Arrange the following administrative division under the Mughal system in a hierarchy, from top to bottom.

(A) Sarkar
(B) Subas
(C) Mughal Empire
(D) Village
(E) Pargana

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

(C), (B), (A), (E), (D)

The correct answer is Option (4) → (C), (B), (A), (E), (D)

The administrative divisions under the Mughal system, arranged from top to bottom, are:

Mughal Empire (C) – The highest level of administration, encompassing the entire empire.
Subas (B) – Provincial level, with each Suba governed by a Subahdar (governor).
Sarkar (A) – Divisions within a Suba, often referred to as districts.
Pargana (E) – Smaller administrative units within a Sarkar, often comprising several villages.
Village (D) – The smallest unit of administration, under the control of the local headman or village officer.

Explanation:

The third book, mulk-abadi, is the one which deals with the fiscal side of the empire and provides rich quantitative information on revenue rates, followed by the “Account of the Twelve Provinces”. This section has detailed statistical information, which includes the geographic, topographic and economic profile of all subas and their administrative and fiscal divisions (sarkars, parganas and mahals), total measured area, and assessed revenue ( jama ).

After setting out details at the suba level, the Ain goes on to give a detailed picture of the sarkars below the suba. This it does in the form of tables, which have eight columns giving the following information: (1) parganat/mahal; (2) qila (forts); (3) arazi and zamin-i paimuda (measured area); (4) naqdi, revenue assessed in cash; (5) suyurghal, grants of revenue in charity; (6) zamindars; columns 7 and 8 contain details of the castes of these zamindars, and their troops including their horsemen (sawar), foot-soldiers (piyada) and elephants (fil ). The mulk-abadi gives a fascinating, detailed and highly complex view of agrarian society in northern India. The fourth and fifth books (daftars) deal with the religious, literary and cultural traditions of the people of India and also contain a collection of Akbar’s “auspicious sayings”.