Colonialism and the Countryside Class 12 NCERT Solutions, PYQs & Notes

Ans: Zamindars defaulted due to several reasons:
1. High Initial Demands: The company fixed the revenue very high, thinking they wouldn't be able to increase it later.
2. Low Prices: In the 1790s, agricultural prices were low, making it hard for Ryots (peasants) to pay dues to Zamindars.
3. Invariable Revenue: The revenue had to be paid regardless of harvest failure or natural calamities.
4. Limited Power: The Company restricted the Zamindar's power to collect rent by abolishing their private armies and local courts.

Ans: Jotedars were powerful because:
1. Direct Control: Unlike Zamindars who lived in cities, Jotedars lived in villages and had direct control over local peasants.
2. Financial Power: They gave loans to poor villagers and controlled local trade and money-lending.
3. Weakening Zamindars: They often deliberately delayed payments to Zamindars so the estate would go to auction, which they would then buy themselves.
4. Resistance: They mobilized Ryots against the Zamindar’s officials (Amlas) to prevent them from collecting revenue.

Ans: Zamindars used various "dirty tricks" or strategic moves:
1. Fictitious Sales: They would have their own servants or agents bid for the land and then refuse to pay, forcing a re-auction.
2. Transfer to Women: They transferred property to female relatives (e.g., Mother) because the Company generally did not seize women's property.
3. Local Loyalty: When outsiders bought the land at auction, the old Zamindar's loyal followers would physically attack and drive the newcomers away.
4. Strategic Defaulting: They deliberately created such a mess during auctions that the Company was eventually forced to sell the land back to the original Zamindar at a lower price.

Ans: The Raja of Burdwan was a major Zamindar in Bengal. In 1797, his estate was auctioned because he had failed to pay the high revenue demanded under the Permanent Settlement rules. However, he used fictitious bidders to buy back his own land.

Ans: An Amla was an officer of the Zamindar who visited the villages at the time of rent collection to ensure the Ryots paid their dues. They were often harassed by Jotedars and rebellious peasants.

Ans: Shifting cultivation involves clearing a patch of forest, burning the vegetation (to enrich the soil with potash), and growing crops for a few years before moving to a new patch. This was primarily practiced by the Paharias in the Rajmahal hills.

Ans: In 1875, peasants in the Deccan (Maharashtra) revolted against money-lenders. In response, the British government set up the Deccan Riots Commission to investigate the causes of the uprising. Its report is a major source for studying the 19th-century agrarian crisis.

Ans: The hoe represented shifting cultivation (Paharias), which was hard to tax and monitor. The plough represented settled agriculture (Santhals), which produced more grain and a steady, predictable flow of land revenue for the Company.

Ans: Lathyals were strongmen armed with clubs (lathis) employed by both Zamindars and Jotedars to enforce their will, collect rent, or fight off rival claimants during land disputes.

Ans: A Benami sale is a transaction made in the name of a fictitious person or a relative while the real control remains with the original owner. Zamindars used this to buy back their own estates at auctions under fake names.

Ans: During the war (1861-65), cotton supply from the US to Britain stopped. Demand for Indian cotton skyrocketed, and prices rose. However, when the war ended and US supply resumed, prices crashed in India, leaving Deccan farmers in deep debt and leading to riots.

Ans: The British passed this law stating that loan bonds signed between money-lenders and ryots would be valid for only three years. It was meant to prevent the accumulation of interest over decades, but money-lenders bypassed it by forcing ryots to sign new bonds every three years, adding old interest to the new principal.

Ans: The British viewed the Paharias as "savages" and "primitive" people who were difficult to govern. They were seen as a threat because they often raided settled agricultural villages in the plains.

Ans: Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu were the two charismatic brothers who led the Santhal revolt against the British and the Dikus in 1855.

Ans: After the Santhal rebellion, the British realized that Santhals needed a separate administrative area. They carved out 5,500 square miles from the districts of Bhagalpur and Birbhum and named it the Santhal Pargana to pacify them.

Ans: A rentier is someone who lives on income from property or rent rather than from working or managing a business. Many big Zamindars became rentiers, living luxurious lives in Calcutta while their agents managed the villages.

Ans: Peasants felt that the account books and loan bonds (khatas) were the symbols of their slavery and exploitation. By burning these records, they hoped to destroy the evidence of their debt and free themselves from the clutches of the money-lenders.

Ans: Sahukars were money-lenders and traders. They provided essential credit to peasants to pay land revenue and buy seeds. Over time, due to high interest and unfair laws, they often ended up owning the peasants' crops and even their land.