Consider the following statements regarding the revenue assignments during the Delhi Sultanate: 1. The holders of 'Iqtas' were known as 'Iqtadars' or 'Muqtis'. 2. Iqtas were permanent and hereditary land grants from the very inception of the Sultanate under Qutb-ud-din Aibak. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

💡 Solution & Explanation

Muqtis or Iqtadars were officials assigned territorial tracts called Iqtas during the Delhi Sultanate to collect revenue and maintain troops, making statement one correct. Statement two is wrong because Iqtas were initially temporary, non-hereditary administrative assignments that became hereditary much later under rulers like Firoz Shah Tughlaq. This administrative system was a vital instrument used by the Sultanate to maintain centralized control over outlying provinces.