The Mughals & the Marathas

Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2

A jagir was a revenue assignment given to a mansabdar in place of a cash salary for his military and administrative rank, and it was moved from place to place, so it was never hereditary. Zamindars, by contrast, held proprietary rights they could pass on, and they also rendered services and kept armed men. Both statements reverse the real position.

• ✗ 1. Jagirs were paid in lieu of salary for a mansab (a military-cum-civil rank), not specifically for judicial and police work. Zamindars were not mere revenue collectors either: they performed services (khidmat) for the state and maintained forts and armed contingents.
• ✗ 2. Jagirs were transferred periodically, so they could not be inherited. Zamindars could sell, bequeath or mortgage their milkiyat lands, so their rights passed down in families.

Remember · Mughal jagir = transferable revenue assignment in lieu of salary to a mansabdar (not hereditary). Zamindari = hereditary local proprietary right with service and military obligations.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part II, Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part II, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) 1 only

The amil was the revenue-collecting official, a term that continued into Mughal times (the amil-guzar). The iqta, a transferable assignment of revenue to military officers, came in with the Turkish conquerors from Muhammad Ghuri onwards, so it was not an ancient Indian institution. The Mir Bakhshi was a Mughal office under Akbar, not a Khalji one.

• ✓ 1. Under the Delhi Sultanate the revenue collector at the pargana level was the amil (Barani uses the term), working with the karkun (accountant); the Mughals kept the term, calling the revenue collector the amil-guzar.
• ✗ 2. The Turkish rulers made revenue assignments (iqta) to their nobles after their early 13th-century conquests, and Muhammad Ghuri's more centralised system of temporary land assignments was developed by the Delhi Sultans; the iqta was an imported, not an indigenous, institution.
• ✗ 3. The Mir Bakhshi, in charge of military matters, belongs to Akbar's reorganised Mughal administration, not to the Khalji Sultans.

Remember · Sultanate: iqta/iqtadar (Turkish-introduced revenue assignment), amil (revenue collector). Mughal (Akbar): Diwan (finance), Mir Bakhshi (military), Khan-i-Saman, Sadr.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part II, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) Tansen was the title given to him by Emperor Akbar.

The musician born Ramtanu Pandey was already famous as Tansen, and a mature musician, when he reached Akbar's court; what Akbar gave him was an honorific title, the 'Mian' of 'Mian Tansen'. So statement (a) is the incorrect one; the other three describe his work accurately.

• ✓ (a) This is the wrong statement. The child known as Ramtanu became famous as Tansen through his musical training, before he reached Akbar's court; what Akbar gave was an honorific title, the 'Mian' in 'Mian Tansen'.
• ✗ (b) This statement is true: Tansen was a dhrupad composer, and NCERT notes that he continued to compose in praise of Krishna and Shiva, besides compositions showing a Sufi influence. NIOS also says his dhrupads ranged from praise of deities to technical terms of music.
• ✗ (c) This statement is true: the National Institute of Open Schooling notes that Tansen wrote several dhrupads in praise of Ramchandra Vaghela, his patron at Bandhavgarh, and of the emperor Akbar.
• ✗ (d) This statement is true: several ragas bearing the prefix 'Miyan' (Miyan ki Sarang, Miyan Malhar, Miyan ki Todi) are associated with him, and he is believed to have popularised Darbari Kanhada.

Remember · Ramtanu Pandey → 'Tansen' (known by that name before Akbar); Akbar made him one of his navratnas and honoured him with the title 'Mian'. Dhrupad composer; Miyan ki Todi, Miyan Malhar, Miyan ki Sarang; popularised Darbari Kanhada.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 8 (practise this chapter) · Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 8 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) Jahangir

Akbar's large workshop mass-produced illustrated manuscripts such as the Hamzanama and Razmnama. Jahangir preferred fewer, finer works by a single master, and under him individual paintings and portraits mounted in albums (muraqqas) became the fashion.

• ✓ (c) Jahangir's atelier favoured single high-quality paintings by one master artist; muraqqas, albums of individual paintings with gold-illuminated margins, became popular under his patronage.
• ✗ (b) Akbar formalised Mughal painting through a big atelier that mass-produced illustrated manuscripts of political and religious importance.
• ✗ (d) Shah Jahan continued album-making (his reign added ornate borders to earlier album paintings), but the shift itself came under Jahangir.

Remember · Akbar = illustrated manuscripts from a big workshop; Jahangir = albums (muraqqa), portraits and naturalistic studies by single masters like Abul Hasan and Mansur.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part II, Ch 3 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part II, Ch 3 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error