NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History Chapter 3 Ruling the Countryside

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History Chapter 3 Ruling the Countryside will be useful in increasing concentration skill and score better marks in the exams. It will serve as a beneficial tool for instructors, students and parents. These Chapter 3 Class 8 History NCERT Solutions will become your comprehensive guide in easy learning and evaluating yourself. This will make your memory skills sharper and you can easily memorize more things.

Chapter 3 Ruling the Countryside Class 8 History NCERT Solutions

Let’s Recall

1. Match the following:

ryot	village
mahal	peasant
nij	cultivation on ryot’s lands
ryoti	cultivation on planter’s own land

Solution

ryot	peasant
mahal	village
nij	cultivation on planter’s own land
ryoti	cultivation on ryot’s lands

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 the late-eighteenth-century Britain because of ________.
(c) The international demand for indigo was affected by the discovery of ________.
(d) The Champaran movement was against ________.

Solution

(a) indigo
(b) the expansion of cotton production as a result of industrialization, which in turn created an enormous demand for cloth dyes.
(c) synthetic dyes.
(d) indigo planters.

Let’s Discuss

3. Describe the main features of the Permanent Settlement.

Solution

The following were the most important characteristics of Permanent Settlement:
(i) According to the settlement, rajas and taluqdars were recognised as zamindars and were recognised as the legal owners of their domains.
(ii) Zamindars were instructed to collect rent from peasants and to remit a specified amount of revenue to the Company on a regular basis.
(iii) The revenue amount to be paid was fixed by the Company.
(iv) It was anticipated that this method would assure a consistent flow of revenue for the Company and that it would reduce costs. The zamindars will take initiatives to improve agriculture.

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

Solution

Mahalwari System	Permanent System
Holt Mackenzie devised the mahalwari system, which came into force in 1822 in the North Western provinces of the Bengal Presidency.	The Permanent Settlement was introduced by Lord Cornwallis in 1793.
It was intended as a replacement for the Permanent Settlement.	In order to ensure the East Indian Company’s revenue was stable, this scheme was enacted.
The village headmen were responsible for collecting revenue.	Revenue collection was the responsibility of the rajas and taluqdars
Revenue amounts were not fixed, but were to be reviewed periodically. Each village or mahal had to pay a certain amount of revenue based on the revenue from each plot within a village.	Revenue was fixed and would never increase in the future.

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

Solution

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

(i) To increase the Company’s income from land, revenue officials set extremely high revenue demands.
(ii) Also, peasants could not afford to pay the high taxes. As a result, they were forced to flee their homes. In the eyes of officials, the new system would result in more prosperity for the peasants but this did not happen.

6. Why were ryots reluctant to grow indigo?

Solution

The ryots reluctant to grow indigo because:
The indigo planters received a relatively low price for their crop.
They were in no position to even recover his costs, let alone make a profit. The concept of making a profit was out of the question. As a result, the ryot was perpetually in financial trouble.
The planters insisted that the peasants cultivate indigo on the most fertile parts of their land; however, the peasants preferred cultivating rice on the most fertile parts of their property because the land could not be used for seeding rice once an indigo harvest occurred.

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

Solution

The following were the circumstances that contributed to the collapse of indigo production in the Bengal province:
(i) Farmers were given loans to help them cultivate indigo, and they were compelled to sign a contract. Once the lending cycle began, it was impossible to bring it to a close. The planters eventually refused to grow indigo, resulting in the collapse of indigo production as a result.
(ii) Because of the indigo plant’s extensive root system, it reduced the soil’s fertility. Rice could not be planted on the site once it had been harvested for indigo. That is why they refused to cultivate indigo plants.
(iii) Because the prices paid to indigo planters were so low, they were discouraged from cultivating the crop.
(iv) In 1859, thousands of ryots in Bengal protested against the cultivation of indigo. The Ryots refused to pay rent, stormed the indigo manufacturers, and the planters’ agents were beaten up as a result of their actions. As a result, Bengal became the centre of indigo production.