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.
'The Fifth Report' was a series of reports on administrative records which was _________.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Debated in British Parliament.
The Fifth Report was the fifth of a series of reports on the administration and activities of the East India Company in India, submitted to the British Parliament in 1813. It became the basis of intense parliamentary debates on the nature of the Company’s rule in India.
Option (1) Not concerned with English East India Company. — Incorrect. The whole series was about the affairs of the East India Company, which Parliament wanted to regulate and control.
Option (2) Officially discussed among Indian people. — Incorrect. The report was submitted to and debated in the British Parliament, not placed before the Indian people.
Option (4) Discussed between the British officers and zamindars. — Incorrect. The report reproduced petitions of zamindars and reports of collectors in its appendices, but it was debated in Parliament, not in talks between officers and zamindars.
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 British Parliament passed a series of Acts in the late eighteenth century to regulate and control Company rule in India. It forced the Company to produce regular reports on the administration of India and appointed committees to enquire into the affairs of the Company. 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.” |