Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/213

CHAP. IX.] one lakh respectively. Thus there was an annual deficit of Rs. 20,36,000, which was made good by drawing on the reserve stored in the treasuries of the Deccan, especially in the fort of Daulatabad. This cash balance fell from Rs. 80,60,000 to Rs. 40,50,000, probably in two years. But in such a frontier province it was necessary to keep a large reserve for emergencies. Aurangzib grew alarmed at the rapid decrease of his cash balance and suggested a remedy to the Emperor: he wished to take away from the jagirdars and place under collectors of the Crown as much land as would yield the 203 lakhs needed to make both ends meet. But where were the dispossessed officers to be provided for? Losing their means of support with the resumption of their jagirs, they would be forced to return to the Emperor's Court and so decrease the Deccan army by one-third. Such a diminution of armed strength was unsafe with two powerful States, Bijapur and Golkonda, across the frontier. To avoid the evil, Aurangzib proposed that jagirs in part should be given to him and his higher officers in other provinces, and that the cash portion of his salary might be made a charge on the flourishing treasuries of Malwa and Surat.