Q. Consider the following statements:

1. Buland Darwaza was built to commemorate Akbar's victory in Gujarat.
2. All the mansabdars from the lowest to highest ranks were paid in jagirs, so that the term mansabdari and jagirdari had become synonymous.
3. ‘Watan jagirs’ was an improvisation in the mansabdari system in order to incorporate the Rajputs into the Mughal administration.

Which of the above is / are correct?
Answer: Only 1 and 3
Notes: In 1572 CE, Akbar commenced a palace-cum-fort complex at Fatehpur Sikri, 36 km from Agra, which he completed in eight years. It housed many magnificent buildings and the most magnificent building was the mosque and the gateway to it called the Buland Darwaza (lofty gates) built to commemorate Akbar's victory over Gujarat. The gate is in the style of what is called a half-dome portal. So, statement 1 is correct. Mughal mansabdari system did not constitute a homogenous class of officers. It had a long hierarchy of officers, ranging from the lowest zat rank of 10 to 7000. While the low ranking officers were paid in cash, the high ranking officials were paid in jagirs i.e. they were assigned a parcel of land from which the collected land revenue was their salary. The ones holding jagirs were called jagirdars. Often, this jagir holding class of mansabdars is a focus of study, so the term ‘mansabdar’ and ‘jagirdars’ are wrongly used interchangeably. So, statement 2 is incorrect. Usually, a mansabdar was allocated a jagir far away from his official posting and his native place. This was done to prevent him from developing deep roots at any one place. But, Akbar made an exception to this rule for the Rajputs. For Rajputs, it was very important that their right over their land was recognised. So, whenever a leading Rajput’s figure was incorporated into the Mughal mansabdari, he was assigned his ancestral holding as his ‘Watan’ jagir. If he were to be given some additional responsibility, he was allotted another jagir to reimburse him for expenses of that responsibility. So, statement 3 is correct.