An English traveller visits a village in the Doab in the seventeenth century. He records that the peasants own a few pairs of oxen, and he describes how they sow their seed and keep their fields clear of weeds. He also notes that the villagers reap one harvest after the autumn rains and another in spring, and that a few fields near a well yield even a third crop. In his journal he asks how farming in such a village was organised and what tools and methods the peasants relied upon.
Which method of sowing seed would the traveller most likely have seen, since it was the most common among peasants in Mughal India?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Broadcasting of seed by hand
Option (1) Sowing with an ox-drawn drill — Incorrect. A <strong>drill</strong>, pulled by a pair of giant oxen, was in use for planting seeds. Fewer peasants used it, because broadcasting was more common.
Option (2) Transplanting seedlings from a nursery — Incorrect. Transplanting means raising seedlings in a nursery and moving them to the field. The most common Mughal method was a different one, broadcasting.
Option (3) Dibbling seeds into holes one by one — Incorrect. Dibbling places seeds one by one in holes. The method that most Mughal peasants used was broadcasting.
Option (4) Broadcasting of seed by hand — Correct. Broadcasting means scattering seed over the field. A drill existed, but <strong>broadcasting of seed was the most prevalent method</strong>.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.3 Irrigation and technology … |