a system of taxation which was
completed in 1580.
 He introduced standard weights and measures.
 Under the new system, revenue was calculated as one-third of the
average produce of the previous ten years.
 Payment of revenue was made generally in cash.
 This system was later refined, taking into account
 local prices,
 Grouping areas with similar productivity into assessment circles, and
 Remission given to peasants when the harvest failed during times of
flood or drought.

9. KARORI / CRORI SYSTEM
 In the Karori system, all the Parganas and fiscal unions of the
nation were measured.
 Every piece of land which produced revenue worth 1 crore was
placed under the officer known as Crori.
 The result was not good as expected.
 Much of the land was waste and the cruelty of the Croris made
the peasants sell their wives and children.
 The rules were made but were not monitored.
 Many people lost lives due to torture of the revenue officers.

10. REFERENCES
 https://iasbaba.com/wpcontent/uploads/2015/08/AKBAR.compressed
.pdf
 https://tnl-uploads.s3.ap-southeast
1.amazonaws.com/production/e68f9ce6-faa9-4e74-99a0-
f65ac089de9e.pdf
 Sharan, A.M. & Das, B.L. (2014). Life Of Raja Todarmal – His Bravery,
His Taxation Policy, His Place of Birth, And His Caste. available at-
https://www.engr.mun.ca/~asharan/TODARMAL/TODARMALV6.pdf