HistoryMedieval India: Peasants, Zamindars and the State

A historian reading Marathi village documents finds that a cultivator…

A historian reading Marathi village documents finds that a cultivator family also dyed and printed cloth, fired pottery and repaired ploughs. Which feature of village society does this evidence show?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 1

The correct answer is Option (1) → The distinction between artisans and peasants was a fluid one

Option (1) The distinction between artisans and peasants was a fluid one — Correct. One family doing both farm work and crafts shows that the line between artisans and peasants was fluid; many groups did the tasks of both.

Option (2) Artisans were paid through the jajmani system — Incorrect. Jajmani was a later name for paying artisans with goods or allowances. The evidence shows who did crafts, with nothing about payment.

Option (3) Artisans held cultivable wastes as miras or watan — Incorrect. Miras or watan was the hereditary land given to artisans in Maharashtra. The family here is a cultivator family.

Option (4) A cash nexus had developed between villages and towns — Incorrect. A cash nexus meant trade and payments in cash between villages and towns. Nothing in the evidence shows cash dealings.

NCERT (2026-27): “2.3 Village artisans
Another interesting aspect of the village was the elaborate relationship of exchange between different producers. Marathi documents and village surveys made in the early years of British rule have revealed the existence of substantial numbers of artisans, sometimes as high as 25 per cent of the total households in the villages. At times, however, the distinction between artisans and peasants in village society was a fluid one, as many groups performed the tasks of both. Cultivators and their families would also participate in craft production – such as dyeing, textile printing, baking and firing of pottery, making and repairing agricultural implements. …”

A historian reading Marathi village documents finds that a cultivator family also dyed and printed cloth, fired pottery and repaired ploughs. Which feature of village society does this evidence show?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 1

The correct answer is Option (1) → The distinction between artisans and peasants was a fluid one

Option (3) Artisans held cultivable wastes as miras or watan — Incorrect. Miras or watan was the hereditary land given to artisans in Maharashtra. The family here is a cultivator family.