Previous Year Question
The term ‘chakla’ has been used in Medieval Indian History sources. This was
Identical to Paragnah
Identical to Sarkar
Territorial unit between Subah and Paragnah, but not identical to Sarkar
None of the above
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
In Mughal administration, territorial administration was divided into several levels. During Akbar's reign, the major provincial unit of the Empire was known as a Subah.
Below the Subah, the general Mughal administrative structure consisted of a Sarkar, and below it a Pargana. A Pargana was a local administrative and revenue unit comprising several villages.
In the later Mughal period, another administrative unit known as Chakla also came into use. During Shah Jahan's reign, the Chakla appears in the administrative structure, and a Chakla could comprise a number of Parganas.
Thus, the Chakla stood above the Pargana and could constitute a territorial unit formed by grouping several Parganas. Therefore, it cannot be regarded as simply identical to a Pargana.
Similarly, although both Chakla and Sarkar could appear in some contexts at an administrative level between the Subah and Pargana, the two terms were not treated in historical sources as synonymous administrative units.