Detailed, Step-by-Step NCERT Solutions for Class 12 History Chapter 10 Colonialism and the Countryside: Exploring Official Archives Questions and Answers were solved by Expert Teachers as per NCERT (CBSE) Book guidelines covering each topic in chapter to ensure complete preparation.
Colonialism and the Countryside: Exploring Official ArchivesNCERT Solutions for Class 12 History Chapter 10
Colonialism and the Countryside: Exploring Official Archives Texts Questions and Answers Class 12 History Chapter 10
Question 1.
Why was the Jotedar a powerful figure in many areas of rural Bengal ?
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Describe the position of the ‘Jotedars’ at the end of the 18th century. (C.B.S.E. 2008 (O.D.))
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Explain how the powers of Jotedars within a village, was more effective than that of Zamindars. (C.B.S.E. 2009 (D))
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Why was the power of Jotedars within the village more effective than that of Zamindars ? Explain. (C.B.S.E. 2009 (D))
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“Jotedars in enevitably weekened zamindars in Bengal by the end of the 18th century.” Give arguments support the statement. (C.B.S.E. 2015 (D))
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Why were the Jotedar powerful ! figure in many areas of rural Bengal at the end of the Eighteenth Century? Give two reasons. (C.B.S.E. 2017 (D))
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Explain with examples the role of Jotedars in the permanent settlement system in Bengal. (C.B.S.E. 2019 (Comp.))
Answer:
When the Zamindars were in crisis in the eighteenth century, a group of rich peasants consolidated its position in the villages of Bengal. This class of rich peasants came to be known as Jotedars. They had a control over vast areas of land. Sometimes they had even a control on many thousand acres of land. They even controlled local trade and moneylending. They exercised immense power over the poor cultivators of the region and had become more powerful than the Zamindars. The following reasons were responsible for their strong position:
- They lived in villages therefore they had a lot of influence on many villagers.
- They opposed the efforts of the Zamindars to increase the jama of the village.
- They mobilised ryots to deliberately delay payments of revenue to the Zamindars.
- They controlled the local trade and moneylending.
- They had a control over several areas of land. They even purchased land when the estates of the Zamindars were being auctioned for failure to make payment of the revenue.
Question 2.
How did the Zamindars manage to retain control over their Zamindaris ?
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Explain two strategies devised by the Zamindars of Bengal to survive the pressure of high revenue demand auction of their lands. (C.B.S.E. 2009 (O.D.))
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Explain two ways devised by the Zamindar of surviving of pressures of high revenue demands and possible action of their estates. (C.B.S.E. 2009 (O.D.))
Answer:
The Zamindars adopted various means and measures to establish their control on their Zamindaris. These included the following :
- They adopted the strategy of fictitious sale of land. When a part of their estate was auctioned, their men bought the property by giving higher bids than others. Later on, they refused to pay up the purchase money due to which the estate was again auction. The same process of purchase was repeated. At last the State felt exhausted and sold the estate at a low price again to the Zamindar.
- They created hurdles in the possession of the land if anyone from outside the zamindari bought an estate at an auction.
- They transferred some of the estates in the name of women as the property of women could not be taken over.
- The Lathyals of the former Zamindars sometimes attacked the new buyers.
- Sometimes the ryots also resisted the entry of purchasers from outside.
Question 3.
How did the Paharias respond to the coming of outsiders ?
Answer:
The Paharias were the hill-folk who lived around the Rajmahal hills. They earned their living from the forest produce and practised shifting cultivation. Besides many of them were hunters, food- gatherers, charcoal producers and silk-worm rearers. They were intimately connected to the jungle life. They considered the entire region as their land. They considered it as the symbol of their identity and the base of their survival. However, they were hostile and apprehensive towards the outsiders. It is evident from the following points:
- They negotiated political relation with the outsiders. They got a regular tribute from them.
- They carried on a war with outsiders as they viewed them with suspicion and distrust.
- They resisted the inhabitation of the Santhals on the peripheris of the Rajmahal hills.
Question 4.
Why did the Santhals rebel against the British rule ?
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“The battle between the hoe and the plough was a long one.” Substantiate the statement with reference to the Santhals and Paharias of Raj Mahal hills during 18th century. (C.B.S.E. 2016 (D))
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Why did the Santhals rebel against Zamindars and the colonial power ? Give any two reasons. (C.B.S.E. 2017 (D))
Answer:
The British had failed to subdue the Paharias. They could not transform the hill-folk into settled agriculturists. So they turned to the Santhals who were ideal settlers. They demarcated a separated land for the Santhals and called it as Damin-i-Koh. All the Santhals lived within it and practised plough agriculture. They became settled peasants which resulted in the expansion of cultivation area and increase, in the revenue.
(i) By the 1850s, the Santhals rebelled against the Zamindars, moneylenders and the colonial state. They were not happy with all of these. The colonial government had imposed heavy taxes on their land. The moneylenders charged high rates of interest on loans and if any Santhal failed to pay his debt, his land was snatched by the moneylender. Besides the Zamindars also asserted control over their land.
(ii) The Santhals rose in rebellion against the British rule. They wanted to create an ideal world where they could rule themselves. So after the Santhal Revolt (1855-56), the Santhal Pargana was created taking 5500 sq. miles of land from the districts of Bhagalpur the Birbhum. It was an attempt by the British Government to reconcile the situation after the Santhal Revolt.
Question 5.
What explains the anger of the Deccan ryots against the moneylenders ?
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Critically examine the experiences of injustice felt by ryots on the refusal of extending loans of them after 1830s. (C.B.S.E. 2010 (C.D.))
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Examine the circumstances that led the Deccan ryots to revolt against the money lenders. (C.B.S.E. 2017 (D))
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Explain with examples how the Deccan Ryots should their anger against the money lenders in early nineteenth century. (C.B.S.E. 2019 (Comp.))
Answer:
Following were the main reasons of anger of the Deccan ryots against the money-lenders :
(i) Moneylenders refused to extend loans to ryots. Ryots felt that moneylenders were insensitive to their plight and miserable conditions.
(ii) Moneylenders were disobeying the traditional customary norms of rural areas. For example, the amount of interest could not exceed the principal amount. But in one of the case, the moneylender had charged more than ₹ 2,000 as interest on the principal amount of the 100.
(iii) Unpaid amount of interest was also being included in new loan deeds so that money-lender could remain away from the hands of law and his amount remained as it is.
(iv) No receipt was given to peasant in case of the repayment of loan.
(v) Ryots also complained of moneylenders manipulating laws and forging accounts.
Question 6.
Why Were many Zamindaris auctioned after the Permanent Settlement ?
Answer:
The Permanent Settlement of revenue was introduced in Bengal by Lord Charles Cornwallis in 1793 C.E. Under this system, the East India Company had fixed the amount of revenue to be paid by each Zamindar. Those who failed to pay the revenue were divested of their estates. These estates were later on auctioned to recover the revenue. They were sold to the highest bidder.
Question 7.
In what way was the livelihood of the Paharias different from that of the Santhals ?
Answer:
The Paharias lived around the Rajmahal hills. They were hostile and apprehensive towards the government officials. They were not willing to talk to any outside travellers. Livelihood of the Hill-Folk : The Paharias earned their livelihood by adopting the following professions:
- They practised shifting cultivation.
- They grew a variety of pulses and millets.
- They collected mahua (a flower) for food.
- They reared silk-worms and collected silk cocoons and resin for sale.
- They collected wood for charcoal production.
- They used the patches of grass on the land as pasture for the cattle.
- They hunted wild animals. ( Colonialism and the Countryside Exploring—Official Archives )
- They also raided the plains where the settled agriculturists lived.
- They resisted the intrusion of outsiders. If ever they allowed them, they negotiated political relations with them. They got a regular tribute from the Zamindars.
- They accepted toll from the traders. In return, they protected the traders and ensured that their goods were not plundered by anyone.
Livelihood of the Santhals : The Santhals had come into Bengal around the 1780s. They earned their livelihood by adopting the following jobs:
- They cleared forests and cut down timber.
- They ploughed lands and grew rice and cotton.
- They expanded cultivation and increased the inflow of revenue in the coffers of the East India Company.
- They cultivated many commercial crops for the market.
- They also dealt with traders and money-lenders.
Question 8.
How did the American Civil War affect the lives of ryots in India ?
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Explain the impact of American Civil War of 1861 on Indian peasants. (C.B.S.E. 2011 (D))
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Analyse the impact of cotton boom in India during the American Civil war. : (C.B.S.E. 2015 (O.D.))
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Analyse the impact of the American ; Civil war on the lives of the Ryots in ‘Deccan Countryside. (C.B.S.E. 2019 (D))
Answer:
Before the decade of 1860’s, Britain imported 3/4 of its cotton from America. The British manufacturers of cotton cloth were very much worried about their dependence of cotton over America. That is why they tried to find alternative sources of cotton supply. Cotton Supply Association was founded in Britain in 1857 and Manchester Cotton Company was formed in 1859.
Their main objective was to encourage production of cotton in every part of the world so that their Company could develop. India was seen as a country which could supply cotton to Lancashire in case of non-supply from America. ‘Indian soil and climate both were favourable for cotWh cultivation and cheap labour was also available.
American Civil War : The American Civil War broke out in 1861. It created a wave of panic in England as the raw cotton imports from America fell from 2,000,000 bails in 1861 to 5,500 bails in 1862. So England wanted to increase cotton exports from India. During this, cotton prices grew rapidly. This boom in the cotton market had a profound impact on the Deccan countryside. It had a considerable impact on the life of ryots.
Impact of the American Civil War on the Ryots : Due to the American Civil War, England wanted to get as much cotton as possible. It affected a lot the ryots of the Bombay Deccan. It is evident from the following points:
(i) The ryots found an access of limitless credit. The export merchants of Bombay gave advances to urban Sahukars. These Sahukars extended this credit to rural moneylenders on the assurance that they would provide the requisite cotton.
(ii) The ryots got ₹ 100/- as advance for every acre of cotton they planted.
(iii) The Sahukars were eager to give long-term loans to ryots.
(iv) The boom in cotton did not benefit all the ryots. While the rich peasants gained, a majority of them went under heavie
(v) As a boom in cotton market lasted for long, Indian cotton merchants began to visualise the capturing of world market in raw cotton by permanently displacing U.S.A. But this condition changed in 1865. The American Civil War came to an end and there again began production of cotton. As a result Indian export of cotton to Britain declined steadily.
Under these circumstances, moneylenders and export merchants of Maharashtra were no longer keen on providing long term loans. They observed that demand of Indian cotton is decreasing and prices of cotton are also coming down. That is why they stopped their business and refused to give advances to peasants. Now they began concentrating on recovery of loans.
Question 9.
What are the problems of using official sources in writing about the history of peasants ?
Answer:
The government or official sources are often comprehensive as they are based on enquiries, eye-witnesses, compiled statistical data and other reports. However, we come across the following problems while making use of the official sources:
(i) The official sources reflect official concerns and interpretation of events. For example, the Deccan Riots Commission specifically examined if the revenue