Find the correct statements among the following facts given about Zamindars during the Mughal Period-
A. Zamindars held extensive personal lands termed as milkiyat.
B. Most zamindars had fortresses and units of cavalry, artillery and infantry
C. Zamindars could not sell the produce independently from their milkiyat lands
D. Bhakti saints did not portray the zamindars as exploiters or oppressors of the peasantry.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → A, B and D only
The zamindars of the Mughal period were a landed class who held rights over land and collected revenue in the countryside, and who also had armed power of their own.
A. Zamindars held extensive personal lands termed as milkiyat. Correct. Their personal lands were called milkiyat, meaning property, and were cultivated for their own use, often with hired or servile labour.
B. Most zamindars had fortresses and units of cavalry, artillery and infantry Correct. Most zamindars had fortresses (qilachas) and armed contingents of cavalry, artillery and infantry, which made them powerful in rural society.
C. Zamindars could not sell the produce independently from their milkiyat lands Incorrect. The zamindars could sell, bequeath or mortgage their milkiyat lands at will, and the produce of these lands was theirs to sell.
D. Bhakti saints did not portray the zamindars as exploiters or oppressors of the peasantry. Correct. The bhakti saints condemned caste-based and other forms of oppression, yet they did not portray the zamindars (or the moneylenders) as exploiters of the peasants.