The Mughal Empire in India lasted from 1526 to roughly 1761. Generally the Mughal Empire is thought of as a prosperous time period. Even though the Mughal Empire existed 300-500 years ago, its influence still exists in current day India. The social aspects of the Mughal Empire and India today especially relate including family life,rleigion art, music, and literature, education.

During the Mughal Empire, women had a significant role in family life. Women had an active role in Mughal tribal society, especially apparent when women fought on the battlefield (3). This is important and unique to this society because during the same time, in other parts of the world, women were oppressed. Some women could not even go to war with their husbands let alone fight. Women were also allowed to voice their political opinions, and were relied on for political advice. In the United States for instance, women were not even allowed to vote until the 1800s. In some regards, India's social standards were more advanced than other countries. Women also received salaries, owned land, participated in buisness transactions, and literary activities. Aristocratic women painted, wrote poetry, and played music because they received a higher education (3).

The Mughal Empire was run by Muslim emporers, however India was and still is Hindu dominated. Hindus, specifically of the upper class, adopted the Muslim practice of isolating women, called purda. This is an example of Muslim influence in a Hindu dominant culture. The Hindu practice of cremation of widows, called suttee, continued even though the Mughals tried to abolish it. The Mughal rulers sometimes forced Islam upon the Hindus, but many times the Hindus resisted. Hindu men would marry Islam women and convert them to Hinduism in order to keep their religion prominent. Families looked down upon Hindus if one converted to Islam. Specifically, the family member would loose their inheritance rights. Child marriage also remained common (3). Depending on the emporer, there was religious acceptance and tolerance, but religious segregation still existed.

This time also promoted spread of wealth. There was a very prosperous merchant class and nobility. Many Indians established trading ties with foreigners, specifically Europeans. This seemed a benefit in the beginning, but resulted in European domination.

During the time of the Mughal Empire, there was a lot of mixed culture. There was combined Islamic, Persian, and native Indian themes. Art especially thrived during this time because it was a very rich and important part of their culture, and to the emperors of this time. The "Akbar style" describes the style of paintings that combine Persian and Indian motifs (2). Some examples of this would be painting humans in action because that had never been explored as a possibility before. Akbar encouraged the imitation of European art, such as use of perspective and realism. Emperor Humayun was interested in the making of Persian miniatures so he started a workshop to make many Persian miniatures. An excellent example of architecture during this time is the Taj Mahal, now located in Agra. Shah Jahan, built the Taj Mahal in the 17th century as a burial chamber for his wife (2). The Taj Mahal is a symbol of Indian architecture because it is very famous and is equally as beautiful as today. Many painters, poets, and artisans had a dream to one-day work in India because it had such an art enriched cultural environment. Poetry was also a big accomplishment in Indian culture during the Mughal Empire. Most poetry was written in Persia because it was the official language until the sack of Delhi in 1739, and Urdu became the new language after that. These are examples of the arts and literature that flourished during the Mughal Empire rule.

In current day India three fourths of the population lives in villages and the other one forth lives in cities and urban areas (1). The caste system still exists in India. People are unequal in India due to the caste system; in the villages there is segregation. The higher and more powerful castes live towards the center of the village. The lower class and Muslims live on the outskirts (1). This is an example of Muslim exclusion in a Hindu dominating population. This is similar to the Mughal Empire when Hindus resisted the Muslim influence. In the villages, people live in small hits usually made out of mud. There is not much furniture, there is no real plumbing, and electricity is uncommon in villages. Water is accessible by wells, and stored in clay jars. Households usually have more than one married couple. India has the second population and because of this many people are homeless and there is a high rate of mal-nutrition. There is usually a senior male, the guy that is in charge, and senior female, usually related to the senior male, assigns chores to the women. Girls usually marry outside of their village, when they are teenagers (1). People look down upon remarried widows. Couples, when expecting, usually prefer male children because they not only make them more money but also participate in cremation of his parents. Couples dread having girls because they usually have to pay a large dowry, which can cause financial difficulties. Boys are expected to help in the fields and girls in the home.
The three largest cities in India are Calcutta, Bombay, and Delhi. The cities are very crowed. There is a lot of retail trade, which mainly takes place in bazaar streets. Many shops have handicraft in the back and sell the product also. Many shop owners live behind or above the shop. Many people are homeless and unemployed. These cities are centers of education, cultural activities, political action, and social change (1). There is opportunity in government, business, factories, and universities in the cities.

The art in India today is made up of many different cultures and influences, as during the Mughal Empire time. The art of the past especially influences and makes up the art of today, including the art of the Mughal Empire. Art is still a big part of Indian culture today. Each group of people has created a diverse kind of art (1). Art is respected as a tradition in India, and will continue to thrive. A free sense of expression along with strong characterization would describe Indian art (2). Along with art, architecture and sculpture also thrive. Some prime examples of scuplture can be found in Hindu temples (1).

Classical Indian music, dance, and drama are closely related because they have the same origination, beginning over 2,000 years ago. They all require great discipline and practice. Of course, regional styles have developed. Indian instruments can be classified as either an instrument that carries the melody or an instrument that accompanies another (2). In Indian music, the voice is considered an instrument, a melody carrier (2).

There are many apparent similarities and influences of Mughal in the culture and social aspects of India today. More specifically, the family life, religion, art, music, and literature are all reoccurring themes in history but especially linking to the Mughal Empire which helps make up India today.

(1) "India," Compton's Encyclopedia

(2) "India," Encarta Encyclopedia

(3) World History Human Odyssey