With reference to the history of India, consider the following pairs: 1. Aurang — In-charge of treasury of the State 2. Banian — Indian agent of the East India Company 3. Mirasidar — Designated revenue payer to the State Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

Answer: B. Pairs 2 and 3 are correctly matched; Pair 1 is wrong. Pair 1 (Aurang and Treasury): WRONG. AURANG in late Mughal and early colonial commercial vocabulary was a 'WAREHOUSE or COMMERCIAL DEPOT' where goods (especially textiles) were collected, examined, sorted and dispatched to ports. It was NOT a treasury. The official in charge was the GOMASTHA. Aurangs were a central feature of the East India Company's textile procurement system in 18th-century Bengal. The Bengali word 'aurang' literally meant a place for manufacture or assembly of goods, not the state treasury. Pair 2 (Banian and Indian agent of EIC): CORRECT. The BANIAN (also spelt 'banyan') was a TRUSTED INDIAN AGENT, BROKER OR INTERMEDIARY EMPLOYED BY EUROPEAN MERCHANTS, particularly the English East India Company servants. Banians arranged for credit, deciphered local markets, hired weavers, dealt with zamindars, and managed the private trade of Company servants. The institution of the banian was central to the Company's commerce in Bengal. Famous Bengali banians of the late 18th century included Cantoo Babu (Krishna Kanta Nandy, banian to Warren Hastings). Pair 3 (Mirasidar and Designated revenue payer): CORRECT. The MIRASIDAR was a holder of MIRASI right, a hereditary right in land, especially in the southern Indian (Tamil) revenue system. Mirasidars held cultivated lands and were the DESIGNATED REVENUE PAYERS for those lands under the ryotwari and mirasi tenure systems of the Madras Presidency. The Mirasi tenure recognised this hereditary stake in land and the corresponding liability for revenue. This was distinct from inferior tenants (paykarans, ulkudis) who cultivated under the mirasidars. So 2 and 3 are correctly matched; 1 is wrong (aurang = warehouse, not treasury). Source: NCERT Class 12 Themes in Indian History Part III 'Colonialism and the Countryside'; Irfan Habib 'The Agrarian System of Mughal India'.