The territories of the Sultanate could be broadly divided into two parts, the Khalsa and the Jagirs.

Question

Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R).

Assertion (A): The territories of the Sultanate could be broadly divided into two parts, the Khalsa and the Jagirs.

Reason (R): The Jagirs comprised of the land under the control of the State.

Select the correct answer from the code given below:

1. A. Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
2. B. (A) is false, but (R) is true
3. C. (A) is true, but (R) is false (Correct answer)
4. D. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)

Correct Answer

Option C — (A) is true, but (R) is false

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is (A) is true, but (R) is false.

Key Points

• Assertion is true. The territory of the Delhi Sultanate was broadly divided into Khalisa and Iqta (jagir) lands.
• Reason is false. It was the Khalisa — not the jagirs — that comprised land under the direct control of the State, its revenue going straight to the royal treasury. The iqtas/jagirs were assigned to nobles and officers in lieu of salary.
• (A) true and (R) false gives option (c).

Additional Information

• The iqta system was introduced in India by Iltutmish and is the defining institution of Sultanate administration. An iqtadar (or *muqti*) collected revenue from his assignment, met the cost of the troops he maintained, and remitted the surplus (fawazil) to the Sultan.
• Iqtas were transferable and not hereditary — a deliberate safeguard against the rise of a landed nobility. Firoz Shah Tughlaq weakened this by making them effectively hereditary.
• Alauddin Khalji converted a large number of iqtas into khalisa land to strengthen central finances and fund his standing army.
• Under the Mughals the parallel institutions were the jagirdari and mansabdari systems, with khalisa land again reserved for the imperial treasury.