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.
Identify the correct statements.
(A) The fifth report was the result of British inquiry about the mal-administration and corruption done by the English East India Company.
(B) The fifth report can be accepted uncritically.
(C) The fifth report had 1002 pages.
(D) The fifth report contained the census of peasants.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (A), (C) only
(A) The fifth report was the result of British inquiry about the mal-administration and corruption done by the English East India Company. Correct. Company misrule and maladministration were hotly debated in Britain, and Parliament appointed committees to enquire into the affairs of the Company; the Fifth Report was one such report.
(B) The fifth report can be accepted uncritically. Incorrect. Its arguments and evidence cannot be accepted uncritically; it exaggerated the collapse of zamindari power.
(C) The fifth report had 1002 pages. Correct. The report ran into 1002 pages, over 800 of them appendices.
(D) The fifth report contained the census of peasants. Incorrect. Its appendices held petitions of zamindars and ryots, collectors’ reports, statistical tables on revenue returns and notes on administration, not a census of peasants.
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 … Information about Company misrule and maladministration was hotly debated in Britain and incidents of the greed and corruption of Company officials were widely publicised in the press. 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.… 1.6 The Fifth Report … In fact, recent researches show that the arguments and evidence offered by the Fifth Report cannot be accepted uncritically.…” |