The Merchant Class Migration, Settlement, and Business Activities in Mughal Bihar With Special Reference to The Jain and Marwari Communities

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief study on the migration, settlement, and business activities of the merchant class in Mughal Bihar, specifically focusing on the Jains and Marwaris. In order to shape economic interests as well as establish lucrative trade and commercial pursuits, the several business communities migrated from one place to another and settled down in the different parts of the country during the period under review. Among them, the Jains and Marwaris were the very famous and powerful mercantile communities who widely engaged themselves in trade and commercial activities across the country. It is a general assumption that most of the mercantile communities migrated from Rajasthan and settled in the different regions for trade and commercial purposes. The respective paper is intended to focus on the migration of Jain and Marwari merchants from Rajasthan and their settlement and business activities in the province of Bihar. This paper really wants to look into why and how Jains and Marwaris moved from Rajasthan to Bihar, and it will also focus on how the ruling class and merchants were closely connected and how their relationships were based on economic interests.