According to Abu'l Fazl, the emperor protects four essences of his subject. Which of the following was NOT one of the essences?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Jizya
Abu’l Fazl defined sovereignty as a social contract: the emperor protects four essences of his subjects – life (jan), property (mal), honour (namus) and faith (din) – and in return demands obedience and a share of resources.
Option (1) Jan — Correct statement. Jan, meaning life, is one of the four essences.
Option (2) Mal — Correct statement. Mal, meaning property, is one of the four essences.
Option (3) Namus — Correct statement. Namus, meaning honour, is one of the four essences.
Option (4) Jizya — Incorrect statement. Jizya is not one of the essences. It was a tax on non-Muslim subjects, reimposed in the reign of Aurangzeb, not something the emperor protects. The fourth essence is din, faith.
Note: This question is taken from the chapter ‘Kings and Chronicles’ which was there in the pre-rationalised NCERT and has been deleted from subsequent editions of NCERT, including the NCERT book (2026-27).
NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “5.2 A unifying force … Even when temples were destroyed during war, grants were later issued for their repair – as we know from the reigns of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. However, during the reign of the latter, the jizya was reimposed on non-Muslim subjects.… 5.3 Just sovereignty as social contract … Abu’l Fazl defined sovereignty as a social contract: the emperor protects the four essences of his subjects, namely, life (jan), property (mal), honour (namus) and faith (din), and in return demands obedience and a share of resources. Only just sovereigns were thought to be able to honour the contract with power and Divine guidance.” |