The historian who labeled Akbar’s ‘Din-i-Ilahi’ a religion was Abdul Qadir Badauni. As an orthodox Muslim theologian and chronicler, Badauni was severely critical of Akbar’s syncretic policies, viewing the Din-i-Ilahi not as a philosophy but as a heretical new religion designed to displace Islam. The correct answer is (C) Abdul Qadir Badauni.