20 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in every exam-style shape used in the paper. 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 markIn which year was the Permanent Settlement introduced in Bengal?
(A) 1785(B) 1793(C) 1813(D) 1818 - 1 markIn what year were the estates of the Raja of Burdwan auctioned to recover unpaid revenue?
(A) 1793(B) 1797(C) 1813(D) 1832 - 1 markUnder the Sunset Law, what happened if a zamindar’s payment did not arrive by sunset of the specified date?
(A) the zamindar was imprisoned immediately(B) the Company waived the arrears(C) the ryots were exempted from rent that year(D) the zamindari was liable to be auctioned - 1 markWhose survey of the Dinajpur district gives a vivid description of the jotedars?
(A) Charles Cornwallis(B) Augustus Cleveland(C) Francis Buchanan(D) David Ricardo - 1 markIn what year was the Fifth Report submitted to the British Parliament?
(A) 1793(B) 1801(C) 1813(D) 1832 - 1 markIn what year, and with whom, did the painter William Hodges travel to the Rajmahal hills?
(A) 1782, with Augustus Cleveland(B) 1800, with Francis Buchanan(C) 1832, with Charles Cornwallis(D) 1856, with David Ricardo - 1 markIn which years did the Santhal rebellion take place, after which the Santhal Pargana was created?
(A) 1832(B) 1855-56(C) 1861(D) 1875
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markAssertion (A): The Fifth Report can be accepted as a neutral, unbiased record of conditions in rural Bengal.
Reason (R): It emerged from a British political debate against East India Company maladministration, and recent research shows it exaggerated the scale of zamindari collapse.
(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
3 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch List I with List II.
List I: (i) Permanent Settlement (ii) Ryotwari settlement (iii) Damin-i-Koh (iv) Santhal Pargana
List II: (1) introduced in the Bombay Deccan, resurveyed every 30 years (2) permanent revenue system fixed in Bengal in 1793 (3) special administrative unit created after the 1855-56 rebellion (4) Santhal territory demarcated in 1832
(A) i-1, ii-2, iii-3, iv-4(B) i-2, ii-1, iii-4, iv-3(C) i-3, ii-4, iii-1, iv-2(D) i-4, ii-3, iii-2, iv-1 - 1 markMatch List I with List II.
List I: (i) David Ricardo (ii) Augustus Cleveland (iii) Francis Buchanan (iv) William Hodges
List II: (1) proposed the pacification policy for the Paharias (2) surveyed the Dinajpur district (3) economist behind the ‘average rent’ idea (4) painted the Rajmahal hills in the picturesque style
(A) i-3, ii-1, iii-2, iv-4(B) i-2, ii-3, iii-4, iv-1(C) i-4, ii-2, iii-1, iv-3(D) i-1, ii-4, iii-3, iv-2
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markConsider the following statements.
Statement I: The Permanent Settlement’s revenue demand was pegged high partly so the Company would not miss out on future increases in agricultural income.
Statement II: Officials expected the burden on zamindars would gradually ease as production and prices rose.
(A) Both statements are true, and Statement II explains Statement I(B) Both statements are true, but Statement II does not explain Statement I(C) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(D) Statement I is false, Statement II is true - 1 markConsider the following statements.
Statement I: The Deccan Riots Commission concluded that the government’s own revenue demand caused the 1875 revolt.
Statement II: It concluded that it was the moneylenders who were to blame, not the state.
(A) Both statements are true, and Statement II explains Statement I(B) Both statements are true, but Statement II does not explain Statement I(C) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(D) Statement I is false, Statement II is true
5 Chronological Ordering
Chronological Ordering
- 1 markArrange the following events in chronological order.
1. Damin-i-Koh demarcated
2. Permanent Settlement introduced
3. Santhal rebellion begins
4. Fifth Report submitted to Parliament
(A) 2-1-4-3(B) 4-2-1-3(C) 2-4-1-3(D) 2-4-3-1 - 1 markArrange the following events in chronological order.
1. American Civil War ends and Indian cotton exports decline
2. Deccan Riots Commission report presented to Parliament
3. Manchester Cotton Company formed
4. Cotton Supply Association founded in Britain
(A) 3-4-1-2(B) 4-1-3-2(C) 4-3-2-1(D) 4-3-1-2
6 Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blanks
- 1 markThe 1793 settlement made with the rajas and taluqdars of Bengal, who were now classified as zamindars, is known as the ______ Settlement.
(A) Permanent(B) Ryotwari(C) Mahalwari(D) Temporary - 1 markThe revenue system introduced in the Bombay Deccan, in which revenue was fixed directly with the ryot, was called the ______ settlement.
(A) Mahalwari(B) Permanent(C) Zamindari(D) Ryotwari
7 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markWhich of the following belongs to the Bengal system, not the Bombay Deccan’s ryotwari system, as described in this chapter?
(A) the ryotwari settlement itself(B) the Sunset Law(C) David Ricardo’s influence on revenue thinking(D) the Deccan Riots Commission
8 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
“The sowkars… have of late begun to oppress us. As we cannot earn enough to defray our household expenses, we are actually forced to beg of them to provide us with money, clothes and grain, which we obtain from them not without great difficulty, nor without their compelling us to enter into hard conditions in the bond. Moreover the necessary clothes and grain are not sold to us at cash rates. The prices asked from us are generally twenty-five or fifty per cent more than demanded from customers making ready money payments… The produce of our fields is also taken by the sowkars, who at the time of removing it assure us that it will be credited to our account, but they do not actually make any mention of it in the accounts. They also refuse to pass us any receipts for the produce so removed by them.”
— petition of a ryot of Mirajgaon, Taluka Karjat, to the Collector, Ahmednagar, Deccan Riots Commission (Source 8)
— petition of a ryot of Mirajgaon, Taluka Karjat, to the Collector, Ahmednagar, Deccan Riots Commission (Source 8)
- 1 markAccording to the petition in the passage, how much more do the sowkars charge the ryots for goods bought on credit compared to cash-paying customers?
(A) 10 to 15 per cent more(B) 25 to 50 per cent more(C) 60 to 75 per cent more(D) exactly double
Passage
“The revenue was not realised with punctuality, and lands to a considerable extent were periodically exposed to sale by auction. In the native year 1203, corresponding with 1796-97, the land advertised for sale comprehended a jumma or assessment of sicca rupees 28,70,061, the extent of land actually sold bore a jumma or assessment of 14,18,756… Among the defaulters were some of the oldest families of the country.”
— from the Fifth Report, submitted to the British Parliament in 1813 (Source 2)
— from the Fifth Report, submitted to the British Parliament in 1813 (Source 2)
- 1 markAccording to the Fifth Report’s figures for the native year 1203 (1796-97), how does the land actually sold at auction compare with the land advertised for sale?
(A) more was sold than advertised(B) exactly the same amount was sold(C) less was sold than what was advertised(D) nothing was sold at all
9 True / False
True / False
- 1 markConsider the following statements about the Santhal rebellion.
1. It broke out in 1855-56.
2. It was led by Sidhu Manjhi.
3. It led to the creation of the Santhal Pargana.
Which of the statements are correct?
(A) 1 and 2 only(B) 1 and 3 only(C) 2 and 3 only(D) 1, 2 and 3
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions
- (B) The Permanent Settlement came into operation in 1793, fixing the revenue each zamindar had to pay for all time to come.
- (B) In 1797 there was a big public auction in Burdwan; the raja had accumulated huge arrears and his estates were put up for sale.
- (D) According to the Sunset Law, if payment did not come in by sunset of the specified date, the zamindari was liable to be auctioned, regardless of the harvest.
- (C) Francis Buchanan’s survey of the Dinajpur district in North Bengal describes this class of rich peasants known as jotedars in detail.
- (C) The Fifth Report was submitted to the British Parliament in 1813, the fifth of a series of reports on the East India Company’s administration in India.
- (A) Hodges, who had accompanied Captain Cook on his second voyage, became a friend of Augustus Cleveland, the Collector of Bhagalpur, and travelled with him to the Jangal Mahals in 1782.
- (B) By the 1850s the Santhals felt the time had come to rebel; the Santhal Revolt of 1855-56 was followed by the creation of the Santhal Pargana, 5,500 square miles carved from Bhagalpur and Birbhum.
Assertion-Reason
- (D) A is false: the Report cannot be accepted uncritically. R is true and explains exactly why A is false, so the correct option is the one where A is false and R is true.
Match the Following
- (B) The Permanent Settlement was Bengal’s 1793 fixed system (i-2), ryotwari was the Bombay Deccan’s 30-year resurveyed system (ii-1), Damin-i-Koh was the 1832 demarcated Santhal area (iii-4), and the Santhal Pargana was created after the rebellion (iv-3).
- (A) Ricardo was the economist behind ‘average rent’ (i-3), Cleveland proposed pacification (ii-1), Buchanan surveyed Dinajpur (iii-2), and Hodges painted the picturesque hills (iv-4).
Statement-Based Questions
- (B) Both statements are true, but Statement II does not explain Statement I. The demand was pegged high to minimise the loss the Company expected from fixing it for all time (Statement I); Statement II is the argument officials used to defend that high demand, not the reason it was fixed high.
- (D) Statement I is false: the commission specifically did not blame the government. Statement II is true and states its actual conclusion.
Chronological Ordering
- (C) The Permanent Settlement was introduced in 1793 (2), the Fifth Report was submitted in 1813 (4), Damin-i-Koh was demarcated by 1832 (1), and the Santhal rebellion broke out in 1855-56 (3): order 2-4-1-3.
- (D) The Cotton Supply Association was founded in 1857 (4), the Manchester Cotton Company was formed in 1859 (3), the Civil War ended in 1865 (1), and the Commission’s report was presented in 1878 (2): order 4-3-1-2.
Fill in the Blanks
- (A) The Permanent Settlement fixed Bengal’s revenue demand for all time to come, regardless of harvest or price.
- (D) Unlike Bengal, the Bombay Deccan’s ryotwari settlement fixed revenue directly with the individual ryot and was never permanent.
Odd One Out
- (B) The Sunset Law was part of the Bengal Permanent Settlement system; the other three items relate to the Bombay Deccan.
Passage-Based Questions
- (B) The petition states that prices asked from the ryots are generally twenty-five or fifty per cent more than those demanded from customers making ready money payments.
- (C) The passage gives 28,70,061 sicca rupees of land advertised against only 14,18,756 actually sold, considerably less than what was put up for sale.
True / False
- (D) All three statements are correct: the rebellion of 1855-56 was led by Sidhu Manjhi and resulted in the creation of the Santhal Pargana.
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