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Online Education for Ruling the Countryside Class 8 Extra Questions History Chapter 3
Question 1.
When did the Mughal Emperor appoint the East India Company as the Diwani of Bengal?
Answer:
On 12 August 1765.
Question 2.
After the Company got the Diwani, why did artisans begin deserting villages?
Answer:
This was because they were forced to sell their goods to the Company at lower prices.
Question 3.
When was a terrible famine observed in Bengal?
Answer:
In 1770.
Question 4.
When and where was the Permanent Settlement introduced?
Answer:
Permanent Settlement was mainly introduced in the province of Bengal in 1793.
Question 5.
Who introduced Permanent Settlement?
Answer:
Charles Cornwallis.
Question 6.
Who were authorised to collect rent from the peasants under Permanent Settlement?
Answer:
Rajas and taluqdars.
Question 7.
What was the benefit of Permanent Settlement to the Company?
Answer:
It ensured a regular flow of revenue to the Company.
Question 8.
Which revenue system was introduced in the North-Western province of Bengal Presidency?
Answer:
The mahalwari settlement.
Question 9.
Who introduced mahalwari settlement?
Answer:
Holt Mackenzie.
Question 10.
In which area was the ryotwari system introduced?
Answer:
In the Southern India.
Question 11.
Who introduced the ryotwari system?
Answer:
Thomas Munro.
Question 12.
Name few crops and related areas which the British forced people to grow?
Answer:
- Jute – in Bengal
- Tea- in Assam
- Sugarcane – in the United Province
- Wheat – in Punjab
- Cotton – in Maharashtra and Punjab
- Rice – in Madras.
Question 13.
Where was the Kalamkari print created?
Answer:
Kalamkari print was produced by the weavers in Andhra Pradesh.
Question 14.
In which climate do the indigo plants grow?
Answer:
In tropical climate.
Question 15.
Which other plant was used in the place of indigo in Europe?
Answer:
Woad.
Question 16.
In which climate was woad grown?
Answer:
In temperate climate.
Question 17.
Name few areas where woad plants were grown?
Answer:
Northern Italy, Southern France and in parts of Germany and Britain.
Question 18.
Which type of dyes were made from woad plants?
Answer:
Woad plants were used to make blue and yellow dyes.
Question 19.
Why did dyers prefer indigo?
Answer:
Because indigo produced a rich blue colour, whereas the dye from woad was pale and dull.
Question 20.
Where did the French begin cultivating indigo?
Answer:
In St. Domingue in the Caribbean island.
Question 21.
Where was indigo cultivation initiated in India?
Answer:
In Bengal province.
Question 22.
What were the two main systems of indigo cultivation?
Answer:
NIJ and ryoti.
Question 23.
What was the impact of indigo cultivation on the soil?
Answer:
Indigo plants had deep roots and it exhausted the soil. After indigo harvest, the land could not be sown with rice.
Question 24.
When did indigo ryots occur in Bengal?
Answer:
In 1859.
Question 25.
Who supported indigo ryots?
Answer:
Indigo peasants, local zamindars and village headmen.
Question 26.
Why was the Indigo Commission appointed?
Answer:
The Indigo Commission was appointed to enquire into the system of indigo production.
Question 27.
What was the report of Indigo Commission?
Answer:
The Indigo Commission held the planters guilty and criticised them for the coercive methods they used with indigo cultivators.
Question 28.
After indigo revolt in Bengal, to which area was indigo cultivation shifted?
Answer:
Indigo cultivation was shifted to Bihar.
Question 29.
How Diwani of Bengal was seen by the British?
Answer:
- As Diwan, the Company became the chief financial administrator of the territory under its control.
- Now the Company had to think of administering the land and organising its revenue resources.
- It had to ensure that it could buy the products it needed and sell what it wanted.
Question 30.
Name two problems created by the Permanent Settlement.
Answer:
- Zamindars were now not interested in the improvement of land.
- The revenue was very high. So many zamindars were unable to pay this revenue. Thus, their zamindaris were sold off.
Question 31.
Why were the zamindars not interested in improving land?
Answer:
- They saw the possibility of earning without trouble and risk of investment.
- They were giving land on rent to tenants, so they did not need to improve it.
Question 32.
Why did Munro choose ryotwari system for South India?
Answer:
- In South India, there was no’ tradition of zamindars.
- The ryots (cultivators) tilled the land for generations. So, Munro decided have contracts directly with the ryots. Hence, the ryotwari system was introduced.
Question 33.
What were the results of the new revenue systems?
Answer:
Peasants were unable to pay revenue, ryots fled the countryside, and villages became deserted in many regions. These all was due to over-optimistic imagination of revenue collection by the officials.
Question 34.
Why did the demand of indigo increase by the end of the eighteenth century?
Answer:
- This was because by this time Britain began to industrialise.
- In Britain, cotton production expanded dramatically.
- This created an enormous new demand for cloth dyes. That was why the demand of indigo increased by the end of the eighteenth century.
Question 35.
What do you mean by NIJ system of indigo cultivation?
Answer:
- In this system, the planters produced indigo on lands that they directly controlled.
- The planters either bought the land or rented it from other zamindars and produced indigo by directly employing hired labourers.
Question 36.
Why were the planters reluctant to expand area under NIJ cultivation till the late nineteenth century?
Answer:
- The large area required for indigo cultivation was not available.
- They attempted to lease in the land near the factory. The eviction of peasants in these fields often led to conflicts.
- The time of rice cultivation matched with that of the indigo. So, labours were not available in plenty.
- Nij cultivation on large scale also required many ploughs and bullocks i.e., huge investment.
Question 37.
Comment on the reports of the Indigo Commission.
Answer:
- The Commission held the planters guilty of oppressive methods used against the cultivators.
- It declared that indigo production was not profitable for ryots.
- It asked the ryots to fulfil their existing contracts but refuse to grow indigo in future.
Question 38.
Give a brief description of the Mahalwari System.
Answer:
- The revenue of all the plots of the village was calculated and added of the mahal.
- The demand of revenue was to be reversed periodically.
- The responsibility of collecting revenue was given to the village headman.
Question 39.
Discuss the mahalwari system introduced in the North-West provinces of the Bengal.
Answer:
- In this system, village was taken as a revenue unit.
- In this system, land was inspected, fields were measured, rights and customs of different groups were noted and then revenue of all the plots of the village was calculated and added so as to estimate the revenue of the mahal.
- The demand of the revenue was to be revised periodically.
- The responsibility of collecting revenue was given to the village headmen.
Question 40.
Discuss how the British people looked indigo cultivation as an opportunity.
Answer:
- With a remarkable growth in indigo trade, commercial agents and officials of the Company began investing in indigo production.
- Many officials resigned from the Company job and looked after their indigo business. –
- Those who had no money to produce indigo could get loans from the Company and the banks.
Question 41.
Explain the reaction of the ryots during the indigo revolt of Bengal.
Answer:
- The ryots refused to pay rents to the planters.
- They attacked indigo factories armed with locally available weapons.
- They boycotted those who worked for the planters.
- The gomasthas were beaten up.
- They swore they would no longer take advances to sow indigo.
- They decided not to be bullied by the lathiyals of the planters.
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
1. Which of the following statements is not correct?
(a) As Diwan of Bengal, the Company became the chief financial administrator of the territory under its control.
(b) Before 1865, the Company had purchased goods in India by importing gold and silver from Britain.
(c) In 1770, a terrible cholera epidemic killed ten million people in Bengal.
(d) The Permanent Settlement was introduced in 1793.
Answer:
(c) In 1770, a terrible cholera epidemic killed ten million people in Bengal.
2. What is not true about the terms of Permanent Settlëment in the following?
(a) The rajas and taluqdars were recognised as zamindars.
(b) The zamindars were asked to collect rent from the peasants.
(c) They had to pay revenue to the Company.
(d) The amount the zamindars had to pay was not fixed permanently.
Answer:
(d) The amount the zamindars had to pay was not fixed permanently.
3. The system of revenue introduced in the British territories in the south was known as
(a) Ryotwar or Ryotwari system.
(b) Permanent Settlement.
(c) Mahaiwari settlement.
(d) None of these.
Answer:
(a) Ryotwar or Ryotwari system.
4. Tick the correct pair in the following.
(a) Lord Cornwallis – Ryotwari system
(b) Thomas Munro – Permanent Settlement
(c) Mahal – village
(d) Holt Mackenzie – Mahalwari settlement.
Answer:
(d) Holt Mackenzie – Mahalwari settlement.
5. The Champaran movement started by Gandhiji was against the …………………. planters.
(a) tea
(b) indigo
(c) sugarcane
(d) coffee
Answer:
(b) indigo
Glossary:
→ Mahal – In British revenue records Mahal is a revenue estate which may be a village or a group of villages.
→ Plantation – A large farm operated by a planter employing various forms of forced labour. Plantations are associated with the production of coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, tea and cotton.
→ Slave – A person who is owned by someone else – the slave owner. A slave has no freedom and is compelled to work for the master.
→ Bigha – A unit of measurement of land. Before British rule, the size of this area varied. In Bengal, the British standardised it to about one-third of an acre.
→ Vat – A fermenting or storage vessel.