Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and other as Reason (R) : Assertion (A) : The Mughal Empire was originally a Military State. Reason (R) : The vitality of the development of the Central Government System depended on its military power. Select the correct answer using the codes given below. Codes :
- (a)Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is correct explanation of (A)
- (b)Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
- (c)(A) is true, but (R) is false
- (d)(A) is false, but (R) is true
Correct — A, both statements are true and R correctly explains A. The Mughal Empire was born of, and held together by, military power: Babur won it at the First Battle of Panipat (1526), and Akbar organised the whole ruling class through the mansabdari system, in which every noble held a numerical military rank (zat and sawar) and was obliged to keep a fixed body of cavalry. Because the reach and stability of the central government rested directly on this military machine — the emperor's command over troops, his power to assign jagirs and to enforce revenue collection — the state was, in origin and in working, essentially a military one. R therefore states the very reason A is true, so it is the correct explanation of A.
- (b)Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A) — Both statements are indeed true, but R is not an unrelated fact placed beside A — it names the actual cause: the central government's authority derived from military power, which is exactly why the empire is called a military state. So 'not the correct explanation' is wrong.
- (c)(A) is true, but (R) is false — R is not false. The Mughal central apparatus — the mansabdari nobility, standing cavalry and jagir assignments — genuinely depended on military strength, so treating R as false is incorrect.
- (d)(A) is false, but (R) is true — A is not false. The empire was founded by conquest and administered through a military-ranked nobility, so describing it as originally a military state is accurate.
The Mughal polity is classically described as a 'military state' because civil and military authority were fused in one institution — the mansabdari system systematised by Akbar. A mansabdar was ranked by zat (personal status and pay) and sawar (the number of horsemen he had to maintain), and the same nobles who commanded troops also governed provinces and drew their salaries from jagirs (revenue assignments). The strength of the empire rose and fell with the crown's control over this military-administrative class.
In an Assertion–Reason item, first check each statement for truth on its own, then ask whether the reason is the actual cause of the assertion. Here both are true, and the reason — that central power depended on military strength — is precisely why the empire is termed a military state, so the answer is (a), not (b).
- Mughal Empire founded by Babur's victory at Panipat, 1526 — a conquest state
- Mansabdari system (Akbar): every noble held a military rank (zat & sawar) and maintained cavalry
- Civil administration, jagir assignments and revenue collection were tied to military obligation
- Central authority weakened whenever control over the mansabdars and jagirs broke down
- Marking (b) when R actually is the correct explanation of A
- Assuming a 'military state' had no civil administration — the two were fused, not separate
UPSC and UPPSC test the military character of the Mughal state either directly (mansabdari 'introduced mainly for…') or as an Assertion–Reason judging whether the administration depended on military power.
In medieval India, Mansabdari system was introduced mainly for
- (a) making recruitment to the army
- (b) facilitating revenue collection
- (c) ensuring religious harmony
- (d) effecting clean administration
Answer(a) making recruitment to the army
Directly backs the assertion — the mansabdari system was introduced mainly to organise the army, i.e. the Mughal state rested on military organisation.
Assertion (A): During the time of Akbar, for every ten cavalrymen, the mansabdars had to maintain twenty horses. Reason (R): Horses had to be rested while on march and replacements were necessary in times of war.
- (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
- (b) Both A and R are true, but R is not a correct explanation of A
- (c) A is true, but R is false
- (d) A is false, but R is true
Answer(a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
Same Assertion–Reason format on the same theme — the military logic of Akbar's mansabdari (cavalry-and-horse obligation).
- practice — not a real PYQ
The mansabdari system of the Mughals was primarily a system for:
- (a)organising the nobility for military and administrative service
- (b)hereditary private land ownership
- (c)religious endowment and charity
- (d)village self-government
Answer(a) organising the nobility for military (and administrative) service — ranked by zat and sawar.
- practice — not a real PYQ
In the mansabdari system, the 'sawar' rank indicated:
- (a)the personal pay and status of the mansabdar
- (b)the number of cavalrymen the mansabdar had to maintain
- (c)the revenue yield of his jagir
- (d)his order of precedence at court
Answer(b) the number of cavalry (horsemen) he was required to maintain.