With reference to the economic history of medieval India, the term 'Araghatta' refers to
- A.bonded labour
- B.land grants made to military officers
- C.waterwheel used in the irrigation of land
- D.wasteland converted to cultivated land
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, waterwheel used in the irrigation of land. Araghatta was the name for a water-lifting wheel used to irrigate fields in early medieval India. It worked like the device later called the Persian wheel: a chain of pots was fixed around a wheel set over a well, and as oxen turned the gearing, the pots dipped into the water, rose full and emptied into a channel that fed the fields. The term appears in inscriptions and texts of the period, and its spread helped farmers grow crops in drier regions and in seasons without rain. Babur later described a similar wheel being used in Punjab and the Lahore region. Option A is wrong because bonded labour is known by terms such as begar or vishti, not araghatta. Option B is wrong because grants of land revenue to military officers were called iqta under the Delhi Sultanate and jagir under the Mughals. Option D is wrong because land brought from waste into cultivation had its own revenue terms and is not what araghatta means. Exam tip: Araghatta is the pot-garland waterwheel, the Indian form of the Persian wheel.
Practice Questions
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- D.Satyendranath Tagore became the first Indian to succeed in the Indian Civil Services Examination.
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Read the full explanation →In 1920, which of the following changed its name to "Swarajya Sabha"?
- A.All India Home Rule League
- B.Hindu Mahasabha
- C.South Indian Liberal Federation
- D.The Servants of India Society
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- C.France and Russia
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