Explanation

The Sikh confederacy of the 18th century was organised into 12 sovereign military-brotherhoods known as misls (from the Persian/Arabic word for a file or record, here meaning a confederate band). Gurmata was the collective resolution of the Sarbat Khalsa, sardari denoted leadership, and rakhi was the protection tribute levied by the misls. The 12 states were called misls, option (A).