RAS question
The Mansabdari system introduced by Akbar was:
Correct answer: (D) A graded system of military and civil rank with zat and sawar components.
The Mansabdari system introduced by Akbar was a graded Mughal system of military and civil rank, later expressed through zat and sawar components.
Explanation
Mansab meant a place, position, or rank in the Mughal system, not a tax or court procedure. Akbar gave mansabs to both military and civil officers on the basis of merit or service to the state, and Abul Fazl described grades ranging from commanders of 10 horsemen to 10,000 horsemen. The rank was later expressed through two designations. Zat fixed the mansabdar's personal status and pay, while sawar fixed the cavalry obligation, meaning the number of horsemen to maintain. This is why the best description is a graded military-civil rank system with zat and sawar components.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) A tax collection system is not the mansabdari system; mansab ranked officers, while revenue assignments or payment arrangements were a separate way of supporting mansabdars.
- (B) A judicial system is wrong because mansabdars were appointed in government departments except the judiciary.
- (C) A religious ranking is wrong because mansabs were granted for military and civil service to the Mughal state, not for religious status.
Concept
This tests Mughal administrative and military organisation, especially Akbar's integration of nobility, service, pay, and cavalry obligations. It recurs in RAS because the mansabdari system links polity, administration, army organisation, and revenue assignments in one high-yield medieval-history theme.