The term which Indo-Persian sources of the Mughal period most frequently used to denote a peasant was raiyat (plural, riaya) or muzarian. In addition, we also encounter the terms kisan or asami. Cultivation was based on the principle of individual ownership. Peasant lands were bought and sold in the same way as the lands of other property owners. Monsoons remained the backbone of Indian agriculture, as they are even today. But there were crops which required additional water. Artificial systems of irrigation had to be devised for this.
The missing lines quote a description of peasant holdings in the Delhi-Agra region. How did the cultivating peasants mark the limits of each field?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → With borders of raised earth, brick and thorn
Option (1) With borders of raised earth, brick and thorn — Correct. The asamis marked each field for identification and demarcation with borders of (raised) earth, brick and thorn. This fits cultivation based on individual ownership.
Option (2) With stone pillars bearing the name of the owner — Incorrect. Stone pillars bearing names do not appear in this description. The peasants themselves raised simple borders.
Option (3) With water channels dug along the sides of the field — Incorrect. Water channels were a means of irrigation. In this description the field limits were marked by raised borders.
Option (4) With hedges of khas-grass grown along the edges — Incorrect. The description of the Delhi-Agra holdings gives borders of raised earth, brick and thorn as the field markers; khas-grass appears in Babur's account as a material for building huts.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.2 Peasants and their lands … “The cultivating peasants (asamis), who plough up the fields, mark the limits of each field, for identification and demarcation, with borders of (raised) earth, brick and thorn so that thousands of such fields may be counted in a village.” |