Which of the following statements are true about the zamindars?

(A) Milkiyat lands were cultivated for the general use of the people.
(B) Zamindars could sell, bequeath mortgage the milkiyat lands.
(C) Zamindars collected revenue on behalf of themselves.
(D) Most Zamindars had fortresses as well as armed contingent.
(E) Control over military resources was another source of power for the Zamindars.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

(B), (D) and (E) only

The correct answer is Option (4) - (B), (D) and (E) only

The statements that are true about the zamindars are the following:

(B) Zamindars could sell, bequeath mortgage the milkiyat lands.
(D) Most Zamindars had fortresses as well as armed contingent.
(E) Control over military resources was another source of power for the Zamindars.

The story of agrarian relations in Mughal India will not be complete without referring to a class of people in the countryside that lived off agriculture but did not participate directly in the processes of agricultural production. These were the zamindars who were landed proprietors who also enjoyed certain social and economic privileges by virtue of their superior status in rural society. Caste was one factor that accounted for the elevated status of zamindars; another factor was that they performed certain services (khidmat) for the state. The zamindars held extensive personal lands termed milkiyat, meaning property. Milkiyat lands were cultivated for the private use of zamindars, often with the help of hired or servile labour. The zamindars could sell, bequeath or mortgage these lands at will (STATEMENT B).

Zamindars also derived their power from the fact that they could often collect revenue on behalf of the state, a service for which they were compensated financially. Control over military resources was another source of power (STATEMENT E). Most zamindars had fortresses (qilachas) as well as an armed contingent (STATEMENT D) comprising units of cavalry, artillery and infantry. Thus if we visualise social relations in the Mughal countryside as a pyramid, zamindars clearly constituted its very narrow apex. Abu’l Fazl’s account indicates that an “upper-caste”, Brahmana-Rajput combine had already established firm control over rural society. It also reflects a fairly large representation from the so-called intermediate castes, as we saw earlier, as well as a liberal sprinkling of Muslim zamindaris.

The incorrect statements with correction:

(A) Milkiyat lands were cultivated for the private use of zamindars, not for the general use of the people.

(C) Zamindars collected revenue on behalf of the state, not on behalf of themselves.