Daily Static Quiz Prelims Practice 2027
Iltutmish institutionalised the Iqta system, under which land revenue assignments were given to officers (iqtadars) in return for military and administrative service. Balban is instead known for his theory of kingship and for breaking the power of the nobility, Aibak's reign was too short to consolidate administrative institutions, and Alauddin Khalji is associated with market control and revenue reforms rather than founding the Iqta system.
- Balban created the Turkan-i-Chahalgani (Group of Forty) to strengthen the Turkish nobility.
- Alauddin Khalji introduced market control reforms, with officers called Shahna-i-Mandi supervising the markets.
Statement 1 is incorrect — the Chahalgani was actually created by Iltutmish; Balban, himself a member of it, later broke its power to strengthen the Crown instead of creating it, a classic reversal trap. Statement 2 is correct, since Alauddin Khalji did fix the prices of essential goods, with the Shahna-i-Mandi supervising the markets and the Diwan-i-Riyasat overseeing the whole system.
Pair (b) is incorrectly matched — the Diwan-i-Kohi was actually established by Muhammad bin Tughlaq to extend cultivation, not by Alauddin Khalji. Pairs (a), (c), and (d) are all correct — Balban introduced Sijda and Paibos to raise the dignity of the Crown, Muhammad bin Tughlaq introduced token currency, and Firoz Shah Tughlaq set up the Diwan-i-Khairat to help the poor, including support for the marriage of poor girls.
- Assertion (A): Muhammad bin Tughlaq's token currency experiment ended in failure.
- Reason (R): The state could not stop forgery, since the copper and brass tokens could be easily counterfeited.
Assertion A is correct — the token currency, introduced around 1329–30, was withdrawn, and the state had to exchange the tokens for gold and silver coins, causing heavy losses to the treasury. Reason R is correct and directly explains A, since the mint had no monopoly safeguards, so tokens could be forged on a large scale — contemporary accounts note that every house became a mint — and this forgery directly caused the collapse described in A.
- Diwan-i-Arz — military department, set up by Balban
- Diwan-i-Insha — department of royal correspondence
- Diwan-i-Riyasat — supervised markets under Alauddin Khalji
- Diwan-i-Wizarat — headed by the Qazi, dealt with justice
Statement 1 is correct — Balban set up the Diwan-i-Arz (military department), headed by the Ariz-i-Mumalik. Statement 2 is correct, as the Diwan-i-Insha handled state correspondence. Statement 3 is correct, since the Diwan-i-Riyasat enforced Alauddin's market regulations. Statement 4 is incorrect — the Diwan-i-Wizarat was actually the finance department, headed by the Wazir; justice instead fell under the Diwan-i-Qaza, headed by the Qazi.
