108 THE AGRARIAN SYSTEM OF MOSLEM INDIA 
Badaiini’s account, while it may be exaggerated in detail, 
is founded on substantial facts. The author of the Akbar- 
nama closes his description of the matter with the observa- 
tion that the old accounts were thus settled, and that, 
through the efforts of the just and sagacious Imperial Com- 
missioner, the Ministry became a ‘“house of delight”: we 
can safely infer that that description did not apply to it 
before the Commissioner’s reform.! 
On the whole then it seems to me that Badaiini’s account 
can safely be accepted as supplementing the official record 
in this matter, but a few words must be added on the 
literary problem presented by the two documents we have 
been considering. Why are they in the Akbarnama at all? 
Their proper place was in the Ain, following the chapter on 
the ‘“Ten-Year-period,” which breaks off so abruptly. 
As the text of the Ain stands, Akbar took no action worthy 
of record in revenue matters between the 24th and the 4oth 
year; yet the author of the Akbarnama considered the action 
embodied in these documents to be so important that he 
departed from his usual practice and inserted them in 
extenso. 1 can find no other instance of lengthy and 
technical departmental records being given in the Akbarnama 
in full, and from the literary standpoint, which was the 
standpoint of the author, they are a gross disfigurement 
on his work; why did he so disfigure it, when he could so 
easily have secured their insertion in the Ain? I know 
of no evidence bearing on the question: there must have 
been some strong motive at work, but its nature is a matter 
for conjecture. My own guess is this. The draft of the 
Ain contained a full account of the transactions we have 
been considering in this section, including the two docu- 
ments: Abul Fazl in editing the draft cut this portion out 
as undesirable, but subsequently, when the canon of the 
Ain had been closed, he decided, or else Akbar ordered, 
that these important documents ought to be preserved; 
and he inserted them in the third volume of the Akbarnama, 
1 Biyazid (f. 154) gives us an interesting glimpse of Fathulla’s work in 
the Ministry at this time. As has been mentioned in a previous note, 
Todar Mal lost his temper with Bayazid in an argument over the latter's 
pargana. After the quarrel had gone on for some days, Fathulla inter- 
vened. and referred the matter to Akbar. who decided in Bavazid’s favour.