Medieval Administration and Economy Questions and Answers

Q: Which among the following ports was called Babul Makka (Gate of Makka) during the Mughal period?

The port was Surat.Under the Mughals, Surat in Gujarat was the main port from which pilgrims sailed for Mecca on the Haj, so it was called Babul Makka, the 'Gate of Mecca'. It was also the Mughal empire's busiest port for trade.Calicut was the Zamorin's port on the Malabar coast, and Cambay and Broach were older Gujarat ports that had declined by the Mughal period; none was called Babul Makka.

Q: 'Ashta Pradhan' was a Council of Ministers

The Ashta Pradhan was the council in the Maratha administration.Shivaji's council of eight ministers included the Peshwa (prime minister), Amatya (finance), Mantri (chronicles), Sachiv (correspondence), Sumant (foreign affairs), Senapati (army), Panditrao (religion) and Nyayadhish (justice). Each advised the king on his department.The Gupta, Chola and Vijayanagara kingdoms had their own officials, but the eight-minister Ashta Pradhan is specific to Shivaji's Maratha state.

Q: The increased demand for Indian textiles in European markets in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries led to the following changes for Indian weavers :A. Expanding crafts of spinning, bleaching and dyeingB. Increased independence in working of craftspersonsC. Variety in designs and increased creativity of craftspersonsD. Working on a new system of advance payments from agentsChoose the correct option :

The changes were A and D.The growing European demand for Indian textiles expanded the crafts linked to weaving, such as spinning, bleaching and dyeing (A). To secure supplies, the European companies and their agents introduced a system of advances: weavers were paid in advance to buy yarn and had to sell the cloth to the agent who had advanced the money (D).The advance system reduced weavers' independence, since they lost the freedom to sell to others and to bargain over prices, so statement B is false. Statement C is not the change the textbooks describe; agents dictated what was to be woven. Options containing B or C are therefore wrong.

Q: "In the register of God's creation, since her account did not fall under the column of men, how did she gain from all of her excellent qualities ?" For whom was this passage written in the thirteenth century ?

The passage was written for Raziyya.Raziyya, daughter of Iltutmish, became Sultan of Delhi in 1236. The chronicler Minhaj-i Siraj recognised that she was more able and qualified than her brothers, but was not comfortable having a woman as ruler. His remark that her excellent qualities brought her no gain, since in the 'register of God's creation' her account did not fall under the column of men, refers to her.Didda ruled Kashmir in the tenth century, Rudramadevi was a Kakatiya ruler of the thirteenth century in the Deccan, and Gautami Balashri was the mother of the Satavahana ruler Gautamiputra Satakarni; the quotation concerns none of them.

Q: Consider the following statements about the Mansabdari system :A. The term 'Mansabdar' referred to an individual who held a position.B. It was a grading system used to fix rank, salary and military responsibilities.Choose the correct option.

Both A and B are true.The word mansab means a position or rank, so a mansabdar was an individual who held a mansab, which is statement A. Under the Mughals, especially from Akbar's reign, the mansab was a grading system used to fix three things: the holder's rank, his salary, and his military responsibilities, expressed through the zat and sawar numbers. That is statement B.Since each statement is a correct description of the system, the options calling one or both false are wrong.

Q: What was the name of revenue system which was introduced by Todarmal?

Todar Mal introduced the Zabti (zabt) system.Raja Todar Mal, Akbar's revenue minister, had crop yields surveyed over a ten-year period, 1570-1580. Each crop was then given a fixed cash revenue rate per unit of measured land, and each province (suba) had its own schedule of rates. This system of revenue based on measurement and fixed cash rates was called zabt.The other options are different institutions. The iqta was the Delhi Sultanate's assignment of revenue to officers. A jagir was a Mughal revenue assignment given to a mansabdar in place of salary, and a mansab was a rank, not a revenue system.

Q: What is true in the context of administration and consolidation under the Khaljis and Tughlaqs ?

The true statement is that it was difficult to control distant provinces like Bengal from Delhi.NCERT's Class 7 chapter on the Delhi Sultans notes that controlling garrison towns in distant provinces like Bengal and Sind from Delhi was extremely difficult: rebellion, war and bad weather could cut communications. That is why the Khalji and Tughluq Sultans used military commanders and governors (iqtadars) to hold the provinces.The other statements do not fit. Large parts of the subcontinent did not remain under the Sultans' control: Muhammad Tughluq's empire began to break up within his own reign. The clearing of forests in the Ganga-Yamuna doab began in the earlier campaigns along the 'internal frontier' of the thirteenth century. And the Sultans' hold on remote areas was not lasting.

Q: Which of the following was a tax in the form of forced labour during the reign of the Cholas ?

The tax taken as forced labour was Vetti.Chola inscriptions mention hundreds of terms for taxes and dues. The two that occur most often are vetti, which was taken not in cash but in the form of forced labour, and kadamai, which was land revenue.So Kadamai is the main distractor: it was the land tax, paid in kind or cash, not labour. Peruvazhi and Porvari are not the term for the forced-labour levy; the word the inscriptions and the textbook account use for that is vetti.

Q: Which of the following are true with regard to the Marathas?A. Shivaji carved out a stable kingdom with the support of powerful warrior families.B. Powerful warrior families were called 'Deshmukhs'.C. Highly mobile, peasant pastoralists were the backbone of the Maratha army.D. Highly mobile, peasant pastoralists were called 'Kunbis'.Choose the correct option.

All four statements are true, so the answer is A, B, C and D.Shivaji carved out a stable Maratha kingdom in the seventeenth century with the support of powerful warrior families called deshmukhs (A and B). Groups of highly mobile peasant pastoralists called kunbis provided the backbone of the Maratha army (C and D). Their mobility suited the hilly Deccan and the Maratha style of warfare.Each of the other options leaves out at least one correct statement. 'Only A and C' and 'Only A, B and C' drop the names of the groups, and 'Only C and D' drops Shivaji's alliance with the deshmukhs.

Q: Statement (A) : Akbar, Jahangir and Shahjahan followed the idea of Sulh-i-Kul (universal peace) as principles of governance.Statement (B) : Akbar's interactions with people connected with faiths, made him realise that religious scholars who emphasised rituals and dogmas were often bigots.

Both (A) and (B) are true and (B) is the reason for (A).The NCERT chapter on the Mughals says that Akbar's interactions with people of different faiths, at his ibadat khana in Fatehpur Sikri, made him realise that religious scholars who emphasised ritual and dogma were often bigots. This led him to the idea of sulh-i kul or universal peace, a principle of governance that did not discriminate between religions, and Jahangir and Shah Jahan also followed it.So B gives the origin of the policy described in A, which is why the key prefers option C to option D, and why the options calling either statement false are wrong.

Which among the following ports was called Babul Makka (Gate of Makka) during the Mughal period?

A.Calicut
B.Surat
C.Cambay
D.Broach

Exam Year(s)

BPSC Exam - 2023, BPSC CDPO - 2023,

Answer: B

The port was Surat.

Under the Mughals, Surat in Gujarat was the main port from which pilgrims sailed for Mecca on the Haj, so it was called Babul Makka, the 'Gate of Mecca'. It was also the Mughal empire's busiest port for trade.

Calicut was the Zamorin's port on the Malabar coast, and Cambay and Broach were older Gujarat ports that had declined by the Mughal period; none was called Babul Makka.

Discuss in Forum

'Ashta Pradhan' was a Council of Ministers

A.in the Gupta administration
B.in the Chola administration
C.in the Maratha administration
D.in the Vijayanagara administration

Exam Year(s)

BPSC Exam - 2023, BPSC CDPO - 2023,

Answer: C

The Ashta Pradhan was the council in the Maratha administration.

Shivaji's council of eight ministers included the Peshwa (prime minister), Amatya (finance), Mantri (chronicles), Sachiv (correspondence), Sumant (foreign affairs), Senapati (army), Panditrao (religion) and Nyayadhish (justice). Each advised the king on his department.

The Gupta, Chola and Vijayanagara kingdoms had their own officials, but the eight-minister Ashta Pradhan is specific to Shivaji's Maratha state.

Discuss in Forum

The increased demand for Indian textiles in European markets in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries led to the following changes for Indian weavers :

A. Expanding crafts of spinning, bleaching and dyeing
B. Increased independence in working of craftspersons
C. Variety in designs and increased creativity of craftspersons
D. Working on a new system of advance payments from agents

Choose the correct option :

A.A and D
B.B and C
C.C and D
D.A and B

Exam Year(s)

CTET - 2023,

Answer: A

The changes were A and D.

The growing European demand for Indian textiles expanded the crafts linked to weaving, such as spinning, bleaching and dyeing (A). To secure supplies, the European companies and their agents introduced a system of advances: weavers were paid in advance to buy yarn and had to sell the cloth to the agent who had advanced the money (D).

The advance system reduced weavers' independence, since they lost the freedom to sell to others and to bargain over prices, so statement B is false. Statement C is not the change the textbooks describe; agents dictated what was to be woven. Options containing B or C are therefore wrong.

Discuss in Forum

"In the register of God's creation, since her account did not fall under the column of men, how did she gain from all of her excellent qualities ?" For whom was this passage written in the thirteenth century ?

A.Didda
B.Raziyya
C.Gautami
D.Rudramadevi

Exam Year(s)

CTET - 2023,

Answer: B

The passage was written for Raziyya.

Raziyya, daughter of Iltutmish, became Sultan of Delhi in 1236. The chronicler Minhaj-i Siraj recognised that she was more able and qualified than her brothers, but was not comfortable having a woman as ruler. His remark that her excellent qualities brought her no gain, since in the 'register of God's creation' her account did not fall under the column of men, refers to her.

Didda ruled Kashmir in the tenth century, Rudramadevi was a Kakatiya ruler of the thirteenth century in the Deccan, and Gautami Balashri was the mother of the Satavahana ruler Gautamiputra Satakarni; the quotation concerns none of them.

Discuss in Forum

Consider the following statements about the Mansabdari system :

A. The term 'Mansabdar' referred to an individual who held a position.
B. It was a grading system used to fix rank, salary and military responsibilities.

Choose the correct option.

A.Both A and B are true.
B.Both A and B are false.
C.A is true but B is false.
D.A is false but B is true.

Exam Year(s)

CTET - 2024,

Answer: A

Both A and B are true.

The word mansab means a position or rank, so a mansabdar was an individual who held a mansab, which is statement A. Under the Mughals, especially from Akbar's reign, the mansab was a grading system used to fix three things: the holder's rank, his salary, and his military responsibilities, expressed through the zat and sawar numbers. That is statement B.

Since each statement is a correct description of the system, the options calling one or both false are wrong.

Discuss in Forum

What was the name of revenue system which was introduced by Todarmal?

A.Iqtadari
B.Zabti
C.Jagir
D.Mansab

Exam Year(s)

CTET - 2024,

Answer: B

Todar Mal introduced the Zabti (zabt) system.

Raja Todar Mal, Akbar's revenue minister, had crop yields surveyed over a ten-year period, 1570-1580. Each crop was then given a fixed cash revenue rate per unit of measured land, and each province (suba) had its own schedule of rates. This system of revenue based on measurement and fixed cash rates was called zabt.

The other options are different institutions. The iqta was the Delhi Sultanate's assignment of revenue to officers. A jagir was a Mughal revenue assignment given to a mansabdar in place of salary, and a mansab was a rank, not a revenue system.

Discuss in Forum

What is true in the context of administration and consolidation under the Khaljis and Tughlaqs ?

A.Large parts of the subcontinent remained under the control of the Delhi Sultans.
B.The forested areas in the gangetic plain were penetrated for the first time.
C.It was difficult to control distant provinces like Bengal from Delhi.
D.Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughlaq forced their control in the gangetic plains for a longer duration.

Exam Year(s)

CTET - 2019,

Answer: C

The true statement is that it was difficult to control distant provinces like Bengal from Delhi.

NCERT's Class 7 chapter on the Delhi Sultans notes that controlling garrison towns in distant provinces like Bengal and Sind from Delhi was extremely difficult: rebellion, war and bad weather could cut communications. That is why the Khalji and Tughluq Sultans used military commanders and governors (iqtadars) to hold the provinces.

The other statements do not fit. Large parts of the subcontinent did not remain under the Sultans' control: Muhammad Tughluq's empire began to break up within his own reign. The clearing of forests in the Ganga-Yamuna doab began in the earlier campaigns along the 'internal frontier' of the thirteenth century. And the Sultans' hold on remote areas was not lasting.

Discuss in Forum

Which of the following was a tax in the form of forced labour during the reign of the Cholas ?

A.Vetti
B.Peruvazhi
C.Kadamai
D.Porvari

Exam Year(s)

CTET - 2026,

Answer: A

The tax taken as forced labour was Vetti.

Chola inscriptions mention hundreds of terms for taxes and dues. The two that occur most often are vetti, which was taken not in cash but in the form of forced labour, and kadamai, which was land revenue.

So Kadamai is the main distractor: it was the land tax, paid in kind or cash, not labour. Peruvazhi and Porvari are not the term for the forced-labour levy; the word the inscriptions and the textbook account use for that is vetti.

Discuss in Forum

Which of the following are true with regard to the Marathas?

A. Shivaji carved out a stable kingdom with the support of powerful warrior families.
B. Powerful warrior families were called 'Deshmukhs'.
C. Highly mobile, peasant pastoralists were the backbone of the Maratha army.
D. Highly mobile, peasant pastoralists were called 'Kunbis'.

Choose the correct option.

A.Only A and C
B.Only C and D
C.A, B, C and D
D.Only A, B and C

Exam Year(s)

CTET - 2026,

Answer: C

All four statements are true, so the answer is A, B, C and D.

Shivaji carved out a stable Maratha kingdom in the seventeenth century with the support of powerful warrior families called deshmukhs (A and B). Groups of highly mobile peasant pastoralists called kunbis provided the backbone of the Maratha army (C and D). Their mobility suited the hilly Deccan and the Maratha style of warfare.

Each of the other options leaves out at least one correct statement. 'Only A and C' and 'Only A, B and C' drop the names of the groups, and 'Only C and D' drops Shivaji's alliance with the deshmukhs.

Discuss in Forum

10.

Statement (A) : Akbar, Jahangir and Shahjahan followed the idea of Sulh-i-Kul (universal peace) as principles of governance.
Statement (B) : Akbar's interactions with people connected with faiths, made him realise that religious scholars who emphasised rituals and dogmas were often bigots.

A.(A) is true, but (B) is false.
B.(A) is false, but (B) is true.
C.Both (A) and (B) are true and (B) is the reason for (A).
D.Both (A) and (B) are true but (B) is not the reason for (A).

Exam Year(s)

CTET - 2021,

Answer: C

Both (A) and (B) are true and (B) is the reason for (A).

The NCERT chapter on the Mughals says that Akbar's interactions with people of different faiths, at his ibadat khana in Fatehpur Sikri, made him realise that religious scholars who emphasised ritual and dogma were often bigots. This led him to the idea of sulh-i kul or universal peace, a principle of governance that did not discriminate between religions, and Jahangir and Shah Jahan also followed it.

So B gives the origin of the policy described in A, which is why the key prefers option C to option D, and why the options calling either statement false are wrong.

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