Given below are two statements, one is labeled as Assertion (A) and other as Reason (R) : Assertion (A): The Mughal Empire was originally a Military State. Reason (R): The vitality of the development of the central Government System depended on its military power. Select the correct answer using the codes given below. Codes:

Both statements are true and the reason explains the assertion, so option A is correct. The Mughal state, from Babur through Aurangzeb, was organised around the mansabdari system, where every mansabdar held a rank (zat and sawar) and was obliged to maintain a set number of troops. The army was the backbone of revenue collection, conquest and internal order, so central authority rose and fell with military strength.

The reason explains the assertion: the vitality of the central structure depended on the military, which is exactly why the state is described as military in character. When Aurangzeb's prolonged Deccan wars drained resources and the jagirdari system came under strain, central authority weakened.

• Option B is wrong because the reason is not merely true; it directly explains the assertion.
• Option C is wrong because the reason is accurate.
• Option D is wrong because the assertion holds; historians such as Satish Chandra describe the Mughal polity as a military state in its early phase.

Syllabus link: Medieval India, Mughal administration (mansabdari, jagirdari). Mains angle: why Mughal decline is linked to the failure of the military-revenue model.

Trap: aspirants treat the reason as an independent fact and pick B, missing that the reason is the explanation of the assertion.