Which one of the following is NOT the characteristics of Iqta System?

1. A

   Iqta was a revenue collection system

   (a) Iqta was a revenue collection system. True of the Delhi Sultanate assignment: a territory’s revenue was assigned to a muqti. This is a characteristic, so not the ‘NOT’ answer.

2. B

   Siyasatnama was the source of information for Iqta System

   (b) Siyasatnama was a source for the Iqta system. Nizam al-Mulk’s Siyasatnama is a standard Persian source on iqta practice. The pair stands.

3. C

   Revenue from Iqta was directly deposited in Sultan's account

   (c) Revenue from Iqta was directly deposited in the Sultan’s account. This is NOT a characteristic. The muqti collected, paid troops, and (later) remitted surplus (fawazil); the assignment was not a direct credit to the Sultan’s personal chest. That negation is the official key.

4. D

   Muqti was supposed to maintain troops out of the revenue collected from Iqta

   (d) Muqti maintained troops from iqta revenue. True: military obligation was the point of the assignment.

Summary. Official key is (c). Direct deposit of iqta revenue into the Sultan’s account is not how the system worked. Iqta assigned collection to a muqti who kept troops (Siyasatnama is a source). Surplus might later go to the centre; that is not ‘directly deposited’. Honour the stored letter (c).