Choose the correct statements about the 'Fifth Report' produced by the Select Committee.
(A) It was produced in the late 19th century by the Select Committee of the British Parliament.
(B) It has shaped our conception about rural Bengal in the late 18th century.
(C) The report criticises the maladministration of the East India Company's rule in India.
(D) The report exaggerates the collapse of traditional zamindari power.
(E) It became the basis of intense parliamentary debates on the nature of the East India Company's rule in India.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (B), (C), (D), (E) only
(A) It was produced in the late 19th century by the Select Committee of the British Parliament. Incorrect. The Fifth Report was submitted to the British Parliament in 1813, early in the nineteenth century, not in its late years.
(B) It has shaped our conception about rural Bengal in the late 18th century. Correct. 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.
(C) The report criticises the maladministration of the East India Company’s rule in India. Correct. Recent researches show that the report was intent on criticising the maladministration of the Company.
(D) The report exaggerates the collapse of traditional zamindari power. Correct. Being intent on criticism, the Fifth Report exaggerated the collapse of traditional zamindari power and overestimated the scale on which zamindars were losing their land.
(E) It became the basis of intense parliamentary debates on the nature of the East India Company’s rule in India. Correct. The Fifth Report, produced by a Select Committee, became the basis of intense parliamentary debates on the nature of the Company’s rule.
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.… 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. 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.… 1.6 The Fifth Report … Researchers have carefully examined the archives of various Bengal zamindars and the local records of the districts to write about the history of colonial rule in rural Bengal. They indicate that, intent on criticising the maladministration of the company, the Fifth Report exaggerated the collapse of traditional zamindari power, as also overestimated the scale on which zamindars were losing their land.…” |