The Report exaggerated the collapse of traditional zamindari power and their displacement. Identify the Report:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Fifth Report
Intent on criticising the maladministration of the Company, the Fifth Report exaggerated the collapse of traditional zamindari power and overestimated the scale on which zamindars were losing their land.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.6 The Fifth Report … The evidence contained in the Fifth Report is invaluable. But official reports like this have to be read carefully. We need to know who wrote the reports and why they were written. In fact, recent researches show that the arguments and evidence offered by the Fifth Report cannot be accepted uncritically. Researchers have carefully examined the archives of various Bengal zamindars and the local records of the districts to write about the history of colonial rule in rural Bengal. They indicate that, intent on criticising the maladministration of the company, the Fifth Report exaggerated the collapse of traditional zamindari power, as also overestimated the scale on which zamindars were losing their land. As we have seen, even when zamindaris were auctioned, zamindars were not always displaced, given the ingenious methods they used to retain their zamindaris.…” |