HistoryMedieval India: Peasants, Zamindars and the State

What do the missing lines say about the livestock and tools of the av…

The term which Indo-Persian sources of the Mughal period most frequently used to denote a peasant was raiyat (plural, riaya) or muzarian. In addition, we also encounter the terms kisan or asami. Cultivation was based on the principle of individual ownership. Peasant lands were bought and sold in the same way as the lands of other property owners. Monsoons remained the backbone of Indian agriculture, as they are even today. But there were crops which required additional water. Artificial systems of irrigation had to be devised for this.

What do the missing lines say about the livestock and tools of the average peasant of north India?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 3

The correct answer is Option (3) → He seldom possessed more than a pair of bullocks and two ploughs

The average peasant of north India seldom possessed more than a pair of bullocks and two ploughs, and most had even less.

NCERT (2026-27): “1.2 Peasants and their lands …
Seldom did the average peasant of north India possess more than a pair of bullocks and two ploughs; most possessed even less. In Gujarat peasants possessing about six acres of land were considered to be affluent; in Bengal, on the other hand, five acres was the upper limit of an average peasant farm ; 10 acres would make one a rich asami. Cultivation was based on the principle of individual ownership. Peasant lands were bought and sold in the same way as the lands of other property owners. …”