Who were known as the ‘muzarian’ in the agrarian society of the Mughal Empire?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Peasants
Indo-Persian sources of the Mughal period most often used the terms raiyat (plural, riaya) or muzarian to denote a peasant.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.2 Peasants and their lands … The term which Indo-Persian sources of the Mughal period most frequently used to denote a peasant was raiyat (plural, riaya) or muzarian. In addition, we also encounter the terms kisan or asami. Sources of the seventeenth century refer to two kinds of peasants – khud-kashta and pahi-kashta.… …The latter were non-resident cultivators who belonged to some other village, but cultivated lands elsewhere on a contractual basis. People became pahi-kashta either out of choice – for example, when terms of revenue in a distant village were more favourable – or out of compulsion – for example, forced by economic distress after a famine.…” |