Analyze the operational nuances of the Mughal Jagirdari system during the seventeenth century: 1. Jagirs were hereditary land assignments where the holder enjoyed permanent proprietary ownership of the soil and could pass the land down to descendants without imperial renewal. 2. The 'tankhwah jagirs' were revenue assignments granted to mansabdars in lieu of cash salary, subject to periodic transfers to prevent local entrenchment. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

💡 Solution & Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect because jagirs were strictly revenue assignments, not proprietary landownership grants; the jagirdar only collected land tax and possessed no hereditary title to the land itself. Statement 2 is correct because tankhwah jagirs formed the financial backbone of the Mansabdari system, compensating imperial officers through assigned revenue yields while being regularly transferred across provinces to curb regional power bases. This administrative mechanism ensured imperial centralization and loyalty to the Mughal throne. Jagirs were distinct from zamindari holdings, which often carried hereditary succession rights.