Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct about the jotedars…

Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct about the jotedars?

Statement A) They controlled local trade as well as money lending.
Statement B) A large part of their land was cultivated through sharecroppers: adhiyars or bargadars.
Statement C) They were located in urban areas and exercised indirect control over a considerable section of poor villagers.
Statement D) They prevented zamindari officials from executing their duties, mobilized ryots who were dependent on them, and deliberately delayed payments of revenue to the zamindar.

Choose the correct answer from the given options:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → A, B and D

Statements A, B and D describe the jotedars of North Bengal; C is false, because the zamindars lived in towns while jotedars lived in the villages.

NCERT (2026-27): “1.4 The rise of the jotedars
While many zamindars were facing a crisis at the end of the eighteenth century, a group of rich peasants were consolidating their position in the villages. In Francis Buchanan’s survey of the Dinajpur district in North Bengal we have a vivid description of this class of rich peasants known as jotedars. By the early nineteenth century, jotedars had acquired vast areas of land – sometimes as much as several thousand acres. They controlled local trade as well as moneylending, exercising immense power over the poorer cultivators of the region. A large part of their land was cultivated through sharecroppers (adhiyars or bargadars) who brought their own ploughs, laboured in the field, and handed over half the produce to the jotedars after the harvest.”

“Within the villages, the power of jotedars was more effective than that of zamindars. Unlike zamindars who often lived in urban areas, jotedars were located in the villages and exercised direct control over a considerable section of poor villagers. They fiercely resisted efforts by zamindars to increase the jama of the village, prevented zamindari officials from executing their duties, mobilised ryots who were dependent on them, and deliberately delayed payments of revenue to the zamindar. …”