Ruling the Countryside - Worksheets

CBSE Worksheet 01
Ch-3 Ruling the Countryside
  1. After the indigo production collapsed in Bengal, the planters shifted their operation to
    1. Gujarat
    2. Orissa
    3. Rajasthan
    4. Bihar
  2. Which one of the following statements are TRUE with respect to the Mahalwari System
    1. The Cultivator paid half of the revenue as tax directly to the government.
    2. The Zamindar paid a fixed amount to the Government, otherwise, he was evicted from the land
    3. This system created a new class of landlords who were loyal to the Britishers.
    4. The landlords were collectively responsible for the tax payment to the East India Company
  3. In which year did Bengal witness the Great Famine?
    1. 1770
    2. 1777
    3. 1778
    4. 1775
  4. Under the Mahalwari system, the estimated revenue of each plot within a village was added up to calculate the revenue that each mahal had to pay. From the given list of options, which one is closest in meaning to the word mahal?
    1. Village(s)
    2. Tenant(s)
    3. Landlord(s)
    4. Zamindar(s)
  5. The Company tried many experiments to increase the land revenue. Name the Settlement system introduced in the Madras and Bombay presidencies?
    1. Permanent Settlement System
    2. British Settlement System
    3. Mahalwari Settlement System
    4. Ryotwari Settlement System
  6. Match the items given in Column A correctly with those given in Column B.
    Column A
    Column B
    (i) Jute
    (a) United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh)
    (ii) Wheat
    (b) Madars
    (iii) Rice
    (c) Assam
    (iv) Sugarcane
    (d) Maharashtra
    (v) Tea
    (e) Bengal
    (vi) Cotton
    (f) Punjab
  7. Fill in the blanks:
    1. Growers of woad in Europe saw _________ as crop which would provide competition to their earnings.
    2. The demand for indigo increased in late-eighteenth century in Britain because of ____________.
    3. The international demand for indigo was affected by the discovery of .
    4. The Champaran movement was against________ .
  8. The Bengal economy boomed after the company was appointed as Diwan of that province. (True/False)
  9. What is common in the two prints – a Kalamkari print and a Morris cotton print?
  10. Who was William Morris?
  11. What is Kalamkari print?
  12. Explain the ryoti system.
  13. Why were ryots reluctant to grow indigo?
CBSE Worksheet 01
Ch-3 Ruling the Countryside
Answer
    1. Bihar, Explanation: Because of the revolt in Bengal, planters shifted their operation to Bihar.
    1. The landlords were collectively responsible for the tax payment to the East India Company
      Explanation: The estimated revenue of each plot within a village was added up to calculate the revenue that each village(mahal)had to pay.
    1. 1770, Explanation: After Company became the Diwan of Benga in 1765, soon it had to face deep economic crises. Things worsened when in 1770 a terrible famine broke out in Bengal in which as many as ten million people were killed.
    1. Village(s), Explanation: The new system of Mahalwari settlement devised by Holt Mackenzie the village was an important social institution. Under his directions, collectors went from village to village, inspecting the land, measuring the fields and recording the customs and rights of different groups. The estimated revenue of each plot within a village was added up to calculate the revenue that each village (mahal)had to pay.
    1. Ryotwari Settlement System, Explanation: The ryotwari system was tried on a small scale by Captain Alexander Read in some of the areas that were taken over by the Company after the wars with Tipu Sultan. Subsequently developed by Thomas Munro, this system was gradually extended all over south India.
  6. (i) (e), (ii) (f), (iii) (b), (iv) (a), (v) (c). (vi) (d).
    1. Growers of woad in Europe saw indigo as crop which would provide competition to their earnings.
    2. The demand for indigo increased in late-eighteenth century in Britain because of industrialisation.
    3. The international demand for indigo was affected by the discovery of synthetic dyes.
    4. The Champaran movement was against indigo planters.
  8. False
  9. Both use a rich blue colour commonly known as indigo.
  10. He was a famous poet and artist of 19th century Britain. He designed a floral cotton print known as Morris cotton print.
  11. Kalamkari print is created by weavers of Andhra Pradesh in India.
  12. Under the Ryoti system, the planters forced the ryots to sign a contract, an agreement. They pressurised the village headmen to sign the contract on behalf of the ryots. Those who signed the contract got cash advances from the planters at low rates of interest to produce indigo.
    1. Under the ryots system, the planters forced the ryots to sign a contract an agreement.
    2. Those who signed the contract got cash advances from the planters at low rates of interest to produce indigo.
    3. But the loan committed the ryot to cultivate indigo at least 25% of the area under his holding.
    4. The planter provided the seed and the drill, while the cultivators prepared the soil, sowed the seed and looked after the crop.
    5. When the crop was delivered to the planter after the harvest, a new loan was given to the ryot, and the cycle started all over again.
    6. The price they got for the indigo they produced was very low and the cycle of loans never ended.