NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History Chapter 3 Ruling the Countryside

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History Chapter 3 Ruling the Countryside Social Science

You will get NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History Chapter 3 Ruling the Countryside are prepared just for you according to the latest CBSE guidelines. So, you will be able to score excellent marks in this assessment. It will make learning and understanding more easier and effective. Whenever you have any doubts in any question, you can take help from the given NCERT Solutions.

Chapter 3 Ruling the Countryside NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History

Let's recall

1. Match the following:

ryot	village
mahal	peasant
nij	cultivation on ryot’s lands
ryoti	cultivation on planter’s own land

Solution

ryot	village
mahal	peasant
nij	cultivation on ryot’s lands
ryoti	cultivation on planter’s own land

2. Fill in the blanks:

(a) Growers of woad in Europe saw ___________ as a crop which would provide competition to their earnings.

(b) The demand for indigo increased in the late-eighteenth-century Britain because of ____________.

(c) The international demand for indigo was affected by the discovery of ___________.

(d) The Champaran movement was against ______________.

Solution

(a) indigo

(b) the expansion of cotton production as a result of industrialization, which in turn created an enormous demand for cloth dyes.

(c) synthetic dyes

(d) indigo planters.

Let's Discuss

3. Describe the main features of the Permanent Settlement.

Solution

In order to achieve a stable revenue, most of the East India Company’s officials believed that investment in land had to be encouraged and agriculture had to be improved. This led to introduction of permanent settlement in 1793.

• By the terms of the settlement the rajas and taluqdars were recognized as zamindars.

• They were asked to collect rent from the peasants and pay revenue to the company.

• The amount to be paid was fixed permanently.

• It was felt that this would ensure a regular flow of revenue into the company’s coffers and at the same time encourages the zamindars to invest is improving the land.

• If the zamindars failed to pay the revenue, which they usually did as the fixed revenue was very high, they lost their zamindari.

4. How was the Mahalwari system different from the Permanent Settlement?

Solution

Mahalwari System	Permanent System
The mahalwari system, devised by Holt Mackenzie, came into effect in 1822. in the North Western provinces of the Bengal Presidency.	The Permanent Settlement was introduced in 1793 by Lord Cornwallis.
It was devised as an alternative to the Permanent Settlement because of the problems it caused.	It was aimed at ensuring stable revenue for the East India Company.
The village headmen were in charge of collecting revenue.	The rajas and taluqdars were in chaise of collecting revenue.
The revenue amount was not fixed, and was to be revised periodically. The estimated revenue of each plot within a village was added up to calculate the revenue that each village or area had to pay.	The revenue amount was fixed and was never to be increased in the future.

5. Give two problems which arose with the new Munro system of fixing revenue.

Solution

Two problems which arose with the new Munro system of fixing revenue were:

• Driven by the desire to increase the income from land, revenue officials fixed too high a revenue demand.

• Peasants were unable to pay ryots fled the countryside and villages became deserted in many regions.

6. Why were ryots reluctant to grow indigo?

Solution

The ryots reluctant to grow indigo because:

• The planters paid a very low price for indigo.

• The ryots were never in a position to make money or even recover their costs. Profit was an unlikely outcome for them and the ryots were always indebted.

• The planters insisted that peasants grow indigo on the most fertile parts of their land. The peasants preferred growing rice on the best soils as after an indigo harvest, the land couldn't be used for sowing rice.

7. What were the circumstances which led to the eventual collapse of indigo production in Bengal?

Solution

The ryots began to refuse to grow indigo, which initially put the village headmen and zamindars on the side. The scale of protests was so much that the government had to intervene. The Indigo Commission set up to enquire into the problems. The Commission accepted the faults of the planters and allowed the ryots to grow whatever they wished. This eventually led to the eventual collapse of indigo production in Bengal.