Given below are two statements, one labeled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R). **Assertion (A):** After the year 1758, the Dutch East India Company was forced to purchase saltpetre from their arch-rivals, the English East India Company, at highly inflated prices in Patna. **Reason (R):** Robert Clive secured an exclusive monopoly (ijara) over the entire saltpetre production of Bihar from Nawab Mir Jafar as a reward for British assistance in the Battle of Plassey. In the context of the above statements, which of the following is correct?

Options:

• A: Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
• B: Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
• C: A is true but R is false.
• D: A is false but R is true.

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