Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the code given below the lists : List-I (Classification of land under Akbar) A. Polaj B. Parauti C. Chachar D. Banjar List-II (Explanation) 1. Uncultivated for five years and more 2. Lain fallow for three or four years 3. Left out of culti- vation for a time that it may recover its strength 4. Annually culti- vated for each crop in succession and never allowed to lie fallow Code : A B C D

1. Structure of Mughal Central and Provincial Administration (basic)

The Mughal Empire established a highly centralized and uniform administrative structure that allowed it to govern a vast territory stretching from Afghanistan to the Tamil region History, class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.), The Mughal Empire, p.199. At the apex stood the Emperor, who held absolute power. To manage the state efficiently, the central administration was divided into specialized departments led by key ministers. The Wazir (or Diwan) served as the chief minister and head of the revenue department, while the Mir Bakshi headed the military department and intelligence, ensuring the loyalty and maintenance of the mansabdari system History, class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.), The Marathas, p.232. Another vital official was the Mir Saman, who managed the manzil-abadi (imperial household and factories) THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.), Peasants, Zamindars and the State, p.218. To ensure ground-level control, Akbar divided the empire into Subahs (provinces). Each Subah was a replica of the central government, headed by a Subahdar (Governor or Viceroy) who maintained law and order, and a provincial Diwan who handled finances. This dual power structure prevented any single official from becoming too powerful or rebellious. The Ain-i-Akbari provides a fascinating look into these divisions, detailing the geographical and economic profiles of the twelve original provinces THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.), Peasants, Zamindars and the State, p.218. Below the provincial level, the administration followed a strict hierarchy to reach the grassroots level of the peasantry. The provinces were divided into Sarkars (districts), which were further subdivided into Parganas (a group of villages), and finally the Village (the basic unit of administration). This systematic breakdown allowed for efficient revenue collection and military mobilization across the entire subcontinent.

Administrative Level	Key Official(s)	Primary Responsibility
Central	Wazir / Mir Bakshi	Overall policy, finance, and military oversight.
Subah (Province)	Subahdar / Diwan	Provincial governance and revenue collection.
Sarkar (District)	Faujdar / Amalguzar	Law and order; revenue assessment.
Pargana (Sub-district)	Shiqdar / Qanungo	Local administration and land records.

Sources: History, class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.), The Mughal Empire, p.199; History, class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.), The Marathas, p.232; THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.), Peasants, Zamindars and the State, p.218

2. The Mansabdari and Jagirdari Systems (intermediate)

To understand how the Mughal Empire maintained such a vast territory with a relatively small central bureaucracy, we must look at the Mansabdari system. Introduced by Akbar, this was a unique, unified administrative machinery that combined civil and military services into a single framework. Every officer was assigned a Mansab (rank), making them a 'Mansabdar.' As noted in the Ain-i-Akbari, this system allowed the Emperor to assemble a massive army at short notice without the need for a permanent, gargantuan standing army, as each Mansabdar was responsible for maintaining a specific number of troops and equipment NCERT Class VIII, Reshaping India’s Political Map, p.54. To ensure quality, the state conducted regular inspections and branded horses to prevent fraud.

The rank of a Mansabdar was defined by two distinct numbers, which are crucial to distinguish:

Rank Component	Definition & Purpose
Zat	The personal rank that determined the official’s social status and their salary. Ranks ranged from 10 to 10,000 TN Board History XI, The Mughal Empire, p.206.
Sawar	The military obligation, indicating the specific number of cavalrymen and horses the official was required to maintain for the state.

While the rank was fixed, the method of payment gave rise to the Jagirdari system. Most Mansabdars were not paid in cash; instead, they were granted a Jagir—a specific area of land from which they had the right to collect revenue equivalent to their sanctioned salary NCERT Class VIII, Reshaping India’s Political Map, p.54. It is vital to remember that a Jagir was not private property. It was a temporary assignment, and the state frequently transferred Mansabdars from one Jagir to another to prevent them from developing deep-rooted local power bases. Furthermore, the position was not hereditary; upon a Mansabdar's death, their Jagir was immediately resumed by the state TN Board History XI, The Mughal Empire, p.207.

Sources: History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.), The Mughal Empire, p.206-207; Exploring Society:India and Beyond, NCERT Class VIII (Revised ed 2025), Reshaping India’s Political Map, p.54

3. Evolution of Land Revenue: From Sher Shah to Akbar (intermediate)

To understand the Mughal revenue system, we must first look at Sher Shah Suri, who is often called the 'forerunner of Akbar' in revenue administration History, Class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.), The Mughal Empire, p.222. Before Akbar, Sher Shah introduced the practice of measuring land and establishing a Rai (a schedule of crop rates) based on the nature of the soil. When Akbar took the throne, he initially followed this system but found it cumbersome due to fluctuating prices and the need for annual assessments. Under the guidance of his brilliant finance minister, Raja Todar Mal, Akbar refined these methods into the Zabti or Dahsala system Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Social Science Class VIII, Reshaping India’s Political Map, p.55. This system was revolutionary because it calculated revenue based on the average produce and prices of the preceding ten years, providing stability to both the state and the farmer.

The genius of the Dahsala system lay in its scientific classification of land. Unlike modern systems that might tax based on simple area, the Mughals recognized that soil fertility and cultivation frequency determined a farmer's ability to pay. Akbar categorized all cultivated land into four distinct types to ensure fair taxation:

Land Category	Cultivation Frequency	Status
Polaj	Annually cultivated	Ideal quality; never left fallow.
Parauti	Once every 1-2 years	Left fallow briefly to recover fertility.
Chachar	Once every 3-4 years	Required longer rest periods.
Banjar	5 years or more	Uncultivated/waste land; lowest revenue.

This systematic survey of land and productivity boosted revenue collection and strengthened the Mughal state apparatus. By moving away from arbitrary taxes to a system based on actual yield and market prices, Akbar ensured that the empire's fiscal health was tied to agricultural reality. This transition from Sher Shah's initial experiments to Todar Mal's sophisticated surveys represents one of the most significant administrative evolutions in Indian history.

Sources: History, Class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.), The Mughal Empire, p.222; Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Social Science Class VIII, Reshaping India’s Political Map, p.55

4. Social Structure: Zamindars and Peasantry (intermediate)

To understand the Mughal administrative system, we must look at the backbone of the empire: the agrarian economy. The social structure of rural Mughal India was defined by the relationship between the Peasantry, the Zamindars (landed intermediaries), and the State. The Mughal state was essentially a 'warfare state' that relied on land revenue to maintain its massive army and bureaucracy.

At the base of this pyramid were the peasants. According to historical records, peasants were generally divided into two main categories: Khud-kashta, who were residents of the village where they owned land, and Pahi-kashta, non-resident cultivators who migrated to different villages, often in search of better terms or due to distress Themes in Indian History Part II, Peasants, Zamindars and the State, p.197. Above them were the Zamindars, who acted as intermediaries. They weren't exactly owners of the land in the modern sense but held hereditary rights (milkiyat) to collect revenue and exercise local authority. While they often protected their peasants to ensure productivity, they also frequently clashed with the state over the share of the surplus.

To ensure that revenue collection was fair and predictable, the Mughal state, under Raja Todar Mal (Akbar’s Finance Minister), implemented the Zabti or Dahsala system. This system was based on a meticulous classification of land according to its productivity. Instead of a flat tax, land was assessed based on how often it was cultivated:

Land Category	Cultivation Frequency	Taxation Logic
Polaj	Annually cultivated for every crop.	Highest revenue yield; never left fallow.
Parauti	Left fallow for 1 or 2 years.	Taxed slightly less to allow soil recovery.
Chachar	Left fallow for 3 or 4 years.	Lower revenue until fertility returned.
Banjar	Uncultivated for 5 years or more.	Lowest category; often given tax breaks to encourage cultivation.

This systematic classification ensured that the Mughal state received a stable share based on the actual potential of the land, rather than a theoretical guess. However, this delicate balance of power between the peasant (who produced), the zamindar (who collected), and the state (who governed) was often fraught with tension, leading to localized rebellions and conflicts Themes in Indian History Part II, Peasants, Zamindars and the State, p.197.

Sources: Themes in Indian History Part II, Peasants, Zamindars and the State, p.197

5. Mughal Commercial Economy and Currency (intermediate)

The Mughal Empire oversaw a period of profound **monetization** and commercial expansion, transitioning India toward a sophisticated 'money economy.' A critical driver of this was the Mughal state’s demand for land revenue to be paid in **cash** rather than kind. This forced even small-scale farmers to engage with the market, selling their produce to acquire the currency needed for taxes. To support this massive volume of transactions, the Mughals established a highly stable **tri-metallic currency system** known for its high metal purity and standardized weight.

While the **Silver Rupaya** (Rupee) served as the standard unit for large-scale trade and administrative accounting, the **Copper Dam** was the workhorse for daily, smaller transactions Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Reshaping India’s Political Map, p.55. Gold coins, known as **Ashrafis or Muhars**, were also minted but primarily used for hoarding, high-value gifts, or ceremonial purposes. This standardized coinage was so effective that the Rupee remains the foundational name for currency in India today, now regulated by the RBI as legal tender Understanding Economic Development (Class X NCERT), MONEY AND CREDIT, p.39.

Beyond physical coins, the Mughal commercial world relied on sophisticated credit instruments. The most important was the **Hundi**, a medieval **Bill of Exchange**. It allowed merchants to deposit money with a banker (usually a *Sarraf*) in one city and receive a document that could be cashed in another city after a specified period Indian Economy (Nitin Singhania), Money and Banking, p.194. This reduced the risk of carrying large amounts of bullion across bandit-prone trade routes and facilitated long-distance trade. The existence of these instruments shows that the Mughal economy was not just a collection of village markets, but a deeply integrated network of trade and credit History Class XI (Tamilnadu State Board), The Mughal Empire, p.222.

Currency Type	Metal	Primary Use
Muhar / Ashrafi	Gold	Hoarding, Royal gifts, and high-value status symbols.
Rupaya	Silver	Standard unit for trade, administrative accounting, and revenue.
Dam	Copper	Common circulation for low-value daily purchases.

Sources: Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Reshaping India’s Political Map, p.55; Understanding Economic Development (Class X NCERT), MONEY AND CREDIT, p.39; Indian Economy (Nitin Singhania), Money and Banking, p.194; History Class XI (Tamilnadu State Board), The Mughal Empire, p.222

6. Raja Todar Mal and the Dahsala System (exam-level)

To understand the stability of the Mughal Empire, one must look at its backbone: the revenue system. At the heart of this was Raja Todar Mal, Akbar’s brilliant Diwan (Finance Minister). Todar Mal was not just a bureaucrat; he was a visionary who realized that for an empire to thrive, the tax burden on peasants had to be predictable and based on the actual productivity of the land History, class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.), The Mughal Empire, p.206.

Before the Dahsala System (also known as the Zabti system) was introduced around 1580, revenue collection was often chaotic, based on annual guesswork or outdated prices. Todar Mal refined the system by collecting data on prices and yields for the previous ten years (Dah means ten). By calculating the average produce and the average prices over a decade, the state fixed a permanent share—usually one-third of the average yield—to be paid in cash. This protected the state from price fluctuations and gave the farmer a clear idea of his liabilities.

The genius of this system lay in the scientific classification of land. Todar Mal recognized that not all soil is equal. Under his system, land was divided into four distinct categories based on its cultivation frequency:

Category	Cultivation Frequency	Description
Polaj	Annually	The ideal land; it was cultivated for every crop in succession and never left fallow.
Parauti	Occasional Fallow	Land left out of cultivation for a short period (1-2 years) to regain its fertility.
Chachar	Extended Fallow	Land that remained uncultivated for three or four years before being sown again.
Banjar	Rarely Cultivated	The lowest quality land, which had been left fallow for five years or more.

By measuring the land (using the Tanab or bamboo poles joined by iron rings) and categorizing it so precisely, the Mughal state ensured that a farmer with poor land wasn't taxed at the same rate as one with the most fertile soil. This meticulous record-keeping, famously documented in the Ain-i-Akbari, transformed the Mughal administration into a sophisticated, data-driven machine.

Sources: History, class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.), The Mughal Empire, p.206

7. Land Classification for Revenue Assessment (exam-level)

To understand the Mughal revenue system, we must first appreciate that the state did not treat all land as equal. Under Emperor Akbar, the administrative machinery underwent a massive project of classification, meticulously documented by his court historian Abu'l Fazl in the Ain-i-Akbari THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII, Peasants, Zamindars and the State, p.217. The primary goal was to ensure a stable revenue flow for the empire while ensuring the tax burden was proportionate to the land's actual productivity.

The classification was primarily based on the frequency of cultivation and the land's inherent fertility. Land wasn't just "farmed" or "not farmed"; it was categorized by how many years it needed to rest (lie fallow) to regain its strength. This scientific approach prevented the over-taxation of marginal lands and maximized the collection from highly fertile areas THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII, Peasants, Zamindars and the State, p.214.

Land Category	Cultivation Frequency / Status	Revenue Implication
Polaj	Cultivated annually for every crop; never left fallow.	Highest productivity; primary source of revenue.
Parauti	Left out of cultivation for a short time (1-2 years) to recover fertility.	Taxed only when under cultivation.
Chachar	Land that has lain fallow for 3 or 4 years.	Lower revenue rate to encourage re-cultivation.
Banjar	Uncultivated for 5 years or more.	Lowest category; often required incentives to bring back into use.

It is fascinating to note that for the top two categories—Polaj and Parauti—the state went a step further. These lands were sub-classified into good, middling, and bad qualities THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII, Peasants, Zamindars and the State, p.214. The average of these three grades was used to calculate the standard assessment, ensuring that the revenue demand was realistic and not based on outlier harvests. This systematic approach formed the backbone of Raja Todar Mal’s revenue reforms, bringing a level of data-driven precision to medieval governance that was centuries ahead of its time.

Sources: THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII, Peasants, Zamindars and the State, p.214; THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII, Peasants, Zamindars and the State, p.217

8. Solving the Original PYQ (exam-level)

This question brings together your understanding of the Zabti System and the administrative reforms of Raja Todar Mal. The Mughal state under Akbar did not tax all land equally; instead, they categorized it based on actual productivity and the frequency of cultivation as meticulously recorded in the Ain-i-Akbari. To solve this, you must synthesize your knowledge of the four-tier land hierarchy, moving from the most fertile, constantly worked soil to the least productive wasteland.

To arrive at the correct answer, apply a logical sequence to the classification. Polaj is the highest quality land, which is annually cultivated (A-4) and never allowed to lie fallow. Next is Parauti, land that is left out of cultivation for a short period specifically to recover its strength (B-3). As productivity decreases, we find Chachar, which has lain fallow for three or four years (C-2), and finally Banjar, the lowest category representing land uncultivated for five years and more (D-1). Mapping these logically confirms that Option (B) is the correct sequence.

UPSC often uses sequence traps to confuse candidates who have only a surface-level memory of the terms. Option (A) is a classic distractor, presenting a simple 1-2-3-4 progression that might tempt someone guessing. Options (C) and (D) focus on the common point of confusion: the middle categories. The trap here is mixing up Parauti and Chachar; remember that Parauti is about the purpose (recovery) while Chachar is defined by a specific duration (3-4 years). Distinguishing these nuances is key to avoiding the examiner's traps.