UGC NET History Practice Question

The term Jagir during the Mughal Empire denoted:

Assignment of revenue rights of a designated territory given to an officer in lieu of cash salary ✓

Absolute private ownership of land conferred by imperial decree

Rent-free property given to religious Sufi shrines

Royal domain land directly managed by emperor

A Jagir assigned the REVENUE RIGHTS (not ownership) of a territory to a mansabdar in place of cash salary — the holder (Jagirdar) collected revenue but did not own the land, and Jagirs were typically transferable, not hereditary, distinguishing the system from feudal land ownership in Europe.

The imperial domain lands managed directly by the Mughal crown treasury to pay central expenses were termed:

Khalisa ✓

Jagir

Paibaqi

Inam

Khalisa land was retained under direct crown administration, its revenue flowing straight into the imperial treasury rather than being assigned to a mansabdar as Jagir — the balance between Khalisa and Jagir land was a recurring administrative and fiscal concern across Mughal history.

What was the Paibaqi land in the Mughal revenue bureaucracy?

Land reserved and waiting to be assigned as Jagir to officers ✓

Tax-exempt temple grant

Fallow wasteland

Land under dispute between zamindars

Paibaqi land was held in reserve, not yet assigned to any specific Jagirdar — its shrinking availability over the 17th century (as more mansabdars needed Jagirs than there was land to assign) is a key factor historians cite in analyzing later Mughal administrative and fiscal strain.

Which Sultan of Delhi introduced token currency made of brass/copper coins, which failed due to widespread forging?

Muhammad bin Tughlaq ✓

Alauddin Khalji

Firoz Shah Tughlaq

Ibrahim Lodi

Muhammad bin Tughlaq's token currency experiment (ordering brass/copper coins to circulate at the value of silver) famously failed because the state couldn't prevent widespread private forging, since the coins had no intrinsic value backing — one of his most cited administrative missteps.

What was the Jizya tax?

Poll tax levied on non-Muslim subjects in an Islamic state in exchange for protection and exemption from military service ✓

Commercial toll tax on inland river boats

Tax levied on wealth (Zakat)

Imperial house tax

Jizya was a poll tax on non-Muslim subjects in an Islamic polity, in principle exchanged for state protection and exemption from military service — its imposition and abolition across different Sultanate and Mughal reigns (notably abolished by Akbar, reimposed by Aurangzeb) is a recurring, significant exam topic.

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This question is part of our free Unit-Wise mock test series, drawn from the same real question bank used across every UGC NET History mock test on this site. For structured, chapter-by-chapter notes covering everything these questions test, see our UGC NET History Notes, or try the History Glossary Flashcard Quiz for daily term-by-term practice.