Read the passage given below and answer.
From the Fifth Report
Referring to the condition of zamindars and the auction of lands, the Fifth Report stated: The revenue was not realised with punctuality, and lands to a considerable extent were periodically exposed to sale by auction. In the native year 1203, corresponding with 1796-97, the land advertised for sale comprehended a jumma or assessment of sicca rupees 28,70,061, the extent of land actually sold bore a jumma or assessment of 14,18,756, and the amount of purchase money sicca rupees 17,90,416. In 1204, corresponding with 1797-98, the land advertised was for sicca rupees 26,66,191, the quantity sold was for sicca rupees 22,74,076, and the purchase money sicca rupees 21,47,580. Among the defaulters were some of the oldest families of the country. Such were the rajahs of Nuddea, Rajeshaye, Bishenpore (all districts of Bengal),... and others, the dismemberment of whose estates at the end of each succeeding year, threatened them with poverty and ruin, and in some instances presented difficulties to the revenue officers, in their efforts to preserve undiminished the amount of public assessment.
What were the officials trying to show through the figures?
(A) Maladministration, corruption and misrule by East India Company
(B) Prosperity of the zamindars under the Permanent Settlement
(C) Rise in the revenue collected by the Company
(D) Collapse of the traditional Zamindari power
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → (A) and (D) only
The Fifth Report was prepared for the British Parliament, where the Company’s rule in India was being hotly debated. Its figures of lands sold at auction were meant to support that criticism.
(A) Maladministration, corruption and misrule by East India Company Correct. Information about Company misrule and maladministration and the greed and corruption of its officials was widely debated in Britain, and the Report was intent on criticising the maladministration of the company.
(B) Prosperity of the zamindars under the Permanent Settlement Incorrect. The figures show the opposite: estates of some of the oldest families of Bengal were sold year after year, which threatened them with poverty and ruin.
(C) Rise in the revenue collected by the Company Incorrect. The Report opens by saying that the revenue was not realised with punctuality; the auctions were held because the zamindars could not pay.
(D) Collapse of the traditional Zamindari power Correct. By showing the large estates auctioned, the Report sought to show that zamindari power was collapsing. Later research shows that it exaggerated the collapse of traditional zamindari power, since zamindars often kept their lands through fictitious sales.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.6 The Fifth Report … Many political groups argued that the conquest of Bengal was benefiting only the East India Company but not the British nation as a whole. Information about Company misrule and maladministration was hotly debated in Britain and incidents of the greed and corruption of Company officials were widely publicised in the press.… 1.6 The Fifth Report … 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.… …From the tone in which evidence is recorded, what do you think is the attitude of the report to the facts narrated? What is the Report trying to say through the figures? Can you think of any problem in making long-term generalisations from these figures of two years?” |