With reference to the Mansabdari system, answer the following questions:

(a) What was the Mansabdari system?

(b) What was meant by zat and sawar rank?

(c) Trace the changes in the system from the rule of Jahangir to Aurangzeb.

(a) The Mansabdari system introduced by Akbar was a unique feature of the administrative system of the Mughal Empire. It was a grading system used by the Mughals to fix rank, salary and military responsibilities. Under this system, every officer was assigned a rank (mansab). Thus, the term Mansabdar refers to an individual who holds a mansab, meaning a position or rank. The Mansabdars formed the ruling group in the Mughal empire. Almost the whole nobility, the bureaucracy as well as the military hierarchy, had mansabs. The lowest rank in the system was 10 and the highest was 5000 for nobles. The mansabdars received their salaries as revenue assignments called jagirs. However, they only had rights to the revenue of their assignments, they didn't actually reside in or administer their jagirs.

(b) The Mansabdari system was a grading system used by the Mughals to fix rank, salary and military responsibilities. These ranks were divided into two, namely Zat and Sawar. Zat fixed the personal status of a person and the salary due to him. The higher the Zat, the more prestigious was the noble's position in court and the larger his salary. The Sawar rank indicated the number of cavalrymen or sawar a mansabdar was required to maintain.

(c) Jahangir maintained the Mansabdari system developed by Akbar. But he reduced the average rate of Zat salary from Rs. 240 per annum to Rs. 200 per annum. Shah Jahan reduced the number of sawars a noble was requied to maintain. Thus, a noble was expected to maintain a quota of only one-third of his sawar rank and in some cases, one-fourth. During the reign of Aurangzeb, there was a huge increase in the number of mansabdars. These and other factors created a shortage in the number of jagirs.