Question

What do you understand about the Mansabdari system and why did it fail?

Answer 1

Hint:
Akbar was the great Mughal Ruler of India. He introduced many reforms in the system. His administrative reform was well known. He introduced a system of ranking the government officials. It was introduced in the year in 1571. It was based on ‘Mansab’. The word 'Mansab' is of Arabic origin meaning rank or position.

Complete answer:
Mansabdari was a system of ranking the government officials which determined their civil and military duties, along with their remunerations. Under this system, nobles were granted the rights to hold a jagir, or revenue assignment (not land itself), for services rendered by them.

The nobles were under the direct control of the king. Abu'l Faz'l mentioned 66 grades of mansabdars, but in practice there were not more than 33 mansabs. Higher mansabs were assigned to princes and Rajput rulers who accepted the suzerainty of the emperor. The mansabdars were responsible for the implementation of law in his ruling area. They were supposed to help the emperor when he needed help in any emergency.

It failed because after Akbar the Mansabdars started their own rule in small areas. The soldiers were loyal to their mansabdars than to the king because the Mansabdar was responsible for their pay and other expenses. The Hindu Mansabdars denied killing of other Hindu Mansabdars for the king.

Note:
The Mansabdari System was introduced by Akbar in India. It was a system of ranking officials. The lowest mansabdar commanded 10 soldiers and the highest mansabdar commanded 10,000 soldiers. Only the princes of the royal family and the most important Rajput rulers were given a mansab of 10,000.