NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 4 Tribals, Dikus and the Vision of a Golden Age

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3 – Ruling the Countryside are provided here to help you in easy and active learning of the concepts. We have provided here the best and accurate answers to all the questions given in chapter 3 of the latest NCERT History Book of Class 8. All the answers are provided here in a readable and downloadable format.

NCERT Solutions

Class 8 History

Chapter 3 – Ruling the Countryside

Let’s recall

1. Match the following:

Answer:

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 late eighteenth-century Britain because of __________.

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

(d) The Champaran movement was against __________.

Answer:

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

(b) The demand for indigo increased in late-eighteenth-century Britain because of the expansion of cotton production that lead to an enormous demand for cloth dyes.

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

(d) The Champaran movement was against indigo planters.

Let’s discuss

3. Describe the main features of the Permanent Settlement.

Answer:

The Permanent Settlement was a land revenue system introduced in 1793 by East India Company. By the terms of this settlement, the rajas and taluqdars were recognised as zamindars. They were asked to collect rent from the peasants and pay revenue to the Company. The main features of the Permanent Settlement system were:

• The amount of the revenue was fixed permanently, that is, it was not to be increased ever in future.
• Since the revenue demand of the state would not be increased, the zamindar would benefit from increased production from the land.
• The revenue that had been fixed was so high that the zamindars found it difficult to pay. Those who failed to pay the revenue lost their zamindari.
• Even when the income of the zamindars increased due to increased cultivation, there was no gain for the Company since it could not increase a revenue demand that had been fixed permanently
• Exorbitant prices of land which zamindars had to pay to the company (which they failed.)

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

Answer:

Difference between Mahalwari System and Permanent Settlement was as follows:

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

Answer:

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

• The revenue demand was fixed too high that could not be met by the peasants.
• Peasants being unable to pay the rent fled the countryside and the villages became deserted in many regions.

6. Why were ryots reluctant to grow indigo?

Answer:

The ryots were reluctant to grow indigo due to the following reasons:

• They were paid very low-prices for it.
• They found that they would never earn any profit from the indigo plantation.
• The farmers were insisted to grow indigo on the fertile parts of their land by the planters, but they preferred growing rice on the best soils. This is because once indigo was cultivated, the fertility of the soil decreased. So, after an indigo harvest, the land could not be used for sowing rice.

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

Answer:

The circumstances which led to the eventual collapse of indigo production in Bengal are mentioned below:

• In March 1859 thousands of ryots in Bengal refused to grow indigo.
• They started protesting as they thought that they had the support of village headmen in their rebellion.
• The headmen who were forced to sign the contract fought battles with the agents of the indigo planters.
• The zamindars also supported the farmers as they were unhappy with the increasing powers of the planters.
• The indigo farmers also believed that the British government would support them in their rebellion against the planters because the government did not want another rebellion after the Revolt of 1857.
• Following the protests, the Indigo Commission was constituted by the government which held the planters guilty of using coercive methods to deal with the indigo peasants and asked the planters to stop the cultivation.
• This eventually led to the eventual collapse of indigo plantation in Bengal.