Arrange the various land revenue reforms that occurred in pre-independent/colonial India and independent India in chronological order from the oldest to most recent one:
A. Rayatwari System
B. Abolition of Zamindari System
C. Land Ceiling Acts
D. Tenancy Abolition and Regulation Acts
E. Zamindari System
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → E, A, B, D, C
Note: The given answer is as per the official NTA Answer Key. However, there is nothing in the NCERT book that fixes the order of the zamindari and raiyatwari systems (items E and A); it describes both as systems of colonial India and dates neither. Placing E before A is reasoning, not a statement of the book, as explained below.
(E) Zamindari System — a colonial land revenue system, introduced with the Permanent Settlement of 1793: the zamindars collected the revenue from the cultivators and paid it to the British.
(A) Rayatwari System — the other colonial system, set up in the Madras Presidency from 1820, in areas under direct British rule, in which the ‘actual cultivators’, not the zamindars, were responsible for paying the tax.
(B) Abolition of Zamindari System — after Independence, a series of land reform laws was passed from the 1950s to the 1970s. The first important legislation was the abolition of the zamindari system, which removed the layer of intermediaries between the cultivators and the state.
(D) Tenancy Abolition and Regulation Acts — among the other major land reform laws that followed; they tried to outlaw tenancy or to regulate rents.
(C) Land Ceiling Acts — the third major category of land reform laws, which put an upper limit on the land a family could own.
NCERT (2025-26): “The Colonial Period … Many districts of colonial India were administered through the zamindari system. In other areas that were under direct British rule had what was called the raiyatwari system of land settlement (raiyat means cultivator in Telugu). In this system, the ‘actual cultivators’ (who were themselves often landlords and not cultivators) rather than the zamindars were responsible for paying the tax. Because the colonial government dealt directly with the farmers or landlords, rather than through the overlords, the burden of taxation was less and cultivators had more incentive to invest in agriculture. As a result, these areas became relatively more productive and prosperous.…” “…From the 1950s to the 1970s, a series of land reform laws were passed – at the national level as well as in the states – that were intended to bring about these changes. The first important legislation was the abolition of the zamindari system, which removed the layer of intermediaries who stood between the cultivators and the state. Of all the land reform laws that were passed, this was probably the most effective, for in most areas it succeeded in taking away the superior rights of the zamindars over the land and weakening their economic and political power. This did not happen without a struggle, of course, but ultimately the effect was to strengthen the position of the actual landholders and cultivators at the local level.…” “…Among the other major land reform laws that were introduced were the tenancy abolition and regulation acts. They attempted either to outlaw tenancy altogether or to regulate rents to give some security to the tenants.…” “The third major category of land reform laws were the Land Ceiling Acts. These laws imposed an upper limit on the amount of land that can be owned by a particular family.…” |