Members of low ranked caste groups had to provide labour for a fixed number of days per year to the village zamindar or landlord. … 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. … 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.
Two lines have been left out after the line on British rule through the local zamindars. What do they state?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → The British granted property rights to the zamindars and gave them more control over land than before.
Option (1) The British granted property rights to the zamindars and gave them more control over land than before. — Correct. After ruling through the local zamindars, the British granted them property rights. Under the British, the zamindars got more control over land than they had before.
Option (2) The British granted property rights to the zamindars but gave them less control over land than before. — Incorrect. The first half is right, but the second half reverses the change. Under the British, the zamindars were given more control over land than before.
Option (3) The British left the land with the local kings, with the zamindars acting as their tax collectors. — Incorrect. The British did not leave the land with the local kings. They ruled through the zamindars and made them owners by granting them property rights.
Option (4) The British let the zamindars collect taxes but kept the ownership of land with the colonial state. — Incorrect. Ownership did not stay with the colonial state. The British granted property rights to the zamindars and took their share through heavy land revenue.
NCERT (2026-27): “The Colonial Period … |