ruling the countryside class 8 question answer

 Ruling the countryside      Class 8 History  Chapter 3    Ncert Solution 

 Questions And Answers 

Let’s recall

Q1. Match the following:

Ans:  

 Ryot              Peasant

 Mahal          village 

 Nij             Cultivation on planter’s own land

 Ryoti          Cultivation on ryot’s lands

Q2. Fill in the blanks:

Ans: i. Indigo ii. Industrialization

 iii. Synthetic dyes iv. Indigo planters

Let’s discuss

Q3. Describe the main features of the Permanent Settlement.

Ans: The main features of the Permanent Settlement were:

i) The amount of revenue was fixed permanently, that is, it was not to be increased ever in future.

ii) It was felt that this would ensure a regular flow of revenue into the Company’s coffers and at the same time encourage the zamindars to invest in improving the land.

iii) Since the revenue demand of the state would not be increased, the zamindar would benefit from increased production from the land.

iv) Under this system, revenue had been fixed so high that the zamindars found it difficult to pay.

 v) Even when the income of zamindar increased with the expansion of cultivation, the company had no chance of gain because it could not increase the revenue demand that had been fixed permanently.

vi) The system proved oppressive for the cultivators.

Q4. How was the Mahalwari System different from the Permanent Settlement?

Ans: i) Under the Permanent Settlement, the rates of revenue was fixed permanently, and it was not to be increased ever in future. But in the Mahalwari System it was decided that the rate of revenue would be revised periodically, not permanently fixed.

ii) Under the Permanent Settlement, the zamindars were given the charge of collecting revenue from the peasants and paying it to the Company. But in the Mahalwari System this charge was given to the village headmen.

Q5. Give two problems which arose with the new Munro system of fixing revenue.

Ans:The Problems were:

i) Revenue officials fixed a very high revenue demand and peasants were unable to pay it.

ii) Ryots fled the countryside and villages became deserted in many regions.

Q6. Why were ryots reluctant to grow indigo?

Ans: Following were the reasons for the ryots reluctance to grow indigo:

i) They were given loans to grow crops but when crops were harvested, they were compelled to sell them at lower prices. With this price, they were unable to pay loans and thus fell into a cycle of indebtedness.

ii) They had to grow indigo on a fixed part of their land. So, for other crops, they had small pieces of land left. Hence, their food grain needs were not met with.

iii) Also, the cultivation of indigo required the most fertile land. The lands left were not suitable for growing other crops.

iv) Indigo cultivation required extra labour and time. So, they did not have enough time and labour spared for food crops.

Q7. What were the circumstances which led to the eventual collapse of indigo production in Bengal?

Ans: i) The indigo cultivators in Bengal were given loans but for that they had to grow indigo on at least 25 percent of the area under their holdings.

ii) The planters provided only seed and drill. The rest of works till the crop was harvested, was to be done by the ryots.

iii) The price the ryots got for their indigo was very low. They had to take loans to repay their previous loans. Thus, the cycle of loan was never ending.

iv) The planters usually insisted that indigo should be cultivated on the best soils in which peasants preferred to cultivate rice.

v) The indigo crops exhausted the soil rapidly. After an indigo harvest, the land could not be sown with rice.These were certain circumstances which led to the eventual collapse of indigo production in Bengal.

Let’s do

Q8. Find out more about the Champaran Movement and Mahatma Gandhi’s role in it.

Ans: Champaran is a district in the present day state of Bihar. Here, during the colonial period, tens of thousands of landless labourers and poor farmers were forced to grow indigo and other cash crops. These crops were grown at the cost of food crops necessary for their survival. Their produce were bought from them at a very low price. Merely, they were given any compensation.The people in Champaran were living in extreme poverty. Their villages were kept extremely dirty and unhygienic. Alcoholism, untouchability, purdah, etc. were prevailing there. Most of the landlords were the British. They never cared for the life of the farmers were leading. On the one hand, when farmers and general public were facing the famine, 

the British landlords levied an oppressive tax. They insisted this tax should be increased. The situation was desperate. In this situation, a local farmer Raj Kumar Shukla invited Gandhiji to Champaran.Gandhi visited Champaran. He had a detailed study and survey of the villages. He accounted the atrocities of the landlords and terrible sufferings of the people. His drive drove to clean-up villages, building schools and hospitals. He then encouraged the village leadership to abolish social ill and individual practices.With the help of many leaders like Brajkishore Prasad, Rajendra Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Singh, J.L. Nehru and many others, he fought against the atrocities of the indigo-landlords. It was the first Satyagrah he ever staged in India.Gandhiji was arrested on the charge of creating unrest. He was ordered to leave the province. His arrest was protested by hundreds of thousands of people. They rallied outside the jail and police stations. Till now people had identified the power of Satyagraha. They demanded for the release of Gandhiji from the courts.People under the leadership of Gandhi staged protests and strikes against the landlords. Finally, the landlords, under the pressure of the British Government, had to sign an agreement granting more compensation and control over farming for the poor farmers of the region. They had to cancel the revenue hike and collection until the famine ended.

Q9. Look into the history of either tea or coffee plantations in India. See how the life of workers in these plantations was similar to or different from that of workers in indigo plantations.

Ans: i) Accounts of earlier Indian history do not mention the use of tea or its cultivation. We get a mention by a Dutch sea- traveler in 1598 that tea was eaten as well as drunk in India.

ii) In 1824, tea plants were discovered in the hills of the Indian state of Assam. The British introduced tea culture into India in 1836. India had been the top producer of tea for nearly a century.

iii) The workers in the tea plantations were oppressed. They were given low wages. There was poor housing and lack of social mobility. For making more profits, the tea planters reclaimed wastelands where the workers had to labour hard to develop plantation. For this, the planters introduced indentured labour system. The local as well as outsidelabourers were employed under contracts. There were two types of indentured labour systems __ Arkatti and Sardari. 

iv) Under Arkatti system, unlicensed recruitment was carried from Chhotanagpur and other tribal areas of the sub-continent. Under the Sardari system new labourers were employed by those who were already employed in the plantation gardens.

v) The labourers had to work hard. The outside labourers had to stay at the garden for a longer period. They were not permitted to meet their family, even on occasions. They were exploited in many ways. They were not allowed to leave the plantation garden during the contract 

period.

vi) The labourers in the tea plantations and indigo farming were similar in the way that they were exploited heavily. The profit was made by the owners and the labourers got almost nothing.