Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Sarkar functioned as a district or subdivision of a Subah, which was the larger province governed by a Subahdar. This system served as the critical middle layer between the provincial governor and the local village within the vast machinery of the Mughal Empire.
By the early 18th century, the rigid structure of the Sarkar system began to fracture under the weight of internal rebellion and external pressures. This decline led to its eventual replacement by the Chakla system as regional powers reorganized their territories.
The Northern Circars represented five individual districts that formed a former division of British India's Madras Presidency. These districts, including Rajamundry Sarkar, were once integral parts of the Mughal administrative framework before coming under British control.
The ancient Sarkars of Pakhli and Pakhal are located in the rugged terrain of modern-day Pakistan within the Mansehra district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakhli is now part of Hazara, and Pakhal Sarkar serves as a tangible link to the administrative history of the region.
The Subah was the largest administrative unit governed by a Subahdar, below which the Sarkar acted as a district managing a cluster of Parganas. The Pargana, often referred to as Mahal, was the smallest unit of administration where local officials collected taxes and maintained order.