Match the following Mughal cities and the manufactures they were famous for:
(A) Silk weaving centres (i) Madras
(B) Carpet (ii) Dacca
(C) Muslim (iii) Lahore, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri
(D) Calicos (iv) Agra and Lahore

Question

Match the following Mughal cities and the manufactures they were famous for: 
(A) Silk weaving centres   (i) Madras  
(B) Carpet  (ii) Dacca 
(C) Muslim   (iii) Lahore, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri 
(D) Calicos    (iv) Agra and Lahore

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 1 (A-iii, B-iv, C-ii, D-i):

During the Mughal period, the empire became a major hub for various crafts and industries, particularly textiles and luxury goods. This matching relies on identifying the primary manufacturing strength of each specified location.
(A) Silk weaving centers: Lahore, Agra, and Fatehpur Sikri (iii) were strategically important capital and major urban centers of the empire. They housed royal workshops (karkhanas) and were vital for silk production and trade, often utilizing raw silk imported from Bengal and Persia.
(B) Carpet: Agra and Lahore (iv) were renowned for their high-quality carpets. Carpet weaving was a highly patronized art introduced to India during the Mughal era, with karkhanas in these cities producing intricate Persian and Indo-Persian style carpets for the royal court and export.
(C) Muslin: Dacca (ii), located in Bengal, was internationally famous for producing the finest and sheerest muslin cloth, often referred to as 'woven air.' Bengal was the foremost textile region in the Mughal Empire, and Dacca was its specialty center for muslin.
(D) Calicos: Madras (i) was a major English trading post outside the core Mughal heartland, where European companies, including the English East India Company, centered their trade in patterned cotton textiles known as 'calicos' or chintz, sourced primarily from the Coromandel Coast and Bengal region for export.

The incorrect option is 2 (A-i, B-ii, C-iii, D-iv): This option incorrectly links Silk weaving to Madras and Calicos to Agra/Lahore, reversing the primary manufactures of the core Mughal cities and the southern trading port.

The incorrect option is 3 (A-iv, B-iii, C-ii, D-i): This option wrongly pairs Silk weaving with Agra/Lahore and Carpet with Lahore, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, confusing the respective specialties of these key northern centers.

The incorrect option is 4 (A-ii, B-i, C-iii, D-iv): This option incorrectly matches Dacca (muslin) with Silk weaving and Madras with Carpet production, a clear geographical and historical mismatch of manufacturing specialties.