A chain in medieval Indian agriculture: (A) nucleated villages grew and individuated peasant farming expanded; (B) missing; (C) gendered segregation between home and world was not possible. Which is step (B)?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → The basis of production became the labour and resources of the household
Option (1) Revenue came to be assessed and collected in cash in the countryside — Incorrect. Cash revenue belongs to the growing cash nexus of trade between villages and towns. It concerns how revenue was paid and has no link to women's work in the fields.
Option (2) The basis of production became the labour and resources of the household — Correct. Individuated farming made the labour and resources of the entire household the basis of production. Women had to work in the fields, so home and world could not be split by gender.
Option (3) Village panchayats began to allot cultivable wastes to artisans — Incorrect. Panchayats deciding land for artisans is about paying village artisans. It has no link to women's work in the fields.
Option (4) A shortage of wives led to new social customs among peasants — Incorrect. A shortage of wives came from high death rates among women. It explains the distinct customs of peasant and artisan communities.
NCERT (2026-27): “3. Women in Agrarian Society |