What does the term 'Jins-i Kamil' mean in Mughal period?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Perfect crops
Option (1) Rank in Army — Incorrect. Ranks in the Mughal service were part of the mansabdari system, the military-cum-bureaucratic apparatus that looked after the civil and military affairs of the state. Jins-i kamil is a term for crops.
Option (2) Village headman — Incorrect. The village headman was called the muqaddam or mandal; with the cultivators and the panchayat he was one of the three constituents of the village community.
Option (3) Perfect crops — Correct. Jins-i kamil means, literally, perfect crops. The Mughal state encouraged peasants to grow such crops because they brought in more revenue; cotton and sugarcane were jins-i kamil par excellence.
Option (4) Religious doctrine — Incorrect. The term comes from the agrarian sources of the Mughal period and has nothing to do with religion; it marks the crops that earned the most.
Note: A same/similar question was asked in CUET (UG) in the papers below.
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
| – | – | – | 05-06 S2 13-06 S3* | – |
* A similar question.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.4 An abundance of crops … However, the focus on the cultivation of basic staples did not mean that agriculture in medieval India was only for subsistence. We often come across the term jins-i kamil (literally, perfect crops) in our sources. The Mughal state also encouraged peasants to cultivate such crops as they brought in more revenue. Crops such as cotton and sugarcane were jins-i kamil par excellence.… 2. The Village Community … There were three constituents of this community – the cultivators, the panchayat, and the village headman (muqaddam or mandal).…” |