Q30. Which Mughal official exercised military and policing responsibilities within a sarkar or district?
(A) Faujdar
(B) Mir Saman
(C) Sadr-us-Sudur
(D) Karkun
Answer: (A) Faujdar
Explanation: A faujdar commanded troops and worked to maintain order in an assigned district or territorial jurisdiction. He could help suppress disturbances and support revenue collection, but was not identical to the officials who assessed agricultural taxes.
Q29. What was a “jagir” in the mature Mughal system?
(A) A guaranteed hereditary estate of every officer
(B) A right to revenue from an assigned area
(C) A court of criminal appeal
(D) A tax on salt alone
Answer: (B) A right to revenue from an assigned area
Explanation: A jagir was generally an assignment of revenue from a specified territory to remunerate an imperial servant. The holder did not automatically become the owner of all land there, and many assignments were transferable or temporary.
Q28. What does “khalisa” commonly denote in Mughal fiscal administration?
(A) Land whose revenue went to the imperial treasury
(B) A village council
(C) A cavalry regiment
(D) An imperial religious holiday
Answer: (A) Land whose revenue went to the imperial treasury
Explanation: Khalisa lands or revenues were reserved for direct receipt into the imperial treasury rather than assigned as jagirs to service-holders. Changes in the proportion of khalisa and jagir revenue affected imperial liquidity and payment arrangements.
Q27. Which measure was used to help prevent fraud involving cavalry horses?
(A) Dagh branding
(B) Jizya
(C) Zabt
(D) Nasaq
Answer: (A) Dagh branding
Explanation: Dagh meant branding horses for identification during military inspection. It discouraged officers from presenting borrowed or inferior animals in place of the prescribed contingent. Related descriptive registers of soldiers helped strengthen checks on mansabdars’ claims.
Q26. Which term referred to the emperor’s directly recruited elite horsemen, distinct from normal mansabdar contingents?
(A) Ahadis
(B) Zamindars
(C) Karkuns
(D) Kanungos
Answer: (A) Ahadis
Explanation: Ahadis were cavalrymen recruited into the emperor’s own service rather than simply supplied by a mansabdar. Their presence gave the sovereign a body of soldiers more directly linked to the central court and its pay arrangements.
Q25. Which of the following describes “watan jagir” most accurately?
(A) An assignment in a chief’s hereditary homeland
(B) A navy command
(C) A landless tax collector’s post
(D) A royal law court
Answer: (A) An assignment in a chief’s hereditary homeland
Explanation: Watan jagirs were associated with hereditary homelands, especially those of certain chiefs incorporated into imperial service. They differed from ordinary transferable salary jagirs and reveal how the Mughal state adjusted standard administration to local political rights.
Q24. Which official had primary responsibility for supervising religious grants and charitable endowments?
(A) Sadr-us-Sudur
(B) Mir Bakshi
(C) Mir Saman
(D) Kotwal
Answer: (A) Sadr-us-Sudur
Explanation: The Sadr-us-Sudur was associated with grants to religious scholars and other recipients of charitable support. The office administered endowments and related matters, though the nature and limits of its authority changed between emperors.
Q23. The official document “farman” in Mughal usage was what?
(A) A royal command or decree
(B) A cavalry brand
(C) A type of plough
(D) A judicial prison
Answer: (A) A royal command or decree
Explanation: A farman was an authoritative decree issued by the emperor, often to officers, privileged persons or corporate bodies. Such documents could grant rights, order administrative actions or confirm privileges and carried the authority of imperial rule.
Q22. Which Mughal fiscal term was connected with a ten-year average?
(A) Dahsala
(B) Zat
(C) Ahadi
(D) Farman
Answer: (A) Dahsala
Explanation: Dahsala referred to a system drawing on averages of produce and prices over ten years to establish revenue rates. Associated particularly with Akbar and Todar Mal, it sought greater predictability for the administration and the cultivator.
Q21. Which Mughal land-measuring implement used bamboo sections joined by iron rings?
(A) Tanab or jarib
(B) Astrolabe
(C) Sarangi
(D) Dagger
Answer: (A) Tanab or jarib
Explanation: The bamboo measuring chain, often described as a tanab or jarib, reduced difficulties arising from ropes that stretched or shrank with weather. More consistent measurement was important for calculating assessed cultivated area under zabt.
