Authentic Past Paper Standard Evaluation
Statements about Sher Shah's administration: 1. Empire divided into Sarkars → Parganas. 2. He administered them directly without officials.
Solution & Analysis
Answer: A
Concept
Sher Shah Suri was a master of administrative centralization. He designed a nested hierarchy of territorial units to ensure that even the smallest village was connected to the imperial center.Explanation
Statement 1 is correct: Sher Shah divided his empire into Sarkars (districts), which were further subdivided into Parganas (village clusters).
Statement 2 is incorrect: He did not rule alone; he appointed specialized officials like the Shiqdar (military/law) and Amin (revenue) for each Pargana, and a Chief Shiqdar for each Sarkar.Logical Breakup
Logic 1: The system relied on professional bureaucrats and military officers rather than direct personal administration by the King.
Logic 2: This structure was so efficient that Akbar later adopted it as the foundation for the Mughal provincial system.