Rural Life and Society

Prior to the coming of Europeans, the revenue in a village used to be collected by the ___________.

• zamindar

• village headman

• panchyat

• taluqdar

Answer explanation

The charge of collecting the revenue and paying it to the Company was given to the village headman, rather than the zamindar. This system came to be known as the mahalwari settlement.

Ryot's Association was formed by __________.

• Mahatma Gandhi

• Motilal Nehru

• Vallabhbai Patel

• N G Ranga

Answer explanation

The former system prevailed in northern and central India and the latter in Bombay, Madras, Assam and Burma. The Ryot's association was formed by N. G. Ranga.

__________ introduced the Ryotwari settlement.

• Lord Cornwallis

• Thomas Munro

• Holt Mackenzie

• Warren Hastings

Answer explanation

Thomas Munro introduced the Ryotwari System in Bombay and Madras in 1820. A direct settlement was made between the government and the cultivators under the Ryotwari System.

The British paid in ______________ for Chinese tea.

• gold

• bullion

• silver

• pounds

Answer explanation

Tea, and Chinese porcelains (especially teaware) were in high in demand for the British (along with Chinese silks), but the Chinese did not find British goods desirable and would only accept silver in payment for their goods.

The Permanent Settlement was introduced in Bengal in the year __________.

• 1867

• 1857

• 1793

• 1875

Answer explanation

The Permanent Settlement of Bengal was brought into effect by the East India Company headed by the Governor-General Lord Cornwallis in 1793. This was basically an agreement between the company and the Zamindars to fix the land revenue.

The peasants prior to the coming of the British produced enough to pay the revenue.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

This statement is correct. Prior to British rule, Indian peasants generally produced enough to pay revenue, as the traditional revenue systems were more flexible and allowed peasants to sustain themselves.

Unlike the Mughal period, the zamindars under the British become owners of the land.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

The British generally adopted the extant zamindari system of revenue collection in the north of the country. They recognised the zamindars as landowners and proprietors as opposed to the Mughal government and, in return, required them to collect taxes.

Moneylenders did not gain much under the British rule.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

This statement is incorrect. Moneylenders gained significantly under British rule, as British economic policies favored them over peasants and zamindars, leading to widespread rural indebtedness.

Commercialisation of agriculture was done to promote the Indian produce in the world market.

• True

• False

Peasant revolts under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi became non-violent.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

He asked the peasants to adopt non-violent measures to protest and mobilize. The peasant movement, however, carried on as an independent movement mobilizing peasants from different parts of the country, eventually becoming a part of the mass struggle to attain swaraj.