Read the passage and answer the following questions.
Agricultural land is the single most important resource and form of property in rural society. Further, agrarian structure is often used to refer to the distribution of landholding which is highly unequal among households. Some families own land, while many family do not own any land at all. In most regions of India, women are usually excluded from ownership of land because of the prevailing patrilineal kinship system. Access to land shapes the rural class structure. Medium and large landowners are usually able to earn sufficient income from cultivation. But agricultural labourers are able to earn very little. They are mostly daily-wage workers and their incomes are low. Agrarian society in rural areas have a complex relationship between caste and class. In each region there are usually just one or two major land owning castes who are also numerically very important. Sociologist M.N. Srinivas termed them as dominant castes. Example of dominant land owning groups are Rajputs of U.P., the Lingayats of Karnataka and Kammas of Andhra Pradesh. While dominant landowning groups are usually middle or high ranked castes, most of the marginal farmers and landless belong to lower caste groups. Also, in most regions of the country, a proprietary caste group owns most of the resources and labour who work for them. Until recently, practices such as begar or free labour were prevalent in many parts of north India. Although such practices have been abolished by law, they continue to exist.
Begar is:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → free labour
Option (3) free labour — Correct. Begar means free labour, that is, unpaid work. Members of low ranked caste groups had to provide labour for a fixed number of days per year to the village zamindar or landlord. Such practices have been abolished by law, but they continue to exist.
NCERT (2025-26): “4.1 Agrarian Structure: Caste and Class in Rural India … The rough correspondence between caste and class means that typically the upper and middle castes also had the best access to land and resources, and hence to power and privilege. This had important implications for the rural economy and society. In most regions of the country, a ‘proprietary caste’ group owns most of the resources and can command labour to work for them. Until recently, practices such as begar or free labour were prevalent in many parts of northern India. Members of low ranked caste groups had to provide labour for a fixed number of days per year to the village zamindar or landlord. Many of the working poor were tied to landowners in ‘hereditary’ labour relationships. Although such practices have been abolished legally, they continue to exist in many areas.” |