Assertion (A): At first the Turkish administration in India was essentially military. Reason (R): The country was parcelled out as 'Iqtas' among leading military leaders.

1. The question presents an Assertion (A) and a Reason (R) about early Turkish administration in India. 2. Assertion (A): States that at first, the Turkish administration in India was essentially military. This is true. The initial phase of the Delhi Sultanate involved conquest and consolidation, relying heavily on military power and control. 3. Reason (R): States that the country was parcelled out as 'Iqtas' among leading military leaders. This is also true. The Iqta system was a key administrative and military feature where land assignments were given to nobles/commanders in return for maintaining troops and governing the territory. 4. Connection: The Iqta system (R) was the mechanism through which the military-based administration (A) functioned and sustained itself. Granting Iqtas to military leaders was fundamental to the essentially military character of the early administration. 5. Therefore, both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A. 6. This corresponds to option (A).