19 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in the common exam-style shapes. Every question comes with an explanation along with the answer, so you remember why the option is correct, not just which one it is.
1 Direct Questions
Direct Questions
- 1 markAccording to the book, what share of India’s population lived in rural areas as per the 2011 Census?
(A) 65 per cent(B) 72 per cent(C) 58 per cent(D) 69 per cent - 1 markOf the land reform laws passed between the 1950s and 1970s, which one does the book call probably the most effective?
(A) The Land Ceiling Acts(B) Tenancy abolition and regulation acts(C) Abolition of the zamindari system(D) Contract farming regulation - 1 markWhich multinational company is named in the book as contracting farmers in Punjab and Karnataka to grow tomatoes and potatoes?
(A) Cargill(B) Monsanto(C) PepsiCo(D) ITC
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markAssertion (A): In most areas, Brahmins, the highest caste, are major landowners.
Reason (R): The book states that the correspondence between caste rank and class rank in rural India is broadly true, but not exact in every case.
(A) A is false, but R is true(B) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A(C) Both A and R are true, but R does not correctly explain A(D) A is true, but R is false - 1 markAssertion (A): Land reforms had only a limited impact on rural society and the agrarian structure in most regions.
Reason (R): In contrast, the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s brought significant change in the areas it reached.
(A) A is false, but R is true(B) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A(C) Both A and R are true, but R does not correctly explain A(D) A is true, but R is false - 1 markAssertion (A): Contract farming appears to provide financial security to farmers.
Reason (R): It can also create greater insecurity, since farmers become dependent on the contracting company for their livelihood.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A(B) Both A and R are true, but R does not correctly explain A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true
3 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch List I (Region) with List II (Dominant landowning caste named in the book).
List I: (i) Uttar Pradesh (ii) Karnataka (iii) Andhra Pradesh (iv) Punjab
List II: (1) Kammas and Reddis (2) Jat Sikhs (3) Jats and Rajputs (4) Vokkaligas and Lingayats
(A) i-3, ii-4, iii-1, iv-2(B) i-1, ii-2, iii-3, iv-4(C) i-4, ii-3, iii-2, iv-1(D) i-3, ii-1, iii-4, iv-2 - 1 markMatch List I (Scheme named in the book) with List II (its general purpose; the book names these schemes without describing them).
List I: (i) Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (ii) Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (iii) Kisan Credit Card (iv) National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
List II: (1) Crop insurance for farmers (2) Credit access for farmers (3) Uninterrupted rural electricity supply (4) Promoting sustainable farming practices
(A) i-1, ii-3, iii-4, iv-2(B) i-3, ii-2, iii-1, iv-4(C) i-3, ii-1, iii-2, iv-4(D) i-4, ii-1, iii-3, iv-2
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markStatement I: The law denies women any share of family property.
Statement II: Women in most parts of India commonly own agricultural land in their own name.
(A) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(B) Statement I is false, Statement II is true(C) Both statements are true(D) Both statements are false - 1 markStatement I: Employment and wages for agricultural workers rose in many Green Revolution areas because demand for labour increased.
Statement II: The shift from payment in kind to cash, along with rising prices, actually worsened the economic condition of most rural workers.
(A) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(B) Statement I is false, Statement II is true(C) Both statements are true(D) Both statements are false - 1 markStatement I: Eastern U.P. and Bihar saw relatively few changes in agrarian structure after Independence.
Statement II: This is because of effective land reforms and strong political mobilisation in these states.
(A) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(B) Statement I is false, Statement II is true(C) Both statements are true(D) Both statements are false
5 Chronological Ordering
Chronological Ordering
- 1 markArrange these in the chronological order the book presents them.
1. Under British rule, zamindars are given property rights and raiyatwari settlements are introduced
2. Local kings/zamindars control land in the pre-colonial period
3. From the 1950s, land reform laws begin to be passed at national and state level
4. The Green Revolution’s first phase begins in the 1960s
(A) 2-1-3-4(B) 1-2-3-4(C) 2-3-1-4(D) 1-3-2-4 - 1 markArrange these steps of a contract-farming arrangement in the order that follows logically from the book’s description.
1. The company buys the produce at a pre-fixed price
2. The company identifies the crop to be grown
3. The farmer grows the crop
4. The company supplies seeds, other inputs and often working capital
(A) 2-3-4-1(B) 2-4-3-1(C) 4-2-3-1(D) 2-4-1-3
6 Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blanks
- 1 markThe book uses the term ______ for the one or two numerically strong, economically and politically powerful landowning castes of a region.
(A) backward caste(B) dominant caste(C) Scheduled Caste(D) twice-born caste
7 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markThree of these four crops/products are named in the book as commonly grown under contract farming. Which one is the odd one out?
(A) Wheat(B) Cut flowers(C) Grapes(D) Cotton
8 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
The harsh working conditions suffered by labourers in Aghanbigha were an outcome of the combined effect of the economic power of the maliks as a class and their overwhelming power as members of a dominant caste. A significant aspect of the social power of the maliks was their ability to secure the intervention of various arms of the state to advance their interests. Thus, political factors decisively contributed to widening the gulf between the dominant class and the underclass.
- 1 markBased on the passage, what TWO things combined to create the maliks’ power over labourers in Aghanbigha?
(A) Their education and their urban connections(B) Their economic power as a class and their power as members of a dominant caste(C) Their religious authority and their age(D) Their control of the local school and hospital
Passage
An elderly woman, Bhargawa Hugar, in the village of Madbhavi, contrasted organic produce with hybrid produce: “What… they used to grow some wheat, red sorghum… plant a few tubers, chilli plants… cotton. Now there’s only hibrad (hybrid)… where’s the javari (organic/local)? Hybrid seeds… hybrid crops… even the children are hybrid. Hybrid seeds are sown on the earth… the children born are also hybrid.” (Vasavi, 1994: 295-96)
- 1 markAccording to Bhargawa Hugar’s account, what did farmers in her village use to grow before hybrid seeds took over?
(A) Wheat, red sorghum, some tubers, chilli plants and cotton(B) Only cotton, nothing else(C) Rice and sugarcane only(D) Tea and coffee
9 True / False
True / False
- 1 markConsider these statements.
(i) Jan Breman’s term ‘footloose labour’ means that migrant agricultural workers are free and enjoy full rights.
(ii) Areas with assured irrigation, such as the Kaveri basin rice deltas, developed the most unequal agrarian structures.
(A) Only (i) is true(B) Only (ii) is true(C) Both are true(D) Both are false - 1 markConsider these statements.
(i) Contract farming can divert agricultural land away from foodgrain production toward export-oriented crops.
(ii) Contract farming always requires low doses of fertiliser and pesticide, making it fully sustainable.
(A) Only (ii) is true(B) Only (i) is true(C) Both are true(D) Both are false
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions
- (D) The chapter opens by stating that 69 per cent of India’s people lived in rural areas according to the 2011 Census.
- (C) The book says abolition of the zamindari system was probably the most effective land reform, since it removed the intermediary layer between cultivators and the state.
- (C) The book names PepsiCo as the company that contracts farmers in regions such as Punjab and Karnataka to grow crops such as tomatoes and potatoes.
Assertion-Reason
- (A) A is false: the book explicitly says Brahmins are usually NOT major landowners even though they are the highest caste, and so fall outside the agrarian structure. R is true: the book itself says the caste-class correspondence is broadly true but not exact, and the Brahmin case is the book’s own example.
- (C) Both statements are true, exactly as the book states. R states a separate, contrasting fact about the Green Revolution’s own impact, so R does not correctly explain A: the book’s account of the land reform laws themselves (tenancy laws never implemented very effectively in most states, Land Ceiling Acts ‘toothless’) is what lies behind their limited impact.
- (B) Both statements are true. R names a separate risk of contract farming, dependency, which is a different point from why contract farming feels secure, so R does not correctly explain A.
Match the Following
- (A) Uttar Pradesh = Jats and Rajputs (3); Karnataka = Vokkaligas and Lingayats (4); Andhra Pradesh = Kammas and Reddis (1); Punjab = Jat Sikhs (2).
- (C) DDU Gram Jyoti Yojana = rural electricity (3); Fasal Bima Yojana = crop insurance (1); Kisan Credit Card = farm credit (2); National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture = sustainable practices (4): i-3, ii-1, iii-2, iv-4.
Statement-Based Questions
- (D) Both statements are false: the book says that by law women are supposed to have an equal share of family property, but in reality they have only limited rights and some ACCESS to land as part of a household headed by a man, not ownership in their own name.
- (C) Both are true and the book presents them together: employment and wages did rise in many areas because demand for labour increased, but rising prices and the shift from payment in kind to cash ‘actually worsened the economic condition of most rural workers’.
- (A) Statement I is true, but Statement II reverses the book’s actual reason: it says the LACK of effective land reform, political mobilisation and redistributive measures explains the limited change, not their presence.
Chronological Ordering
- (A) Order: pre-colonial kings/zamindars (2), colonial zamindari and raiyatwari systems (1), post-Independence land reform laws (3), Green Revolution phase 1 (4): 2-1-3-4.
- (B) The company first identifies the crop (2), supplies seeds/inputs/capital (4), the farmer grows the crop (3), and the company then buys the produce at the fixed price (1): 2-4-3-1.
Fill in the Blanks
- (B) M.N. Srinivas’s term ‘dominant caste’ is used for exactly this group.
Odd One Out
- (A) The book names cut flowers, grapes, figs, pomegranates, cotton and oilseeds as common contract-farming produce. Wheat is discussed elsewhere, in the context of the Green Revolution and India’s wheat-import decision, not as a contract-farming crop.
Passage-Based Questions
- (B) The passage names exactly these two combined sources of power: the maliks’ economic power as a class, and their overwhelming power as members of a dominant caste.
- (A) Bhargawa Hugar recalls that farmers used to grow wheat, red sorghum, a few tubers, chilli plants and cotton, before hybrid varieties took over.
True / False
- (B) (i) is false: the book explicitly says the term does not imply freedom. (ii) is true: Box 4.1 states that assured-irrigation, intensive-cultivation regions like the Kaveri basin developed the most unequal agrarian structures.
- (B) (i) is true, exactly as the book states for export-oriented crops like flowers and gherkins. (ii) is false: the book says contract farming usually needs HIGH doses of fertiliser and pesticide, often making it ecologically unsustainable.
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