Previous Year Question

During Akbar's reign, a single method of land-revenue assessment was not uniformly applied throughout the Mughal Empire. Different systems continued in different regions according to local agricultural conditions and earlier practices.

In parts of the Deccan, an older system assessed revenue on the basis of the number of ploughs in a village. A locally fixed amount was charged for each plough.

Under this method, it was not necessary to measure every cultivated field or determine the actual yield of every crop. Broadly, the authorities considered how much land a cultivator worked with a plough and a pair of oxen, and revenue was charged according to the locally prescribed rate.

During Akbar's period, Berar is recorded as being under nasaq. In the Deccan, this older local practice has been identified with assessment based on the number of ploughs.

In contrast, the Zabt system made more systematic use of measurement of cultivated land, crops and prescribed revenue rates. It developed particularly in the major regions of northern India.

Ghallabakhshi involved division of the actual produce between the state and the cultivator, while Kankut involved measurement of land together with estimation of crop yield for determining the state demand.

This question was also challenged, but on the basis of the historical evidence placed on record, UPPSC's answer (b), “Number of ploughs,” was upheld as not incorrect.