Match List-I (Agrarian arrangement) with List-II (Feature).List-IList…

Match List-I (Agrarian arrangement) with List-II (Feature).

List-I	List-II
(A) Pre-colonial agrarian order	(I) Agricultural production stagnated or declined
(B) Zamindari system under British rule	(II) Evolved through a series of changes starting in the colonial period
(C) Raiyatwari system	(III) Ruling groups such as local kings controlled the land
(D) Present-day agrarian structure	(IV) Actual cultivators were responsible for paying the tax

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → A-III, B-I, C-IV, D-II

List-I	List-II	Reason
(A) Pre-colonial agrarian order	(III) Ruling groups such as local kings controlled the land	Before colonial rule, the dominant cultivating castes did not own the land directly. Ruling groups such as local kings or zamindars controlled it and took a large share of the produce.
(B) Zamindari system under British rule	(I) Agricultural production stagnated or declined	Under the British, zamindars got more control over land and squeezed the cultivators to meet heavy land revenue. Peasants fled, and production stagnated or declined.
(C) Raiyatwari system	(IV) Actual cultivators were responsible for paying the tax	Raiyatwari means a settlement made with the raiyat, or cultivator. The actual cultivators, not the zamindars, were responsible for paying the tax.
(D) Present-day agrarian structure	(II) Evolved through a series of changes starting in the colonial period	Today's agrarian structure did not appear suddenly. It grew out of a series of changes in land revenue administration that began in the colonial period.

NCERT (2026-27): “The Colonial Period …
While the same dominant castes were probably also cultivating castes in the pre-colonial period, they were not the direct owners of land. Instead, ruling groups such as the local kings or zamindars (landlords who were also politically powerful in their areas, and usually belonged to Kshatriya or other high castes) controlled the land. The peasants or cultivators who worked the land had to handover a substantial portion of the produce to them. When the British colonised India, in many areas they ruled through these local zamindars. They also granted property rights to the zamindars. Under the British, the zamindars were given more control over land than they had before. Since the colonisers also imposed heavy land revenue (taxes) on agriculture, the zamindars extracted as much produce or money as they could out of the cultivators. One result of this zamindari system was that agricultural production stagnated or declined during much of the period of British rule. …”

“Many districts of colonial India were administered through the zamindari system. In other areas that were under direct British rule had what was called the raiyatwari system of land settlement (raiyat means cultivator in Telugu). In this system, the ‘actual cultivators’ (who were themselves often landlords and not cultivators) rather than the zamindars were responsible for paying the tax. Because the colonial government dealt directly with the farmers or landlords, rather than through the overlords, the burden of taxation was less and cultivators had more incentive to invest in agriculture. As a result, these areas became relatively more productive and prosperous.”

“This background about land revenue administration in colonial India – much of which you have learned in your history books – is important to keep in mind when studying the agrarian structure of present-day India. This is because it is through a series of changes starting in this period that the current structure evolved.”

Match List-I (Agrarian arrangement) with List-II (Feature).

List-I	List-II
(A) Pre-colonial agrarian order	(I) Agricultural production stagnated or declined
(B) Zamindari system under British rule	(II) Evolved through a series of changes starting in the colonial period
(C) Raiyatwari system	(III) Ruling groups such as local kings controlled the land
(D) Present-day agrarian structure	(IV) Actual cultivators were responsible for paying the tax

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → A-III, B-I, C-IV, D-II

List-I	List-II	Reason
(A) Pre-colonial agrarian order	(III) Ruling groups such as local kings controlled the land	Before colonial rule, the dominant cultivating castes did not own the land directly. Ruling groups such as local kings or zamindars controlled it and took a large share of the produce.
(B) Zamindari system under British rule	(I) Agricultural production stagnated or declined	Under the British, zamindars got more control over land and squeezed the cultivators to meet heavy land revenue. Peasants fled, and production stagnated or declined.
(C) Raiyatwari system	(IV) Actual cultivators were responsible for paying the tax	Raiyatwari means a settlement made with the raiyat, or cultivator. The actual cultivators, not the zamindars, were responsible for paying the tax.
(D) Present-day agrarian structure	(II) Evolved through a series of changes starting in the colonial period	Today's agrarian structure did not appear suddenly. It grew out of a series of changes in land revenue administration that began in the colonial period.