NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History Chapter 3 Ruling the Countryside

Ruling the Countryside Class 8 Questions and Answers

1. Match the following

Answer:

• Ryot → Peasant

• Mahal → Village

• Nij cultivation → Cultivation on planter's own land

• Ryoti cultivation → Cultivation on ryot's land

Read More : NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History Chapter 1 How, When and Where

2. Fill in the blanks

(a) Growers of woad in Europe saw __________ as a crop which would provide competition to their earnings.

Answer: Indigo

(b) The demand for indigo increased in late eighteenth-century Britain because of __________.

Answer: Britain's industrialisation and the expansion of cotton production

(c) The international demand for indigo was affected by the discovery of __________.

Answer: Synthetic dyes

(d) The Champaran movement was against __________.

Answer: Indigo planters

3. Describe the main features of the Permanent Settlement.

Answer: The Permanent Settlement was introduced in 1793. Under this system, the rajas and taluqdars were recognised as zamindars. They had to collect rent from peasants and pay revenue to the East India Company.

The amount of revenue to be paid to the Company was fixed permanently and could not be increased in the future. The Company expected zamindars to invest in improving the land because they could keep the additional income generated from increased production.

However, the revenue demand was often very high. Zamindars who failed to pay lost their zamindaris, which were then sold at auctions.

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4. How was the Mahalwari system different from the Permanent Settlement?

Answer: The two systems differed in the way revenue was assessed and collected.

Under the Mahalwari system, officials surveyed fields and recorded the customs and rights of different groups before calculating the revenue of each village or mahal.

5. Give two problems which arose with the new Munro system of fixing revenue.

Answer: Two major problems were:

1. Revenue officials fixed the revenue demand too high, making it difficult for peasants to pay.

2. Many ryots fled the countryside, and some villages became deserted.

The system did not transform peasants into prosperous farmers as some British officials had expected.

6. Why were ryots reluctant to grow indigo?

Answer: Ryots were reluctant to grow indigo for several reasons:

• They were forced or pressured to sign contracts to cultivate indigo.

• The price paid for indigo was very low.

• The advances given by planters trapped many ryots in a cycle of loans.

• Indigo was often grown on fertile land that peasants preferred for rice.

• Indigo exhausted the soil, making it difficult to grow rice after the indigo harvest.

7. What were the circumstances which led to the eventual collapse of indigo production in Bengal?

Answer: Indigo production in Bengal declined after the Blue Rebellion of 1859, when thousands of ryots refused to grow indigo. The rebellion spread, and the Indigo Commission was established to investigate the system.

The Commission found the planters guilty of using coercive methods and stated that indigo cultivation was not profitable for ryots. It allowed ryots to refuse indigo cultivation in future.

Later, indigo production in Bengal collapsed further. Planters shifted their operations to Bihar, while the discovery of synthetic dyes in the late nineteenth century severely affected the international demand for natural indigo.

8. Find out more about the Champaran movement and Mahatma Gandhi's role in it.

Answer: The Champaran movement began in 1917. After returning from South Africa, Mahatma Gandhi was persuaded by a peasant from Bihar to visit Champaran and see the condition of indigo cultivators.

Gandhi's visit marked the beginning of the Champaran movement against the indigo planters. The movement became an important episode in the history of India's struggle against colonial exploitation.

9. Look into the history of either tea or coffee plantations in India.

Answer: This is a research-based activity. A suitable answer should compare plantation workers with workers in indigo plantations.

Students can compare:

• working conditions

• wages

• working hours

• control exercised by planters

• living conditions

• freedom to leave the work

• methods used to recruit workers

The answer may vary depending on whether the student chooses tea or coffee.

Read More : NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History Chapter 2 From Trade to Territory

The Company Becomes the Diwan

On 12 August 1765, the Mughal emperor appointed the East India Company as the Diwan of Bengal. As Diwan, the Company became the chief financial administrator of Bengal and became responsible for organising revenue resources.

The Company wanted a large revenue income and also wanted to buy Indian goods such as cotton and silk at low prices. Revenue collected in Bengal could now be used to finance the Company's purchases instead of importing gold and silver from Britain.

This placed pressure on the Bengal economy. Artisans were forced to sell goods at low prices, peasants struggled to pay the demanded dues, and agricultural production suffered. The Bengal famine of 1770 caused enormous loss of life.

Why Did the Company Introduce New Revenue Systems?

The Company realised that declining agricultural production could reduce its revenue. Company officials therefore believed that agriculture needed to be improved and that investment in land should be encouraged.

This led to the introduction of the Permanent Settlement in 1793. Later, the Company introduced other systems, including the Mahalwari and Ryotwari systems.

Permanent Settlement Class 8

Under the Permanent Settlement:

• The system was introduced in 1793.

• Rajas and taluqdars were recognised as zamindars.

• Zamindars collected rent from peasants.

• They paid revenue to the East India Company.

• The revenue demand was fixed permanently.

• Zamindars who failed to pay could lose their land.

The Company hoped that zamindars would improve agricultural land because they could benefit from increased production. In practice, many zamindars did not invest in land improvement, while high revenue demands created difficulties for both zamindars and cultivators.

Mahalwari System Class 8

The Mahalwari system was introduced in the North Western Provinces in 1822 under the direction of Holt Mackenzie.

Officials surveyed the land, measured fields and recorded local customs and rights. The estimated revenue of plots in a village was added together to calculate the revenue demand of the village, or mahal.

Unlike the Permanent Settlement, the revenue demand was revised periodically rather than fixed forever. The village headman was responsible for collecting the revenue and paying it to the Company.

Ryotwari System Class 8

The Ryotwari system was developed in the British territories of South India. Captain Alexander Read first tried the system on a small scale, and Thomas Munro later developed and extended it.

Under this system, the settlement was made directly with the cultivators or ryots. Their fields were surveyed separately before the revenue assessment was made.

However, high revenue demands continued to create problems. Many peasants were unable to pay, and some left the countryside.

Difference Between Permanent Settlement, Mahalwari and Ryotwari

These systems differed in their methods of assessment and collection, but high revenue demands created difficulties for cultivators under the new systems.

Why Did the British Want Indigo?

Indigo was used to produce a rich blue dye. European cloth manufacturers preferred indigo because it produced a stronger blue colour than woad.

By the late eighteenth century, Britain's industrialisation and expanding cotton production increased the demand for dyes. As supplies from some other regions declined, British traders and planters looked to India for more indigo.

Nij and Ryoti Cultivation

There were two main systems of indigo cultivation.

Nij Cultivation

Under nij cultivation, the planter grew indigo on land directly controlled by him. The land could be purchased or rented, and hired labourers were used for cultivation.

Planters found it difficult to expand nij cultivation because fertile land was densely populated. Large plantations also required many ploughs, bullocks and labourers.

Ryoti Cultivation

Under the ryoti system, planters pressured ryots to sign contracts known as satta.

Ryots received advances and were required to grow indigo on at least a portion of their land. They prepared the soil, sowed the seed and looked after the crop, while the planter supplied the seed and drill.

The system often trapped cultivators in a cycle of loans because the price paid for indigo was low.

Why Were Indigo Cultivators Unhappy?

Indigo cultivation created several problems for ryots:

• The price paid for indigo was low.

• Advances created a cycle of debt.

• Planters insisted that indigo be grown on fertile land.

• Peasants preferred to use that land for rice.

• Indigo exhausted the soil.

• After an indigo harvest, the land could not immediately be used to grow rice.

These conditions contributed to resistance against indigo cultivation.

Blue Rebellion Class 8

In March 1859, thousands of ryots in Bengal refused to grow indigo. The rebellion spread as ryots refused to pay rents to planters and resisted the coercive indigo system.

The Indigo Commission was later established to investigate the situation. It found the planters guilty of coercive practices and stated that indigo cultivation was not profitable for ryots. Ryots were told that they could refuse to produce indigo in the future.