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History Optional PYQ Master Pack · Model answer

The motive of Alauddin Khilji’s agrarian policy was to curb the powers of the intermediaries. Examine the measures which he adopted to achieve his objective.

  • UPSC 2023
  • The Fourteenth Century

Rural society under the early Delhi Sultanate was mediated by a layer of local notables — khots (village headmen with proprietary rights over village land), muqaddams (headmen responsible for revenue collection at village level) and chaudhuris (superior local chiefs, often at pargana level) — who had historically enjoyed tax-exempt personal holdings and the customary right…

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What the full answer covers

  • Who the Intermediaries Were and What They Held
  • Abolition of Exemptions: Bringing Intermediary Land under Standard Assessment
  • Prohibition of Customary Cesses
  • Direct Khalisa Administration Replacing Intermediary Revenue Collection
  • Uniform Land Measurement as a Tool against Local Discretion
  • Punitive Enforcement and Political Logic
  • …and 1 more sections, with a conclusion

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