Problematic Modes and the Mughal Social Formation

Analysis of structural features shows that the characterization of Mughal India as 'feudal' is inadequate. As an alternative characterization, introduced is the notion of the 'tributary mode of production.' An empirical analysis is developed, & it is argued that the tributary mode of production constitutes a viable alternative model for understanding productive relations in Mughal India & that a variant of the mode was dominant between the sixteenth & eighteenth centuries. Modified AA.