A research scholar studies auction records of Bengal from the years just after the Permanent Settlement. In one big estate, the same parts are put up for sale again and again. Each time the highest bidder is a man linked to the old raja, but he fails to pay the price, so the sale is held once more. Other bidders slowly drop out. In the end the estate goes back to the raja at a low price. The scholar then checks how often such sales took place across the province.
Purchases like those in the passage were made in the name of a fictitious or insignificant person, while the real beneficiary stayed unnamed. What were such transactions called?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Benami
Option (1) Lathyal — Incorrect. A lathyal was the strongman of the zamindar, one who wields the lathi. Lathyals attacked the agents of outside buyers, but the word does not name a kind of purchase.
Option (2) Proja — Incorrect. Proja means subjects. The ryots saw themselves as the proja of their own zamindar and stayed loyal to him.
Option (3) Jotedar — Incorrect. Jotedars were rich peasants who controlled large areas of land in the villages. The word names a rural group of landholders.
Option (4) Benami — Correct. Benami means anonymous. It is a deal made in the name of a fictitious or minor person while the real beneficiary stays hidden. Big zamindaris such as Burdwan made benami purchases at the auctions to keep their estates.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.5 The zamindars resist … “Such transactions happened on a grand scale. Between 1793 and 1801 four big zamindaris of Bengal, including Burdwan, made benami purchases that collectively yielded as much as Rs 30 lakh. Of the total sales at the auctions, over 15 per cent were fictitious.” “Benami, literally anonymous, is a term used in Hindi and several other Indian languages for transactions made in the name of a fictitious or relatively insignificant person, whereas the real beneficiary remains unnamed.” |