During the Mughal period the land cultivated by the farmers of another village was called:

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 2:

The correct term for land cultivated by farmers who belonged to another village during the Mughal period is **Pahikasht**. The Mughal revenue administration meticulously classified the peasantry based on their relationship with the land they cultivated, primarily for tax assessment purposes. *Pahikasht* literally translates to an "outside cultivator." These farmers did not reside in the village where they tilled the soil, usually moving between villages either due to the availability of better land or more favorable revenue terms. Their non-resident status meant they were generally subject to a higher land revenue rate than the resident cultivators of that village, as they were perceived as being less rooted to the land and thus more mobile.

The incorrect option is 1: **Khudkasht** were resident cultivators who owned or occupied the land they tilled in their own village. They held permanent hereditary rights over their land and were thus the most prestigious class of peasants, enjoying the most favorable land revenue rates.

The incorrect option is 3: **Muzariyan** was a general term used for tenants or sub-tenants who worked the land of others (often Khudkasht peasants or Zamindars). They did not possess proprietary rights and paid rent or a share of the produce to the landholder, placing them lower in the agrarian hierarchy.

The incorrect option is 4: **Khalsa** refers not to a type of farmer or land cultivated by them, but to a category of land whose revenue was reserved for the imperial central treasury of the Mughal Emperor. These lands were directly controlled and managed by the central administration through designated officials.