There were other ways in which zamindars circumvented displacement. When people from outside the zamindari bought an estate at an auction, they could not always take possession. At times their agents would be attacked by lathyals of the former zamindar. Sometimes even the ryots resisted the entry of outsiders. They felt bound to their own zamindar through a sense of loyalty and perceived him as a figure of authority and themselves as his proja (subjects). The zamindars therefore were not easily displaced.
The lines left out at the end of the passage say when the zamindars of Bengal finally collapsed. When was it?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → During the Great Depression of the 1930s
Option (1) During the revolt of 1857 — Incorrect. The 1857 revolt did not end zamindari power in Bengal. Zamindars such as Mehtab Chand of Burdwan even helped the British then.
Option (2) During the Deccan riots of the 1870s — Incorrect. The Deccan riots of 1875 were ryots rising against moneylenders in the Bombay Deccan, far from the Bengal zamindaris.
Option (3) During the Santhal rebellion of the 1850s — Incorrect. The Santhal rebellion was aimed at zamindars, moneylenders and the colonial state. Bengal zamindari power survived it and grew stronger.
Option (4) During the Great Depression of the 1930s — Correct. Zamindari power grew stronger in the early nineteenth century. It finally collapsed only in the Great Depression of the 1930s, when the jotedars took over the countryside.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.5 The zamindars resist … |