Q80. How did the administrative status of rajas generally differ from that of zamindars in Mughal India?
[SSC Stenographer, 07 Aug 2025, Shift 3]
(A) Zamindars were all directly appointed royal ministers
(B) Both possessed identical sovereign authority
(C) Rajas usually ruled wider territories; zamindars held local landed and revenue rights
(D) Rajas only performed temple rituals
Answer: (C) Rajas usually ruled wider territories; zamindars held local landed and revenue rights
Explanation: Rajas often represented ruling lineages controlling larger territories and sometimes negotiated political arrangements with the Mughal court. Zamindars held varied local rights and collected or mediated revenue, though their influence could also be military and political.
Q79. Consider: (I) Zat indicated a mansabdar’s rank and influenced salary; (II) every mansabdar had to live personally in the jagir assigned to him. Which is correct?
[SSC Selection Post (Graduate), 29 Jul 2025, Shift 3]
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) Both
(D) Neither
Answer: (A) I only
Explanation: Zat indicated individual position in the graded service hierarchy and affected pay. A jagir usually conferred rights to assigned revenue, not compulsory residence or ownership. Many mansabdars served elsewhere while agents handled collections from their assignments.
Q78. How many statements are correct:
(I) Mansabdari combined civil and military service;
(II) Akbar introduced dahsala assessment;
(III) jagirs could substitute for cash salary.
[BPSC ASO Preliminary, 10 Sep 2025]
(A) Only one
(B) All three
(C) Only two
(D) None
Answer: (B) All three
Explanation: All three describe central features of Mughal administration. Mansabdars could undertake civil and military duties; dahsala organized revenue estimation; and jagirs assigned income from designated territories as remuneration without automatically transferring ownership of the soil.
Q77. In the Mughal Empire, who was a mansabdar?
[DSSSB TGT (English), 24 Aug 2025, Shift 3]
(A) An individual holding an official rank
(B) Any mounted soldier
(C) A private merchant
(D) A landowner with exactly 5,000 acres
Answer: (A) An individual holding an official rank
Explanation: A mansabdar was enrolled in the imperial service at a specified grade or mansab. The office could carry administrative as well as military obligations. Rank was not equivalent to a fixed acreage of personal land or simply owning a horse.
Q76. Who were called Shaikhzadas or Hindustanis among Mughal nobles?
[SSC Stenographer, 06 Aug 2025, Shift 3 ]
(A) Turkic immigrants from Central Asia
(B) Rajput converts exclusively
(C) Persian officers from Iran
(D) Indian-born Muslim nobles and officials
Answer: (D) Indian-born Muslim nobles and officials
Explanation: The Shaikhzada or Hindustani grouping broadly described Indian Muslim elements within the ruling elite. They served alongside Iranis, Turanis, Afghans, Rajputs and others, showing how Mughal recruitment drew upon multiple regional and social networks.
Q75. Which Mughal emperor abolished jizya in 1564?
[SSC CPO, 11 Dec 2025, Shift 1]
(A) Akbar
(B) Humayun
(C) Shah Jahan
(D) Jahangir
Answer: (A) Akbar
Explanation: Akbar abolished jizya, a poll tax historically levied on certain non-Muslim subjects, in 1564. This decision aligned with his effort to broaden political accommodation. Aurangzeb subsequently restored the tax in 1679, marking a policy change.
Q74. Who implemented the political principle of sulh-i-kul?
[UPPSC LT Grade (Science), 07 Dec 2025, Shift 1]
(A) Babur
(B) Akbar
(C) Alauddin Khalji
(D) Jahangir
Answer: (B) Akbar
Explanation: Sulh-i-kul meant universal peace or peaceful coexistence. Akbar used it as a principle of governance that valued cooperation across communities and reduced sectarian constraints on service. It was significant in managing a religiously diverse imperial population.
Q73. Which Mughal emperor issued regulations seeking to restrain coercive sati practices?
[SSC CPO, 10 Dec 2025, Shift 2]
(A) Babur
(B) Humayun
(C) Akbar
(D) Aurangzeb
Answer: (C) Akbar
Explanation: Akbar sought to check coerced sati and introduced safeguards concerning widows. He did not establish the comprehensive modern prohibition sometimes suggested in simplified summaries. His regulations are studied as part of wider attempts to influence social practices through state authority.
Q72. Which Mughal emperor issued coins bearing his own portrait?
[UPPSC LT Grade (Hindi), 06 Dec 2025, Shift 2]
(A) Shah Jahan
(B) Aurangzeb
(C) Akbar
(D) Jahangir
Answer: (D) Jahangir
Explanation: Jahangir issued distinctive portrait coins, departing from the normal preference for calligraphy and conventional motifs. Coinage expressed royal authority, and his experiments reflected an individual approach to sovereignty, representation and the visual culture of the Mughal court.
Q71. Which Mughal emperor personally conducted prolonged campaigns in the Deccan against the Marathas?
[SSC Stenographer, 06 Aug 2025, Shift 1]
(A) Shah Jahan
(B) Aurangzeb
(C) Jahangir
(D) Akbar
Answer: (B) Aurangzeb
Explanation: Aurangzeb spent much of his later reign directing campaigns in the Deccan. The sustained expense of war strained military and revenue arrangements. The expansion of commitments without adequate productive jagirs intensified financial difficulties among the imperial service nobility.
