Which of the following pairs is correctly matched with what, according to Bernier, crown ownership of land had led to?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Agriculture - suffered uniform ruination
Option (1) Ruling aristocracy - declining living standards — Incorrect. Bernier saw living standards fall for all sections of society except the ruling aristocracy, so this pair names the one group left out.
Option (2) Agriculture - suffered uniform ruination — Correct. Bernier argued that since land belonged to the crown, nobody cared for it, and this led to the uniform ruination of agriculture.
Option (3) Landholders - concern to improve the land — Incorrect. The pair is reversed. Bernier said landholders could not pass land to their children, so they lacked any concern to improve it.
Option (4) Peasants' children - carried away as soldiers — Incorrect. In Bernier's excerpt on the countryside, the children of poor peasants were carried away as slaves.
NCERT (2026-27): “6.1 The question of landownership … “a concern to maintain or improve the land. It had led to the uniform ruination of agriculture, excessive oppression of the peasantry and a continuous decline in the living standards of all sections of society, except the ruling aristocracy.” |