In the Mughal empire under Akbar, the military commander in charge of law and order in a district (sarkar) was called the:

In the Mughal empire under Akbar, the "faujdar" was the military commander in charge of law and order in a district (sarkar).

About the faujdar:

• "Fauj" means army, and "faujdar" means the commander of a military force.
• He was appointed by the emperor, and was responsible for maintaining law and order in the sarkar.
• He commanded a body of troops, and used them to suppress rebels, robbers and refractory zamindars.
• He helped the revenue officials in collecting the revenue where there was resistance.
• He protected trade routes and travellers.

NCERT on the faujdar:

• NCERT explains that the subas were divided into sarkars, and each sarkar was placed under a faujdar, who was responsible for law and order.
• It notes that the faujdars were deployed with heavy cavalry and musketeers in districts.

Administrative divisions under Akbar:

• "Suba" (province): headed by a subadar (governor), with a diwan, bakhshi, sadr and qazi.
• "Sarkar" (district): under a faujdar (law and order) and an amalguzar (revenue collector).
• "Pargana" (sub-district): under officials such as the shiqdar, amil, qanungo and fotadar (treasurer).
• Village: under the muqaddam (headman) and patwari (accountant).

Other local officials:

• "Kotwal": the head of the police in towns and cities; he maintained order, watched over markets, and kept a record of people coming and going.
• "Amil" or "amalguzar": the revenue collector.
• "Qanungo": the keeper of land and revenue records.

Military organisation:

• Akbar's army was organised through the mansabdari system.
• The emperor also maintained his own troops (ahadis), who were directly recruited and paid by the state.

Later history:

• The post of faujdar continued under the later Mughals and the successor states.
• The British retained the term "faujdari" for criminal law; even today, "faujdari adalat" means a criminal court.

Why not the other options?

• ✗A kotwal was the head of the town police.
• ✗An amil was a revenue official.
• ✗A qanungo kept land records.