Assessment
Summative Assessment
The teacher can discuss the answers with the students to complete the exercises I, II. III
and IV on page 30. The students can be asked to write the answers for the exercises as
homework.
Formative Assessment
Given below is a list of activities for Formative Assessment. A wide variety of activities
have been given keeping in mind the fact that the students in a classroom have multiple
intelligences. You could use them to assess the understanding of the students either at
the end of the chapter, or at the end of each section.
• Map work: Ask the students to complete the map work activity on page 30.
• Street Play: The students can be divided into groups. Ask them to write the dialogues
and enact the play in class.
• Speak out: Give 5-10 minutes for the students to think of the topic. They can each talk
on the topic for about 2-3 minutes.
• Project Work: The students can complete the activity on page 30.
• Peer and self-assessment: Use the Fill in the blanks, True or False and MCQs on pages
30 and 31 for peer and self-assessment.
HOTS
The HOTS question can be discussed in class.
Life skills
In the report ask students to include details like from whom the vegetable vendors buy the
vegetables, is selling vegetables profitable and what do they do with the leftover vegetables.
Value-based question
Ask the students to discuss the answers for the value-based question.
Follow-up
• What is the system of land revenue collection followed in India at present?
Answer key for the exercises in the lesson
Exercises for Summative Assessment
I. Fill in the blanks.
1. The mansabdari system was introduced
during the rule of Sher Shah Suri.
2. Indigo was a plant used for making a blue
dye during British rule.
3. Champaran and Darbhanga in Bihar saw
massive revolts by indigo farmers.
4. Cotton, poppy and indigo are cash crops.
5. Rice and wheat are food crops.
II. True or False.
1. In ancient India, there were no written land
records. (T)
2. The British policies of land revenue led to
fragmentation of the land. (T)
3. The zamindars looked after the interests of
the farmers well. (F)
4. Indigo farmers benefited from British rule.
(F)
5. The farmers in Punjab benefited from the
British government’s action. (T)
47
III. Answer in brief.
1. What was the reform brought by Sher Shah
Suri in land records?
During the rule of Sher Shah Suri land was
measured and pattas (written records) given
for the first time. Revenue was charged
depending on the fertility of the land. In
times of drought or famine the revenue was
reduced, or at times even not collected.
2. Who were the zamindars? How did they
come into existence?
In an effort to streamline the process, the
British instituted three forms of revenue
collection in India. They were the Permanent
Settlement of Bengal, the ryotwari system
and the mahalwari system. Warren Hastings
auctioned the right to collect revenue to the
highest bidder. These new revenue collectors
were called zamindars.
3. How did the farmers in Punjab benefit from
the British efforts?
Climatically, Punjab is a dry region and
any large-scale agriculture practiced here
requires irrigation. Several thousand
kilometres of canals were built crisscrossing
the land. These canals transformed
uncultivated land into prime agricultural
land. Wheat, cotton and sugarcane were the
main crops grown. The British built these
canals mainly to increase the output of cash
crops for European markets; but Punjab
prospered.
IV. Answer in detail.
1. Describe the Permanent Settlement System
in Bengal. Mention the advantages to the
British and the disadvantages the farmers
had in it.
In AD 1793, Cornwallis introduced the
Permanent Settlement of Bengal. The
zamindars were required to pay a fixed
amount in cash on a fixed date as land
revenue to the treasury, irrespective of what
they could collect. Slowly the zamindars
brought more areas under cultivation and
made more money while they paid the
same fixed amount to the Company. Many
zamindars benefited more than either the
Company or the peasants. Under this system
the advantages for the British were that
48
firstly, the zamindars turned out to be firm
supporters of the British, secondly, by fixing
the land revenue, the British government
ensured that it received the same fixed
amount on a fixed date, and lastly, it was
easier to deal with a few zamindars than with
hundreds of farmers. On the other hand, the
disadvantages to the farmers were: a) the
zamindars ill-treated the farmers to extract
the revenue, b) small farmers who had to
either sell or mortgage their lands to pay the
revenue became landless labourers, c) many
land owners were evicted from their land by
the British because they did not have pattas
to prove their ownership, and d) to meet the
increasing expenses the government had to
increase the tax in other provinces.
2. Describe the salient features of the
Ryotwari System. How was it different from
the Permanent Settlement?
The ryotwari system was introduced in the
Madras and Bombay presidencies between
1792 and 1827. Here, the middlemen or the
zamindars were removed. The settlement
was made directly between the Company
and the ryot or the cultivator, who paid the
government about half the value of the
crop. The revenue amount was revised after
20 or 30 years depending on the fertility of
the soil. This system was different from the
Permanent Settlement of Bengal as it gave
more security to the cultivators.
3. What was the Mahalwari System? Mention
a disadvantage the farmers had in it.
The mahalwari system existed in parts of
Uttar Pradesh, parts of Central India, etc.
In this system, the settlement was made
between landlords, or heads of families,
claiming to represent the entire village
community or groups of villages (mahal)
and the government. The landlords or heads
of family were jointly responsible for the
payment of revenue to the Company. Here
too revenue was fixed, to be revised after 2030 years.
4. Explain the ill effects of the British agrarian
policies had on Indian agriculture.
The British agrarian policies had the
following ill effects on Indian agriculture: a)
the revenue charged was so high; it led to
the impoverishment of the cultivators. They
became landless labourers and were driven
to debt at the hands of the money lenders, b)
as many farmers could not pay the revenue
they had to sell off their land, which led to
the fragmentation of land, c) these lands
were sold to the highest bidder who were
rich traders living in towns or cities who
rarely visited their farmlands. This gave rise
to absentee landlordism, d) the cultivation of
cash crops was encouraged since it provided
the raw materials for industry. These cash
crops earned the government more money
but at the cost of food grains, e) the British
introduced private ownership of land to
ensure a steady revenue. Since most of them
were absentee landlords or too poor they
took no interest in improving the lands. All
these factors finally led to recurring famines.
5. Write a short note on the Indigo Revolt of
1866-1868.
Indigo was a blue dye used by cloth
manufacturers. It was a crop that was
in great demand around the world. To
match the demand, the British forced the
peasants to grow indigo in place of food
grains. The peasants in Bengal and Bihar
refused to obey the British and rose in
rebellion. These farmers were subjected to
torture by the planters. Between 1866 and
1868, Champaran and Darbhanga in Bihar
witnessed a massive uprising against British
indigo planters. The rioters attacked indigo
factories and the houses of British planters.
Mahatma Gandhi fought and won some
respite for indigo farmers in 1918.
Multiple Choice Questions
1.a&d
6.b
2.d
7.a
3.c
8.c
4.c
5.d
Value-based question
• To be willing to learn new techniques and
face new challenges
• To be positive, proactive and resourceful
• To be industrious and hardworking
Question bank
I. Give one word for the following.
1. Written
records
of
land
ownership:_______________
2. The farmers were forced by the British to
cultivate this plant instead of food grains:
___________
3. The governor-general who auctioned the
right to collect revenue to the highest
bidder: __________________
4. The governor-general who introduced the
Permanent Settlement system: ___________
5. The system where heads of families,
representing a group of village, were jointly
responsible for the payment of the revenue
to the Company:___________
II. Answer in brief.
1. What was the land revenue policy under
Sher Shah Suri?
2. Write a brief note on the zamindars.
3. Name the states where the Permanent
Settlement system was introduced.
4. Why did Indian farmers refuse to cultivate
the indigo plant?
5. What were the effects of absentee landlords
on the peasants?
6. Name some of the peasant revolts that took
place as a result of the new land revenue
policy of the British.
III. Answer in detail.
1. What did the British gain and the Indian
farmers lose under the Permanent
Settlement System?
2. Explain how Punjab benefitted by the land
revenue policy of the British.
49
Answer key for the worksheet
I.
II.
III.
IV.
1. d
2. e
3. a
4. c
5. b
1. False 2. True 3. True 4. False 5. True
1. c
2. d
3. b
4. b
1. The land of farmers who were unable to
pay high taxes was sometimes auctioned
off to the highest bidder. The rich traders
who bought these lands rarely visited the
land. Such landowners were called absentee
landlords. They were much harsher on the
farmers than the zamindars.
2. The extreme poverty of the farmers along
with high taxes imposed by the Company
brought about a decline in agriculture.
50
Moreover, the forcible cultivation of cash
crops like cotton, poppy and Indigo brought
about insufficiency in food cultivation. All
these wrong agriculture practices led the
farmers to revolt against the British.
3. Under the ryotwari system middlemen
and zamindars were not allowed to collect
revenue from the farmers. The farmers
made settlements directly to the Company.
The farmers paid half the value of the crop.
The revenue amount was revised after 20
to 30 years depending on the fertility of the
soil.