Read the passage and answer the question:
From the Fifth report
Referring to the condition of zamindars and the auction of lands, the Fifth Report stated:
The revenue was not realised with punctuality, and lands to a considerable extent were periodically exposed to sale by auction. In the native year 1203, corresponding with 1796-97, the land advertised for sale comprehended a jumma or assessment of sicca rupees 28,70,061, the extent of land actually sold bore a jumma or assessment of 14,18,756, and the amount of purchase money sicca rupees 17,90,416. In 1204. Corresponding with 1797-98, the land advertised was for sicca rupees 22,66,191, the quantity sold was for sicca rupees 22,74,076 and the purchase money sicca rupees 21,47,580. Among the defaulters were some of the oldest families of the country, Such were the rajahs of Nuddea, Rajeshaye, Bishenpore (all districts of Bengal),... and others, the dismemberment of whose estates at the end of each succeeding year, threatened them with poverty and ruin, and in some instances presented difficulties to the revenue officers, in their efforts to preserve undiminished the amount of public assessment.
Which statement is correct about 'Fifth Report' ?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → The fifth report contains the invaluable information about zamindars.
The Fifth Report ran into 1002 pages, of which over 800 pages were appendices that reproduced petitions of zamindars and ryots, reports of collectors and statistical tables on revenue. So the evidence contained in the Fifth Report is invaluable, though it has to be read carefully.
Option (1) The fifth report gives information about the zamindars of Awadh and Orissa. — Incorrect. Its notes were on the revenue and judicial administration of Bengal and Madras, not Awadh and Orissa.
Option (2) The fifth report was the result of British socio-religious reforms in India. — Incorrect. It was one of the reports Parliament obtained to regulate and control Company rule, after Company misrule and corruption were widely debated in Britain; it had nothing to do with social or religious reform.
Option (3) The fifth report became the basis of intense debate in Indian parliament. — Incorrect. The debates took place in the British Parliament; there was no Indian parliament in 1813.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.6 The Fifth Report … Many of the changes we are discussing were documented in detail in a report that was submitted to the British Parliament in 1813. It was the fifth of a series of reports on the administration and activities of the East India Company in India. Often referred to as the Fifth Report, it ran into 1002 pages, of which over 800 pages were appendices that reproduced petitions of zamindars and ryots, reports of collectors from different districts, statistical tables on revenue returns, and notes on the revenue and judicial administration of Bengal and Madras… 1.6 The Fifth Report … The Fifth Report was one such report produced by a Select Committee. It became the basis of intense parliamentary debates on the nature of the East India Company’s rule in India. For over a century and a half, the Fifth Report has shaped our conception of what happened in rural Bengal in the late eighteenth century. The evidence contained in the Fifth Report is invaluable. But official reports like this have to be read carefully.…” |