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. … 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.
The missing lines also state one result of this zamindari system. Which of the following is it?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Farm output stagnated or fell for decades
Option (1) Cultivators turned to cash crops to pay the revenue — Incorrect. Growing cash crops to pay the revenue is not the result given for this system. The result given is about the amount of farm output, which stagnated or declined.
Option (2) Farm output rose, but the gains went to the zamindars — Incorrect. This option reverses the result. Farm output did not rise under the zamindari system; it stagnated or declined during much of British rule.
Option (3) Farm output stagnated or fell for decades — Correct. Under the zamindari system, zamindars took as much produce or money as they could from cultivators to meet heavy revenue. One result was that agricultural production stagnated or declined during much of the period of British rule.
Option (4) Control of land passed from zamindars to moneylenders — Incorrect. Land did not pass to moneylenders under this system. The British granted property rights to the zamindars and gave them more control over land than before.
NCERT (2026-27): “The Colonial Period … |