A writer described land revenue in the Mughal Empire as 'remunerations of sovereignty'. Identify the writer and choose what this land revenue actually was.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Abu'l Fazl - a tax on the crop
Option (1) Bernier - a rent on land owned by the ruler — Incorrect. Bernier believed in crown ownership of land and did not use this phrase. European travellers treated the revenue as rent, but it was not rent.
Option (2) Abu'l Fazl - a rent on land owned by the ruler — Incorrect. Abu'l Fazl is the right writer, but he saw revenue as a <strong>claim the ruler made for the protection he gave</strong>. Rent on owned land was the travellers' reading.
Option (3) Bernier - a tax on the crop — Incorrect. Tax on the crop is right, but the phrase belongs to Abu'l Fazl, Akbar's chronicler. Bernier was a French traveller who believed in crown ownership.
Option (4) Abu'l Fazl - a tax on the crop — Correct. Abu'l Fazl, Akbar's official chronicler, used the phrase. The revenue was the ruler's claim for the protection he gave, and in fact it was <strong>a tax on the crop</strong>, not a rent or a land tax.
NCERT (2026-27): “6.1 The question of landownership … |