Consider the following statements with regards to the iqta system:

Question

Consider the following statements with regards to the iqta system:

1. The iqta was a territorial assignment given to administrative officers and nobles in lieu of the services they performed for the state

2. The holder of iqta was designated as muqti.

3. Originally Iqta was hereditary and the Muqti was entitled for the right of its ownership.

Which of the following statement(s) above is/are correct?

1. A. Only 1 is correct
2. B. Only 1 and 2 are correct (Correct answer)
3. C. Only 1 and 3 are correct
4. D. All the 3 statements are correct

Correct Answer

Option B — Only 1 and 2 are correct

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Only 1 and 2 are correct.

Key Points

• Statement 1 is correct. The iqta was a territorial assignment granted to nobles and officers in lieu of salary, for services rendered to the state. The holder collected the revenue of the assigned area, kept a stipulated portion for himself and his troops, and remitted the balance to the centre.
• Statement 2 is correct. The holder was designated muqti (also called *wali*).
• Statement 3 is incorrect. The iqta was originally transferable and NOT hereditary, and the muqti had no right of ownership over the land — only the right to collect revenue. Transferability was deliberate: it prevented assignees from building a local power base.

Additional Information

• The system was introduced in India by Iltutmish, adapting a practice already established in the Islamic world under the Buyids and Seljuqs. Iltutmish used it to reward his Turkish nobles and integrate conquered territory.
• Obligations of the muqti: maintain a contingent of troops for the Sultan, administer the area, and keep order. Balban appointed a *khwaja* (accountant) to check the muqti's income and expenditure.
• Alauddin Khalji tightened control sharply, reducing the iqtas of many nobles and bringing large areas under direct khalisa (crown) administration to feed his standing army through cash salaries.
• Firoz Shah Tughlaq reversed this, making iqtas effectively hereditary and permitting the holder's heirs to succeed — a major concession to the nobility and a step towards decentralisation.
• Distinguish the terms: *khalisa* — land under direct state control; *inam* — revenue-free grants to scholars and religious figures; *waqf* — endowment for religious purposes; *jagir* — the broadly comparable Mughal-era assignment.