A research scholar studying a village in northern Bengal around 1800 finds that one rich peasant controls large stretches of land. Poorer cultivators of the village borrow money from him in hard seasons. When the harvest comes in, they hand their crop to him, and he takes it to the market and sells it. In the same area lives the old landholder of the estate. His estate faces a heavy revenue demand from the Company and the threat of an auction if he fails to pay on time.
Which of the following best describes how landholders like the one in the passage fared in these conditions?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → They devised new strategies to survive the pressures, so their authority did not collapse.
Option (1) They lost their authority in the 1790s, and the rich peasants took control of the countryside. — Incorrect. The timing is wrong. The zamindars survived the 1790s and later strengthened their hold; the jotedars took control of the countryside only after the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Option (2) They devised new strategies to survive the pressures, so their authority did not collapse. — Correct. Faced with a very high revenue demand and possible auction, the zamindars devised ways of surviving the pressures. Their authority did not collapse, and new contexts produced new strategies.
Option (3) They gave up revenue collection, and the Company began collecting revenue from the ryots. — Incorrect. Under the Permanent Settlement the zamindar stayed responsible for paying revenue to the Company. Direct collection from the ryots belongs to the ryotwari system of other regions.
Option (4) They surrendered their estates to the Company in return for fixed yearly pensions. — Incorrect. Estates of zamindars who failed to pay were put up for auction, and the zamindars fought hard to keep them. No pension scheme was offered.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.5 The zamindars resist “By the beginning of the nineteenth century the depression in prices was over. Thus those who had survived the troubles of the 1790s consolidated their power. Rules of revenue payment were also made somewhat flexible. As a result, the zamindar’s power over the villages was strengthened. It was only during the Great Depression of the 1930s that they finally collapsed and the jotedars consolidated their power in the countryside.” |