Which one of the following statements is not correct?

Answer: (a) Ali Mardan Khan introduced the system of revenue farming in Bengal.

Revenue farming (the ijara system) in Bengal is linked to Nawab Murshid Quli Khan, who created a new class of revenue contractors (ijaradars). Ali Mardan Khan was the governor of Kandahar who surrendered the city to the Mughals in 1638 and was a patron of building in Kandahar and Lahore, not the author of Bengal's revenue farming. Statement (a) is therefore the incorrect one.

• ✓ (a) This is the statement that is not correct. Murshid Quli Khan, the first Nawab of Bengal, brought in revenue contractors (ijaradars) and formed a new landed aristocracy with them. Ali Mardan Khan was governor of Kandahar, which he surrendered to the Mughals in 1638, and a patron of building in Kandahar and Lahore.
• ✗ (b) This statement is correct. Ranjit Singh had his own foundries at Lahore. The guns they made were the most lethal part of the Sikh army. So it is not the answer.
• ✗ (c) This statement is correct. Jagannatha Samrat, a scholar at the court of Sawai Jai Singh of Amber, translated Euclid's Elements into Sanskrit as the Rekhaganita. He worked from Nasir al-Din al-Tusi's Arabic version.
• ✗ (d) This statement is correct. After the Marathas sacked Sringeri in 1791, Tipu Sultan made monetary arrangements for the consecration of Goddess Sharada and also sent gifts.

Remember · Ijara (revenue farming) in Bengal came with Murshid Quli Khan (1717–27). Ali Mardan Khan was the Kandahar governor who joined the Mughals and built in Lahore.

Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2003, General Studies paper. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). · Report an error