RAS question
The administrative division of Rajasthan into Prant, Pargana and village was a feature of which period?
Correct answer: (D) Medieval Rajput period.
The division of Rajasthan into prant, pargana and village was a feature of the medieval Rajput period.
Explanation
Medieval Rajput kingdoms organised territory in a layered administrative chain: prant at the provincial level, pargana below it, and the village as the local unit. The Lawforms glossary supports the core vocabulary used in this system: prant means province, pargana means district, an amil is a revenue official, a hakim is a governor or official, and a faujdar is a police-cum-military officer. A prant was headed by a Hakim or Faujdar, a pargana by an Amil, and the village by local functionaries such as Patel and Patwari. The system is therefore identified with the medieval Rajput period, not with a generic ancient or British administrative frame.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The ancient period is not matched with the prant-pargana-village chain; that complete structure belongs to medieval Rajput kingdoms.
- (B) The British period is not the best fit because prant and pargana belong to an older administrative vocabulary, while British administration is distinguished by the district system.
- (C) The Mughal period used terms such as pargana, and the Lawforms glossary separately identifies suba as a Mughal province, but the complete prant-pargana-village arrangement is attributed to Rajput administration.
Concept
Rajasthan's medieval administrative structure centred on a hierarchy of territorial units and officials. RAS polity and history preparation often requires linking local administrative terms with the period that used them.