In the administrative lexicon of the medieval Garhwal and Kumaon kingdoms, the specialized military levy or forced labor extracted from the peasantry for transporting military baggage and constructing fortifications was known as:

💡 Solution & Explanation

The Kulli or forced labor obligation was a traditional feudal exaction in the hill kingdoms whereby villagers were required to provide unpaid or underpaid labor for transporting royal baggage, military supplies, and constructing public works. The Zabt system was the Mughal land revenue method, and Deshmukhs were Maratha revenue officials. This oppressive corvée labor practice continued well into the early British colonial administration before being systematically reformed. It formed a crucial logistical mechanism for governing rugged terrain lacking wheeled transport.