Given below are two statements, one labelled as Assertion (A) and the other labelled Reason (R). Assertion (A): Balban appointed ‘Khwaja’ to important iqtas to be selected from ‘mutasarrafs’. He was a civil official and dealt with accounts and records. Reason (R): The appointment of such an officer by the Sultan on the recommendation of the Wazir suggests the desire on the part of the Sultan to keep an eye on the revenue division and put a check on the activities of the muqtas. In the context of the above two statements, which of the following is correct ? Correct Answer Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A). The rule of Balban was marked by attempts to consolidate power and increase the prestige of “Sultan” by introducing in the court ceremonies, certain Persian traditions. He also instituted measures to check the Turkish nobility in the court. He introduced in his court a new order of nobility and gave new positions to this new class of nobility which was placed directly under his control. This newer nobility was put in charge of all-powerful positions. He successfully ended the influence of the group of 40 Turkish nobles which was called Turkhan –i- Chihalgani. He also abolished the position of the naik to gain better control over the administration of his empire. The muqti was the holder of the iqta, he was supposed to raise a standing army to aid the Sultan in times of need. Balban also instructed the muqtis send the fawazil (balance of his income, after deducting his army’s expenditure). The centralizing of the revenue administration under Balban led to the appointment of the Khwaja, who was appointed to keep a record of the income of the iqtas. Thus the correct option is 1.