Question

What was the importance of Farman issued by Mughals for foreigners?

Answer 1

Answer:  

FARMAN (OPers. framānā, Mid. Pers. framān; Arabized pl. farāmīn), decree, command, order, judgement. In historical as well as contemporary administrative and political usage the term often denotes a royal or governmental decree, that is a public and legislative document promulgated in the name of the ruler or another person (e.g., prince, princess, governor) holding partial elements of sovereignty. In the Persophone chanceries of Islamic times and also, following their example, many Turcophone (Ottoman, Chaghatay) chanceries, the word farmān was invariably the standard nomenclature for such documents. At the same time, chanceries in various countries had taxonomic terms (nešān, raqam, ḥokm, yarlīḡ, parvāna, parvānča, etc.) for specific types of farmāns, depending on and changing with the conventions of the particular dynasty in power. The term farmān (official decree) is different from the term sanad (plural asnād), which has the general meaning of “private,” “judicial,” or “administrative” document. Only in a few cases, as in the Indian Mughal administration, was the word sanad used as a technical term for a special category of farmāns. The entirety of sovereign, administrative, judicial, semi-private, and private documents are often designated with the collective term farāmīn o asnād.

Answer 2

In 1717, Farrukhsiyar issued a farman giving the British East India Company the right to reside and trade in the Mughal Empire. They were allowed to trade freely, except for a yearly payment of 3,000 rupees. This was because William Hamilton, a surgeon associated with the company cured Farrukhsiyar of a disease.