With regard to nature of Mughal State, who among the following scholars argued that "the peculiar feature of the State in Mughal India was that it served not merely as the protective arm of the exploiting classes, but was itself the principal instrument of exploitation"?
- A.Irfan Habib
- B.Satish Chandra
- C.Athar Ali
- D.J. F. Richards
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, Irfan Habib. In his study of the Mughal agrarian system, Habib argued that the Mughal State did not merely protect the exploiting classes but was itself the main instrument for taking the peasants' surplus.
Habib's book The Agrarian System of Mughal India, first published in 1963, showed that the land revenue claimed by the State was very high, often about half the produce, and that it was collected through jagirdars and zamindars. Since the ruling class drew its income mainly from this revenue, the State itself became the chief means of exploiting the peasantry. Habib, a leading historian of the Aligarh school, linked this pressure to peasant revolts in the later Mughal period.
Option B is wrong because Satish Chandra is known for his work on parties and politics at the Mughal court and the jagirdari crisis. Option C is wrong because M. Athar Ali studied the composition of the Mughal nobility. Option D is wrong because J. F. Richards wrote a general history of the Mughal Empire and on its fiscal system.
Exam tip: Irfan Habib = Agrarian System of Mughal India (1963); Athar Ali = Mughal Nobility under Aurangzeb.
Practice Questions
View allThe 'water frame' of Richard Arkwright was a device for
- A.producing a new type of painting
- B.irrigating fields for rice cultivation
- C.producing strong threads of yarn
- D.the faster movement of steamships
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Richard Arkwright's water frame, patented in 1769, was a spinning machine driven by water power that spun strong cotton thread.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements about the Salt March : 1. The Salt March was deliberately ignored by the European media. 2. The Salt March was widely covered by the American and European press. 3. The Salt March was the first nationalist activity in which women participated in large numbers. 4. The Salt March impressed upon the British the urgent need to devolve more power to Indians. Which of the statements given above are correct?
- A.1, 2 and 4
- B.2, 3 and 4
- C.3 and 4 only
- D.2 and 3 only
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The Salt March drew wide notice in the American and European press, brought women into the national movement in large numbers, and made the British see that they had to share more power with Indians.
Read the full explanation →Who was the editor of the journal Indian Social Reformer that was started in 1890?
- A.K. T. Telang
- B.Veeresalingam
- C.N. G. Chandavarkar
- D.K. N. Natarajan
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Kamakshi Natarajan founded the weekly Indian Social Reformer at Madras in 1890 and edited it for decades, moving it to Bombay soon after.
Read the full explanation →The term Upari refers to which one of the following?
- A.A category of proprietary tenure under the Mughal rule
- B.A category of tenancy tenure under the Maratha rule
- C.A soldier in the Maratha army
- D.A village headman in the Mughal period
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Read the full explanation →Consider the following statement : "So much is wrung from the peasants, that even dry bread is scarcely left to fill their stomachs." Who among the following European travellers had made the above statement about the condition of peasantry in the Mughal Empire?
- A.Francisco Pelsaert
- B.Francois Bernier
- C.Jean-Baptiste Tavernier
- D.Niccolao Manucci
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The Dutch traveller wrote these words about the poverty of peasants under the Mughals during the reign of Jahangir.
Read the full explanation →