Which of the following crops that spread to northern India in the early years of the 17th century was NOT mentioned in the Ain-i-Akbari in the lists of crops in northern India?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The correct answer is option 1 i.e. Tobacco.
The crop that spread to northern India in the early 17th century but was NOT mentioned in the Ain-i-Akbari is tobacco. Tobacco was introduced to India by the Portuguese in the late 16th century and became popular in the 17th century. The Ain-i-Akbari, compiled in the late 16th century by Abul Fazl, documented the agricultural produce of northern India under Akbar’s reign. It included traditional crops like wheat, arhar (pigeon pea), and jowar (sorghum), but tobacco had not yet become a significant crop to be recorded at that time.