Ruling The Countryside

Solutions

Let's Recall

1. Match the following:

Column A	Column B
ryot	village
mahal	peasant
nij	cultivation on ryot's lands
ryoti	cultivation on planter's own land

Answers:

Column A	Column B
ryot	peasant
mahal	village
nij	cultivation on planter's own land
ryoti	cultivation on ryot's land

2. Fill in the blanks:

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

Answers: Indigo.

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

Answer: expansion of cotton cultivation.

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

Answer: Synthetic dyes.

(d) The Champaran movement was against___________.

Answer: Indigo planters.

(e) The illegal tax called __________ included exactions on fruits, ghee, honey, cattle etc.

Answer: rasum

Let's Discuss

3. Describe the main features of the Permanent Settlement.
Answer: The permanent settlement was introduced by Lord Cornwallis in 1793, main features were;

1. The rajas and taluqdars were recognized as zamindars.
2. They were asked to collect rent from the peasants and pay revenue to the company.
3. The amount to be paid was fixed permanently.
4. If the zamindars failed to pay the revenue, they lost their zamindari.

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

Answer:

Mahalwari Settlement	Permanent Settlement
Holt Mackenzie devised it, and it came into effect in 1822	Permanent Settlement was brought by Lord Cornwallis in 1793
It was devised as alternative to the Permanent Settlement	It was aimed at ensuring stable revenue.
The village headmen were in charge of collecting revenue	The rajas and taluqdars were in charge of collecting revenue
The revenue amount was to be revised periodically.	The revenue amount was fixed

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 revenue were:

1. Driven by the desire to increase the income from land, revenue officials fixed too high a revenue demand.
2. Peasants were unable to pay ryats they fled the countryside and villages became deserted in many regions.

6. Why were ryots reluctant to grow indigo?
Answer: The ryots were reluctant to grow indigo because:

• The planters paid a very low price for indigo.
• The ryots were not in a position to even recover their cost, hence they were always under debt.
• The planters insisted that the peasants cultivate indigo on the most fertile parts of their land, but the peasants preferred growing rice on the best soils as 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 ryots began to refuse to grow indigo. They were supported by the village headmen and some zamindars in their fight. The scale of protest was so much that the government setup "The Indigo Commission" to enquire into the problems. The Commission accepted the faults of the planters and allowed the ryots to grow whatever they wished. This led to eventual collapse of indigo production in Bengal.

Let's Do

8. Find out more about the Champaran movement and Mahatma Gandhi's role in it.

Answer: When the indigo production collapsed in Bengal, the European planters of Indigo shifted their operations to Bihar. The farmers of Champaran, a village in Bihar, were forced to grow indigo by the European planters instead of the food crops. The European planters were destroying the productivity of the land which was the main reason for the protest. Mahatma Gandhi was invited by some of the peasants to look after their misery. Gandhiji started a mass movement after seeing the plight of the indigo cultivators.

Mahatma Gandhi’s role:

1. Mahatma Gandhi’s visit in 1917 marked the beginning of the Champaran movement against the indigo planters.
2. The European planter oppressed the peasants. Gandhiji witnessed the miserable conditions of the peasants.
3. Gandhiji established an ashram here and handpicked lawyers like Dr. Rajendra Prasad to work for the betterment of the villages.
4. He started a peaceful and non- violent movement.
5. The district officials ordered him to leave Champaran but he refused to comply with the orders and started the Satyagraha movement.
6. As a result, Gandhiji was arrested but he did not leave champaran.
7. Finally, a law was passed to protect the farmers from the indigo planters.