Question

What was the unique system developed by Mughals?
A) Centralised autocracy
B) Ryotwari settlement
C) Mansabdari system
D) Permanent Settlement

Answer 1

Hint: Akbar was India's famous Mughal ruler. He made numerous changes to the system. He was well-known for his administrative reform. He instituted a ranking system for government officials. In the year 1571, it was first introduced. It determined their civic and military responsibilities, as well as their pay.

Complete answer:
Mansabdari was a ranking system for government officials that regulated their civil and military responsibilities as well as their remunerations. Nobles were given the right to possess a jagir, or revenue assignment (not land itself), in exchange for services provided.

In India, Akbar developed the Mansabdari System. It was a ranking system for officials. The lowest mansabdar was in charge of ten men, while the highest mansabdar was in charge of 10,000. Only the royal princes and the most powerful Rajput monarchs received a mansab of 10,000 rupees.

Now, let us look at the given options:
A) Centralised autocracy: This option is incorrect because no such system was introduced by the Mughals in India. Autocracy is a form of government in which a state's supreme power is concentrated in the hands of a single individual, whose choices are not subject to external legal constraints or regularised processes of popular oversight.
B) Ryotwari settlement: This option is incorrect because this system was not introduced in India by the Mughals. The Ryotwari system was a British Indian land revenue system implemented by Thomas Munro in 1820, based on Captain Alexander Read's system in the Baramahal District.
C) Mansabdari system: This is the correct answer. Mughal Emperor Akbar developed the Mansabdari Structure as a new administrative and tax system. The word 'Mansab' comes from the Arabic language and means 'rank' or 'status.' This system determined a government official's rank. A 'mansab' was presented to every civil and military authority. It was also intended to set officer wages and allowances.
D) Permanent Settlement: This option is incorrect because this system was not introduced in India by the Mughals. Lord Cornwallis established the Permanent Settlement in Bengal and Bihar in 1793. The British East India Company and the Bengal Landlords came to an agreement to fix the Land Revenue to be raised. As Governor General of India, Lord Cornwallis arrived.

Thus, the correct answer is Option (C) Mansabdari system.

Note: After Akbar, the Mansabdars established their own control in tiny areas, and the Mansabdari system crumbled. Because the Mansabdar was responsible for their salary and other expenses, the soldiers were more loyal to their mansabdars than to the king. Other Hindu Mansabdars were killed for the king, according to the Hindu Mansabdars.