Meera, a research student in Delhi, is studying the lives of cultivators in the Mughal empire. In the archives she looks for diaries or letters written by the cultivators themselves and finds none. Her supervisor gives her a famous chronicle by a historian at the emperor's court. It describes in great detail how the state arranged for cultivation, collected revenue and dealt with the rural magnates. He tells her to read it with care. He also asks her to look for other records kept in regions far from the capital, some of them by a foreign trading company.
Identify the chronicle that Meera's supervisor most likely gave her.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Ain-i Akbari
Option (1) Babur Nama — Incorrect. The Babur Nama is the memoir of Babur, the first Mughal emperor. It tells of his own life and his view of Hindustan.
Option (2) Ain-i Akbari — Correct. The Ain-i Akbari of Abu'l Fazl, Akbar's court historian, recorded the state's arrangements for cultivation, revenue collection and its relations with the zamindars.
Option (3) Badshah Nama — Incorrect. The Badshah Nama is the chronicle of Shah Jahan's reign. The agrarian arrangements of Akbar's state are recorded in another text.
Option (4) Humayun Nama — Incorrect. The Humayun Nama was written by Gulbadan Begum about her brother Humayun. It tells of family and court life in his reign.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.1 Looking for sources … |