A tax levied on non-Muslim subjects (dhimmis) under Islamic rule in medieval India in lieu of military service and in return for state protection, a recurring marker of religious policy in the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire.
- Collected through the Delhi Sultanate; rulers like Firuz Shah Tughlaq enforced it strictly and extended it to groups previously exempted, including Brahmins.
- Akbar abolished the jizya in 1564, as part of his liberal policy of sulh-i-kul, along with the pilgrimage tax on Hindus.
- Aurangzeb re-imposed the jizya in 1679, a move associated with his orthodox policy and with growing friction with the Rajputs, Marathas, and others.
- The tax was conceptually separate from the land tax (kharaj); jizya was a poll tax on adult non-Muslim males, with exemptions for women, children, the old, and the disabled.
- Its imposition and abolition are standard markers used to contrast the religious policies of Akbar (tolerant) and Aurangzeb (orthodox).
Akbar's abolition (1564) versus Aurangzeb's re-imposition (1679) is one of the most frequently tested contrasts in Mughal religious policy.
Jizya (poll tax on non-Muslims) is different from kharaj (land tax); Akbar abolished it in 1564 and Aurangzeb revived it in 1679, do not swap the rulers.
Poll tax on non-Muslims; abolished by Akbar (1564), re-imposed by Aurangzeb (1679); a key marker of Mughal religious policy.