In his 'Account of the Twelve Provinces' Abul Fazl provides detailed area statistics of all North Indian provinces. The record of which among the following provinces is/are not recorded by Abul Fazl in this?

(i) Bengal
(ii) Kashmir
(iii) Thatta
(iv) Lahore

Choose the correct answer from the code given below:

Correct option is D

The correct answer is (i), (ii) and (iii) only: Bengal, Kashmir, and Thatta.

​Information Booster 

The area figures recorded by Abul Fazl primarily pertain to the twelve original subas established by Akbar in 1580, which formed the core of the empire at the time of the Ain-i-Akbari's compilation.

Bengal:
Although Bengal was one of the wealthiest and largest subas, Abul Fazl mentions the difficulty in compiling its exact statistics. Bengal had been recently annexed, and its land revenue system, which operated on a different basis (the cash-based Zabt system was not fully implemented), made accurate area measurement difficult to secure at the time of writing. The records for Bengal often included only the gross jama (assessment) rather than detailed area measurements.

Thatta:
The region of Thatta (Sindh) was fully conquered and annexed into the Mughal Empire relatively late by Khan-i-Khanan in 1591, after much of the statistical work for the Ain had been completed. While it was eventually included as a province, its detailed area figures were not available for the main compilation, leading to its exclusion from the most comprehensive area statistics.

Kashmir:
Kashmir was annexed in 1586. Like Thatta, its incorporation came late in the compilation process. Additionally, due to its hilly and mountainous terrain, the standard Mughal land measurement system (the bigha based on the flat plain) was difficult to apply accurately, resulting in the exclusion of detailed area statistics for this suba as well.

​Additional Knowledge

Lahore
The province of Lahore (modern-day Punjab) was one of the original twelve subas and was a vital administrative, economic, and military center for the Mughal Empire.
Its revenue and area statistics were meticulously recorded. Lahore was a region where the standard Zabt (measurement-based revenue) system was fully operational, allowing Abul Fazl to provide precise area (bigha) and revenue (jama) figures.